Petroleum

Crude oil prices were up around 2 percent at trading start on Jan. 6 with escalated tensions in the Middle East risking secure crude oil supply from the region.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $70.17 per barrel at 0630 GMT for a 2.3 percent jump after it closed on Jan. 3 at $68.60 a barrel with a 3.55 percent increase in intraday trading.

Crude oil prices were up by around 3 percent during Jan. 3's trading start as rising tensions in the Middle East threaten secure crude supply from the region.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $68.18 per barrel at 0615 GMT with a 2.83 percent increase after closing on Jan. 2 at $66.30 a barrel.

Brazil's government said on Monday that the flow of mysterious crude oil hitting the country's northeastern beaches has slowed, adding that the cost of the disaster could reach into the billions of reais.

Greece's biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE) played down reports on Thursday of a potentially large gas find off Crete, saying speculation was premature.
Citing a senior executive from HELPE, Greek media had reported that the refiner had indications for estimated gas reserves of 10 trillion cubic feet (tcf) off Crete, based on past seismic data.

Seismic research conducted by Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE), the country's biggest oil refiner, has indicated the possibility of the existence of a large reserve of natural gas in Greece, similar to Egypt's gigantic Zohr gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Currently, the prices at which Bulgaria buys gas under its long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom are twice as high as those on the Austrian stock exchange. This was announced by the chairman of the Balkan and Black Sea Petroleum Association Valentin Kanev, BNR reported.

Eni is not concerned about escalating tensions between Cyprus and Turkey over the question of offshore drilling and would seek to stay clear of any conflict, the Italian oil and gas group's Chief Executive said on Thursday.

The price of heating oil, which will go on sale nationwide on October 15, is expected to start at 1.02 euros per liter, according to the estimates of sellers based on international oil prices and the euro/dollar exchange rate.

Romania's industrial production prices overall (domestic market and foreign market) were down 0.3 percent in August 2019 compared to July 2019, but they increased by 3.3 percent against August 2018, showed the data published on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

The ministries of Energy and Development appear ready to tackle any incidents of profiteering in the fuel trade due to the global rise of rates, while market professionals also sought to downplay concerns about the consequences of geopolitical developments in the Middle East.