- Oil recovers slightly but heads for a seventh consecutive weekly loss
- The Cal ’24 strip has fallen $2.96 this week to $70.73, while the Cal ’25 strip has lost $1.63 this week to its current level of $68.27
- Open interest in Brent crude has fallen to the lowest level since January
- China oil demand growth to slow in 2024 (BBG)
- According to estimates by industry consultants and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, China will consume an additional 500 MBbl/d next year, a third of the 2023 increase
- Naphtha, LPG, and jet fuel are expected to account for the majority of the growth, while transportation fuels are expected to grow at a slower rate
- A senior expert at China’s largest refiner, Sinopec, said that “next year, growth will be returning to the normal trajectory with pandemic factors fading. The outlook isn’t so encouraging.”
- China, which is the world's largest oil consumer, accounted for 75% of this year’s increase in global demand
- First cargo arrives at Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery (BBG)
- The Dangote refinery is by far the largest in Africa, with a nameplate capacity of 650 MBbl/d and an expected initial processing rate of 350 MBbl/d
- 1 MMBbl of Agbami crude was purchased from a trading unit of Shell and delivered to the refinery, marking the first cargo to be received
- The facility will initially produce diesel, jet fuel, and LPG before progressing to the production of gasoline