OPEC to issue May oil market report at 1200 GMT
(Reporting by Alex Lawler, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Business
21 minutes ago
- Gulf Business
Space42 secures $695.5m to launch next-gen UAE satellites
Image: Getty Images The financing represents a pivotal step in Space42's strategy to establish critical connectivity capabilities across multiple orbits. The facility, arranged by Crédit Agricole CIB, Santander CIB, Societe Generale, and Natixis and backed by Bpifrance Assurance Export, demonstrates the company's continued appeal to leading international banks and will fund the satellites scheduled for launch in 2027 and 2028. The facility provides Space42 with cost-effective, long-term financing aligned with its satellite development timeline, whilst strengthening the company's liquidity position to support future growth initiatives. 'The Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 programme is underpinned by a 17-year, $5.1bn government contract commencing in 2026 and advances our goal to become the trusted leader in secure connectivity by providing multi-path critical connectivity solutions,' said Andrew Cole, chief financial officer of Space42. 'This strategic pillar focuses on enhancing secure communication capabilities across defense and civil domains through multi-orbit satellite networks that ensure uninterrupted connectivity for mission-critical applications. The ECA financing structure optimises our cost of funding and provides increased financial flexibility to execute our growth agenda.' Read: Advanced satellite capabilities Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 feature software-defined architecture with fully flexible payloads that can be reconfigured in orbit. This technology enables real-time optimisation of coverage, bandwidth, and frequency allocation to meet evolving operational requirements across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia. The satellites will complement and eventually replace Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2, launched in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
ACWA enters key deals to export green hydrogen, renewables to Europe
ACWA Power has signed agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with several international partners, aimed at creating a green hydrogen and renewable energy export value chain between Saudi Arabia and Europe. The agreements were signed in the presence of Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The signing of these agreements and MoUs comes as part of Saudi Arabia's role in enhancing global logistics connectivity and its leadership in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, driven by its strategic geographical location that connects East and West, said a statement. The agreements and MoUs were signed during the Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen Export Workshop, led by ACWA Power under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy. The event brought together high-level government representatives from Saudi Arabia, Greece, France, and Germany, alongside executives from global specialized companies and leading national institutions. The workshop showcased the kingdom's progress in diversifying its energy mix and promoting regional and international integration in clean energy—reinforcing its position as a reliable global supplier of energy and a key leader in the economic corridor connecting East and West. A multi-party MoU was signed by ACWA Power with leading European companies, including Edison (Italy), TotalEnergies Renewables SAS (France), Zhero Europe (Italy), and EnBW (Germany). This MoU establishes a collaborative framework to assess the market demand and feasibility of developing large-scale renewable energy projects dedicated for export in Saudi Arabia and the creation of a corridor to deliver generated electricity to Europe, ACWA Power said. ACWA Power also signed individual MoUs aimed to strengthen the relationship with key players involved in the development of electricity corridors including the independent technical consultant CESI (Italy) and leading HVDC technology and cable providers, including Prysmian (Italy), GE Vernova, Siemens Energy (Germany), and Hitachi (France). These agreements aim to develop advanced energy transmission corridors that enhance supply reliability and the efficiency of cross-border energy infrastructure. Moreover, a Joint Development Agreement was concluded with German partner EnBW (Energie Baden-Württemberg AG) for collaboration on the first phase of the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub, which is planned to be ready for commercial operations by 2030. Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub is foreseen as a fully integrated facility with its own captive electricity generation from renewable sources, desalination plants to feed its hydrogen electrolysis and ammonia conversion facilities, with a dedicated export terminal. The project leverages Saudi Arabia's unique potential to develop renewable energy at competitive rates, and to serve global industrial demand with clean energy solutions. Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( RIYADH
Zawya
5 hours ago
- Zawya
OPEC, IEA crude oil demand forecasts may be too cautious: Russell
(The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) LAUNCESTON, Australia - A key difference in crude oil demand forecasts between this year and 2024 is that both OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) are being far more cautious in their growth expectations. While the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the wider OPEC+ group publicly maintain that strong demand and a tight market justify increasing oil output, the numbers in their monthly report are more circumspect. It is largely the same for the IEA, which forecast in its July monthly report that global crude demand will grow by 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, the slowest pace since 2009. OPEC's July report is slightly more bullish, forecasting oil demand will increase by 1.29 million bpd in 2025, with 1.16 million bpd coming from countries outside the developed economies of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The forecasts from both the IEA and OPEC are now so cautious that they actually run the risk of being too pessimistic, especially in the top-importing region of Asia. This is in stark contrast to last year, when OPEC in particular was massively bullish in its demand forecasts even as Asia's crude oil imports were declining. There is, of course, a difference between demand forecasts and imports, but the level of seaborne imports is the key driver of crude prices, given it is this market, which accounts for about 40% of global daily oil demand, that sets the global prices. In its July 2024 monthly report OPEC forecast that Asia's non-OECD oil demand would rise by 1.34 million bpd in 2024, with China accounting for 760,000 bpd of this. However, Asia's crude imports actually declined in 2024, dropping by 370,000 bpd to 26.51 million bpd, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research. It was the first decline in Asia's oil imports since 2021, at a time when demand was hit by the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The gap between OPEC's bullish forecasts for much of 2024 and the reality of weak crude imports by Asia may have tempered the exporter group's forecasts for 2025. The question is whether they are now actually being too cautious. ASIA RECOVERY OPEC's July monthly report forecast that non-OECD Asia's oil demand will rise by 610,000 bpd in 2025, with China the main contributor at 210,000 and India, Asia's second-biggest crude importer, seeing an increase of 160,000 bpd. The IEA said in its July report that it expects China's total oil product demand to rise by 81,000 bpd in 2025, while India is expected to see a gain of 92,000 bpd. Total non-OECD Asia is forecast to see demand rise by 352,000 bpd. Both the OPEC and the IEA numbers seem modest, especially since Asia's crude imports actually saw relatively strong growth in the first half of 2025. Asia's imports in the first six months of the year were 27.25 million bpd, an increase of 510,000 bpd from the same period last year, according to calculations based on LSEG data. Imports increased in the second quarter, especially in China, as refiners took advantage of the weakening trend in oil prices that prevailed at the time cargoes were being arranged. It is likely that some of the increase in oil imports was used to build inventories, a process that may extend into the second half if oil prices remain soft as OPEC+ increases output amid the economic uncertainty created by U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing global trade war. If there is one lesson to be learnt from the difference between this year's circumspect oil demand forecasts and last year's buoyant estimates, it is that price plays a far bigger role in demand, especially in Asia. Part of the reason Asia's crude imports fell short of forecasts in 2024 was because prices remained elevated for much of the year, reaching above $92 a barrel in April and only briefly dropping below $70 in September. This year, prices have been softer, with benchmark Brent futures peaking at just over $82 a barrel in January, and trading as low as $58.50 in May. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn and X. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
