Oil Prices Remain High As Russia Sanctions Sparked Supply Concerns

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The sheer scope and ambition of US sanctions on Russia, arguably the last big energy industry move of the Biden Administration before passing the baton to Donald Trump, saw ICE Brent futures settle above $81 per barrel this Monday. This marks the first time that oil has traded that high since August 26 of last year and even a potential ceasefire in Gaza couldn’t push prices back below the $80 per barrel threshold.

Global freight rates started to soar after the US Department of Treasury sanctioned 183 tankers that shipped Russian oil along with the OFAC listing of producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, a move only reversible by a Congress vote.

Arguably the largest IPO happening this year, US LNG developer Venture Global is seeking up to $110 billion in valuation in its NYSE initial public offering as it plans to raise at least $2.3 billion with the offering of 50 million shares, priced at $40-46 each, OilPrice.com reports.

The European Union intends to let its €180 per MWh natural gas price cap expire as scheduled at the end of this month, first introduced in December 2022 to limit soaring gas prices but now no longer deemed necessary as TTF trends around €50 per MWh.

The Russian Defence Ministry stated that Ukrainian drones attacked the Russkaya compressor station in the south of the country, incurring minor damage to the 31.5 bcm/year Turkish Stream gas pipeline, accusing it of energy terrorism.

Crude oil production in Alberta reached an all-time high of 4.2 million b/d in November, the most recent month covered by the province’s energy regulator AER, with relatively stagnant oil sands output boosted by rising condensate volumes.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced that Riyadh would seek to enrich and market uranium fuel further down the road, raising concerns that their 2018 promise to develop nuclear weapons if Iran did might be true.

A group of homeowners and businesses filed a lawsuit against US utility firm Edison International (NYSE:EIX) for allegedly causing the deadly Eaton Fire due to improper maintenance of power lines, sending the company’s stock plummeting by 25%.

US steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) is reportedly preparing an all-cash bid for US Steel (NYSE:X), teaming up with Nucor (NYSE:NUE) and offering in the high $30s per share, having its previous 2023 takeover bid rejected.

The post-COVID M&A spree has finally reached China as well as the country’s top copper miner Zijin Mining (SHA:601899) is reportedly in talks to purchase a controlling interest in lithium producer Zangge Mining, in a deal worth $6.4 billion.

The cost of building Britain’s next nuclear plant, the Sizewell C project in southeast England, could require as much as $49 billion as projected costs of developer EDF have doubled compared to initial estimates, eyeing a 2029 commissioning.

Norway’s Energy Ministry awarded stakes in 53 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in its annual licensing round, slightly down compared to last year’s 62 awards, with the country’s major Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) taking a stake in 27 of them.

The government of Mali has started to enforce its own provisional order to seize all gold inventories owned by Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) at the Loulo-Gounkoto site, marking a new escalation as the cost of seized gold could reach $400 million.

The London Metal Exchange is finalizing the procedure of approving Hong Kong as a potential warehouse location for its global storage network, a long-mulled step ever since HKEx bought LME in 2012 as Hong Kong remains the gateway for mainland China.