Ice Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading, even as commercial shipping activity through the strait of Hormuz remains limited.
The Ice front-month October Brent contract was at $89.20/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 50¢/bl from its settlement on 27 August when it ended $1.86/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month October crude contract was at $83.10/bl, lower by 43¢/bl from its settlement on 27 August when it ended $1.30/bl higher.
Commercial vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained severely constrained with Iran continuing to attack vessels in the waterway while joint Iranian-Omani talks on managing ship traffic continue.
Iran attacked Kuwait's state-owned oil products tanker the Al Salam II on 26 August while it was attempting to exit the strait of Hormuz, data from the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) show, likely through the US-assisted southern traffic lane.
Around 3.7mn b/d have been getting through the strait of Hormuz on average over the last seven days, data from vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com show. Meanwhile, data from vessel-tracking firm Vortexa place the monthly average for August for the strait around 3.5mn b/d. Both are significantly lower than the 10mn b/d claimed by US officials.
The US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on 27 August issued a guidance document removing the previous requirement that every contract between US companies and Venezuela's state-owned PdV include a reference to US laws. The change reflects "investment-related reforms made by the government of Venezuela since January", OFAC said.
Some of the US' top oil companies are still sitting on the fence when it comes to returning to Venezuela, but investing there seems a more attractive proposition now than it did in January, given supply disruptions from the Iran war.
The US administration still maintains a requirement that payments to PdV be funneled through a US-government controlled account and has provided little to no transparency on how much revenue it has received and transferred to Caracas.
UK crude production fell by 19pc on the year in July, but was 2.5pc higher on the month at around 503,000 b/d, according to preliminary government data.
UK oil production has been in long-term decline, falling from over 1mn b/d in the early 2010s to below 700,000 b/d since mid-2023. The decline paused last year, when output averaged almost 3pc higher year on year, but has resumed in 2026. Output over January-July is 11pc below the same period in 2025.
Ice Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading, even as commercial shipping activity through the strait of Hormuz remains limited.
The Ice front-month October Brent contract was at $89.20/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 50¢/bl from its settlement on 27 August when it ended $1.86/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month October crude contract was at $83.10/bl, lower by 43¢/bl from its settlement on 27 August when it ended $1.30/bl higher.
Commercial vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained severely constrained with Iran continuing to attack vessels in the waterway while joint Iranian-Omani talks on managing ship traffic continue.
Iran attacked Kuwait's state-owned oil products tanker the Al Salam II on 26 August while it was attempting to exit the strait of Hormuz, data from the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) show, likely through the US-assisted southern traffic lane.
Around 3.7mn b/d have been getting through the strait of Hormuz on average over the last seven days, data from vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com show. Meanwhile, data from vessel-tracking firm Vortexa place the monthly average for August for the strait around 3.5mn b/d. Both are significantly lower than the 10mn b/d claimed by US officials.
The US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on 27 August issued a guidance document removing the previous requirement that every contract between US companies and Venezuela's state-owned PdV include a reference to US laws. The change reflects "investment-related reforms made by the government of Venezuela since January", OFAC said.
Some of the US' top oil companies are still sitting on the fence when it comes to returning to Venezuela, but investing there seems a more attractive proposition now than it did in January, given supply disruptions from the Iran war.
The US administration still maintains a requirement that payments to PdV be funneled through a US-government controlled account and has provided little to no transparency on how much revenue it has received and transferred to Caracas.
UK crude production fell by 19pc on the year in July, but was 2.5pc higher on the month at around 503,000 b/d, according to preliminary government data.
UK oil production has been in long-term decline, falling from over 1mn b/d in the early 2010s to below 700,000 b/d since mid-2023. The decline paused last year, when output averaged almost 3pc higher year on year, but has resumed in 2026. Output over January-July is 11pc below the same period in 2025.
By YouLiang Chay