Pemex battles fresh Gulf of Mexico oil leak

Copper stocks fell sharply after a Reuters report indicated the White House delayed a decision on refined copper tariffs due to affordability concerns. Freeport-McMoRan, Southern Copper, and others saw significant declines. Analysts noted the impact on arbitrage and supply dynamics, with some maintaining long positions despite the drop.

China's state-backed iron ore buyer, CMRG, has paused some Rio Tinto (RIO) purchases as contract talks reach a critical stage. CMRG advised mills to avoid discussions with Rio for now. China accounted for 60% of Rio's revenue last year. Separately, Rio agreed to acquire the Aurukun bauxite project, pending approvals.

Gibson reports a potential increase in West-to-East tanker flows due to a US-Venezuela oil deal. NABEP, with 65B barrels, plans to scale production with $100B investment. Chevron and Eni also expand operations. Production could reach 1.5M barrels/day by 2027, per Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Goldman Sachs expects less than 2M barrels/day in the near term.

QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi reported that Iranian attacks damaged 17% of Qatar's LNG capacity, causing $20B in annual revenue loss and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia. Repairs may take 3-5 years, affecting 12.8M tons of LNG annually. QatarEnergy may declare force majeure on long-term contracts. ExxonMobil, a partner in the damaged facilities, holds significant stakes.

Chevron plans to invest over $7 billion to double oil production in Venezuela within five years, aiming for 600,000 barrels per day. The deal, supported by the U.S. government, seeks to increase global oil supply and potentially lower prices, but faces infrastructure and political challenges.

Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, as investors weighed Gulf tensions against steady OPEC+ output. The United States Oil Fund (USO) settled at US$141.15, up 0.11%. Petrobras ADRs jumped 2.61% to US$20.86, while YPF climbed 2.76% to US$53.91. Ecopetrol lagged with a 0.34% rise to US$17.51. US crude inventories fell 4.5 million barrels, tightening the market. OPEC+ is set to meet on Sunday.