Market Insights > First Look

First Look - US sanctions additional Iranian entities

Oil is trading slightly higher, extending gains from yesterday
- Yesterday, oil prices gained on reports that OPEC is looking to delay their plan to increase supply by three months
- The API estimates that US inventories rose by 1.2 MMBbls last week ahead of the official data release later this morning
- Russia reported that their crude production is almost in line with their OPEC quota, with the country cutting production to make up for overproducing earlier this year
The US has imposed additional sanctions on Iran (BBG)
- The US imposed sanctions on 35 Iranian entities for their role in transporting Iranian petroleum
- Sanctions aim to impact Iran's petroleum revenue, which funds its nuclear and military programs
- This latest sanctions package comes two months after the US broadened the scope of its sanctions on Iran in response to attacks on Israel

Natural gas broke below $3.00/MMbtu briefly Wednesday morning as weather models showed warming in the 11-15 day window
- Most of the warming was in the Rockies and West on the European model
- This morning’s weakness is a continuation of the 17c drop on Tuesday
- With the January contract now at $3.02/MMbtu (8:16 AM), down from an intraday high of $3.61/MMbtu on November 21 when the weather maps were painted blue
FERC delays CP2 LNG project for additional Environmental review (S&P)
- FERC has delayed construction on Venture Global’s CP2 LNG project, requiring a supplemental environmental impact statement by May 2025 and a final order by July 2025, in response to recent court rulings
- The decision aims to address legal vulnerabilities related to air quality and environmental justice concerns, referencing issues identified in recent DC Circuit rulings
- The delay could jeopardize the project’s financial viability and firm contracts, potentially affecting the Final Investment Decision (FID) scheduled for late 2025
- FERC has overruled past approaches to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis, opting for case-by-case evaluations rather than blanket thresholds, signaling a shift in regulatory policy