The September Brent futures flat price has had a fairly flat afternoon, with the exception being its dip to just below $84.50/bbl from $85.10/bbl between 14:30 BST and 14:45 BST. Subsequently, it retraced back above $85/bbl, but then softened to around $84.90/bbl, where it sits as of 17:05 BST (time of writing). The UK and various EU states are set to target the Russian oil fleet with more checks, with potential measures including sanctions on Russian shadow vessels. ConocoPhillips still sees its $22.5 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil Corp. being completed by Q4 despite facing an extended anti-trust review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). CNOOC said on Monday that achieved an exploration breakthrough in Bohai Bay, with a discovery well tested to produce about 210 cubic metres of crude oil and nearly 1 million cubic metres of natural gas. Finally, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that the global oil market will be balanced in the second half of 2024 and thereafter, thanks to the OPEC+ deal on production supply. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month spreads are $0.95/bbl and $3.89/bbl, respectively.
