Oil prices hovered near two-week highs on Monday following 6% gains last week, as geopolitical tensions heightened between western powers and major oil producers Russia and Iran, raising risks of supply disruption. Brent crude futures climbed 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.30 a barrel by 0115 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $71.38 a barrel, up 14 cents, or 0.2%. Both contracts last week notched their biggest weekly gains since late September to reach their highest [Read more]

U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a second week in a row for the first time since early October, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by one to 583 in the week to Nov. 22, the lowest since early September. That puts the total rig count down 39, or 6% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 479 [Read more]

J.P. Morgan sees the price of Brent oil averaging $73 per barrel (/bbl) in 2025 and expects it to close the year firmly below $70/bbl, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate at $64/bbl, the bank said in a note on Friday. "Our view on 2025 has remained largely unchanged over the past year: we look for a large 1.3 mbd (million barrels per day)surplus and an average Brent of $73," the note said. The bank sees global oil demand growth decelerating from 1.3 mbd this year to 1.1 mbd next year, adding [Read more]

Major U.S. utilities are expected to spend heavily on upgrading their electric lines and grids over the next five years to cater to power-hungry sectors, although experts worry that their plans to raise rates sharply to offset higher costs may face regulatory hurdles. In the past few weeks, about nine utilities had raised their capital expenditure forecast by 22% on average for the three years starting in 2025, as they expect insatiable demand from AI-focused data centers and battery-powered [Read more]

*Wright says fossil fuel extraction can end poverty *Trump's DOE pick seen pursuing 'energy dominance' agenda *Wright does not view carbon emissions as pollution By Timothy Gardner and Nichola Groom WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES Nov 22 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the energy department believes fossil fuels are the key to ending world poverty which, he says, is a greater problem than climate change's "distant" threat, according to a report he penned as CEO of [Read more]

The global oil market is balanced thanks to the actions of OPEC+ countries and compliance with its quotas, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday following a Russia-OPEC meeting. OPEC+ countries, which are pumping around half the world's oil, are taking all necessary decisions to maintain market stability, Novak also said after meeting OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais in Moscow. "Today, while discussing the situation and forecasts, we assess the current market [Read more]

The COP29 climate summit presidency released a draft finance deal on Friday that would have developed nations take the lead in providing $250 billion per year by 2035 to help poorer nations - a proposal that drew criticism from all sides. World governments represented at the summit in the Azerbaijan capital Baku are tasked with agreeing a sweeping funding plan to tackle climate change, but the talks have been marked by division between wealthy governments resisting a costly outcome and [Read more]