The July Brent Futures flat price has had a mixed afternoon. Between 12:00 BST and 13:30 BST it rose steadily to a high of $84.30/bbl before reversing this trend and declining to a low of $83.10/bbl at 15:45 BST. Since then it has slightly recovered to its current level of $83.25/bbl at 17:15 (time of writing). Britain’s oil and gas regulator awarded 31 new hydrocarbon exploration licenses as part of efforts to extend production in the North Sea basin, hoping to add around 545mbbls by 2050, angering environmental groups. Russian oil product exports have slumped by 360kbbls/d m-o-m to a post-pandemic low as Ukrainian drone strikes have resumed, which have already left around 600kbbls/d of refining capacity offline. Occidental Petroleum is exploring a sale of Permian assets worth an estimated $1 billion, with this divestment linked to its broader plan to reduce its $18.5 billion debt pile. A BP-Eni joint venture and Rhino Resources Namibia have signed an agreement for a 42.5% interest in the country’s offshore Orange Basin, with Portugal’s Galp Energia saying it had found at least 10 billion barrels in the largely unexplored area. Finally, ExxonMobil has completed its $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. The front and 6-month spreads are $0.56/bbl and $3.20/bbl, respectively.
