The September Brent Futures contract has seen a mixed morning, trading from $84.30/bbl at 08:00 BST up to a high of $85.26/bbl at 10:25 BST before retracing down slightly to print at $84.86/bbl at the time of writing (11:15 BST). In headlines, BP has paused new offshore wind projects, refocusing on its core oil and gas business, according to a Reuters report quoting unnamed sources of the company. The move comes after previous CEO Bernard Looney was ousted earlier this year after an internal scandal, and renewable projects commenced by BP were failing to deliver expected profits. Meanwhile, BP has reduced its oil and gas output reduction target from 40% to 25% by 2030 due to the energy market disruptions from the Ukraine conflict. In other news, investment firm Carlyle Group is planning significant ventures in Egypt’s oil and gas sector to enhance domestic production and establish Egypt as a Mediterranean energy hub. Carlyle recently agreed to acquire a portfolio of gas-weighted assets from Energean plc, spanning Italy, Egypt, and Croatia, with an expected production of 47 kb/d. The deal includes significant assets like Cassiopea, Italy’s largest gas field, and Abu Qir, a major gas hub in Egypt. The market is eyeing US economic indicators today, including durable goods data, Q1-24 GDP growth figures, with a consensus of 1.4% growth, down from 3.4% in Q4-23, and initial jobless claims, all publishing at 13:30 BST. At the time of writing, the Sep/Oct and Sep/Mar Brent Futures spreads are at $0.66/bbl and $3.18/bbl, respectively.
