RIYADH: Oil prices settled more than a dollar a barrel higher on Friday, notching their biggest weekly gains since October, as the US dollar dropped to a seven-month low and more indicators pointed toward growing demand from top oil importer China. 

Brent crude futures settled at $85.28 a barrel, up by $1.25, or 1.5 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose for the seventh-straight session to settle at $79.86a barrel, up by $1.47, or 1.9 percent. 

Brent gained 8.6 percent this week, while WTI rose by 8.4 percent, recouping most of the previous week’s losses. 

Qatar, UAE energy ministers say gas will be needed for long time 

The world will need natural gas for a long time and more investment is required to ensure supply security and affordable prices during the global energy transition, energy ministers of Qatar and the UAE said on Saturday.

Saad Al-Kaabi, Qatari state minister for energy, told the Global Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that gas “is not a transition fuel” but a destination fuel, adding it was unfair for some in the West to say African countries should not be drilling for oil and gas. 

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei, speaking on the same panel, agreed that “for a very long time, gas will be there” and that while more renewable energy would be installed, more investment was needed in gas as a base load. 

Guyana’s oil exports double, with Europe taking half of cargo 

Guyana’s oil exports jumped 164 percent last year, boosted by growing output and demand for the newest Latin American oil producer’s light sweet crudes, particularly in Europe, where thirsty refiners ramped up imports to replace Russian supplies. 

Since a consortium led by Exxon Mobil began pumping in late 2019, Guyana’s shipments have soared, bringing the South American nation’s oil export income to $1.1 billion last year, according to official figures provided to Reuters. 

The government’s $1.1 billion share of oil revenue was up sharply from a combined $409 million in profit and royalties in 2021. High global prices pushed its take above the country’s initial revenue forecast of $958 million. 

Guyana, among the smallest and most underdeveloped nations in South America, plans to use its oil wealth to industrialize, adding a gas-fired power plant, new roads and solar energy projects. 

Following the startup of Exxon’s second floating production vessel last February, output ramped up and exports flowed as European refiners were searching for alternatives to Russian oil in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion. 

Guyana is producing about 360,000 barrels per day of oil and aims to raise output to 1.64 million bpd by end of the decade. 

Guyana’s exports averaged 265,693 bpd last year, more than double the 100,645 bpd in 2021, according to shipping data from Refinitiv Eikon. Europe was the largest receiver, taking 49 percent of the cargo. Its volumes outpaced Asia, which had been the first destination previously, taking 34 percent last year. 

(With input from Reuters)