World Oil News

Oil prices fell more than $1 on Thursday as investors shifted focus back to Russia-Ukraine peace talks and monitored potential fallout from a U.S. seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.Brent crude futures were down $1.1, or 1.8%, at $61.11 a barrel at 1408 GMT, hovering near the lowest since Oct. 21.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.07, also around 1.8%, to $57.39 a barrel, its lowest in over two weeks.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that a visit to Moscow this month by U.S.

Oil prices slipped more than $1 on Monday after Iraq restored production at one of its oilfields which accounts for 0.5% of world oil supply, while investors weighed ongoing talks to end the war in Ukraine.Brent crude futures were down $1.07, or 1.68%, at $62.68 a barrel by 11:05 p.m. EDT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $59.07, down $1.01, or 1.68%.Iraq restored production at Lukoil's West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world's largest, after a leak on an export pipeline slashed its output…

Global oil and gas demand could grow until 2050, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, departing from previous expectations of a speedy transition to cleaner fuels following U.S. criticism about its climate focus.The Paris-based energy security watchdog also predicted in its annual outlook that the world will likely fail to meet its goal to cap the rise in temperatures to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.The IEA has been under pressure from the U.S.

Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea after Houthi militants attacked and sank a second ship this week, while the fate of another 15 was unknown after the Iran-aligned group said they held some of the seafarers.The Houthis claimed responsibility for the assault that maritime officials say killed four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C before the rest abandoned the cargo ship. Eternity C went down Wednesday morning after attacks on two previous days, sources…

Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea on Wednesday and 15 were still missing from the second of two ships sunk in recent days in attacks claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia after months of calm.Four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C cargo ship were killed before the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel, which sank on Wednesday morning after being attacked on Monday and Tuesday, sources at security companies involved in a rescue operation said.The six seafarers who were rescued had spent more than 24 hours in the water…

Four seafarers on the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C were killed in a drone and speedboat attack off Yemen, an official with knowledge of the issue said on Tuesday, the second incident in a day after months of calm.The Red Sea, which passes Yemen's coast, has long been a critical waterway for the world's oil and commodities but traffic has dropped since the Iran-aligned Houthi militia began targeting ships in November 2023 in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.The deaths on the Eternity C…

The contained move in oil prices during the Israel-Iran war highlights the increasing efficiency of energy markets and fundamental changes to global crude supply, suggesting that Middle East politics will no longer be the dominant force in oil markets they once were.The jump in oil prices following Israel's surprise attack on Iran was meaningful but relatively modest considering the high stakes involved in the conflict between the Middle East rivals.Benchmark Brent crude prices…

Two oil tankers collided and caught fire on Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz, where electronic interference has surged during conflict between Iran and Israel, but there were no injuries to crew or spillage reported.With Iran and Israel firing missiles at each other since Friday, interference has disrupted navigation systems near the vital sea route between Iran and Oman which handles about a fifth of the world's oil.The United Arab Emirates coast guard said it had evacuated 24 people from one of the ships…

Greek shipowners are returning to Russia's Urals oil market as the price slides below the Western price cap of $60 per barrel, allowing them to provide transport and insurance services while complying with sanctions, three trading sources said.The price cap introduced by the Group of Seven countries does not allow Western companies to provide insurance and transport services for Russian oil sold above $60 per barrel at the port of loading.Most Western shipowners have refrained from working with Russian oil since December 2022 as relatively high oil prices kept Urals close to, or above, the price cap. Tankers managed by companies from countries that didn't join the price cap policy have been main shippers of Russian oil since then.In April…

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which exports Kazakhstan's and Russia's oil from the Black Sea, announced on Monday that it had halted operations at two of its terminal's three mooring points (SPMs).CPC pipeline, which ships about 1% of world oil supply and is a key route for Kazakhstan's oil exports, may lose some 50% of the capacity if operating just one SPM, according to traders' estimates.CPC has been in the spotlight since Russia's war in Ukraine: the consortium closed…

Yemen's Houthi movement said on Saturday they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.The Iran-aligned group is escalating the risks of a regional conflict amid a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.The Houthis have attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and its Bab al-Mandab strait, a sea lane through which much of the world's oil is shipped…

Saudi Arabia has asked the United States to show restraint in responding to attacks by Yemen's Houthis against ships in the Red Sea, two sources familiar with Saudi thinking said, as Riyadh seeks to contain spillover from the Hamas-Israel war.The Iran-aligned Houthis have waded into the conflict that has spread around the Middle East since war erupted on Oct. 7, attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel itself.The group which rules much…

A Russian warship was seriously damaged in an overnight Ukrainian naval drone attack on Russia's Black Sea navy base at Novorossiysk, two sources said on Friday, after Russia said it had fended off the attack.The civilian port, which handles 2% of the world's oil supply and also exports grain, temporarily halted all ship movement before resuming normal operations, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which operates an oil terminal there. Russia's Defence Ministry said…

Saudi Arabia wants enhanced maritime security in the crucial Gulf region as part of its rapprochement with long-timerival Iran, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Saturday.Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and reestablish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability including in the Gulf, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon."I would like to refer to the importance of cooperation between the two countries on regional security, especially the security of maritime navigation...

The US National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has released a study on global oil production emissions that finds that the greenhouse gas intensity of US oil production, particularly in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, is significantly lower than most other regions around the world.Prepared by ICF, the GHG Emission Intensity of Crude Oil and Condensate Production report, calculates that total US oil production has a carbon intensity 23% lower than the international average outside of the US and Canada.

The market for old oil tankers is booming, and it's all down to efforts by Western nations to curb trade in Russian crude.As Western shipping and maritime services firms steer clear of Russian oil to avoid falling foul of sanctions or harming their reputations, new companies have leapt into the void, and they're snapping up old tankers that might normally be scrapped.The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February.

The international ship registries of Djibouti and the Cook Islands suspended the flags on five oil tankers, following sanctions by the United States this month for having facilitated oil trade for Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, nongovernment organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said on Monday.The U.S. Treasury Department in early November imposed sanctions on a wide network of companies, people and vessels accused of concealing the Iranian origins of shipments and exporting them around the world.Oil tankers Bueno…

Global oil companies are pumping billions of dollars into offshore drilling, reversing a long decline in spending on the decades-long projects, including some in the remote iceberg waters far off Canada's Atlantic coast.Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with Europe's mounting energy demand as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on. Offshore production sites are more expensive to build than onshore shale, the last decade's investment darling. But once they are up and running…

Iran has moved a mock-up U.S. aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, satellite images show, suggesting it will use the look-alike vessel for target practice in war games in a Gulf shipping channel vital to world oil exports.The use of dummy American warships has become an occasional feature of training by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its naval forces, including in 2015 when Iranian missiles hit a mock-up resembling a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.Tehran, which opposes the presence of U.S.

A Nigerian court has sentenced six foreigners and one Nigerian to seven years in prison for oil theft, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said on Tuesday, three years after the navy arrested 10 suspects with a vessel carrying crude oil off the Niger Delta.The suspects - a Nigerian, two Pakistanis, three Ghanaians, one Indonesian, one Beninois and two Ukrainians - had siphoned about two thousand metric tonnes of crude oil from a loading facility belonging to Shell Petroleum…

The Guanabara FPSO has arrived at the Mero field in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, the Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras has informed.The FPSO, also known as Mero 1, will be the first 'definitive' oil production system at the Mero field, the third largest pre-salt field behind Búzios and Tupi. MODEC is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilization, installation and operation of the FPSO, including topsides processing equipment as well as hull and marine systems.

China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China's defence ministry said on Thursday, amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the United States.China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, which will last until Monday, and are meant to deepen cooperation between the three countries' navies, ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news briefing.The drill was a "normal military exchange" between the three armed forces and was in line with international law and practices…

World oil demand will rise more than 2% to a record high of 101.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, although sky-high oil prices and weakening economic forecasts dimmed the future outlook.The Paris-based IEA also said in its monthly report supply was being constrained because of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine."Economic fears persist, as various international institutions have recently released downbeat outlooks…