Oil Extends Losses After US, Qatar Signal Progress on Iran Draft Deal
Pentagon Scraps $300 Million Lithium Tender for Defense Stockpile Tom majored in International Business at Amsterdam’s Higher School of Economics and later completed an Executive MBA in Energy Transition at the University of Groningen.… Brent crude fell back to around $80 per barrel after renewed optimism over a potential US-Iran draft agreement eased geopolitical fears, even as President Trump criticized US refiners for high fuel profits.
-Runaway Q2 earnings of US oil majors havebroughtbumper profits of energy companies back into the political limelight, with US President Trump ordering retailers to ‘get retail prices down’ as soon as possible.
- Donald Trump accused ExxonMobil and Chevron of making too much money and told them to ‘give some of that money back to the public’, also calling them out for not crediting his administration’s efforts to help the oil industry.
- Whilst ExxonMobil’s oil production was impacted by closures in the Middle East and Chevron continues to struggle with CPC closures in Kazakhstan, it was both companies’ refining margins that have been stellar since the onset of the war in March.
- The 3-2-1 spread (2 barrels of gasoline, 1 barrel of distillates from 3 barrels of crude) has doubled since early March to $60 per barrel, whilst crude oil prices are only up by $11 per barrel after this week’s renewed diplomatic push.
- Meanwhile, the average US gasoline pump price hasdippedto $4.08 per gallon as of August 4, up 30% from a year ago.
- UK-based energy giantShell(LON:SHEL) hasagreedto sell its European onshore renewables portfolio to peer major TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) for an undisclosed sum, comprising 0.5 GW assets in operation and a 3.5 GW pipeline of projects.
- UK oil majorBP(NYSE:BP) hascompletedthe divestment of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany to investment firm Klesch Group, leaving it with only five operational refineries (2 in the US, 3 in Europe).
- Azerbaijan’s state oil companySOCARhasboughtout the 3.65% operating interest held by Japanese trading company Itochu (TYO:8001) in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) offshore field, marking the fourth exit from the project.
- Nigeria’sDangoteoil refinery is reportedly planning tolaunchits initial public offering, believed to be Africa’s largest ever listing, in October with owner Aliko Dangote pushing regional capital markets to take part in the IPO.Tuesday, August 04, 2026 Crude oil prices have been pushed lower this week as comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Qatar’s Foreign Ministry about a potential draft agreement being drafted buoyed hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict.
ICE Brent is now back at $80 per barrel, just in time US oil refiners after President Trump lambasted them for making ‘too much money’.
OPEC+ to Complete Voluntary Production Cuts.Seven remaining OPEC+ member countries haveagreedto raise their collective output targets by 188,000 b/d in September, completing the phased unwinding of 1.65 million b/d.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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