Crude oil prices rebounded significantly in the second week of July 2025, with Brent gaining 1.94% and WTI 1.9%, despite an announced OPEC+ output increase for August and renewed US tariff threats. This surge was primarily driven by robust demand signals and acute market tightness. Increased US gasoline demand for the driving season and high refinery utilization (93.9%) fueled consumption. Supply concerns intensified as US crude inventories saw a 3.9-million-barrel drawdown, now 8% below the five-year average. Compounding this, drone attacks cut Iraq's Kurdistan production by 140,000-150,000 b/d, while renewed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea forced costly reroutes.
Selenis has effectively manufactured recycled PET chips using terephthalic acid sourced from Circ®, a textile-to-textile recycler based in Virginia. The chip production took place through a series of batches at Selenis' pilot plant in San-Giorgio, Italy. By utilizing inputs recovered from polycotton textile waste, Selenis has created high-quality PET chip, which has been further processed into DTY yarn. This yarn will play a crucial role in product development as Circ prepares for additional capsule launches. Selenis is leveraging the success of this initial collaboration phase and is committed to advancing towards an offtake partnership to support Circ's inaugural industrial facility.
Eduardo Santos, Head of Corporate Strategy at Selenis, remarked that the monomer synthesis showed a performance comparable to virgin terephthalic acid. He expressed optimism about the consistent quality of Circ's monomer output and anticipated future commercial success. Santos pointed out that the Circ partnership complements Selenis's existing mission and goals for a more sustainable textile industry. He further stated their anticipation of expanding upon this collaboration and providing support for Circ's forthcoming commercial production trials.
