US President Joe Biden and the World Bank are worried global oil prices could surge even higher if conflict in the Middle East escalates, as the Israel-Gaza war continues and as US and UK attacks on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen attempt to blunt their ability to target commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Crude prices spiked more than 4% before ebbing somewhat after the allies launched deadly strikes following weeks of disruptive rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping
At the COP28 summit in Dubai, nations agreed to move away from fossil fuels.
Natural gas, labeled a “transitional fuel” at the conference, is experiencing a surge that is unlikely to slow any time soon.
Despite having a cleaner image than other fossil fuels, there are still concerns over the environmental impact of expanding the natural gas industry.
Analysts: oil prices are likely to remain around current levels this year.
OPEC+ producers now have sufficient spare capacity to potentially counter extreme market tightness and disruptions to oil flows that could result from geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
As of November 2023, the OPEC+ alliance held 5.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of spare oil production capacity—or about 5% of global demand.
Shipping disruptions across the Red Sea threaten global trade after major shippers, such as Maersk and others, have rerouted vessels.
As of Monday, QatarEnergy, one of the world’s largest LNG exporters has stopped shipping cargoes through the Red Sea.
Possible delays or disruptions of LNG shipments from Qatar are not a concern to European traders yet.
National average gasoline prices rose 0.6 cents from a week ago, hitting $3.04 on Sunday.
The national average price for diesel in the U.S. has seen a 2-cent drop in the last week, now at $3.89 per gallon.
GasBuddy: the escalating situation in the Red Sea created significant volatility.
Qatar paused sending liquefied natural gas tankers through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after US-led airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen raised risks in the vital waterway.
Speakers participating during a finance panel at the Libya Energy&Economic Summit (LEES) this week shared that the country’s planned licensing rounds – for domestic companies as well as an international tender – will be launched soon, in line with national targets to more than double oil production.
API President: “American voters are watching.”.
The Biden administration had indeed been busy trying to curb oil and gas exploration as much as possible, with the culmination coming late last year when the federal government held the last oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico for the next two years.
At the same time, however, the White House gave the go-ahead to the Willow oil project in Alaska.
Norway has been betting on the continued development of its oil and gas resources and has raised its natural gas production over the past year.
Overall, Norway’s oil and gas production was slightly lower than expected in 2023, largely due to unplanned and extended maintenance shutdowns at multiple fields.
Investments in 2023 and 2024 are rising more than expected at this time last year due to high activity, a weaker Norwegian currency, and growing cost.