Oil Updates — Crude up; Sri Lanka to pay $72.6m to purchase Russian oil; US renews Chevron’s Venezuela license
RIYADH: Oil costs rose on Friday, closing out the week with features forward of the US Memorial Day vacation weekend, the beginning of peak US demand season, and as European nations negotiate over whether or not to impose an outright ban on Russian crude oil.
Brent crude rose $2.03, or 1.7 %, to settle at $119.43. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 98 cents, or 0.9 %, to settle at $115.07 a barrel.
For the week, Brent rose 6 % whereas US WTI gained 1.5 %.
Sri Lanka to pay $72.6 million for 90,000 tons of Russian oil
Sri Lanka pays $72.6 million to purchase a 90,000-ton cargo of Russian oil docked at Colombo’s port for weeks, its vitality minister mentioned on Saturday, because the island nation works to restart its solely refinery and deal with a crippling vitality disaster.
“I have reached out to multiple countries, including Russia, for support to import crude and other petroleum products,” Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera instructed reporters.
The 90,000-ton consignment was ordered through Dubai-based Coral Energy, Wijesekera mentioned, including that the cost would facilitate restarting the nation’s sole refinery, which has been closed since March 25.
“The next shipment will also be ordered from the same company. Another consignment will be needed within the next two weeks to keep the refinery running continuously,” Wijesekera mentioned.
Sri Lanka has struggled to pay for gas, meals and medication imports due to a extreme scarcity of international foreign money. An unprecedented monetary disaster has additionally pressured the nation to default on some exterior debt.
Like the remainder of Asia, Sri Lanka needs to shift to long-term crude tenders to hedge in opposition to excessive crude spot costs, however dwindling international change reserves have hampered its ambitions, the facility minister mentioned on Saturday.
US renews Chevron’s Venezuela license below present phrases
The US Treasury Department on Friday renewed a license to oil producer Chevron Corp. for working in US-sanctioned Venezuela through November below the identical phrases that authorizations granted to the corporate since 2020.
The license additionally authorizes oilfield service firms Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International to keep belongings in Venezuela.
(With enter from Reuters)