Business

Rystad Energy: OPEC+ announces crude production increase following US-Israel strikes on Iran

OPEC+ has decided to increase its crude oil production target by 206,000 bpd for April against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical risk as conflict in Middle East escalated rapidly over the weekend.

Published

5 months ago

March 2, 2026

Admin

Advisory, research and energy intelligence company Rystad Energy on Sunday (1 March) released an oil market update on OPEC+ increasing its crude oil production target amid heightened Middle East geopolitical risk:

OPEC+ has decided to increase its crude oil production target by 206,000 barrels per day (bpd) for April against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical risk as conflict in the Middle East escalated rapidly over the weekend.

Oil markets will enter the new week facing a materially higher risk of supply disruption following the sharp escalation on Saturday, which included direct military confrontation between key regional actors and retaliatory strikes across the Persian Gulf region.

Approximately 15 million bpd of crude oil transits the Strait of Hormuz, representing close to 30% of global seaborne crude trade.

This makes it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.

Any sustained disruption, formal or de facto, would remove a substantial portion of globally traded crude from the market.

Rystad Energy’s oil market update from Jorge Leon, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis:

“Weekend events in the Middle East have had significant humanitarian impacts, in addition to fundamentally reframing global markets.

What began as a widely anticipated 137,000 bpd increase, in line with OPEC+’s cautious unwinding of cuts, quickly became far more consequential as tensions in Iran drew attention to critical Middle Eastern export infrastructure the world relies on.

The group ultimately raised output beyond that initial expectation but stopped short of a more forceful increase, underscoring the tightrope it is walking between responding to near-term geopolitical risk and avoiding oversupply later this year.

The bigger issue is physical reality: roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper.

If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has already been increasing exports in recent weeks, with shipments reaching their highest level in three years, indicating that part of the supply adjustment was already underway ahead of the formal decision.

In absolute terms, 206,000 bpd is small relative to global demand of more than 100 million bpd – on its own, it does not materially change the balance.

The decision is therefore more about signaling than about volume.

OPEC+ is showing it is prepared to use spare capacity if needed, but it is not willing to open the taps aggressively at this stage.

This also underlines that OPEC+ needs to manage spare capacity carefully.

Effective spare capacity currently stands at around 3.5 million bpd – a critical buffer that cannot be deployed too quickly without reducing the group’s ability to respond to a larger disruption.

Importantly, this increase is unlikely to calm markets in the immediate term.

Price direction on Monday will depend far more on developments in the Gulf and the status of transit flows than on a 206,000-bpd adjustment to production targets.

Photo credit: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash
Published: 2 March, 2026

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Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

9 hours ago

July 21, 2026

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Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

9 hours ago

July 21, 2026

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Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

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9 hours ago

July 21, 2026

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PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026