Oil Updates — Saudi Arabia may slash October crude prices; Musk says world still needs oil and gas

RIYADH: Oil rose almost 1 percent on Monday on receding fears of an imminent output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+ and conflict in Libya helped to offset a strong US dollar and a dire outlook for US growth. 

Saudi Arabia last week raised the possibility of production cuts, which sources said could coincide with a boost in supply from Iran should it clinch a nuclear deal with the West.

Brent crude rose 55 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $101.54 a barrel by 1025 GMT, extending last week’s 4.4 percent gain. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 62 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $93.68 after rising by 2.5 percent last week.

Saudi Arabia may slash October crude prices 

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia could slash October prices for most crude grades it sells to Asia after a plunge in spot premiums as tepid fuel demand and increasing arbitrage cargoes put pressure on oil prices in the region.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco could cut the official selling price for its flagship Arab Light crude by about $4.50 a barrel in October, according to five refining sources surveyed by Reuters on Aug. 29.

Musk talks about oil and gas

The world must continue to extract oil and gas in order to sustain civilization, while also developing sustainable sources of energy, Tesla founder Elon Musk told reporters at a conference in Norway on Monday.

“Realistically, I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilization will crumble,” Musk said on the sidelines of an energy conference in the southern city of Stavanger.

Asked if Norway should continue to drill for oil and gas, Musk said: “I think some additional exploration is warranted at this time.”

“One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy,” he said. “That will take some decades to complete.”

He said offshore wind power generation in the North Sea, combined with stationary battery packs, could become a key source of energy. “It could provide a strong, sustainable energy source in winter,” he said.

Sinopec says Russian oil imports a small share of total

The president of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. said imports of Russian oil made up a small portion of the firm’s total imports in the first half of the year.

Sinopec, the world’s largest refiner by capacity, reported interim net income that surged 10.4 percent to a record 43.53 billion yuan ($6.30 billion) as strong oil and gas prices outweighed weakened domestic fuel sales.

Norway’s Equinor mulls sale of stake in Statfjord field

Norway’s Equinor is considering selling a 28 percent stake in the Statfjord field, which straddles the Norwegian and British continental shelves, alongside minority stakes in several satellite fields, a presentation seen by Reuters showed.

The company has hired US investment bank Houlihan Lokey to advise on the sale, which could fetch up to $500 million, a source familiar with the sale told Reuters.

Equinor also plans to sell minority stakes in the connected fields Statfjord North, Statfjord East and Sygna, the presentation showed.

Statfjord has been producing oil and gas for more than 40 years and by the end of 2021 still had 107 million barrels of oil equivalent left, about half of which are gas reserves.

(With input from Reuters)