The August Brent futures flat price has had a relatively flat morning, trading between $85/bbl and $85.40/bbl, aside from a brief fall at 08:45 BST to $84.95/bbl. The price has settled comfortably at $85.25/bbl as of 11:15 BST (time of writing). According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, fossil fuel use rose to record highs in 2023, led primarily by a post-COVID rebound of coal and oil consumption in China, which saw global primary energy consumption grow by 2% and global oil consumption rise by over 2.5mb/d to 100.2mb/d. Fossil fuels made up 81.5% of the global energy mix, slightly down from the 82% seen in 2022. Fires broke out at two Russian fuel depots in the Tambov region on Thursday after suspected drone attacks. Whilst strikes on large fuel depots have intensified in recent days, attacks on refiners have temporarily subsided. Additionally, Nigeria’s Aiteo has shut down all oil production at its 50kb/d Nembe Creek facility after detecting a leak. Finally, the major oil news of today will be the EIA’s US inventory stats release at 15:30 BST, which was delayed by 24 hours due to the US’ Juneteenth National Holiday yesterday. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month spreads are $0.80/bbl and $3.66/bbl, respectively.
