Oil Prices Stable Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

Speculation around OPEC+’s upcoming meeting is rife, with market consensus still anticipating a rollover of current production quotas, limiting the price volatility ahead of the weekend call. Beyond OPEC+, there have been very few notable market developments as ICE Brent continues to hover slightly above $68 per barrel, with the dearth of news caused by the US Labor Day holiday sapping the market’s risk appetite.

The US Treasury Department sanctioned Waleed al-Samarra’i, an Iraqi individual who is believed to operate a fleet of vessels (owned via Marshall Islands shell firms) carrying Iranian oil, in the latest round of sanctions against Iran’s oil industry, OilPrice.com reports.

Russia’s Gazprom and China’s CNPC have signed a legally binding memorandum to construct the long-stalled Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline, aiming for additional 50 bcm per year of gas supplies to China, however there’s still no agreement on pricing.

Chinese iron ore futures rose to ¥772 per metric tonne ($108/mt) as market participants anticipate regional authorities in Tangshan’s steel hub to lift air quality controls after the country’s WWII commemoration parade is over, greatly boosting demand.

Sudan was forced to shut down its oil production sites in the Heglig basin after a series of drone strikes from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) made safe operations impossible with two impacts this week, shuttering some 30,000 b/d of output.

The European Commission proposed a 10-year delay to the introduction of continent-wide taxes on CO2 emitted through aviation and shipping until at least 2035, as EU governments have been resisting any fuel carbon levies up until now.

Both Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) and Iraqi state oil marketer SOMO have stopped delivering term supplies of crude to India’s Nayara Energy, co-owned by Russia’s Rosneft and under EU sanctions imposed in late July, citing payment difficulties.

Norway’s national energy firm Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) agreed to pump roughly $1 billion into embattled wind developer Orsted (COP:ORSTED) as the Danish company pushes ahead with a $9.4 billion rights issue, under pressure from Trump’s anti-wind policies.

Kenya is planning to offer 10 exploration blocks since it adopted a new petroleum law in 2019, seeking to finally tap into its 1-billion-barrel reserves that remain underdeveloped after UK explorer Tullow Oil halted operations due to security concerns.

Brazil has formally asked to become a full-fledged member of the International Energy Agency, seeking to play a stronger role in global energy affairs just as its production soared to an all-time high of 3.76 million b/d in the latest data published for June 2025.

As India’s manufacturing activity posted its highest rate in 17 years, the South Asian country’s power generation has been soaring in tandem with its industrial output, rising 4% year-over-year thanks to robust coal generation and nationwide solar boom.

LNG import terminals across France could be impacted as the country’s largest energy industry trade union CGT called for a nationwide strike on 2 September, with further protests slated for 10 and 18 September, demanding higher wages.

Spain has witnessed more than 500 instances of negative-price hours in January-August 2025, more than double last year’s total after solar generation has been booming on the Iberian peninsula with capacity already exceeding 20 GW.

Angola’s 30,000 b/d Cabinda refinery has started its commissioning process with first runs expected this November, as the African country intends to keep more of its crude domestically and halve diesel and jet fuel imports by 2027.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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