The oil market struggled in Q3 as prices continued to soften under mounting supply pressure. Following moderate gains in H1, prices contracted through Q3, ending the quarter lower than their July 1 start positions. Brent crude started the period at US$67.10 per barrel and finished at US$65.90, a 1.7 percent decline. Similarly, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) entered the 90 day session at US$65.55 per barrel, slipping to US$62.33 by September 30. In its recently released energy, oil and gas report for the third quarter, Deloitte attributes the summer price slump to rising global oil inventories and OPEC+ easing production cuts sooner than expected. “OPEC+ recently announced a 137 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d) production quota increase for October, beginning the reversal of 1.65 MMbbl/d of voluntary cuts that were originally set to stay in place through 2026,” it reads. Supply has also exceeded demand in the US by 1.6 MMbbl/d…
