Oil rises 2% during Jackson Hole Fed meeting

WTI crude rose more than 2% as the Fed held its meeting in Jackson Hole. Stocks, bonds and gold prices rose during the meeting as the dollar lost some of its strength.

Oil prices were capped this week, recovering from the frenzy seen in the first two weeks of August, with ICE Brent settling in a narrow band between $76 and $78 a barrel. Overall sentiment improved after notes from the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting indicated that September would be the most likely date for a long-awaited interest rate cut. If Jackson Hole doesn’t disappoint, the macro economy could lift oil even higher.

Houthis attack Greek oil tanker. A Greek-owned Suezmax tanker carrying Iraqi Basrah crude is adrift in the Red Sea after it was attacked by Houthi militias who claimed the operating company had ties to Israel, with the EU naval mission calling it a danger to navigation and environment.

US Coal Megamerger Creates New Champion. Major U.S. coal producers Arch Resources (NYSE:ARCH) and Consol Energy (NYSE:CEIX) will merge in an all-stock deal to create a mining giant valued at more than $5 billion, boosting export capacity of 25 mtpa in two separate shipping terminals. .

Canadian rail strike ends in federal arbitration. A Canadian rail strike that began Thursday was forcibly halted by the federal government after it forced unions and rail companies CPKC and CN into binding arbitration under section 107 of the Canada Labor Code.

Related: Regulatory challenges force Equinor to halt offshore wind project in Vietnam

Oil majors have left war-torn South Sudan. With Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas pulling out of South Sudan due to the ongoing civil war, the country’s state-owned Nile Petroleum will take ownership of its assets in the country, once producing more than 150,000 b/d in six license blocks.

Chevron Eyes Australian Carbon Capture. US oil major Chevron (NYSE:CVX) received a permit to evaluate an area of ​​approximately 8,500 km² in the offshore territory of Western Australia for potential CO₂ storage projects, to be captured from its Wheatstone and Gorgon LNG liquefaction plants.

Czech refinery closes due to WWII bomb. The Czech Republic’s Litvinov refinery, operated by PKN Orlen, halted production after an unexploded World War II was found in a remote part of the plant, with preliminary estimates suggesting the forced shutdown could last up to 2-3 weeks .

EU gas storage reaches strategic threshold. Underground natural gas storage sites in the EU reached 90% of capacity this week, holding 1,025 TWh more than two months ahead of schedule, with Central and Eastern Europe recording the highest fill rates, while Latvia and Denmark lagged behind in the region.

Environmentalists are suing the British government. Environmental group Oceana UK is suing the UK government for issuing 31 exploration licenses in May as part of its latest round of offshore licences, saying authorities failed to assess the projects’ environmental impact on marine life.

Mexico rules out oil policy modernization. Mexico’s incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum has ruled out a reversal of oil policy from the Nieto-era partnerships between private producers and state oil firm Pemex, despite a dramatic 12 percent drop in oil production during AMLO’s six-year term , down to a low of 1.48 million b/d.

Egypt vows to get its Mojo back. Egypt’s government has vowed to return the country’s oil and gas production to normal levels from 2025, after a dramatic drop in gas production from the offshore Zohr field, which prompted the North African country to import LNG and fuel oil to meet demand energetic.

Russia delays key LNG plant. Russian LNG specialist Novatek has delayed the start of the third train of Arctic LNG 2 from 2026 to 2028 as sanctions have complicated the purchase of Chinese-built liquefaction platforms and gas carriers, potentially aiming to move future plants to ice-free ports .

Venezuela fires dozens of people over political dissent. More than a hundred employees of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and the Oil Ministry have been fired after failing to support incumbent President Maduro at rallies and contesting the official results of the July 28 presidential vote.

California’s solar subsidies cost billions. According to the California Public Utilities Commission, the cost of the Golden State’s residential solar subsidy would be $8.5 billion annually, mostly borne by customers who don’t have rooftop panels because they pay fixed utility costs such as be maintenance.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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