WTI (Sep)* $84.34 +$5.15, Brent (Sep) $91.01 +$1.79, Diff -$6.67+$1.58.

USNG (Aug) $2.87 +15c, UKNG (Aug) 148.8p +5.23p, TTF (Aug) €61.45 +€1.915.

*Denotes WTI August contract expiry.

Oil price

Oil is up well over two dollars today as there is no sign of any stop in the continued military action between Iran and the USA, next stop Pickaxe mountain. Indeed it has got potentially worse, as mentioned here yesterday Iran are encouraging the Houthi rebels to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. It is thought that so far two ships at least have turned back but no actual missiles have yet been launched.

In my comments yesterday I noted that this route is being challenged as it has significantly increased its throughput since the Strait of Hormuz has closed and that as much as 7.1m b/d is now going through the Red Sea primarily from Saudi Arabia. 

In recent weeks there have been a number of theories that would indicate that the world was becoming better at living without the Strait of Hormuz, these were in my view significantly overoptimistic for a number of reasons. Obviously one is as above, it’s all well and good to rely on the Red Sea but it too can be held to ransom as might be the case if the rebels are allowed to exert power like Iran has done.

But there are other problems not taken into account, these include another sea, the Black Sea where Russia is having difficulties exporting from the Caspian terminal as a result of Ukrainian drone attacks. Add to that a rattling back of inventories and in particular yesterday’s US SPR number, down 5.1m barrels to 311.4m (the minimum safe operating level is thought to be c.300m b’s) and the need to rebuild them in the future with interest is of huge importance.

Other strategic reserves are also being drawn down through the IEA operation which can’t last last forever and again, will have to be restocked, in the open market. Add to all this that sanctions on Iran are back and should the US take the ultimate step of hitting Kharg Island or other similar operations they will pale into insignificance.

Oh and the Chinese have started buying crude oil again after standing back and using their own substantial stockpiles recently, they need products like us all and that is a market I haven’t even mentioned here yet…

Sintana Energy

Sintana advises that Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer  and Eytan Uliel, President  will provide a live Management Update presentation via Investor Meet Company on Aug 6, 2026 at 11:00 EDT/16:00 BST.

The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. This presentation will follow immediately after the Company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting. The Company has a geographically diverse international shareholder base, and the intent is to provide all interested existing and potential shareholders who may otherwise be unable to attend the Annual General Meeting an opportunity to hear first-hand from, and interact with management. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until Aug 5, 2026, or at any time during the live presentation.

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet SINTANA ENERGY INC. via:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/sintana-energy-inc-1/register-investor

I will be interested to hear the update from Sintana, as I have noted recently there is much to come from the company across the whole portfolio. Fully funded and carried by leading companies such as TotalEnergies, Sintana looks incredibly cheap at these levels.

My target price of 75p stands as does the company’s prime position in the Bucket List which is about to have its interim update, Sintana is in a very good place having significant stakes in some of the worlds best energy post codes.