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On September 1 (Wednesday), international oil prices closed mixed, with OPEC+ maintaining its plan to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day. In addition, EIA crude oil inventories fell more than market expectations, providing support for oil prices. The WTI October crude oil spot contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed up $0.09 to $68.59 per barrel, an increase of 0.13%. The new Brent crude oil futures contract on the Intercontinental Exchange closed down $0.04 to $71.59 per barrel, a decrease of 0.06%. Shanghai crude oil prices rose in overnight trading, with the main futures contract SC2110 closing at 441.2 yuan/barrel, up 0.9 yuan/barrel, or 0.20%. News related: On September 1, OPEC+ agreed to stick to its existing policy of gradually increasing oil production. In July, the alliance agreed to gradually reduce record production cuts and increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day month by month. Before the meeting, two OPEC sources said that experts from the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) had revised their oil demand growth forecast in 2022 to 4.2 million barrels per day from the previous 3.28 million barrels per day, and faced pressure from the United States to increase production faster. OPEC said in a statement that while the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create some uncertainty, market fundamentals have strengthened and as the recovery accelerates, the OECD * * Oil inventories continue to fall. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that OPEC has achieved a goal of removing excess oil from the global market and that maintaining market balance is crucial. A statement from the Iraqi Oil Ministry showed that the country’s oil minister said that OPEC+’s policy of gradually increasing production will help stabilize the international oil market. On September 1, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report on Wednesday showing that U.S. crude oil inventories fell sharply last week, while refined oil supply hit a record high. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels in the week ended August 27 to 425.4 million barrels, the lowest level since September 2019. U.S. production rose to 11.5 million barrels per day, the highest level since May 2020. In addition, the EIA said that in the week ended August 27, crude oil processing capacity at U.S. refineries fell by 134,000 barrels per day. U.S. refinery capacity utilization fell 1.1% on the week, as the summer driving season winds down and a less active turnaround season looms. Many refineries postponed maintenance last year due to a lack of workers due to the pandemic. On September 1, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) stated that after Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana, 1.46 million barrels/day of crude oil production and 1.88 billion cubic feet/day of natural gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region were still shut down on Wednesday. The currently suspended crude oil production capacity is equivalent to 80% of the United States. ； The suspended natural gas production capacity is equivalent to 83% of the United States. source: Shandong Huaxing Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd.