Oil Prices Under Pressure Despite OPEC+ Decision

Despite OPEC+ postponing its planned production increases until 2025, oil prices remain under pressure due to demand uncertainty.

In a widely anticipated move, OPEC+ postponed its planned supply increases by another quarter, now pledging to start unwinding output cuts from April 2025 onwards. This, however, was not enough to convince oil markets of a bullish narrative lurking out there, not even the postponement of the UAE’s baseline quota increase could stop ICE Brent from dipping back below $72 per barrel.

OPEC+ Delays Unwinding of Cuts Until April. OPEC+ countries agreed to postpone the start of oil production increases by three months until April 2025, simultaneously extending the full unwinding of output cuts by a year until end-2026 as the oil group confronts rising non-OPEC production.

Colombia Confirms Giant Natural Gas Find. Brazil’s state-controlled oil firm Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) said its Sirius-2 exploration well in offshore Colombia confirmed the single largest gas discovery in Colombia’s history, with the 6 TCf find boosting the country’s gas reserves by a hefty 200%.

North Sea Giants Pool Assets Together. Norway’s state-controlled major Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) and London-based major Shell (LON:SHEL) announced they would merge their UK offshore oil and gas assets into a joint venture, owned equally by both companies, aiming to complete the spin-off by end-2025.

Oilfield Services Poised for Consolidation Drive. Following widespread consolidation of upstream assets in the Permian Basin, a report by Deloitte foresees intensified M&A activity in the segment of US oilfield services, due to the fragmented nature of the market and improved regulatory outlook under Trump.

White House Finalizes Clean Energy Tax Credits. The US Treasury Department issued its final guidelines on federal tax credits for clean energy generation under the Inflation Reduction Act, making the incentive technology agnostic after years of prioritizing solar, setting the base rate at 6%.

France Is Losing Its Uranium Assets in Niger. France’s nuclear firm Orano warned that the government in Niger has taken over its Somair uranium mine, aggravating French supply concerns as Niger used to account for 15% of Orano’s production, prompting it to ramp up operations in Canada and Kazakhstan.

Mali Goes After Mining Company Executives. Tensions between the African nation of Mali and mining majors have been running high after the former issued an arrest warrant for the CEO of top gold miner Barrick Gold (TSO:ABX), accusing him of money laundering and violation of financial regulations.

Denmark’s Wind Ambitions Face Reality Check. Denmark’s latest offshore wind farm tender failed to attract any bids, dealing a painful blow to the country’s renewable ambitions after the government offered six sites with a combined capacity of 10 GW but no subsidies to sweeten the deal.

Libya to Start Licensing After 17-Year Hiatus. Aiming to lift oil production to 2 million b/d in the medium term, Libya has announced that it plans to launch its 5th licensing round, the first auction since 2007, over the upcoming months, offering blocks in at least one offshore and two onshore basins.

Jamaica Set to Become an LNG Hotspot. Global energy trading houses Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Vitol have been vying to purchase the Jamaican LNG assets of New Fortress Energy after the gas developer sought to divest Caribbean assets on the back of its recent refinancing of $2 billion worth of debt.

Hungary Wants Waiver for Russia Gas Payments. The government of Hungary has asked the United States to exempt Gazprombank from sanctions after the White House imposed new sanctions on Russia’s leading bank for energy transactions, citing its need to pay for pipeline gas imports.

Chinese Buyers Slash Canadian Canola Imports. As canola has become a prime target for Chinese retaliatory anti-dumping duties in a looming tariff war with the US and Canada, China’s importers have only bought 250,000 metric tonnes from Canada for December shipment, a third of October volumes.

India Ramps Up Steel Imports from China. India’s statistics for the first seven months of the current financial year show that the country’s steel imports from China soared to an all-time high of 1.7 million metric tonnes, a 35% year-over-year increase, as Chinese mills outcompete India’s own producers.