Oil Updates — Crude gains; IEA says world needs Russian oil; Schlumberger rebrands itself as SLB

International benchmark Brent crude futures gained 27 cents to $93.53 per barrel by 0415 GMT, after falling 0.3 percent in the previous session. (Shutterstock)
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RIYADH: Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the US dollar eased against major peers but gains were limited by worries of slowing global fuel demand growth amid bearish economic data from key oil-importing economies such as China.

International benchmark Brent crude futures gained 27 cents to $93.53 per barrel by 0415 GMT, after falling 0.3 percent in the previous session. 

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for December delivery rose 36 cents to $84.94 per barrel, after a previous decline of 0.6 percent.

World still needs Russian oil to flow even with price cap: IEA’s Birol

The world will still need Russian oil to flow to the market despite a price cap, with between 80 percent to 90 percent an “encouraging level” to meet demand, the head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said on Tuesday.

Details of a price cap on Russian oil still has many details to iron out, Birol said during the Singapore International Energy Week. The cap is designed to limit Russia’s oil income in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Birol also said the IEA expects renewable power additions to increase by close to 400 gigawatts in 2022, up by 20 percent from the previous year.

Oil giant Schlumberger rebrands itself as SLB 

Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services provider, is rebranding itself with a new name, color scheme and logo that underscores its ambitions for a lower-carbon future, the company said on Monday.

The nearly 100-year-old firm, originally named after its founding family, has become a giant in oilfield services and equipment such as drilling and subsurface analysis. But it has shed old-line products and recast itself as a digital services provider and supporter of cleaner energies.

The rebranding is not a shift away from fossil fuels, CEO Olivier Le Peuch said in an interview. But it is a nod to how the renamed SLB can apply its skills to develop lower carbon businesses, many of which received a financial boost from the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Known in the industry as “big blue,” SLB adopts a lighter blue color and swooping logo that reflects what Le Peuch said signifies the carbon dioxide emissions abatement curve.

“We believe that we have an opportunity in selected markets and selected domains to innovate and scale solutions for clean energy,” Le Peuch said, noting the renamed SLB can leverage its capabilities in areas such as subsurface analysis to support emerging technologies like carbon capture and sequestration.

(With input from Reuters)