Oil Markets On Edge As OPEC+ Meeting Approaches
After charging to $80 per barrel on Tuesday, oil prices fell back on news of inventory builds and extra supply, and now markets are nervously waiting for the OPEC+ meeting
Oil Prices Today, Friday, October 1st, 2021
As OPEC+ meets once again next Monday, speculation has been rife regarding the oil group’s intentions to bring more crude into the market. Whilst prices are still close to the $80 per barrel mark, with Brent trading around $78 per barrel and WTI trending around $74.5 per barrel, the first US inventory stock build since late July and news of OPEC+ laggards (Russia and Kazakhstan) ramping up supply has provided some downside for prices. At the same time, exorbitantly high gas prices driving gas-to-oil switching in Asia and the US dollar weakening are largely offsetting those factors.
Spot LNG Price Surge Continues.
Increasing purchasing activity in East Asia amid China’s power demand crunch and continuing supply tightness have pushed spot LNG prices to $34.5 per mmBtu in Asia, the highest on record.
Germany Merges Gas Trading Hubs.
Germany launched a nationwide gas trading hub called THE (Trading Hub Europe), having merged two of its hubs – Gaspool and NetConnect – to be able to compete with the Dutch TTF and British NBP.
Embattled and indebted, PEMEX Raises Oilmen Salaries.
Following a series of negotiations with its oil workers union (to which most PEMEX employees belong), the Mexican national oil company indicated it agreed to increase oil workers’ wages by 3.4% and their benefits by 1.76%, despite its debt spiraling out of control.
Albemarle Buys into China’s Processing.
US-based lithium producer Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) agreed to buy China’s Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials for $200 million, a lithium converter that is on the verge of launching its 25,000 tons per annum processing plant, in a bid to increase its foothold in the world’s largest demand center.
Russia’s LUKOIL Wants More Azerbaijan.
Longtime interested in expanding within Azerbaijan, Russia’s largest private oil producer LUKOIL (MCX:LKOH) agreed to buy a 25% stake in the Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula (SWAP) project from BP, only several weeks after the UK-based firm spudded its first exploration well at North Khali.
Wind Blows Again in the North Sea.
Despite European gas prices hitting several consecutive all-time highs and nearing €100 per MWh, coal-fired generation has decreased w-o-w in Germany as wind generation moved back into its normal range, averaging 11 GWh so far this week, a 10% increase year-on-year.
CNOOC to Boost Ownership of Buzios Field.
Brazil’s national oil companyPetrobras (NYSE:PBR) is in talks with China’s CNOOC (HK:0883) for a deal that would see the Chinese firm buy another 5% stake in the Latin American country’s second-largest Buzios field for $2.08 billion.