Markets

Several financial institutions and agencies, including Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), have significantly reduced their oil price forecasts for 2025 and 2026.

Despite Saudi-led OPEC+ increasing output by 411K b/d for Jun., Saudi Arabia has surprisingly raised its Arab Light crude price for Asian buyers by $0.20/b over May, setting a $1.40/b premium over Oman/Dubai.

The core group of eight OPEC+ members (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman) agreed on May 3 to further accelerate the unwinding of their voluntary production cuts, increasing their combined crude quotas by 411K b/d in Jun.

ExxonMobil's first quarter 2025 results revealed a significant increase in oil and gas production, averaging 4.551MM boe/d.

Saudi Arabia and India are facing initial hurdles in their discussions regarding crude oil supply for potential joint refinery projects.

European oil refineries in the Netherlands and Germany absorbed all four cargoes of Chadian Doba crude in Apr. 2025.

The definitive shutdown of Scotland's sole oil refinery in Grangemouth on Apr. 29, 2025, signifies a considerable transformation within the UK's energy sector.

The crude oil market experienced a volatile week, heavily influenced by escalating trade tensions between the US and China, coupled with growing concerns over potential increases in oil production from the OPEC+ alliance.

Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has adjusted its official formula prices for May.

Analysts and market observers are closely watching the upcoming OPEC+ meeting, initially scheduled for May. 5, but moved forward to May 3.