Oil
Oil Markets Refocus on OPEC as Iran-Israel Conflict Ceases
With Israel-Iran no longer being the main talking points of markets, the focus is now back on OPEC+ as the oil group meets this weekend to discuss further production moves in what seems to be another step in Saudi Arabia’s master plan to get rid of the 2.2 million b/d voluntary cut system. Brent futures were largely rangebound, trading around $67 per barrel as the global benchmark switched to September, as the market expects bigger moves next week from the double whammy of OPEC+ announcements and Trump’s tariff policy.
Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222), the state oil company of Saudi Arabia, is expected to increase its formula prices for August-loading cargoes in Asia by $0.50-0.80 per barrel, as the Israel-Iran war lifted backwardation to its highest since February, OilPrice.com reports.
The Trump administration has lifted most energy-related sanctions on Syria, including an Obama-era 2011 ban on US imports of Syrian oil and refined products, whilst the country’s Baniyas refinery switched from Iranian crude to Russian oil.
The government of Guyana, one of the fast-rising stars of offshore oil production, has called on interested companies to bid for a natural gas liquids (NGL) facility to produce propane and butane from the natural gas piped from Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) fields.
Colombia’s national oil producer Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) will be doubling down on its giant Lorito oil discovery in the onshore Llanos Basin, having drilled three appraisal wells in over the past year, confirming recoverable reserves of 250 million barrels.
Following the spring closure of the 150,000 b/d Grangemouth refinery, another British refinery could be going down the drain after the 113,000 b/d Lindsey plant operated by private firm Prax began insolvency proceedings, putting 420 jobs at risk.
The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Canada’s midstream giant Enbridge (TSO:ENB) against Michigan Attorney General seeking to halt operations of the 540,000 b/d Line 5 pipeline, part of which runs underneath the Strait of Mackinac.
Russia’s government has been discussing ways to lower the tax burden of the country’s largest gas producer Gazprom, after a loss-making 2023 result and no dividends paid out in 2024, whilst the firm struggles to re-orient its sales towards Asia.
The share of renewables in Singapore’s power output mix soared to a record high in May after robust solar generation – growing at the fastest pace in more than a year – lifted clean energy to 3%, whilst gas still accounts for a whopping 95% of the total.
Israeli refiner ORL (TLV:ORL) said that it had partly resumed activities at its missile-stricken 197,000 b/d Haifa refinery, shut down on the heels of Iranian strikes during the 12-Day War, hoping to be fully operational by October 2025.
In what will go down as one of the most important mining deals of 2025, Chinese mining giant Zijin (SHA:601899) agreed to purchase one of the largest gold mines in Kazakhstan, the Raygorodok mine, for $1.2 billion from local operator RG Gold LLP.
Chile has churned out the most copper this year so far in May, a total of 486,754 metric tonnes or up 9.4% from the same period last year, as rapidly depleting stocks keep cash prices above $10,000 per metric tonne, despite more Chilean supply.
As signalled in our last week’s report, the $30 billion LNG Canada project loaded its maiden LNG cargo from Kitimat, Canada’s first ever export of liquefied natural gas, with the Shell-chartered Gaslog Glasgow LNG carrier heading towards Incheon, South Korea.
Metallurgical coal, used for coking in steel production, will receive a subsidy from the Trump Administration as the One Big Beautiful Bill in its current form allows coal producers to claim an advanced manufacturing tax credit, equivalent to 2.5% of the fuel.
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