RIYADH: Oil benchmark Brent fell on Wednesday, reversing some of the gains made after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they would extend and deepen output cuts into August, as concerns over a global economic slowdown weighed on market sentiment.
Brent was down 46 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $75.79 a barrel at 10:05 a.m. Saudi time, after climbing $1.60 on Tuesday.
On the other hand, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $70.86 a barrel, up $1.07, or 1.5 percent.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, said on Monday it would extend its voluntary output cut of 1 million barrels per day to August, while Russia and Algeria volunteered to lower their August output and export levels by 500,000 bpd and 20,000 bpd, respectively.
Italy’s Eni wants to reduce oil exposure with asset sales
Italy’s Eni aims to reduce its exposure to oil in favor of natural gas and non-fossil fuels in part through asset sales, the energy group’s CEO Claudio Descalzi said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Rome presentation of a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Descalzi added he could not comment on potential oil asset sales in the near term.
Eni plans to generate €1 billion ($1.1 billion) of net proceeds from the balance between asset sales and acquisitions between 2023 and 2026, the company said in its business plan.
Last month, Eni announced the sale of some of its oil assets in Congo, just a few days after saying it had agreed to buy Neptune Energy.
Descalzi said the acquisition would reduce Eni’s average carbon intensity, since Neptune is focused on natural gas. The deal also provides an opportunity to expand the carbon capture and storage business of Eni’s Vaar business in northern Europe.
“This is why the acquisition of Neptune is not in contrast with the energy transition path,” Descalzi said.
Eni will attend the COP28 climate summit later this year in Dubai, participating directly in the event for the first time, the CEO said.
Russia’s seaborne diesel exports rise in June
Russia’s seaborne diesel and gasoil exports in June rose by 13 percent from a month earlier to about 3.6 million tons as seasonal refineries maintenance eased, data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.
Idle primary oil refining capacity for June was estimated at 4.029 million tons, down from May, and may fall to 1.683 million tons in July, according to the data.
Since the full EU embargo on Russian oil products took effect on Feb. 5, Turkiye remains the main destination for Russian diesel and gasoil seaborne exports, which amounts to about 1.47 million tons shipped in June and almost 6.6 million tons in 2023 to date, Refinitiv data indicated.
Last month, nearly 350,000 tons of diesel loaded in Russian Baltic ports were heading to Brazil, according to shipping data.
Russian diesel exports to African countries totaled about 750,000 million tons in June, mainly to Morocco, Ghana and Togo.
Another 250,000 tons of diesel from Russia in June was destined for ship-to-ship transfers near the Greek port of Kalamata, Refinitiv data added.
The final destinations for these cargoes are not yet known. Most of those cargoes end up in Turkiye and Middle Eastern countries, according to market sources.
The UAE was among the top destinations for diesel exports from Russian ports in June with about 150,000 tons after nearly 270,000 tons in May, data showed.
(With input from Reuters)
