The Aug25 Brent futures contract fell off slightly to $66.54/bbl at 10:12 BST before rallying to $67.75/bbl at 11: 35 BST(time of writing). In the news, the Kremlin criticised the European Commission’s proposal to lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil from $60/bbl to $45/bbl, calling it illegal and unhelpful for global energy market stability. The proposal aims to further cut Russia’s energy revenues ahead of a G7 leaders’ meeting in Canada. While Russia’s crude exports remain strong, mostly to China and India, Western enforcement gaps have allowed shipping services to resume. In other news, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais said this week that global crude oil demand will continue rising until at least 2050, with a projected 24% cumulative increase driven by population growth. Speaking at the Canadian Global Energy Show, he dismissed the idea of peak oil demand and warned against underinvestment in oil and gas, estimating $17.4 T is needed over the next 25 years. This contrasts with the IEA’s slower growth forecast of less than 1mb/d. Shell plans to add up to 12 mmt of LNG capacity by 2030 through projects already under construction in Canada, Qatar, Nigeria, and the UAE. Shell expects 60% of new LNG supply by 2030 to come from the US and Qatar, with demand driven by Asia and sectors difficult to electrify. Shell forecasts global LNG demand to rise 60% by 2040. Finally the front-month Aug/Sep spread is at $0.78/bbl and the 6-month Aug/Feb’26 spread is at $2.35/bbl.
