RIYADH: Oil prices edged down on Wednesday, pressured by global central bank efforts to tame inflation and ahead of expected builds in US crude inventories as product demand weakens. Brent crude prices for September fell 37 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $106.98 a barrel by 0340 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude for August slipped 69 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $103.53 per barrel. ConocoPhillips CEO warns of oil supply shortages ConocoPhillips’ CEO on Tuesday warned of looming crude oil shortages and price volatility, citing limited spare capacity among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and slow US output gains ahead. Ryan Lance, head of the largest US independent oil producer, offered a dour outlook on future supply in remarks to members of the oil group the Houston Producers Forum. His comments came days after US President Joe Biden returned from Saudi Arabia without success in securing an agreement for the OPEC+ group to boost production. “Ultimately, demand will go back to pre-pandemic levels,” Lance said while cautioning about OPEC’s lack of additional capacity and a US production plateau. “There is a supply crunch coming,” Lance said. Nigeria’s NNPC plans IPO launch by mid of next year State-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. will be ready to launch an initial public offering in the middle of next year, its group CEO said on Tuesday after the firm formally became a commercial company known as NNPC Ltd. “We are convinced that by the middle of next year, this company will be IPO ready, which means that you have the system, processes, and a company that is accountable to its stakeholders and shareholders,” Mele Kyari told reporters in Abuja. As a commercial entity, NNPC Ltd. will no longer have recourse to state funds. Its shares and assets, including oil blocs and refineries, are now held by the ministries of petroleum and finance. Junior petroleum minister Timpire Sylva said earlier on Tuesday that NNPC Ltd. will operate as a profitable entity that would declare dividends. NPCC and Technip Energies establish JV The National Petroleum Construction Co., a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s National Marine Dredging Company, has joined hands with French firm Technip Energies to establish a new joint venture company named NT Energies. According to a MEED report, both the companies signed the initial agreement to create the new firm last September. The report further added that the final agreement was signed on July 18 on the sidelines of UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s visit to Paris. (With input from Reuters)