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First Look - Oil heads for a fourth consecutive weekly gain | Gas set to post a a fourth straight weekly loss

Oil is higher this morning, heading for a fourth consecutive weekly gain
- WTI prices have advanced by $2.76/Bbl this week, as prices continue to rise supported by geopolitical risk premium and inventory draws
Saudi Arabia and Qatar cut oil prices to Asia (BBG)
- Potentially signaling weaker demand in Asia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have lowered their official selling prices to Asia for August
- Saudi Aramco is reducing their selling price by 60c to a $1.80/Bbl premium to the regional benchmark, but this is a smaller-than-expected reduction as a survey by Bloomberg found traders expected a 90c cut
- In contrast to lower prices to Asia, Aramco increased its selling price to Europe and the US

Natural gas prices head for a fourth straight weekly loss amid cooler Lower 48 forecasts
- Prompt gas was 2.9c lower to $2.389/MMBtu (As of 7:50 AM)
- The Summer ’24 strip is up 0.7c to $2.443 and Winter ‘24/’25 strip is up 1.6c to $3.355
- The recent EIA weekly Natural Gas Storage report indicated that working gas in storage rose by 32 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks are 275 Bcf higher than last year and 496 Bcf above the five-year average
US wind installations sputter in Q1 2024, but offshore projects advance (S&P Global)
- Installed wind capacity additions in Q1 2024 fell 53% YoY to 1,039 MW, the weakest Q1 since 2019, with cumulative installed wind capacity reaching 151,232 MW
- Despite the slow start, 77 GW of wind capacity is in various stages of development, including 15 GW under construction and 12.3 GW in advanced development
- The first quarter of 2024 included the completion of the 132-MW South Fork Offshore Wind Project and the 68-MW Vineyard Offshore Wind Project
- Major projects under construction include the 3,500-MW Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Project in Wyoming, Dominion Energy's 2,587-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and Pattern Energy's 2,426-MW SunZia Wind South in New Mexico