Black Gold Markets

Thursday March 27th Last tuesday, March 18th, there was an explosion in the Trans-Niger pipeline. The pipeline is recognized for being critical infrastructure in the Nigerian economy, as it its responsible for transporting 450.000 barrels of oil per day from the oil fields in the Niger delta to Bonny terminal. The incident must be seen in accordance with similar attacks and political instabilities in the same area from the locals. Regional leaders for the communities in the area have demanded increased shares of the oil revenue from the federal government. The values that are being discussed is so substantial for the local communities that they have threatened with disruption in oil production if their demands are not met. In the past, some of the crude oil was transported by trucks, but these have been banned by the federal government because of the repeated attacks on the vehicles. Historically the oil production in Nigeria have been regularly discussed and critiqued. Criticism have ...

  March 14th, 2025 Brent Crude Dips While Gasoline Surges – What’s Next for Prices?   Since our last update on February 26, there have been big changes in Brent Crude Oil and Gasoline prices. The energy market keeps shifting. Global events, supply issues, and investor reactions all play a role. Brent Crude Oil prices have dropped from around $77 per barrel at the end of February to about $70 by mid-March. A weaker global economy is one reason. Oil demand, especially from China, has slowed down. Another reason is trouble in the banking sector. Some banks have had financial problems. This has made investors more careful. As a result, oil prices have fallen. Trading Economics, March 14th, 2025. Crude Oil (Brent). Gasoline prices have moved differently. At the end of February, they jumped from about $1.95 to $2.25 per gallon. This was likely caused by short-term supply problems. Once these problems were solved, prices dropped. They have now settled around $2.14 per gallon. With wa...

  February 27, 2025 Geopolitical events cause major uncertainty   Source: Trading economics, 26th of February 26, 2025. Brent Crude oil   Since our last update on the Brent Crude oil price, the price has fallen from 74,93 dollars per barrel to 72,82 dollars per barrel.   The geopolitical and economic factors continue to affect the price of Brent crude oil. In the last blog report, we mentioned a meeting between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. In relation to this meeting there has been speculation about a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia being made. This has introduced further uncertainty about the future oil supply.   There are also economic factors that influence the price. Consumer confidence has dropped in the US, and also in Germany. This incentivized international concerns about an economic slowdown, which obviously affects the demand for crude oil. Source: Trading economics, 27th of February 26, 2025. Gasoline...

Oil markets in turmoil: How political movements are shaping the future Source: Financial Times, February 13th 2025, “Brent Crude Oil Price” The last couple of weeks have been hectic to say the least. After a substantial fall in the price of crude oil (Brent), it looked like it was slowly increasing again. There are multiple explanatory factors to the decrease, but US president Donald Trump’s promise to increase production is the most prominent. OPEC+ had a meeting in the first week of february, which resulted in a continuation of their current plan to cut production in April.  Less uncertainty in the markets resulted in a price gain for crude oil in early February. But the markets are ever changing again. President Donald Trump's announcement of talks being held with president Putin Wednesday February 12th is indicating a shift in global politics and trade. For the past two years Russia has been heavily sanctioned by the EU and USA for their ongoing war in Ukraine. Peace in Ukraine...