Traders query how much Iranian oil can really return to market

This week’s US-Iran talks, the first organized attempt of the two sides to move beyond the current transitional ceasefire period, have eased the market’s concerns about global supply disruptions, with ICE Brent edging slightly lower to $77-78 per barrel.

Trump’s announced 60-day waiver on all Iranian crude and product exports has failed to trigger a price collapse, with market participants still wondering if there’s enough risk appetite (and buying interest) from non-Chinese refiners.

The Trump administration has authorized transactions related to Iran’s oil and refined products through August 21, easing decades-old sanctions to allow any buyer (US-based firms included) to buy Iranian as Washington and Tehran continue their talks in Switzerland.

Aligning with the Trump administration’s rising pressure on the island nation of Cuba, the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of oil major ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) to seek compensation for the 1959 nationalization of its assets, reversing its earlier 2024 decision, OilPrice.com reports.

Ukraine’s drone strikes and ensuing panic buying have prompted several Russian regions to introduce restrictions on retail sales, with gasoline shortages particularly acute in the Crimea, prompting fuel sale limits and the banning of mass outdoor activities.

Indian imports of propane and butane are expected to recover to near-normal levels in June as the country’s buyers expect a record delivery of 1.1 million tonnes of LPG from the US, easing the cooking gas crisis that overwhelmed the Asian nation this spring.

Qatar’s national energy company QatarEnergy confirmed the loss of 13 lives after its Barzan gas treatment plant saw a giant blaze, debilitating some 1.4 BCf/d of capacity, equivalent to 8% of the country’s total gas supply and a notable source of condensate.

Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mexico’s NOC Pemex for strategic cooperation in oil and gas projects, widely seen as the deepwater offshore specialist’s entry into Mexican deepwater projects.

China is preparing a second import terminal to handle sanctioned LNG supplies from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, with the PipeChina-operated Longkou LNG terminal in the country’s eastern Shandong province expected to take first delivery soon.

Saudi Arabia’s crude exports fell to just 3.990 million b/d in April, down almost 1 million b/d from March as per JODI data released this week, marking the lowest pace of outflows from the Arabian kingdom since it started publishing official data.

A seasonally weakening steel consumption outlook and rising global supply continue to put downward pressure on iron ore prices, with futures on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange falling to a 12-month low of ¥738 per metric tonne ($109/mt).

Plunging levels of the River Rhine are gradually impeding intra-continental flows across Europe as this month’s heatwave continues to disrupt economic activity, with German water levels expected to drop to just 33 inches by Friday.

Indonesia’s Energy Ministry has directed the country’s miners to urgently boost domestic coal production to mitigate the impact of rolling blackouts, with Jakarta demanding that mining firms supply an additional 2.7 million tonnes per month to power plants.

According to S&P Global, China’s top economic planner NDRC intends to keep exports of refined products restricted in July, only allowing outflows of transportation fuels to regional neighbors (Australia, Vietnam) that remain import-dependent.

China’s Commerce Ministry has added US-based miners MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ:USAR), as well as 8 other smaller entities, to its list of export controls linked to the US military, in retaliation for a similar move from the White House.

Anticipating a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz over the upcoming days, Iraqi oil producers have ramped up crude oil output at the country’s southern oilfields to 2.1 million b/d, doubling the production rate compared to April-May levels.

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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