The war in Ukraine has forced the West to target Russian energy exports.
Russia has instead offered its crude oil at massive discounts to India and China.
Russia became China’s largest oil supplier earlier this year, according to Chinese customs data for May, overtaking its OPEC+ partner Saudi Arabia.

U.S. shale producers have resisted calls from the government to substantially raise production, preferring to return cash to shareholders and repair their balance sheets.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-KSA has also received calls from the U.S. government to increase its output. KSA has notionally agreed, but with relatively token amounts that do not address the U.S. government’s goal of reducing oil prices.
A closer look at their recent report to shareholders, along with other investing actions they have taken, seems to draw similarities in mindset with U.S. shale producers, in terms of holding to previously announced capital restraint.

Energy traders saw their profits spike during the pandemic, and continue to perform well in 2022.
BP has managed to build one of the most successful energy trading ventures.
Massive trading floors that sometimes rival Wall Street’s biggest banks are becoming increasingly important to oil companies.

Money managers have started to close out short positions on oil.
The oil price slump that started mid-June could be about to reverse.
The disconnect between the physical crude market and paper crude market remains large.

Slowing global oil demand growth next year, spiking food prices, and fears of recession in major oil-importing countries are set to slow economic growth in the Middle East.

Putin and MBS discuss OPEC+ and oil markets in phone call.
Russia and Saudi Arabia saw the largest production gains within the group of producers in June.
The phone call is just the latest in a series of calls between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

High fuel prices is beginning to weigh on consumption.
The IEA has slashed its demand forecast, revising down its estimates by 100,000 bpd.
“Higher prices and a deteriorating economic environment have started to take their toll on oil demand,” the agency said.

Though oil prices are on the rise across the globe, China is seeing prices fall.
Western sanctions against Russia have left Moscow willing to unload its crude at mind-bending discounts.
China is taking advantage of the current geopolitical climate, buying up as much Russian oil as it can.

Underinvestment in oil and gas in the past few years is seen as one of the main reasons for the current imbalance between supply and demand.
G7 nations have acknowledged the need for increased investment in foreign gas projects.
Big oil CEOs are calling for stability and consistency in government policies in order to boost investment.

The price of gasoline has climbed above $5 per gallon.
U.S. fuel exports have continued to rise, adding additional pressure on domestic fuel inventories.
“With refiners already running at full tilt, something has to give,” BloombergNEF analyst Danny Adkins told Bloomberg.

Middle Eastern refiners could be processing some 8.8 million bpd of crude next year.
4 Middle Eastern nations are currently building out their refining capacity.
This increase is roughly equal to the amount of Russian fuels the European Union has embargoed.

​After a brief hiatus, the oil price rally is back on track. Crude oil closed with its seventh straight weekly gain thanks to tight fuel supplies sustaining bullish sentiment. After a brief fall on Friday following news that U.S. inflation surged to a fresh 40-year high, WTI crude rebounded to end the week with a 1.5% gain to trade at $122.40/barrel, while Brent crude settled 1.9% higher at $124.03.