As Donald Trump, the elected president of the USA, gradually shapes his government for 2025, brent crude oil futures rose during early trading in Asia.

As of 12:00 PM Beijing time, the price of the brent crude oil 2501 block orders contract was $71.40/barrel, an increase of 36 cents from the settlement price on November 15, while the contract price for the day decreased by $1.52/barrel compared to the previous trading day.

The price of the WTI crude oil main December contract was $67.28/barrel, an increase of 26 cents from the settlement price on November 15, while the closing price for the day dropped by $1.68/barrel compared to the previous trading day.

Trump plans to nominate Chris Wright, the CEO of the oilfield services company Liberty Energy, to lead the US Department of Energy (DOE), where he will be responsible for overseeing liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities and various federally supported energy projects.

Wright will also serve on the planned National Energy Council, which Trump has appointed Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, to lead. The new council "will include all departments and institutions involved in the licensing, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation of energy in the USA," said Trump.

The elected president did not provide detailed information on the scope of authority for the new council. Energy regulation and licensing responsibilities involve multiple departments, including interior, energy, transportation, and defense. Some institutions, like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, are independent by law.

In recent days, Trump has emphasized plans by his incoming government to increase oil & gas production and generating capacity, but he has abandoned statements frequently heard during the campaign about halving energy and electrical utilities prices within a year.

Other cabinet choices of Trump hold a tough stance on china, iran, and venezuela, and tanker operator DHT stated that this may increase the freight rates for very large crude carriers.

Russian state-owned Rosneft denied reports that Moscow is considering merging its major crude oil producers, stating, "The so-called intentions have nothing to do with reality or any reasonable business logic."

News reports on November 9 stated that the Russian government is considering a plan for Rosneft to absorb the leading Russian private oil companies Lukoil and Gazpromneft, which is Gazprom's nominal oil subsidiary, making them the second and fourth largest crude oil producers in Russia respectively. If such a merger occurs, it will become the world's second-largest oil producer, second only to the state-owned Saudi Aramco. However, this could also create a larger target for the US sanctions on Russian state-owned oil companies due to the Ukraine conflict.

(The above content is from Argus, an independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency)