As of 12:00 Beijing time, the price of Brent crude oil for November contract was $74.56 per barrel, up 66 cents from the settlement price on September 23, but down $0.59 from the previous trading day's closing price.

The price of the New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil for November contract was $71.13 per barrel, up 76 cents from the settlement price on September 23, and down $0.63 from the previous trading day's closing price.

Later this week, a large hurricane may sweep through the northeast part of the Gulf of Mexico in the USA, prompting oil producers to begin shutting down some production. Shell announced on September 22 that they are preparing to close production at the Stone and Appomattox facilities along the Louisiana coast and have started evacuating non-essential personnel.

This year's hurricane season has been unusually active. Earlier this month, before Hurricane Francine swept through the region and made landfall in southern Louisiana, over 40% of Gulf of Mexico oil production was forced to halt. Offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of total US crude oil production and 5% of US natural gas production.

According to Chinese customs data, China's crude oil imports in August rebounded to 11.6 million barrels per day, the highest level since March, a slight increase from the nearly 10 million barrels low point in July, but still lower than 12.5 million barrels a year ago. Market participants say refineries in Shandong and major state-owned refineries plan to increase crude oil processing in August.

China's imports from the Middle East rose to 4.91 million barrels per day in August, an increase of approximately 0.48 million barrels from the previous month, representing an 11% growth. Russia's deliveries to China increased by 0.46 million barrels per day in August, up 26%, reaching 2.25 million barrels per day. China also increased imports from West Africa - imports from Angola and Congo in August increased by 0.1 million barrels per day and 30,000 barrels per day respectively, reaching 0.6 million barrels per day and 150,000 barrels per day.

Djibouti has provided an alternative port to South Sudan for its crude oil exports to reduce reliance on war-torn neighboring Sudan. Without pipelines, South Sudan would have to transport oil to Djibouti port via trucks through Ethiopia. In July, South Sudan reached a financing agreement with Ethiopia to build a 220 km cross-border road, where Ethiopia covers the road construction costs and South Sudan repays through its crude oil exports. South Sudan is also considering building a pipeline to Djibouti via Ethiopia, although no firm commitment has been made yet.

Currently, South Sudan relies entirely on Sudan's pipeline network to transport its crude oil products to the international market. However, one of the two pipelines connecting South Sudan's oil fields to the Bashayer terminal on the Red Sea coast of Sudan has been shut down since February due to ruptures and blockages. The repair work has been hindered by the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in April 2023. The President of South Sudan stated last week that South Sudan's goal is to restart the export of Dar Blend oil through Sudan in a few weeks.

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