Oil markets reacted strongly to the World Health Organisation's Omicron announcement
Letter from Houston: Omicron moves the dial
Covid-19 variant sends oil price tumbling as SPR release makes little impact
US president Joe Biden’s long-heralded announcement on 23 November that the country would release 50mn bl of crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) had only a small impact on crude prices, mainly because the market quickly worked out that the headline figure was somewhat misleading. Similar vague announcements from the UK (which has no SPR) and several Asian allies did not impress market participants either. Firstly, 18mn bl of the volumes released by the US were already planned to be sold by end-2022, as required by Congress. And secondly, the remaining 32mn bl—although genuinely new volumes—will be put on the market on an exchange basis, being released gradually over four months
Also in this section
21 February 2025
While large-scale planned LNG schemes in sub-Saharan Africa have faced fresh problems, FLNG projects are stepping into that space
20 February 2025
Greater social mobility means increased global demand for refined fuels and petrochemical products, with Asia leading the way in the expansion of refining capacity
19 February 2025
The EU would do well to ease its gas storage requirements to avoid heavy purchase costs this summer, with the targets having created market distortion while giving sellers a significant advantage over buyers
18 February 2025
Deliveries to China decline by around 1m b/d from move to curb crude exports to Shandong port, putting Iran under further economic pressure
