oil prices recover on hurricane impacts after hitting December 2021 low

US oil prices finished higher for the first time in five weeks on the disruption to production from a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico...after falling 8.0% to a fourteen month low of $67.67 a barrel last week on demand concerns following weak economic data from the US and China, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for October delivery edged up in global markets on Monday, on concerns that a hurricane forecast to hit Louisiana during the week could disrupt production and refining along the U.S. Gulf Coast, then retraced some of its Friday losses after opening higher and holding above the $68 level in New York, supported by a force majeure in Libya, as their production remained shut in by a political standoff over the central bank and oil revenue, and settled $1.04 higher at $68.71 a barrel as traders tracked Tropical Storm Francine and its potential to strengthen into a hurricane that could significantly disrupt energy operations in the Gulf later in the week…but oil prices fell to their lowest since December 2021 on global markets early Tuesday, on concerns over a slippage in demand from China and overproduction by the OPEC+ group of oil producers, then fell 4.5% in morning trading in the US, as hedge funds and money managers continued to sour on crude oil, and settled down $2.96, or 4.3%, to near a three-year low of $65.75 a barrel after OPEC+ revised down its demand forecast for this year and for 2025, offsetting supply concerns​ arising from Tropical Storm Francine…oil prices partially recovered in Asian trading Wednesday, on concern that oil production would be interrupted due to severe weather in the US, but erased​ those gains in early New York trading and sold off to a low of $65.63 after the EIA reported inventory builds across the board, but resumed its recovery to settle $1.56 higher at $67.31 a barrel, driven by fears of lengthy production shutdowns in the U.S. offshore oil patch as Hurricane Francine barreled through on the way to landfall in Louisiana…oil prices rallied higher on Thursday, as the extent of the hurricane’s impact on energy production began to emerge, with higher estimates of lost output from the more than 171 offshore platforms that were evacuated due to the storm, and settled $1.66, or 2.5% higher at $68.97 per barrel as over 730,000 barrels per day, or nearly 42%, of Gulf of Mexico oil output was shut-in after Hurricane Francine tore through offshore oil-producing areas before being downgraded to a tropical storm…oil prices rose nearly 3% on global markets early Friday, as producers assessed the damage to output in the Gulf after Francine tore through offshore oil-producing areas in the US, but gave up those gains in New York trading to settled 32 cents lower at $68.65 a barrel as U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude production resumed following Hurricane Francine ,and data showed a big rise in the U.S. rig count, but still finished 1.5% higher for the week on the disruptions to crude output in the Gulf of Mexico…

meanwhile, natural gas prices rose for the fourth time in six weeks, following a long price slide through June & July, on another smaller than expected inventory increase, as hurricane impacts seen as bullish ​barely outweighed those seen as bearish….after rising 7.0% to an an eight week high of $2.275 per mmBTU last week on an unprecedentedly small storage injection for this time of year, the price of the contract for natural gas for October delivery opened 5 cents lower on Monday and moved decidedly lower on hurricane-related demand destruction concerns, as Tropical Storm Francine took shape in the Gulf of Mexico, and settled 10.5 cents lower at $2.170 per mmBTU on expectations that the hurricane forecast to hit Louisiana would cut demand by curtailing gas flows to LNG export plants and ​by causing homes and businesses to lose power….the October natural gas contract price opened 7 cents higher on Tuesday, but then pulled back, as traders weighed low cooling demand against reduced gas production ahead of Tropical Storm Francine, and settled 6.2 cents higher at $2.232 per mmBTU, as natural gas producers cut ​their output ahead of the storm….natural gas prices opened 4 cents higher on Wednesday, as traders continued to weigh hurricane related production cuts against seasonal cooling demand, and settled 3.8 cents higher at $2.270 per mmBTU, as producers had cut output ahead of Hurricane Francine, even as demand was also expected to drop due to power outages and reduced flows to LNG export plants…natural gas prices slipped​ ​a​fter opening on Thursday, but recovered to the opening level ahead of the weekly storage publication, then surged higher as a bullish report hit the wire, and settled with a gain of 8.7 cents at $2.357 per mmBTU on a smaller-than-expected storage build, while traders assessed the impact on supply after producers cut output due to Hurricane Francine…natural gas prices opened higher on Friday, but turned lower in afternoon trading, as price support from Thursday’s bullish storage print and former Hurricane Francine was exhausted, and settled down 5.2 cents at $2.305 per mmBTU, as traders took profits after prices rose to a two-month high early, supported by higher demand forecasts and a recent drop in output due to Hurricane Francine, but still finished 1.3% higher for the week…

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending September 6th indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 40 billion cubic feet to 3,387 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 198 billion cubic feet, or 6.2% above the 3,189 billion cubic feet that were in storage on September 6th of last year, and 296 billion cubic feet, or 9.8% more than the five-year average of 3,091 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 6th of September over the most recent five years…the 40 billion cubic foot injection into US natural gas working storage for the cited week was below the 48 billion cubic foot addition to storage that analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, and also less than the 50 billion cubic feet that were added to natural gas storage during the corresponding last in September of 2023, and far less the average 67 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage that had been typical for the same late summer week over the past 5 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 September 6th indicated that due to a big increase in our oil imports and a decrease in our oil exports, we had surplus oil to add to our stored commercial crude supplies for the 2nd time in eleven weeks, and for the 17th time in the past 39 weeks, despite an increase in demand for oil that the EIA could not account for...Our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 1,075,000 barrels per day to 6,867,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 768,000 barrels per day over the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by 451,000 barrels per day to 3,305,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to a net import average of 3,562,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending September 6th, 1,526,000 more barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week. At the same time, transfers to our oil supply from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils averaged 522,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was unchanged at 13,300,000 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 17,384,000 barrels per day during the September 6th reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 16,759,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending September 6th, an average of 141,000 fewer 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 net average of 159,000 barrels of oil per day were being added to 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 net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending September 6th averaged a rounded 467,000 barrels per day more than what was added to storage plus our oil refineries reported they used during the week. To account for that difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [ –467,000 ] 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 an error or omission of that magnitude in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed… Moreover, since 319,000 barrels per day of oil supplies could not be accounted for in the prior week’s EIA data, that means there was a 786,000 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 off by that much, making the week over week changes we have just cited nonsense….However, since most oil traders react to these weekly EIA reports as if they were accurate, 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” demand, see this EIA explainer….there is also an aging twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had hoped to do about it)

This week’s net average 159,000 barrel per day increase in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 119,000 barrels per day were being added to our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while an average of 40,000 barrels per day were being added to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the fortieth SPR increase in the past forty-seven weeks, following nearly continuous SPR withdrawals over the prior 39 months… Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicate that the 4 week average of our oil imports rose to 6,468,000 barrels per day last week, which was still 7.3% less than the 6,976,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year. This week’s crude oil production was reported to be unchanged at 13,300,000 barrels per day because the EIA’s rounded estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was unchanged at 12,900,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 46,000 barrels per day lower at 354,000 barrels per day, but still added the same 400,000 barrels per day to the EIA’s rounded national total as it did every week this year….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 1.5% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also 37.1% 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 92.8% of their capacity while processing those 16,759,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending September 6th, down from from their 93.3% utilization rate of a week earlier, but not an unusual decrease following Labor Day… the 16,759,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined this week were 0.2% less than the 16,800,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during week ending September 8th of 2023, and 4.2% less than the 17,495,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending September 6th, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at a prepandemic normal 95.1% for September…

With the decrease in the amount of oil being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was also lower, decreasing by 371,000 barrels per day to a twenty-three week low of 9,377,000 barrels per day during the week ending September 6th, after our refineries’ gasoline output had increased by 136,000 barrels per day during the prior week.. This week’s gasoline production was 1.8% more than the 9,212,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over week ending September 8th of last year, but was 9.5% less than the gasoline production of 10,360,000 barrels per day during the prepandemic week ending September 6th, 2019….on the other hand, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) increased by 40,000 barrels per day to 5,209,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had increased by 167,000 barrels per day during the prior week. After twenty production increases in the past twenty-eight weeks, our distillates output was 4.0% more than the 5,011,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending September 8th of 2023, while 2.5% less than the 5,341,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending September 6th, 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 12th time in thirty-two weeks, increasing by 2,310,000 barrels to 221,552,000 barrels during the week ending September 6th, after our gasoline inventories had increased by 848,000 barrels during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies rose by more this week because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users fell by 460,000 barrels per day to 8,478,000 barrels per day, while our imports of gasoline fell by 12,000 barrels per day to 643,000 barrels per day, and our exports of gasoline rose by 71,000 barrels per day to 936,000 barrels per day.…Even after twenty gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past thirty-two weeks, our gasoline supplies were still 0.6% above last September 8th's gasoline inventories of 220,307,000 barrels, but were also still about 1% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…

With this week’s increase in our distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels rose for the 15th time in thirty-four weeks, increasing by 2,308,000 barrels to 125,023,000 barrels over the week ending September 6th, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 371,000 barrels during the prior week. Our distillates supplies rose this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, fell by 439,000 barrels per day to 3,558,000 barrels per day, and even though our exports of distillates rose by 116,000 barrels per day to 1,523,000 barrels per day while our imports of distillates rose by 19,000 barrels per day to 201,000 barrels per day ...Even after 19 inventory withdrawals over the past 34 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 2.0% above the 122,533,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on September 8th of 2023, but they are still about 8% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…

Finally, after the jump in our oil imports and the decrease in our exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage rose for the 10th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 24th time in the past year, increasing by 833,000 barrels over the week, from 418,310,000 barrels on August 30th to 419,143,000 barrels on September 6th, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 6,873,000 barrels to a 52 week low over the prior week… With this week’s increase, our commercial crude oil inventories rose to about 4% below the most recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, while they were still about 26% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the first week of September over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the big 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 higher exports relating to the onset of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze offs, our commercial crude supplies as of this September 6th were 0.3% less than the 420,592,000 barrels of oil left in commercial storage on September 8th of 2023, but 2.4% less than the 429,633,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on September 2nd of 2022, but 0.4% more than the 417,445,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on September 8th of 2021…

This Week’s Rig Count

In lieu of a detailed report on the rig count, we are again just including a screenshot of the rig count summary from Baker Hughes…in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of September 13th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (September 6th) and this week’s (September 13th) count, the third column shows last Friday’s September 6th active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Friday and the number running on the Friday before the same weekend 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 the 15th of September, 2023…

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Ohio Utica 2Q24 Production – Oil Up 23%, Gas Down 4% vs Year Ago -Marcellus Drilling News - The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the second quarter of 2024 yesterday. The story the numbers tell continues to be about Utica oil, which continues to rise each quarter. Ohio’s total oil production during 2Q24 was 8.01 million barrels, up 23% from 2Q23’s 6.5 million barrels and up 11% from 1Q24’s 7.2 million barrels. The story of oil in the Buckeye State can’t be told apart from Encino Energy (EAP), which produced nearly half of all the state’s oil during 2Q24. As for natural gas production, it’s no surprise it went down slightly in 2Q24, given the current low price for gas. The state produced 526.6 Bcf in 2Q24, down 3.7% from 2Q23’s 547.0 Bcf, and down 1.4% from this year’s first quarter number of 534.0 Bcf. MDN pulled the numbers from the ODNR quarterly report and produced top 25 lists for both gas and oil wells. ANTERO RESOURCES | ASCENT RESOURCES | CNX RESOURCES | DIVERSIFIED ENERGY | ENCINO ENERGY | EOG RESOURCES | EQT CORP |EQUINOR/STATOIL | GEOPETRO | GULFPORT ENERGY | HILCORP ENERGY | INDUSTRYWIDE ISSUES | INR/INFINITY NATURAL RESOURCES | PIN OAK ENERGY PARTNERS | RESEARCH | SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY

Marketed: Stone Hill Exploration and Production Four Well Package in Ohio - Hart Energy - Stone Hill Exploration has retained EnergyNet for the sale of a four well package including two proved developed producing wells in Harrison County, Ohio. The Lot # 119264 package includes a six-month average free cash flow of $59,652 per month. Opportunity highlights:

• Non-Operated WI in two PDP Utica/Point Pleasant Wells
• Two Additional PUD Utica/Point Pleasant Locations
• Six-month Average Free Cash Flow: $59,652/Month
• Six-month Average 8/8ths Production: 783 bbl/d of oil and 18,529 Mcf/d
• Six-month Average Net Production: 40 bbl/d of oil and 957 Mcf/d
• Operator: Ascent Resources Utica LLC
• 86.36 Net HBP Leasehold Acres

Bids are due Sept. 12 at 4:00 p.m. CDT. For complete due diligence, please visit energynet.com or email Zachary Muroff, managing director, atZachary.Muroff@energynet.com.

'The Danger Beneath Us': Natural gas accidents happen because of lack of safety regulations, experts say - WFMJ.com -- Natural gas accidents happen more often than you think. Experts we sought out including the NTSB, say the lack of state and federal safety regulations is to blame. Could it happen again? What needs to change to stop "The Danger Beneath Us." It was a beautiful, calm Tuesday afternoon following the long Memorial Day weekend when calls began pouring into the Mahoning County 911 Center. An explosion shattered that calm at 2:44 p.m. on May 28, right in the heart of downtown Youngstown."Any cars available for traffic? We had a gas explosion at 47 Central Square, 47 Central Square, uh, they believe that there may be people inside," the 911 dispatcher stated."All companies, all fire departments, and ladders respond to 47 Central Square for a gas explosion; multiple victims. EMT is en route," the dispatcher added."They may have someone trapped underwater, but they can’t get into the water because of the electric service. This has been an hour... we’re going on an hour and 20 minutes now, waiting for Ohio Edison to respond and turn off this electricity to this building where there’s been an explosion — there’s part of the building missing," the operator said.The 911 pleaded, "This is a critical incident, and we need someone to respond — yesterday." The natural gas explosion shook downtown Youngstown. One man died, nine people were injured and nearly 200 people living in and around the Realty Building were displaced.While the cause behind this explosion remains under investigation, we know that the city of Youngstown contracted with local construction company GreenHeart to prepare for a city road project. During the time of the explosion, a project was underway to remove and relocate utility lines under the sidewalk in the Realty basement area.The blast happened around 2:44 p.m., and early findings revealed that four workers hired by GreenHeart cut into a pressurized natural gas line with a reciprocating saw, according to the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.After the deadly blast, a worker told investigators the crew was under the impression the gas was "dead," at least that's what they were told.If enough natural gas builds up in a confined space, a single spark can cause an explosion.Minutes after cutting into that line, the explosion occurred. The impact is still being felt months later.What happened in Youngstown raises questions about how this could happen and why Youngstown is not alone."There’s a long history of natural gas explosions within residential buildings, as well as in commercial," Richard Kuprewicz, a pipeline regulatory advisor and investigation expert for Accufacts Inc., said."I’ve seen city blocks disappear," Kuprewicz added, "I’m not here to scare anybody. Natural gas in the right or wrong environment can be quite dangerous if not respected and if you don’t respect it, and it gets confined, some very bad things can happen." (list of similar accidents)

Will 'Clipper Crude' be coming? - During Tuesday’s school board meeting, Columbiana schools Superintendent Don Mook got the go-ahead to allow Hilcorp Energy to perform seismic surveys on several tracts of school property to see if there is any oil. If district land contains oil — or valuable minerals from shale — then it would be a financial benefit. The Houston-based company is one of the largest privately-owned oil producers in the United States, operating throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming, according to its website. Hilcorp first entered Ohio and Pennsylvania in 2012, focusing on the Utica Shale and touting having topped $440,000 in community-giving since 2020.The company currently has 165-plus production wells across Ohio and Pennsylvanice. It has provided more than $200,000 in college scholarships to Ohio and Pennsylvania high school seniors since 2013.Board members Angie Jeffries, Anthony Roncone and Kelly Williamson gave Mook their verbal blessing to proceed with the seismic survey on lands not occupied by district buildings or track.Members Scott Caron and Michael Clark were absent from the meeting.Seismic surveys reflect sound waves to produce a CAT scan of sorts of the Earth’s subsurface. The surveys are used to locate ground water, potential locations for landfills, or even how an area will soak during an earthquake, according to the Utah Geological Survey.But they are primarily used for oil and exploration –generating images through recording and analysis of the sound wave instead of the procedure used by early “wildcatters,” who found oil by drilling into exposed rocks.The seismic technology can find the less obvious oil and gas traps.According to the website, geology.com the Utica Shale is currently receiving a lot of attention because it is yielding large amounts of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil to wells drilled in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.“The United States Geological Survey’s mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable unconventional resources indicate that the Utica Shale contains about 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, about 940 million barrels of oil, and 208 million barrels of natural gas liquids,” the site explained.

Utica Shale Academy Transforms Community Through Education | Marcellus Drilling News - The Utica Shale Academy (USA), located in Salineville (Columbiana County), OH, is already a decade old. Where does the time go?! The USA, through an innovative high school curriculum, serves as a leading educational institution for all students who seek to explore, develop, and enhance career opportunities and further advance their education. The curriculum trains kids and adults in the skills needed to get jobs in the shale industry. Several weeks ago, USA staffers, state and local officials, and community members held a luncheon and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the USA's Connecting Communities Through Workforce Training Project. USA was heralded as a "transformative beacon for the community and education of youth and adults."

Tuscarawas County fire officials: Gas leak contained after several building evacuated for safety concerns — A Tuscarawas County gas leak that caused several buildings to be evacuated has been contained, Dennison fire officials say. According a post to the Dennison Fire Department's Facebook page, the leak was caused when a gas line was cut through on Tuesday morning. After the leak was noticed, several downtown businesses as well as both Claymont Intermediate and Immaculate Conception schools were evacuated while the leak was contained and stopped.The evacuation order was lifted at 2:15 p.m. after being in place for several hours.Fire officials have given the all clear for regular activities to resume "unless you have been contacted by the fire department or gas company." The posts can be seen here.

14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 2 – 8 | Marcellus Drilling News - For the week of Sept. 2 - 8, 14 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica, less than half the previous week’s 32. The Keystone State (PA) had 13 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Seneca Resources, with six permits issued in Tioga County. Range Resources was #2 with four permits for Lycoming County. Chesapeake Energy had two permits in Bradford County, and Inflection Energy had a single new permit in Lycoming County. BRADFORD COUNTY | CHESAPEAKE ENERGY | INFLECTION ENERGY | LYCOMING COUNTY | MARSHALL COUNTY | RANGE RESOURCES CORP | SENECA RESOURCES | SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY | TIOGA COUNTY (PA)

CEO: Coterra Drops Last Marcellus Rig, May Halt Completions - Coterra Energy released its last Marcellus Shale rig and may halt well completions as the multi-basin operator shifts capital into liquids-rich areas. “As we sit here today, we have no rigs running in the Marcellus,” Coterra CEO Tom Jorden said during the Barclays 38th Annual CEO Energy-Power Conference this month. “We've released our last rig in the Marcellus, where we still have a frac crew working.” When that frac crew finishes, Coterra “may go to no completions.”Coterra has the “luxury,” Jorden called it, of being able to pivot capital into oily and liquids-rich areas, like the Permian and the Anadarko basins.But halting drilling activity in the Marcellus comes as low prices take a toll on gassy E&Ps, including Coterra, which merged Cimarex Energy’s portfolio with Cabot Oil & Gas’ legacy position in Appalachia. Cabot Oil & Gas was a fast-follower in developing the horizontal Marcellus play behind pioneering Appalachia gas producer Range Resources. Range is credited for discovering the Marcellus play in 2007.Coterra held approximately 186,000 net acres in the Marcellus dry gas window at year-end 2023, mostly within Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, according to regulatory filings. (map) The Marcellus remains a large part of Coterra’s portfolio, accounting for nearly 53%, or 352,400 boe/d, of total companywide production (669,200 boe/d) during the second quarter.Coterra isn’t alone in shifting capital out of the gassy Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Several Appalachia producers—Range, EQT Corp., Chesapeake Energy,CNX Resources, Gulfport Energy and others—have pulled back on drilling activity during a prolonged period of weak natural gas prices.Shutting in production is an appropriate response by operators, Jorden said; Coterra currently has “a little under 300 MMcf/d shut in” as the company waits for gas prices to improve.The company is continuing to complete and turn certain wells to sales but may choose to delay TILs in the future, he said.“Turning TILs on and putting capital back are two different things,” Jorden said.

Trend Accelerates: Pennsylvania Loses 2 More Rigs to West Virginia - Marcellus Drilling News -A very big story is unfolding in the Marcellus/Utica, and nobody else is talking about it. There is a major reshuffling of rigs in the M-U, with Pennsylvania losing active rigs and West Virginia picking them up. Two weeks ago, PA dropped from 21 to 18 active rigs, the lowest count it has had in 2 1/2 years (see Pennsylvania Dropped 3 Rigs Last Week, Lowest Count in 2.5 Years). WV picked up one of those rigs, moving from five to six active rigs. Last week, the trend accelerated.

Marketed: Wellbore Capital 10 Well Package Marcellus Opportunity -- Wellbore Capital LLC has retained EnergyNet for the sale of a Marcellus Shale opportunity, 10 well package in Marion and Wetzel counties, West Virginia. The lot# 104938 package includes a net production of 180 MMcf/d. Opportunity Highlights:

• Overriding Royalty Interest in 10 Wells
  • Avg. ORRI ~ 2.23%
• Six-Month Average (December 2023 - May 2024)
  • Gross Production: 7,999 MMcf/d
  • Net Production: 180 MMcf/d
• Seven-Month Average Net Income: $12,518/Month
• Operator: EQT Production Company
• Avg. ORRI ~2.00% in approximately 8,728.00 gross acres

Bids are due Sept. 17 at 4:00 p.m. CDT. For complete due diligence, please visit energynet.com or email Cody Felton, managing director, atCody.Felton@energynet.com.

US weekly LNG exports down to 23 shipments - US liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants shipped 23 cargoes during the week ending September 11. Pipeline deliveries to the LNG terminals increased compared to the prior week, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Environmental Groups, Louisiana Fishermen Challenge CP2 LNG Approval in Federal Appeals Court - Opponents of U.S. LNG export projects are testing their winning streak in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, this time with a challenge of Venture Global LNG Inc.’s CP2 project. A coalition of local southwestern Louisiana fisherman and landowners, as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council, asked the court to review FERC’s approval of the 20 million metric tons/year (mmty) terminal in Cameron Parish, LA. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a positive order for the facility in June after a more than 10-month wait. Lawyers with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which are representing the groups, said FERC’s analysis was insufficient, especially in assessing how CP2 LNG would impact environmental justice (EJ) communities around the facility.

Federal Court’s LNG Decisions Hinder U.S. Natural Gas Infrastructure, Former FERC Chair Says --- Mounting pressure on FERC to change the way it reviews natural gas projects is making energy investors more nervous and is risking a disruption of the U.S. energy infrastructure buildout, according to former Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee. Decisions made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have increasingly come under scrutiny by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC) Circuit. The court has particularly taken aim at FERC’s process for reviewing LNG terminals, remanding and vacating approval for three projects to date this year. Chatterjee called this summer’s decisions “consequential” for the “country's most significant energy regulator,” potentially threatening its ability to remain a bipartisan force of balance for the U.S. energy market.

Glenfarne: Latest Customer Means Texas LNG is Ready for FID -- Glenfarne Energy Transition announced Sept. 11 that an unnamed customer has provided the financial support needed for a final investment decision (FID) to be made on the company's Texas LNG project.Texas LNG is a proposed LNG liquefication and export facility with 4 MMton/year of LNG capacity to be built in the South Texas Port of Brownsville. In July, the company announced it had secured non-binding contracts for half of the plant’s capacity.On Sept. 11, the company announced in a press release it had reached another preliminary heads of agreement with an unspecified customer Glenfarne described as a “highly experienced, investment-grade, global LNG player.” Glenfarne, an international company based in Houston and New York, has identified EQT and the Gunvor Group as part of the Texas LNG customer base. All agreements are non-binding. “We are grateful that our customers have chosen Texas LNG, designed to be the lowest emitting LNG facility in the United States, to make a significant investment in the global energy transition,” said Brendan Duval, CEO and founder of Glenfarne Energy Transition, in a press release.Construction on the plant is scheduled to begin this year, though the project is one of two LNG sites that had permits pulled after a court ruling in August.The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated permits from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commissionfor Texas LNG and NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG, saying the FERC needed to reconsider the projects’ effect on global warming.After the ruling, a Glenfarne spokesman said the company had confidence the FERC would address the matter with the court.Texas LNG has not been affected by the Department of Energy’s “pause” on new LNG permits for trade with non-free trade agreement countries. The company obtained the permit before the pause went into effect.

Strengthening Tropical Storm Headed for Texas, Louisiana Export Terminals – LNG Recap -- Tropical Storm Francine formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to become a hurricane before reaching the Louisiana and upper Texas coastlines on Wednesday. Feed gas flows to U.S. LNG export facilities. The storm’s tentative path puts it on course to potentially impact a number of existing LNG facilities in Louisiana, including the Calcasieu Pass, Cameron and Sabine Pass terminals, as well as the Freeport plant in Texas. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said hurricane conditions are possible in the region by Wednesday afternoon. NHC issued a hurricane watch Monday for parts of the Louisiana coast, specifically from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle. NHC warned that the storm could bring high winds, heavy rainfall, flooding and storm surge.

LNG Plants, Offshore Natural Gas Producers Brace for Francine as Storm Intensifies --Tropical Storm Francine shifted eastward Tuesday, sparing the coastal corridor on the Louisiana and Texas borders where LNG export facilities are concentrated from a direct hit, but the strengthening system was impacting vessel traffic and offshore oil and gas production. NGI's LNG Export Flow Tracker. Major ports along the Gulf Coast were closed Tuesday, as leading producers evacuated nonessential personnel and shut-in production at deepwater platforms. The storm was initially forecast to hit Louisiana and the upper Texas coast before shifting, which would have threatened more liquefied natural gas output, but some plants were still making preparations on Tuesday. Louisiana is now expected to take the brunt of the storm, which is forecast to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday near Vermillion Bay, about 160 miles west of New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) had a hurricane warning in effect on Tuesday that stretched from Sabine Pass, on the Texas-Louisiana border, to Grand Isle in Louisiana.

Tropical Storm Francine May Hit Louisiana Energy Complex As Category 2 Hurricane -The National Hurricane Center expects Tropical Storm Francine to strengthen overnight into Tuesday. The storm could intensify into a Category 2 hurricane and make landfall on Wednesday evening in Central Louisiana. Bloomberg data shows that dozens of offshore oil platforms and inland refineries are in the storm's cone of uncertainty ahead of landfall. Earlier, several oil/gas companies pulled workers from offshore platforms.Here's more from Bloomberg: Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Plc are among the companies taking measures such as evacuating workers from vulnerable installations, suspending drilling activities, and shutting in some wells. The storm's forecast path intersects with fields that account for roughly 125,000 barrels of crude and 300 million cubic feet of natural gas on a daily basis, according to Bloomberg calculations of government data. On its expected track, Francine may rake nine major platforms, including Enchilada, Cerveza, Perdido and Hoover.Enki Research, which tracks tropical activity and forecasts disasters, wrote on X that storm impacts on the oil/gas complex across Louisiana will be "short term." On current forecast #Francine should only cause transient disruption to#oilandgas production in the Gulf and refineries; ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery is in the swath but if nothing breaks that shouldn't (and the forecast is right!) should be short term impact as well ...pic.twitter.com/x9p1N3DGf6WTI futures stopped a multi-session slide on Monday, finding a floor around the $68/bbl handle on potential storm impacts. Chevron announced that non-essential employees and contractors have been pulled from four platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico ahead of a tropical storm expected to hit the region in just a few days. Bloomberg said Chevron workers from the Anchor, Big Foot, Jack/St. Malo, and Tahiti installations have been evacuated, noting that production in the Gulf so far remains 'normal'. The National Hurricane Center said the tropical system will be named Tropical Storm Francine once it begins to organize. It's expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday before landfall along the northwestern US Gulf Coast on Wednesday.

US natgas prices fall 5% as hurricane threatens LNG and power demand (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 5% on Monday on expectations a hurricane forecast to hit Louisiana later this week could cut demand by curtailing gas flows to Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and causing homes and businesses to lose power. Oil and gas producers have started evacuating staff and curbing drilling along the Gulf Coast to prepare for Tropical Storm Francine as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center projected Francine will strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday before hitting the Louisiana coast on Wednesday. Louisiana is home to three of the nation's seven big LNG export plants. Because over 75% of U.S. gas production comes from big inland shale basins like Appalachia in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio and the Permian in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, analysts said hurricanes were more likely to reduce gas prices by cutting demand through power outages and knocking LNG export plants out of service. That is different from 20 years ago when 20% of the nation's gas came from the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico. Back then, Gulf Coast hurricanes usually caused gas prices to spike higher, but now that offshore region produces only about 2% of the country's gas. Front-month gas futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 10.5 cents, or 4.6%, to settle at $2.170 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Friday, the contract closed at its highest level since July 12 for a second day in a row. The price drop came despite a forecast for more demand next week than previously expected and higher LNG feedgas so far this month. Also weighing on gas prices for much of this year has been the tremendous oversupply of gas left in storage after a mild winter. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states slid to an average of 102.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in September, down from 103.2 bcfd in August. Meteorologists forecast weather across the U.S. would remain mostly near normal through Sept. 12 before turning warmer than usual from Sept. 13-24. Energy traders, however, noted that warm weather in mid-September would only average around 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23.9 degrees Celsius), compared with a daily average of 79 F in mid-August. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise from 100.7 bcfd this week to 101.2 bcfd next week. The forecast for next week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Friday.

US natgas prices climb 3% as producers cut output ahead of Storm Francine (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 3% on Tuesday as oil and gas producers cut output ahead of a hurricane expected to hit Louisiana on Wednesday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center projected Tropical Storm Francine will strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday before hitting the Louisiana coast on Wednesday. Louisiana is home to three of the nation's seven big operating LNG export plants. Front-month gas futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 6.2 cents, or 2.9%, to settle at $2.232 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Prices rose even though Francine is expected to cut demand by curtailing gas flows to Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and cause homes and businesses to lose power. In the spot market, pipeline constraints caused next-day gas prices at the Waha hub in the Permian Shale in West Texas to fall to an all-time low and average in negative territory for a record 34th time this year. Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. It happened 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020 and once in 2023. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states has slid to an average of 102.2 billion cubic feet per day so far in September, down from 103.2 bcfd in August. On a daily basis, output was on track to drop by 2.9 bcfd to a preliminary 16-week low of 99.9 bcfd on Tuesday. Analysts said some of that output declined probably because some energy firms shut production ahead of Francine. They also noted, however, that preliminary data is often revised later in the day. Meteorologists forecast weather across the U.S. would remain mostly near normal through Sept. 12 before turning warmer than usual from Sept. 13-25. Analysts however noted that warmer-than-normal weather in mid-September would still be pretty mild, keeping demand for heating and cooling low. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise from 99.4 bcfd this week to 100.4 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Monday. Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants have risen to an average of 13.3 bcfd so far in September, from 12.9 bcfd in August. That compares with a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023. On a daily basis, total LNG feedgas was on track to decline to a one-week low of 12.4 bcfd on Tuesday after the amount of gas flowing to the 2.0-bcfd Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana fell from 2.2 bcfd on Monday to 1.3 bcfd on Tuesday, LSEG data showed. The NHC forecast Francine would hit the Louisiana coast near Cameron as a hurricane on Wednesday. LNG plants pull in more gas than they can turn into LNG because they use some of that gas to fuel equipment.

US natgas prices climb 2% as producers cut output for Hurricane Francine (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% on Wednesday as oil and gas producers continued to cut output before Hurricane Francine slams into the Louisiana coast later in the day. Front-month gas futures (NGc1) for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 3.8 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $2.270 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Prices rose even though Francine was expected to cut gas demand by curtailing flows to Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and by causing homes and businesses to lose power. Louisiana is home to three of the nation’s seven big operating LNG export plants. In the spot market, pipeline constraints caused next-day gas prices at the Waha hub in the Permian Shale in West Texas to fall to an all-time low and average in negative territory for a record 35th time this year. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states slid to an average of 102.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in September, down from 103.2 bcfd in August. On a daily basis, output was on track to drop by 2.7 bcfd over the past two days to a preliminary three-month week low of 100.0 bcfd on Wednesday as energy firms shut some Gulf Coast production ahead of Francine. Meteorologists forecast weather across the U.S. would remain mostly warmer than normal through Sept. 26. Analysts noted that warm weather in mid-September still feels pretty mild and should not result in much gas demand for heating or cooling. Looking ahead, Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s 0.8-bcfd Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland will likely be shut for about three weeks of routine annual maintenance around Sept. 20, according to the plant’s history and notices to customers.

US natgas rises nearly 5% on smaller-than-expected storage build (Reuters) -U.S. natural gas futures rose nearly 5% on Thursday on a smaller-than-expected storage build last week, while traders assessed the impact on supply after oil and gas producers cut output due to Hurricane Francine. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 8.7 cents, or about 3.8%, to settle at $2.357 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). The contract gained almost 5% earlier in the session. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said utilities added 40 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week ended Sept. 6. That was lower than the 48-bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compares with an injection of 50 bcf during the same week a year ago and a five-year average (2019-2023) increase of 67 bcf for this time of year. EIA/GASNGAS/POLL Even though storage builds have been smaller than average in recent weeks, the amount of gas in storage is still around 10% higher than usual for this time of year. "This market is holding steady thus far as it attempts to predict the impact of Hurricane Francine on lost natural gas production where estimates vary widely to as high as 50%," "However, the lost supply will likely prove modest within the overall US gas balances within this age of shale. It also appears that the storm has evaded key LNG export infrastructure in providing a supportive influence to the market," Francine, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, barreled into southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi and Alabama on Thursday, pounding the region with heavy rains and gusty winds while threatening the Gulf Coast with dangerous flooding and widespread power outages. The amount of natural gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas export plants was on track to slide further on Thursday with energy companies reducing feedgas to plants because of the storm, according to data from financial firm LSEG. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states has slid to an average of 102.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in September, down from 103.2 bcfd in August. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise from 99.6 bcfd this week to 100.1 bcfd next week. Meanwhile, LSEG forecast average gas supply in the Lower 48, including exports, will fall marginally from 109.8 bcfd this week to 109.4 bcfd next week.

US natgas drops on profit taking after hitting 2-month high (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell on Friday, as traders took profits after prices rose to a two-month high early, supported by higher demand forecasts and a drop in output in recent days due to Hurricane Francine. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 5.2 cents, or about 2.2%, to settle at $2.305 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). "It looks like there was some profit taking, we had a pretty decent rally this week and especially with the tightness in market expectations, smaller injection that we saw from the storage report yesterday, I think that created some side interest and I think that what we saw here ahead of the weekend was people just taking off some risk," During the session, the contract hit its highest level since July 8. For the week, it was up 1%, the third consecutive weekly gain. "It's all about the storage scrapes that's driving the market right now. So we have a lot of things that we can focus on and say maybe it's low production, high exports to Mexico and increasing demand for power burns. But the reality is less gas is going into the ground towards the end of the storage injection season," The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said utilities added 40 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week ended Sept. 6. Major U.S. natural gas producers are preparing to further curtail production in the second half of 2024, after prices sank nearly 40% over the past two months. "Estimates by the government suggest production curtailed by almost half but we can also note that the predominance of shale output continues to reduce the importance of off-shore GOM supply," e About 53% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in the wake of Storm Francine, which was downgraded on Thursday to a post-tropical cyclone by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states slid to an average of 102.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in September, down from 103.2 bcfd in August. Meanwhile, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48 U.S. states, including exports, will rise from 99.4 bcfd this week to 100.3 bcfd next week. The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of all domestic oil production and 2% of natural gas output, according to federal data. Storm-related disruptions have the potential to affect U.S. oil supplies, leading to pressure on energy prices. LSEG forecast average gas supply in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise marginally from 109.3 bcfd this week to 109.7 bcfd next week.

Three Things to Know About the LNG Market - Hurricane Francine had little impact on U.S. LNG export facilities when it made landfall Wednesday as a Category 2 storm in a remote part of Louisiana. The system was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland and quickly weakened. It was downgraded further Thursday and Friday, but continued to threaten portions of the Tennessee Valley and the Southeast. The storm’s path shifted eastward earlier in the week, sparing liquefied natural gas export facilities clustered along a coastal corridor between Texas and Louisiana. More than 125,000 customers in Louisiana were still without power Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. The storm tracked a path near Plaquemines LNG, where about 355 customers were still without power. It was unclear, however, if startup operations were hindered at the facility. Venture Global LNG Inc. had not commented about its operations in the state after the storm formed earlier in the week.

Thousands of gallons of oil spilled in the Christina River – - Crews in Delaware are working to clean up an oil spill in the Christina River that forced all boating to stop. State environmental officials said that the spill started at the Port of Wilmington and involved up to 8,400 gallons of oil. A spokesperson with the Baltimore Coast Guart said that the spill happened during a transfer from the Buckeye Terminal and the Double Skin 59 barge. Federal officials have been notified about the possible impacts to marine animals and other wildlife. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the spill.

Oklahoma gains in rig activity but U.S. records a drop | Southwest Ledger - While Oklahoma gained on its rig count recently, the number of active oil and gas rigs across the nation declined, according to the Baker Hughes rig count. Oklahoma saw a gain of one rig to reach 39, the same count as a year ago. The U.S. recorded 583 oil and gas rigs, a decline of two. The breakdown included no change in the number of oil rigs at 483 w hile there was a gas rig drop of two to 95 rigs. The U.S. count is 48 below the 631 rigs reported a year earlier. Over the past 12 months the count included a decline of 29 oil rigs and 19 gas rigs, while the number of active offshore rigs was unchanged at 19. The rig count in Texas was 274, unchanged from the previous week. New Mexico’s count slipped by one to 105, North Dakota continued with 33, and Louisiana saw an addition of one to reach 40 rigs. Colorado fell by one to 13, and the Red Top Rig Report indicated the count in Kansas fell by six rigs to 26. Ohio continued with 9 and Pennsylvania’s numbers fell by three to 18 rigs. Utah was unchanged at 12, and West Virginia numbers grew by one to 6 rigs. Wyoming remained at 14. Little change was noted in the nation’s most active oil and gas plays. The Permian Basin count dropped one to 305. The Williston Basin in the northwestern U.S. was unchanged at 34. The Eagle Ford shale play in Texas, roughly 50 miles wide and 400 miles long, added a rig to reach 48. Rigs operating in the Haynesville shale play in east Texas and northwest Louisiana declined by one to 32, and the rig count in the Marcellus shale in the Appalachian Basin dropped by two to 23. In Oklahoma, the Ardmore Woodford stayed at 2 rigs a nd the Arkoma Woodford remained at one. The Cana Woodford in western Oklahoma added a rig to r each 19. The D-J Basin, which underlies portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota and Kansas, fell by one to 9 rigs . The Granite Wash play in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, was unchanged with four rigs. The Mississippian lime play in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas continued with no reported rig activity, based on the Bak er Hughes release. The Utica stayed at a count of 9 active rigs; the Utica shale underlies significant portions of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Quebec, and other parts of eastern North America.

US oil stocks build as crude imports rise, fuel demand weakens - EIA (Reuters) - U.S. oil stockpiles rose across the board last week as crude imports grew and exports dipped and as gasoline and distillate demand weakened, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.Crude inventories rose by 833,000 barrels to 419.1 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 6, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 987,000-barrel rise.Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week.Crude benchmarks pared gains after the data. Brent was up by 0.7% and U.S. oil futures gained 1% by 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT). Both had gained $1 earlier in the session.Net U.S. crude imports rose by 1.5 million barrels per day to their highest since June, while crude exports fell by 451,000 bpd to 3.31 million bpd to their lowest level also since June."The import figure can be volatile from a week-to-week basis, and could be a reflection of what's going on with shipping on the Gulf Coast," "Next week I suspect the statistics will be impacted by Hurricane Francine interrupting tanker flow through the Gulf of Mexico," Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast this week scaled back operations and evacuated some production sites ahead of Francine, which strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday night. The fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season was moving toward the Louisiana coast."This report appears to have dampened today's rally, but surely the emphasis should be on how much havoc Hurricane Francine is set to wreak on the U.S. Gulf," Refinery crude runs fell by 141,000 bpd last week, and refinery utilization rates fell by 0.5 percentage point to 92.8% of total capacity.Total product supplied, a measure of demand, dropped 1.2 million bpd week over week to 19.4 million bpd, and over the past four weeks totaled 20.5 million bpd, down 2.2% on the year.Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.3 million barrels in the week to 125 million barrels, versus expectations for a 300,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.Gasoline stocks rose by 2.3 million barrels in the week to 221.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with forecasts for a 100,000-barrel draw.Total gasoline supplied fell on the week by 460,000 bpd to 8.48 million barrels per day."A bearish weekly report, shows demand down, and gasoline demand especially low,” “It's also possible product inventories were built up ahead of the incoming hurricane,"

As Some Canadian LNG Projects Advance, More Are Poised to Lose Export Licenses -- A majority of stalled LNG projects in Canada are poised to lose their natural gas export licenses by 2026, according to the country’s energy regulator. North American LNG Project in development chart. Regulatory delays, environmental resistance, First Nation opposition and logistical issues with connecting to pipeline networks or gas reserves have slowed progress. A company cannot hold an unused gas export license forever, Canada Energy Regulator (CER) spokesperson Karen Ryhorchuk told NGI.

Global Natural Gas Markets Hit Record Liquidity, Says ICE -Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) on Wednesday again reported record liquidity across its global natural gas futures markets as trade has grown more interconnected with the expansion of LNG. NGI's Global Futures Settles chart ICE said its global natural gas futures markets hit record open interest of 22.4 million contracts on Aug. 27, up 15% year/year. In North America, the bourse said, U.S. financial gas futures and options markets also hit a series of open interest records in August and September, including a record of 11.7 million contracts on Sept. 3, up 13% year/year. Henry Hub, the U.S. benchmark, continues to see strong open interest figures that are up 26% year/year. NGI’s spot Henry Hub natural gas index on Tuesday (Sep. 10) averaged $2.125/MMBtu in 85 deals

Nigeria Steps Up LNG Exports to Asia, Expects Demand to Rise -- State-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (NNPC) started deliveries of LNG exports to China last month after delivering its first cargo to Japan in June on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis. Nigeria is shifting away from the country’s declining oil revenues and increasing its focus on liquefied natural gas exports, particularly since the decline of Russian exports to Europe has increased global demand for the super-chilled fuel. NNPC plans to ship more LNG cargoes on a DES basis, wherein sellers pay all costs to move cargoes to buyers. “The DES system, apart from being more financially rewarding, allows NNPC inroads into the downstream segment of the LNG sector and positions it to capture more market share, while building in-house capacity and ensuring that global customers are familiar with the NNPC brand," said Dapo Segun, executive president of NNPC Downstream.

Ship behind 1,800-litre Canary Island oil spill detained until it pays £287k - A massive ship has been detained following a 1,800-litre fuel spill in the Canary Islands. The Maritime Authority has locked down the Liberian ship Akhisar, responsible for the spill that occurred during duel transfer operations on Wednesday night. The ship is not allowed to leave the popular Spanish island of Gran Canaria until its owners pay 340,000 euros (£287,000) in damages. 200,000 euros (just under £169,000) will be reserved for the administrative fee that will be determined in an upcoming sanctioning process, while the remaining 140,000 is intended to cover expenses to clean up the spill. Until this amount is deposited with the General Treasury Deposit Box, the Akhisar will be barred from leaving the Port of Las Palmas.

PCG nears completion of oil spill cleanup from sunken MT Terranova - Manila Standard - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday said nearly 1.3 million liters of oil have been siphoned from motorized tanker (MT) Terranova from August 19 to September 7. In their latest situational bulletin, the PCG said their contracted salvor Harbor Star reported it has gathered over 1.2 million liters of spilled oil during their operations. Harbor Star said that the rate of oil flowing during their latest siphoning operation was 8,690 liters per hour and added that a total of over 52,000 liters of oily waste was collected on Saturday, September 7. PCG personnel also conducted an aerial surveillance while BRP Sindangan performed operations to remove the oil sheen at ground zero. MT Terranova carried nearly 1.5 million liters of industrial oil when it sank in Manila Bay off the east coast of Limay, Bataan on July 25, 2024. The environmental incident was attributed to rough sailing conditions due to heavy rainfall and strong winds caused by the southwest monsoon rains or ‘habagat’ enhanced by Super Typhoon ‘Carina’ in late July.

PCG recovers 97% of oil from MT Terra Nova spill — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday, September 13, said that they only managed to recover 97.43% of the total volume of oil spilled by MT Terra Nova in Limay, Bataan. This is equivalent to 1.4 million liters of oil and an additional 17,725 kilograms of solid oily waste. The contracted salvor Harbor Star informed the PCG on Thursday, September 12, that the remaining 37,867 liters of oil (2.57%) could no longer be siphoned due to various factors. These include biodegradation, where microorganisms like fungi and bacteria consume oil, and dissipation, where oil disperses and becomes less concentrated in the water. Harbor Star also mentioned that the sorbent booms used to prevent the oil spill from spreading further had already absorbed some of the oil. Sorbent booms are sponge-like tools commonly used to control oil spills. Some of the remaining oil sludge in the tanks is no longer pumpable either, the salvor added. The PCG also said that Harbor Star conducted the final stripping operation yesterday to ensure the cargo oil tanks were empty before salvaging MT Terra Nova. “The said procedure is essential to confirm the removal of residual oil and to prevent leakage or oil contamination for the upcoming salvage operation,” the coast guard explained. Since August 19, the PCG has been conducting recovery operations after oil tanker MT Terra Nova capsized on July 25 due to Typhoon Carina.

South Africa launches investigation into Algoa Bay oil spill - The South Africa Incident Management Organisation (IMOrg) has launched an investigation into an oily substance spillage, believed to have originated from a vehicle transportation vessel, MSC Apollo, that was anchored in Algoa Bay. As informed, the initial report came on the 7th of September after a vessel observed oil-like blobs and a sheen on the water. A preliminary investigation confirmed the presence of the oily substance, but further action was delayed due to darkness. SAMSA requested oil spill trajectory modeling from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) to plan the spill response effectively. On the 8th of September , an Incident Management meeting was held involving SAMSA, the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), SANPARKS, and other stakeholders to address the spill’s cause, extent, and containment efforts. Surveillance measures, including sea patrols, aerial surveys, and coastal foot patrols, were initiated. However, no further oil was observed in the affected areas, including the St. Croix Island group. Meanwhile, the MSC Apollo’s hull cleaning to stop further leaking was delayed due to rough seas but was scheduled to proceed once conditions improved. Efforts to monitor and protect local wildlife, particularly birds on nearby islands, are ongoing, with drones and patrols planned to assist in identifying any affected animals. The public has been urged to report sightings of oiled wildlife.

Hurricane Forecast to Hit Louisiana This Week Could Disrupt Production Along the U.S. Gulf Coast - The oil market posted an inside trading day on Monday as the market retraced some of last week’s sharp losses. The market was supported by concerns that a hurricane forecast to hit Louisiana this week could disrupt production along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The oil market was also supported as Libya’s National Oil Corp declared force majeure on several crude cargoes loading from the country’s Es Sider port as production remained shut in by a political standoff over the central bank and oil revenue. The crude market retraced some of its previous losses and held support above the $68.00 level after it opened higher in overnight trading amid the supportive hurricane forecast and continuing output shut in Libya. The market later sold off to a low of $67.31 early in the session. However, as it held support at its previous low, the market bounced back and rallied to a high of $68.96 in afternoon trading. The October WTI contract settled up $1.04 at $68.71 and the November Brent contract settled up 78 cents at $71.84. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 93 points at $2.1394 and the RB market settling up 2.44 cents at $1.9204. The U.S. Energy Department said it has awarded contracts for the acquisition of more than 3.4 million barrels of crude oil for the SPR to be delivered from January 2025 through March 2025.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Francine has formed over the Louisiana coast and is expected to gain hurricane strength on Wednesday. U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producers were evacuating staff and halting drilling to prepare for Tropical Storm Francine on Monday as it moved through the energy region on a path to bring high winds and heavy rain to the U.S. mid-South. Francine is likely to bring storm surge to the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts and hurricane force winds to Southern Louisiana this week. Exxon Mobil said it shut in output and evacuated staff from its Hoover offshore production platform. Shell paused some drilling operations at its Perdido and Whale offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday as Storm Francine approaches the Texas coast. It also began evacuating non-essential personnel from its Gulf of Mexico Enchilada/Salsa and Auger offshore facilities. Meanwhile, Chevron is evacuating non-essential workers from its Anchor, Big Foot, Jack/St. Malo and Tahiti oil platforms. Occidental Petroleum said it was prepared to implement storm plans as appropriate. Sources stated that Libya’s National Oil Corporation late last week declared force majeure on several crude cargoes loading from the Es Sider oil port. NOC did not declare force majeure on all loadings for the port, a measure that would have shut all loadings. IIR Energy reported that U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 311,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending September 13^th, increasing available refining capacity by 166,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to increase to 535,000 bpd in the week ending September 20^th.

U.S. oil prices end higher as Tropical Storm Francine threatens Gulf operations .Oil futures finished higher on Monday, with U.S. prices up from a 15-month low last week, as traders tracked Tropical Storm Francine and its potential to strengthen into a hurricane that could significantly disrupt energy operations in the Gulf of Mexico region later later this week. Reports that China has been adding to its strategic oil reserve have also offered support for prices, but worries about the outlook for demand persist. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery CL.1 CLV24 rose $1.04, or 1.5%, to settle at $68.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking its first gain in six sessions. It settled Friday at the lowest since June 2023.November Brent crude BRN00 BRNX24, the global benchmark, gained 78 cents, or 1.1%, at $71.84 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe after settling Friday at the lowest since December 2021.October gasoline RBV24 tacked on 1.3% to $1.92 a gallon, while October heating oil HOV24 added nearly 1.2% to $2.14 a gallon.Natural gas for October delivery NGV24 settled at $2.17 per million British thermal units, down 4.6%. Market drivers "Oil futures rebounded as markets reacted to risks of production disruptions by a potential hurricane system near the U.S. Gulf Coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted the storm may strengthen into a hurricane, heightening concerns about its impact on oil infrastructure," Milad Azar, market analyst at XTB MENA, said in emailed comments. The National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center said Monday that Tropical Storm Francine has formed and could become a hurricane by midweek. It issued a hurricane watch for the Louisiana coast. The storm "should not have a lasting impact, but it's a bit of an irritation for the industry," Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group, told MarketWatch. The storm 'should not have a lasting impact, but it's a bit of an irritation for the industry.' Shell said it is actively monitoring the storm and has evacuated nonessential personnel at its Enchilada/Salsa and Auger assets and "safely paused" drilling operations at its Perdido and Whale assets in the Gulf. Exxon Mobil Corp.has shut in its Hoover oil platform, commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo wrote on X. Also providing support Monday were reports that China was refilling its strategic oil reserve, buying around 16 million barrels per month given the low prices, "The lower price environment will likely increase the aggressiveness of how much they do [add to the reserve] in each month." In other news, the U.S. Energy Department announced Monday that contracts have been awarded for the purchase of more than 3.4 million barrels of crude oil for the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The government agency said it has now directly purchased over 50 million barrels of oil for the reserve at an average price of about $76 a barrel - nearly $20 a barrel lower than the $95 average sales price for 2022 emergency sales. Oil fell sharply last week, with WTI ending Friday at the lowest for a front-month contract since June 12, 2023, while Brent saw its lowest finish since Dec. 3, 2021. Worries over the outlook for demand, particularly from China, have weighed on the market. Demand-crippling recession fears became the "biggest influence on the energy markets, leaving the fundamental outlook cautious at best if not outright bearish for oil in the medium to longer term," analysts at Sevens Report Research wrote in a Monday newsletter. Last week, the negative catalyst for a drop in WTI oil futures below $70, to new 2024 lows, was disappointing economic data, they said. That started with the "headline miss in China's latest manufacturing PMI, which was followed by soft manufacturing PMI data in Europe and the U.S. as well as mixed, but net weakening, domestic employment data." A decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies - known together as OPEC+ - to postpone the unwinding of a portion of its production cuts by two months until December provided little relief.

Traders predict oil prices of $60 per barrel Oil prices are expected to fall to between $60 and $70 per barrel (bbl) as a result of continuing oversupply, according to executives from Gunvor, a multinational energy commodities trader, and Trafigura, a Singapore-based commodities company.The issue of the oil production surplus has already made headlines this year as the OPEC+ alliance made output cuts following the lowest oil prices seen in nine months. Prices currently stand at around $70/bbl, with Brent crude at $71.24 and WTI dipping to $68 late Monday afternoon in London.Prices spiked to more than $100 in May 2022, before hovering at around $85 for the following 18 months.On 6 September, OPEC+ agreed to extend current oil output cuts to the end of November in an attempt to rectify the decline, but there is still more oil currently produced globally than consumed.This balance is only set to worsen over the next few years, Guvnor chairman and co-founder Torbjorn Tornqvist told APPEC attendees. Ben Luckock, Trafigura’s global head of oil, added that the “market wants to know that OPEC is not going to bring those barrels back, or at best is going to bring it back much slower and on a deferred basis”.The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported that world oil demand has continued to decelerate, as growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 eased to 710,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) year-on-year. This is the slowest quarterly increase since Q4 2022. Meanwhile, global supply rose by 150,000bbl/d to 102.9 million barrels per day.Market concerns around pricing pressures are centred on the US and China, with both major economies reducing their petroleum demand.The cycle of oil supply surplus won’t end until 2026 or beyond, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights vice-president of research Jim Burkhard, who predicted that OPEC+ will increase oil supply next year for the first time since 2022.

Oil Prices Drop 4.5% On Record-Bearish Sentiment from Money Managers --WTI crude futures fell 4.5% on Tuesday morning as hedge funds and money managers continued to sour on crude oil.

• - Hedge funds and other money managers have turned the most bearish on crude ever since the CFTC started to publish information on market positioning, with Brent and WTI net longs totaling a mere 139,242 lots in the week ended September 3.
• - As the oil market gathered in Singapore this week for the annual Appec conference, Trafigura head of oil trading Ben Luckock said oil would dip into the 60s soon, depressed by weakening demand in China.
• - US investment Citi lowered its 2025 price forecast to a mere 60 per barrel, prompting a general downward revision of outlooks as Morgan Stanley and the Bank of America both slashed its expectations to $75 per barrel.
• - Crude oil futures could potentially flip into contango over the upcoming period as the ICE Brent 36-month spread between the November 2024 and November 2027 contracts shrank to a mere $2 per barrel, down from $9 per barrel a month ago.
• - A blaze at Mexico’s largest refinery, the 330,000 b/d Salina Cruz refinery operated by national oil company Pemex, killed two workers as a fire broke out after a truck bumped into refinery waste that surfaced after rain overflowed the sewers.
• - Canada’s pipeline operator Pembina Pipeline (TSO:PPL) agreed to buy infrastructure assets in Alberta’s Montney basin from oil producer Veren for $300 million, in yet another instance of M&A in the midstream segment.
• - US oil major ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM)has reportedly renounced on the idea of buying half of Galp Energia’s (ELI:GALP) stake in the allegedly huge Mopane offshore discovery in Namibia, potentially wielding 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Not even a forming hurricane in the US Gulf of Mexico could halt the decline in oil prices, with ICE Brent dipping below $70 per barrel and marking the lowest level it has been since late 2021. Defying OPEC+’s postponement of output increases and the Libyan oil embargo, oil prices continue to edge lower on fears of oversupply and an ever-weakening Chinese outlook. Amidst plunging oil prices, OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in both 2024 and 2025, revising this year’s outlook to a still very ambitious 2.03 million b/d whilst cutting next year’s number marginally lower to 1.74 million b/d. UK-based energy major Shell has paused drilling operations at its Perdido and Whale offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Storm Francine, the sixth named storm of the 2024 hurricane season, is headed towards Texas. The American Petroleum Institute warned the US Department of Commerce that if it does not act quickly to publish a new assessment on how to protect endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, all offshore oil and gas operations could be disrupted.

Oil settles near 3-year low on weak demand outlook (Reuters) - Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures settled at their lowest level since December 2021 on Tuesday, after OPEC+ revised down its demand forecast for this year and 2025, offsetting supply concerns from Tropical Storm Francine. Brent crude futures settled down $2.65, or 3.69%, at $69.19 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down $2.96, or 4.31%, to $65.75 a barrel. Both benchmarks dropped by more than $3 during the session, after each rose by about 1% on Monday. WTI crude futures fell more than 5% on Tuesday, hitting their lowest levels since May 2023. On Tuesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in a monthly report said world oil demand would rise by 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down from last month's forecast for growth of 2.11 million bpd. Until last month, OPEC had kept the forecast unchanged since it was first made in July 2023. OPEC also cut its 2025 global demand growth estimate to 1.74 million bpd from 1.78 million bpd. Prices slid on the weakening global demand prospects and expectations of oil oversupply. Separately, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday said global oil demand is set to grow to a bigger record this year while output growth will be smaller than prior forecasts.Global oil demand is expected to average around 103.1 million barrels per day this year, the EIA said, some 200,000 bpd higher than its previous forecast of 102.9 million bpd.Oil prices remained depressed after the EIA forecast release, as concerns about China continued to weigh on prices.Data released on Tuesday showed China's exports grew in August at their fastest in nearly 1-1/2 years, but imports disappointed with domestic demand depressed.Meanwhile, Asian refiners' margins fell to their lowest seasonal level since 2020 last week on rising supplies of diesel and gasoline. "There's almost no oil demand growth in the advanced economies this year. Fiscal stimulus in China has not boosted the construction sector; that's one big reason Chinese demand for diesel is shrinking," Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Francine barrelled across the Gulf of Mexico driving operators to shut in around a quarter of offshore crude production, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Tuesday. The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of all domestic oil production and 2% of natural gas output, according to federal data. The storm was on track to become a hurricane on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Chevron have removed offshore staff and halted some Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations. So far, production shut-ins have failed to offset weak demand sentiment and support prices, analysts said. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell while distillates rose last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. The API figures showed crude stocks fell by 2.793 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 6, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories fell by 513,000 barrels, and distillates rose by 191,000 barrels.

After Hitting Nearly 3-Year Low, Crude Oil Prices Rebound on Fears of Supply Disruption from Tropical Storm - Crude prices bounced on Wednesday as concerns about Tropical Storm Francine disrupting supply of oil outweighed worries about demand. Brent crude futures climbed 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.58 a barrel by 0031 GMT while U.S. crude futures were at $66.19 a barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.7%. Both benchmarks fell nearly $3 on Tuesday, with Brent hitting its lowest level since December 2021 and WTI falling to a May 2023 trough, after OPEC+ revised down its demand forecast for this year and 2025. “Investors adjusted their positions after Tuesday’s sharp drop,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities. “The rebound was also driven by concerns that the storm could disrupt supply, with some production facilities already suspended,” he said, though he predicted the market would remain bearish due to fears about slowing global demand. Tropical Storm Francine was on track on Tuesday to become a hurricane overnight, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, prompting Louisiana residents to flee inland and oil and gas companies to shut Gulf of Mexico production. About 24% of crude production and 26% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were offline due to the storm, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a monthly report world oil demand would rise by 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down from last month’s forecast for growth of 2.11 million bpd. OPEC also cut its 2025 global demand growth estimate to 1.74 million bpd from 1.78 million bpd. But the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday global oil demand is set to grow to a bigger record this year while output growth will be smaller than prior forecasts. Meanwhile, China’s daily crude oil imports rose last month to their highest in a year, customs data and Reuters records showed on Tuesday, as shipments staged a tentative recovery on lower crude oil prices and improving refining margins.

Oil prices drop to $65, Canadian oilpatch jobs reach 9-year high | Calgary Herald - Oil prices have been on a stomach-churning ride this week, falling briefly below US$66 a barrel amid pessimism over future demand growth and uncertainty about OPEC’s next moves. The turbulence arrives as employment in the Canadian oilpatch has hit a nine-year high — topping 210,000 workers in the sector last month — and industry capital spending returns to 2015 levels. Prices for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, which had closed above $80 a barrel in mid-August, tumbled sharply on Tuesday. The near-month contract for oil closed at $65.75 a barrel, down almost $3 on the day and continuing a recent slump. “All indications have been that the market has been getting weaker, but current fundamentals in no way justify a $12-a-barrel selloff over the past two weeks,” “Everyone is glued to their screens today, basically just waiting for this selling pressure to end, to see where we bottom out.” On Wednesday, WTI prices partially bounced back to close at $67.31 a barrel. Oil markets have dipped this month amid concerns about the global economy, increasing production and weakening demand in China, one of the pivotal drivers of international growth. On Tuesday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released its monthly oil market report, projecting consumption will increase by two million barrels per day (bpd) this year and 1.7 million next year. Both would be all-time demand records, yet they’re down slightly from the group’s previous outlook. Meanwhile, supplies are rising in the United States, Brazil and Canada, OPEC noted. Canada’s oilsands have been one of the main contributors to new output in 2024, as operators have boosted spending and output to capitalize on new pipeline capacity that has allowed for increased exports from Western Canada. There are also nagging concerns about whether OPEC+ countries will bring more curtailed production online near the end of the year. The cartel recently decided to delay a plan to add 2.2 million bpd of supply in October, until at least December. “Right now, the market is very much in this bearish mood, so it’s just stuck in the mode where it sees nothing but negativity,” said Martin King, RBN Energy’s managing director of North America energy market analysis. “There’s still this view that OPEC will try and put more supply to the market, unless they are more clear about what they’re going to do.” Despite the apprehension facing oil markets, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Tuesday it anticipates Brent crude prices will bounce back above $80 a barrel this month. In its latest short-term energy outlook, the EIA forecasts the international benchmark price to average $84 a barrel next year, while West Texas Intermediate crude averages almost $80. That would be a lucrative level for producers and the Alberta government, which projects WTI to average $76.50 a barrel for the current budget year. With less oil production coming from OPEC and its partners in the next two months, oil demand is expected to outstrip production, the U.S. agency said. For Canadian oil producers, the sudden price plunge is garnering attention, but not prompting executives to make cuts to their capital plans. “Everybody will wait and watch,” said Surge Energy CEO Paul Colborne. “In November, December, there would be cutbacks if oil stayed this low — but I don’t think it can stay this low.” Colborne noted the Canadian industry has several factors playing in its favour, including a weak loonie relative to the U.S. dollar, and a narrowing price discount for heavy crude this year. Most companies have pruned their debt levels and can ride out short-term volatility. Spending by the Canadian oil and gas sector has increased this year as the $34-billion Trans Mountain expansion began commercial operations in May, improving market access for the industry and ending years of pipeline congestion. The anticipated startup of the LNG Canada project next year is also expected to spur gas exports. Capital expenditures jumped to $11.9 billion during the second quarter, its highest level since the third quarter of 2015, ATB Economics noted. “We’ve seen an upward trend in oil and gas (capital spending) and it’s coinciding with an improvement that we’re seeing in oil and gas employment nationally,” said ATB chief economist Mark Parsons. “The big driver there is market access.” Employment in the Canadian energy sector is now at its highest point since October 2015. The industry employed 210,000 people last month, creating 14,400 new jobs over the past year, according to Careers in Energy. With the recent decline in oil prices, the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index has fallen by almost 10 per cent since the end of August, although it’s still up five per cent this year.

Oil Prices Jump 3% as Hurricane Takes 675,000 bpd Offline in the Gulf of Mexico - Oil prices climbed nearly three percent on Wednesday afternoon, spurred by the fear of supply disruptions as Hurricane Francine bulldozes its way through the Gulf of Mexico, where major operators have already shut-in some production and evacuated some personnel. The price surge comes in spite of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) inventory report that came out earlier in the day, showing an increase in U.S. stockpiles, initially causing oil to move lower before hurricane headlines reclaimed the trading day. The fears are that this hurricane could lead to a longer production shutdown at a time when Libyan production is largely offline over a dispute between rival governments. At 2:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Brent crude was trading up 2.41% at $70.86 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), had further gains, trading up 2.60% at $67.46 per barrel. Meteorologists expect Tropical Storm Francine to strengthen into a hurricane later today as it traverses northeast toward the Gulf Coast and becomes a looming threat for dozens of offshore oil and gas platforms and inland refineries.The latest weather models expect Francine to strengthen into a category two system tomorrow afternoon or evening and make landfall on the Louisiana coast. On Monday, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and Shell announced workers at offshore rigs in the storm's path were being evacuated and drilling activities suspended. According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, Exxon was planning to slash production at the 522,500-bpd facility to just 20% of capacity ahead of Francine’s landfall.The latest update as of 2:11 p.m. from the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), based on data from offshore operators at 11:30 a.m. is that 46% of the GOM’s 371 manned platforms have been evacuated, while 60% of personnel have been evacuated from five rigs operating in the Gulf. Four other rigs have moved off location in a preventative maneuver. Almost 40% of GOM oil production has been shut in, and nearly 50% of natural gas production has been shuttered.

The Market Focused on the Production Shut Ins in the U.S. Gulf Coast Due to Hurricane Francine The oil market on Wednesday retraced some of its previous sharp losses and posted an inside trading as the market focused on the production shut ins in the U.S. Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Francine. Contrary to the market’s reaction to the news of output shut ins on Tuesday, the market was well supported on Wednesday. It retraced some of its previous losses in overnight trading and rallied over the $67.00 level. The market later erased some of its earlier gains and sold off to a low of $65.63 amid the builds reported across the board by the EIA. However, the market bounced off its low and rallied to a high of $67.97 in afternoon trading as 39% of crude production and 49% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut as Hurricane Francine moved towards the Louisiana coast on Wednesday. The October WTI contract settled up $1.56 at $67.31 and the November Brent contract settled up $1.42 at $70.61. The product markets ended the session in positive territory, with the heating oil market settling up 3.37 cents at $2.0917 and the RB market settling up 2.72 cents at $1.8972. The EIA reported that U.S. crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories increased in the week ending September 6^th. Crude inventories increased by 833,000 barrels to 419.1 million barrels on the week. Meanwhile, gasoline and distillate stocks increased by 2.3 million barrels each to 221.6 million barrels and 125 million barrels, respectively. The EIA reported that U.S. East Coast distillate inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels to 37.22 million barrels, the highest level since January 2022.Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast scaled back operations and evacuated some production sites as Hurricane Francine passed through the region. U.S. offshore regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said about 39% of crude production and 49% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were shut on Wednesday as Hurricane Francine moved towards the Louisiana coast. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the port of Brownsville near the border with Mexico and other smaller terminals in Texas remained closed, while other ports, including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Texas City and Freeport, were working with restrictions Between Texas and Louisiana, ports from Beaumont, to Plaquemines imposed restrictions to vessel traffic. Ports in Houma, Morgan City and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port were closed to navigation. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended operations at Port Fourchon in Louisiana ahead of hurricane Francine. Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) said that it suspended marine operations and executed its inclement weather plan due to Hurricane Francine. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 530,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending September 13^th, cutting available refining capacity by 23,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to fall to 454,000 bpd in the week ending September 20^th.Oil refiners and fuel distributors along the Louisiana coast were preparing to weather the storm. Citgo Petroleum said its Lake Charles oil refinery was implementing its hurricane plan. Exxon Mobil Corp’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery was cutting back production on Tuesday as Hurricane Francine was forecast to pass just east of its location. Exxon plans to cut production to as low as 20% of the Baton Rouge refinery’s 522,500 bpd capacity by Wednesday when Francine moves ashore. Meanwhile, Exxon and Shell Plc’s 233,702 bpd Norco, Louisiana refinery were planning rely on “ridethrough” crews to operate the refineries during the storm’s passage.

Oil Market Analysis: Higher Estimates of Lost Output Due to Hurricane Francine - The crude market rallied higher on Thursday extending Wednesday’s gains amid concerns over Hurricane Francine’s impact on U.S. output. The market was well supported as the extent of the hurricane’s impact on energy production began to emerge, with higher estimates of lost output from the more than 171 offshore platforms that were evacuated due to the storm. The oil market opened slightly higher and posted a low of $67.24 early in the session. It extended its gains to $2.50 as it rallied to a high of $69.81 by mid-day. The market later erased some of its gains ahead of the close. The October WTI contract settled up $1.66 at $68.97 and the November Brent contract settled up $1.36 at $71.97. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 2.71 cents at $2.1188 and the RB market settling up 2.98 cents at $1.9270. U.S. energy producers on Thursday were assessing the extent of damage from Hurricane Francine to their U.S. Gulf of Mexico infrastructure while export ports in southern Texas began to reopen. The extent of Francine’s impact on energy production began to emerge with new, higher estimates of lost output from the more than 171 offshore platforms that were evacuated. The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that about 730,000 bpd or 42% of crude oil production and 53% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were shut on Thursday. Shell said that downstream issues stemming from hurricane Francine led to curtailed production at Appomattox, Mars, Vito, Ursa, and Olympus in the Gulf of Mexico. It said it started redeploying personnel to its Perdido asset, while production there and at its Auger and Enchilada/Salsa assets is still shut in. It also stated that drilling remained paused at its Whale asset. Woodside Energy shut-in oil and gas output on Wednesday at its Shenzi offshore production platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. A Woodside spokesperson said an onshore refinery lost power prompting the shut-in. The company earlier had partially evacuated staff from the platform ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Francine. Top U.S. oil and fuel export ports from south to central Texas reopened. The U.S. Coast Guard said the port of Corpus Christi lifted restrictions, while ports in Freeport, Houston to as far north as Sabine reopened. Louisiana ports including Cameron, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and sections of the Mississippi River remained closed. UBS said Hurricane Francine likely disrupted about 1.5 million barrels of U.S. oil production. It said oil production in the Gulf of Mexico in September will be reduced by about 50,000 bpd.In its monthly report, the IEA cut its 2024 oil demand growth forecast by 70,000 bpd or about 7.2% from a previous estimate to 900,000 bpd. The agency cited a slowdown in Chinese demand as the main driver of weaker global demand growth. It now expects Chinese demand to grow by 180,000 bpd in 2024 as a broader macroeconomic slowdown coincides with higher uptake of electric vehicles. The IEA left its 2025 world oil demand growth forecast unchanged at 950,000 bpd. It said current trends reinforce its expectation that global oil demand will plateau by the end of the decade. It said the current balances suggest the world oil market will be oversupplied in 2025 if OPEC+ proceeds with its proposed unwinding of cuts. The IEA said increasing global oil supply is being driven by higher non-OPEC output, with the agency forecasting non-OPEC supply growth at 1.5 million bpd for this year and next, with higher production from the United States, Guyana, Canada and Brazil.

Oil settles at highest in a week as Hurricane Francine disrupts Gulf output -Oil futures finished higher for a second straight session on Thursday, and turned higher for the week, as Hurricane Francine led to disruptions in U.S. oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Gains for oil, however, were capped by continued worries over the outlook for crude demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose $1.66, or 2.5%, to settle at $68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, trading more than 1% higher for the week.November Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed $1.36, or 1.9%, to end at $71.97 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.October gasoline RBV24 tacked on 1.6% to $1.93 a gallon, while October heating oil HOV24 added 1.3% to $2.12 a gallon.Natural gas for October delivery NGV24 settled at $2.36 per million British thermal units, up 3.8%.Francine made landfall in Louisiana Wednesday evening as a Category 2 hurricane. It was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday morning."The overall impact of Francine is still developing as affected areas pivot to assess damage to infrastructure," said Robbie Fraser, associate director for global research and analytics at Schneider Electric. In most cases, offshore production tends to recover "swiftly" after such events, Fraser said.In Louisiana, early reports show multiple refinery outages or curtailments, while the "higher concentrations" of refining along the Texas coast were less affected as the storm pivoted to the east, he said in a daily market update.As of Thursday, the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported that 41.74% of the region's oil production and 53.32% of the area's natural-gas production was shut in because of the hurricane. In market commentary, Rania Gule, senior market analyst at XS.com, said it's important to note that the "long-term impact of storms on production may be limited, as production operations typically return to normal relatively quickly once the threat has passed." So these current price increases "may be temporary if the economic situation stabilizes after the storm," she said. Both WTI and Brent climbed by more than 2% on Wednesday as Francine headed toward the Gulf Coast. Both crude contracts had ended Tuesday at their lowest since December 2021, leaving them technically oversold and ripe for short covering. But the lack of a more immediate, meaningful bounce for crude raised red flags for some traders, who see concerns over the outlook for demand continuing to cap prices."Traders built an overly pessimistic narrative of all the things going wrong at the same time - demand problems in China and recession fear elsewhere," "Believing all things negative is a fool's errand," he said. The dip in prices early this week "invited those on the sidelines to get on the train and build their positions."Despite the negativity, "OPEC has shown discipline, Libyan output remains largely shut and then finally a reprieve from Hurricane Francine," Raj said. "Granted, none of these factors is going to last, but still provides life support to traders who haven't found any respite in the sea of bad news." Still, Li Xing Gan, a financial markets strategist at Exness, said in a note that "several factors may temper a rebound in oil prices. A global economic slowdown and a weak demand outlook are significant headwinds."In its monthly report, the Paris-based International Energy Agency on Thursday said global oil demand growth is slowing sharply from its postpandemic rate.The IEA said demand rose by 800,000 barrels a day year over year in the first half of 2024, well below the growth of 2.3 million barrels a day seen in 2023. For the year as a whole, the IEA sees global demand set to increase by around 900,000 barrels a day in 2024 and 950,000 barrels a day in 2025.The "chief driver of this downturn is a rapidly slowing China, where consumption contracted [year over year] for a fourth straight month in July," the IEA said in its report.In other energy-related news Thursday, natural-gas futures climbed after the Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that U.S. supplies of the fuel rose by a less-than-expected 40 billion cubic feet for the week that ended Sept. 6. Analysts had forecast an increase of 50 bcf, according to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices rise as US production slowly resumes after hurricane - Oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel on Friday, extending their rally and putting crude on course for a weekly gain on the back of output disruptions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Francine forced the evacuation of production platforms. Brent crude futures were up $1.16 cents, or 1.6%, at $73.13 a barrel by 10:49 a.m. EDT (1449 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.24, or 1.8%, to $70.21. If those gains hold, both benchmarks will break a streak of weekly declines despite Brent crude dipping below $70 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since late 2021.At current levels, Brent is set for a weekly increase of about 3% while WTI is poised to register a roughly 3.5% gain. “Ongoing supply disruptions in Libya and larger-than-expected disruption in the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Francine keep the oil market tight," "Further support is likely coming from short-covering activity as a result of rebounding prices." A weaker U.S. dollar also helped support oil prices. Dollar weakness makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies. Oil producers assessed damage and conducted safety checks on Thursday as they prepared to resume operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after Francine, which has since been downgraded to a storm. Official data showed that nearly 42% of the region's oil output was shut in as of Thursday.The storm-based rally could be short-lived, however, considering the weather system failed to curtail onshore crude production, "These cuts are expected to prove brief and within the broader context are unlikely to spur much movement in the crude balances given the importance of shale production that accounts for the major portion of U.S. output," Both the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) lowered their demand growth forecasts this week, citing economic struggles in China, the world's largest oil importer. U.S. oil stockpiles also rose across the board last week as crude imports grew and exports dipped, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.Investors are looking ahead now to the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting next week. It is widely expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday.

Oil eases on resuming US output after storm, rising rig count (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday as U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude production resumed following Hurricane Francine and rising data showed a weekly rise in U.S. rig count. Brent crude futures settled at $71.61 a barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled at $68.65 a barrel, down 32 cents, or 0.5%. As U.S. Gulf Coast production and refining activity resumes, investors have opted to offload oil contracts going into the weekend, "You could come back Monday and everything is fine - the refineries are running at 100%, everyone is back on the platform, oil comes back and gasoline is coming out of the refinery - and the market could potentially pull back exponentially," . For the week, oil futures finished higher following sharp storm-related increases early in the week, breaking a streak of declines. Brent logged an increase of about 0.8% since the close of last Friday's session, while WTI registered a roughly 1.4% gain. Official data showed that, as of Thursday, the storm nearly shut in 42% of oil production in the region that accounts for about 15% of U.S. output. "These cuts are expected to prove brief and within the broader context are unlikely to spur much movement in the crude balances given the importance of shale production that accounts for the major portion of U.S. output," Ritterbusch said. Crude prices also took a hit from the U.S. rig count from energy services group Baker Hughes, which reported the biggest weekly rise in oil and natural gas rig in a year. The oil and gas rig count rose by eight in the week to Sept. 13 to 590, returning to mid-June levels. The increase was the biggest since the week to Sept. 15, 2023. , , . Crude oil rigs rose by five to 488 this week, while gas rigs rose by three to 97. Also on the week, money managers cut their net long crude futures and options positions in New York and London by 27,493 contracts to 59,741 in the week to Sept. 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. Both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency lowered their demand growth forecasts this week, citing economic struggles in China, the world's largest oil importer. U.S. oil stockpiles also rose across the board last week as crude imports grew and exports dipped, while fuel demand weakened, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Investors are looking ahead now to the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting next week. It is widely expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday.

Oil falls after back-to-back gains on storm disruptions, still settles higher for the week - U.S. crude prices post 1.5% weekly rise after Francine disrupts output in Gulf of Mexico Oil futures finished with a loss on Friday as concerns about the demand outlooked lingered, but prices gained for the week after Hurricane Francine disrupted output in the Gulf of Mexico. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell 32 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $68.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but posted a weekly gain of nearly 1.5%.November Brent crude , the global benchmark, lost 36 cents, or 0.5%, at $71.61 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, settling 0.8% higher for the week.October gasoline added 0.2% to $1.93 a gallon, for a weekly gain of 1.8%, while October heating oil declined by 1.6% to $2.08 a gallon and was down almost 1.5% for the week.Natural gas for October delivery NGV24 settled at $2.31 per million British thermal units, down 2.2% Friday and paring its weekly gain to 1.3%. "Unless we see some improvement in data to suggest that crude-oil demand is going to be stronger, or supply growth is going to be weaker, this recovery we have seen should be taken with a pinch of salt," 'Unless we see some improvement in data to suggest that crude-oil demand is going to be stronger, or supply growth is going to be weaker, this recovery we have seen should be taken with a pinch of salt. It is likely that prices have found "support this week amid short-side profit taking and on the back of weaker U.S. dollar, with hurricane disruptions further encouraging dip-buyers," But weakness in China's economy is a "major concern, which puts the weekend's release of industrial data from the world's second largest economy [China] into focus," Both WTI and Brent crude had closed Tuesday at their lowest since December 2021, but recovered as Francine forced the shut-in of offshore oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and caused other disruptions.As of Friday, the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported that 41.85% of the region's oil production, or 732,316 barrels of oil per day, and 52.3% of the area's natural-gas production, or 973.2 million cubic feet per day were shut in because storm, which made landfall on the Gulf Coast earlier this week as a Category 2 hurricane. Francine provided a "hurricane bid" for crude prices despite continued concerns about the demand outlook, Production disruptions caused by storms, however, are only temporary. "Producers on the offshore platforms are performing safety checks [Friday] and intend to have production back this weekend, while also reopening export ports," Separately, Baker Hughes (BKR) on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil was up by 5 at 488 this week, suggesting an upcoming rise in production. The number had been unchanged for three consecutive weeks.Feeding worries about demand, the Paris-based International Energy Agency on Thursday warned that global demand is cooling, particularly as China's economy continues to struggle and crude production outside of OPEC+ - made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies - continues to grow.Though producers within OPEC+ recently postponed plans to begin trimming some of its production curbs by two months until December, the delay "will not make much difference," wrote Roukaya Ibrahim, strategist at BCA Research, in a note Friday. Even a scenario in which OPEC+ maintains their current supplies cuts to the end of the year "will not be enough to prevent a surplus in oil markets next year."Outside of OPEC+, the IEA expects oil production to grow by 1.5 million barrels a day in 2024 and 2025."That supply flood explains why traders remain bearish despite the short-term disruption in U.S. inventories ," Innes said. "Despite current supply risks, the oversupply narrative continues to hang over the market, keeping a lid on oil's upside potential."In the week ahead, crude-oil traders will be watching the big central bank rate decisions,, especially the Federal Reserve's on Wednesday.If the Federal Open Market committee's economic projections in the dot plots point to weakness in growth, then that could "trigger a fresh wave of selling" in oil,

Salvage operation for oil tanker in Red Sea not safe, EU says - The European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea says private companies have called off attempts to salvage a burning oil tanker because the situation is unsafe. The Greek-owned and flagged MV Sounion, carrying about a million barrels of crude, was abandoned by its crew after it was hit by projectiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi movement on 21 August. Fighters later detonated explosives onboard, sparking several fires. Last Wednesday, the Houthis said they had agreed to allow the tanker to be towed away to avert an unprecedented environmental disaster. The EU mission, which was providing security to the tugs involved in the salvage operation, said “alternative solutions" were being explored. On Monday, the mission reported that fires continued to burn on the tanker’s main deck. “The vessel remains anchored without drifting, and there are no visible signs of an oil spill,” it said. The United States has warned that a spill from the Sounion could be almost four times as large as the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989. That incident saw 2,100km (1,300 miles) of coastline contaminated after a tanker ran aground off Alaska. The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November. They say they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK. They have not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels or by US and British air strikes on territory they control in north-western Yemen. Israel also bombed Hudaydah’s port in July in retaliation for a deadly drone strike on Tel Aviv.

Greek oil tanker still ablaze in Red Sea two weeks after attack | CNN – video -US Defense officials tell CNN a Greek-owned tanker called the MV Sounion, carrying a million barrels of oil, is still in flames following an attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels on August 21st.

Houthis target Chinese tanker in the Red Sea -- A missile attack on a Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated oil tanker on March 23 caused damage and a fire onboard. The incident comes within days of reports that the Houthis had agreed with China and Russia to allow for the safe passage of their ships through the region. According to a report from US Central Command, the last of five missiles fired at oil tanker Huang Pu in the early hours of March 23 found its target, leading the ship’s crew to issue a distress call. Assistance was not requested, the vessel suffered minimal damage and a fire onboard was extinguished within 30 minutes said the update. UKMTO reported the incident as occurring 23NM west of Mukha, with the ship and crew safe and continuing to the next port of call. “The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels,” said US Central Command on Twitter. Later the same morning, US forces engaged six Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles in the Southern Red Sea which were deemed a threat to US forces and merchant shipping. Five of the UAVs crashed into the sea and one returned to Houthi controlled land in Yemen.

Even After Houthi Attacks, Russia-Linked Tankers Return to Red Sea --The maritime incidents involving oil tankers in the Red Sea highlight significant risks for vessels transporting Russian oil, especially given the ongoing threat from Houthi forces. The Andromeda Star and Freda, two Panama-flagged crude oil tankers, provide clear examples of how the Houthis are targeting ships based on outdated ownership data and past links to Western countries. Both vessels, previously owned by UK-based Union Maritime Ltd., were misidentified by the Houthis as British ships when they were attacked with anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) in 2023 and 2024. Despite these attacks, both ships have continued operating along vital oil transportation routes, such as the Red Sea, carrying Russian oil primarily to markets in Asia. The Andromeda Star, which was hit by the Houthis in April 2023, was falsely labeled as a British vessel, likely due to its past ties to a UK company. The ship had been transporting Russian oil to India at the time of the attack. The Houthi forces, relying on outdated information, likely targeted the vessel under the assumption it still had British ownership. Despite this attack, the Andromeda Star has continued its operations, recently spotted sailing back from India to Russia via the Red Sea. Similarly, the Freda (formerly Huang Pu) was targeted in March 2024 by the Houthis, again based on outdated data. The Houthis labeled the vessel as British, although by the time of the attack, the ship had changed ownership and was operated by a Hong Kong-based company with a Chinese crew. The Houthis’ attack contradicted their earlier statement that they would not target Chinese vessels. Following this incident, the Freda resumed operations, transporting Russian oil from India back to Russian ports. Both tankers belong to a broader “dark fleet” of vessels engaged in transporting Russian oil in defiance of Western sanctions. These ships often engage in practices that obfuscate their movements, such as manipulating AIS (Automatic Identification System) data, which adds to the complexity of monitoring their activities. Maritime intelligence firms like TankerTrackers.com and Lloyd’s List have confirmed that these vessels continue to operate in the Red Sea, suggesting that their operators are either accepting the risks posed by Houthi attacks or are no longer concerned about their previous links to the UK. This situation underscores two possible dynamics: either the ship operators are taking considerable risks by continuing to use the Red Sea as a transport route, or they believe the issue of past UK affiliations has been resolved. While there is speculation that the vessels' operators may have established some form of communication with the Houthis to avoid future attacks, this remains unconfirmed. The persistence of these ships in such a high-risk region demonstrates the vital importance of the Red Sea route for transporting Russian oil, particularly to key markets like India and China. However, it also highlights the dangers faced by vessels navigating this contested maritime zone amidst geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts.

Oil tanker ablaze off Yemen threatens environmental disaster - An abandoned tanker carrying more than one million barrels of crude oil could contaminate vast areas of the Red Sea in a severe, long-term environmental disaster if it breaks up or explodes, experts warn. The Greek-flagged Sounion, struck on August 21 by Yemen's Huthi rebels, was still on fire as recently as Saturday, maritime monitors said.

Fresh Red Sea salvage operation underway to save tanker struck by Houthis Ten days after salvors called off efforts to tow to safety a burning, laden crude tanker in the Red Sea, tugs are sailing in the region to undertake a second attempt. Sources following the matter closely said that “more powerful means” will be employed than in the initial attempt on 1 September, when the 15,000-bhp Gladiator (built 1977) and 5,150-bhp Hercules (built 2009) backed out, citing safety concerns. TradeWinds understands that the vessels now engaged for the purpose include the Greek-flagged 10,000-bhp Agaion Pelagos (built 2010), which vessel trackers already show underway in the Red Sea. At least one more vessel, a port tug, is believed to have been hired to help assist the stricken, 163,800-dwt Sounion (built 2006) to enter a harbor — possibly in Suez — to transfer its cargo. It is believed that the effort to rescue the Greek-flagged Sounion of Greek company Delta Tankers is being orchestrated by the vessel’s insurers. The Greek government has been coordinating with Saudi counterparts as well, even though it remains unclear in what practical way this supports the salvage efforts. No Lloyd’s Open Form has been signed for the business, with salvors keen to keep their identity secret for security reasons. “It’s all very hush hush,” one of the sources said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who caused the Sounion’s travails by attacking the vessel with missiles on 21 August and by boarding it later to blow up its deck with explosives, have signalled they will not attack salvors in order to avoid an environmental disaster on their country's shores. A relatively long lull of Houthi attacks on passing ships in the Red Sea fore more than 10 days now may be connected to the Sounion conundrum. Meanwhile, little has changed regarding the situation of the ship. Smoke is still rising from its deck, suggesting flames continue raging just below deck. The ship, on the other hand, remains anchored and has not spilled any of its crude cargo. Some spillage observed from the Sounion concerns fuel that leaked out after its engine was hit by a Houthi missile. Asked about the risk of a crude cargo spill, a shipping player described it as “real but not acute at this moment”.

Israeli Forces Kill 94 Palestinians in Gaza Over Three Days - Israeli forces have killed at least 94 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip over the past three days, according to numbers released by Gaza’s Health Ministry.The ministry said on Saturday that 61 Palestinians were killed and another 162 were injured over the previous 48-hour period.On Sunday, the ministry said another 33 Palestinians were killed, bringing the recorded death toll to 40,972 and the number of wounded to 94,761.Strikes in Gaza on Saturday targeted two schools-turned-shelters for displaced people, one in Gaza City and one in the Jabalia refugee camp. The two strikes killed at least 12 people. On Sunday, six Palestinians were reported killed in attacks on homes in Gaza City.On September 5, Gaza’s Media Office said the Israeli campaign had killed 16,715 children and 11,308 women since October 7.The numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry and Media Office are considered a low estimate since they don’t include Palestinians who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble, which has previously been estimated to be about 10,000 people.It’s also unclear how many people have died in Gaza due to indirect causes. A letter written by a group of experts recently published in the British medical journal The Lancet estimated the total number of deaths in Gaza, including those killed by the Israeli military and indirect causes, could reach 186,000. They reached the numbers by using the death toll from the end of June, which was 37,396.

Nineteen Palestinians Reported Killed in Israeli Strikes on al-Mawasi Camp in Gaza - At least 40 Palestinians were killed, and 60 were injured by Israeli strikes on the al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza early Tuesday morning, a Gaza Civil Defense official told AFP.Israel has designated the camp as a so-called “safe zone,” but it has been repeatedly targeted by the Israeli military throughout the genocidal war. According to Al Jazeera, Gaza’s Civil Defense, which is responsible for emergency and rescue services, said the strike hit 20 tents sheltering displaced Palestinians, and local sources said the Israeli missiles left craters up to nine meters deep.The Israeli military claimed the strike targeted “significant” members of Hamas but offered no evidence for the claim and has so far not released the names of the people it claims it targeted.According to Reuters, Gaza’s Civil Defense said the dead included women and children, but they have yet to release a breakdown of the casualties. “Our teams are still moving out martyrs and wounded from the targeted area. It looks like a new Israeli massacre,” an official said.On Monday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said 16 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli assault in the previous 24-hour period. Also on Monday, Israeli forces detained a UN convoy involved with the ongoing polio vaccination campaign for Gaza’s children.

Israeli Strikes Kill 64 Palestinians Across the Gaza Strip - Israel’s relentless assault on the Gaza Strip continued on Wednesday, and Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that at least 64 Palestinians were killed in the previous 24-hour period.The latest violence brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7 to 41,084, according to the Health Ministry’s figures, which don’t account for the 10,000 people estimated to be missing and presumed dead under the rubble. The ministry said the number of wounded has reached 95,029.Strikes in Gaza on Wednesday included the bombing of a UN school turned shelter for displaced Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The strike killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, and wounded 18 others. The UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, said six of its employees were killed in the bombing. “Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people,” UNRWA said. “This school has been hit five times since the war began. It is home to around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children.” Without providing evidence, Israel claimed that it targeted a Hamas “command and control” center in Nuseirat.An Israeli strike targeted a home in Khan Younis early Wednesday, killing 11 people. According to Al Jazeera, the European Hospital, which received the casualties, said the dead included six brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 21 months to 21 years old.Gaza’s Civil Defense said that an Israeli strike targeted Palestinians waiting in a line for bread in Gaza City, killing three people and wounding seven. Late Tuesday, a strike was reported in the Jabalia refugee camp that targeted a home, killing nine, including six women and children.The Biden administration continues to support the genocidal slaughter in Gaza by providing weapons to the Israeli military. A senior Israeli Air Force official recently acknowledged that without the US military aid, Israel would not be able to sustain operations in Gaza for more than a few months.

Report: Israeli Commandos Conducted Ground Raid in Syria - Israeli commandos dropped into Syria from helicopters on Sunday and conducted a raid against an alleged missile production site, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing US and other Western officials.Syrian media reported heavy Israeli airstrikes in Syria on Sunday, which is when the officials said the raid occurred. Syria’s news agency SANA reported 18 people were killed in the strikes, while a pro-opposition war monitor put the death toll at 25.The sources speaking to the Times said airstrikes were involved in the attack on the Scientific Studies and Research Center near Maysaf, Syria. They claimed Israeli troops entered the alleged missile production facility, obtained information from the site, and destroyed it.Axios reported that the Biden administration was briefed on the planbefore the raid and did not oppose it. Sources claimed to Axios that the facility was built by Iran in coordination with Hezbollah and Syria.Israel has not publicly acknowledged the raid, reportedly because it doesn’t want to provoke retaliation. Israel has been bombing Syria with impunity for years and rarely acknowledges its strikes in the country.The Syrian side has not confirmed the raid. Israeli reports alleged that Iranians were captured in the operation, but Iranian officials denied those claims. “No Iranian forces have been present in Syria in the area mentioned by the Zionist media, and this area is where the Syrian army forces are present, the source said,” Iran’s MEHR news agency reported, citing a source. “Accordingly, the claim of the Zionist media about harming the Iranian forces or capturing them is completely false and baseless.”

Israel Strikes Central Syria, Killing at Least Five, Wounding 19 - Israeli warplanes were reported to have carried out at least 15 airstrikesagainst central Syria, with the deadliest attacks centered around the city of Masyaf, which is west of Hama. Syrian state media is reporting that at least five people were killed and 19 wounded.State media in Syria also reported that their air defenses were activated against the strikes in Hama Province, and that firefighting forces are active trying to extinguish the fires caused by the attacks.It still isn’t clear what was being targeted by the Israelis, and there has been no official Israeli statement on the matter. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which often functions as a mouthpiece for the opposition in Syria, said that one of the strikes had targeted a scientific research center in Masyaf.It isn’t a foregone conclusion that Israel was targeting anything specifically serious in Syria, as they have been carrying out airstrikes in Syria intermittently for years, and often the attacks show no rhyme nor reason as to what is being targeted.There were other Israeli attacks reported elsewhere in the Hama Province, as well as strike near Damascus and the coastal city of Tartus. Hospital officials suggested that the death toll may rise in the strikes, as some of the wounded are in serious condition.

Israeli Strike On Alleged Syrian Chemical Weapons Facility Leaves High Death Toll - A late Sunday night apparent Israeli aerial attack on Syria has left at least 18 people dead and 36 injured, Syrian state SANA news agency reported Monday. This marks the highest death toll in Syria from an Israeli strike since the Gaza war began last October. Several explosions were witnessed shortly before midnight on Sunday impacting the Tartous and Hama governorates, particularly in the area of the Masyaf countryside. Israeli strikes in this coastal vicinity is somewhat rare.The target appears to have been a secretive facility long eyed by the West as part of the Assad government's chemical weapons program."About half an hour before midnight, multiple airstrikes targeted the Syrian Military Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) and several nearby buildings. I heard at least eight explosions, followed by the sound of ambulances," a local resident who spoke to CNN described.Some of the injured remain in critical condition, and the unusually high death toll suggests there may have been employees and staff inside the research center building when it was hit. Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash described the strikes as a "brutal and barbaric aggression" against a sovereign state.In the aftermath of the strikes, large forest fires erupted along the nearby Wadi al-Uyun highway in Masyaf. Syrian media sources released the below photograph of fires raging in the area...The Associated Press has cited a UK-based anti-Assad monitoring group to claim that Hezbollah operatives were among those killed in the attack:The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.One strike targeted a scientific research center in Masyaf, and others struck sites where "Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria," the observatory said. It said the research center was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.However, the reality is that these weapons program facilities have been targeted by Israel going back many years, in order to degrade the Syrian Army's capabilities, also in the wake of Western allegations that Assad forces had deployed chemical weapons against 'rebel' strongholds.

At Least 25 Killed, Scores Wounded in Intense Israeli Attacks on Central Syria - On Sunday night Israel carried out a flurry of airstrikes against central Syria, killing numerous people. The attacks were much more intense than initially reported, and the death toll continues to climb. It is now reported that Israel killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 40, with the attacks centering on the Syrian Military Scientific Studies and Research Center in Masyaf. Among those killed were at least four soldiers and intelligence personal, and five civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which often speaks for opposition groups, says the Masyaf site is used for work on precision missiles and drones.As usual, the Israeli Defense Forces has refused to comment on the attacks, saying it does not comment on reports that emerge in foreign media. In 2022, however, Israel’s Benny Gantz claimed that the site was being used by Syria to produce advanced missiles for its proxies.Israeli frequently targets Syria, but this attack was larger scale and more violent. In addition to the strikes on the Masyaf facility, attacks also caused a substantial fire in nearby wooded areas.In addition to Masyaf, strikes hit in and around Damascus, and elsewhere in the Hama Province. Explosions were reported in the coastal city of Tartus, though it appears this was related to Syria’s air defense systems being activated in an attempt to intercept Israeli missiles.Masyaf’s hospital reports many wounded have been taken there for treatment. The exact number of the injured keeps rising, including both those wounded directly in the strikes and those wounded by ensuing shrapnel. As several people are reportedly in serious condition, the death toll may continue to rise.

Israel kills humanitarian workers, children and displaced people in spree of war crimes - An Israeli attack on al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat, Gaza, on Wednesday killed 18 people, including 6 workers for the United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA. More were injured, including children. A statement by the agency detailed the flagrant criminality of the Israel Defense Forces:Six UNRWA colleagues killed today when two airstrikes hit a school and its surroundings in Nuseirat in the middle areas. This is the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident. Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people…This school has been hit five times since the war began. It is home to around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children. No one is safe in Gaza No one is spared.Head of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini explained, “Humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres demanded a stop to “these dramatic violations of international humanitarian law.”Various imperialist officials let out some crocodile tears. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted, “Reports of six UNRWA staff members being killed in an Israeli strike are appalling. My thoughts are with their families and all those who continue to carry out lifesaving work. Aid workers must be able to do their jobs safely.”Lammy had recently excluded parts for F-35 fighter jets responsible for such strikes from a pitifully small set of restrictions on British arms sales to Israel.The most openly filthy response came from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who told reporters, “We need to see humanitarian sites protected, and that’s something that we continue to raise with Israel,” but added in justification of Israel’s war crime, “We continue to see Hamas hiding in, taking over, and otherwise using these sites from which to conduct its operations.”His comment echoed the lying claim made by the IDF that al-Jaouni had been “formerly used” as a school but turned into “a Hamas command and control complex” with “many of the names [of the victims of the attack] published on social media and news channels belong[ing] to Hamas terrorists.”The barely disguised reality is that Israel considers humanitarian workers “terrorists” and enemy combatants, working against its war aims of the extermination and expulsion of the Palestinian people. It made this clear in January with its unsubstantiated claims of extensive Hamas involvement in UNRWA. Israel’s imperialist powers gave the green light by immediately suspending funding, still not resumed by the United States—formerly by far its largest funder.At least 220 UNRWA staff have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war, among around 300 humanitarian workers in total. More than 70 percent of the agency’s schools have been bombed, often multiple times—nearly all of which were being used as humanitarian shelters. In just the last six weeks, 16 schools have been hit.This is part of a deliberate plan to kill millions of people by starvation and disease. Sam Rose, a senior deputy director of UNRWA told the press Thursday, “We estimate that over a million Gazans will go without food in September. Over half the medicines in our health centres are running low, as is chlorine for water purification and other basic supplies.”Amed Khan, founder of the Elpida relief organisation, pointed to UN data showing how the number of aid trucks entering Gaza had fallen from 100 a day in July (a fraction of the 5-600 the UN says is needed) to around 50 in August. Just 147 trucks have entered in the whole of September. All aid groups cite restrictions and “inspections” imposed by the Israeli military as the reason.Effectively salting the earth, the IDF has meanwhile “decimated” Gaza’s agricultural assets—96 percent of farms, orchards, irrigation systems, machinery and storage facilities—according to the UN Trade and Development agency.

UN report exposes Israel’s imperialist-backed “intentional starvation campaign against the Palestinian people” A report by United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri has indicted Israel for using starvation as a weapon of war to exterminate the Palestinian people and seize their land. The document provides evidence of the genocidal intent of the Zionist regime and the complicity of the imperialist powers in war crimes unprecedented since World War II.Circulated to the UN General Assembly last Thursday, Fakhri’s report accused Israel of “deliberate starvation” and a “starvation campaign” that includes Gaza’s 2.3 million population and Palestinians in the West Bank. He wrote,Israel made its intentions to starve everyone in Gaza explicit, implemented its plans and predictably created a famine throughout Gaza. Tracking the geography of Israel’s starvation tactics alongside Israeli officials’ statements confirms its intent. Israel opened with a total siege that weakened all Palestinians in Gaza. Then, Israel used starvation to induce forcible transfer, harm and death against people in the north, pushing people into the south, only to starve, bombard and kill people in newly created refugee camps in the south.Fakhri pointed out in a social media post accompanying his report, “In Gaza, malnutrition, famine, and disease are killing more people than bombs and bullets.” This statement is backed up by the estimate published in The Lancet in July that 186,000 Palestinians have died due to Israel’s onslaught, far more than the approximately 41,000 shown in official Palestinian statistics.Quoting in part from the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which was adopted in the shadow of the Nazis’ Holocaust of European Jewry, the report notes, “The Special Rapporteur highlights how Israel has used starvation with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinian people by ‘(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to Palestinian people; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the Palestinian people conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part’.”It also addresses the complicity of the imperialist powers, remarking, perpetrators of starvation are usually supported by foreign States and corporations, making those third parties complicit in starvation. For example, in Gaza, third-party countries and businesses are not only responsible for the illegal supply of weapons for Israel’s starvation campaign and genocide, but businesses have been complicit for years in the illegal destruction of the Palestinian food and water systems, and the illegal settlements of Palestinian territories.In a damning passage underscoring that the political leaders of the United States and its European imperialist allies should be in the dock alongside Netanyahu in a future war crimes trial, Fakri writes, Prior to 7 October 2023, approximately half of the people in Gaza were food insecure and more than 80 per cent relied on humanitarian aid; the total siege was an immediate catalyst for starvation. Coupled with repeated dehumanizing statements and calls for the total annihilation of Gaza by Israeli officials, Israel’s starvation campaign fulfilled the actus reus [criminal act] and mens rea [criminal intent] of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and thereby triggered all States’ obligation to prevent genocide.Washington and its European allies did not merely fail to meet their obligation to prevent genocide but massively stepped up their supply of high-powered weaponry to the Zionist regime. At home, all opponents of the genocide who sought to draw attention to the world historic crimes perpetrated in Gaza and the complicity of the imperialist powers were subject to a vicious campaign of state-orchestrated persecution and intimidation.Fakhri’s report has largely been buried in the American and European media. To the extent that rampant starvation, spread of deadly diseases and absence of healthcare and other basic services receive any attention, it is from the standpoint of claiming that the Palestinians confront a humanitarian crisis that is the unfortunate byproduct of Israel’s war of “self-defence” against Hamas. The report provides a refutation of this absurdity when it notes,The world produces enough food to feed 1.5 times the current population, and yet prevalence of hunger, malnutrition and famine are on the rise. Hunger and famine are not production problems, they are always caused by acts and omissions which deny people access to food. Famines are most often triggered by conflict, economic shocks and drought. But these triggers reflect underlying social relationships based on dependency and extraction. Ultimately, the concentration of power and absence of accountability in food systems increases the risk of famine.Famines should therefore always be understood as a political problem; they are human-made and are always the result of one group starving another.The “acts and omissions” by Israel and its imperialist backers that have created famine and misery in Gaza are comparable with the inhuman crimes of the Nazi regime during World War II. The Nazis’ Hunger Plan deliberately set out to seize food from the Soviet population for German soldiers and the population so as to facilitate the mass extermination of Soviet citizens, thereby establishing “lebensraum” in the East. It played a major role in the more than 27 million Soviet civilians believed to have lost their lives during the Nazi war of annihilation.

Eyewitness report from the West Bank: “The Israeli army is now commencing major military operations to drive us out” The World Socialist Web Site spoke at the weekend with Jassir Hamdan (name changed), who is currently in the West Bank. He has lived in Germany for many years and is visiting his family in Nablus. He spoke with Dietmar Gaisenkersting.

• Dietmar Gaisenkersting: Our appointment on Thursday was cancelled because you had to go to your in-laws. What had happened?
• Jassir Hamdan: I had traveled with my wife to my in-laws, who live on the other side of the city of Nablus after Israeli soldiers suddenly invaded the city with their vehicles and caused absolute chaos.The soldiers were looking for certain people, shooting, killing people and photographing everything. Most of the time you do not know what they want or what they are up to. That is what happened to my in-laws in my neighbourhood on Thursday. They blocked a road for a few hours and everyone was scared. It is dangerous to drive a private car because the Israeli soldiers shoot indiscriminately. That is why everyone immediately tries to get to safety, to hide until the soldiers leave again. Only then is it reasonably safe to return home.Nablus is a relatively large city, the second largest in Palestine. In eastern Nablus, where my parents-in-law live, there are two refugee camps nearby, Balata and Askar. That is why the Israelis always cause so many problems on that side of the city, because the fighters are concentrated on that side of the city, and also in the old town of Nablus.
• DG: What kind of fighters are they?
• JH: They are largely organised under Hamas, from the military wing of Fatah and, to a lesser extent, from Islamic Jihad. These are fighters who are fighting against the occupation, against the settlers, against the violence of the Israelis. However, they are relatively isolated as small groups in each town, because the West Bank is divided into many small, separate islands by the Israeli settlements. Persecuted both by the Israeli army and the Palestinian Authority, it is difficult for them to move around the country, which is why it is so difficult to organise.Very few of them have homemade explosives, as in Jenin. There they blew up Israeli military vehicles. That was the reason for this ten-day operation in Jenin. The Israelis killed many people in the process, but also before and after the operation.
• DG: What role does the Palestinian Authority [under President Mahmoud Abbas] play in this? Is it acting against Israel?
• JH: No, you can forget about them. I have spoken to so many acquaintances, friends and relatives who live here. No one has any confidence in the Palestinian Authority. They are now playing an absolutely treacherous role. They simply do what the Israelis want and they help the Israelis. For example, the fighters in the old city of Nablus have erected many umbrellas on the roofs so that Israeli drones and aeroplanes cannot observe the streets.The Palestinian Authority regularly destroys these screens. And we know for a fact that a few hours later, or the next day at the latest, Israeli soldiers march in to kill the fighters. This is part of their co-operation with the Israeli army, and therefore we have no faith in the corrupt, treacherous Palestinian Authority.
• DG: What is the situation in the West Bank, what can you tell us?
• JH: The Israeli troops were in Jenin for around ten days. They killed many people there and completely destroyed the entire infrastructure of the city. That is in the northern regions, near Nablus. In the central region, around Ramallah, the situation is somewhat calmer because the Palestinian Authority and the Israelis have more power there and they control and suppress everything. There are therefore no fighters there, just as there are none in Jerusalem.In the southern cities of the West Bank, for example in Hebron, we have had a few surprises in the last two or three weeks. Residents there got hold of weapons and killed a few Israeli settlers and that has made the whole situation even more difficult. How can I describe it? The Israelis are punishing the entire population, not just a few people or the fighters, but the entire population. This city is like a big prison.The villages around each town are always under threat from settlers, who have military support from the Israeli army. The settlers are destroying olive trees, fields, people are being attacked.And perhaps you heard what happened the day before yesterday. The Israeli army killed the American-Turkish peace activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi near Nablus with a targeted shot to the head. This was in a village called Beita, where Israeli settlers have simply seized large pieces of land from the people living there and expelled the farmers. There have been very many problems and direct conflict with the settlers for several years. But now the settlers are acting even more aggressively because they have been given the green light by the Israeli army and the Israeli government.The army is now starting major military operations to drive people out of the West Bank to Jordan. Israeli politicians are constantly talking about a ‘substitute solution’ for the Palestinians in Jordan. They want to take the whole country away from us.Jordanian and other Arab politicians say that they will not accept such a thing. But we also know that these Arab regimes and governments, especially in Jordan, are dependent on American and Western governments. They really don’t want to do anything about it.

Philippine and Chinese vessels repeatedly collide in the South China SeaOver the past month, Philippine and Chinese Coast Guard vessels have repeatedly collided with each other in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, bringing tensions between the countries to a knife’s edge. Both sides claim the other deliberately rammed them; neither shows any sign of backing down. Washington has secretly been directly involved militarily in each of the incidents. The collisions occur at the Sabina Shoal, a reef and lagoon 75 nautical miles west of Palawan Island in the Philippines, and deemed within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. The Second Thomas Shoal, about 20 nautical miles due west of Sabina, had been the site of confrontations between the Philippines and China in June and early July, but Manila and Beijing concluded a temporary deal that would decrease tensions during resupply missions to Philippine troops stationed there. Within weeks of this deal, confrontation erupted at Sabina Shoal, after tensions had been building there for months, in the background to the Second Thomas Shoal events. In April, the Philippines claimed that China was engaged in an island reclamation project, dredging coral and sand around the Sabina Shoal to construct a habitable facility there. Manila deployed its Coast Guard flagship, BRP Teresa Magbanua, to counter these alleged activities. Beijing countered that it was concerned that Manila intended to establish the Teresa Magbanua as a permanent military base at the Sabina Shoal, perhaps even running it aground there in the same way that the Philippines had done with the BRP Sierra Madre on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999. Permanent occupation of disputed features would violate bilateral agreements recently concluded between China and the Philippines, Beijing claimed. In early May, the Philippine Coast Guard issued a statement claiming that its operation to block Chinese vessels had been successful and would continue. By early June, several vessels of the Chinese and Philippine Coast Guard fleets were sailing in close confrontation with each other around the Sabina Shoal. A team of researchers from the University of the Philippines Institute of Biology completed an onsite investigation of the Sabina Shoal on June 8 and concluded that the evidence there did not support the claim that China was engaged in reclamation activity. This finding by Philippine scientists, brought out to the reef by the Philippine Coast Guard, was a blow to the claims being made by the Philippine military. On June 12, Philippine Independence Day, Manila staged a provocative sail through at Sabina Shoal, in close proximity to the Chinese vessels, and with much media fanfare. No confrontation occurred. Tensions escalated dramatically, when on August 19, Chinese Coast Guard vessels and two Philippine Coast Guard patrol boats collided. Manila claimed that China “rammed” its vessels. On August 25, Manila sent a Bureau of Fisheries vessel, loaded with journalists, on a “resupply” mission to fishermen at the Sabina Shoal. The Chinese Coast Guard blasted the boat with water cannons, when the ships came within meters of each other. The Teresa Magbanua, deployed to the Sabina Shoal since April, was running low on supplies, Manila claimed, and they sent Coast Guard resupply missions, which the Chinese Coast Guard blocked. On August 28, the Philippines resupplied the Teresa Magbanua by helicopter. China warned that such resupplies were dangerous and could lead to an aerial incident. On August 31, the Teresa Magbanua and a Chinese Coast Guard vessel again collided. Each side claimed the other had rammed it. The tensions show no signs of diminishing. Among the Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the area are two tugboats. The Global Times, a Chinese paper closely associated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), published an editorial on September 2 that stated that one of China’s possible options was using these tugboats to tow the Teresa Magbanua out of the vicinity. The ramming incidents between the Philippines and China are becoming alarmingly common. Sailors have suffered injuries in the process. Both sides blame the other, but the truth of the matter is that in the vast waters of the South China Sea, and despite repeated warnings, they are sailing their vessels within meters of each other. They are playing chicken with coast guard vessels.