Weekend Summary

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Venezuela Sanctions Would Impact U.S. Fuel Consumers

Now that Venezuela has officially violated Trump’s “redline” and elected officials to change their constitution, the U.S. is considering harsher sanctions. Fortunately, it appears that a full ban on oil imports from Venezuela has been taken off the table, but other sanctions against Venezuela’s oil companies could still effect markets. An announcement is expected this week, as soon as today. Read more from Reuters.

China and India Would Benefit from Venezuela Oil Sanctions

Depending on the nature of the sanctions imposed by Washington, the winner could be China and India. Venezuela will certainly be set back economically by the sanctions, and U.S. refiners could see higher costs (which would be passed on to consumers). Major oil importers like China and India would have less competition when buying Venezuelan crude, reducing oil prices in those countries. Read more from CNBC.

OPEC Is Losing Market Share in China to the U.S.

China’s imports have seen 8x growth year over year, as a reduction of OPEC exports has driven up Dubai oil prices and made WTI (American) crude more appealing. OPEC’s market share in China fell from 58% last year to just 55% this year. Read more from Platts.

US Shale Producers are Cutting Capital Expenditures

With numerous oil companies posting their Q2 earnings, an across-the-board theme has been reduced capital expenditures. Low prices have put pressure on budgets, forcing companies to find places to cut costs. With low capex will come a declining rig count and future product cuts in the U.S. Read more from OIlPrice.com