U.S. Gulf of Mexico sees burst of drilling activity. Shale drillers focus on investor returns. Heatwave in India sends power demand soaring to unprecedented levels. The first week of May could have brought us a much-awaited paradigm shift, however the markets still appraise the impact of China’s COVID lockdowns amidst the mass-testing taking place in Beijing and the probability of a comprehensive European embargo on Russian oil. With no clear way out for either of those, Brent futures remained range bound, closing Tuesday around $106 per barrel. Amid Faltering Demand Prospects – Whilst OPEC+ is widely expected to agree to another monthly increase of 432,000 b/d, the widening gap between the oil group’s stated objectives and reality is becoming too glaring to ignore. – For March, the last month for which official OPEC+ data is available , the discrepancy added up to 1.45 million b/d and is set to […]