The Aug Brent futures flat price has seen a fairly unremarkable morning, trading in a range of $79.85-80/bbl although continuing to see resistance at the now hallowed $80/bbl marker. Nonetheless, the contract again edged close to $80/bbl around 11:20 BST (time of writing). Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, criticised Goldman Sachs’ bearish narrative on the oil market following OPEC+’s cuts and claimed that the bank used numbers “that are wrong”. OPEC+ further tried to assure markets that the group can pause and even reverse production should it decide the market is not strong enough. Chinese customs data showcased that crude oil imports were little changed in the first five months of the year vs this time in 2023. Investment in major renewable energy projects in Australia retraced higher in Q1’24 compared to the previous year with a total of A$1.1 billion ($733.5 million) invested in large-scale renewable energy projects in Q1’24. Oil and gas prospects believe South Korea’s eastern coast holds “great potential” following the discovery of a site around Pohang, where South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol believes prospects could find up to 14 billion barrels of oil and gas. Finally, the front-month and six-month Brent futures spreads are currently at $0.37/bbl and $2.47/bbl, respectively.
