The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0800 GMT - Saudi Aramco's second-quarter net income beat consensus views by 4% as its downstream unit outperformed expectations, Jefferies analysts write. It upstream business was relatively in line, they add. Net debt increased by nearly $4 billion quarter-on-quarter which was mainly due to a working capital outflow of around $2 billion, they write. Shares trade flat at 23.90 Saudi riyals. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0738 GMT - Saudi Aramco's spending appears to be running lower than its full-year expectations, with investments of $25.5 billion in the first half compared with full-year guidance of $52 billion to $58 billion, RBC Capital Markets' Biraj Borkhataria and Adnan Dhanani say in a research note. "While spending typically picks up in the second half of the year, we think full year [capital expenditure] could come in towards the lower end of its guided range, subject to acquisitions," RBC says. The company--formally called Saudi Arabian Oil. Co--said its Berri and Marjan oil-crude projects, as well as the first phase of its Jafurah gas plant and the Tanajib gas plant, are on track for completion in 2025. Shares trade flat at 23.90 Saudi riyals. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0737 GMT - BP shareholders will be glad to see the company's rise in earnings matched with financial discipline, Hargreaves Lansdown's Derren Nathan writes. The British energy major reports a further $900 million of cost savings as net debt continue to trend down, he adds. BP's management remains cautious on shareholder returns, opting to keep its reduced $750 million buyback with a modest 4% growth in its dividend, he adds. Shares trade up 1.6% 412.5 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0731 GMT - BP reported a solid set of second-quarter results, delivering a 13% beat for EBIT and 29% beat at the net income level, RBC Capital Markets analysts Biraj Borkhataria and Adnan Dhanani write. It's $750 million quarterly buyback and 4% dividend growth is in line with market expectations, they write. BP will conduct a review of its assets and undertake a cost review. It isn't immediately clear what this means for the Castrol strategic review and potential divestment, the analysts write. A decision may be deferred to allow the incoming Chair to review BP's capital allocation, they add. Shares trade up 1.3% at 411.45 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0233 GMT - Oil prices edge lower in the early Asia trade. OPEC+ is expected to take a break before unwinding the next layer of voluntary cuts or otherwise face a ballooning surplus in the oil market, says Kieran Tompkins, Capital Economics senior climate and commodities economist, in a note. CE's base case is that OPEC+ will begin raising output again from 2Q 2026, which is consistent with the price of Brent crude falling this year and the next, he adds. Having raised output rapidly since its pivot to a more aggressive stance in April, the group's decision this weekend with a similarly rapid pace in September came as little surprise to market watchers, he says. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are down 0.1% at $66.24/bbl, while Brent crude oil futures are also 0.1% lower at $68.70/bbl. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

2304 GMT [Dow Jones]--Is the market underestimating the capex intensity required to sustain Beach Energy's production beyond FY 2026, particularly across Australia's Cooper Basin? Citi thinks so and this helps to cement its sell call on Beach's stock. Beach is preparing to bring online the second stage of its Waitsia gas project in Western Australia. Analyst Tom Wallington expects Waitsia volumes will lift production growth to a peak of 22.9 million BOE in FY 2027. Production is then likely to fall, driven by field declines in the Otway and Cooper basins, Citi says. "M&A is required to add meaningful portfolio length and improve the current 7 year 2P reserve life," Citi says, referring to Beach's proven and probable reserves. "Funding of this hinges on the scale of any acquisition with Beach having A$700 million of headroom at end FY 2025." (david.winning@wsj.com)

2301 GMT [Dow Jones]--Beach Energy's guidance points to negative free cash flow in FY 2026, says Morgans. Beach signaled annual output of 19.7 million-22.0 million barrels of oil equivalent, capex of A$675 million-A$775 million, and abandonment expenses of A$200 million-A$250 million. That was disappointing, analyst Adrian Prendergast says. He notes that consensus production forecasts were for 23.3 million BOE. Morgans retains a hold call on Beach, and cuts its price target by 14% to A$1.16/share. Beach ended Monday at A$1.18. (david.winning@wsj.com)

2236 GMT [Dow Jones]--Diamondback Energy issued a letter to shareholders Monday that said at current oil prices, U.S. shale oil production has likely peaked, adding activity levels in the Lower 48 will remain depressed. The letter, signed by Chief Executive Kaes Van't Hof, also pointed out U.S. oil-directed rig count has fallen by about 60 rigs this year, while the Permian Basin active completion crew count is down over 25% from 2024. "Fortunately, the likelihood of a massive oil supply glut combined with an oil demand shock seems to have dissipated (on the demand side), but the projected increase in global oil supply in the second half of this year is hard to ignore," the letter said. "We still believe we are approaching a yellow light to pull from last quarter's 'stop light' analogy," the letter read, and added "a green light is eventually inevitable given we believe current oil prices are unsustainable over the long term." (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)

2024 GMT - India says the targeting of the country by the U.S. and the EU over its purchases of Russian oil is "unjustified and unreasonable," as the imports are necessary to ensure affordable energy for the Indian population. President Trump said in a post that he will raise tariffs on India as it continues to buy "massive amounts" of Russian oil. India's Ministry of External Affairs says "the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia," with the EU buying energy, fertilizers, mining and other products, while the U.S. buys uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for the EV industry, among others. "Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security," the ministry adds. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1907 GMT - Oil futures fall for a third consecutive session after OPEC+ said it will lift output by another 547,000 barrels a day in September. The planned increase fully unwinds the 2.2 million barrels of voluntary production cuts made in November 2023 about a year ahead of the initial timeline. The decision was the third blow for oil prices after last week's higher than initially expected U.S. tariffs and weaker-than-expected employment report, FxPro's Alex Kuptsikevich says in a note. The OPEC+ decision was "rather bold" given growing fears of a global economic slowdown, he says. "If OPEC+ really plans to increase its share of the oil market, it may not oppose further price declines." WTI settles down 1.5% at $66.29 a barrel and Brent falls 1.3% to $68.76. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1724 GMT - Crude futures are off earlier lows after President Trump steps up his threat of higher tariffs against India for buying Russian oil. India doesn't resell Russian oil, as a Trump post suggests, but it does export products made partly with Russian crude, says Mizuho's Bob Yawger. China also buys Russian oil, but India "doesn't have a lot of leverage," and isn't in a position like the EU and South Korea to commit to big purchases of U.S. energy products, Yawger adds. "They're in a tough spot" but "the most likely scenario is some kind of compromise." The prospect of fewer Russian barrels on the market is keeping oil from falling further after OPEC+ agreed to another big output increase in September. WTI is down 1.5% at $66.25 a barrel and Brent is off 1.3% at $68.74. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1645 GMT - OPEC+ is likely to pause in its unwinding of output cuts after September's 547,000 barrel-a-day production increase, "or otherwise face a ballooning surplus in the oil market," Kieran Tompkins of Capital Economics says in a note. The group's vagueness about how it might proceed with other layers of cuts suggests "that the gung-ho approach over the last four months might be replaced by one that gives more weight to prevailing oil market conditions." Capital Economics' base case is for OPEC+ to wait until 2Q 2026 before embarking on further increases. The wild card is President Trump's threat of hitting buyers of Russian oil with secondary tariffs. Depending on how long any disruptions to Russian crude flows last, it may give the rest of the group "cover to unwind the remainder of its output cuts," Tompkins adds. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 05, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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