عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Oil Set for 3% Weekly Gain on Rising Mideast Tension, Better US Outlook

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
TT
TT

Oil Set for 3% Weekly Gain on Rising Mideast Tension, Better US Outlook

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant

Oil prices edged up in Asian trade on Friday, heading for a weekly gain of more than 3%, as US jobs data calmed demand concerns and fears of a widening Middle East conflict persisted.
Brent crude futures rose 9 cents, or 0.11%, to $79.25 a barrel by 0406 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 12 cents at $76.31 per barrel.
Both Brent and WTI were set to gain more than 3% on a weekly basis.
Israeli forces stepped up airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, Palestinian medics said, in further battle with Hamas-led group as Israel braced for potential wider war in the region.
"Crude oil continued its recovery from its recent plunge as elevated geopolitical risks came into focus," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.
The killing last week of senior members of the Hamas and Hezbollah groups had raised the possibility of retaliatory strikes by Iran against Israel, stoking concerns over oil supply from the world's largest producing region.
Iran-aligned Houthi militants continued attacks this week on international shipping near Yemen, in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.
On Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of an incident near the coast of Mokha, a port city in Yemen.
Lending further support to prices, Libya's National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at its Sharara oilfield from Wednesday, the company said in a statement, adding that it had gradually reduced the field's output because of protests.
Sentiment in the United States was buoyed after data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting fears that the labor market was unraveling were overblown and easing recession concerns.
The dollar rose on the jobs data. A stronger dollar usually tends to lower oil prices, however, as buyers using other currencies have to pay more for their dollar-denominated crude.
In China, July consumer price index figures showed no sign of a pick-up in consumer demand, despite consumption-boosting incentives.
Prices rose last month at a rate slightly faster than expected, Friday's data showed, but that was largely because of weather disruptions that affected food supplies.
Markets in key oil trading hub Singapore were closed for a public holiday.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalize a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday.

The mega-project in northern Iraq will include plans to recover flared gas to boost the country's electricity production, they said.

Gas flaring refers to the polluting practice of burning off excess gas during oil drilling. It is cheaper than capturing the associated gas.

The Iraqi government and BP signed a new memorandum of understanding in London late Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and other senior ministers visit Britain to seal various trade and investment deals.

"The objective is to enhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output," Sudani's office said in a statement.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told AFP after the new accord was signed that the project would increase the four oil fields' production to up to 500,000 barrels per day from about 350,000 bpd.

"The agreement commits both parties to sign a contract in the first week of February," he said.

Ghani noted the project will also target gas flaring.

Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.

The Iraqi government has made eliminating the practice one of its priorities, with plans to curb 80 percent of flared gas by 2026 and to eliminate releases by 2028.

"It's not just a question of investing and increasing oil production... but also gas exploitation. We can no longer tolerate gas flaring, whatever the quantity," Ghani added.

"We need this gas, which Iraq currently imports from neighboring Iran. The government is making serious efforts to put an end to these imports."

Iraq is ultra-dependent on Iranian gas, which covers almost a third of Iraq's energy needs.

However, Teheran regularly cuts off its supply, exacerbating the power shortages that punctuate the daily lives of 45 million Iraqis.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate.