The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a sea route chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. Most exports of petroleum and natural gas from the Persian Gulf that transit the Suez Canal or the SUMED Pipeline pass through both the Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz.

BP announced that it has agreed to sell its entire business in Alaska to Hilcorp Alaska, based in Anchorage, Alaska. Under the terms of the agreement, Hilcorp will purchase all of BP's interests in the state for a total consideration of $5.6 billion.

“This escalation of the U.S.- China trade war is another step in the wrong direction, the consequences of which will be felt by American businesses and families,” said Kyle Isakower, API’s Vice President of Regulatory and Economic Policy. “In addition to the impacts on the U.S. economy and jobs, U.S. energy leadership and global competitiveness are threatened as U.S. natural gas and oil exports continue to serve as targets for retaliation.”

Dubai and China have expressed keenness to enhance cooperation in energy-related areas, especially clean and renewable energy.

Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) affirmed the Ba2 corporate family rating of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - PETROBRAS (Petrobras). Simultaneously, Moody's raised the company's baseline credit assessment (BCA) to ba2 from ba3. The actions were triggered by the company's continued success in improving its credit metrics and liquidity position. The rating outlook is stable.

U.S. Rig Count is down 19 rigs from last week to 916, with oil rigs down 16 to 754, gas rigs down 3 to 162, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0. U.S. Rig Count is down 19 rigs from last week to 916, with oil rigs down 16 to 754, gas rigs down 3 to 162, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.

Rosneft Oil Company and the National Petroleum Institute (Instituto Nacional de Petróleo, INP) have signed a Cooperation Agreement. The document was signed by Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft Oil Company Igor Sechin and Chairman of INP Carlos Zacarias. In addition, Rosneft has signed a Memorandum on Expansion of cooperation in Mozambique with the National Hydrocarbon Company (Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, ENH).

U.S. energy firms had interests in the South China Sea and Washington was “committed to bolstering the energy security of our partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region and in ensuring uninterrupted regional oil and gas production for the global market.”U.S. warships have conducted periodic “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea to challenge China’s claim to nearly all of the strategic waterway.

Rosneft's hydrocarbon production in H1 2019 amounted to 5.81 mmboed (141.8 mmtoe for the half-year), exceeding H1 2018 level by 1.8%.

Preliminary production figures for July 2019 show an average daily production of 1 799 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is an increase of 402 000 barrels per day compared to June.

U.S. Rig Count is up 1 rig from last week to 935, with oil rigs up 6 to 770, gas rigs down 4 to 165, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0. Canada Rig Count is up 2 rigs from last week to 142, with oil rigs up 7 to 101 and gas rigs down 5 to 41.

For the first seven months of 2019, Chinese crude throughput rose 5.6% from a year earlier to 369.73 million tonnes, or 12.73 million bpd, the NBS reported.

Oil, gas and petrochemical projects, valued at more than US $859 billion, are either underway or planned in the Middle East and North Africa, MENA, of these US $283 billion are projects are being implemented, as the region gets ready to meet the forecast increases in demand for energy over the next two decades.

Saudi Arabia's officials unveiled plans to invest $100 billion in India, with the bulk of the funds going toward the infrastructure and energy sectors.

U.S. EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 85,000 b/d month-over-month in August from 8,683 to 8,768 thousand barrels/day, gas production to increase 729 million cubic feet/day from 80,866 to 81,595 million cubic feet/day .