Progress toward an Iranian nuclear deal has thrown the spotlight onto a sizeable cache of crude held by Tehran that could be swiftly dispatched to buyers in the event an agreement gets hammered out.
Oil prices have fallen to levels that don’t reflect the risk of disruptions to Russian exports or the ability of China to keep the coronavirus pandemic under control, according to the world’s biggest independent crude trader.
The Middle East and North Africa region is at “growing risk” of oil supply disruption, a new analysis from Verisk Maplecroft has reported.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) fired missiles into a Kurdistan city, the autonomous region of Iraq, on March 12.
Emissions of planet-warming methane from oil, gas and coal production are significantly higher than world governments claim, according to the International Energy Agency.
Oil headed for a weekly loss as investors weighed the crisis over Ukraine and the possibility that Iran’s nuclear deal may be revived.
Oil was steady in Asian trading after a surprise decline in US crude inventories tightened the market further amid signs of strong demand in the world’s biggest economy.
President Joe Biden spoke on Wednesday with King Salman of Saudi Arabia about ensuring stable energy prices as well as Mideast security, in light of recent attacks by Yemeni rebels, and the status of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.
As they strain to restore oil production, OPEC and its allies are being left with a diminishing buffer of spare supplies -- potentially setting up crude prices for a sizzling summer.
Iran has insisted that the United States and its allies should promise to allow Tehran to export its crude oil as negotiations on restoring the tattered nuclear deal resume in Vienna.
More than 190 countries signed on the dotted line of the Paris Agreement in 2015, forming a new global consensus on the imperative to halt rising temperatures. The collective results since then haven’t been enough.
Oil stored in ships has been piling up off key Asian ports as a crackdown in China on private crude oil processors has blunted purchases and disrupted flows, including some US-sanctioned barrels from Iran.
Fuel shortages are taking their toll in Lebanon, including on the UK embassy, which is withdrawing some staff.
The US government has sanctioned an Omani businessman for his participation in oil smuggling for Iran, with the proceeds going to destabilise the region.
Iran’s oil comeback, already taking longer than many traders expected, will be further complicated by last week’s deadly drone attack on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, which the US, UK and Israel all blamed on Tehran.
The UK has accused Iran of being behind an attack on a tanker offshore Oman on July 29 and is working with partners on a response.
Iran has opened a new export terminal in Jask, in the south of Iran, allowing it to bypass the Straits of Hormuz.
Alfa Laval has settled a complaint from the US about exporting storage tank cleaning units to Iran.
The expected return of Iranian oil to the market as US sanctions are likely to be lifted over the next year will offer new opportunities for former buyers in Asia to reshuffle their oil import mixes. Significantly, the return of Iranian barrels will trigger a fierce battle among global suppliers for market share raising the risk of price drops, reported Fitch Solutions.
Oil held near $74 a barrel as investors focused on an OPEC+ meeting this week that may pave the way for more supply from the group.
Oil slumped as a rising dollar pushed financial investors, who had piled into commodities to guard against inflation, toward the exits for other sectors.
Indonesia released on Friday an Iranian-flagged ship it had seized four months ago over suspected illegal transfer of crude oil, an Indonesian official and Iranian state media said on Saturday.
“This time is different” may be the most dangerous words in business: billions of dollars have been lost betting that history won’t repeat itself. And yet now, in the oil world, it looks like this time really will be.
Iran is preparing to ramp up global oil sales as talks to lift U.S. sanctions show signs of progress. But even if a deal is struck, the flow of additional crude into the market may be gradual.
Iran’s Petropars Ltd. will be awarded a $1.78 billion contract by the National Iranian Oil Co. to develop the giant Farzad-B gas field that was previously intended to be tapped by a group of Indian companies.