US oil output at a record high; US oil supplies at 42½ year low; refinery utilization at the highest October rate since 2003

record production of crude from US wells; Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the lowest since it was initially being filled in mid-October 1982, leaving the total of all US oil supplies, including the SPR, at the lowest level since March 30th, 1984; US refinery utilization at the highest October rate since 2003, refining the most barrels in any October week since 2019

US oil prices finished higher for the first time in three weeks on increased attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and as the first Gulf hurricane of the year forced shut a quarter of U.S. offshore oil production…after falling 1.4% to $91.11 per barrel last week as shipments of oil thru the Strait of Hormuz increased and Saudi Arabia resumed Red Sea oil exports after repairing its damaged East-West pipeline, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for November delivery edged lower during Asian trading on Monday, as rising Middle East crude exports and and a release of oil stocks by the Group of Seven ‌nations boosted supplies, offsetting concerns about further damage to Gulf oil infrastructure amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, and was down about 1% during morning trading in London, amid rising Middle East exports and the decision by the G7 countries to release fuel from strategic reserves, but steadied as trading began in New York as the market weighed signs of Middle Eastern supply recovery and the announcement of a large-scale release from emergency reserves against a flare-up in fighting in Yemen and continued attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, before resuming its slide to settle $1.68 lower at $89.43 a barrel after crude exports from the Middle East increased and the Group of Seven nations pledged to boost supplies, even as selling was limited by ‌ongoing disruption linked to the US war with Iran….oil futures traded higher on Tuesday morning in Asia following reports that the Houthis had attacked several sites in Saudi Arabia, but were down nearly 2% by the time trading wrapped up in Europe, as supply concerns eased due to increased Middle Eastern crude exports, and due to the agreement by the Group of Seven countries to release emergency diesel and crude stockpiles, but bounced off their low during US trading and retraced the earlier losses ahead of the close, as the continuing geopolitical risk limited the market’s losses, and settled one cent higher at $89.44 a barrel as the market weighed increases in Middle Eastern crude exports and a planned ‌Group of Seven release of emergency diesel and crude stockpiles against supply concerns related to attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen….oil prices rose during Asian trading on Wednesday as the market weighed supply constraints from a storm heading for US oil-producing regions, and as attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Saudi targets raised disruption risks, offsetting increased increased West Asian crude supplies, but fell during morning US trading despite an EIA report that the crude draw for last week was even bigger than what API reported, and far worse than the inventory increase that was expected, and settled $1.16 lower at $88.28 a barrel after the International Energy Agency’s member states agreed to prioritize the release of diesel stocks in an effort to address surging fuel prices…oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Thursday as concerns over supplies from the Middle East persisted amid increasing attacks on shipping traffic in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and were later up more than 4% across global markets after reports suggested that the White House had asked the Pentagon to develop options to strike Iran before the midterm elections, then jumped during Thursday morning in New York amid growing supply risks as Iran was stepping up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the first Hurricane of the season forced shut a quarter of U.S. offshore oil production, and settled $3.21 higher at $91.49 a barrel on continuing concerns over supply from the Middle East amid an increase in attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz….oil prices fell during Asian trading on Friday, as traders weighed President Trump’s pledge not to attack Iran before the U.S. midterm elections against persistent shipping risks in the Persian Gulf and extensive offshore production shut-ins in the Gulf of Mexico, and slid further Friday morning in New York after President Trump touted "productive discussions" with Iran, and the news that China was set to resume fuel exports following a one-week suspension, but recovered to settle 36 cents higher at $91.85 a barrel as Hurricane Isaias churned toward the northern Gulf of Mexico and ‌oil companies shut more than 70% of crude production in US waters, leaving oil prices 0.8% higher for the week….

meanwhile, natural gas prices finished higher for the third time in four weeks after Hurricane Isaias idled production but left LNG exports unscathed….after falling 5.7% to $3.035 per mmBTU last week on milder weather and a quick return to normal Appalachian pipeline flows after the prior week’s outage, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for November delivery opened a penny higher on Monday, then traded near $3.060 into the afternoon, as steady LNG exports and healthy production kept the market in check, and settled 3.1 cents higher at $3.066 per mmBTU as slipping production outweighed mild October forecasts and sagging cash prices in the East…natural gas prices were little changed in morning trading Tuesday, as traders took note of weakening weather demand, LNG strength and mixed reads on supply, then moved higher through early afternoon trading as another production estimate kept supply concerns in focus, even as the weather outlook offered mixed support for demand, and settled 4.8 cents higher at $3.114 per mmBTU on tightening supply-demand balances, despite largely unsupportive two-week weather forecasts….natural gas futures surged higher in Wednesday morning action​, as traders digested light production estimates and the potential for Tropical Storm Isaias to wreak havoc and further curb supply during the week, then rose further through midday trading as cooler longer range forecasts, expectations for a below-normal storage injection and short covering lifted the front of the curve. and settled 8.9 cents higher at a two-week high of $3.203 per mmBTU on a drop in output due to recent pipeline problems​, and ​on worries that ​t​he Gulf of Mexico storm could cause further supply disruptions…natural gas prices moved higher early Thursday as traders took stock of Hurricane Isaias approaching the Gulf Coast, and expectations for a bullish government inventory report, but slipped in trading immediately after the report, which fell short of historical norms but exceeded market expectations, and settled 3.5 cents lower at $3.168 per mmBTU as the slightly bearish government storage surprise tempered bullish sentiment in the natural gas futures market, ending a four-day run of gains for the prompt month….natural gas futures pulled back early Friday as Hurricane Isaias neared the Gulf Coast, idling offshore production but looking to mostly steer clear of the Texas-Louisiana LNG export complex, but began to recover by midday from Thursday's storage-driven sell-off amid declining domestic production and strengthening LNG feedgas, and settled 5.2 cents higher at $3.220 per mmBTU, as offshore operators shut in 1.26 billion cubic fet of production with a powerful hurricane poised to smack the northern Gulf Coast, leaving November natural gas prices 6.1% higher for the week…

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending October 2nd indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 85 billion cubic feet to 3,500 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 130 billion cubic feet, or 3.6% below the 3,630 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on October 2nd of last year, but 68 billion cubic feet, or 2.0% above the five-year average of 3,336 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 2nd of October over the most recent five years….the 85 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage for the cited week was above the 80 billion cubic foot injection into storage that the market had been expecting ahead of the report, and it was more than the  77 billion cubic foot of gas that were injected into natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2025, but less than the average 96 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage that had been typical at the beginning of October over the past five years…

The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA

US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending October 2nd showed that with a big jump in our oil exports, an increase in our oil refining, and an increase in demand for oil that the EIA could not account for, we had to pull oil out of our stored crude supplies for the the twenty-first time in twenty-four weeks, and for the 43rd time in seventy-one weeks, despite a big increase in our oil imports…. Our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 1,142,000 barrels per day to average 6,840,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 179,000 barrels per day during the prior week, while our exports of crude oil rose by an average of 1,195,000 barrels per day to average 4,765,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to an import average of 2,075,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending October 2nd, an average of 53,000 fewer barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week... At the same time, transfers to our oil supplies from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils were 16,000 barrels per day higher than the prior week at 447,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 24,000 barrels per day higher at a record high of 13,979,000 barrels per day.  Hence, our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil, from transfers, and from domestic well production appears to have averaged a total of 16,501,000 barrels per day during the October 2nd reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 16,480,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending October 2nd, an average of 223,000 more barrels per day than the amount of oil that our refineries reported they were processing during the prior week, while over the same period, the EIA’s surveys indicated that a​n average net of 567,000 barrels of oil per day were being pulled out of the supplies of oil stored in the US… So, based on that reported & estimated data, the crude oil figures provided by the EIA appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil from storage, from net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending October 2nd averaged a rounded 589,000 more barrels per day than what our oil refineries reported they used during the week.  To account for the difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [ -589,000 ] barrel per day figure onto line 16 of the weekly U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet, in order to make the reported data for the supply of oil and for the consumption of it balance out, a fudge factor that they label in their footnotes as “unaccounted for crude oil”, thus indicating there must have been a error or omission of that amount in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed.... Since 238,000 barrels per day of demand for oil could not be accounted for in the prior week’s EIA data, that means there was a 351,000 barrel per day difference between this week’s oil balance sheet error and the EIA’s crude oil balance sheet error from a week ago, and hence the changes to supply and demand from that week to this one that are indicated by this week’s report are somehow off by that much, and are therefore pretty useless….However, since most oil traders react to the figures in these weekly EIA reports as if they were gospel, and since these weekly figures therefore often drive oil pricing and hence decisions to drill or complete oil wells, we’ll continue to report this data just as it’s published, and just as it’s watched & believed to be reasonably reliable by most everyone in the industry…(for more on how this weekly oil data is gathered, and the possible reasons for that “unaccounted for” oil supply, see this EIA explainer….also see this March 2023 twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had once hoped to do about it).

This week’s rounded 567,000 barrel per day average decrease in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 455,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our commercial stocks of crude oil, while 112,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the twenty-eighth consecutive Iran war related withdrawal from the SPR, which left the SPR level at 282,983,000 barrels, the lowest since it was initially being filled in mid-October 1982........with both commercial oil and the SPR both down sharply this week, that left the Total of all US Oil Supplies at 707,117,000 barrels, down 18.8% from 870,774,000 barrels on April 17th, and the lowest since March 30th, 1984….

Further details from the weekly Petroleum Data Overview (pdf) indicated that the 4 week average of our oil imports rose to 6,368,000 barrels per day last week, which was 4.3% more than the 6,106,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year, while the four week average of our exports rose to 4,112,000 barrels per day last week, which was 3.8% less than the 4,276,000 barrel per day average that we were exporting last year year at this time... This week’s crude oil production was reported to be 16,000 barrels per day higher at a record high of 13,979,000 barrels per day as the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 3,000 barrels per day higher at 13,487,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 21,000 barrels per day higher at 489,000 barrels per day...US crude oil production had reached a pre-pandemic high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 6.7% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also 44.1% above the pandemic low of 9,700,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the third week of February of 2021.

US oil refineries were operating at 92.7% of their capacity while processing those 16,480,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending October 2nd, up from 92.5% the prior week, and the highest October utilization rate since 2003….the 16,480,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined that week were ​the most barrels refined in any October week since 2019, 1.1% more than the 16,297,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending October 3rd of 2025, and 5.3% more than the 15,656,000 barrels that were being refined during the pre-pandemic week ending October 4th, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 85.7%, which was well below the pre-pandemic normal utilization rate for this time of year, probably due to the historic flooding across southeast Texas in the wake of Tropical Storm Imelda of that year…

Even with the increase in the amount of oil that was being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was still lower, decreasing by 117,000 barrels per day to 9,349,000 barrels per day during the week ending October 2nd, after our refineries’ gasoline output had decreased by 124,000 barrels per day during the prior week... This week’s gasoline production was 4.1% less than the 9,753,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending October 3rd of last year, and 7.1% less than the gasoline production of 10,066,000 barrels per day seen during the prepandemic week ending October 4th, 2019….on the other hand, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) increased by 287,000 barrels per day to 5,290,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had decreased by 156,000 barrels per day during the prior week.  After that production increase, our distillates output was 2.3% more than the 5,169,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending October 3rd of 2025, and 9.4% more than the 4,835,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending October 4th, 2019....

Even with this week’s decrease in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week rose for the eighth time in thirty-four weeks, increasing by 382,000 barrels to 204,744,000 barrels during the week ending October 2nd, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 1,684,000 barrels to a twelve year low during the prior week.  Our gasoline supplies rose this week even though the amount of gasoline supplied to US users rose by 80,000 barrels per day to 8,769,000  barrels per day, because our exports of gasoline fell by 101,000 barrels per day to 831,000 barrels per day, and because our imports of gasoline rose by 12,000 barrels per day to 512,000 barrels per day.. After fifty-six gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past eighty-five weeks, our gasoline supplies were 6.5% lower than last October 3rd’s gasoline inventories of 219,093,000 barrels, and about 6% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of year…

Even after this week’s increase in distillates production, our supplies of distillates fell for the sixteenth time in thirty-four weeks, decreasing by 42,000 barrels to 105,138,000 barrels during the week ending October 2nd, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 2,251,000 barrels during the prior week... Our distillates supplies fell by less this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, fell by 298,000 barrels per day to 3,650,000 barrels per day, even as our exports of distillates rose by 235,000 barrels per day to 1,764,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates fell by 35,000 barrels per day to 118,000 barrels per day... After 31 withdrawals from distillates inventories over the past 64 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 15.7% below the 124,665,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on October 3rd of 2025, and were about 12% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…

Finally, after the big jump in our oil exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 17th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 27th time over the past year, decreasing by 3,186,000 barrels over the week, from 427,320,000 barrels on September 25th to 424,134,000 barrels on October 2nd, after our commercial crude supplies had increased by 922,000 barrels over the prior week….After this week’s decrease, our commercial crude oil inventories were still about 1% above recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, and they were about 19% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the first weekend of October over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the difference between those comparisons arising because it wasn’t until early 2015 that our oil inventories had first topped 400 million barrels. After our commercial crude oil inventories had jumped to record highs during the Covid lockdowns in the Spring of 2020, then jumped again after February 2021’s winter storm Uri froze off US Gulf Coast refining, but then fell sharply due to increased exports to Europe following the onset of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze-offs, changes in our commercial crude inventories had been less extreme up until the onset of the Iran war, when they were initially built up to a three year high by mid-April, before falling to the lowest in nearly eight years by late July…This week’s decrease was the largest in six weeks, but as of October 2nd our commercial crude inventories were still 0.9% above the 420,261,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on October 3rd of 2025, and 0.3% more than the 422,741 ,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on September 27th of 2024, but fractionally less than the 424,239,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on October 6th of 2023…

This Week's Rig Count

The US rig count increased by five over the week ending October 9th, as the number of rigs targeting oil was up by six, while the count of rigs targeting natural gas was down by one, and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged…for a quick snapshot of this week's rig count, we are again including below a screenshot of the rig count summary table from Baker Hughes...in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of October 9th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (October 2nd) and this week’s (October 9th) count, the third column shows last week’s October 2nd active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Friday and the number running on the Friday of the same week of a year ago, and the 5th column shows the number of rigs that were drilling at the end of that reporting period a year ago, which in this week’s case was Friday, the 10th of October, 2025…

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Save Ohio Parks tells the Ohio Power Siting Board not to approve the 500 MW gas plant for the Meta Prometheus data center -Save Ohio Parks submitted the following public comment on Case #26-0627-EL-BGN, the NEO Power Generation Facility, a 500 MW gas plant to power the Meta Prometheus data center in New Albany. The Ohio Power Siting Board held a public hearing on NEO on October 6, 2026. Chair French and members of the Ohio Power Siting Board,  My name is Cathy Becker, and I am board president of Save Ohio Parks, a citizens group concerned about fracking of Ohio’s state parks and public lands. I am writing in opposition to the 500 MW NEO Power Generation Facility, the fourth gas plant proposed to power Meta’s Prometheus data center in New Albany. If built, NEO would join Socrates South (200 MW), Socrates North (200 MW), and Socrates the Younger (250 MW), creating 1150 MW of gas plants to power one data center in a suburban area. NEO’s power generation would include 27 simple cycle gas turbines and four reciprocating internal combustion engines. None of this is state-of-the-art technology. Simple cycle turbines are much less efficient and more polluting than combined cycle turbines, which use the same gas to power two different generators. Reciprocating engines expel pollution similar to a gas car engine, only the size of a school bus. If Meta was using combined cycle turbines, the same gas would go a lot farther. But simple cycle turbines burn the gas, then send the waste heat and pollution out 30-foot stacks at 825 to 870 degrees. Again, this is next to a populated Columbus suburb. How much gas these turbines and engines use matters because some of the gas will come from fracking Ohio’s state parks and wildlife areas. Since the program to frack public land began in 2023, Ohio has approved 21,638 acres for oil and gas extraction, largely in Salt Fork State Park and Egypt Valley Wildlife Area. However, 71% of this land was approved just this year – almost three times as many acres as in the previous three years combined. This is for gas to power data centers like Meta’s Prometheus—by far the largest data center complex in Ohio. Ohioans have made it clear in over 10,000 comments submitted to the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission since 2023 that we do not want our parks and wildlife areas subjected to oil and gas extraction. Comments against these nominations routinely run 98% to 100% opposed. These lands were set aside and meant to be protected. We are also concerned about the pollution itself. According to its air permit application, the NEO facility has the potential to create:

• 3,471,813 tons of greenhouse gas pollution
• 197.1 tons of fine particulate matter
• 243.3 tons of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
• 172.73 tons of Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs)
• 189.1 tons of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
• 245.2 tons of Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• 40,200 pounds of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)

Even if this power plant emits only half these amounts of pollutants, it is still a significant source of pollution. But consider that NEO is the fourth major gas plant for Meta’s Prometheus data center. Together they have the potential to emit the following:

Particularly concerning are greenhouse gas emissions – CO2e – and particulate matter 2.5.   The world is at the tipping point of a runaway climate crisis, driven by burning fossil fuels. Just this summer we witnessed a glacier collapse in Nepal that killed 1500 people. We experienced days of dangerous smoke from wildfires burning over 11 million acres of Canadian forests. And here in Ohio we lived through a week of storms and tornadoes that downed trees, knocked out power, flooded basements, and damaged buildings. It will take a long time to repair that damage – and Meta’s gas plants will only continue to make this worse. If NEO is approved, Meta’s gas plants could pour over 8.3 million tons of greenhouse gas into our atmosphere each year – more than annual emissions from the city of Memphis, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project – just to power one data center.Nor does this count three other gas plants approved and proposed to power EdgeConneX data centers in New Albany, which would bring potential greenhouse gas emissions up to 11.9 million tons per year – similar to the emissions of Detroit, all from one business park.Again, if these data center gas plants create only half this much in greenhouse gas, they are still a significant source of climate-warming pollution — yet the Ohio EPA does not consider carbon dioxide or methane in awarding air permits. To say these gas plants have Ohio air permits does not convey the truth of how they use our atmosphere as an open sewer. Then there is the fine particulate matter. At 1/30^th the width of a human hair, particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers is one of the most harmful forms of air pollution to human health. Particles this small can’t be seen or filtered by the nose. They penetrate into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation throughout the body. A large body of scientific evidence links exposure to PM 2.5 to asthma, heart disease, strokes, and premature deaths. It accounts for most of the 8 million deaths caused by air pollution worldwide each year. High-risk groups include children, older adults, and people with heart and lung conditions – many of whom live in the vicinity of these gas plants. A report by the Environmental Protection Network, a group of over 800 former career staff of the federal EPA, finds that data center-related air pollution could impose roughly $11.7 billion to $20.9 billion in annual public-health costs by 2028, including 600,000 asthma symptom cases and 1,300 premature deaths — and that over 90 percent of these impacts come from the power plants like NEO supplying electricity to data centers.The harm of burning gas isn’t just at the power plant. It starts at the point of extraction and continues through the life cycle of gas to the point of disposal.Gas has been fracked from Ohio’s public lands since 2023 – but fracking has occurred across Appalachian Ohio – the most disadvantaged part of our state – since 2010. Fracking levies enormous health and environmental costs to communities. Physicians for Social Responsibility publishes a compendium of over 2000 abstracts and links to medical, scientific and investigative reports on oil and gas drilling, fracking, and infrastructure, covering air pollution, water contamination, radioactive releases, public health effects, noise and light pollution, threats to agriculture, threats to climate, and more.In one example, a Yale study of people living near fracking operations in Pennsylvania found that children between ages 2 and 7 were two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with leukemia as children who do not live near fracking operations.Here in Ohio, public records show that from 2015 to 2023, the oil and gas industry experienced almost 2,000 incidents and accidents, including leaks, spills, releases, transportation accidents, pipeline accidents, loss of well control, fires, and explosions. This amounts to an oil and gas accident or incident in Ohio every 1.5 days.Fracking is also associated with earthquakes in Ohio. Last year, the Ohio Department Natural Resources shut down the Bears well pad in Noble County due to the highest number of earthquakes in the state. The number of earthquakes in Ohio has increased significantly since fracking began – from 18 in 2011, to 62 in 2019, to 177 in 2025. Fracking takes enormous amounts of fresh water from Ohio’s lakes and streams and turns it into toxic radioactive waste. ODNR permits show each fracking well is allowed to take 100,000 gallons per day for a total of 40 million to 60 million gallons from places like Atwood Lake or Leatherwood Creek.The water is mixed with toxic chemicals, then injected at extremely high pressure to break apart rock and free oil and gas. When this mixture comes back to the surface, it brings not just oil and gas but also radioactive elements. Although these materials are naturally occurring, the wastewater is highly radioactive and cannot go back into the water cycle.Instead, frack waste is disposed of in Class II injection wells. Ohio has permitted more than 240 Class II injection wells for oil and gas waste, compared to 19 in Pennsylvania and a few dozen in West Virginia. Injection wells are supposed to hold fracking wastewater forever, but that is not happening. Fracking wastewater has migrated into orphan wells and other production wells in Ohio. It now threatens drinking water in Marietta.  Conclusion:Although it is unlikely the Ohio Power Siting Board will deny the NEO Power Generation Facility, there is every reason to do so.

• It will drive more fracking of Ohio state parks and wildlife areas, which the majority of Ohioans oppose.
• It will create enormous amounts of air pollution – as much greenhouse gas pollution as some cities and fine particulate matter that makes people sick.
• It will drive fracking across Appalachian Ohio, already the poorest and most extracted part of the state.
• It takes indirectly or directly billions of gallons from Ohio lakes and streams and turns that water into toxic radioactive waste.
• Fracking wastewater is not staying in disposal wells but is migrating into other wells and threatening drinking water.

All of this is known to economics as “external costs” – all for the sake of one data center. If Meta had to pay these external costs, NEO and other gas plants could not be built.  The OPSB is supposed to weigh all of these elements. Please recognize the costs to the health and environment of New Albany and communities across Ohio and deny the Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the NEO Power Generation Facility as not serving the public interest, convenience, or necessity.

Image: The Meta Prometheus data center in New Albany is the world’s first 1 gigawatt (1000 MW) data center. So far three gas plants totaling 650 MW have been approved to power it. The Ohio Power Siting Board is considering a fourth gas plant, the 500 MW NEO Power Generation Facility.

Ohio board hears concerns over proposed New Albany data center power plant - — Environmental advocates are speaking out against a proposed fourth natural gas plant that could help power a Meta AI data center in New Albany’s International Business Park. The Ohio Power Siting Board heard community feedback as it reviews the proposal. Advocates say three other natural gas power plants already have been approved for the site and would consume more than 650 megawatts combined. Cathy Cowan Becker, an advocate against fracking, said Ohio is seeing rapid growth in both data centers and gas plants tied to them. “Ohio's the No. 5 state for data center buildout. And it's the number two state for gas plant build out of a power like specifically for a data center building, a major power plant,” Becker said. The project site spans 740 acres in New Albany’s International Business Park. Opponents say adding a fourth natural gas plant would increase pollution and rely heavily on agricultural resources. “Both greenhouse gas pollution, particulate matter, nitrous oxide, you know, all kinds of volatile organic chemicals,” Becker said. Becker, who said she lives across from a data center in Hilliard, said she has testified at two hearings so far. Matt Butler with the Ohio Utilities Commission said public engagement is an important part of the board’s review process for utility projects. “Review process really hasn't changed. Here at the board, we look at all types of utility projects. That includes power plants like this, but also solar farms, wind farms, natural gas pipelines, electric transmission lines. The process is essentially the same for the review of each type of project,” Butler said. Becker said the proposed plant would power one data center and called on Meta to use renewable energy instead. “At one time had 100% renewable energy goals and they have bought several power from several solar plants, but that was in the past. Just in this past year, they have moved to building out a lot of these gas plants. And not just in Ohio,” Becker said. “So what I would say to Meta is you should be using renewable energy for this.” Butler said the next step is for the board to conduct an adjudicatory hearing at its downtown Columbus location. A request for response from Meta had not been returned. The city of New Albany were contacted and chose not to comment, but shared a FAQ sheet of information for residents. A second public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22.

Lawsuit says Enbridge failed to replace old gas line before deadly Rainbow Terrace explosion — A lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of a man killed in the Rainbow Terrace explosion accuses Enbridge of failing to replace a decades-old gas line that attorneys say contributed to the disaster. Cordale Sheffield, 30, was among the residents caught in the June 23, 2025, explosion and fire at the Cleveland apartment complex in the city’s Garden Valley neighborhood. More than 92% of his body was burned, according to attorney Kyle Wright of Wisehart Wright Trial Lawyers. Sheffield survived for 17 days before dying from his injuries.  Sheffield saved his two stepchildren, Tyrone and Azaria Tate, who also suffered severe burn injuries in the explosion. At least 120 residents were displaced and 44 units destroyed.

Lawsuit alleges Enbridge destroyed evidence after deadly Rainbow Terrace explosion in Cleveland -— The estate of a man who died from injuries suffered in last year's Rainbow Terrace apartment explosion is suing Enbridge Gas and several other defendants, alleging the gas company destroyed or altered critical physical evidence within about 24 hours of the deadly blast. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, alleges Enbridge personnel cut and removed portions of the gas system at the Cleveland apartment complex before the family of Cordale Sheffield or other interested parties had an opportunity to inspect or document the system. The estate's complaint includes a specific cause of action for spoliation of evidence, alleging Enbridge intentionally altered or removed evidence that could have helped investigators determine the source of the gas leak. Sheffield, 31, was severely burned in the June 23, 2025, explosion at the Rainbow Terrace Apartments on Garden Valley Avenue. According to the lawsuit, he suffered full-thickness burns over about 92.75% of his body, as well as inhalation and eye injuries. He spent 17 days in MetroHealth Medical Center's burn intensive care unit before dying from his injuries on July 10, 2025. "Cordell died one of the most painful deaths a human can die," said Sean Claggett, one of two attorneys for the Sheffield family who spoke to 3News on Wednesday. "He was burned, 3rd degree burns over 92% of his body and lived for 17 days before he passed away." Co-counsel Kyle Wright added, "He meant everything to his children, his parents, his siblings. It was a tremendous loss to the family and the community." The lawsuit alleges Enbridge was aware that litigation arising from the explosion was probable and knew the condition of the gas system would be central to determining the cause. According to the complaint, Enbridge's senior legal counsel retained forensic laboratory S-E-A Ltd. on the day of the explosion. The lawsuit alleges that on June 24, Enbridge personnel:

— Cut both service lines serving the building.
— Broke the shutoff valve on the south service line riser.
— Cut the south service line into segments, some of which were too short to be pressure-tested.
— Cut and abandoned a section of the service line between the main tap and curb valve without testing or documenting it.
— Removed portions of the south service line, including a corroded section, valve, plug valve and gas meters, and placed them in the custody of the laboratory.

The estate alleges those actions destroyed the gas system's “as-installed configuration” and made portions of the piping impossible to test to determine whether they had leaked. "The evidence wasn't properly preserved, and that's not just a bald allegation — that's directly from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's report," Wright said. "When people destroy evidence, their goal is to make it harder for other people to prove a case, but we're confident the evidence will lead back to them," Claggett added. The complaint cites state pipeline safety investigators who, according to the lawsuit, found that Enbridge's removal process left jurisdictional piping unable to be leak- or pressure-tested accurately to determine the source of the leak. The investigators also said Enbridge needed to educate employees on evidence removal and proper extraction and preservation of evidence. The lawsuit further alleges that Enbridge broke the shutoff valve while attempting to close it for pressure testing. The estate claims the valve and surrounding piping showed no heat damage from the explosion or fire, but that Enbridge later reported to federal regulators that the valve showed signs of damage from the explosion, fire and building collapse. The estate alleges Enbridge's handling of the evidence was intentional and deprived both the plaintiff and state investigators of the ability to determine the condition of the gas piping between the main and the building's meter. It also alleges the company knew the physical condition of the service line and valves would be important to any investigation and anticipated litigation. What the lawsuit alleges about the explosion The complaint also accuses Enbridge of negligence that contributed to the explosion and Sheffield's death. According to the lawsuit, the steel service line supplying the building's south mechanical rooms had been installed around 1959 and was about 66 years old when the explosion occurred. The estate alleges the line was bare steel, lacked effective corrosion protection and had severely corroded where it passed through the building's masonry wall. The lawsuit also alleges an Enbridge inspection and leak survey conducted June 2, 2025 — 21 days before the explosion — lasted about four minutes and did not identify leaks or corrosion. The complaint claims the same service line later showed severe corrosion and had corroded through at the building's wall. The estate further alleges Enbridge's maps did not show the south service line and that the company could not initially locate the curb valve after the explosion. According to the complaint, natural gas continued feeding the fire for nearly 20 hours after the blast. The lawsuit also names Rainbow Terrace 2021 LLC, American Community Developers and The Carswell Group, doing business as Independent Management Services. The estate alleges the apartment owners and property manager failed to properly respond to reports of natural gas odors and failed to maintain the property and gas system in a safe condition. The complaint alleges eight causes of action, including wrongful death claims against the property owners and manager, a wrongful death negligence claim against Enbridge and related companies, a survival claim for Sheffield's injuries and pain and suffering, and the spoliation claim against Enbridge. The estate is seeking wrongful death and survival damages, compensatory damages for the alleged spoliation of evidence, punitive damages and attorney fees. The complaint seeks more than $25,000, plus interest and costs, and requests a jury trial.

Directional drilling damages Akron home, family says it needed News 5 to get some help — Don George Jr. has been hauling furniture out of his home and loading it into his sister's trailer, which now sits parked on his front lawn. "This is half of my furniture from my house," George said. The sight of it makes him emotional. "I've been very angry the last few days," he said, fighting back tears. "Because my house is destroyed." George and his wife, Karen, said the damage happened on Sept. 24, when Karen was home alone and noticed something was wrong. "I didn't know what it was," Karen said. Liquid began surrounding the house and seeping up through the floors. "It soaked the (carpet) padding, and underneath the padding is more mud," Don said while showing the damage. The liquid was horizontal directional drilling mud — a clay-based mixture used to lubricate the ground when boring holes for underground piping. Mid-Ohio Pipeline is conducting the Akron project on behalf of Cargill. Workers came to the Georges' home that day and assessed the damage. "'You guys are going to be fine. We're going to take care of everything,'" Karen recalled them saying. But Don said the companies originally agreed to cover some costs, then went silent when he requested additional inspections — including a check of his sewer pipes, where the mud had tracked inside the home. "We were just trying to figure out, well, what do we do? Who do we call?" Karen said. They called the News 5 Investigators. After News 5 contacted the companies, Cargill responded in writing, saying it was working with Don. Don said that had not been the case at the time of the inquiry. The situation echoes a similar incident in Twinsburg Township earlier this year, when a different company using the same drilling technique struck a gas line. The resulting explosion damaged dozens of homes and prompted several communities to temporarily ban horizontal directional drilling. In Akron, the Georges said the outreach made a difference. After News 5 contacted the companies, Mid-Ohio Pipeline agreed to a settlement and repairs. "I'm happy because if you guys wouldn't have gotten involved, we wouldn't be getting any answers or anything," Karen said. "And then I can move everything back in and get on with my life," Don said.

Summit Investments to buy into Ohio Gathering - Summit Midstream's general partner will buy the equity interest Blackhawk Midstream currently holds in the Utica Shale gathering system.

Scioto Analysis releases cost-benefit analysis of data center policies in Ohio - This morning, Scioto Analysis published a cost-benefit analysis of policies to regulate data centers in Ohio. We estimate that between 2013 and 2026, Ohio data centers produced a net social benefit of $62 billion, mostly from creating 96,000 new jobs and generating $75 billion in wages. However, as development accelerates, we estimate that data centers under current regulations will produce only $2.4 billion in net benefits between 2027 and 2034, with benefits only slightly exceeding costs.If every planned data center project comes online by 2028, the number of data centers will increase by 50%, and their electricity use will more than triple. When data centers draw power from the statewide grid, electricity bills rise for Ohio ratepayers. We estimate that higher electricity prices will cost Ohio ratepayers $16 billion between 2027 and 2034. Because Ohio’s grid runs partly on natural gas and coal, data centers also produce substantial emissions. The largest costs come from air pollutants that harm local public health, which account for about $41 billion in costs between 2027 and 2034.To show how policymakers can shape the future of data centers, we evaluated five policy alternatives between 2027 and 2034:

• Under the status quo, data centers would produce a net present value of $2.4 billion, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.04. Counties see most of their job gains from their first data centers, so additional data centers add few new benefits while adding substantial costs.
• A ban on data center construction would produce a net present value of $35 billion, with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.7. Most employment benefits from existing data centers would remain, while emissions and utility costs would fall.
• A behind-the-meter requirement with 90% natural gas and 10% renewables would produce a net present value of $35 billion and a benefit-cost ratio of 2.2.
• A behind-the-meter requirement with 50% natural gas and 50% renewables would produce a net present value of $39 billion and a benefit-cost ratio of 2.5.
• A behind-the-meter requirement with 10% natural gas and 90% renewables would produce a net present value of $43 billion and a benefit-cost ratio of 2.9.

We conducted 10,000 simulations of data centers in Ohio with different variables to test our model. The status quo is the most likely alternative to have costs that exceed its benefits, and a behind-the-meter requirement with 90% renewables is the only alternative with a positive net present value in at least 95% of trials.As data center development in Ohio continues to accelerate, policymakers have options to prevent costs from outpacing benefits. The full report can be accessed here.

A construction ban on data centers would be better for Ohio than the status quo, study says  - Given the amount of data center construction already in Ohio, the best economic deal going forward would be to require all new ones to use 90% renewable energy, a new cost-benefit analysis has found. The next-best deal would be to ban new construction altogether, it said. Ohio has the fourth-most data centers of any state, and after being forced to provide $2.3 billion in subsidies via tax breaks, taxpayers are questioning whether they’re really a good thing. The centers have  more than doubled the state’s electricity consumption, they generate noise and air pollution, the AI they generate is causing serious social harms, leaders of the big AI companies warn of possible calamities, and they’ve predicted that their machines will take millions of Americans’ jobs.  With these concerns in the background, the Columbus firm Scioto Analysis undertook a straight dollars-and-cents look at future data center development in Ohio. The Buckeye State ranks only behind Virginia, Texas and California in the number of data centers. And the gargantuan facilities are poised to move into rural parts of Ohio and other Midwestern states in a big way. “About 87% of current data centers in the United States are in urban areas, while 67% of planned data centers across the country are in rural areas, driven by the land and power requirements of modern hyperscale facilities,” the Scioto Analysis report said. “Data centers in the Midwest are expected to grow by the highest percentage: a projected 64% increase compared to current data centers. As of 2026, 38% of Americans live within five miles of at least one operational data center.” One criticism of data center economics is that while they create initial construction jobs, once completed they only require a skeleton staff to make sure the machines keep running. The Scioto Analysis study credits data center development with 96,000 new jobs and $62 billion in social benefits to Ohio since 2013, but it also asks what new benefits they’ll create going forward. A big factor in that is the huge electricity drain they’ll create and the social cost of all the pollution it will generate, the study notes. “If every planned project comes online by 2028, the number of data centers in Ohio will increase by half, their annual energy draw will more than triple, and their annual carbon emissions will more than triple,” the cost-benefit analysis says. “In 2026, Ohio data centers use enough electricity to power 5.7 million homes, which is more than the 5.4 million homes in Ohio. By 2028, we predict they will use enough electricity to power about 3.5 times as many homes as there are in Ohio.” Rob Moore, the principal of Scioto Analysis, said it’s important not to forget about the cost a business enterprise imposes on third parties — such as that which pollution imposes on the public. “While data centers present a new category of high-intensity energy use in the state, they still present the same problems as transportation, manufacturing or power generation in general: emissions that are not priced will lead to local air-quality issues, lung and heart conditions and higher levels of carbon emissions,” Moore said in a text message. He and his team looked at five scenarios and ran 10,000 simulations of what would happen between 2027 and 2034 with different variables. The values the analysis arrived at are expressed in terms of “benefit-cost ratio.” Maintaining the status quo scored 1.04, meaning benefits only slightly outweighed costs. Benefit-cost ratios for the other scenarios, in descending order of public benefit:

• Data center generates its own power, 10% gas, 90% renewable — 2.9
• Ban on new data center construction — 2.7
• Data center generates its own power, 50% gas, 50% renewable — 2.5
• Data center generates its own power, 90% natural gas, 10% renewable — 2.2

In other words, according to the analysis, forcing renewables to be used to generate power and an outright ban on new data center constructions would be the biggest improvement over what we’re doing now. “A ban on construction produces a higher net present value and benefit-cost ratio than the status quo,” the report said. “This is because most employment benefits from existing data centers remain, while the cost of higher electricity prices to ratepayers falls. “A behind-the-meter requirement with 90% natural gas produces about the same net present value, but a lower benefit-cost ratio. A behind-the-meter requirement with 90% renewables produces both the highest net present value and the highest benefit-cost ratio.” The analysis came with an important caveat, however. If data centers produce more jobs than expected, a ban or a heavy renewable requirement won’t look so good. “Our results depend heavily on our employment assumptions,” it said. “If we are overestimating how much data centers raise employment and earnings, even a ban or a 90% renewables requirement could have a negative net present value. If we are underestimating these effects, every alternative looks much better. Across our other tests, the status quo is the alternative most likely to have costs that exceed its benefits.”

NEPA Says No to $10K Checks: Data Centers Need Shale Playbook - - Marcellus Drilling News - Big Tech has a new problem, and it isn’t computer chips. It’s the neighbors. In Hazle Township (Luzerne County, PA), a data center developer offered $10,000 to every one of the town’s 4,500 households if they’d just let the project go forward. Most residents said “no thanks,” the township said no, and the developer is now suing. A week later, Amazon announced it will spend more than $1 billion over five years in communities that host its data centers, in an effort to cool a national backlash. Here’s why that matters to anyone who makes a living from Marcellus/Utica gas.

Developer Eyes 1-GW Gas Plant, Data Centers for Old U.S. Steel Dump -- Marcellus Drilling News - A developer from Bucks County wants to build a 1-gigawatt (GW) natural gas-fired power plant and up to 28 data center buildings on a former U.S. Steel landfill in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County. If built, the plant would burn somewhere around 150 million cubic feet of Marcellus/Utica gas every day. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news? It’s the same spot where Invenergy tried, and failed, to build a gas plant a decade ago. And the anti group that fought Invenergy spent this summer fighting EQT’s Heracles well pad down the road.

Amazon Files Plans for 36 Data Centers at Homer City Gas Plant - - Marcellus Drilling News - Back in August, we told you Amazon Web Services (AWS) was “in discussions” to land data centers at the massive Homer City Energy Campus in Indiana County, PA (see Amazon in Talks to Land Data Centers at Homer City Gas Plant). We said we’d keep watching for the permit filings that would turn “talks” into “reality.” Well, here they are. Amazon’s data center arm, Amazon Data Services, Inc., has filed a preliminary master land development plan with Indiana County to build 36 data centers on roughly 1,100 acres of the campus, powered by the 4.4–4.5 gigawatt (GW) natural gas-fired plant now under construction there.

Fit Energy Plans 15 Data Centers on Luzerne Co. Mine Land   - Marcellus Drilling News - - On Monday night, hundreds of residents packed a Newport Township, Luzerne County, commissioners’ meeting to oppose a giant AI data center campus planned for old mine land in the Lee section of the township. The Times Leader reports the plan calls for 15 data centers and three natural gas power generation facilities on nearly 1,400 acres. The township issued 15 zoning permits for it back in August. Yet one commissioner told the crowd the board hasn’t even met with the developer. The very next morning, the developer, Fit Energy, finally went public with a glossy press release and website. Talk about timing.

Next NEPA Data Center Land Rush? PPL JV Eyes 29% of Fell Twp. - - Marcellus Drilling News - Over the past seven months, MDN has told you about landowners in Salem Township (Luzerne County) getting rich by selling their land for AI data centers, at prices reaching $250,000 to $300,000 per acre. Now the land rush appears to be spreading about 50 miles northeast, to the “Upvalley” area of Lackawanna County, above Scranton. Invitium Energy, a joint venture (JV) between utility owner PPL Corp. and Blackstone Infrastructure, is under agreement to buy about 2,800 acres in Fell Township. That is nearly 29% of the entire township! All told, Invitium has deals to buy close to 7,200 acres across five northern Lackawanna County municipalities. The plan? Build big natural gas-fired power plants, possibly with data centers sitting right next door.

PJM Selects 860 MW Battery Storage Project, 455 MW Natural Gas Plant In Pennsylvania For Expedited Interconnection - On October 8, the PJM Interconnection announced it has accepted the first three projects in a new, temporary Expedited Interconnection Track process designed to get large generation resources online quickly to address the urgent growth in demand for electricity.The projects are two battery storage projects and one natural gas generator upgrade with more than 2,100 MW in combined nameplate capacity that are slated to come online in mid-2019.Two of the projects are located in Pennsylvania--

• -- ENGIE IR Holdings LLC Wayne 345 kV is a storage project to be sited in Crawford, Pennsylvania, in the PENELEC zone, with 860 MW of nameplate capacity.
• -- Hunterstown 500 kV is an upgrade to an existing natural gas facility in Adams, Pennsylvania, in the Met-Ed zone, adding 455 MW of nameplate capacity.

These projects were nominated by Pennsylvania under a request for proposals process initiated in March by the Department of Environmental Protection.  Read more here.The third project is also a battery storage project by ENGIE IR Holdings LLC - Galion 345 kV is a storage project in Morrow, Ohio, in the ATSI zone, with 800 MW of nameplate capacity. In addition to getting generation online quickly, the EIT enables individual states to accelerate select projects based on their resource adequacy needs.Through the EIT, PJM will approve up to 10 interconnection requests per calendar year in 2026 and 2027 for large new or uprated capacity resources. To qualify, these resources must have, among other requirements, a commitment from a relevant state authority to help expedite site permitting – one of the hurdles many projects face after receiving PJM’s permission to connect with the grid.A project must also offer at least 250 MW of unforced capacity, the amount credited for reliability purposes.PJM expects the projects to execute a Generation Interconnection Agreement within 10 months of submission. Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis until the limit is reached for that calendar year. The EIT process will sunset at the end of 2027.   Visit the PJM Expedited Interconnection Track webpage for more information. Click Here for the PJM announcement.

FERC Slams Brakes on PJM’s ‘Deeply Flawed’ Data Center Power Auction - - Marcellus Drilling News - -Well, that didn’t go as planned. PJM Interconnection, the outfit that runs the electric grid in all or part of 13 states (including Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia) plus D.C., was all set to open a one-time “emergency” auction on Sept. 30 to buy 6,831 megawatts (MW) of brand-new power supply, mostly to feed data centers. The day before, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) accepted the plan—and then promptly froze it for five months. FERC Chairman Laura Swett called it “deeply flawed.” PJM pulled the auction. Here’s what happened, and what it means for gas-fired power in our backyard.

29 New Shale Well Permits Reported for PA-OH-WV Sep 28 – Oct 4 -  Marcellus Drilling News - --The Marcellus/Utica region received 29 new drilling permits last week, September 28 – October 4, nearly double the 16 permits issued two weeks earlier. Pennsylvania issued 20 of the new permits. Ohio issued 9 new permits. And West Virginia got skunked, issuing no new permits. The drillers who received new permits last week were: Blackhill Energy, Coterra Energy (now Devon Energy), EOG Resources, Expand Energy, Gulfport Energy, Infinity Natural Resources (INR), and Snyder Brothers.  Armstrong County | Blackhill Energy | Bradford County | Carroll County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Devon Energy | EOG Resources | Expand Energy | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | INR/Infinity Natural Resources | Monroe County | Snyder Brothers | Sullivan County | Susquehanna County |  Wyoming County (PA)

Ex-DEP Chief Wants Shale to Recycle PA Conventional Brine for Free -- Marcellus Drilling News -  A Pennsylvania House committee held a hearing on Monday about spreading brine from conventional oil and gas wells on township dirt roads. Former Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David Hess testified and proposed a fix aimed squarely at Marcellus drillers: make the shale industry recycle all brine from Pennsylvania's conventional wells, "at no cost to conventional well owners." Shale isn't the problem here, but it could end up with the bill.

DEP: Routine Inspection Of Appalachia Midstream SVC Shale Gas Water Pipeline Construction Site Found Fertilizer Mixture Sprayed Directly Into A Stream In Lycoming County  - On September 24, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected the Appalachia Midstream SVC LLC Hemlock A Pad shale gas water pipeline construction site and found a contractor sprayed a fertilizer/seed mixture directly into a stream at a stream crossing in McNett Township, Lycoming County.This particular location is a major construction site for two different shale gas-related pipelines by two different companies showing the scale of these operations.DEP noted other areas around the crossing and in wetland areas were hand-seeded and straw applied as temporary stabilization.DEP inspected other areas of the right-of-way to make sure erosion control measures were installed and working properly.Multiple violations were issued related to the illegal discharge of a substance polluting the stream and a response was requested by October 20.Click Here for the DEP inspection report + photos.DEP did a follow-up inspection of the site on October 6, 2026 and found additional erosion control blanketing was installed at the stream crossing. A timbermat airbridge was also installed across the stream as part of the construction of an aboveground water pipeline by a contractor for EQT in the same right-of-way. No other erosion and sedimentation issues were found. DEP said violations would be continued until permanent stabilization measures are installed. Click Here for the DEP inspection report + photos.

DEP: Large Release Of Contaminated Water Soaks Ground At DJR Well Services Conventional Oil & Gas Well Site In Mercer County    On September 30, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection did a routine inspection of the DJR Well Services Inc. F. George 9 conventional oil and gas well in Salem Township, Mercer County and found a release of contaminated water from a storage tank.DEP said a “notable amount of production fluid” was observed at the base of a storage tank on the site.Photos show the contaminated water had soaked the ground around the tank and appeared to have been releasing fluid for some time.The tank itself and other equipment on the site was described as being in “poor condition.”  DEP requested the well owner to “please clean up the spilled fluids and notify the Department when completed” and identify the cause of the release and corrective actions planned.A written response was requested by October 17. Click Here for the DEP inspection report + photos.

DEP - Day 357: S.R. Star O&G LLC Still Fails To Comply With An Order To Plug At Least Some Of The 11 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells It Owns In Butler County - On October 1, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection conducted follow-up inspections of 11  S.R. Star O&G LLC abandoned conventional oil and gas wells in Slippery Rock Township, Butler County and found the owner has still failed to comply with an October 9, 2025 DEP order.  DEP found the owner failed to plug at least one of the 11 abandoned wells by December 31, 2025 and failed to submit annual production, waste and well integrity reports by December 8, 2025.  The original violations for failure to submit annual reports date from March 13, 2024 and failure to plug the abandoned wells were issued on April 23, 2025.  DEP continued the February 24, 2026 violations for failure to comply with a DEP order. DEP requested a response to the violations by October 13. Click Here for DEP inspection reports + photos for the 11 wells.

DEP: Conventional Well Fracking By Cline Oil Inc. Causes Uncontrolled Release Of Crude Oil From 2nd Abandoned Conventional Well In The City Of Bradford, McKean County - On October 5, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection was notified of a sheen and strong crude oil odor in Tunungwant Creek at High and East Main Streets in Bradford, McKean County. At about the same time, Cline Oil Inc. contacted DEP saying fracking of the Gibson Merry Miller J4 conventional well in Bradford resulted in “communication” with a second abandoned well about 500 feet downslope from the Gibson Merry well causing a discharge of crude oil. DEP discovered the release from the abandoned well traveled about 400 feet down the dirt well access road and flowed into a storm sewer through a grate along Hillside Avenue. The crude oil then traveled another 850 feet through the storm drains before discharging into the East Branch of Tunungwant Creek. Cline Oil had placed absorbent peat at the abandoned well site and over the bank and was in the process of collecting pockets of accumulated oil. A boom was placed at the storm sewer outfall to provide an area to collect the oil before it entered the creek. Representatives of the Bradford Sanitary Authority were contacted and arrived onsite to develop a plan for recovering the crude oil from the storm sewer system. Numerous pockets of accumulated drudge oil were observed downstream of the storm sewer outfall along the banks of the stream and Cline Oil crews had started to collect the oil by the end of the DEP inspection. “The quantity of oil released is unknown. Given the lack of significant product in the Tunungwant Creek, it is evident that the majority of what was released was discharged onto the ground and/or was collected in the storm sewer.” Multiple violations were issued. A written response was requested by October 23. Click Here for DEP inspection report + photos.

DEP: Flash Fire At Expand Operating LLC Shale Gas Well Pad Compressor Station On State Game Lands Causes Minor Damage In Great Bend Twp., Susquehanna County - On October 6, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected the site of a flash fire at an Expand Operating LLC shale gas well pad compressor station on State Game Lands in Great Bend Township, Susquehanna County. The fire occurred on October 3 at about 10:48 p.m. at the RU-75 SGL-A shale gas well pad. A representative of the well owner walked the inspector through the incident. “An optical "fire eye" sensor detected a flame and triggered an emergency shut down. This action successfully isolated the unit by shutting the suction valve, cutting off the main fuel supply and containing the incident to the compressor skid. “Local fire departments were dispatched, and by the time they arrived, the fire was largely smoldering, having been starved of its primary fuel source. They used a small amount of water to extinguish the remaining hotspots. “The damage is contained to the turbo charger area, and the ceiling directly above the fire shows only minor smoked blistering. The containment skid successfully held the volume of extinguishing water used by the fire department.” An inspection "surrounding the compressor station and found no evidence of fluid contamination or staining on the ground.” No violations were issued. Click Here for DEP inspection report + photos.

DEP - Day 51: Multiple Contaminated Water Seeps Continuing From INR OPR LLC Cooper Shale Gas Well Pad In Indiana County After 336,000 Gallon Fracking Fluid Spill -   On October 7, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection did a follow-up inspection at the INR OPR LLC Cooper shale gas well pad in Young Township, Indiana County and found multiple contaminated water seeps were continuing from the pad after a 336,000 gallon fracking fluid spill on August 17.  DEP said three large areas of riprap had been installed on the excavated slope of the well pad where contaminated water seeps have been occurring due to loose connections in the pad’s water containment system. Photos show water from the seeps was being collected at the foot of the slope in a sump.  Other photos show large areas where contaminated soil was excavated around the pad were being seeded to help control erosion.  DEP suggested INR contact the Department permitting section to see if their Erosion and Sedimentation Permit needs updating as a result of these actions. Click Here for the DEP inspection report + photos. Also take a look at DEP’s September 30 inspection report photos to get a better idea of the scale of the restoration efforts in areas where contaminated soil was excavated.An August 17, 2026 inspection report posted by the Department of Environmental Protection documents how “copious quantities” of fracking water came “gushing” from an uncontrolled shale gas well at the INR OPR LLC Cooper well pad in Young Township, Indiana County contaminating a large area and polluting nearby Whiskey Run. Read more here.On August 31, 2026 DEP reported an estimated 336,000 gallons of fracking flowback water was released during the incident and an undetermined amount went into Whiskey Run. Read more here.The incident resulted in a major response from firefighters in Indiana, Armstrong, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties to support a specialized gas well response crew that worked to bring the well under control. Read more here.

Antis Cheer as Allegheny Co. Moves to Pull Shale Air Exemptions - - Marcellus Drilling News - The Allegheny County Board of Health has fired the first shot in what looks like a slow-motion campaign to squeeze shale drilling out of the county. At its September meeting, the board voted unanimously to have the county health department look into whether Article 21, the county’s air pollution rulebook, should be rewritten to remove permitting exemptions that oil and gas operations now enjoy. Nothing changes yet. But the idea came straight out of the board’s own “Fracking Committee,” chaired by a writer for an anti-fracking group, and the folks at Food & Water Watch are already celebrating. Here’s what happened, what it could mean for drillers and landowners in Allegheny County, and why MDN isn’t buying the “it’s just a review” line

Warning: Push to Ban 95% of New PA Shale Wells via Setbacks Lives On - - Marcellus Drilling News - The radical green groups trying to ban new Marcellus/Utica drilling in Pennsylvania through the back door haven’t gone away. They push shale well “setbacks” out to as much as a mile. Yesterday (Oct. 7), a coalition led by the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) marked the two-year anniversary of its rulemaking petition and pushed in Harrisburg, calling on the Shapiro administration to act. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) still plans to deliver its recommendation to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) by the end of this year. The antis are making noise. We need to make more.

Same Antis, New Target: PA Data Center Protest Is About Stopping Gas - - Marcellus Drilling News - On Tuesday, a crowd of protesters packed the Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg to demand a statewide moratorium (a ban, really) on new data centers. Most of the coverage framed it as an outpouring of everyday Pennsylvanians fed up with Big Tech. MDN took a closer look at who organized the rally, who arranged the buses, and who stood at the microphone. What we found: the same groups and many of the same faces that have fought shale drilling, pipelines, and gas-fired power plants in this state for the past 15 years. New signs. Same agenda.

HydroEdge Buys Control of RES Water, Forms Big M-U Frack Water Firm - Marcellus Drilling News - The Marcellus/Utica water business just got a bit more consolidated. HydroEdge Solutions, a Canonsburg (Washington County, PA) company that moves frack water from point A to point B, has acquired a majority interest in Bridgeville (Allegheny County) based RES Water. The combined outfit will have about 350 employees, five water treatment, recycling, and storage facilities in Pennsylvania, roughly 700,000 barrels of storage, and the ability to process up to 116,000 barrels of water per day. If the HydroEdge name rings a bell, it should. Back in June, HydroEdge (operating as Myers Water Transfer) bought one of the three Williamsport-area sites formerly run by troubled Eureka Resources, a story MDN has followed closely since Eureka’s “black goop” spill into the Susquehanna River in August 2025.

Seismos CEO: Closed-Loop Fracking Already Used in Marcellus/Utica  - Marcellus Drilling News --Back in March, we told you about "closed-loop" fracking from Seismos and its partner ProFrac. The technology listens to a well while it's being fracked and adjusts the job in real time, while the stage is still being pumped (see ProFrac and Seismos Bring "Closed-Loop Fracking" to U.S. Shale). At the time we asked: Is it coming to the Marcellus/Utica? Last week Seismos opened a new research center in Texas, and its PR team offered MDN some time with founder and CEO Panos Adamopoulos. We sent five questions specific to our region. The headline answer: yes, closed-loop fracturing has already been used in "the basin." Seismos won't say who used it or how many stages they pumped. But Panos did confirm that drillers don't need ProFrac to use it, and he laid out the math on how much more gas a well might produce. He also says the same acoustic technology can inspect pipelines from the inside, including here in Appalachia.

Alpha Compute Walks Back Oil Claims, Adds a Marcellus Test Well - - Marcellus Drilling News - On Sept. 22, Alpha Compute Corp. said it was buying an old Pennsylvania oil field (county not named) for $5.5 million and planned to put a second 200 MW data center on it (see Alpha Compute’s 2nd PA Data Center Site Comes with 75 Oil Wells). On Tuesday (Sept. 29), the company issued an “update” on the deal. Then it issued the same update again, 86 minutes later. The big news: the property comes with a drilled but not-yet-completed Marcellus “test well,” which the company now says can power that 200 MW data center. The company also now concedes that its 10,000-barrels-per-acre figure is oil in place, not oil anyone can actually get out. What’s still missing: the county, the seller, a closing, and a DEP bond. And some of the new math doesn’t add up.

500 Feet Isn't Enough! Families, Environmental And Health Groups Call On Shapiro Administration To Increase Minimum Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells To Protect Pennsylvanians   On October 7, families and environmental and health organizations from across the state called on the Shapiro Administration to establish greater protective distances between new shale gas wells and nearby homes, schools, and water sources. Groups made this push as Pennsylvania faces an influx of proposed data centers. These proposals raise concerns about increased reliance on fracked gas and the potential for additional drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure across the state, putting Pennsylvania families in danger. Pennsylvania’s current rules allow fracking wells to be located as close as 500 feet from buildings (and even closer with exceptions)-- a distance that was never set based on health studies and woefully insufficient to protect public health and the environment from the numerous dangers of fracking. To address harms from fracking, Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project filed a rulemaking petition with the Environmental Quality Board in October 2024, asking the Department of Environmental Protection to increase minimum setback distances from fracking wells. This October marks two years since the rulemaking petition was filed. It was accepted for study by the Environmental Quality Board in December of 2025. Minimum setbacks, also referred to as protective buffers and no-drill zones in the context of fracking, are mandatory distances that fracking companies must abide by to keep fracking operations separated from homes, schools, hospitals, drinking water wells, and surface water. “Pennsylvanians are frustrated with politics that seem to work against our cries for a better environment and better health,” said Lauren Otero, Staff Attorney at Clean Air Council. “This is a simple step forward, yet we wait years for our Commonwealth to help us.” “Nothing has given me more hope than watching communities all across Pennsylvania come together, speaking out against the predatory and parasitic companies looking to pollute our homes and exploit our natural resources,” said Katie Weber, who helped form grassroots group, Protect Burgettstown. “We are united and our message is clear: We do not want data centers. And we do not want fracking anywhere near our homes, schools, or daycares.” “Pennsylvania can do their part to protect Pennsylvania citizens with far more protective setbacks between fracking activities, people and water,” said Kurt Limbach, a member of Concerned Residents of Western PA and Mountain Watershed Association. “It could also do its part by conducting a thorough review of any air permits to potentially massive polluters like the Homer City fracked gas power plant. The Pennsylvania constitution guarantees the rights of Pennsylvania citizens to clean air and water. Our citizens should not be forced to live in a sacrifice zone to power AI. “ "Too many Pennsylvania families are being harmed by fracking and drilling right next to their homes, schools, and daycare centers," said Lisa Graves Marcucci, Pennsylvania Coordinator of Community Outreach for the Environmental Integrity Project. "We need protective buffers now. The current 500-foot minimum setback distance was never based on any public health information. And Pennsylvania's inaction has put more communities at risk each day. “Since we filed our Petition for Rulemaking on October 22, 2024, at least 784 new fracking wells have been drilled with only a 500-foot setback required to protect nearby Pennsylvanians. “We urge the Shapiro Administration and the Environmental Quality Board to act now to increase minimum setback distances." A rulemaking petition submitted to the Environmental Quality Board to increase setbacks from shale gas drilling operations was accepted for study in December 2025.  Read more here.The petition asks the Board and DEP to change its regulations to increase setbacks from shale gas wells from 500 feet to a minimum of 3,281 feet from buildings and drinking water wells, 5,280 feet from schools, daycares and hospitals and 750 feet from any surface water.The petition cites 42 scientific studies in support of the proposal and includes five affidavits of impacted residents.  (See the Resource Links below for more information.)In March, DEP told the Environmental Quality Board it is looking to have a recommendation to the Board on the petition by the end of 2026. Read more here. Click Here for more information on the petition.    Visit the Protective Buffers PA Coalition website for more information.

Pipeline Outages Pin Appalachian Natural Gas Prices Below $1 - Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) expects its Line 15 outage in Kentucky to last into early November, keeping Appalachian natural gas bottled up and regional cash prices under pressure as other outages add to the squeeze. NGI chart shows Texas Eastern M-2, 30 Receipt daily natural gas prices falling from a July 2026 peak near $2.85/MMBtu to below $1 in October. At a Glance:
Tetco eyes early November Line 15 restart
Lost Northeast supply supports NYMEX
Tetco M-2 trades near 82 cents

Too Much Gas, Too Little Pipe: M-U Spot Prices Slump Below $1   - Marcellus Drilling News - - Here’s a head-scratcher for you. The Henry Hub spot (physical, not futures) price, the national benchmark for natural gas down in Louisiana, closed yesterday at $3.155 per MMBtu (million British thermal units, roughly the same as 1 Mcf, or a thousand cubic feet). Up here in the Marcellus/Utica, the very same molecule of gas sold for 88.5 cents. That’s not a typo. Our gas traded at a $2.27 discount to Henry Hub, fetching just 28 cents on the dollar. Why? The short answer is the same one we’ve given for 15 years: not enough pipelines.

WV AG Leads 26-State Push for FERC Pipeline Fast-Track Rule - - Marcellus Drilling News - A coalition of 26 state attorneys general, led by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey, is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to adopt a proposed rule that would let interstate pipelines do bigger upgrades, faster, without FERC’s full project-by-project review. All three Republican AGs in our neck of the woods signed on: West Virginia’s McCuskey, Pennsylvania’s Dave Sunday, and Ohio’s D. Andrew Wilson. The 24-page comment letter, dated Oct. 6, is a point-by-point rebuttal to a blue-state coalition (New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, California, and friends) that wants FERC to scrap the whole idea. It’s a wonky fight over a wonky program, but it matters a great deal to drillers, pipeline companies, and royalty owners in the Marcellus/Utica.

MVP Delivers $27.1M Property Tax Windfall to 11 WV Counties - - Marcellus Drilling News - Remember all those years of protesters chaining themselves to equipment, lawsuits by the dozen, and court-ordered work stoppages trying to kill the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)? Here’s what West Virginians got for finally building it: a fat new check. A new report from West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack’s office finds that MVP drove a 62% jump in the value of rural utility property in the 11 counties it crosses, generating nearly $27.1 million in new property tax revenue in a single year—about $9.1 million for county commissions and nearly $18 million for local schools. MVP-related utility property accounted for more than 86% of ALL the growth in property tax revenue in those counties. One pipeline. Eighty-six percent.

Air Permit for MVP Boost Gas Expansion Faces Challenges- MVP Boost, the plan to add 0.6 Bcf/d of capacity to the Mountain Valley Pipeline traversing West Virginia and Virginia, has hit a snag. The project requires upgrading three existing compressor stations as well as building an entirely new compressor station in Montgomery County, VA, called Swann. All four compressor stations are along the portion of the line that is in dark blue in the map. However, county supervisors passed a resolution that said the Swann site is unsuitable for a compressor station because of an issue with a railroad that occasionally blocks the only access road. This resolution contradicts an earlier signature from the county attorney stating that the site is suitable. The conflict within county government is holding up the issuance of a state air permit and jeopardizing the project’s target to be flowing gas by mid-2028.

MVP Boost Update: FERC Decision Near, State Permit Frozen - - Marcellus Drilling News - Mountain Valley Pipeline’s (MVP) plan to push more natural gas through its existing pipe, a project called MVP Boost, is closing in on a federal decision. FERC staff have already given the project a clean bill of environmental health. But back in Virginia, Boost is stuck in neutral, all because one county can’t seem to make up its mind. The centerpiece of Boost is a brand-new compressor station in Elliston (Montgomery County), Virginia. It’s called the Swann Compressor Station, named after Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer Lynn Swann (MVP’s operator is based in Pittsburgh). Right now, Swann is having trouble getting off the line of scrimmage.

WV AG Leads 26-State Push for FERC Pipeline Fast-Track Rule - - Marcellus Drilling News - A coalition of 26 state attorneys general, led by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey, is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to adopt a proposed rule that would let interstate pipelines do bigger upgrades, faster, without FERC’s full project-by-project review. All three Republican AGs in our neck of the woods signed on: West Virginia’s McCuskey, Pennsylvania’s Dave Sunday, and Ohio’s D. Andrew Wilson. The 24-page comment letter, dated Oct. 6, is a point-by-point rebuttal to a blue-state coalition (New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, California, and friends) that wants FERC to scrap the whole idea. It’s a wonky fight over a wonky program, but it matters a great deal to drillers, pipeline companies, and royalty owners in the Marcellus/Utica.

Pipeline raises questions from multiple counties -– There is a growing demand by utility companies for additional natural gas supply. The demand in the states of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio is so much that a 450-mile transmission line is being proposed by Texas Gas. But no matter the need is expressed, there are still plenty of property owners who are not interested in having anything to do with the company installing the line. On Thursday, the Trimble County Extension Service office was filled with residents who had questions for representatives with Boardwalk, which is representing Texas Gas. The Borealis project is a proposed line that will supply additional natural gas, mainly to existing utility customers. At this stage, the construction could begin as early as late 2028. But there is much work to be done and approvals must be secured. The current stage is meeting with property owners to allow the company the right to survey their property. According to Steve Chretien, Texas Gas already has an existing line along the route; however, a greater demand requires the 36-45-inch line. The first priority is to use existing utility easements. In Ohio, he said that has been achieved for 80-85 percent of the properties needed. The number jumped to 90 percent in Indiana on its 52-mile stretch. In Kentucky, the 90-mile portion has co-location in about 65 percent of the properties. Chretien, vice president of growth projects, said the company looked at various routes, including taking it to the north of Louisville; however, it was not feasible to do that and it was not possible to run it along the existing line that is in Louisville and Jeffersontown. Aerial views of the possible route have already been conducted. It is now that the landowners who are in the projected path are being contacted. Boardwalk is looking for a 300-foot easement that would not be permanent. At the end, he said the permanent easement would be permanent and construction would take place over about 125 feet. The property would be reclaimed to its original state once work is done. The survey stage is important as the company must identify and cultural or environmental issues. Existing utilities must be located. And discussions with property owners about their concerns and wishes must be addressed. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would receive a petition in late 2026 to actually file the pre-application. At that time, the route would be determined. It would take up to a year for the FERC to rule on the application. During that time, public open houses would be held in early 2027 all along the 450-mile pipeline. Environmental studies would also be conducted during mid-2027 and the application would be filed in late 2027. Construction could begin in late 2028 and would take 12-18 months. The target date to have the line in service would be the fourth quarter of 2029. Trimble County Judge/Executive John Ogburn Jr. said it was important to get information out to the public for those who represented the company, not just was placed on social media. Tami Crecelius, who lives in Bullitt County, thanked Ogburn for having the meeting. She said it has been difficult in her own community for elected officials to schedule such a meeting. Ogburn said he wanted everyone to know what was going on. The more information available, the tough process is made a little easier. Among his concerns was the impact on local roads which might have heavy equipment being used. Chretien said all roads utilized by the project would be assessed prior to construction. A bond can be required and all roads would be returned to normal condition once the work was done. Ogburn also inquired about the ability of getting some gas service to local residents. Buzz Backstrom, senior vice president for commercial projects, said that it appears the local suppliers are Louisville Gas and Electric, Carrollton Utility and parts of Shelby County. That would be an issue to be discussed with those local utilities since the new line is simply a transmission line. There were plenty of individuals from Trimble, Henry, Shelby and Bullitt counties in attendance and many were very concerned about the prospects of a 36-42 inch natural gas line running on their property. And some of the discussion was very emotional. For one resident, she was concerned about her horses, which would have to be boarded elsewhere during construction. She said she didn’t have the money to board them elsewhere but she didn’t want to risk one falling into a ditch. And she added there was a cemetery on her property. Kal Laviolette, director of land, said that during the process, the company can work with property owners to deal with issues, such as boarding of her horses. But, during the cultural and historical survey, things like cemeteries and homes on the historic registry would have to be avoided. Another resident already has two utility lines on her property and she would appreciate the third one going on someone else’s property. She said that even if Texas Gas gave her $100,000, that would not make up for the depreciation of her property value. “We have built our dream home here,” she told Boardwalk representatives. The pipeline would be 50 foot from her home and would interfere with her business also. And compensation would not help her move her barn. One resident said that a pipeline previously proposed had been stopped and inquired if the county would try to halt this one. Ogburn said the other project was a private one and this one is for public use. He did offer a thought that in other parts of the state, royalties are paid to property owners are affect and he wondered if that could be a topic of discussion. Another resident was concerned that the natural gas pipeline was really to a way to get the product to the Gulf Coast for off-seas customers. Backstrom said that to his knowledge that the natural gas would be used in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio to existing utility companies. Crecelius asked if any of the Boardwalk representatives would want to sleep within 50 feet of the transmission line. Rusty Linares said that he, in fact, lived with his wife and daughter lived with him within 100 feet of a compressor station. “We would never put anyone in danger,” said vice president of operations Rusty Linares, who detailed some of the safety tests which were done regularly on the line. Some were concerned that they would no longer be able to use the property which is taken in the gas line easement. However, Chretien said that was not correct. Crops can be planted and livestock could use the land for pasture. A natural gas line could have over four feet of top soil above the line. Property values were also a topic of concern. Boardwalk officials said that there is no evidence that property values would be adversely affected. The biggest concern may have been with the ability of the company to ultimately take property through eminent domain if an easement settlement couldn’t be reached. Although Laviolette said that it would be the last resort, it could happen. However, he said that is not the goal and it seldom occurs. He said Boardwalk and Texas Gas want to work with property owners to make all of the accommodations as possible. If a property owner hasn’t been contacted recently, there is a possibility that their land is not included in the preliminary path. Josie Hammon, who is the manager of government affairs, said anyone can contact her if they have questions. Her contact is 502-612-9494 or Josie.Hammon@bwpipelines.com. There is a Facebook group titled Kentucky Counties United Against Texas gasline.

From Drill Bit to Trading Desk: Expand Energy Goes All-In on AI - - Marcellus Drilling News -   Expand Energy, the largest natural gas producer in the country (born from the 2024 merger of Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy), is going all-in on artificial intelligence (AI). Recently, tech consulting firm Thoughtworks announced that Expand has hired it to build AI capability across the entire company. Not just out in the field, but in the office and on the gas marketing desk, too. Expand wants a working AI tool in “production” (i.e., actually being used, not just tested) by the end of this year. That’s about 12 weeks from now! This is not Expand’s first AI rodeo. Back in January, Expand signed a deal with Baker Hughes to put AI-powered software on thousands of its Marcellus, Utica, and Haynesville wells.

Kinder Says TGP 219 South Pipeline Could Be Multiple Times Bigger -- Marcellus Drilling News - Back in July, we told you Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP), a Kinder Morgan subsidiary, had launched a non-binding open season for its 219 South Project (see TGP Launches Open Season to Flow More M-U Molecules South). The project would move up to 530,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of Marcellus/Utica gas south from TGP’s Station 219 in Pennsylvania through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. A dekatherm is a measure of heat content, and 530,000 Dth/d works out to roughly 510 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). We predicted Kinder would get “plenty of bites.” Did they ever! Kinder CFO David Michels said in a recent fireside chat that the response was “very strong and positive.” And here’s the kicker: he said the final project could be multiple times bigger than originally announced.

Called It: Big Green Takes Kinder’s MSX & SSE4 Pipelines to Court - - Marcellus Drilling News - Back in August, we told you FERC had approved Kinder Morgan’s $5.2 billion pair of Southeast pipeline projects, and we told you to expect Big Green to come after it (see FERC Green-Lights $5.2B Kinder Morgan Southeast Gas Push). Here we are. On Oct. 1, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), along with the Sierra Club’s own lawyer, asked the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., to “review and set aside” FERC’s approval of the Mississippi Crossing (MSX) and South System Expansion 4 (SSE4) projects. Ten environmental and community groups and two landowners signed on.

Mass. Gov. Who Bragged About Killing Pipelines Now Wants One, Fast  - Marcellus Drilling News - -Back in 2022, then-Massachusetts Attorney General (now Governor) Maura Healey hit the campaign trail and bragged, “I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this state” (see Mass. Gov. Again Changes Story re Blocking Two NatGas Pipelines). Fast forward four and a half years. Healey is running for reelection in a race where the No. 1 issue is sky-high energy bills. So what does she do? She writes a letter to President Trump’s Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, asking the feds to hurry up and approve a natural gas pipeline expansion into Massachusetts. You can’t make this stuff up.

Constitution Water Walk Ends with Jars of Water and a New Coalition -- The 108-mile “Women’s Water Walk” along the route of the proposed Constitution Pipeline wrapped up last Sunday in Schoharie. On Tuesday, the walkers carried jars of creek water to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office in Albany. The walk is over, but it didn’t end quietly. It gave birth to a new, permanent anti-pipeline coalition run by Frack Action. The Governor’s office answered with a carefully worded statement that isn’t quite the “stand strong” pledge the walkers came for. And the walk’s fundraising came up about 80% short of its goal.

Bipartisan Permitting Bill Takes Aim at NY’s Pipeline Veto Power - - Marcellus Drilling News -   Four U.S. senators—two Republicans, two Democrats—released the final text last Wednesday of a major bipartisan permitting reform bill called the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. It’s 417 pages long, and buried in it are some of the most pipeline-friendly provisions we’ve seen come out of Congress in years: a 150-day deadline to file lawsuits, a nine-month cap on state water permit reviews for interstate gas pipelines, and a free pass from NEPA review for compressor stations and looping built inside existing pipeline rights-of-way. The catch? It has to clear the Senate (60 votes) AND the House during the lame-duck session after the Nov. 3 elections. The clock is ticking.

NGSA Winter Outlook: Cheaper Gas, Record Supply, Not Enough Pipes - - Marcellus Drilling News - The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) released its 26th annual Winter Outlook yesterday, and the bottom line is music to the ears of anyone who pays a heating bill: NGSA sees “downward market pressure” on natural gas prices this winter compared to last. Henry Hub futures for November through March average $3.43 per MMBtu, down $1.08 (23.9%) from $4.51/MMBtu realized last winter. That’s less happy news for landowners hoping for fat royalty checks. But buried on page 5 of the report is a nugget every MDN reader should notice: last winter, while nearly every other U.S. shale basin grew, Marcellus and Utica production actually shrank. The reason? Pipes. Or rather, the lack of them.

US Natural Gas Supply Growth Seen Outpacing Winter Demand Despite LNG Gains -US natural gas supply growth is expected to outpace rising demand this winter, leaving the market well stocked even with LNG exports climbing and putting downward pressure on prices compared with last winter, according to the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA).  US dry natural gas production forecast to rise to 112.5 Bcf/d in winter 2026-2027, up from 109.9 Bcf/d last winter and a 105 Bcf/d three-year average. At a Glance:
Winter production seen at 112.5 Bcf/d
LNG exports rise 2.2 Bcf/d
Storage withdrawals seen easing

U.S. LNG Feedgas Demand Falls Due to Maintenance - U.S. LNG feedgas moved lower last week as brief maintenance at Freeport and volatility at Golden Pass weighed on intake. U.S. LNG feedgas demand averaged about 17.8 Bcf/d for the week ending October 5, down 0.5 Bcf/d week-on-week (see blue-dotted line below).Golden Pass continues to face delays in bringing its first train fully online, with no timeline clarifications announced, according to our LNG Voyager Weekly Report.  Feedgas has been somewhat inconsistent lately, ranging from 100 MMcf/d to above 500 MMcf/d. Cove Point also remains offline for annual maintenance but is expected to restart soon. All other U.S. terminals are operating at or above full utilization.

Isaias Track Skirts Most Gulf LNG as Coast Guard Sets Storm Conditions -The US Coast Guard ordered storm preparations at lower Mississippi River ports on Wednesday as forecasters predict Tropical Storm Isaias to become a hurricane by Thursday on a track that could avoid most Gulf Coast LNG export capacity.North American LNG export flows reach 17.63 million Dth on Oct. 7, 2026, led by US Gulf Coast terminals. At a Glance:
Isaias forecast to become hurricane Thursday
Gulf production threat jumps to 50%
Isaias remnants could cool New England

Venture Global Ready for Long-Term Offtakers at Plaquemines LNG - Venture Global has filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to officially place its 3.6 Bcf/d Plaquemines LNG facility in service and begin commercial operations. Starting commercial operations would allow the company to begin selling cargoes to long-term customers at contractual prices that are often lower than those on the spot market. Venture Global has been selling Plaquemines volumes into the spot market during the prolonged commissioning.

22 Months, ~500 Cargoes Later, Plaquemines LNG Says It’s “Ready” - - Marcellus Drilling News - Well, well, well. Venture Global (VG) has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to place Phase 1 of its Plaquemines LNG export plant in Louisiana “in service.” In plain English, VG says the plant is finally ready to start shipping LNG to the customers who signed long-term contracts with it, beginning October 31. Never mind that the plant has already shipped at least 417 full cargoes since December 2024 (and probably closer to 500 by now). VG made a killing selling those cargoes on the spot market at sky-high prices. Its contract customers, the folks whose signatures got the plant financed, have been waiting. We’ve called this practice disgusting before, and we haven’t changed our minds.

Port Arthur LNG Commissioning Builds Ahead of 2027 Startup Push - Sempra Infrastructure is advancing commissioning at Port Arthur LNG, with new startup activity bringing the Texas project closer to adding another major source of natural gas demand along the Gulf Coast.  At a Glance:

• Port Arthur startup work broadens
• Port Arthur adds 13 Mt/y capacity
• Feedgas needs rise toward 2 Bcf/d

Freeport LNG Outage Erases Nearly 5 Bcf of Natural Gas Demand in a Week -Freeport LNG has run one train short of its usual appetite for the past week, throttling back US LNG feedgas demand by roughly 0.7 Bcf/d in an outage masked by early-cycle nominations.NGI Entropic Analytics chart shows Freeport LNG feedgas nominations near 1.9 million Dth/d, while final deliveries fell to 1.2 million Dth/d in October.
At a Glance:
Texas terminal operating at 2-train rate
Early-cycle noms drive feedgas gains Friday
Houston, Katy discounts widen

U.S. natural gas prices hold near one-week high as demand forecasts rise - U.S. natural gas futures held near a one-week high on forecasts for more demand over the next two weeks than previously expected and a decline in daily output due to a pipeline problem in Kentucky. Energy traders also noted that prices were supported by an increase in flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants with the expected return of a liquefaction train at Freeport LNG's facility in Texas. Front-month gas futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.3 cents, or 0.4%, to $3.048 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since September 25 for a second day in a row. In a sign the market is not too worried about gas supplies this winter, the premium of futures for December over November fell to a record low of around 28 cents per MMBtu. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states slid to 111.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bft3d) so far in October, down from record highs of 113.3 in both August and September. On a daily basis, output was on track to fall even further to a four-month low of 109.3 Bft3d on Monday due in part to problems with a pipeline in Kentucky. On Friday, Canadian energy company Enbridge's Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCo) unit declared a force majeure due to an unplanned outage north of the Tompkinsville compressor station in Kentucky. TETCo said the estimated time of restoration was unclear. Record output and mild spring weather have allowed energy firms to keep the amount of gas in inventory above the five-year (2021-2025) average since March, reaching a high of 7.7% above normal in April. A hot summer, however, forced energy firms to pull lots of gas out of storage to fuel the power plants needed to keep air conditioners humming, cutting the inventory surplus. About 40% of US power generation comes from gas-fired plants. With the weather still warmer than normal last week, the amount of gas in storage likely slid to 1.8% above normal during the week ended October 2, down from 2.4% above normal in the previous week, according to analyst estimates ahead of Thursday's weekly federal inventory report. Looking forward, meteorologists predicted weather across the country would remain mostly near normal through October 20, which should keep both heating and cooling demand low. LSEG said average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, will hold around 106.2 Bft3d this week and next. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Friday. Average gas flows to the nine large U.S. LNG export plants fell to 16.9 Bft3d so far in October, down from 17.9 Bft3d in September and the monthly record high of 18.8 Bft3d in April. On a daily basis, however, LNG feedgas was on track to rise to a one-week high of 17.6 Bft3d on Monday with the amount of gas flowing to Freeport LNG in Texas expected to rise.

U.S. natural gas prices rise 3% on output drop, storm worries - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 3% to nearly a two-week high on a drop in output due to recent pipeline problems and worries that a Gulf of Mexico storm could cause further supply disruptions. Energy traders also said prices were supported by an expected increase in coming days in gas flows to liquefied natural gas export plants, including Freeport in Texas and Cove Point in Maryland. Front-month gas futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 8.9 cents, or 2.9%, to settle at $3.203 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), their highest close since September 24. In the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast that Tropical Storm Isaias would strengthen into a hurricane on Thursday before hitting the Gulf Coast near the borders of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida late on Friday. Even though storms can boost U.S. gas prices by cutting output along the U.S. Gulf Coast, analysts have noted that such weather is more likely to reduce prices and gas demand by shutting LNG export plants and knocking out power to homes and businesses. About 40% of U.S. power generation comes from gas-fired plants. Most US production comes from shale formations located far from the Gulf Coast like the Marcellus/Utica in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia and the Permian in West Texas and eastern New Mexico. Just 2%, or 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bft3d), of the 118.4 Bft3d of U.S. marketed gas production in 2025 came from the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the US Lower 48 states slid from record highs of 113.3 Bft3d in both August and September to 111.5 Bft3d so far in October due in part to force majeures and other problems on pipelines in Kentucky, Texas, West Virginia and elsewhere in recent weeks. LSEG said average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, will slide from 105.4 Bft3d this week to 104.1 Bft3d next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Tuesday. Average gas flows to the nine large U.S. LNG export plants fell to 16.9 Bft3d so far in October, down from 17.9 Bft3d in September and the monthly record high of 18.8 Bft3d in April. On a daily basis, however, LNG feedgas was on track to rise to a one-week high of 17.6 Bft3d on Wednesday as flows to Freeport LNG's 2.4-Bft3d plant in Texas were expected to rise. Flows to Freeport had been expected to rise on Monday and Tuesday, but the increase was delayed until Wednesday, according to the latest LSEG data. Energy traders said daily LNG feedgas would rise even further with Berkshire Hathaway Energy's 0.8-Bft3d Cove Point export plant in Maryland expected to return to service in coming days. Cove Point shut around September 19 for a few weeks of annual maintenance.

Nat-Gas Prices Erase Early Gains on Weekly Storage Builds  -- November Nymex natural gas (NGX26) on Thursday closed down -0.035 (-1.09%). Nat-gas prices fell from a 1.5-week high on Thursday and settled lower after weekly nat-gas storage rose more than expected, sparking long liquidation in nat-gas futures. The EIA reported Thursday that nat-gas inventories rose +85 bcf in the week ended October 2, above expectations of +82 bcf. Nat-gas prices added to their losses on Thursday after US weather forecasts turned warmer, potentially reducing heating demand for nat-gas. The Commodity Weather Group said Thursday that forecasts shifted warmer, with above-average temperatures expected across most of the US through October 12. Nat-gas prices initially moved higher on Thursday as the outlook for adverse weather in the US Gulf pushed producers to shut in nat-gas production. As of Thursday, the US shut in about 1.127 billion cubic feet per day, or about 57% of natural gas production in the Gulf in response to Hurricane Isaias forming in the US Gulf. US (lower-48) dry gas production on Thursday was 110.3 bcf/day (+1.8% y/y), according to BNEF. Lower-48 state gas demand on Thursday was 72.2 bcf/day (+0.8% y/y), according to BNEF. Estimated LNG net flows to US LNG export terminals on Thursday were 19.0 bcf/day (+5.5% w/w), according to BNEF. As a positive factor for gas prices, the Edison Electric Institute reported Wednesday that US (lower-48) electricity output in the week ended October 3 rose +3.32% y/y to 83,661 GWh (gigawatt-hours). Also, US electricity output in the 52 weeks ending October 2 rose +3.27% y/y to 4,414,135 GWh. A bearish medium-term factor for nat-gas prices is the market's expectation that a "Super El Niño" will bring warmer-than-normal temperatures to the Northern Hemisphere this fall and winter, reducing heating demand for nat-gas. As a bearish factor, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on August 11 projected that US nat-gas storage levels will swell to 3,985 bcf at the end of October, the highest level in 10 years and 5% above the five-year average. On September 21, the EIA raised its 2027 US dry natural gas production estimate to 116.0 bcf/day from 115.3 bcf/day projected in July. Thursday's weekly EIA report was slightly bearish for nat-gas prices, showing an +85 bcf increase in US nat-gas inventories for the week ended October 2, above expectations of +82 but below the 5-year weekly average of +96 bcf. As of October 2, nat-gas inventories were down -3.9% y/y and +2.0% above their 5-year seasonal average, signaling adequate nat-gas supplies. As of October 6, gas storage in Europe was 73% full, compared to the 5-year seasonal average of 88% full for this time of year.

How Long Can Natural Gas Supply Keep Pace as Historic Demand Looms? -A well-supplied market is likely to weigh on US natural gas prices this winter, but comfortable balances could be upended in the years ahead as competition for supply increases, speakers said Wednesday during a webinar co-hosted by NGI and Yes Energy. Henry Hub has traded in a narrow range, with little volatility seen over the summer despite record heat and unprecedented power burn, said NGI’s Leticia Gonzales, managing director of North American natural gas pricing. “Obviously the biggest story that’s driving those lower Henry Hub prices in the face of this record demand has been production,” Gonzales said. Production is up 5% year/year, averaging about 112 Bcf/d since April, according to Entropic Analytics' US Daily Supply & Demand Report.  “We have seen some softening in the forward curve, particularly in the near-term months … Part of that is, of course, because we’ve got robust production,” Gonzales added. “We’re significantly higher year/year and expected to grow as we head into 2027.”She added that storage cushions in the East and Midwest regions are also keeping a lid on forward prices heading into the heating season. NGI’s Forward Look showed Henry Hub for winter 2026/27 trading at $3.390/MMBtu on Wednesday.But Gonzales noted that winter strips for 2027/28 are already pricing about 50 cents higher than those for the coming winter as LNG and power demand are expected to rise.“We’re not necessarily running out of gas, but we could see some tightening as this LNG demand and data center demand starts to grow,” she said. “Going forward, it’s about whether supply can continue to grow fast enough to meet that demand, and also the infrastructure has to keep pace as well.”Gonzales said roughly 8 Bcf/d of US demand could come from data centers alone by 2036, but the outlook is clouded as development plans face increasing public and political opposition across the country.For power markets, “demand growth is the name of the game,” said Yes Energy Product Manager Alex Bennitt during the webinar. “It’s the No. 1 topic in the industry right now … We’ve got data center growth — there’s really just so much going on.”Most grid operators across the country, Bennitt said, are showing major growth over the next five or 10 years. But he agreed with Gonzales on the trajectory of the data center buildout.“Data centers are kind of driving up these demand projections and really this isn’t realized; it’s just looming in the distance,” he said.That means LNG exports are in the driver’s seat when it comes to natural gas demand growth. Gonzales said 2027 could bring the first test of whether production can keep pace with LNG. The Energy Information Administration expects 28 Bcf/d of US liquefaction capacity to be online by 2030. Moreover, output is on track to surpass 30 Bcf/d next decade with eight LNG projects under construction along the Gulf Coast, according to NGI’s North American LNG Export Tracker.“If we start to see cracks in the production and the pace of production, that’s where we could start entering into a phase in the market that we really haven’t seen in quite a while — and that is higher prices that are actually sustained, not due to one-off events, but a consistently higher price environment,” Gonzales said.For now, US storage inventories are 2.4% above the five-year average and on pace to finish the injection season at levels Gonzales said should be sufficient for the heating season. In that case, one of the only near-term catalysts for prices remains weather.A super El Niño weather pattern is expected to bring with it a mild US winter, but Gonzales pointed to last winter as a cautionary tale. December 2025 was warm, but a month later came the historic Winter Storm Fern, which knocked out 18 Bcf/d of domestic production, led to the largest US storage withdrawal on record and sent spot prices across the country to new heights.“I want to caution that while the winter might be warmer overall, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to have a one-off cold event,” Gonzales said. “Whether that event is three days, or whether it’s 10 days, it can really just take a toll on the market” and “change those storage balances.”

Permian Gas Production Pushes Higher | RBN Energy -  Permian production surged to new record highs, averaging 23.7 Bcf/d, with production receipts on El Paso Pipeline rebounding after being reduced the week prior. The high production figures are the result of debottlenecking in the basin. The Gulf Coast Express Expansion began service in mid-June adding 0.57 Bcf/d of additional takeaway capacity for the basin and Hugh Brinson Phase 1 followed at the beginning of September adding 1.7 Bcf/d. Production in September averaged just over 23.5 Bcf/d, up 0.4 Bcf/d month-on month and up nearly 1.6 Bcf/d since Gulf Coast Express came online. See the orange line in chart below showing new highs in Permian supply. We forecast that production will continue to climb, heading towards 24 Bcf/d this winter. Also, work is ongoing on Blackcomb Pipeline, which will add an additional 2.5 Bcf/d of capacity by the end of the year. However, while production growth is boosted from the new takeaway capacity we do not expect it will fully keep pace with this rapid buildout. The basin will remain unconstrained for years to come, especially given further buildout later this decade.

Movin’ On – The Infrastructure That Keeps Permian NGLs Flowing | RBN Energy -The Permian is the country’s largest NGL-producing region, a trend that figures to continue over the next several years. By 2035, the basin is forecast to account for 53% of U.S. NGL production, up from about 44% today. Handling that growth will require a complex network of pipelines, fractionators, and other infrastructure, plus a handful of players adding capacity to ease congestion and provide more routes to market. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the future of NGL infrastructure in the Permian and where all that additional production will ultimately end up.This is the fourth blog in our series on the outlook for major U.S. producing basins, starting with the largest: the Permian. In our first blog, we discussed the major Permian gas pipeline projects scheduled to come online in 2026 and 2027, how much new capacity they will provide, and what the shift means for Waha prices, Gulf Coast balances and the U.S. natural gas market. In Part 2, we discussed the basin’s long-term gas pipeline projects and the challenges that could arise as that new infrastructure comes online. In our third piece, we discussed the Permian’s biggest natural gas producers and how they might respond to the new gas pipelines planned for the basin. All of that sets the stage for today's blog on NGLs, but let’s add a little background. In the Permian, associated gas and NGLs have long been byproducts of crude oil production. So as oil output rises, the basin’s infrastructure needs to keep up with the gas and NGLs that come along for the ride. Significantly for our topic today, that means a lot of new gas processing plants need to be built, moved or expanded in the areas seeing high gas production growth. Gas processing plants separate NGLs from the gas stream. New additions to the fleet tend to be 275- or 300-MMcf/d cryogenic facilities that can extract a very high percentage of the liquids entrained in the gas stream. From the tailgate of the processing plant, pipelines take the NGLs as a mixed stream called “Y-grade” to fractionation centers where the mixed product is separated into “purity” form — ethane, propane, butanes and other NGL products — before heading to downstream markets, like petrochemical plants and export terminals (purity is a bit of a misnomer since some impurities still exist in the fracked NGLs). Today, we’ll begin by looking at processing and pipeline capacity and we’ll follow up with downstream fractionation and export facilities. From the Permian, recovered NGL production is currently about 3.6 MMb/d and is forecast to reach 4.8 MMb/d by 2030 and 5.4 MMb/d by 2035 (light-green bars in Figure 1 below). These recovered volumes account for the economics of ethane recovery, including ethane rejection, which is when ethane is left in the natural gas stream because recovery is uneconomic. They also reflect contractual agreements, such as minimum volume commitments (MVCs), that can incentivize recovery even when rejection would otherwise be economic. The buildout of natural gas processing has been substantial in recent years, with another 7 Bcf/d of incremental capacity expected to be added across the Permian by 2029, most of that on the Texas side of the Delaware Basin (dark-blue bar sections in Figure 4 below), followed by the Midland Basin (orange bar sections) and the New Mexico side of the Delaware (light-blue bar sections). But that capacity is not necessarily located where gas production is growing fastest. As a result, localized processing constraints can emerge even when Permian-wide capacity appears sufficient. For example, some gas produced on the New Mexico side of the Delaware Basin is processed across the state line in West Texas. Over the past few years, Permian NGL takeaway capacity has seesawed. New pipelines and expansions have added capacity, while conversions to other services have taken some away. The result has been a series of step changes in available Y-grade takeaway. Enterprise Products Partners’ Seminole pipeline system (orange lines in Figure 3 below) is a clear example of that back-and-forth. In 2019, the company converted one of the two pipelines in the Seminole corridor from NGLs to crude oil to meet growing crude-takeaway demand. The two pipelines, known as Red and Blue, run in the same right-of-way. In December 2023, Enterprise converted the Red line back to NGL service. In addition, Enterprise’s conversion of its Chaparral Pipeline (light-green line) from NGLs to refined products removed roughly 135 Mb/d of Y-grade takeaway capacity from the Permian and increased the need for NGL capacity on Seminole. Taken together, the Seminole Red conversion back to NGL service and the Chaparral conversion out of it added a net 15 Mb/d of Y-grade takeaway capacity.That arrangement changed again in December 2025, when Seminole Red returned to crude-oil service as Midland-to-ECHO 2 (see The Boys Are Back in Town). The switch was enabled by Enterprise’s new Bahia NGL Pipeline (dark-green line), which entered service in 2025 with 600 Mb/d of Y-grade capacity. Net, the Seminole switch and the Bahia startup added 450 Mb/d of new takeaway capacity. Bahia moves NGLs from the Midland and Delaware basins to Mont Belvieu, where they can enter Enterprise’s Gulf Coast fractionation system, reducing the need for Seminole to remain in NGL service.In Q3 2024, Targa Resources' 400-Mb/d Daytona Pipeline (purple line) entered service, linking the Permian Basin to the company's Grand Prix NGL system (lavender line), which carries Y-grade on to Mont Belvieu. Grand Prix also reaches into parts of Oklahoma, including the SCOOP/STACK, but this expansion focused on the pipeline leg that receives Y-grade from the Permian.During 2025, ONEOK continued phased expansions of its West Texas NGL system (dark-red lines), increasing its capacity from roughly 515 Mb/d to 740 Mb/d by adding pump stations. The system transports not only Permian Y-grade but also barrels from the Barnett Shale.Phillips 66 acquired EPIC Y-Grade in 2025, adding the system to its integrated NGL transportation, fractionation and export network along the Texas Gulf Coast. Now renamed Coastal Bend, the 885-mile system (magenta lines) transports 175 Mb/d of Y-grade from the Delaware and Midland basins, as well as the Eagle Ford, to the company's fractionation complex in Robstown, TX, near Corpus Christi, and to storage in Markham. The system also extends up the coast to Phillips 66's Sweeny complex. Phillips 66 completed an initial expansion to 225 Mb/d and brought a second phase online in 2026, boosting total throughput to 350 Mb/d. The acquisition built on Phillips 66’s 2023 expansion into the upstream end of the NGL value chain through its acquisition of DCP Midstream, whose assets include gas gathering and processing operations and interests in major NGL takeaway systems. Among them is the Sand Hills Pipeline (pink lines), which transports Permian and Eagle Ford NGLs to fractionation and market centers at Sweeny and Mont Belvieu. Together, the DCP and Coastal Bend transactions have expanded Phillips 66’s reach from Permian gas processing and NGL takeaway through Gulf Coast fractionation, storage and downstream markets. Then there’s BANGL, the aptly named Belvieu Alternative NGLs pipeline. Once a joint venture, BANGL became wholly owned by MPLX in July 2025, when the company acquired the remaining 55% interest in the system from WhiteWater and Diamondback Energy. The pipeline currently has a capacity of about 250 Mb/d, with an expansion to 300 Mb/d expected online in Q4 2026. It includes the 2026 Orla-to-Benedum segment (blue line at top left of map), which connects the system with the core Delaware Basin gathering and processing corridor and allows for more Y-grade volumes moving toward fractionation hubs in Corpus Christi. Barrels move from Benedum to Gardendale on a segment of the Coastal Bend Pipeline (pink-and-blue section) operated as an undivided joint interest (UJI). Then, those barrels go to Sweeney via the Gardendale-to-Sweeney extension (blue line at bottom right of map) placed in service in Q1 2025. The system is ultimately being extended with the Texas City extension (dashed blue line) expected online in 2028. The expansion will help connect Permian NGL supplies with MPLX’s planned Gulf Coast fractionation complex near Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery and the 400-Mb/d LPG export terminal MPLX and ONEOK are developing jointly at Texas City. Targa’s Speedway pipeline (dashed aqua line) is a new 500-mile, 30-inch-diameter Y-grade line from the Permian to Mont Belvieu. It will extend Targa’s integrated NGL network, supplement the existing Grand Prix and Daytona systems, and provide another outlet for rising Permian mixed-NGL production. Speedway is designed for an initial capacity of roughly 500 Mb/d, with expansion capability to about 1 MMb/d. Targa said it expects to finish its work on the line in Q3 2027.Enterprise plans to expand Bahia in Q4 2027, increasing capacity from 600 Mb/d to 1 MMb/d. ExxonMobil later acquired a 40% ownership interest in the system, aligning one of the basin’s largest upstream producers with dedicated downstream takeaway. The planned expansion will be supported by additional pumping and integration with Gulf Coast fractionation and export infrastructure. Also in Q4 2027, Enterprise and ExxonMobil plan a dedicated, roughly 92-mile, 600-Mb/d extension linking ExxonMobil’s Cowboy processing complex in Eddy County, NM, directly to Bahia called — you guessed it — the Cowboy Connector (dashed yellow line). The project is intended to secure takeaway from New Mexico growth areas and connect ExxonMobil’s upstream and processing operations with Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu value chain.Now, with takeaway capacity shifting, the picture has changed. Permian NGL overall takeaway capacity was very tight in 2024 but has since loosened with the startup of Targa’s Daytona and Enterprise’s Bahia pipelines. New Y-grade pipelines have materially improved the Permian’s ability to move mixed NGLs to the Gulf Coast. However, the added takeaway shifts attention to the next link in the value chain: fractionation and exports. Once Y-grade reaches Mont Belvieu, Corpus Christi, Sweeney, or other Gulf Coast fractionation hubs, it’s separated into purity products that are then stored, shipped to domestic end markets for consumption, or exported. As a result, y-grade pipeline additions do not eliminate infrastructure risk but they shift part of the focus from basin takeaway to downstream fractionation capacity and export capacity — and that will be the focus of the next blog in this series.

Cracking the Code – What 2026’s Record Crack Spreads Tell Us About Refining Economics | RBN Energy -Crude oil may get most of the headlines, but the fuels made from it have delivered some of the market’s biggest surprises of 2026. Gasoline and diesel crack spreads have shattered previous records, with diesel’s premium over crude climbing above $100/bbl and helping propel the 3-2-1 crack spread to unprecedented heights. Those spreads reveal something that crude prices alone cannot: how much buyers are willing to pay for finished fuels relative to the oil used to produce them. That in turn provides insight into what’s driving the sky-high prices consumers are currently paying. With supply disruptions, strained trade flows and renewable-fuel compliance costs all shaping this year’s extraordinary numbers, in today’s RBN blog we’ll look at what goes into a crack spread as well as what we can learn from it and, at the end, we’ll give you the model! A crack spread measures the difference between the value of refined products and the cost of crude oil. Its name comes from the “cracking” process in refineries, where larger hydrocarbon molecules are broken into smaller ones used in transportation fuels and other products. The individual gasoline and diesel cracks compare each product’s price with a crude benchmark. The 3-2-1 crack spread, which we first detailed in Money For Nothing, combines them, assuming three barrels of crude yield two barrels of gasoline and one barrel of diesel. That hypothetical product mix provides a convenient rule of thumb for tracking relative refining economics.The result is a gross-margin indicator, not a measure of a refinery’s take-home profit. Refiners incur energy, labor, maintenance, transportation and renewable-fuel compliance costs. They also process different crude grades and produce a much broader slate of products, with yields that depend on their equipment and operating choices. Even the benchmark calculation can vary substantially. Different gasoline formulations, pricing locations and crude grades produce significantly different spreads. To see why that matters, let’s start with the inputs used in our daily Chart Toppers report.Think about the choices at the pump: regular and premium gasoline have different octane ratings and prices. Wholesale markets make additional distinctions among formulations, delivery locations and timing. There is consequently more than one gasoline price, and more than one gasoline crack spread. In Chart Toppers, we use a Gulf Coast conventional gasoline price market. In our example below (using data from Friday, September 25), that price is 365 cents per gallon.But before we compare gasoline with crude, we need to put both prices in the same units. Crude is quoted in dollars per barrel, while this gasoline benchmark is quoted in cents per gallon. With 42 gallons in a barrel, the conversion is: [365 cents/gal × 42 gal/bbl ÷ 100 = $153.30/bbl ]  We then subtract the crude price. With prompt WTI settling that Friday at $92.41/bbl, the gasoline crack is: [ $153.30/bbl − $92.41/bbl = $60.89/bbl ] A barrel of benchmark Gulf Coast gasoline was therefore worth about $61 more than a barrel of WTI, before refining and other costs. Per gallon, that difference was about $1.45.How can gasoline prices remain elevated even when crude retreats? Finished gasoline has its own supply-and-demand balance determined in the global market, which we described recently in For the Love of Money. If gasoline becomes more valuable relative to crude, the crack can widen despite an increase in the feedstock price. A wider spread strengthens the incentive to produce gasoline, although it does not establish how much of that premium becomes refinery profit.For diesel, since we’re using a Gulf Coast gasoline price, we also use a Gulf Coast ULSD (ultra-low-sulfur diesel) benchmark. On September 25, that price was 457 cents per gallon. Applying the same conversion gives us: [ 457 cents/gal × 42 gal/bbl ÷ 100 = $191.94/bbl  ]Subtracting WTI’s $92.41/bbl settlement produces the diesel crack: [ $191.94 /bbl − $92.41/bbl = $99.53/bbl ] That means a barrel of benchmark Gulf Coast diesel was worth nearly $100 more than a barrel of WTI. Its premium over crude exceeded gasoline’s by roughly $39/bbl, highlighting diesel’s much stronger relative value, which we detailed in Basket Case. This distinction matters for refining incentives. A combined crack spread can tell us that the hypothetical product barrel is valuable, but the individual cracks show where that value is concentrated. In this example, diesel offered the stronger incentive to increase production where refinery equipment and operating constraints allowed.A refiner doesn’t make 100% gasoline or 100% diesel. It’s a mix. For that, we can combine the two products. The 3-2-1 calculation adds the value of two gasoline barrels (green-shaded row in Figure 1 below) and one diesel barrel (purple-shaded row), subtracts the cost of three crude barrels (black-shaded row) and divides the result by three. That gives us a 3-2-1 crack spread of $73.77/bbl. The result represents the theoretical value of that product mix above the crude input cost, per barrel of crude processed.Figure 1. RBN Crack Spread Model.  Download the spreadsheet used to generate this table. We can reach the same answer by taking a weighted average of the individual cracks: two-thirds gasoline and one-third diesel. Although gasoline receives twice the weight, diesel’s nearly $100/bbl crack pulled the combined spread well above the gasoline crack. These measures give us complementary views of the market. The individual cracks identify which products are driving value, while the 3-2-1 provides a consistent framework for following the combined trend. We should note that sustained higher diesel cracks have prompted some refiners to shift their slates to produce more diesel, so many analysts may choose to track a 2-1-1 crack spread (two barrels of crude to produce one barrel of gasoline and one barrel of diesel). But, since crack spreads are used to track broad trends rather than specific refinery performance, what you learn doing it either way is largely similar.Using a historical series of the prices discussed here, gasoline, diesel and the combined 3-2-1 crack have all reached record highs in 2026, surpassing their previous peaks by substantial margins.As shown in Figure 2 below, the highest gasoline crack on record prior to 2026 was $64.94/bbl set on September 28, 2005 (when the tag-team Katrina and Rita hurricanes, KO’d a huge swath of Gulf Coast refining capacity). The highest diesel crack was $108.53/bbl set on April 28, 2022 (after Russia invaded Ukraine), and the highest 3-2-1 crack spread was $64.58/bbl set on April 20, 2020 (when the price of WTI went negative for a day!). Even among those monumental events, 2026 changed the game, with refined products margins reaching record highs on several occasions. The gasoline crack soared to $68.74/bbl on September 23. The diesel crack hit $113.48/bbl on September 15, and the 3-2-1 crack spread topped out at $80.63/bbl on September 23.Let’s look next at how the 3-2-1 crack spread has changed over time. Back in 2010 (and for several years prior), there was a surplus of refining capacity in the U.S. and the crack spread was low, averaging only around $10/bbl. In 2011, Midcontinent crude oil supplies were increasing due to Bakken production and Canadian imports, which resulted in a surplus of crude at the Cushing, OK, storage hub and drove down the WTI price. Gasoline and diesel prices held up, so the crack spread averaged $30/bbl in 2011 before peaking at $46/bbl in 2012.  New pipelines were built from Cushing to the Gulf Coast, so WTI at Cushing came back in line with crude prices in the rest of the country; the crack spread fell to $17/bbl in late 2014. We entered what we called the “Summer of Refinery Love” in 2015, aka when very low crude oil prices caused the crack spread to once again return to $25/bbl. That didn’t last long, however, and the crack spread was back to $15/bbl the following year before it normalized at $20/bbl right before Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017. The storm led to refinery outages and shortages of gasoline and diesel, causing the crack spread to soar to $37/bbl at the end of August.As we all know, COVID arrived in force in early 2020 and demand for transportation fuels plummeted, dragging the crack spread down to less than $0.50/bbl on March 23. However, on April 20, 2020 — the day the front-month WTI price turned negative and the industry was flipped on its head for a day — crack spreads rose to $65/bbl before settling around the $9/bbl range for the remainder of the year. It soared back to the $60-$65/bbl range in mid-2022 amid sanctions against Russia, severe global refining capacity constraints and post-pandemic demand spikes. The 3-2-1 crack spread (gray line in Figure 3 below) moved steadily lower over the next few years but has surged in 2026, from an average of just under $21/bbl in January to just under $71/bbl in September before dipping in early October. The diesel crack (orange line in Figure 3) posted the largest dollar increase, skyrocketing to a record high on September 16 of $113.48/bbl, exceeding its pre-2026 record by nearly $5/bbl and far surpassing the gasoline crack spread (blue line). Meanwhile, the 3-2-1 crack spread climbed roughly 25% above its pre-2026 high. This year’s records show how much finished-product values have increased relative to crude, but explaining that gap requires looking at the constraints on producing and delivering those fuels.Diesel’s extraordinary strength reflects a squeeze on both production and trade. As discussed in Basket Case, damage to Middle Eastern refineries and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have reduced available product supplies. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and export infrastructure, along with Russia’s diesel export restrictions, have added pressure. Those disruptions have intensified competition for replacement barrels, drawing overseas buyers toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. U.S. refiners have had limited room to respond: utilization reached 98% in late August, yet strong exports continued to pull barrels from a market with unusually low inventories.As mentioned above, remember that the crack spread is not a measure of refiner profitability. Each refinery is different and has a multitude of feedstock and product mix considerations that are simplified away by the crack spread. The crack spread can vary significantly by region, so its best used to index market fluctuations rather than try to equate it to any kind of refining margin. Beyond the individual refinery considerations that make the crack spread a refinery-specific metric, one major factor often explains some of the gap between crude prices and refined product prices in the U.S. — compliance costs. Renewable-fuel compliance costs affect the relationship between headline cracks and refinery economics. Refiners and other obligated parties must meet Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements, with Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) used to demonstrate compliance. RIN costs have shot higher this year (see Runaway) and the reports discussed here estimate renewable volume obligation (RVO) costs at approximately $15/bbl in early September. That is a meaningful expense outside the simple product-minus-crude calculation.As shown at the right side of Figure 4 below, subtracting a $15/bbl compliance allowance (blue line) from a $100/bbl diesel crack (green line) leaves roughly $85/bbl (red line) before operating and other costs – which is still a huge spread. The appropriate adjustment depends on the obligation and calculation being examined, but the broader point holds: Compliance costs reduce the apparent margin, while the remaining spread can still be exceptional.Showing both series helps distinguish the headline price signal from the margin remaining after compliance expenses.  A sustained retreat in product prices will depend on the product balance improving. Recovering overseas refinery output and more reliable shipping would increase available supplies and reduce competition for replacement cargoes. If demand were to soften pressure on production could ease and if we were able to rebuild inventories it could provide a cushion against subsequent disruptions. Lower RVO requirements and RIN costs could also improve refiners’ net economics relative to the headline spread, although they would not resolve physical shortages on their own.In the near term, exceptionally strong diesel cracks provide a compelling incentive to sustain production where possible. That could limit the decline in runs during fall maintenance (see Turn Around), but scheduled work, equipment constraints and operating reliability still determine how much refiners can deliver.This brings us back to why crack spreads have been so revealing in 2026. Record spreads show the value buyers place on available finished fuels, with diesel providing an especially powerful lift to the combined barrel. The Chart Toppers example shows why interpreting that signal starts with understanding its benchmarks and costs. As supplies recover, or face further disruption, the crack spread will remain a useful way to track refining incentives and product-market pressure.

Trump says diesel export ban is still on the table -President Donald Trump said Wednesday he hasn’t yet made up his mind on whether to impose a ban on diesel fuel exports, despite fierce pushback on the idea in recent days from the oil and gas industry and some of his own advisers.The White House is facing growing pressure to take steps to bring down record high diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections, and Trump indicated last week he would be open to restricting exports. But members of his Cabinet and top industry officials argue that such a move would end up raising prices for all types of fuel, including gasoline, and they have scrambled to present alternative measures to the president.“I’m thinking about it,” Trump said of the export ban at an Oval Office event. “I speak to [Energy Secretary] Chris [Wright] and [Interior Secretary] Doug [Burgum] about it a lot — they sort of think it’ll help diesel, but it might raise the price of other things.”Trump said he was optimistic about prices coming down as petroleum flows through the Strait of Hormuz have increased in recent days, but he declined to rule out restricting diesel shipments.“It’s something that we think about and we talk about every day,” he said. “But it just seems that it would have a negative impact on gasoline, so that would go up a little bit, and diesel would come down a little bit.”Wright, who has staunchly opposed a ban and was with Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday, said the administration would soon announce measures aimed at bringing down diesel prices. Europe would also be announcing moves to add supply to the market, he said.“You will hear announcements from our friends in Europe about new diesel supplies that’ll come to the market that’ll meaningfully push diesel prices down,” Wright said.POLITICO reported Tuesday that the White House was considering asking European governments to release diesel from their own strategic reserves.

White House looking to Europe to release diesel from strategic reserves - President Donald Trump appears set on banning diesel exports. His Cabinet, oil industry executives and some GOP lawmakers are hoping he doesn’t. Instead, they are pitching the administration on several other ideas that would be less disruptive to oil markets while still lowering the price of diesel — at least temporarily. Among the ideas being floated is to ask European governments to release diesel from their own strategic reserves, said two people familiar with the discussions who were granted anonymity to discuss conversations with the White House. “The motivation is to stop a ban,” said one oil industry executive familiar with the conversations. The average price of diesel was $6.44 on Tuesday, according to AAA, $2.75 higher than it was a year ago. The high price is hurting farmers during harvest season, angering a key GOP constituency with the midterm elections just over a month away. The White House referred questions to the Energy Department, which announced Tuesday afternoon it was soliciting proposals for the remainder of its planned 172-million-barrel release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement that the SPR move shows the U.S. “continues to lead the coordinated efforts to stabilize oil markets for the benefit of Americans and people around the world.” “While the United States and Japan are delivering on their commitments, several European member countries have released only a fraction of the crude oil and petroleum products they pledged,” Wright said. “We urge every member country to fulfill its commitments.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also separately suggested Tuesday morning that the administration is eyeing Europe’s stockpiles. “The administration is discussing a lot of options and I don’t want to get ahead of anybody, but it is a fact that the Europeans have a lot of diesel reserves,” Burgum said in a brief interview with POLITICO.Europe reportedly holds the world’s largest combined commercial and government diesel reserves, with more than 350 million barrels of the fuel held in various countries, said Paul Hickin, chief economist and editor-in-chief at Petroleum Economist, a London-based journal.A diesel release from reserves “could shave the winter risk premium and ease the pull on U.S. barrels, so it may well help Washington avoid a ban,” Hickin said. “But it would buy a few months, not solve anything. It also asks Europe to spend its insurance to fix a U.S. political problem, at a moment when its own commercial stocks are near multiyear lows.“

Exclusive-US tells France and Germany to release diesel stocks or face US export ban, sources say (Reuters) - The Trump administration has told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories to help ease soaring global fuel prices or face a potential US diesel export ban, according to three people close to the discussions. The warning marks an escalation in pressure on Europe as US President Donald Trump considers a potential ban to help bring down US fuel prices ahead of November's midterm elections. Europe's relationship with Washington has soured under Trump due to tariff disputes and disagreements over military spending. For the EU, releasing more stocks would represent a dilemma as it needs to balance the need to bring down fuel prices at home with maintaining high stocks for a possible worsening of the fuel crisis should Trump and Iran not reach a peace deal. The EU's energy taskforce — made up of the European Commission and the 27 EU member countries — will hold a call on Friday morning to discuss the situation, a Commission spokesperson said. The Commission, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Ireland already held a call on Thursday to discuss the possible need to release diesel stocks, two EU officials told Reuters. The International Energy Agency, the West's energy watchdog, has not yet asked Germany to release stocks, Germany's economy ministry said. It was not clear when the IEA might meet next. The US administration has been particularly frustrated with France and Germany, which US officials believe have not fully followed through on earlier commitments to release emergency oil and petroleum product stocks, Reuters has reported previously. "It is in Europe’s best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers," one of the sources, a US official, told Reuters. A second source, based in a European capital, said that the US has asked the EU to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months. Europe has become increasingly dependent on US fuel after banning Russian imports over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and after the US-Israeli war against Iran disrupted supplies from the Middle East. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Thursday that he was "highly confident" Europe could ease fuel prices by drawing down emergency diesel inventories. "This is a time for a coordinated release of diesel stores as we go into to harvest season and we go into winter heating oil season," Wright told Fox. "Now's the time to bring more diesel to the market, and that diesel is available. I think we have some positive news coming." US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington had done its share of an agreement struck in March among International Energy Agency members in releasing 172 million barrels of US oil. "America is doing its part," Bessent said on X. "We look to our allies to match their commitments with action."

US Threatens Diesel Export Ban to Germany, France If They Don’t Draw Down Domestic Reserves - - The White House is threatening NATO allies Germany and France for refusing to release diesel fuel from their emergency inventories. “US officials said France and Germany could be cut off from future US diesel exports.Reuters first reported the US threat to its allies on Thursday after speaking with three people familiar with the discussions. A US official speaking with The New York Post explained, “It is in Europe’s best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Politico that the US is asking the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel fuel, more than 40% of the bloc’s emergency diesel stocks. Wright said the proposal was an alternative to a total export ban on US diesel. The EU’s energy task force plans to hold a call on Friday about the bloc potentially tapping further into its members’ fuel reserves.  The dispute comes amid broader tensions between Washington and its European allies over the US-Israeli war against Iran. The conflict has also increased pressure on European fuel supplies as Middle Eastern exports have fallen.  Europe has already suffered an increase in fuel prices as sanctions against Russia and the War in Ukraine have cut the nations off from Russian oil. The war against Iran has added further upward pressure on the price of fuel as Middle East oil supplies have been significantly reduced since the start of the conflict.  Trump is attempting to push down US diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections in early November. Diesel hit a record high of $6.53 per gallon last week.

G7 to release 100 million barrels of fuel and avoid export restrictions among member countries -G7 countries agreed to release a total of 100 million barrels of diesel fuel and crude oil from their reserves over a four-month period and not to impose restrictions on energy exports among themselves. The coordinated release of reserves through the International Energy Agency is due to begin immediately, with a significant amount of diesel fuel expected to be released during the first 20 days. "We reaffirm our commitment to refrain from restrictions on exports of energy and energy products among G7 countries and call on all producers not to impose bans that could increase market tensions," the leaders said. They stressed that concerns among citizens over energy prices remain among their main priorities and that they will closely monitor developments, while remaining ready to adjust the measures if necessary. The decision was taken following a video conference of G7 leaders convened by French President Emmanuel Macron to coordinate action on fuel prices. The meeting came amid US pressure on Europe to use its strategic reserves and Washington's threat to restrict diesel exports. US President Donald Trump said European countries had agreed to release "huge amounts" of diesel fuel from their reserves. "Europe has just agreed to release a huge amount of diesel fuel from its substantial reserves. The process will begin immediately," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is currently in Skopje, welcomed the G7 agreement. "We welcome the decision of G7 countries not to impose export bans on allies and the continued solidarity between partners. We support an IEA-coordinated release of fuel stocks," von der Leyen wrote on X. | BGNES

G7 Moves to Release 100 Million Barrels to Counter Diesel Crisis - The G7 and its partners have agreed to release as much as 100 million barrels of emergency diesel and crude stocks over the next four months, putting government inventories into a fuel market that has been running short of refinery output for months. French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that the release would be coordinated through the International Energy Agency, with an emphasis on diesel. European countries had discussed releasing 50 million barrels of diesel while IEA members would supply another 50 million barrels of crude. President Donald Trump welcomed the move after his administration pressed Europe to draw down its emergency stocks and floated restrictions on U.S. diesel exports. “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil. The process will begin immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The market reacted immediately. European gasoil futures fell more than 4% Friday, while Brent dropped about $3 to below $100 per barrel. Diesel’s premium over crude fell to roughly $69 per barrel from $76.77 on Thursday. There is plenty for these reserve barrels to work on. U.S. diesel prices recently reached a record $6.50 per gallon. European diesel futures have traded above $200 per barrel. Middle Eastern refinery outages, Russian refinery damage, and export restrictions have removed millions of barrels of product supply, and Chinese refiners have suspended October fuel exports to preserve domestic stocks. Europe also has a direct interest in using the stocks. It consumes more diesel than it produces and has become increasingly dependent on U.S. imports. A U.S. export ban would tighten European supply further while potentially forcing American refiners to cut runs once domestic storage is filled. The release buys time. It puts physical diesel into the market during a period of acute shortage and takes some pressure off prices. It does not, however, add refinery capacity. The IEA already coordinated a 400-million-barrel emergency release in March after the Iran war began, with about two-thirds of those barrels released so far. The G7 statement indicates that the 100 million barrels will help complete the emergency-release commitments made in March, rather than a clearly additional 100-million-barrel tranche. Emergency inventories can bridge a supply disruption. The underlying diesel shortage still depends on getting damaged and idled refineries back into service.

Trump rules out diesel export ban after European release | BGNES - He welcomed the decision by European countries to release part of their reserves. U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington would not impose a ban on diesel exports, while welcoming the decision by European countries to release part of their reserves. “Well, it was never really on the table. But what Europe did was a great thing,” Trump said at the White House when asked by an AFP reporter whether the United States had now abandoned the idea of an export ban. “I asked for it. Europe has a lot of diesel and they’re going to be making a major contribution to the world – and so are we. And we’re not going to impose an export ban. We’re going to do what we’re supposed to do,” he added. Trump initially said on September 22 that he supported a ban on diesel exports, which would have lowered prices for U.S. consumers but put pressure on supplies in other parts of the world. As recently as October 1, he said the United States was still considering the option, while his administration was pressuring Europe to release part of its reserves. On October 2, G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from their reserves over four months to ease concerns about global energy supplies caused by the war in the Middle East. Trump’s Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in next month’s midterm elections amid voter dissatisfaction over the conflict and its impact on energy prices.

The Hidden Tradeoffs of a U.S. Diesel Export Ban  -With diesel prices at record highs, restricting U.S. diesel exports has an obvious appeal. Keep more American-made diesel at home, increase domestic supply, and take some pressure off farmers, truckers, construction companies, and ultimately consumers. President Donald Trump endorsed the idea this week, saying, “I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel.” The administration is now examining possible restrictions as farm-state lawmakers respond to soaring fuel costs. The United States is the world’s largest diesel exporter, with exports averaging about 1.5 million barrels per day so far this year. A restriction could initially lower diesel prices in parts of the United States, particularly along the Gulf Coast where much of the exported fuel is produced. But an export ban does not create another barrel of diesel. It changes where the existing barrels can go. In a tightly interconnected global market, that means some of the costs pushed overseas can eventually find their way back to American consumers. Few industries have more reason to want lower diesel prices than agriculture. Diesel powers tractors, combines, irrigation equipment, and the trucks that move crops from farms to processors and markets. The current price spike has arrived during harvest season, making it particularly painful in agricultural states. That pressure has helped generate calls from farm-state Republicans for limits on diesel exports. The immediate economic argument is straightforward. If the United States exports 1.5 million barrels per day and suddenly keeps some of those barrels at home, domestic inventories should rise. All else being equal, that would put downward pressure on U.S. diesel prices.   The United States exported about 1.27 million barrels per day of distillate fuel in 2025. Mexico was the largest destination at roughly 220,000 barrels per day, followed by countries including Chile and Brazil. Those exports have risen this year as American refiners have helped replace supplies lost from Russia and the Middle East. If those barrels disappear from international markets, foreign diesel prices would likely rise further. That may initially sound like someone else’s problem. But Americans buy an enormous amount of food and other goods produced overseas, and diesel is embedded in the cost of producing and transporting many of them.Mexico is a particularly good example. It is both the largest foreign buyer of U.S. diesel and the largest supplier of agricultural products to the United States. In 2025, the United States imported $43.8 billion in agricultural products from Mexico, representing about 21% of total U.S. agricultural imports. Mexico is especially important for fruits and vegetables and supplies roughly one-third of U.S. horticultural imports. Now consider what happens if Mexico suddenly has to replace U.S. diesel at substantially higher world-market prices. Farmers pay more to operate equipment. Truckers pay more to move produce. Food processors and distributors face higher transportation costs. Some of those additional costs can ultimately show up in the prices Americans pay for imported food.The consequences can become larger if high fuel and fertilizer prices persist long enough to alter planting decisions. The Food and Agriculture Organization has already warned that elevated energy and fertilizer costs associated with the current Middle East disruptions can influence how much farmers plant and how much fertilizer they use. FAO has cautioned that reduced input use can mean lower yields and tighter food supplies in subsequent harvests.That does not mean a U.S. diesel export ban would suddenly cause global food shortages. But it illustrates why pushing a fuel shortage outside U.S. borders does not completely insulate Americans from its consequences. Higher agricultural costs abroad can return through import prices, particularly for products the United States cannot easily replace domestically during certain seasons.There is another complication that may be even more important.U.S. refineries do not produce only the amount of diesel Americans consume. Gulf Coast refineries in particular have been built around access to international markets. They process crude oil into a slate of products that includes gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, propane, and other petroleum products, then sell those products into the markets offering the best outlets.If diesel exports are suddenly prohibited, those refiners cannot simply redirect 1.5 million barrels per day anywhere they choose. Domestic demand cannot absorb all of it, and pipeline and storage capacity limit how much Gulf Coast diesel can be moved quickly to other parts of the country.S&P Global Energy CERA modeled a complete export ban from October through December. Its analysts estimated that U.S. refiners would have to absorb or eliminate about 1.48 million barrels per day of expected exports. Once commercially usable storage filled, they estimated refiners might have to cut crude processing by roughly 1.9 million barrels per day, or about 12% of total U.S. refinery throughput. That would have impacts well beyond diesel. A refinery cannot cut crude throughput by 12% and continue producing the same amount of gasoline and jet fuel. Lower refinery runs mean less production of all those products. Thus, a policy intended to reduce diesel prices could eventually tighten supplies of gasoline and jet fuel as well, putting upward pressure on those prices.Trump acknowledged that relationship when discussing the proposal, noting that restricting diesel exports could also affect gasoline because refinery products are part of the same production flow. This creates an unusual domestic conflict. Farmers understandably want relief from extraordinarily high diesel prices. Cheaper fuel reduces the cost of planting, harvesting, and transporting crops. Farm-state lawmakers therefore have a strong incentive to find ways to increase domestic diesel availability, particularly while harvest is underway. Refiners have almost the opposite incentive. Export markets allow them to operate at high utilization rates and sell the diesel that exceeds domestic demand. Closing those outlets could rapidly depress Gulf Coast refining margins and eventually cause refiners to reduce production.The policy question is whether lowering the cost for one sector creates larger costs elsewhere in the economy.The larger context is that the world is genuinely short of diesel. Russian refining and exports have been sharply reduced by the war in Ukraine, while Middle Eastern refinery disruptions and constrained shipping have removed additional supply. U.S. diesel inventories have fallen to extraordinarily low seasonal levels, and industry analysts expect the global shortage to persist into 2027. American refiners have responded to those price signals by running hard and increasing exports. That is one reason U.S. diesel exports have risen this year. Restricting exports could redirect some of that supply domestically, but it cannot repair damaged Russian or Middle Eastern refineries.Instead, the shortage would become more geographically concentrated.Foreign farmers, manufacturers, and transportation companies would pay more. Some of those costs would remain overseas. Others would return to Americans through higher prices for imported food and manufactured goods. And if U.S. refiners eventually reduce crude runs because they cannot economically place their diesel output, domestic gasoline and jet-fuel supplies could also tighten.A diesel export restriction could provide real short-term relief for some U.S. diesel consumers. That benefit should not simply be dismissed, especially with farmers and truckers facing historically high fuel costs.But there are no free barrels.Keeping diesel inside the United States would mean fewer barrels elsewhere. Because the United States is now the world’s largest diesel exporter, removing that supply from an already tight global market would have significant consequences. Some of those consequences would eventually make their way back to American households through food prices, imported goods, and potentially lower domestic refinery production.The policy would not eliminate the global diesel shortage. It would change who feels it first, and how the costs eventually work their way through the economy.

Trump plans executive order seeking to bring down high diesel costs - President Donald Trump plans to announce Monday executive actions aimed at lowering the high fuel costs weighing on Republicans ahead of the midterms, according to three people familiar with the plans.Trump plans to tout the moves during a campaign stop in Nebraska, where the high diesel costs and the president’s step to increase foreign beef imports ahead of November have riled farmers and ranchers at the peak of harvest season across deep-red and battleground states. The announcement would come after weeks of chaotic messaging on high diesel prices, punctuated on Friday by Trump saying he would not impose a diesel export ban after he repeatedly said he was considering the option. The steps to be announced Monday include a Treasury Department review of certain taxes for diesel. The executive order would also direct states to do more to increase the availability of tax-exempt red-dyed diesel, used in farming, construction and other industries, and to urge that states waive certain fuel taxes, according to the people. The executive actions also include so-called non-enforcement of dyed diesel limitations. Some Republican governors have already taken similar steps on dyed diesel.Trump officials have been preparing action around dyed diesel for more than a week. The Monday move comes as surging fuel prices — caused by the ongoing war against Iran as well as Ukrainian attacks against Russian refineries — have angered farmers and contributed to persistent inflation that is threatening Republicans’ hold on Congress in the November midterm elections. But some Republicans have opposed efforts to waive excise taxes on diesel as states use those revenues to pay for infrastructure projects such as road repairs.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News on Monday morning that Trump would make an “announcement” on additional short-term relief for farmers in Nebraska this afternoon, which she would also discuss during a stop in Iowa.Ten states accounting for roughly a third of U.S. diesel sales had already taken steps to allow wider use of dyed diesel as of Friday, according to the research firm ClearView Energy Partners. Several states also waived taxes for diesel used in agricultural vehicles. The moves helped drop the average price of diesel to $6.32 a gallon on Monday, down 13 cents from the week before but still $2.63 higher than a year ago, according to AAA.Federal action on dyed diesel could help reduce prices for freight truck drivers and others who operate on-road vehicles but would do little for farmers and construction equipment drivers who already have access to the tax-exempt fuel, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for fuel price tracking website GasBuddy, said last week.“It could save on-road users ~60c/gal,” De Haan said in a social media post on X. “But farmers already use dyed diesel and are still paying record prices. Taxes aren’t the problem, supply is.”Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at Dow Jones Energy, said suspending fuel taxes can lead to short-term relief at the pump, but have long-term consequences for transportation infrastructure. “When you’re not collecting taxes, you’re just kicking the can down the road, because you have to fix roads and stuff like that,”

Trump announces steps to lower high cost of diesel - President Trump announced on Monday that his administration will take a series of steps aimed at lowering high diesel costs. The president had been expected to announce a directive aiming to increase the availability of red-dyed diesel. This diesel simply has red dye added to it to signal that it is tax exempt and is typically used in machines such as farm and construction equipment. “I’m going to sign a historic executive order to officially waive the off-road requirement, and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red dyed diesel for any reason,” Trump said before calling on aide Natalie Harp to bring the order on stage for him to sign. Trump signed the order at a rally for Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts (R) and Gov. Jim Pillen (R). Ricketts’ reelection bid in particular has become increasingly competitive in recent weeks. “So Pete and Jim, this should absolutely assure your election,” the president said. Trump was also expected to announce a Treasury Department review of diesel taxes during his speech at a campaign rally in Nebraska. The moves come as diesel prices have reached record highs in recent weeks and put a strain on industries that use the fuel, including agriculture and trucking. As of Monday, diesel averaged about $6.32 per gallon, according to AAA. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Gulf Oil, told The Hill that he doesn’t expect that increasing availability of red-dyed diesel will make a significant difference in the price overall. “This is really a cosmetic gesture,” Kloza told The Hill ahead of the actual announcement based on reports that such a move was forthcoming. “This really is a Band-Aid where a tourniquet would be more appropriate.” He emphasized that the quantity of diesel released would not be enough to supplant the barrels that have been lost particularly in the Russia-Ukraine war as Ukraine targets Russian oil refineries.

President Trump Scraps Off-Road Limit on ‘Red Dye’ Diesel as Drivers Battle Soaring Prices - Diesel prices have soared this year, and the Trump administration is changing the rules around a cheaper type of fuel in an effort to bring costs down. President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing anyone to purchase tax-exempt "red dye" diesel, according to an NBC News article published on Monday, October 5. The fuel has traditionally been reserved for off-road uses, including farm vehicles and machinery. Trump, 80, announced the change during a rally in Nebraska, telling the crowd he was going to "officially waive the off-road requirement" for the fuel. Per the report, red-dyed diesel is cheaper because it is exempt from federal and state excise taxes. Diesel used by vehicles traveling on public roads, including long-haul trucks, is normally subject to those taxes. The red coloring allows regulators and inspectors to distinguish the tax-exempt fuel from road diesel. The executive order directs the secretaries of transportation, agriculture, defense and the treasury to work on expanding access to tax-exempt diesel. The administration is also encouraging states to suspend their diesel taxes. The move comes as diesel prices have climbed dramatically. NBC News reported that it hit an all-time high of $6.52 per gallon on September 22. Since the war in Iran began on February 28, the price of diesel in the U.S. has increased by more than 70 percent. NBC News reported that the rise has outpaced increases in both Brent crude oil and unleaded gasoline over the same period. Trump said allowing broader access to red-dyed diesel could save a typical trucker more than $100 each time they fill their tank, while signing the executive order before a crowd, the outlet reported. He also argued that cutting truckers' fuel costs could help bring down the price of groceries and other goods transported by truck. As First for Autos previously reported, in response to rising fuel costs, Trump also recently approved new fuel economy standards that could affect what Americans spend on gas. Per Reuters, the rules are projected to lower the upfront cost of a new vehicle by about $930, but government estimates found Americans could use roughly 100 billion additional gallons of fuel through 2050 and spend about $185 billion more at the pump.

‘Minimal relief’: Trucking groups pan Trump’s diesel executive order – -The nation’s largest trucking groups said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at easing diesel prices would do little to increase availability of the key transportation fuel. The statements from groups representing both major trucking companies and independent truckers — typically close Trump allies — cast doubt on the president’s claims Monday that the move would save truckers hundreds of dollars and help bring down the cost of goods across the economy. The high cost of diesel — averaging $6.31 a gallon, or about $2.64 higher than last year — is dragging on Republicans going into next month’s elections. Trump signed the order — aimed at expanding access to tax-exempt dyed diesel typically limited to off-road use — during a campaign stop Monday in Nebraska, where farmers and truckers have particularly felt the pinch of record diesel prices. The order directs the Treasury Department to within five days defer payment of the federal excise tax connected to on-road use of dyed diesel fuel without interest or penalties through the end of the year.The order drew some praise mostly from agriculture-state lawmakers and a few farm groups, even though farmers largely already had access to dyed diesel.But expanding dyed diesel use “does not create additional fuel or address the underlying supply crunch that is driving prices higher,” Henry Hanscom, chief advocacy and public affairs officer at the American Trucking Associations, said in a statement Tuesday.“Our priority is meaningful, reliable relief that lowers operating costs without creating new compliance burdens or undermining the roads and bridges our industry depends on,” Hanscom said.Hanscom noted that the “practical details here matter,” saying the group would need to review IRS’ forthcoming guidance to “better understand how this relief will work in practice.”“Carriers need clear federal and state guidance on eligibility, reporting, and any taxes that remain payable,” he said.Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, echoed that “allowing the wider use of red-dyed diesel will provide minimal relief.”“Every $1 increase per gallon in fuel costs our members around $400 more per week, and sustained high prices will put many truck drivers out of business,” Spencer said. “Market stability is essential to bring down costs for the long haul.”

US diesel prices remain high despite Trump's moves to boost supplies (Reuters) - US diesel prices remain at near-record highs, up 70% since the US-Israeli war on Iran began despite two recent moves by President Donald Trump to boost supplies: pressuring allies to release emergency reserves and expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel. The wars in Iran and Ukraine have triggered a severe global fuel supply crunch, pushing the average US diesel price to $6.28 a gallon on Friday, according to motorist group AAA. “Aside from a recession that hammers consumption, the only thing that can prevent oil prices from rising further and put them on a sharp downward trajectory is a durable end to conflicts in the Arabian Gulf and between Russia and Ukraine,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group. “Otherwise, policy options range from marginal to counterproductive.” High fuel prices have made it harder for Trump and his Republican Party to defend narrow congressional majorities in the November 3 midterm elections. The cost of living is the top item cited by voters in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, and high diesel prices put particular pressure on traditional Republican constituencies: farmers, truckers and rural voters. The administration has touted a G7 agreement to release 100 million barrels of oil and petroleum products as a major step to help ease prices, but those barrels appear to largely cover what remains of a March emergency release by International Energy Agency members, rather than new supply. A White House official disputed that characterization, saying the earlier commitments were not specifically for refined products. The administration negotiated for the previously committed barrels to be front-loaded with diesel and released on a tight timeline beginning immediately, the official said. The White House said Trump was focused on easing temporary disruptions while pursuing longer-term energy policies. The administration's other major initiative, an executive order allowing red-dyed diesel on public roads through year-end, has drawn limited industry uptake. The fuel is chemically identical to what trucks normally burn but is tinted to show it is exempt from the 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal highway tax. The order defers the federal tax and waives penalties for burning off-road fuel on highways. But major retailers and marketers remain wary of selling it because of unclear tax liabilities, logistical hurdles and the risk of fines when trucks cross state lines. The tax savings are relatively small with diesel prices above $6 a gallon. David Fialkov, who lobbies on behalf of NATSO, a trade group for truck stops and travel centers, said the White House appeared to be encouraging the supply chain to sell dyed fuel through channels not traditionally used for highway diesel, but said that most reputable retailers and marketers were unlikely to do so. John Tirado, president of New Jersey-based commercial fuel supplier Summa Energy, called the red-dyed diesel plan “a Band-Aid on a much bigger problem.” The White House said more than 4,000 retailers distribute dyed diesel. It said Treasury Department guidance will clarify the rules, allowing drivers to use it without federal tax or penalty. It said the savings should outweigh any detour costs for truckers seeking the fuel. “The fundamental problem facing the US is not taxation but an exceptionally tight global market for refined products,” said Caspian Conran, lead economist at Baringa, citing disruptions to energy flows from the Middle East and reduced refining output elsewhere. He described the measures as short-term steps ahead of the election that could provide “probably a few weeks of relief,” rather than a durable solution.

Trump strikes deal with Putin for Russian diesel (AP) — President Donald Trump said he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.Trump said on social media on Friday that he struck the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in which he was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. Instead, Trump announced that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.Trump’s shocking announcement was in stark contrast to a sweeping Russia sanctions law he signed last month that aimed at clamping down on the oil and gas revenues that fuel Russia’s war against Ukraine.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners,” according to a statement released by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.Trump announced the deal as his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were meeting with Ukrainian officials in Miami to discuss a proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.“I believe our team is simply being used as a smokescreen. And that is certainly not fair. It is certainly not how partners should treat each other,” Zelenskyy said.Trump’s move casts doubt on the likelihood of the White House imposing new sanctions on Russia, given that the law that passed overwhelmingly by Congress directs the administration to target countries that purchase Russian oil and gas. Lawmakers this week had urged the Trump administration to act quickly to use the tools available to help Ukraine.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Banking Committtee, called Trump’s announcement a betrayal of Ukraine, the European allies and U.S. national security.“Enough is enough,” the senators wrote. “The President must end his war with Iran instead of funding Russia’s war machine.”Gas prices globally have surged as the war in Iran upends the energy sector. While diesel future prices dipped on the news on Friday, the national average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. remained high at $6.28, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on Sept. 22.Trump did not address the sanctions or Russia’s war but said, “Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.”Trump said later as he left the White House for a campaign rally that he was thankful for the deal. “I want to thank President Putin. To be honest with you, we have massive amounts of oil coming into our country, and it’s diesel, which is what we want. So, thank you,” Trump said. He did not answer shouted questions about the criticism from Zelenskyy.

Trump strikes deal with Putin to supply Russian diesel to U.S. and global markets -- President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia will supply more than 4 million tons of diesel to the global market under a deal he struck with President Vladimir Putin during a phone call. Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons immediately thereafter, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Moscow will then deliver another 3 million tons of diesel based on the condition of Russia’s refineries, Trump said.The Treasury Department temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel through April 2027 under a general license issued Friday.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately condemned Trump’s diesel deal with Putin. Zelenskyy warned that easing sanctions without a commitment from Russia to de-escalate will only prolong the war. “Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.”Diesel prices have surged around the world as Ukraine has pounded Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports to the global market. Iran and its Houthi allies have also attacked refineries in the Middle East, further constraining fuel supplies.Trump is under growing political pressure to take action to reduce fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans are facing competitive elections in conservative strongholds like Iowa, where farmers are feeling the pinch from high diesel prices.But the president has few options to reduce prices given the destruction done to global refining capacity by the wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.Trump flirted with a diesel export ban last month but ultimately relented after the oil industry and big business warned a ban would just raise gasoline prices.The president issued an executive order earlier this week that allows truckers to use tax-exempt offroad diesel on highways without worrying about federal penalties. But the order only defers the tax obligation, creating confusion about whether truckers may have to pay up at some point.

Trump says Russia will export diesel, lifts sanctions - Russia will supply the U.S. and global market with diesel, President Trump announced Friday, responding to sky-rocketing prices exacerbated by both the Russia-Ukraine and U.S.-Iran wars.  The president’s move comes less than a month from the midterm elections, where rising energy prices are dominating voters’ concerns.  Trump on Friday said that Russia would “immediately” supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and the global marketplace.“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.“Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel,” he added. Moscow confirmed its readiness to supply oil and petroleum to the U.S. and global markets, Putin said in a statement following the call reported by Russian state media.Trump’s comments come after Russia banned diesel exports in the face of a shortage, with its energy production coming under attack from Ukrainian strikes. Late last month, the country had extended its ban until the end of October.The Treasury Department said Friday that it would be lifting sanctions on Russian diesel to allow the fuel into the global marketplace. A few weeks ago, Trump signed a bill into law that authorized further sanctions on Russia. Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said he was “skeptical” that Russia would be able to come up with the promised barrels.

U.S. official: Trump cut deal with Putin after Zelensky ignored his requests -  President Trump decided to make a diesel fuel deal with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told Axios. Trump's deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked a new crisis with Ukraine and threatens to derail a new push by the Trump administration for a deal to end the war. "Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months," the U.S. official said. Zelensky, in an interview with Axios after the announcement, said he was blindsided by the deal, which he called "not fair and not honest" and an unwarranted gift to Putin. Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries in recent months were highly effective and caused an energy crisis in Russia. Russia imposed a ban on diesel exports in response, which added more pressure to global diesel markets under strain from the war in Iran. Zelensky told Trump and his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that he was prepared to stop attacking Russian oil refineries if the Russians halted attacks on Ukrainian power plants. The U.S. official said Trump wanted Ukraine to unilaterally stop attacking Russian refineries because the strikes were contributing to high gas prices in America. Trump didn't see the attacks on refineries as equivalent to Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid, the U.S. official said. During eight hours of talks in Miami on Friday, Witkoff and Kushner told a Ukrainian negotiating team that the president was expected to speak to Putin and lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports. They were told that Trump decided to move forward after Ukraine ignored multiple requests to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries, which were directly affecting U.S. consumers. A Ukrainian official claimed that during the talks, Witkoff and Kushner threatened that Trump could cut off Ukraine from U.S. intelligence if it continued to ignore his requests. The U.S. official denied such a threat was made and said Witkoff and Kushner told the Ukrainians that the U.S. was a strong partner, providing munitions and intelligence. Ukraine therefore shouldn't take actions that hurt American consumers, Witkoff and Kushner said. "The attacks on the refineries cause pain in Russia, but it causes pain for the U.S., too," the U.S. official said. The official said the new crisis over the diesel deal erupted after the U.S. mediators had constructive talks with Ukrainian and European diplomats in Miami on Friday. The main focus was on finalizing security guarantees that the U.S., Europe and NATO would provide to Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war. New proposals for territorial solutions were also raised. Witkoff and Kushner presented a postwar package for Ukraine that included ways to fund reconstruction and rebuild the Ukrainian military, as well as ideas on how to deal with budget deficits stemming from the war. The participants also discussed a roadmap for Ukraine's accession to the EU and the relationship Ukraine would have with NATO after the war ends. In addition, Witkoff and Kushner raised the possibility of a Europe-Russia postwar security framework that could appeal to both sides. Witkoff and Kushner briefed the Ukrainians and Europeans on potential energy deals with Russia that the U.S. hopes would bring down energy prices and induce Russia to make concessions in peace talks, the U.S. official said. The U.S. official said Witkoff and Kushner are considering visiting Moscow and Kyiv next week to discuss peace proposals, but it's unclear how Friday's blowup will affect their plans. "Putin is hitting [Ukraine] hard but we think he is open to a discussion on ending the war. We want to work on a new proposal that will be good enough for him in order to get him to stop," the U.S. official said. During his 90-minute phone call with Trump, Putin declined to commit to resuming peace talks with Ukraine, his foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters. He said that Ukrainian strikes on Moscow and other cities during the Russian parliamentary elections "thwarted the possibility of an immediate resumption of the negotiation process." "The president said, we will think about when these negotiations can be resumed," Ushakov added.

Ukraine, US and Europe End Miami Talks Early Amid Russian Diesel Deal - The talks wrapped up sooner than planned as a separate Washington announcement reshaped the political backdrop. Its implications quickly became a source of friction between Kyiv and US lawmakers. Talks between representatives of Ukraine, the United States, and Europe on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war concluded in Miami on October 9 – a day earlier than planned. Sources familiar with the talks did not say why the meeting ended early. U.S. President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff described the talks as constructive. He said participants discussed de-escalation and ending the war, security guarantees for Ukraine, the resilience of its energy system ahead of winter, and postwar recovery. The talks in Miami took place against the backdrop of contacts between the United States and Russia. During meetings between the Ukrainian, American, and European delegations, U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call with Vladimir Putin. After the call, Trump announced an agreement to supply millions of tons of Russian diesel fuel to the U.S. and global markets. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license authorizing transactions involving the sale, delivery, unloading, and import of Russian-origin diesel fuel through April 7, 2027. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the decision, calling it a sign of weakness by Washington and a gift to Putin. In his view, easing the restrictions will give Russia additional funds to continue the war. Zelensky also questioned the value of the talks in Miami in light of the U.S. agreements with Russia. American lawmakers also criticized the agreement. Republican Congressman Don Bacon called support for Russia’s war economy unacceptable and accused Trump of being lenient toward Putin. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said easing restrictions on Russian diesel fuel would benefit Moscow and Beijing economically and weaken sanctions pressure on the Kremlin. He called the agreement shameful and contrary to Congress’s efforts to strengthen sanctions against Russia. Thus, the talks in Miami ended ahead of schedule, with participants outlining areas for further work. At the same time, the announced agreement between Washington and Moscow drew criticism from the Ukrainian president and American lawmakers.     

LNG Canada Feedgas, Cargo Loadings Recover as Flaring Eases -  LNG Canada rebounded from a July slowdown in August, lifting feedgas intake and cargo loadings while reducing the volume of natural gas flared even as unplanned flaring events became more frequent. At a Glance:

• August feedgas receipts rebound sharply
• Unplanned flare events increase
• Station 2 prices weaken further

Altamira LNG Outage Interrupts Mexico Exports, US Feedgas Demand -  New Fortress Energy’s (NFE) Mexican LNG facility was knocked offline, interrupting production at the country’s first operating export terminal as the company works through a broader restructuring of its business.NGI’s Agua Dulce daily natural gas price chart shows prices near $2-$4/MMBtu for most of October 2025 through October 2026, with a sharp spike above $14/MMBtu in late January 2026. At a Glance:
Fast LNG restart targeted fourth quarter
September exports fall to 0.024 Mt
Agua Dulce basis discount widens

LNG Alliance Plans Second Mexico LNG Project Tapping US Natural Gas Supply -An affiliate of Singapore’s LNG Alliance is seeking US Department of Energy (DOE) permission to export US natural gas to a planned LNG export facility south of the border in the Port of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas.NGI's Agua Dulce daily natural gas prices spiked above $14/MMBtu in January 2026 before stabilizing near $2-$3/MMBtu through early October. At a Glance:
Bravo LNG targets 6 Mt/y capacity
Sur de Texas-Tuxpan supplies feedgas
Project requires new subsea lateral

Black Cat – In Mexico, an Esentia Gas Pipeline Deal Puts a Spotlight on the Gato Negro LNG Project | RBN Energy -  A natural gas pipeline deal that would give Esentia Energy a complete, start-to-finish link between the Permian Basin and Mexico’s Pacific Coast is highlighting a heretofore under-the-radar LNG project being planned at the end of that now-1,400-mile pipeline system. Gato Negro LNG (Spanish for black cat), a proposed 9-MMtpa (1.2 Bcf/d) export facility in Manzanillo slated to come online in the early 2030s, would be yet another major consumer of Permian gas and provide direct access to all-important Asia-Pacific LNG markets. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss Esentia’s purchase of a TC Energy gas pipeline in west-central Mexico and the plan by other investors to build what would be one of Mexico’s largest midstream projects ever.For a few years now, western Mexico has been viewed by many as a plausible — albeit complicated — place to pipe Permian-sourced gas, liquefy it into LNG, and ship it to Asia-Pacific buyers. Most important, it takes only 10 to 12 days for an LNG carrier to reach Asia from Mexico’s west coast — half the time involved in moving one from the U.S. Gulf Coast through the Panama Canal and on to Asia and less than one-third the time needed to send an LNG carrier around the Cape of Good Hope. And, as they say, time is money.But as another saying goes, if it were easy, everyone would do it. Developing large midstream projects south of the border is, um, challenging, to say the least. Securing pipeline rights-of-way can be a nightmare, and long-haul pipeline projects often require strategic partnerships or long-term capacity agreements with state entities like Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). Constructing pipelines can be problematic too — some parts of the country are controlled or contested by organized crime, forcing developers to invest heavily in private security.Currently, there is one semi-operational LNG export terminal on the west coast of Mexico: the 3.25-MMtpa (440 MMcf/d) Energía Costa Azul (ECA; blue diamond in Figure 1 below) Phase 1 in Ensenada, Baja California state, which is co-owned by Sempra Infrastructure, with an 83.4% controlling interest, and TotalEnergies, with a 16.6% stake. (We say semi-operational because while the project produced its first LNG in June and sent out a single shipment in July, it has since been taken offline for repairs slated to be finished in Q4 2026.) Sempra and TotalEnergies also are considering a possible 12-MMtpa (1.2-Bcf/d) Phase 2 at the ECA site but have not reached a final investment decision (FID) to date.At least three other Mexican west coast projects also remain on the drawing board, all of them still pre-FID:

• Mexico Pacific Ltd.’s 15-MMtpa (2 Bcf/d) Saguaro Energía LNG project in Puerto Libertad (red checkered diamond; Sonora state).
• LNG Alliance’s 7.2-MMtpa (960 MMcf/d) Amigo LNG in the Port of Guaymas (green checkered diamond; Sonora state).
• The Gato Negro LNG project in Manzanillo (black checkered diamond; Colima state), which is a focus of today’s blog.

Before we get to Gato Negro LNG, though, let’s look at Esentia Energy’s recently announced $400 million acquisition of TC Energy’s Guadalajara-Manzanillo Pipeline (green line in Figure 1 above), a 194-mile bidirectional connection between the inland city of Guadalajara and the coastal city of Manzanillo. The pipeline, which came online in 2011 and consists of a roughly 3-mile segment with capacity of about 500 MMcf/d and a 191-mile segment with capacity of about 360 MMcf/d, was originally built to transport gas north from the KMS LNG Terminal at Manzanillo, which started up in 2012 and can regasify up to 500 MMcf/d of imported LNG. The terminal is still operable, but is used only occasionally now that several large pipeline systems have been built to transport gas from West Texas into Mexico.Over the past several years, Esentia — formerly called Fermaca Enterprises and now majority-owned by Swiss-based private-equity firm Partners Group — has developed or co-developed several new pipelines between Waha and Guadalajara that move large volumes of Permian gas south into west-central Mexico. (The chain of pipes is collectively known as “the Wahalajara system.” Esentia’s holdings on the system include:

• A 50% stake in the 640-MMcf/d Roadrunner Pipeline (light blue line), which runs about 200 miles from the Waha Hub to a crossing of the Rio Grande near San Elizario, TX. (ONEOK owns the other half and operates the pipeline.)
• The 239-mile, 950-MMcf/d Tarahumara Pipeline (purple line), which interconnects with Roadrunner and other pipelines at the U.S./Mexico border and runs south through Chihuahua state to El Encino. Adding compression could boost the pipe’s capacity to 1.1 Bcf/d.
• The 1.6-Bcf/d El Encino-La Laguna Pipeline (hot pink line), which receives gas from Tarahumara (and Sempra Infrastructure’s Ojinaga-El Encino Pipeline) at El Encino and moves it 286 miles south to La Laguna in Durango state.
• The 278-mile La Laguna-Aguascalientes Pipeline (orange line), which picks up where El Encino-La Laguna left off, moving up to 1.3 Bcf/d of gas farther south to Aguascalientes state.
• The 235-mile,  approximately 1.1-Bcf/d Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara Pipeline (yellow line), which begins in Villa de Reyes (about 100 miles east of Aguascalientes) in San Luis Potosi state, where it receives gas from the Los Ramones pipeline system, and runs west through Aguascalientes. There it gets more gas from the La Laguna-Aguascalientes Pipeline and continues to Guadalajara.

Esentia Energy’s pending acquisition of the Guadalajara-Manzanillo Pipeline (again, green line in Figure 1) would give the company the last link in a chain of connecting pipelines that together — for the first time — would enable gas to flow along an integrated system from the Waha Hub to Mexico’s west coast. In announcing the deal, Esentia CEO Daniel Bustos said, “The acquisition would expand Esentia’s ability to serve existing and prospective customers within the combined system’s area of influence, including demand from power generation, industrial customers and potential LNG-related projects, and help reinforce Esentia’s position as one of Mexico’s leading natural gas transportation platforms.”Esentia Energy has also separately disclosed it has begun the construction of the first of several planned compression additions that will expand the overall system’s gas-carrying capacity by several hundred million cubic feet per day.All or part of that expanded capacity could be employed by the proposed Gato Negro LNG project being planned by a group of investors led by Mexican entrepreneurs Carlos Camacho and Emilio Fuentes. The current plan calls for the project to be developed in three 3-MMtpa (400 MMcf/d) phases, with the first phase beginning commercial operation as soon as 2030-31 and the second and third phases following over the next two or three years. The Gato Negro LNG team has already secured U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval for exporting U.S.-sourced natural gas to countries with which the U.S. has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).The development group has applied for similar approval for exports to “non-FTA” countries and hopes to receive that soon; it expects to reach FID on the Gato Negro LNG project in 2027 and start construction on Phase 1 soon thereafter. The LNG export terminal will be built at a greenfield site near the existing KMS LNG Terminal.It’s too soon to say if the Gato Negro LNG project will encounter the same bad luck — get it? black cat? — that has set back some other LNG export projects on Mexico’s west coast, or whether the new ability of the project’s developer to secure its gas delivery needs from a primary provider (Esentia and its chain of pipelines from the Permian to Manzanillo) will make things easier and cheaper. What we can say is that straight-shot LNG deliveries from Mexico’s west coast to Asia would likely provide an economic advantage; that dealing with one pipeline owner would seem to be easier than dealing with two or more; and that LNG prices indexed to Waha sound mighty appealing.

YPF Targets Late-November FID for 12 Mt/y Argentina LNG Project- Argentina’s state energy company YPF has narrowed the timeline for a final investment decision (FID) on its proposed Argentina LNG project to late November, as US financing and contractors deepen their exposure to the Vaca Muerta Shale. At a Glance:

• Startup targeted around 2030
• Vaca Muerta gas underpins project
• Eni, XRG share upstream interests

Baker Hughes Signs Deals to Boost Venezuela’s Natural Gas, LNG Sector - US oilfield services giant Baker Hughes has entered into two strategic agreements aimed at revitalizing Venezuela’s natural gas infrastructure, bolstering supply and potentially paving the way for the nation’s first LNG exports.NGI chart showing annual LNG project final investment decisions by region from 2015 through 2026, measured in Bcm/year. North America dominates LNG FIDs in 2025, pushing global approved capacity above 100 Bcm/year, according to International Energy Agency data. At a Glance:
PDVSA targets stronger domestic gas supply
Alliance plans open-access midstream infrastructure
Power generation drives near-term gas needs

Norway’s Hammerfest LNG Project Still on Track After ‘Unforeseen Issues’ Inflate Costs -Equinor on Wednesday again said it would cost more than expected to extend the life of its Hammerfest LNG export facility in Norway, pushing the cost estimate up to about $2.76 billion, but saying the project remains on track to be completed on time. At a Glance:

• Costs up by about $760 million
• Challenging conditions raise costs
• Project to maintain exports beyond 2030

European Natural Gas Prices Defy Rebound in Middle Eastern LNG Shipments -A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers. NGI's five-day LNG market statistics through Oct. 8, 2026, compare Henry Hub, TTF, JKM futures, US feedgas, European storage and shipping costs.

• 1.13 Mt: LNG moving through the Strait of Hormuz climbed to 1.13 Mt in September, according to Kpler data, marking a 13% increase from 1 Mt in August. September’s volumes were the highest monthly total since transits collapsed in March. Volumes are still down 84% from the 6.90 Mt/month average in the 12 months through February, and 83% lower than the 6.51 Mt in September 2025. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) drove the gain, with transits up 42% month over month to 0.44 Mt. Qatari volumes held flat at 0.69 Mt, or about 11% of their 6.27 Mt/month pre-March average.

Hazy Shade of Winter – EU to Miss Overall Natural Gas Storage Target, Mostly Due to German Shortfall | RBN Energy -- As summer has progressed into fall, the trade press has become increasingly skeptical about whether  Europe can adequately replenish its underground natural gas reserves in the wake of a colder-than-expected winter, which was followed by the loss of LNG supply due to the Persian Gulf conflict. The European gas year started on October 1 and European Union (EU) underground gas storage facilities are just over 70% full and growing slowly, to the extent that Europe cannot meet its storage targets. In today’s RBN blog, we explain why Europe, and Germany specifically, finds itself in a precarious situation and look at what might be done.  First, the statistics on overall EU gas storage are striking but do not tell the full story. The shortage resides primarily with Germany, which boasts 22% of the EU’s total gas storage capacity but where gas stocks are only 59% full. Removing Germany’s storage capacity from the EU total shows that storage levels across the remaining 26 nations are 80% full, which is not immediately concerning. (As we noted in Out of Gas, the EU aims to have inventories 90% full by November 1 each year. The target was established in 2022 in response to the Russian gas crisis and the extremely low inventories of 2021. Because of high costs and market constraints, the EU decided in April to relax its November 1 target to 80%.) However, Germany’s storage position remains delicate, with storage levels since April (red line in Figure 1 below) well below the previous year (blue line) and the normal range from October 2018 to September 2021 (gray-shaded area), the last full gas years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.How did Germany find itself in this position (and what can be done)? Given the magnitude of the shortfall, there are several factors at play. First, let’s take a look at the history of gas supply into Germany since January 2022. Following the invasion of Ukraine, Germany made a concerted effort to stop pipeline deliveries of Russian gas (green line in Figure 2 below) and equip itself with LNG import facilities in the form of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), of which four are now located on Germany’s coast. Despite the increase in LNG imports from March 2023 (red line), it is clear that LNG can only replace a small percentage of the lost Russian pipeline gas volumes. (We should note that German utility Uniper, which had been the country’s biggest importer of Russian gas, was nationalized in 2022 after facing severe financial pressure. After nationalization, Uniper faced tighter financial discipline, limiting its capital flexibility while the company rebuilt its financial position. Germany initiated a plan to sell down its 99% stake in Uniper in May.) Another reason for the shortfall is the Persian Gulf conflict, in which Qatari LNG deliveries into Asia — its main market — have been replaced by LNG cargoes shipped from the U.S., pulling U.S.-sourced volumes away from Europe. (U.S. LNG exports and destination markets are tracked in our weekly LNG Voyager report.) The reason for this change in delivery pattern is that Asian LNG buyers have been prepared to outbid European buyers for cargoes. Remarkably, this has incentivized German LNG buyers such as SEFE (aka Securing Energy for Europe) and RWE to sell LNG cargoes from their Atlantic sources to buyers East of Suez, ignoring German storage needs. Germany has since ordered SEFE to procure and store 8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of natural gas by December 15. (As we explained in Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves, utilities like RWE are increasingly becoming traders in their own right.)QatarEnergy, too, has been busy buying cargoes using some of its now-idled fleet of LNG carriers to keep its customers whole, especially where cargo cancellations are not excused by force majeure. These events lend testimony to the evolution of LNG as a commodity, whereby the marginal cargo is free to search out the highest price, and whose price itself is determined by supply-and-demand perceptions.The final nail in the coffin for gas storage replenishment in Germany is the absence of any economic incentive to store gas. European Title Transfer Facility (TTF) forward prices (dashed portion of orange line in Figure 4 below) — about even with the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM; dark-blue line) and well above the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub (light-blue line) — do not justify purchasing gas for injection into storage and later withdrawal. The reason for the forward market’s softness in the face of reduced gas storage volumes and increasing winter demand might be that traders and gas buyers are pricing in a cessation of Persian Gulf hostilities, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a rapid resumption of Qatari and Abu Dhabi LNG output. However, none of these events can rectify Germany’s storage problem on their own.So how will Germany manage its gas storage volumes as winter approaches? Figure 1 above suggests that Germany will enter this winter with less gas in storage than it did in 2025. As gas demands for space heating are at their highest in January and February, it is likely that gas utilities will try to reduce gas withdrawals as much as possible early in winter. This will lead to fuel switching and the use of interruptible gas contracts to moderate demand during Q4 2026.  Germany is also monitoring its demand for gas, especially in the industrial sector. Industrial demand this year (green bars in Figure 4 below) has been about even with 2025 (red bars) but has trailed 2024 (blue bars) for several months and has been far below the 2018-21 average (purple bars) every month this year. That may not be a deliberate choice to preserve stocks, however. Instead, demand remains depressed because Germany’s energy-intensive industries — including chemicals, metals and glass — continue to operate well below pre-energy-crisis levels amid high energy costs and weak manufacturing activity. That industrial weakness is effectively providing a demand-side buffer, reducing storage withdrawals and Germany’s overall call on pipeline gas and LNG imports. Weatherwise, the current strong El Niño is expected to bring a warmer and wetter winter than in recent years. Although mild weather may reduce gas demand, other, and near-term, weather factors can have the opposite effect. This applies especially to the dunkelflauten, or the “dark doldrums,” a phenomenon comprised of periods of low sunshine and reduced wind energy. These periods increasingly influence the German power market and reinforce the need for firm generating capacity, rather than variable renewable energy. These events, which occur on average more frequently than every three days, last on average for over 12 hours and increase power market price volatility as well as the need for unforeseen increases in gas-fired power. In the longer term, the use of battery storage and the continuing adoption of heat pumps for domestic use (nearly 1.1 million added between 2023-25) will help to reduce the extreme effects of weather variation. The structural nature of Germany’s gas shortfall means that concerns over gas shortages will be a recurring phenomenon until major enhancements can be made in replenishing gas storage volumes via the addition of further LNG import infrastructure. To this end, Hanseatic Energy Hub is developing a land-based LNG import terminal in Stade to import 1.29 Bcf/d. That facility is due online in 2029, and a second facility at Brunsbüttel to supply up to 0.9 Bcf/d is under construction and due for startup in 2027. For the longer term, the big question is whether (and to what extent) Russian pipeline gas might be restored to supply Europe. If this takes place, Germany will be the major target market and recommissioning of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines could provide significant gas volumes. In the meantime, Germany, thanks to its past reliance on Russian gas, will continue to suffer gas supply risk, but with that uncertainty manifesting itself in the gas prices that all EU gas users will have to pay.

Europe Must Top Record LNG Imports This Winter to Protect Storage, GIE Warns - European buyers are expected to raise competition for US LNG this winter, as Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) warned the latest winter supply outlook showed volumes would have to top last winter’s record imports to keep storage from running short. EU natural gas storage was 73.0% full at 826.26 TWh on Oct. 6, 2026, trailing the five-year average by 169.1 TWh, according to NGI data. At a Glance:

• Tight LNG could drain storage to 13%
• Cold winter could force demand cuts
• Summer US exports to Europe fell 8%

Norway Detains Two Cargo Ships After Three-Vessel Collision Near Alesund - A collision occurred involving a tanker and two other cargo ships in a narrow fjord near Ålesund on Norway’s west coast. All three vessels suffered damages in the accident that happened on Sunday, October 4. There were no injuries to any of the 30 crew members on the three vessels, with no evacuation necessary. The 88-meter bulk carrier vessel Bergfjord has suffered damage to its bow and flooded with water. The Norwegian Maritime Authority has ordered the two ships Bergfjord and Hav Frakt to stay in Ålesund until they complete their repairs, which would be subject to the approval of the Norwegian maritime authority. The 147-meter vessel Xanthia has also suffered damages but was allowed to proceed with its journey because of the impact without hull damage. The ship Xanthia was authorised to move under its own power to Finland to unload its cargo. It should then move to Tallinn, Estonia, where repairs should be made. The three ships had collided on the eastern side of Valderøya in Valderhaugfjorden, which is a narrow stretch of water near Ålesund. All the three ships were moving when the accident occurred; two of them were moving north while the third was moving south. Poor visibility and darkness in the fjord at that time were mentioned by the police and rescue crews. The ships varied in length from 80 to 147 meters. Ships Bergfjord and Hav Frakt were 88 meters each, whereas Xanthia was 147 meters long. There were seven crew members on each of the two cargo ships and 16 on Xanthia. The accident caused an emergency response when the Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Center received a Mayday call through coastal radio at 1:37 a.m. A rescue helicopter, rescue vessel, civilian vessels and the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen responded to the incident. Shore emergency services and police were also involved. The crews of all three vessels remained aboard throughout the response, and no evacuation was needed. The ships were later reported safely berthed or anchored near Ålesund. There were no reports of an oil spill or other environmental damage. Norwegian police are investigating the circumstances of the collision, including the movements of the three vessels and the actions of the crews. Investigators are examining AIS tracks and technical data from the Norwegian Coastal Administration and are conducting interviews with those involved. The police has also conducted medical tests of some of the persons aboard the vessels and concluded that none of them were under the influence of alcohol and drugs. By Oct. 5, three persons had been identified as suspects for reckless navigation as per the Ship Safety Act of Norway. Nobody had been charged formally, and the police were yet to interview all three captains. The NSIA has initiated independent investigations. An NSIA official said the agency was collecting available information, including electronic traces, to establish what happened. The authority will decide whether the incident warrants a full safety investigation. Norwegian maritime inspectors boarded the ships after the accident. DNV, acting on behalf of Norwegian Maritime Authority, boarded the Xanthia on Sunday evening. The Maritime Authority performed its investigation on the next day, after which the ship got provisional permission to sail.

Global Natural Gas Prices Climb as Hormuz Attacks Heighten Winter LNG Supply Risks -European and Asian natural gas prices moved steadily higher Tuesday as Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continued with no clear signs of tensions easing with the United States. European Union natural gas storage was 72.7% full on Oct. 4, 2026, below the five-year average, with 822.92 TWh in storage. At a Glance:

• Prices highest since 2023
• JKM maintains premium
• Qatari flows improve

Global LNG Shortfall Fuels Winter Call for Rising US Exports -Lasting LNG supply disruptions caused by conflict in the Middle East have made new US supply additions even more important heading into the winter. Lower 48 LNG feedgas deliveries ranged mostly from 17 to 20 Bcf/d in 2026, with October flows near 18 Bcf/d.  At a Glance:
Middle East outages tighten supply
Strong winter demand looms in Europe, Asia
US feedgas poised to climb

ADNOC Agrees to Supply More LNG to Southeast Asia -Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) said its gas trading affiliate has agreed to supply Thailand’s Gulf Group with 2 Mt/y of LNG beginning in 2027. At a Glance:

• 2 Mt/y deal signed
• ADNOC targeting massive portfolio
• Gulf Group strengthening LNG value chain

LPG Consumption Falls 9 Per Cent in September - India’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption fell 9.15 per cent year-on-year to 2,636 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) in September 2026, remaining below pre-war levels, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). Consumption stood at 2,902 TMT in September 2025  and 2,725 TMT in September 2024.  The decline was sharper during the first six months of the financial year. LPG consumption between April and September fell 14.93 per cent to 13,797 TMT from 16,218 TMT in the corresponding period of 2025-26, leaving usage about 2.42 mn tonnes below the year-ago level.. The reduction came as supplies through the Strait of Hormuz remained disrupted amid the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US. The route is a major channel for global energy supplies, and the disruption has prompted India to diversify its sources of LPG, crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Greater adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) by households and industries may also have contributed to the decline. During a government drive from January to June 2026, about 1.21 mn new PNG connections and 1.53 mn domestic PNG registrations were added, while daily additions of billed consumers increased from about 2,781 to approximately 7,500. India has also raised domestic LPG output through public sector, joint venture and private refineries, along with upstream oil companies, to reduce exposure to import disruptions. Production has reached 63.81 thousand metric tonnes a day. In contrast, transport fuel demand increased in September, with petrol consumption rising 7.95 per cent to 3,644 TMT and diesel consumption climbing 6.55 per cent to 7,116 TMT. The United Arab Emirates was India’s largest LPG supplier in September, providing 529,211 tonnes, or nearly 40 per cent of imports, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler. The US supplied 337,401 tonnes, followed by Kuwait with 132,544 tonnes, Qatar with 115,340 tonnes and Iran with 66,231 tonnes. The US had led India’s LPG supply over the previous six months.

Large oil exporters agree to continue consistent production in November  - Seven of the world’s largest oil-exporting countries agreed Sunday to maintain their baseline production levels for November, as fuel prices remain elevated amid the Iran war.The “OPEC+” group, which includes Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia and Saudi Arabia, decided to “maintain” oil production levels they agreed to in September, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a release.Under the countries’ agreement, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq will lead the way in oil production next month, followed by Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman. Leaders from the seven countries will meet again on Nov. 1, the release noted. OPEC+ includes countries that are members of the oil-producing organization and other exporters.Gas and diesel prices have spiked during the seven-plus-month Iran war, which has extended into October after President Trump initially said it would last roughly a month.  Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the respective international and North American benchmarks, both closed at above $90 per barrel on Friday. The energy shocks have extended to the U.S., where a gallon of regular gas costs roughly $4.37 as of Sunday, according to data from AAA. Diesel also costs about $6.34 per gallon, up from roughly $3.70 a year ago, AAA reported. Throughout the conflict, the Iranian military has imposed restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil trade. The U.S. military, meanwhile, has sought to escort tankers through the strait. Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command (Centcom), said last month American forces had supported the transfer of more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil in recent months through the waterway.“We’ve reached this significant milestone while assisting over 2,000 commercial ship transits through the strait by providing coordinated protection. Clearly momentum is building,” Cooper said in a video Centcom posted to social media.

Saudi Arabia says East-West pipeline pumping 5.8 million bpd - Al Jazeera-  Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has said that oil pumped through the key East-West Pipeline reached a capacity of 5.8 million barrels ⁠a day (bpd). Prince Abdulaziz bin ⁠Salman made the comments during a panel discussion at the GCC 2026 Forum in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on Tuesday. “Not everyone knows that within five or six days, we began using the pipeline again after the major attack that struck it,” he said according to Saudi media, referring to drone strikes blamed on Iraqi militia last month. “And, thank God, as of this morning we’re back up to 5.8 million barrels,” added Prince Abdulaziz. The 1,200km (750-mile) pipeline links Saudi Arabia’s major oil-producing fields in the east with the Red Sea port of Yanbu, allowing the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely been closed since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February. The Saudi Ministry of Energy had said at the time of the attack in early September that pipeline had been temporarily shut as a “precaution”. Specialised teams had begun steps to “secure the pipeline and assess its safety”, according to the ministry. The East-West pipeline, which is also known as the Petroline, was built in 1981. It has a maximum capacity of 7 million bpd, although actual flows have been lower in recent months – about 2 million bpd in August, according to commodities data and analytics firm Kpler – the lowest monthly level since January, as attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group made the Red Sea route difficult to use. Since the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted ⁠oil flows from Saudi Arabia ⁠and its Gulf neighbours through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been using the pipeline to reroute ‌some 4 million bpd, equivalent to about 4 percent of global supply, to ‌Yanbu.

Saudi Aramco plans to fulfil European oil orders in full in November -  Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco, plans to fulfil European buyers’ oil supply orders in full in November following the resumption of operations on the East-West Pipeline. Sources familiar with the situation said the pipeline’s return to service would enable the company to supply its European customers with the full volumes of crude oil they had ordered. On September 11, Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline came under attack by several drones near Medina and Riyadh. Reports at the time indicated that the drones had been launched from Iraqi territory. Oil transportation through the pipeline was suspended following the attack, disrupting the route used to transport crude oil across Saudi Arabia towards export terminals on the Red Sea.

Oil prices slip as G7 to release stocks - Oil prices edged lower on Monday as rising Middle East crude exports and a release of oil stocks by the Group of Seven ‌nations boosted supplies, offsetting concerns about further damage to Gulf oil infrastructure amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. Brent crude futures fell 66 cents, or 0.65%, to $101.59 a barrel at 0240 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.12 a barrel, down 95 cents, or 1.03%. Brent gave up most of its gains last week while WTI was 1.6% lower after G7 countries agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from ⁠emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from energy export restrictions after pressure from US President Donald Trump. The release will add to Middle Eastern crude exports which rose above pre-war levels in four of the seven days of the final week of September, shipping data showed on Monday, despite attacks on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. “The G7 decision to tap strategic reserves is taking some of the immediate supply anxiety out of the price, while there’s a growing view that Saudi export volumes are moving back toward pre-war levels, even if those barrels are still moving at higher cost and via less efficient routes,” said Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade. “That combination is enough to subdue prices ‌for now ⁠even though the risks of further damage to energy infrastructure around the Gulf region haven’t gone away.” The Houthis said they launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area of Saudi Arabia in response to 50 Saudi-led air and missile strikes in Yemen in the past 12 hours. There was no confirmation from Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised ⁠government said it was launching a major military campaign to recapture all areas of the country controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis. Meanwhile, Aramco has unexpectedly cut November crude oil prices for Asia to six-year lows. Yemen announces major military operation to retake Houthi-held territory Brent prices continue to stay above $100 per barrel on persistent geopolitical tensions ⁠and an increase in attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf, ING analysts said in a note. Meanwhile, OPEC+ delayed a review that would determine 2027 oil output quotas for its members after the Iran war disrupted projects to expand capacity ⁠across the Middle East, throwing estimates of future production potential into uncertainty, said two sources close to the matter. In Europe, Ukraine will double down on attacking Russian oil refineries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview published on Saturday.

Oil Steadies as Market Weighs G7 Oil Release, Yemen Risks -- Oil prices were mixed Monday morning, with signs of Middle Eastern supply recovery and the announcement of a large-scale release from emergency reserves weighing on crude prices, while a flare-up in fighting in Yemen and continued attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz capped losses. By 7:30 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was down $0.40 to trade near $101.85 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for November delivery fell $1.38 to $89.73 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX RBOB for November delivery retreated $0.0394 to $3.2730 gallon. ULSD futures bucked the trend, with the front-month contract advancing $0.0467 to $4.5478 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.3 points to 102.015 against a basket of foreign currencies, the highest since April 2025. On Friday, leaders of the Group of Seven nations announced a joint release of 100 million bbl of crude oil and diesel from emergency stockpiles. The decision came the day after the Trump administration urged European countries to release diesel reserves or be cut off from vital U.S. flows. In reaction to the G7 announcement, the White House said it will shelve plans for a possible U.S. diesel export ban. Reports based on ship-tracking data, meanwhile, suggested that Middle Eastern crude oil exports have recently caught up or even surpassed pre-war levels. Threats to the region's vital shipping lanes, however, have not subsided. Tankers continued to be struck in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, and Riyadh-backed Yemeni forces on Sunday launched an offensive to wrest control of Bab al-Mandab from the Houthis. The Tehran-allied militia last month took over the chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, putting Saudi oil exports at greater risk. The Houthis on Monday also claimed to have launched new attacks against Saudi energy infrastructure, although the kingdom has so far not reported any damages. Saudi energy assets have been the target of frequent drone and missile attacks from groups in Yemen and Iraq, leading to a two-week shutdown of the East-West pipeline and suspension of oil exports from the Red Sea last month. Saudi Aramco, meanwhile, unexpectedly slashed official selling prices to Asia for November. The steepest discount since 2020 may be part of an attempt to keep Saudi oil competitive amid expensive ship-to-ship transfers and dirty tanker rates rocketing to record highs, but still raised concerns about Asian oil demand, the region most affected by the seven-month long ongoing crisis.

Oil Market Slides as Middle East Oil Flows Top Pre-War Levels - The crude market on Monday posted an inside trading day as the market weighed reports of increased oil exports from the Middle East and the G7 stocks release against the continuing concerns over disruptions to supplies due to the war with Iran. According to shipping data, crude exports from the Middle East increased above pre-war levels in four of the seven days of the final week of September despite attacks on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The oil market posted a high of $91.88 on the opening before it erased some of Friday’s gains and sold off to a low of $89.11 by mid-morning. It later retraced some of its losses and settled in a sideways trading range. The November WTI contract settled down $1.68 at $89.43. The oil market later sold off further posting a new low of $88.74 in the post settlement period. The December Brent settled down $1.93 at $100.32. The product markets ended the session in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling up 4.41 cents at $4.5452 and the RB market settling down 6.62 cents at $3.2462. According to data from the Department of Energy, stocks of crude oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 283 million barrels last week, the lowest level since October 1982. The drawdowns are part of a U.S. agreement to release 172 million barrels from the facility. Additionally, the Trump administration last week said it is offering to loan energy companies 40 million barrels of oil from the SPR. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to expand access to tax-exempt diesel. President Trump said the directive will waive the off-road requirement for tax-free diesel and allow anyone to buy the red dye diesel fuel that is used by the agriculture industry and by some off-road vehicles. OPEC+ agreed to keep oil production targets steady for November at a meeting on Sunday, in line with expectations that further output policy adjustments are unlikely until next year. Seven core members of the group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia made the decision for November in a brief online meeting on Sunday. The seven members will hold their next meeting on November 1st. OPEC+ still has about 2 million bpd of output cuts in place covering most members. It needs the result of the capacity review to decide how to distribute increases and any changes to output are unlikely before 2027. A separate OPEC+ ministerial group called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which does not decide policy, also met on Sunday to review the market. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee noted that global oil markets remained volatile and tight, with a supply shortage. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 604,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending October 9th, cutting available refining capacity by 38,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to fall to 533,000 bpd in the week ending October 16th.

Crude oil price gains on reports of Houthi attacks on Saudi sites - Crude oil futures traded higher on Tuesday morning following reports that the Houthis had attacked several sites in Saudi Arabia. At 10.01 am on Tuesday, December Brent oil futures were at $100.56 up by 0.24 per cent, and November crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $89.62, up by 0.21 per cent. October crude oil futures were trading at ₹8636 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹8669, down by 0.38 per cent, and November futures were trading at ₹8544 against the previous close of ₹8571, down by 0.32 per cent. Citing the Houthis, a Reuters report said the Iran-backed Houthis had carried out attacks on several sites in Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh and Abha ⁠airport. However, there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia. Reports said Saudi Arabia reduced the official selling price for November-loading Arab Light crude into Asia by $3 a barrel. Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, said in the Commodities Feed that the Saudis have been shipping larger volumes through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, given the outage of the East-West pipeline. Some market report said that the West Asian crude shipments have rebounded to 17.5 million barrels a day (around 98 per cent of pre-war levels). Producers in West Asia are moving larger volumes through the Strait of Hormuz despite elevated shipping risks. October natural gas futures were trading at ₹297 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹295.10, up by 0.64 per cent. On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), December cottonseed oilcake contracts were trading at ₹3443 in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹3424, up by 0.55 per cent. October jeera futures were trading at ₹23420 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹23565, down by 0.62 per cent.

Oil prices fall as Middle East supply concerns ease - Oil prices fell nearly 2% today as supply concerns eased due to increased Middle Eastern crude exports and an agreement by the Group of Seven countries to release emergency diesel and crude stockpiles. Brent futures were down $1.84, or 1.8%, at $98.48 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.42, or 1.6%, to $88.01. Those moves put Brent on track for its lowest close since September 8 and WTI on track for its lowest close since August 31. "The price of the global crude benchmark, Brent, is once again toiling around $100/barrel, as its reasons for trading much beyond the psychological 3-digit mark are being eroded ... for now the assumption of more crude getting through has dampened price fervour," said John Evans, an analyst at oil broker PVM. Around 12 million barrels per day of crude oil and 2 million bpd of refined products - volumes needed to dampen price pressure - have left the Middle East on tankers in the last 7 to 10 days, the CEO of commodity trading giant Vitol said today. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said today that oil pumped through the East-West Pipeline, which runs to the kingdom's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu, had reached 5.8 million barrels as of this morning. Oil price declines, however, have been limited by the possibility of further Middle East supply disruptions. Saudi Arabia's airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted in two attacks yesterday evening, injuring three people and causing limited damage, the Saudi aviation authority said, as hostilities between the kingdom and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis escalated. The attacks occurred as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces pressed a major offensive to retake territory from the Houthis after weeks of rebel advances, with Riyadh stepping up airstrikes in support of the campaign. Oil stocks around the world The International Energy Agency will meet next week to work out the details of a diesel stock release as market confusion grows over how many barrels Europe and the US plan to make available to address shortages and record-high prices, sources said. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, the Group of Seven major economies agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from imposing energy export restrictions. The G7, however, did not provide a breakdown of the volumes of crude, diesel and other products to be released, or say which countries would participate. In the US, meanwhile, the oil market was watching for weekly storage reports from the American Petroleum Institute trade group today and the US Energy Information Administration tomorrow. Analysts estimated energy firms added 1.8 million barrels of crude to US storage during the week ended October 2. If correct, it would mark the first time since August that crude stocks increased for three weeks in a row and compare with an increase of 3.7 million barrels in the same week last year and an average increase of 1.7 million barrels over the past five years (2021 to 2025). More stories on

Oil little changed as traders weigh supply risks, rising Middle East exports -- Oil prices were steady on Tuesday after recovering earlier losses, as the market weighed increases in Middle Eastern crude exports and a planned ‌Group of Seven release of emergency diesel and crude stockpiles against supply concerns related to attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Brent futures were up 26 cents to close at $100.58 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1 cent to settle at $89.44. “The price of the global crude benchmark, Brent, is once again toiling around $100/barrel, as its reasons for trading much beyond the psychological 3-digit mark are being eroded ... for now the assumption of more crude getting through has dampened price fervour,” said John Evans, an analyst at oil broker PVM. Around 12 million barrels per day of crude oil and 2 million ⁠bpd of refined products — volumes needed to dampen price pressure — have left the Middle East on tankers in the last seven to 10 days, the CEO of commodity trading giant Vitol said on Tuesday. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday that oil pumped through the East-West Pipeline, which runs to the kingdom’s Red Sea export hub of Yanbu, had reached 5.8 million barrels as of Tuesday morning. Oil price declines, however, have been limited by the possibility of further Middle East supply disruptions. Saudi Arabia’s airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted in two attacks on Monday evening, injuring three people and causing limited damage, the Saudi aviation authority said, as hostilities between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis escalated. The attacks occurred as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces pressed a major offensive to retake territory from the Houthis, after weeks of rebel advances, with Riyadh stepping up airstrikes in support of the campaign. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis. The International Energy Agency will meet next week to work out the details of a diesel stock release as market confusion grows ‌over how many ⁠barrels Europe and the US plan to make available to address shortages and record-high prices, sources said. The surge in diesel prices has turned the fuel, which underpins trucking, agriculture and industry, into a global political and economic concern. The wars in Iran and Ukraine have curtailed exports and damaged refineries, helping drive the rise in prices. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, the Group of Seven major economies agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from imposing energy export restrictions. The G7, however, did not provide a breakdown of the volumes of crude, diesel and other ⁠products to be released, or say which countries would participate. With the war in Iran disrupting the flow of Middle East oil supplies, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected on Tuesday that world petroleum production would drop from a record 106.3 million bpd in 2025 to 101.1 million bpd in 2026, and world oil demand will drop from a record 104.4 million bpd in 2025 to 102.4 million bpd in 2026. In 2027, ⁠however, EIA projected world oil supply and demand would rise back to record highs of 109.6 million bpd of production and 104.6 million bpd of consumption. In the US, meanwhile, the oil market was watching for weekly storage reports from the American Petroleum Institute trade group on Tuesday and the EIA on Wednesday. Analysts estimated energy firms added 1.8 million barrels of crude to US ⁠storage during the week ended October 2. If correct, it would mark the first time since August that crude stocks increased for three weeks in a row and compare with an increase of 3.7 million barrels in the same week last year and an average increase of 1.7 million barrels over the past five years (2021 to 2025).

Oil Prices Rise Amidst Strait of Hormuz Tensions and Asian Market Fluctuations - Ratopati | No.1 Nepali News Portal - Kathmandu. Concerns about oil supply from West Asia have increased as Iran has increased attacks on oil tankers in the important Strait of Hormuz, leading to a rise in crude oil prices on Wednesday, while Asian stock markets have declined. According to the UK's Maritime Trade Operations, there have been 9 attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf region this month. Earlier, news that oil exports from the Middle East had returned to pre-war levels caused the price of Brent crude oil to fall below $100 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to fall below $90. However, with the news of increased attacks on tankers, oil prices have risen again. Paperstone's Chris Weston said that although reports of increased oil flow put some pressure on prices, news related to attacks on ships balanced it out. According to him, the market is currently highly sensitive to geopolitical risks. Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthis have claimed to have attacked Riyadh's main airport. Yemeni government forces have denied this claim, stating that they have removed Iran-backed groups from the Bab al-Mandab Strait and areas around the port city of Mocha. Elsewhere, stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, and Taipei have fallen, while markets in Sydney and Manila have risen. US Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new records. With the increase in Nvidia's share price, the company's market capitalization has reached approximately $57 trillion USD. The Financial Times' news that SpaceX is seeking to raise $40 billion USD for the purchase of Nvidia's chips also boosted investor enthusiasm. However, concerns remain about when the expected returns will be achieved from the large investments made by technology companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

Oil Drops Despite 3.1 Million Drop In Crude Inventories, Diesel Spikes -Oil prices were largely unchanged, trading near session lows, after today's DOE inventory data affirmed the latest downbeat API prints from Tuesday afternoon, showing that the crude draw in the last week was even bigger than what API reported (-2.1MM), and far worse than the +1.9MM expected increase, printing at -3.186MM, the biggest draw in 6 weeks. API

•   Crude -2.1mm (vs +1.0mm last)
•     Gasoline -1.4mm (vs +3.0mm last)
•     Distillates +0.5mm (vs -0.3mm last)
•     Cushing +0.9mm, (vs +0.2mm last)

DOE:

•     Crude -3.186mm, the biggest drain in 6 weeks, and far below the exp. +1.915MM
•     Gasoline +382k
•     Distillates -42k
•     Cushing +444K

And visually: The decrease in commercial crude stockpiles was boosted by another 784,000 barrels withdrawn from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That increased the overall nationwide crude draw to 3.97 million barrels in the week leading up to Oct. 2. A total of 132.5 million barrels of crude has been taken out of the SPR since late March under a program to release 172 million barrels as part of a relief plan from the International Energy Agency aimed at lowering energy costs. Meanwhile, Cushing stockpiles rose for the third consecutive week to 24.7 million barrels. That has inventories at the hub at the highest since May and even further away from the 20-million barrel mark generally seen as “tank-bottoms.” Some more details from the report: distillate fuel stockpiles were down 42,000 barrels, while gasoline stockpiles rose around 380,000 barrels. Diesel futures are little changed, but gasoline futures appear to be selling off on the news, erasing most of the day’s gains to trade around $3.31 a gallon. West Coast crude imports surged to the highest level since August 2025. There are a few potential reasons for that, but it’s likely tied to Middle East cargoes that loaded during a recent pause in hostilities. Imports into PADD 5 are now at about 1.6 million barrels a day and shipments last week rose by the most since April 2021. With diesel spreads not too far from all time highs, and forcing refiners to pick between gasoline and diesel, the all important refinery crude runs rebounded following three weeks of drawdowns. Crude processing increased by 223,000 barrels a day and now are back to the highest on record for this time of the year. And speaking of gasoline, Bloomberg suggests that the 1.4mm drop was less bearish than it seems. The additions to stocks occurred exclusively on the East Coast. Meanwhile in a reversal of last week's drop to all time lows, Midwest gasoline stockpiles posted a modest recovery, rising by just over 600K. On the Gulf Coast, where the bulk of gasoline production occurs, stockpiles are at their lowest since September 2017. Digging in a little further: The bulk of the gasoline stockpile additions occurred in the Central Atlantic, which encompasses Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania. The addition was considerably smaller in New England, and stockpiles actually fell in the Lower Atlantic states. Also worth noting is that among all the talk of a diesel export ban, diesel exports surged 235,000 barrels a day to 1.76 million barrels a day. That’s the highest readout since August, and sets a new seasonal record. Meanwhile, diesel supplies on the East Coast ticked down once again last week. They’re now back where they were in early September and still sitting at the lowest they’ve ever been on record heading into the fall. On the other side of the table, crude production rose to a new high of about 14 million barrels a day last week, up by 24,000 barrels a day from the previous week, and keeping pace with the recent surge in oil drilling rigs. Rebalancing the weekly numbers against the monthly figures published in the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook added “less than 50,000 barrels a day” to last week’s number. This increase came as one more rig was put into operation, according to Baker Hughes. Total crude and products exports soared to the highest since late May, returning to a seasonal record. The increase was driven largely by crude shipments, which climbed to the highest since mid-September. October-loading volumes are expected to trend higher compared with September, as refiners in Asia and Europe sought to lock in US supplies following the mid-September shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. Gasoline stockpiles rose around 380,000 barrels with much of that occurring in the Central Atlantic, which encompasses New York and Pennsylvania. But on the Gulf Coast, where the bulk of gasoline production occurs, stockpiles are at their lowest since September 2017. Gasoline imports remain well below seasonal norms, but they ticked up last week. Those imports are particularly important to the East and West coasts, which have less refining capacity overall. Refinery crude runs rebounded following three weeks of drawdowns. Crude processing increased by 223,000 barrels a day and now are back to the highest on record for this time of the year. Midwest crude processing bounced back big time but is still below last year’s levels. It’s an indication that fall refinery maintenance is heavier than in previous years. WTI futures edged lower to trade near session lows of $89.50 even as the EIA data indicated that US crude stockpiles fell 3.2 million barrels. Still, stocks at the key hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, expanded slightly, easing some concerns of glaring physical market tightness. Gasoline stockpiles also rose, though as Will pointed out earlier, that may be less bearish than it appears. But while oil dropped, far more concerning is that diesel led the US energy complex higher, rising about 3% on the day to trade at $4.72 a gallon, while diesel crack spreads are now well above where they were when Trump announced the latest emergency release from the Diesel reserve. It’s the kind of futures price that creates serious headaches for anyone who needs to buy diesel for their truck or tractor.

Oil prices fall as IEA members agree to prioritize release of diesel stocks -Crude oil prices fell Wednesday after the International Energy Agency’s member states agreed to prioritize the release of diesel stocks in an effort to address surging fuel prices. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, lost 38 cents to close at $100.20 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell $1.16 to settle at $88.28 per barrel.IEA members agreed to support “the prioritisation of the release of diesel stocks, to the extent possible, given the current tightness in diesel markets,” the organization’s director Fatih Birol said in a statement.  IEA members have deployed about 325 million barrels of oil under the March emergency action plan to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, Birol said. This leaves about 100 million barrels that have not been released under the March plan, Birol said.The member states still have emergency stocks equivalent to 1.1 billion barrels including more than 200 million barrels of diesel, Birol said. The IEA is “ready to release more of these stocks to the market if and when required,” he said.The IEA meeting and statement comes after the G7 nations agreed Friday to release diesel stocks under pressure from the Trump administration. It is still unclear, however, how much diesel will be deployed.Oil prices were higher earlier in the session after Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen launched fresh strikes on Saudi Arabia, raising concerns that the rebound of oil exports from the Middle East is vulnerable.Oil pumped through the East-West pipeline had reached 5.8 million barrels as of Tuesday morning, according to Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. It was closed in early September after sustaining damage in a drone attack. But the Saudi aviation authority reportedly said Tuesday that the country’s airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted in two attacks, amid growing hostilities between the Houthis and the kingdom.Iran’s move to step up attacks on tankers which are transiting through the Strait of Hormuz has also led to renewed worries over oil supplies among traders.Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer of Zaye Capital Markets, said Tuesday that oil remains “caught between improving physical supply and persistent geopolitical risk.”“The sustained ability of the Houthis in Yemen to target oil facilities hundreds of kilometers from the border keeps the risks of a renewed large-scale crude supply disruption present and high, and these risks could worsen if the Houthis feel the need to apply more pressure as a result of losing more territory,” said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at forex trading platform XS.com.

Oil Prices Rise Amid Middle East Supply Concerns - Oil prices rose on Thursday as concerns over supplies from the Middle East persisted amid increasing attacks on shipping traffic in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures rose $1.33, or 1.33%, to $101.53 a barrel by 01:16 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.11, or 1.26%, to $89.39 a barrel. Prices settled lower on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency agreed to accelerate withdrawals from oil reserves and prioritize diesel supplies under a plan launched in March, as governments seek to address record fuel prices and supply disruptions caused by the war in Iran. Threats targeting oil shipments in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have increased during October as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran enters its eighth month. Before the war, shipments equivalent to around 20% of global oil and fuel supplies passed through the strait. Attacks on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest weekly level since the start of the war in Iran last week. The increase in attacks comes as more crude is flowing from the Gulf, although shipments are being carried at higher costs and with greater risks to vessels and crews. In the latest attack, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported Wednesday that a tanker north of Qatar was struck by several projectiles, causing injuries. Daniel Hynes, senior commodities analyst at ANZ, said in a note on Thursday that such attacks had previously led to a decline in shipments from the Gulf. However, producers now appear willing to accept the risk of their vessels being damaged because there is no alternative way to transport their oil to international markets. Hynes added that the IEA’s reserve withdrawals would likely consist of barrels that were already part of the agency’s original 400 million-barrel release plan when the Middle East conflict began, meaning the move does not appear to represent an additional draw from strategic reserves. “Ultimately, strategic reserve releases can temporarily increase supply flows, but they do not create new production capacity,” Hynes said. U.S. inventory data, from the world’s largest oil consumer and producer, also supported prices. Crude oil inventories fell by more than expected, while diesel inventories declined slightly. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels to 424.1 million barrels in the week ended October 2, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decline of 1.7 million barrels in a Reuters poll. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and jet fuel, fell by 42,000 barrels to 105.14 million barrels, remaining well below levels recorded at this time of year over the past five years.

Oil Jumps Amid Hormuz Tanker Attacks, Offshore Disruption -- Oil prices jumped Thursday morning amid growing supply risks as Iran was stepping up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the first Hurricane of the season forced shut a quarter of U.S. offshore oil production. By 9 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was up $4.59 to trade near $104.79 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for November delivery rose $4.20 to $92.48 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD for November delivery advanced $0.1810 to $4.8037 gallon, and front-month RBOB futures gained $0.1257 to $3.3599 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.15 points to 102.16 against a basket of foreign currencies. Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the strait have so far this month been more frequent than at any time since the beginning of the war in late February, threatening a shaky recovery in oil flows from the region. The Houthis, meanwhile, on Thursday issued a warning to Saudi oil workers, saying that Saudi Arabian energy assets are potential targets for retaliatory strikes. In the Gulf of Mexico, meanwhile, Hurricane Isaias has of Wednesday forced shut 25% of offshore oil production, amounting to more than 500,000 bpd, the newly formed Marine Minerals Administration of the Department of the Interior said. According to DTN WeatherOps, the storm is set to further strengthen before it will make landfall between Alabama and Florida later this week. A bullish U.S. inventory report published Wednesday also lent price support. According to Energy Information Administration data, commercial crude oil inventories shrank 3.2 million bbl last week, bringing total crude stockpiles including volumes in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 707.1 million bbl, some 14.5% lower than in the corresponding reporting week last year. The report also revealed that distillate fuel oil stocks continued to slide, with nationwide ultra-low sulfur diesel inventories trailing year-ago levels by more than 15%.

Oil Market Jumps on Hormuz Attacks and Gulf Production Shutdowns - The oil market on Thursday traded higher, remaining in its recent trading range, on continuing concerns over supply from the Middle East amid an increase in attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The market was also well supported by energy firms shutting in production in the Gulf as Hurricane Isaias approached. The oil market posted a low of $88.77 in overnight trading and rallied higher. It extended its gains to over $4.90 and retraced more than 38% of its move from a high of $101.69 to a low of $86.86 as it posted a high of $93.20 by mid-day. However, the market retraced more than 62% of its earlier rally and traded back to $90.25 after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will not attack Iran at any time prior to the mid-term elections. The crude market later once again rebounded ahead of the close. The November WTI contract settled up $3.21 at $91.49 and the December Brent contract settled up $4.08 at $104.28. The product markets ended the session sharply higher, with the heating oil market settling up 26.02 cents at $4.8829 and the RB market settling up 8.18 cents at $3.3160. According to the Marine Minerals Administration, U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producers have shut in about 62.89% of current oil production and 57.35% of current natural gas production as of Thursday, as operators continued to respond to Hurricane Isaias. Energy research and consultancy firm Energy Aspects estimated that about 500,000 bpd of refining capacity is in the storm’s path, including the Pascagoula refinery. The region also produces an average of about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. BP said on Thursday it has removed all personnel from Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms and shut in production at both platforms as a precaution ahead of approaching Hurricane Isaias. It said it also removed non-essential personnel from our Argos, Atlantis and Mad Dog platforms. On Wednesday, Shell and Chevron they were curtailing offshore operations at their Gulf platforms due to Hurricane Isaias. Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia is in talks with customers to offer oil loadings next year outside the Strait of Hormuz in long-term contracts, formalizing a system the country has been using during the Iran war as it seeks greater market share. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said Iran is still reviewing Washington’s response to its proposal under which the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened within seven days and added that it could reply within days. A military spokesperson for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Wednesday warned workers at Saudi oil facilities to avoid sites the group considers targets and renewed threats of attacks against airlines and airports. Bloomberg noted that while Iran’s latest increase in attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz should cause a decline in exports, crude shipments are nearing prewar levels and increasing freight costs are pulling tankers to the Middle East rather than driving them away.

Oil prices retreat after Trump appears to rule out Iran strikes before midterms - Oil prices fell Friday after surging the previous day, as traders weighed President Trump’s pledge not to attack Iran before the U.S. midterm elections against persistent shipping risks in the Persian Gulf and extensive offshore production shut-ins in the Gulf of Mexico. Trump said Thursday that the U.S. wouldn’t attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, citing what he called productive discussions with Tehran. Trump said Thursday that the U.S. wouldn’t attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, citing what he called productive discussions with Tehran. December Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to $102.90 a barrel, while December West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 1.4% to $89.50 a barrel. Both benchmarks had gained 4.4% Thursday, with Brent rising as much as 5% earlier in the session to $105.23 a barrel and WTI also climbing 5% to $92.70 before paring gains. Trump said Thursday that the U.S. wouldn’t attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, citing what he called “productive discussions” with Tehran. The U.S. naval blockade of Iran remains in place, with roughly a dozen Navy ships in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported. Oil prices are likely to remain elevated in the short term despite the pullback as risks to Middle East shipping routes persist and U.S. offshore production remains disrupted, Hani Abuagla, senior market analyst at XTB MENA, said. Tensions elsewhere in the region also remain high. Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen carried out another series of attacks Wednesday night and Thursday, including strikes targeting shipping in the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported. The U.S. also increased economic pressure on Tehran on Thursday. The Treasury Department sanctioned 17 vessels it said were part of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet and had transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude, petroleum and petrochemical products to markets in South and East Asia. Meanwhile, Hurricane Isaias has sharply increased disruptions to production in the Gulf of Mexico. The Marine Minerals Administration said 1.28 million barrels a day, or 62.9% of current offshore oil output, had been shut in as of Thursday morning, up from about 511,600 barrels a day the day before. Personnel had been evacuated from 121 production platforms and five drilling rigs. Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 100 miles an hour Thursday evening as it moved toward the northern U.S. Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The threat to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries has narrowed despite the offshore shutdowns. Fewer than 500,000 barrels a day of refining capacity in Alabama and Mississippi was at risk of a direct hit, down from 2.5 million barrels a day expected earlier in the week, S&P Global Energy said. Port closures and shipping delays could still disrupt refined-product exports, with U.S. Gulf Coast diesel exports averaging 1.4 million barrels a day so far this week, down from 2.1 million barrels a day the previous week, S&P said.

Oil Eases on Fuel Export Resumption, Trump Iran Comments  (DTN) -- Oil prices slid Friday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump touted "productive discussions" with Iran and said that he will not order attacks on the Islamic Republic ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 3. News that China set to resume fuel exports following a one-week suspension also eased supply woes. A slew of attacks on oil and LPG tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile, limited the downside. By 9:15 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was down $1.19 to trade near $103.09 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for November delivery fell $0.79 to $90.70 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD for November delivery slid $0.0983 to $4.7846 gallon, and front-month RBOB futures retreated $0.0305 to $3.2855 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.155 points to 102.085 against a basket of foreign currencies. The President's statements helped to cool resurging escalation fears which were stoked by several reports suggesting the U.S. administration was mulling fresh attacks on Iran and had tasked the Pentagon with drafting strike options. Further fueling concerns, Iran has recently stepped up attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, with strikes so far in October being more frequent than at any other point during the more than seven-month long war. Prospects of an imminent diplomatic solution have also been dimming on reports that the first direct negotiations in months, started at the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York two weeks ago, had ended in a stalemate. The recent ramp up in Iranian attacks on commercial vessels was interpreted by some observers as a sign that recent talks were unproductive. Elsewhere, China was reportedly set to lift a de-facto fuel export ban that had rattled already supply-starved markets. The country did not grant any refined fuel export quotas for the duration of its week-long national holiday at the beginning of October. Canceled cargoes and the lack of communicated timeline had market participants concerned about yet another global fuel supply source drying up. Now a Category 2 Hurricane, Isaias has as of Thursday, forced shut operations at 130 U.S. offshore platforms, affecting around 1.3 million bpd of crude oil production. The first Hurricane of the season is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday in an area that houses several important refineries, with Marathon's more than 600,000 bpd capacity Garyville refinery in Louisiana being the largest.

Oil prices settle higher as more production shut ahead of hurricane (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Friday as Hurricane Isaias churned toward the northern Gulf of Mexico and ‌oil companies shut more than 70% of crude production in US waters. Earlier in the session, crude prices were down as US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran to end the war in the Middle East had been "productive." Trump also teased an upcoming, undisclosed announcement on diesel and said he was considering suspending the federal gasoline tax.Brent crude futures settled at $104.72, up 44 cents ⁠or 0.42%. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $91.85 a barrel, up 36 cents, or 0.39%.Plans by China, the world's top oil importer, to resume refined fuel exports after a brief halt during its Golden Week holiday, also weighed on the market. Reuters reported the development on Friday, citing sources. On a weekly basis, Brent and WTI prices are set to rise.Trump's Iran pledge along with China's resumption of product exports were moving prices lower, PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said. Prices have been volatile this week as threats to shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, which carried shipments equal to about ‌20% ⁠of global oil and fuel before the war, have increased. Trump said on Thursday that Washington was having "productive discussions" with Iran and said no attack was planned before the November 3 midterm congressional elections after media reports that he was considering an attack before then.Iran's Tasnim news agency reported the same day that Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran is ⁠reviewing the US response to its proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.The US is still pressuring Iran economically, imposing sanctions targeting individuals, networks and 17 vessels for transporting Iranian crude, oil products ⁠and petrochemicals.The Iran war and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have disrupted supplies of refined fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel and especially diesel fuel.The oil market is also contending with Hurricane Isaias in the ⁠Gulf of Mexico where producers have shut in about 1.3 million barrels per day, or 62.9%, of current oil production as of Thursday, according to the US Marine Minerals Administration.

Attacks on Tankers in the Strait of Hormuz Escalate - While oil exports from the Middle East have reportedly exceeded pre-war levels, attacks on tankers in or near the Strait of Hormuz have also risen over the past week, with at least 11 coming under attack since last Monday, according to a count from The New York Times. According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, at least four tankers have come under attack since Saturday, October 3. The latest attack occurred on Monday, when the master of an unnamed tanker reported that an unknown projectile struck his vessel, according to a report from gCaptain.   In another incident on Monday, a tanker reported being contacted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while it was transiting near the strait off the coast of Oman and was told to turn around or risk being targeted, and the master of the vessel complied with the IRGC order. The increase in attacks on tankers in the region, coupled with the increase in oil exports, has led to speculation that Iran may be collecting tolls from some of the vessels that are passing through the strait. Some ships are being escorted by the US Navy, and other smaller tankers have been conducting ship-to-ship transfers from larger tankers inside the Gulf to others in the Arabian Sea. Last week, an IRGC official said that Iran had continued daily attacks on ships in the strait while the US has stopped responding. In early September, the US bombed multiple Iranian tankers, declaring a new policy of bombing Iranian tankers in response to Iranian strikes on commercial ships, but that policy has stopped as the Trump administration appears to be avoiding further escalation with Iran until after the midterms. President Trump has repeatedly declared that the US has “control” of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian officials have strongly rejected, maintaining that the crucial waterway will not be fully opened until the US implements the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June.

Oil Was Pouring Out of Hormuz Again. Then Attacks on Ships Resurged. – WSJ —A new wave of attacks on vessels around the Strait of Hormuz is threatening a recovery in Middle Eastern oil exports—just as Gulf producers have pushed crude shipments back toward prewar levels. The swift rebound in shipments in recent weeks has been driven by U.S. naval protection and earlier waves of strikes that knocked out Iranian radar and communications along the contested strait. The United Arab Emirates and other producers have set up an elaborate system of shuttle runs in which tankers load inside the Persian Gulf, exit Hormuz and transfer the crude to vessels waiting outside the waterway. But after several days without reported attacks on ships toward the end of last month, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, which is affiliated with the Royal Navy, has reported seven strikes on vessels around the waterway since Sept. 28. On Sunday, it reported another strike, but didn’t specify when the incident happened.  Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy issued a warning to ships planning to use the U.S.-backed route through the strait on Saturday, saying that they would be targeted and destroyed. “Don’t trust U.S. Navy and don’t use south corridor at all and don’t put your life in danger,” a radio message transmitted on a public shipping channel and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal said. The renewed attacks may already be taking a toll, with early signs that oil flows are beginning to slow, analysts say. Firm data comes with a lag, because many ships are operating without their transponders switched on to avoid becoming targets. All seven vessels were attacked near the narrowest part of the Hormuz strait, according to UKMTO.  Iran’s ability to target ships has also improved in recent weeks, adding to the risks in the strait, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. several weeks ago said it would strike Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran’s attacks, but it has since backed off that effort after Iran unleashed a wave of missiles at a U.S. air base in Jordan, the official said.The new strikes expose the fragility of the recovery in oil flows and come as President Trump, who has claimed full U.S. control over Hormuz, weighs renewed military action against Iran. Any fresh disruption would hit a global economy already grappling with high energy prices and rising borrowing costs. International benchmark oil prices remain around $100 a barrel despite recovering exports, reflecting fears that renewed attacks could again curb flows and keep freight and security costs elevated.“The step-up in attacks on ships highlights how the current equilibrium in the oil market is fragile and could easily be shattered,” said  “This would especially be the case if there is further escalation and energy infrastructure is targeted.”   Among the seven vessels attacked in the past week, at least four had completed two or more roundtrips in and out of the Strait of Hormuz since June, carrying crude oil or oil products, according to ship tracker Kpler.   Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes that began the war in February, Iran has used attacks on ships to throttle shipping through Hormuz, once the thoroughfare for a fifth of the world’s oil. That has driven up the price of gasoline and diesel for consumers around the world and has forced Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. to divert exports around the strait through bypass pipelines.Kpler said regional crude exports excluding Iran averaged at least 16.5 million barrels a day from Sept. 1 through Sept. 28, close to prewar levels. Saudi Arabia had shifted exports back through Hormuz after a Sept. 10 attack on its East-West pipeline and attacks on its ships by Yemen’s Houthi militants interrupted Red Sea shipments. The pipeline remains below capacity, but renewed loading at the Yanbu port on the Red Sea could help offset another Hormuz slowdown, Hussain said.  Standard Chartered estimates that total Saudi exports rebounded to 6.9 million barrels a day in September from 2.45 million in August.  But restored volumes don’t mean a return to normal.  In September, most of the crude that crossed the Strait of Hormuz went via tankers transferring their oil to ships waiting off the coast of the U.A.E. and Oman, according to Kpler.  The costs of such shuttle runs and military-protected convoys may not be sustainable, wrote Kim Fustier, senior global oil and gas analyst at HSBC. Meanwhile, margins for diesel and other refined products remain high.“All of this suggests that Middle East exports—at least for crude—are rising, but at enormous cost,” Fustier wrote.

7 Oil Tankers Attacked In Strait Of Hormuz, As U.S. Official Admits Iran's Targeting Abilities Keep Improving - Depending on where you live, you may have seen fuel prices drop over the weekend, but that wasn't because Republicans are finally winning the senseless war they started with Iran. No, it's mostly because the governors of Georgia and Ohio suspended their states' gas taxes, while governors in other states have found short-term solutions for temporarily making diesel less expensive. Meanwhile, over in the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reports Iran has increased its attacks on oil tankers attempting to transit the strait, slowing oil exports yet again.  According to the WSJ, crude oil shipments had largely returned to prewar levels after a series of U.S. strikes took out Iran's radar and communications abilities along the strait. That lull in hostilities, combined with Gulf countries working overtime to find alternative routes that avoid the strait, briefly allowed oil exports to surge. But much like Georgia's suddenly lower gas prices, Iran losing its targeting capabilities was only temporary. Since September 28, UK Maritime Trade Operations data shows Iran has hit seven ships traveling through Hormuz, and it appears Iran struck an eighth ship on Sunday, as well. As the WSJ explained: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy issued a warning to ships planning to use the U.S.-backed route through the strait on Saturday, saying that they would be targeted and destroyed. "Don't trust U.S. Navy and don't use south corridor at all and don't put your life in danger," a radio message transmitted on a public shipping channel and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal said. The renewed attacks may already be taking a toll, with early signs that oil flows are beginning to slow, analysts say. Firm data comes with a lag, because many ships are operating without their transponders switched on to avoid becoming targets. All seven vessels were attacked near the narrowest part of the Hormuz strait, according to UKMTO. Iran's targeting is improving Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Ideally, the oppressive regime running Iran would be getting weaker as the war stretches past its seventh month, but according to one U.S. official the WSJ spoke with, that's not the case. Instead, they're reportedly getting better at targeting ships in the strait, undermining Republican claims that the U.S. controls the strait and threatening to send fuel prices even higher: Iran's ability to target ships has also improved in recent weeks, adding to the risks in the strait, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. several weeks ago said it would strike Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran's attacks, but it has since backed off that effort after Iran unleashed a wave of missiles at a U.S. air base in Jordan, the official said. The new strikes expose the fragility of the recovery in oil flows and come as President Trump, who has claimed full U.S. control over Hormuz, weighs renewed military action against Iran. At the moment, AAA reports the average gas price in the U.S. is still $4.37 a gallon, while the average gallon of diesel sits at $6.32. Brent Crude, meanwhile, is still trading at more than $100 a barrel, and if Iran continues to target tankers with increased precision, analysts say to expect Brent to stay over $100 through the rest of this year and on into 2028. "The step-up in attacks on ships highlights how the current equilibrium in the oil market is fragile and could easily be shattered," Capital Economics senior economist Hamad Hussain told the WSJ. "This would especially be the case if there is further escalation and energy infrastructure is targeted." Putin continuing his invasion of Ukraine isn't helping with global oil prices, either, with ABC News reporting that Ukrainian counterattacks have knocked out half of Russia's refining capacity. Meanwhile, NBC News reports Yemen and Saudi Arabia still have their hands full with the Houthi rebels who took control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and recently struck an Aramco facility in Riyadh. Oh, and on top of that, Reuters reports China just suspended fuel exports. Fun!

Iran ramps up Strait of Hormuz attacks with 11 ships hit in a week - UKMTO revealed on Monday two previously unknown ship strikes in the Strait of Hormuz during the weekend, bringing the total number of vessels impacted by Iranian fire since 29 September to 10 tankers and one LPG carrier.

Is Iran charging a toll to allow oil traffic through Hormuz? - Al Jazeera - Middle East oil exports have climbed back above levels seen before the US-Israel war on Iran began in February, despite Tehran’s attempts to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and attack vessels. Crude exports from the region exceeded pre-war levels on four days in the final week of September, reaching between 19.5 and 22.5 million barrels per day (bpd), according to provisional data from maritime tracking firm Kpler. Before the war, exports averaged about 18 million bpd. This surge in oil exports from the region has so far largely been attributed to US ships shepherding tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with increasing ship-to-ship transfers that reduce the risks of being targeted by Iranian missiles and drones. Meanwhile, the fact that oil prices have remained high has been explained by analysts as the result of still-elevated insurance rates — driven by fears of Iranian attacks — and a market factoring in the possibility of a return to a hot war. But a senior Kpler analyst last week offered a different explanation for the rise in oil exports at high prices. Gulf countries, she suggested, may be paying Iran to allow their oil through – potentially handing Tehran a significant portion of the value of the cargo. Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas exports passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Does this explanation hold up, and what does it mean for the war and oil prices? Michelle Brohard, head of policy and geopolitical risk at Kpler, recently said some countries could be paying Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. “I suspect there is a toll that’s being paid, which is giving these ships safe passage,” she said in an interview last week with energy analyst Rory Johnston. “I also suspect that these countries know that this is unsustainable from a perspective of [the] US escorting [ships], and also unsustainable from them paying Iran 10 percent of their cargo, or 20 percent of their cargo,” she added. “So you’re starting to see like what I would call like a race to get out as much as possible, as quickly as possible before the war restarts.” The claim has not been independently verified, and Brohard presented it as speculation rather than a finding backed by evidence. But as early as March, the shipping journal Lloyd’s List reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had already imposed a “toll booth” system to control vessel traffic through the strait. The Trump administration, during the course of the war, has repeatedly said Iran will not be permitted to charge a toll under any potential agreement with Washington. Closure of the strait has caused global fuel costs to soar and has tested agricultural sectors across the world. Oil is increasingly getting out of the Middle East, marine trackers report. In the last week of September, the seven-day average climbed above the roughly 18 million bpd recorded before the US-Israel war on Iran began in February – the first time since the conflict started. Kpler said crude exports excluding Iran had also recovered to at least 16.5 million bpd as an average over September. The pattern of increasing oil exports has continued into October. Iraq’s state-owned Oil Tanker Company on Saturday announced that it had transported two million barrels of crude on a very ‌large crude carrier (VLCC) through the Strait of Hormuz, in what its director general said was the company’s first such operation in decades. According to Kpler, “40 percent now bypass Hormuz, and most crude crossing the strait changes tankers offshore”, with much of it flowing through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pipelines. The export figures also include supplies moved through the Red Sea, which has become an increasingly important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran says Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until conditions are met (Reuters) - The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven Iranian conditions set out in a June interim agreement with the US ‌are met, state media reported Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying on Sunday. Iran presented a proposal during the UN General Assembly under which the Strait of Hormuz waterway could be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days if the conditions were met, with the US replying to this proposal last week via Qatari intermediaries. "The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad ⁠Memorandum of Understanding, are met," Qalibaf, who is Iran's top negotiator, was quoted as saying. He said Washington "must understand that the period of dragging out the (diplomatic) process and dictating one-sided demands is over". A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that Tehran had clarified its broad positions via mediators to the US response but that additional points remained to be communicated to Washington. "The Americans' propositions are more or less in line with their previous positions, specifically on the nuclear issue. We told them our focus in this stage is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz and the return to security in this waterway requires clear steps from the US," spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said. He also denied Tehran had offered UN nuclear watchdog inspections of its nuclear facilities in exchange for US sanctions relief, saying Iran had not entered into ‌nuclear ⁠discussions with Washington. The document being circulated outlines a seven-day period of trust-building aimed at returning the two sides to an enhanced version of the memorandum of understanding agreed in June, including concrete steps on Iran's nuclear programme, an official briefed on the talks said last week. The disagreement centres on the sequencing of the steps rather than the components of the plan, the official added. Qatar has been shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran in an effort to end ⁠the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the war that began at the end of February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran. The June memorandum of understanding led to a brief ceasefire and included provisions on the ⁠strait and Iran's nuclear programme. Separately, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told foreign ambassadors and diplomats in Tehran on Sunday that Tehran hoped Washington would choose diplomacy but warned that Iran was prepared to respond if the US again chose military action. On Thursday, sources told Reuters that Iran ⁠was preparing a broader and more forceful response if Washington resumed large-scale military attacks. Advertisement · Scroll to continue “If they again move towards military solutions, we are more prepared than before and will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves,” Araqchi said on Sunday. Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news agency on Sunday Iran would upgrade the range of its missiles.

Top commander issues stark warning: Any new war on Iran will engulf everyone in its flames - Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Ali Abdollahi has warned that any new war against Iran will have dire consequences for all sides and will “engulf everyone in its flames.” In a message issued on Monday, Major General Ali Abdollahi said, “If a new war is launched against Iran, its flames will engulf everyone.” He also pointed to the US military presence in the region as a source of insecurity and economic problems, warning countries hosting US forces that regional instability would persist as long as the American military remains in the region. “Countries hosting the United States in the region should know that the main factor behind insecurity in the region and the emergence of economic problems is the presence of the terrorist US army in the region,” Abdollahi said. He also rejected recent claims that Iran’s nuclear program has entered a military phase, describing such allegations as “delusional” and an attempt to portray Iran as a threat. Abdollahi slammed Israel for possession of nuclear weapons, saying claims about Iran’s nuclear activities by a party possessing “several hundred nuclear warheads” were unacceptable and amounted to mocking international law. He also warned international organizations, particularly the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), against baseless statements concerning Iran’s nuclear facilities. “We warn international organizations, particularly the IAEA, to refrain from continuing to play the role of a wolf in sheep’s clothing and from making baseless statements about Iran’s nuclear facilities,” he said. Iran is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, known as the NPT, and has accepted extensive IAEA inspections over the years. The country has also committed itself to a religious decree that bans the development of nuclear weapons and has repeatedly denied accusations by Western countries that it is working to build nuclear bombs. Israel has never been a member of the NPT and has always kept silent about reports it has an arsenal of around 300 nuclear bombs. Addressing US President Donald Trump, Abdollahi also said Iran is not waiting for the outcome of the upcoming US congressional elections, warning him against any anti-Iran move. He said that regardless of the election result, any US action against Iran, either directly or at Israel’s instigation, would trigger an immediate Iranian response. “If he himself, or at the provocation of the child-killing Zionist regime, takes action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately target US interests without limitation, with intensity and force and in a painful manner,” Abdollahi warned, referring to Iran’s response during the “Ramadan War.” Abdollahi said Iran was “stronger than ever” and fully prepared to confront any threat, regardless of its nature or scale. He further noted that previous wars against Iran had ended in failure for the United States and Israel, noting that the aggression had exposed deep weaknesses and instability within Israel. According to Abdollahi, Israel launched the 12-day war against Iran after miscalculating Iran’s strength and subsequently sought an end to the aggression after suffering “powerful, effective and heavy blows” from Iran’s armed forces. He warned that Israel would not be capable of confronting Iran in any future aggression, saying that if it initiated another war, Iran’s armed forces and people would respond forcefully

Iran summons Norwegian envoy over US weaponization of Starlink for subversion -Iran has summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Tehran to lodge a formal diplomatic protest over Oslo’s continued inaction regarding unauthorized Starlink satellite internet operations within Iranian territory, a network that Washington and Tel Aviv have heavily weaponized for espionage and subversion. Mohammad Hassannejad Pirkoohi, Director General for International Peace and Security at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, summoned Paul Beijer Nestad, the Norwegian Ambassador to Tehran, on Sunday to deliver an official note of protest. During the meeting, Pirkoohi outlined the systematic abuse of the Starlink satellite network by the United States and the Israeli regime to advance interventionist agendas against the Islamic Republic. He sharply criticized Norway for failing to fulfill its legal obligations as the registering state for the Starlink network at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). "Based on the decisions of the ITU’s Radio Regulations Board (RRB) in recent years, the Norwegian government is obligated to take the necessary measures to prevent unauthorized Starlink transmissions within Iran's territory," Pirkoohi emphasized. He noted that despite repeated follow-ups by the Islamic Republic, Norway has taken no effective action to halt these sovereignty-violating broadcasts. The Iranian official demanded the immediate reflection of Tehran's demands to the Norwegian government, urging Oslo to take swift action to stop the activities that compromise Iran's national security and territorial sovereignty. The diplomatic rebuke comes as Starlink has increasingly transitioned from a commercial telecommunications provider into a direct instrument of the US military-intelligence apparatus during the ongoing US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran. By beaming internet access directly into Iranian airspace without Tehran's authorization, Starlink provides a parallel, unregulated communications grid. This allows US and Israeli intelligence agencies to maintain secure, untraceable contact with embedded espionage cells, coordinate cyber warfare operations, and bypass Iran's secure national intranet during military strikes. The network effectively serves as a digital beachhead, allowing foreign aggressors to project power into Iranian cyberspace in direct violation of international telecommunications law. The lethal potential of this unauthorized network was most evident during the US-backed armed insurgency and coup attempt in January 2026. When Washington and Tel Aviv attempted to exploit economic grievances by deploying CIA and Mossad operatives to turn peaceful demonstrations into violent clashes, Starlink served as the primary command-and-control network for the rioters and terrorists. During the unrest, Starlink terminals allowed foreign agents and armed insurgents to coordinate attacks on Iranian infrastructure, evade law enforcement communication blackouts, and livestream fabricated propaganda to Western media outlets.

Yemeni forces strike Riyadh airport, Rabigh Aramco refinery in retaliatory operations -- The Yemeni Armed Forces have carried out a series of precise retaliatory strikes deep inside Saudi territory, targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the Aramco refinery in Rabigh. In a statement issued Monday, Yemeni military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the operations employed a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles alongside drones. The first strike hit King Khalid Airport directly, disrupting air traffic. The second struck the Aramco facility in Rabigh, igniting fires at the site. A third operation targeted Abha Airport, Khamis Mushait Air Base, the Akafa camp in Asir, and sensitive military positions in Najran and Jazan provinces, with the spokesman confirming accurate hits. The operations came in direct response to continued Saudi aggression. According to the Yemeni Armed Forces, the Saudi military launched dozens of airstrikes and missile attacks over the previous 24 hours against Sana’a and the provinces of al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, Saada and Marib. The raids killed and wounded civilians, including women and children. Total Saudi attacks since the latest escalation now stand at 1,576. Saree reiterated that the blood of Yemeni civilians will not go unanswered and that the equation of “siege for siege and escalation for escalation” remains in force. Yemeni forces will continue striking Saudi military concentrations and the sources of aggression until the bombardment ceases and the blockade on Yemen is lifted. International airlines were warned that Saudi airspace, excluding the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, now falls within the range of Yemeni operations. The strikes follow weeks of Yemeni operations against Aramco infrastructure and Saudi air bases in the south of the kingdom, which Riyadh has been unable to prevent despite extensive air defenses. Yemeni officials have repeatedly stated that energy facilities and military sites used to launch attacks on Yemen constitute legitimate targets. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition claimed its naval forces conducted an operation in Hodeidah governorate, asserting the destruction of weapons stores, explosive-boat warehouses and sea mines. Yemeni media reported Saudi airstrikes on Kamaran Island and al-Salif district in the same governorate, and called it a continuation of the aggression that has targeted civilian areas and infrastructure across the country. The latest exchange underscores the failure of the Saudi military’s renewed military campaign to subdue Yemen or shield its own territory. Yemeni forces have maintained the ability to impose costs on the sources of attack while advancing the principle that aggression and blockade will be met in kind.

Riyadh-Based Yemeni Leader Announces Offensive Against Ansar Allah as Saudi Arabia Escalates Airstrikes -  Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Riyadh-based Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, announced on Sunday that Saudi-backed forces were launching a major offensive aimed at capturing all areas of Yemen under the control of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis.Al-Alimi has been based largely in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade, having left Yemen after Ansar Allah’s takeover of Sanaa in 2014. While he is framing the offensive as a Yemeni operation, it will rely heavily on Saudi Arabia, which arms and funds many of the ground forces involved and has been conducting heavy airstrikes against Ansar Allah-controlled Yemen, where most of the country’s population lives.The US is also deeply involved in the war as it is providing targeting and intelligence support for the Saudi air campaign, though so far, it has refrained from launching direct strikes. A US-Ansar Allah ceasefire reached in May 2025 remains in effect, and Ansar Allah has warned that it would escalate in response to any direct US attacks. A US official told Axios on Sunday that the US “is not going to take kinetic action for now,” though the official said that could change if the operations against Ansar Allah run into problems. The Saudi-backed ground forces are unlikely to succeed, as Ansar Allah’s military has made sweeping gains since it launched a ground offensive in early September, and previous wars and bombing campaigns against Ansar Allah have failed.Saudi Arabia appears to have significantly escalated its strikes in Yemen in recent days, as Saudi forces and Ansar Allah have traded attacks against each other’s capitals. Ansar Allah military spokesman Yahya Saree said Sunday that Yemeni forces recorded more than 100 Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks over the past 24 hours.“Over the past 24 hours, Saudi warplanes launched 106 airstrikes and missile attacks targeting civilian areas in the capital, Sanaa, and the governorates of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah, and Sa’dah,” Saree wrote on Telegram.  “These attacks were carried out using F-15 and Typhoon aircraft that took off from Khamis Mushait and Taif airbases, with missile strikes originating from Najran. This brings the total number of Saudi-led airstrikes and missile attacks since the escalation against our country to 1,516,” Saree added. The US-backed Saudi-led coalition that waged a war in Yemen from 2015 to 2022 was notorious for bombing civilian areas, and there has been an increasing number of civilian casualties since the war was reignited by Saudi airstrikes targeting the Sanaa International Airport in July. The Yemeni Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led government said that a Saudi airstrike on Sunday hit a sponge factory in Sanaa, injuring three workers. A day earlier, Yemeni media reported that a woman was killed and children were injured by a Saudi strike on a home in the southwestern Taiz province.

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces expel Houthi rebels from several areas around key strait, officials say - (AP) — Forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have recaptured several key areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemeni officials said Monday, while the Houthis claimed attacks on Saudi oil facilities, airports and military bases as fighting escalated on Yemen’s western coast. The Yemeni officials said forces allied with the internationally recognized government retook the crucial town of Dhubab just north of the strait, a vital shipping route that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. They also captured the towns of Bab and Hadeid, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters. Witnesses said they saw government tanks and forces entering the towns. The government push came as part of a major offensive launched early Monday under air cover by a Saudi military coalition. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, claimed in a pre-recorded statement that the rebels used ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and an oil refinery in the Red Sea city of Rabigh. Also attacked were Abha airport, military facilities in Khamis Mushait and other “critical sites” in the cities of Najran and Jizan, he claimed. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that it was expected that the Saudi-backed government would hit back at the rebels to reclaim territory. Asked if the coalition coordinated the action with the United States, Rubio said that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have a defense agreement but wouldn’t offer more details. Since the Yemeni government was ousted from some of its territory by the Houthis and the Saudis have come under attack, “they have a right to defend themselves,” Rubio said. The U.S. has provided support to Saudi Arabia in its ongoing campaign against the Houthis, according to a regional official and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters. The support included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the offensive, said the officials. The U.S. had supported the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis early in the Yemen war, before quitting the coalition in recent years. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh warned U.S. citizens on social media to be vigilant about possible drone or missile attacks. The offensive came just after the rebels said they had captured more territory in the southwestern part of Yemen, taking a key town in a blow to the Saudi-backed forces as they advanced toward a strategic provincial capital in the region. The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said 100 fighter jets were providing support to government forces. He said the coalition secured “air protection” of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets. Also on Monday, the foreign and defense ministers of Pakistan and Turkey agreed with Saudi Arabia to deploy military forces to the kingdom under their defense pact. A joint statement released by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry after an emergency meeting in Riyadh did not specify troop numbers, identify which countries would contribute forces or give a deployment timetable. The three countries condemned what they described as attempted attacks on Mecca and Medina, as well as continuing attacks on Saudi cities and civilian and economic facilities. The statement did not identify who was responsible. The air campaign follows the fall of a key town in Yemen The escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has revived Yemen’s civil war after a four-year ceasefire. Houthis seized the town of Turbah on Sunday. Turbah sits on a main road linking the provincial capital of Taiz with the port city of Aden, which serves as an interim seat of Yemen’s government. Over the years, the town was a major post for government forces defending Taiz. Earlier, the Houthis seized several villages and areas on Taiz’s outskirts, paving the way for the rebels to encircle Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city. Yemen’s flare-up shows the capabilities of the Iran-backed rebels The Houthis made a swift push on the country’s western coast on the Red Sea in early September. They captured the strategic city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, gains that enabled them to control the Yemeni side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which 12% of global trade transits.

Ansar Allah Pounds Saudi Airports as Yemen War Escalates -  Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, has launched multiple attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia in recent days, marking an escalation of the conflict, which was reignited by Saudi airstrikes on the Sanaa International Airport back in July.The ramped-up Ansar Allah strikes on airports came after the group warned on October 5 that Saudi airspace would no longer be safe for civilian aircraft.On Thursday, Ansar Allah military spokesman Yahya Saree announced a ballistic missile attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Later in the day, he announced a cruise missile strike on the same airport and said that Najran Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait were also targeted.According to Reuters, one of the attacks on the King Khalid Airport left a commercial aircraft belonging to Saudi state carrier Saudia Airlines heavily damaged. On Wednesday, Saudi authorities said that multiple attacks on the King Khalid Airport and the Abha International Airport killed three people, including two women, and wounded 36.In his statements on Thursday, Saree also issued a warning to workers at Saudi oil sites, suggesting an escalation in strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure was coming, and renewed his warning to airliners.“The Yemeni Armed Forces warn all employees, including experts, engineers, and workers in all Saudi oil facilities, against being in locations that represent targets for our forces, so as not to endanger their lives, whether those that have been targeted before or others,” Saree wrote on Telegram.“They also renew their warning to air navigation companies in the fields and airports, and to travelers and workers in them that were previously declared,” Saree added.Fighting continues on the ground in Yemen, with Ansar Allah advancing around the southwestern city of Taiz. Saudi-backed forces have launched a counteroffensive aimed at rolling back Ansar Allah’s gains, but there’s been no sign that it has had success despite earlier claims. US-backed Saudi airstrikes also continue to pound Yemen, and there’s been an increasing number of civilian casualties.

Pakistan and Turkey To Deploy Forces to Saudi Arabia as Yemen War Rages -  Pakistan and Turkey will deploy forces to Saudi Arabia under their new trilateral defense pact as the war in Yemen continues to escalate several months after it was reignited by Saudi airstrikes on the Sanaa International Airport. The Mecca defense pact between Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia was signed back in August, and as Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, has gained significant ground in Yemen and has continued heavy attacks on Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has been seeking more international support in the war.Top-level officials from the three countries, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohhamed bin Salman, attended a meeting in Riyadh and issued a joint statement after the talks that said they would “move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom.”The statement added that turning the defense agreement “into practical measures demonstrates the credibility of the commitment to collective defense.”It’s unclear what role Turkish and Pakistani forces will play in the war or whether they will become directly involved. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Pakistan had deployed a squadron of fighter jets and air defenses to Saudi Arabia, meaning that Pakistan could potentially launch airstrikes in Yemen.The US currently has more than 200 military advisors deployed in Saudi Arabia who are helping with intelligence and targeting support, and is refueling Saudi warplanes, but so far hasn’t launched direct airstrikes. Ansar Allah has warned the US against directly entering the war, saying it would lead to escalation and the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to US shipping, a warning that would probably also apply to Turkey and Pakistan.

Houthis Bombard Saudi Air Links in Effort to Cut Kingdom Off From Rest of World – WSJ --Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants are taking aim at Saudi Arabia’s air links to the world, rattling travelers and squeezing another key sector of the kingdom’s economy while its crucial oil industry remains under fire.The missile attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and several southern Saudi cities threaten to choke off business travel and tourism just as the busy conference and travel season gets under way. The overlapping instability stemming from the conflicts involving the Houthis and Iran could also frustrate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to renew a push to boost foreign investment.A major test will come with the kingdom’s flagship Future Investment Initiative summit, which is expected to draw thousands of global executives and investors to Riyadh at the end of this month. The Saudi leadership isn’t planning to cancel the event but is growing more worried about the conflict’s impact on the economy and about tight supplies of missile interceptors needed to fend off attacks, people familiar with the matter said.The kingdom has pressed the U.S. to intervene directly in the conflict, but the Trump administration has declined. Some Saudi advisers are pressing the country’s leaders, who escalated the fight in Yemen this week, to keep the door open to diplomacy with the Houthis, the people said. Thursday’s attacks on Riyadh’s airport—which left three dead, including a pilot for flagship carrier Saudia, and destroyed a passenger jet—are already disrupting air travel. Flight tracker Flightradar24 said the airport closed again Friday afternoon after disruptions the day before, and cancellations were again piling up. A number of airlines have halted flights to Riyadh, and Singapore Airlines postponed the launch of its flights to the capital until March.Many foreign consultants and other businesspeople found themselves stuck in Saudi Arabia as the weekend in the kingdom began on Friday. Some of their companies told them not to go to the airport after Thursday’s strike. One medical-sector worker who had boarded a flight home at the time of the attack said he was kept in the plane for an hour as explosions went off outside. An American defense executive who lives in Riyadh had been waiting in the airport lounge for his flight on Tuesday when Houthi attacks caused delays that would cause him to miss his connecting flight. He said he was back in the lounge Wednesday, when new explosions rattled the glass and caused everyone to jump with fright. He caught his flights but said he was worried about being able to get back on Sunday after the Thursday attack.  “The latest attacks certainly risk setting back the economic recovery,”  “Any firms considering investing in the kingdom will certainly want some clarity over whether these attacks will continue.”A new State Department warning Thursday says U.S. government officials now need special authorization to use the Riyadh airport. The U.K. warned against all but essential travel to areas of Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh.Nasser Eddin said the next few days would be crucial in determining whether companies press ahead with planned trips and events or scale back their participation.The uncertainty adds to the challenges facing Saudi efforts that were already hit hard by the war with Iran. The kingdom weathered those disruptions relatively well, thanks to a pipeline that allowed it to reroute oil across the desert to the Red Sea.But renewed hostilities with the Houthis changed the equation. The militant group began shooting at Saudi tankers. Then a drone attack in September forced the shutdown of the pipeline. It has since partially resumed operations, and exports have recovered, but renewed Houthi attacks have now disrupted air travel.

Reports: Syria May Send Troops to Yemen To Help Saudi Arabia Fight Ansar Allah - -Syria is considering sending troops, including foreign jihadists, to help Saudi Arabia fight against Ansar Allah in Yemen, according to media reports, as Riyadh continues to seek international support for the war, which it reignited in July by bombing the Sanaa International Airport.Reuters first reported that Syria, which is led by former al-Qaeda Commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, is considering providing military assistance to Saudi Arabia, which could range from “defensive aid” to actually sending troops to fight Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis.A US official speaking to Reuters said that Saudi Arabia had requested that Syria send forces to fight Ansar Allah. The report came a day after Sharaa, formerly known by his al-Qaeda nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. Shortly after Reuters published the report, Axios released its own report citing a US official who said the issue of troops came up during the meeting in Riyadh and that Sharaa was highly likely to agree to the Saudi request. MbS played a major role in normalizing Sharaa as Syria’s leader, including by arranging the first meeting between Sharaa and President Trump.Both reports said that US officials were concerned that introducing Syrian troops could inject a religious element since many Sunni Islamists, including foreign jihadists, make up the ranks of the new Syrian military following the regime change that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, while Ansar Allah is a Zaydi Shia movement. The Axios report cited another source who said that 10,000 to 20,000 fighters could be sent to fight in Yemen and that one unit under consideration includes thousands of foreign jihadists who fought under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaeda offshoot that Sharaa led to power in Damascus.Ansar Allah has a history of fighting against al-Qaeda in Yemen, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the US had briefly cooperated with the group against AQAP after it took over the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 by providing intelligence. But in March of 2015, the US backed a Saudi-led coalition against Ansar Allah.US weapons sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE throughout the conflict ended up in the hands of militants linked to AQAP, according to a 2019 report from CNN, and the coalition was known to recruit al-Qaeda fighters in southern Yemen to fight against Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis.

Israeli Forces Block Firefighters After Setting Fires in Southwest Syria -Israeli forces continue to operate in southwestern Syria, with incidents reported in Quneitra, Daraa, and Rif Damasq Governorates. While most of the cross-border incidents involve the Israeli military searching homes and establishing temporary checkpoints in Syrian territory, there are also increasingly destructive incidents to report. Up in Rif Damasq, Israeli troops not only entered a farmhouse near Bait Jinn, but later rigged it with explosives and blew it up. The house was reportedly abandoned, and the IDF did not explain why they felt the need to enter Syria and destroy an abandoned house.Quneitra Governorate has seen considerable damage done to rural areas, with Israeli forces damaging croplands and cutting back forests in northern Quneitra. Over the weekend, Israeli drones had reportedly been deployed to prevent local journalists from covering IDF earth-moving operations in southern Quneitra.Monday saw the destruction in Quneitra scaling up even higher, with IDF troops causing some fires by firing flares into the area near al-Hamadiyah, and then compounding the damage by preventing firefighters and other civil defense workers from reaching the area that was on fire.Israel’s forces are working on what is being called the Sufa 53 project, which will ultimately end in adding parts of southern Quneitra into the occupied Golan Heights claim of Israeli government. The territory grab is controversial, to say the least.Turkey’s Foreign Ministry was quick to issue a statement criticizing the Israel for its activities along the Sufa 53 line, urging the international community to unite to take steps to end Israel’s expansionist policies.Immediately after the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Israel invaded and occupied the UNDOF demilitarized zone between the occupied Golan Heights and the rest of Syria. Israeli officials have vowed to retain the seized territory and concerns are growing that this was only the beginning of a new territory expansion.

Lebanon PM: Extent of War Destruction Beyond State’s Capability To Recover From - -Seven months into the latest Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, the extent of the damage is nothing short of staggering. Israeli officials have been open about using the Gaza model in Lebanon, and about a desire to make certain villages, particularly Shi’ite villages “disappear.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is warning that post war reconstruction, which is on hold at any rate because the war isn’t over, “exceeds the capacities of the Lebanese state and its ability to bear these burdens alone,” seeking more international aid for trying to repair the devastated south.This stood in contrast to last week’s visit by President Aoun and Lebanese Army Commander Haykal to the city of Nabatieh, where they insisted the state’s institutions remained steadfast and committed to the support of the south.  Salam’s stance is likely more realistic, as the scale of damage across southern Lebanon, the economic problems and the heavy damage to southern Lebanon’s agricultural base are war-imposed catastrophes that the relatively small nation is ill-equipped to handle on its own without substantial international aid. That aid need is clear, it’s availability less so. Lebanon struggled to get the necessary aid for reconstruction after Israel’s 2024 invasion, and hadn’t even fully recovered from that when the 2026 invasion began. There have been some efforts to raise funds for them, which haven’t been for naught but fell short of their goals. Likely, with the war still ongoing, nations are still reluctant to commit a donation to repair towns that are still actively being destroyed by the IDF.The extent of the damage of civilian infrastructure is likely a war crime, and indeed just one of many committed during this war. The New Arab described having seeing an internal document of the Lebanese government detailing some 200 pages of potential war crimes committed by Israeli forces during the war.

Smotrich: IDF ‘Thorough Cleansing’ of Lebanon Will Benefit Israel’s North for Decades - In the course of his recent speeches, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has laid out the position calling once again for the outright annexation of much of southern Lebanon, saying that territory losses should serve as a “penalty” for Israel’s enemies for opposing them. In one speech he declared that both Gaza and Lebanon “will be ours.” During that speech, he similarly bragged that the “thorough cleansing” ongoing deep into Lebanese territory would leave the southern Lebanese with “nowhere to return to” and closed with “by the way, the world isn’t stopping us.” Israel’s most recent invasion of southern Lebanon began in early March. Seven months later, the IDF has continued to push deeper and deeper into Lebanon, and is demolishing villages, mostly Shi’ite ones, in the course of those operations.  The mass destruction of towns and villages within Lebanon has included leveling homes, badly damaging surrounding farmland, setting fires, and destroying subterranean tunnels. Smotrich bragged in his comments that Israel’s “cleansing” was thorough both above and below ground.  Smotrich is one of several far-right Israeli figures who has been advocating for annexation of the seized territories, and said he believes Israel ought to “apply permanent sovereignty” over the seized territory within Lebanon. How deep he intends that to go is not directly stated. Lebanese officials are reportedly preparing to propose an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory in stages, though so far Israeli negotiators have opposed any deals which include a concrete commitment to actually withdraw ground troops entirely from Lebanon, and have similarly opposed any ceasefire which would oblige them to stop attacking Lebanese territory.

It Took A Live-Streamed Genocide To Punch Through The Wall Of Western Apathy - Caitlin Johnstone - I never asked to know what a dismembered child looks like. Israel imposed that knowledge upon me. I never wanted to know what it looks like when military explosives blow an infant’s head off. I only know it because Israel forced me to know it. The reason the Gaza holocaust hit westerners so hard is because it punched through the wall of our shitbrained western supremacist narcissism and our vapid mainstream culture and shook us violently awake to something real and terrifying. All of a sudden the idea that our bombs are killing people in the middle east was no longer a vague abstraction sitting in the periphery of our awareness. It was a reality hitting us right in the guts in the middle of the day while we casually scrolled our phones, forcing us to run to the toilet to vomit up our lunch. It made it personal. We were being kicked in the stomach over and over again by the state of Israel with the backing of our own western governments. The abuse of the Palestinians wasn’t something that was happening exclusively to the Palestinians; to a much smaller degree, it was also something that was happening to everyone who witnessed it. Westerners aren’t accustomed to such confrontations. We are accustomed to bustling around in our mind-controlled dystopia with our first world problems and our neuroses and distractions, our attention going into treats and screens and our consumerist preferences and the petty dramas playing out in our respective social circles. Then all of a sudden we find ourselves in the bathroom puking up our sushi because our phone had just shown us the most unimaginably horrific thing we have ever seen. And we were at all times aware that all the nausea and horror and rage and disgust we experienced when witnessing the Gaza holocaust happened because of the real material actions of real material people. The Israelis were deliberately causing as much devastation as possible to advance their longstanding goal of forcibly transferring all Palestinians out of Gaza. Our leaders were deliberately stalling and equivocating from behind their podiums to buy Israel enough time to make Gaza uninhabitable. We all understood that the waking nightmare we were witnessing was not some natural disaster that was passively occurring; it was being actively inflicted by people who were fully aware of what they were doing. That’s the sort of thing that changes you as a person. Changes your whole worldview. Changes your politics. Changes your beliefs. The average westerner needs to do a lot of internal restructuring to truly reckon with the Gaza holocaust and all its implications. That, I think, has been the biggest reason why the genocide of the Palestinians has gotten so much attention and sympathy. It’s because its live-streamed nature caused it to affect us in ways other acts of mass military slaughter usually don’t. Westerners are so propaganda-addled and indoctrinated that we are largely apathetic to what our bombs are doing to human bodies on the other side of the world. It’s only when we are given some skin in the game, as in the Vietnam draft, that we start caring in any politically significant way. Gaza gave us skin in the game in the way it entered into our lives through our electronic devices and showed us things that were so jarring it left a permanent mark upon our lives. Gaza forced us to look, and forced us to see, against all the efforts the propagandists have expended trying to keep us from noticing such things. That’s why this thing isn’t going away. People are only getting angrier and angrier. The empire has spent three years scrambling around unsuccessfully trying to get us to close our eyes again, and it keeps failing and failing and failing.

Russia To Intensify Strikes on Ukraine After Zelensky Vows More Attacks on Russian Oil Refineries - The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday vowed that it would intensify attacks on Ukrainian military sites and related infrastructure after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would double down on its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.  “Following Zelensky’s statement today, the Russian Armed Forces will step up strikes on military and defense industry facilities, as well as related infrastructure,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to TASS. The ministry also said that it launched “massive strikes” on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions that it framed as a response to recent major Ukrainian drone attacks, including operations that disrupted the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum several months ago, and an attack that involved over 1,000 drones during Russia’s parliamentary election last month.  The ministry also accused Ukraine of targeting residential areas in Russia’s Belgorod region overnight, which it said killed and wounded civilians. On Saturday, heavy Russian strikes in Ukraine killed at least six civilians, according to Ukrainian officials, and included strikes on bridges in Kyiv.Zelensky made the comments about the oil refinery attacks in a Reuters interview, where he also claimed that Ukraine had received intelligence that said Russia planned to increase attacks on civilian infrastructure with the goal of forcing Ukrainians to flee Kyiv and other major cities.Ukraine has continued targeting Russia’s oil refineries despite President Trump calling for them to end, though the operations are known to rely on intelligence provided by the US, meaning that if Trump truly wanted them to stop, he would cut intelligence support.

Drone strike sinks ship in NATO waters as Zelenskyy warns of looming massive strike - A commercial ship sank and its crew vanished Tuesday after an apparent coordinated air-and-sea drone attack off NATO member Bulgaria, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia before warning Moscow was preparing a broader "massive strike." A second vessel was also heavily damaged and set ablaze inside Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, with a drone expert warning the dual precision strikes signaled a dangerous escalation and possible "larger invasion posture" by Russia. "They were likely using the Geran-4 aerial drone to take the vessel out or the Maran surface vehicle to take it out," Cameron Chell, founder of drone manufacturer Draganfly, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday of the first strike. "The reason it wasn't just an air vehicle or an air drone that took this ship out was that the Gerans generally come in at a pretty steep angle when they're on final attack," Chell said. "There are not really any precision drones that fly closely above the surface, which is where they would have had to hit in order to create an impact that would sink this ship fast enough," he added. "The nature of this strike suggests there was a combination of an air attack and surface attack," Chell said. The dual attack occurred roughly 70 nautical miles off the eastern Bulgarian coastal town of Byala, according to Reuters, bringing the conflict into the economic zone of a NATO member. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence and security services were working to determine the full circumstances surrounding the attack. "Our intelligence and special services are now working to establish all available information about yet another attack in the Black Sea targeting civilian vessels," he wrote on X. "Our Navy contacted its counterparts in Bulgaria, and it has been established that this was a combined Russian attack using maritime and aerial drones." Chell suggested the attack’s location and hybrid nature could serve Russia by sowing greater uncertainty across the region. "We can see the amount of geopolitical chaos that's involved, and this is exactly the type of thing that would benefit Russia in the region," Chell said. "The hybrid element here is really blurring the lines between traditional military actions," he added, describing the attack as "an expansion of strategy and tactics." "This is indicative of this larger invasion posture that seems to be unfolding for Russia," Chell said. "And a real desire, what appears to be, for Russia to take things up a notch." Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev also confirmed that aerial and maritime drones targeted two commercial vessels in shipping lanes inside Bulgaria’s EEZ, calling the attack a "gross, flagrant violation of international law," according to Reuters. The sunken vessel, identified by British maritime risk group Vanguard as the cargo ship Alfa Watan, suffered catastrophic structural damage before submerging with an undisclosed cargo and an unknown number of crew members aboard. A nearby Bulgarian ferry, the Dioscuria, diverted to the scene after witnessing an explosion and receiving distress signals, Reuters reported. Rescuers found an overturned lifeboat, life rafts and life jackets floating in the debris field. Search-and-rescue operations involving the Bulgarian Navy, Air Force and Border Police remained underway to locate the missing crew and monitor for environmental threats, the outlet said. Chell suggested the apparent coordination between the attacks was particularly significant. "Not only are you using pretty sophisticated equipment, but you're also doing it in a coordinated manner," Chell said. "These two ships were going opposite directions. One was actually just coming, and had left Ukraine the day before," he said. "These things coordinated and were struck relatively at the same time. So another level of coordination has unfolded here," Chell added. The second ship, identified by Vanguard as the general cargo vessel ABLE, caught fire after being struck while carrying grain. A Bulgarian ferry crew evacuated all 18 seafarers aboard — 11 Turkish nationals and seven Indian nationals. Two crew members suffered severe injuries and were airlifted to a medical facility in Varna, while the remaining 16 were transported safely to shore. Radev convened an emergency government session following the strikes. While acknowledging it remained unclear whether the drones originated from Russia or Ukraine, he warned of the widening scope of the war. "Such an attack within the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone is absolutely unacceptable," Radev told reporters."If this war is not ended in time, it will continue to expand its spatial scope and increase the risk of even a global conflict." Chell said striking the two ships inside Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone could also have the effect of disrupting a crucial shipping corridor and creating fear among commercial operators. "It all adds up to a perfect little scenario for the Russians to create chaos there, not just to disrupt the lane of economics for the region and in particular for Ukraine — a lifeline," Chell said. "The Russians are really taking a playbook out of the Iranians who have basically created enough chaos in the Strait of Hormuz where the operators can't take the chance to put their ships through there," he added. The strikes came amid a surge in attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea, including an incident off Romania’s coast Monday in which two people died in a ship fire.

Two People Killed in Moscow Region as Ukraine Fires Nearly 900 Drones at Russia - At least two people were killed in Russia’s Moscow region on Tuesday as Ukrainian forces launched one of their biggest drone attacks on Russia of the year. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces intercepted 868 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions. “Last night, drones were shot down over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Tula and Moscow regions, as well as Crimea and the Sea of Azov,” the Russian news agency TASS reported.Andrey Vorobyov, governor of Russia’s Moscow Oblast, the region that surrounds the capital city, wrote on Telegram that 165 drones were shot down over 16 municipalities in the region. He said that two people were killed — a 71-year-old man and a 20-year-old man — and nine were injured.“Forty-seven private homes were damaged in seven municipalities: Volokolamsk, Stupino, Dmitrov, Naro-Fominsk, Serpukhov, Domodedovo, and Istra,” Vorobyov wrote.An oil storage tank was also reportedly hit in the Moscow region as Ukraine has continued attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, operations that are supported by US intelligence despite President Trump’s calls for an end to such attacks.Ukraine’s ramped-up drone attacks inside Russia have resulted in an escalation of Russian strikes on Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he was preparing for a massive Russian attack and called for more military aid from the US and Europe.“We’ve got updated intel on Russia’s preparations for a massive strike. I ask you, please, to take care of yourselves and respond to missile threat alerts,” Zelensky wrote on X.“Ukrainian services and our Air Force are ready to respond – as much as our defenses allow. And a lot depends on our partners – every country in the world that has the defensive capabilities we need and can provide them to us. It’s very important that there be the political will to do this – particularly in the United States and in Europe,” he added.

Russia's Crown Jewel Refinery Ablaze After Drone Strike, Data Center Also Hit In War First - Ukrainian drones have hit a major Russian industrial hub and oil refinery which lies very far away from the front lines of fighting, in Western Siberia, north of the Kazakh border.  The Omsk Oil refinery and industrial complex is located well over 1500 miles from the Ukrainian border. Regional Governor Vitaly Khotsenko announced Telegram that several drones were shot down by air defenses, but that one made it through to impact.Ukraine's General Staff was quick to own up to the Thursday attack, stating, "The destruction of such facilities is the exercise by Ukraine of its inalienable right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and is aimed at reducing the military-economic potential of the Russian Federation."While the extent of potential damage to the refinery itself remains unknown, images from local residents showed explosions and fire in the area near the oil refinery.Emergency crews are active at the scene of the facility, Russia's largest, which is owned by Gazprom Neft   Multiple channels report a sustained Ukrainian long-range drone attack on Russia’s largest oil refinery in Omsk, with 15 or more explosions so far. The governor confirms an ongoing drone attack in the region. Gazprom Neft’s refinery can process about 22 million tonnes annually, roughly 440,000 barrels per day, or about 1/15th of Russia’s total refining capacity. #OSINT #Russia— OSINT Intuit™ (@UKikaski) October 8, 2026  The same remote refinery was forced to halt operations when it came under a similar long-range drone attack previously in July. Bloomberg provides some additional details:

• In a separate statement, Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point said Ukraine’s forces attacked Russia’s largest oil refinery, over 2,500 km from the border, with upgraded FP-1 drones, confirming a hit
• Omsk refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft, processed ~22m tons of crude (~440k b/d) in 2024, producing 5m tons of gasoline and 8m tons of diesel.

Some regional reports have said that motorists in the same city have been forming long queues at gas stations, amid what has already been a situation of national fuel shortages. Ukraine reportedly struck Russia’s Omsk oil refinery, located beyond the Ural Mountains, more than 3,000 km from the Ukrainian border. It is Russia’s largest oil refinery. https://t.co/cY6xGxqSHY  Also, in the overnight hours there's been another reported first of the war: Russian tech giant Yandex has reported its data center in the town of Sasovo, in Ryazan region, was attacked and caught fire."The attack marks the first confirmed strike against Russian data infrastructure since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, weeks after Moscow launched attacks against Ukrainian data centers," The Moscow Times underscores. Russia has itself long been going after data centers in Ukraine, however. The Kremlin has argued that these data centers support Ukrainian military operations, with the same accusations now being hurled the other way as well.