The Philippines built a nuclear power plant in the late 1970s, but the project was stopped in 1986, and fuel was not loaded into it.

Brent gained 42 cents, or 0.4%, to $96.90 a barrel, WTI rose 40 cents, or 0.4%, to $90.76 a barrel.

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $99.66 a barrel

Russia’s Gazprom will halt flows on its key Nord Stream gas pipeline for three days of repairs on Aug. 31, again raising concerns it won’t return after the work.

Russian gas company Gazprom has announced it will halt gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from 31 August to 2 September 2022, quoting maintenance issues for the pipeline’s only remaining compressor.

Russia is now China’s top supplier of the fuel, supplanting Indonesia after the Southeast Asian nation deterred buyers by raising prices.

Eni announces a significant gas discovery in the Cronos-1 well drilled in Block 6, 160 km off Cyprus coastline, in 2,287 metres of water depth.

Brent fell $1.60, or 1.6%, to $95.12 a barrel, WTI were down $1.56, or 1.7%, at $89.21 a barrel.

Benchmark futures rose as much as 16%, also driving up electricity prices to fresh records. The key Nord Stream pipeline will stop for three days of maintenance on Aug. 31, again raising concerns that the link won’t return to service as planned after the works.

There is no indication that such orderly liquidations would be offset by orderly installation of replacement facilities,