Oil Daily | Political Conflicts Reduce Libya's Sharara Output Amid Global Price Adjustments by Saudi Aramco

**Industry News**

Global investment firm The Carlyle Group has agreed to sell Cogentrix Energy, the owner of more than a dozen U.S. power plants, to private equity group Quantum Capital for $3 billion, the Financial Times reports. Carlyle bought Cogentrix Energy's North American assets from Goldman Sachs Group in 2012. Earlier this year, FT reported Carlyle hired Lazard and Latham & Watkins to advise on a potential sale, valuing Cogentrix up to $4 billion. The U.S. utilities sector is prepping for mergers as electricity demand is set to surge due to AI-driven technologies. Goldman Sachs expects U.S. power demand to grow by 2.4% annually by 2030, with data centers consuming 8% of U.S. power, up from 3% in 2022, driven by AI. **Oil-Producing Countries Dynamics**

Libya’s internationally recognized government accused its rival in the east of "political blackmail" following protests that reduced operations at the largest oil field, Sharara. Production dropped from 300,000 bpd to 210,000 bpd. The Sharara field often faces disruptions due to Libya's political conflicts. Libya’s oil production hovers around 1.2 million bpd but plans to increase to 1.5 million bpd by 2025 and 2 million bpd by 2027 face challenges due to political instability. **Company News**

Chevron removed non-essential personnel from two Gulf of Mexico platforms ahead of tropical storm Debby. Production remains unaffected. This is the second storm in a month; platforms were previously evacuated for storm Beryl. Debby is expected to become a hurricane, but large-scale evacuation is not anticipated, suggesting minimal impact on Gulf production. Last week, Chevron reported lower-than-expected Q2 earnings due to weak refining margins and low natural gas prices, despite record production in the Permian Basin and integration of PDC Energy. **Latest Oil Policies**

Saudi Aramco raised official selling prices for its light crude for Asian clients for the first time in three months, with September's Arab Light price up by $0.20 per barrel. Arab Medium and Heavy prices remain unchanged. Meanwhile, Aramco reduced crude prices for Europe and the U.S., signaling weak demand there. Despite reports of weakening oil demand growth in China, Aramco's price hike suggests demand elsewhere in Asia, potentially contradicting recent economic data indicating weaker Chinese fuel demand.