Oil
Trump–Xi talks define over oil markets with Brent selling $65 per barrel
The Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea is set to define the market sentiment of this week, with ICE Brent seeing only minor downward corrections to $65 per barrel.
So far there has been little physical disruption from sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil, with the oil markets still in wait-and-see mode to gauge the crude production and export impact of US sanctions, OilPrice.com reports.
Russia’s No.2 oil producer Lukoil is considering selling its international assets in response to sanctions from the Trump administration, adding that it could ask for a wind-down extension from the Treasury Department in case planned divestments get delayed.
Iraqi crude exports are continuing uninterrupted, according to the country’s oil minister Hayan Abdel Ghani, after a storage tank fire at the 500,000 b/d Zubair oil field left two workers dead and disrupted pipeline flows to the Basrah export terminal.
The 615,000 b/d Al Zour refinery operated by Kuwait’s state oil firm КРС is reported to have halted several key units after a fire incident on October 21, curbing some 150,000 b/d of diesel output and prompting the NOC to issue a gasoline import tender.
Indian refiners have stopped placing orders on new Russian purchases as they await instructions from the country’s government, with October imports coming in at 1.7 million b/d, some 50,000 b/d lower than this year’s January-September average.
Venezuela’s PDVSA has suspended all energy-related cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago, including the giant 4.2 ICf Dragon gas field that straddles the two countries’ maritime zones, accusing them of becoming the ‘US empire’s aircraft carrier.
Namibia’s recently elected President Netumba Nandi-Ndaitwah removed energy minister Natangwe Ithete from his position after just 7 months in the job and took over the role herself, denting hopes of reaching first oil from Venus and Mopane by 2030.
As eight OPEC+ nations are set to meet to discuss December 2025 production quotas, media reports indicate that the Saudi Arabia-led group is leaning towards a modest 137,000 b/a month-over-month increase, avoiding abrupt moves.
French oil major TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) has finally lifted force majeure on its planned 13 mtpa Mozambique LNG project after a 4-year hiatus triggered by an Islamic State attack on the Cabo Delgado region, eyeing first gas in 2029.
Canada’s top miner Cameco (TSO:CCO) and investment firm Brookfield Asset Management have agreed to invest $80 billion to build new nuclear reactors across the US, teaming up with the Trump administration to reinvigorate jointly owned Westinghouse.
China’s coal mining industry is expecting a further tightening of Beijing’s production curbs, imposed in late August as a means to limit incessant supply increases, as the country’s regulators have asked coal producers to keep prices ‘reasonable’.
Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote announced he would seek to expand his 650,000 b/d refinery outside of Lagos, doubling the plant’s capacity to 1.4 million b/d by 2028 even if current utilization rates are only around 50-60%.
The International Gas Union’s latest annual report shows that China continues to boost its underground natural gas storage capacity, adding 6 bcm over the past year and now ranking 6th globally behind the United States and Russia.
Optimism about a China-US trade agreement lifted copper prices to their highest since May 2024 this week, touching $11,094 per metric tonne on Monday, only for traders to book profits and send the LME three-month contract back to $10,950/mt.
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