Focus on Fracking: September 2025

US oil prices finished higher for a second week on across the board inventory draws and on further deterioration of Ukraine-Russian peace prospects… after rising 2.7% to $63.66 a barrel last week on an unexpectedly large draw from US oil supplies and as talks on ending the war in Ukraine stalled, increasing the likelihood that Russian oil would remain sanctioned, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for October delivery edged up in early Asian trading on Monday after Ukraine attacked Russian energy facilities amid fading hopes for a quick resolution to the war between the two countries, and continued to edge higher in early US trading on renewed optimism after Fed Chairman Powell had signaled a return to interest rate cuts, perhaps as early as September, and settled $1.14 or nearly 2% higher at $64.80 a barrel, as traders anticipated more U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and more Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure that could disrupt supplies…crude oil prices fell across global markets on Tuesday after Trump’s warning of severe sanctions on Russia sparked concerns about economic disruptions and reduced energy demand, then sunk in early US trading as part of a wider selloff triggered by Trump’s attempt to remove and replace a Fed Governor, sparking concerns over the Fed's political independence, and settled $1.55 lower at $63.25 a barrel on concerns about the impact of Trump's trade policies after he threatened to impose "substantial additional tariffs" on countries that didn’t remove digital taxes and related regulations that harm U.S. tech companies….oil prices steadied on global market on Wednesday, as traders watched for fresh developments in the Ukraine war and weighed an American Petroleum Institute report of across-the-board declines in U.S. crude oil, gasoline and diesel inventories, then rallied higher in US trading after the release of the EIA’s petroleum stocks report, which confirmed inventory draws across the board, and settled 90 cents or 1.4% higher at $64.15 a barrel after data showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories, and as traders weighed the potential impact from new U.S. tariffs on India…oil prices slipped during Asian trade on Thursday as market participants assessed the implications of United States tariffs on India’s Russian oil imports, then steadied on Thursday morning in New York, as shrinking oil inventories in the United States lent some support as market participants turned their focus to a looming oversupply situation as the main driving season was coming to an end, and recovered to settle 45 cents higher at $64.60 a barrel after the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump was not happy when he learned that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight…oil prices fell in Asia on Friday, tugged between uncertainty about Russian supply and expectations of lower demand as the summer driving season in the United States neared its close, then edged lower in New York as the market turned its focus to widely shared oversupply expectations, and settled down 59 cents on the day at $64.01 a barrel, as traders looked toward weaker demand in the U.S., the world's largest oil market, and a boost in supply this autumn from OPEC and its allies, but still managed to finish 0.5% higher for the week…

meanwhile, natural gas prices finished higher for the first time in six weeks on forced short selling in the wake of a warmer forecast, bargain hunting after prices hit a 10 month low, and a lighter than expected addition of natural gas to storage… after falling 7.5% to a nine month low of $2.698 per mmBTU last week as much cooler temperatures were expected to spread across much of the northern half of the Lower 48 through the final stretch of August, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for September delivery opened 3.4 cents lower on Monday, as comfortable temperatures sent prices lower over the weekend, but almost recovered to settle just two-tenths of a cent lower at $2.696 per mmBTU, as traders assessed a mostly bearish weather outlook, plump supply and strong LNG export demand…September natural gas started Tuesday’s trading nine-tenths of a cent higher amid volatile trading ahead of Wednesday’s contract expiration, and settled 2.1 cents higher at $2.717 per mmBTU despite exceptionally cool forecasts for this time of year….the September natural gas contract opened 5.4 cents higher on its last day of trading Wednesday, and posted a steady recovery on the back of updated weather forecasts, then rallied on forced short covering to settle 15.0 cents higher at $2.867 per mmBTU, while the more actively traded natural gas contract for October delivery settled 9.6 cents higher at $2.886 per mmBTU….with markets now citing the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for October delivery, that contract started Thursday trading two-tenths of a cent above its Wednesday price, but surged upward to surpass $2.960 after a bullish storage report hit the wire, and hit $2.999 before pulling back ahead of the close to finish higher at $2.944 per mmBTU as the tight storage print and waning renewables generation fueled the gains…natural gas futures traded higher early Friday, as positive sentiment in the wake of Thursday’s bullish storage miss held in place ahead of the three-day holiday weekend, then briefly pushed above $3 in midday trading as bears headed for the exits ahead of the holiday weekend, before settling 5.3 cents higher at $2.997 per mmBTU, supported by light holiday trade and forecasts for stronger cooling demand…natural gas prices thus finished 11.1% higher for the week, their first weekly gain since July 18th, while the natural gas contract for October delivery, which had ended the prior week at $2.800 per mmBTU, finished 7.0% higher…

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending August 22nd indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 18 cubic feet to 3,217 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 112 billion cubic feet, or 3.4% less than the 3,329 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on August 22nd of last year, but 154 billion cubic feet, or 5.0% more than the five-year average of 3,063 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 22nd of August over the most recent five years….the 18 billion cubic foot injection into US natural gas storage for the cited week was somewhat less than the 26 billion cubic foot addition to storage that analysts forecast in a Reuters poll ahead of the report, and also less than the 35 billion cubic foot of gas that were added to natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2024, as well as well less than the average 38 billion cubic foot addition to natural gas storage that has been typical for the same mid August week over the past five years…

The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA

US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending August 22nd indicated that despite a decrease in our refinery throughput and a decrease in our oil exports, we still had to pull oil out of our stored crude supplies for the fourteenth time in twenty-nine weeks, and for the 27th time in fifty-nine weeks, albeit by less than we had to withdraw last week….Our imports of crude oil fell by an average of 263,000 barrels per day to average 6,234,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 423,000 barrels per day over the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by an average of 562,000 barrels per day to average 3,810,000 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 2,424,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending August 22nd, an average of 299,000 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 supplies from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils averaged 493,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 57,000 barrels per day higher than the prior week at 13,439,000 barrels per day. Hence, our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil, from transfers, and from domestic well production appears to have averaged a total of 16,356,000 barrels per day during the August 22nd reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 16,880,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending August 22nd, an average of 328,000 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 231,000 barrels of oil per day were being pulled out of the supplies of oil stored in the US… So, based on that reported & estimated data, the crude oil figures provided by the EIA appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil from storage, from net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending August 22nd averaged a rounded 292,000 fewer barrels per day than what 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 [ +292,000] 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… However, since most oil traders react to these weekly EIA reports as if they were gospel, and since these weekly figures therefore often drive oil pricing and hence decisions to drill or complete oil wells, we’ll continue to report this data just as it’s published, and just as it’s watched & believed to be reasonably reliable by most everyone in the industry…(for more on how this weekly oil data is gathered, and the possible reasons for that “unaccounted for” oil supply, see this EIA explainer….also see this old twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had once hoped to do about it)

This week’s rounded 231,000 barrel per day average decrease in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 342,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while 111,000 barrels per day were being added to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending the string of nearly continuous additions to the SPR since September 2023, which followed nearly continuous SPR withdrawals over the 39 months prior to August 2023… Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicated that the 4 week average of our oil imports rose to 6,403,000 barrels per day last week, which was still 0.4% less than the 6,430,000 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 57,000 barrels per day higher at 13,382,000 barrels per day because the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 5,000 barrels per day higher at 13,013,000 barrels per day, and because Alaska’s oil production was 52,000 barrels per day higher at 426,000 barrels per day.….US crude oil production had reached a pre-pandemic high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 2.6% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also up 38.5% from 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 94.6% of their capacity while processing those 16,880,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending August 22nd, down from the 96.6% utilization rate of a week earlier, but still on the high side of the post-pandemic utilization rate for this time of year…. the 16,880,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined this week were 0.1% more than the 16,864,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending August 23rd of 2024, but were 3.0% less than the 17,408,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending August 23rd, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 95.2%, which was within the pre-pandemic normal range for this time of year…

Even with the decrease in the amount of oil being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was quite a bit higher, increasing by 427,000 barrels per day to 9,981,000 barrels per day during the week ending August 22nd, after our refineries’ gasoline output had decreased by 259,000 barrels per day during the prior week.. This week’s gasoline production was also 3.8% more than the 9,612,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending August 23rd of last year, but 6.4% less than the gasoline production of 10,660,000 barrels per day seen during the prepandemic week ending August 23rd, 2019….on the other hand, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 113,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had increased by 193,000 barrels per day to a 37 week high during the prior week. Even after this week’s production decrease, our distillates output was 4.3% more than the 5,002,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending August 23rd of 2024, and 0.5% more than the 5,193,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending August 23rd, 2019....

Even after this week’s sizable increase in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week fell for the nineteenth time in twenty-six weeks, decreasing by 2,720,000 barrels to a 35 week low of 222,334,000 barrels during the week ending August 22nd, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 2,720,000 barrels during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies decreased by less this week even though the amount of gasoline supplied to US users rose by 398,000 barrels per day to 9,240,000 barrels per day because our exports of gasoline fell by 305,000 barrels per day to 714,000 barrels per day while our imports of gasoline rose by 17,000 barrels per day to 141,000 barrels per day ….Even after twenty-one gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past twenty-nine weeks, our gasoline supplies were 1.8% above last August 23rd’s gasoline inventories of 218,394,000 barrels, while they were still near the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…

With the decrease in this week’s distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels fell for the 19th time in 34 weeks, decreasing by 1,786,000 barrels to 114,242,000 barrels during the week ending August 22nd, after our distillates supplies had increased by 2,343,000 during the prior week.. Our distillates supplies decreased this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, rose by 174,000 barrels to a 27 week high of 4,141,000 barrels per day, and because our exports of distillates rose by 321,000 barrels per to 1,473,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates rose by 17,000 barrels per day to 141,000 barrels per day... With 48 withdrawals from inventories over the past 82 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were still 7.2% below the 123,086,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on August 23rd of 2024, and about 15% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…

Finally, even after the decrease in our oil exports and the decrease in our refinery demand, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 13th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 23rd time over the pa t year, decreasing by 2,392,000 barrels over the week, from 420,684,000 barrels on August 15th to 418,292,000 barrels on August 22nd, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 6,014,000 barrels over the prior week… After those decreases, our commercial crude oil inventories were 6% below the recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, while they were still about 24% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the fourth weekend of August 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 increased exports to Europe following the onset of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze-offs, our commercial crude supplies have somewhat leveled off since, and as of this August 22nd were 1.6% below the 425,183,000 barrels of oil left in commercial storage on August 23rd of 2024, and 1.1 less than the 422,944,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on August 25th of 2023, and were fractionally less than the 418,346,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on August 26th of 2022…

This Week’s Rig Count

The US rig count was down by two over the week ending August 29th, as rigs targeting oil increased by one, while rigs targeting natural gas decreased by three…for a quick snapshot of this week's rig count, we are again including below a screenshot of the rig count summary pdf from Baker Hughes...in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of August 29th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (August 22nd) and this week’s (August 29th) count, the third column shows last week’s August 22nd 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 30th of August, 2024…

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5 People Critically Injured Plugging Old Well in Ohio Wayne NF -- Marcellus Drilling News - A crew from Monroe Drilling Operations, LLC, was working on an abandoned well located in Wayne National Forest (in Washington County, OH) on Monday morning when natural gas and crude oil traveled up through the well to the surface and ignited, causing an explosion. In addition to the five members of Monroe Drilling, a mineral resources inspector from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) was also on-site. All six people on-site were injured by the blast, with five of the six “critically injured.

Officials release new details on orphan well blast that injured six in Ohio — State officials released new information following Monday’s explosion at an orphan well site in Independence Township that left six people injured. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said a crew from Monroe Drilling Operations LLC was working to plug the well, located in Wayne National Forest, when the incident occurred. An ODNR mineral resources inspector also was on site. According to the department, natural gas and crude oil traveled up through the well during the plugging process and ignited, triggering the explosion. Five of the injured were workers with Monroe Drilling Operations, while the sixth was the department inspector. The inspector was taken to a hospital Monday and released later the same day. Local fire crews from Reno, Little Muskingum, New Matamoras, Sardis and Marietta responded to the scene and worked with the department and Wayne National Forest officials to extinguish the fire and secure the site. Abandoned or orphan wells are historic oil and gas wells with no known responsible owner. The department noted that each well presents unique challenges, including the possible presence of oil and gas. Contractors hired to plug wells are required to have experience handling such risks. The department said it is conducting a full investigation into the facts and circumstances that led to the explosion. (Video featured shows footage from previous coverage)

OH Rights Owner Wins Case Against Encino re Post-Production Deductions -- Marcellus Drilling News - Another important lawsuit involving whether or not a driller can deduct from royalty checks for post-production expenses was just decided by the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Seventh District in Carroll County. The rights owner in this case, Gateway Royalty II, sued Encino Energy (EAP Ohio) over the issue of deducting post-production expenses from the company’s overriding royalty interests. This is slightly different from the usual post-production issue for landowners/rights owners.

Fresh Legal Look at Ohio Royalty Post-Production Deductions -- Marcellus Drilling News -- Back in April, MDN brought you news about an important decision issued in a federal court case (in Ohio) that potentially affects landowners and drillers with shale leases throughout the Marcellus/Utica (see 6th Circuit Upholds OH Landowner Claims Against Antero re Deductions). The case, The Grissoms, LLC v. Antero Resources Corporation, was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Circuit) on April 2, 2025. The case involves a dispute between a certified class of 370 Ohio landowners and Antero. According to a law firm writing about the decision, “This case is more than just a win for those plaintiffs. It sets the stage for future mineral owners in their efforts to fight royalty deductions by clarifying a commonly used oil and gas lease provision.”

Marietta, OH Officials Ask ODNR to Deny Permit for Injection Well -- Marcellus Drilling News - The war of words continues. Two weeks ago, a county Republican meeting in Washington County, Ohio, where the City of Marietta is located, turned into a shouting match over a potential fifth shale wastewater injection well proposed by DeepRock Disposal Solutions (see OH Republican Officials Squabble in Public Over Injection Wells). The open hostility continues with Marietta officials, including the city’s mayor, law director, water superintendent, and a majority of city council members, asking the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil and Gas Chief Eric Vendel to deny a permit application from DeepRock for the Stephan #1 injection well.

Infinity Nat. Res. on the Hunt for More Utica OR Marcellus Assets Marcellus Drilling News - MDN previously brought you the news that Infinity Natural Resources (INR) CEO Zack Arnold was interested in "lower level" deals to buy Utica Shale assets situated near INR's existing leasehold positions (see Infinity Natural Resources on the Hunt for More Ohio Utica Assets). Arnold told the audience at the 2025 SUPER DUG Conference and Expo in June that his company was currently hunting for deals. We have an update. It appears Arnold has modified his intentions since June. At yesterday's DUG Appalachia Conference in Pittsburgh, Arnold said he's now interested in buying both Utica AND Marcellus assets. He's also interested not only in smaller deals in the millions of dollars, but larger deals "that could pierce $1 billion."

CEO: Infinity Natural Resources Eyes More Utica, Marcellus M&A —Newly public E&P Infinity Natural Resources sees opportunities to roll up additional Utica and Marcellus leasehold in Appalachia.“We’re buying,” Infinity CEO Zack Arnold said Aug. 27 during Hart Energy’s DUG Appalachia Conference & Expo in Pittsburgh.Infinity is a top producer in the Ohio Utica’s volatile oil window. The company also has Utica and Marcellus dry gas exposure in southwestern Pennsylvania.Infinity is open to pursuing acquisitions ranging from small, tactical ground-game opportunities to larger, more strategic block-style packages.“We would love to buy assets that come clear up the food chain—from what we’re doing in the millions of dollars in leasehold up to acquisitions of assets that could pierce $1 billion,” Arnold said.Infinity, which closed an initial public offering earlier this year, produced an average of 33,100 boe/d in the second quarter (19% oil and 37% liquids).The Utica play is gaining momentum in Appalachia after EOG’s $5.6. billion acquisition of Encino Energy this summer. The Encino acquisition adds 675,000 net core acres to EOG's Utica position for a combined 1.1 million net acres.EOG’s pro forma production is estimated at 275,000 boe/d in the Utica after the Encino acquisition.Experts anticipate continued M&A activity across the Utica’s volatile oil, wet gas and dry gas windows. While northeastern Pennsylvania is fairly locked up by large producers, leasehold in southwestern Appalachia is still relatively fragmented, said David Eudey, vice president of Northeast Appalachia for Expand Energy. Top producers active in the Utica include Ascent Resources, Antero Resources and Gulfport Energy. A conference attendee suggested Infinity explore more distant areas of the Ohio Utica, including Tuscarawas County.It’s an “interesting place” within the Ohio Utica, Arnold said. “It’s a little bit to the west of a lot of the development that’s occurred today.”However, Infinity has established a strong track record of incorporating less prospective areas of the Utica into its drilling program.“We've seen great success operating on wells and in areas that people would've believed to have been black oil and not the volatile oil—and not that long ago,” Arnold said.He referenced Infinity’s Casper well pad brought online in Carroll County, Ohio—one of the company’s best pads ever developed.“When we bought the position in Carroll County in 2021, people believed that acreage was probably not going to be viable,” he said. “We were sort of the furthest west that anybody had developed acreage.” “So, I think [Tuscarawas County] has a lot of promise, and there’s a little bit of development occurring there.”

Utica Shale Academy obtains $450000 transportation grant - — As the Utica Shale Academy expands its Salineville campus, it is also growing its van fleet after obtaining a $450,000 grant for transportation. Superintendent Bill Watson said the community school received a Rural Transport Grant in early August though the state’s biennium budget and officials plan to procure 10 additional school vans. As of now, the fleet only has two vehicles and primarily carries students to and from Carroll County; however, the extra vans would help transport students throughout Columbiana, Jefferson, Stark and Mahoning counties. “The grant was part of appropriations in the House and Senate bill sponsored by Ohio Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel (R-79th District). We spoke about a need for transportation and she helped support the Rural Transportation bill,” said Watson. “Other schools qualified but we were the only ones to have our own transportation. That was a caveat for the grant and we’re thankful to her for that.” Officials are seeking competitive quotes and narrowed their choice to Kia hybrid vans. “We did a cost analysis on gas mileage and that was the vehicle we thought was in our best interest. We hope to have them up and moving by October,” Watson added, saying the new vehicles would also help widen the range for students. “We’re looking to expand our footprint and we have the ability to provide transportation,” he said. “The other vans are for longer trips. The grant is for two years and we hope to remain eligible next year and expand our fleet into the 20’s.” Another submission has been made for a competitive transportation safety grant that would also add drivers and provide safety training. Watson said officials applied for a $550,000 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant through the U.S. Department of Justice and should learn if it was approved in October. The COPS grant is the second one USA received following a $452,000 COPS School Violence Prevention Program grant in 2024 to help add a security officer. “It works symbiotically with the COPS grant we previously got and is an expansion of that. It will cover drivers and training and merges the safety and transportation position, plus it allows us to expand our services a little bit more and ensure we do things at the level we want.” The Utica Shale Academy includes more than 170 students in grades 7-12 and its campus is comprised of the Hutson Building, the Energy Training Center, the Williams Collaboration Center and the exterior and new interior welding sites along East Main Street, as well as the Utica Shale Academy Community Center that is housed on Church Street. The community school is a dropout recovery and retention facility that focuses on career-tech education for at-risk pupils and provides certifications to enter the workforce.

US E&Ps Begin Tapping Dry Gas Potential of 'Deep Utica' | Energy Intelligence -- With prime Marcellus Shale acreage maturing, operators are looking deeper into the Pennsylvania rock. Pennsylvania’s Deep Utica Shale, long overshadowed by the shallower and more accessible Marcellus Shale, is getting a whole new look from Appalachian producers eager to employ advanced drilling technologies to tap the basin’s vast dry gas reserves.

Pennsylvania's Deep Utica Wells 'Smoking' Marcellus RORs —Pennsylvania’s deep Utica wells are “smoking” the overlying Marcellus’ rates of returns, producing 25 MMcf/d and more without decline for more than a year so far, operators said at Hart Energy’s DUG Appalachia conference in Pittsburgh. The reservoir’s depth and pressure are similar to Comstock Resources’ mega-Bcf-gushing western Haynesville wells in Texas where an Aethon Energy well, for example, has produced more than 3 Bcf per 1,000 lateral feet in its first 33 months online. Deep Utica exploration might even qualify for an extra federal tax break under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which restored a deduction for oil and gas research and development spending. “The deep Utica, watch out folks. The deep Utica will probably be the next up-and-coming deep shale play here in Pennsylvania,” Mike Hillebrand, CEO of Pennsylvania-based E&P Huntley & Huntley, told conference attendees. Hillebrand recently sold Huntley’s Marcellus-focused Olympus Energy portfolio E&P in Pennsylvania to EQT Corp. for $1.8 billion after making five deep Utica wells within its leasehold. A next Huntley start-up will focus on acreage for deep Utica and Tier II Marcellus potential, he said. At Infinity Natural Resources, explorationists anticipate putting a rig on its deep Utica potential in Pennsylvania underlying its existing Marcellus-producing leasehold, CEO Zack Arnold told attendees. Infinity operates in both western Pennsylvania’s Marcellus and eastern Ohio’s oily Utica window. The formation’s deposition is shallower on the far western side of the Appalachian Basin in Ohio where the overlying Marcellus disappears. As the Utica is shallower when moving west, the depth, temperature and pressure are less than on the eastern side of the basin where the hydrocarbons have been “cooked,” resulting in gas rather than oil. “The deep Utica in southwestern and central Pennsylvania is incredibly exciting,” Arnold said. Olympus had watched its neighbors’ returns from deep Utica wildcats in Pennsylvania for years, finding inconsistent results for nearly as long, Hillebrand said. When CNX Resources began producing consistent success, “we entered the game.” A first Olympus test, Poseidon, cost $2,700 per lateral foot. “Our first, well, we threw science galore to it,” he said. The fifth and last test before selling to EQT, though, cost $1,850 per foot. “And we had line of sight to get to $1,600. And anything below $2,000 a foot on these type curves is just phenomenal.” Olympus’ acreage in southwestern Pennsylvania was among the last of Tier I Marcellus potential of 3 Bcf-plus per 1,000 ft, Hillebrand said at the conference. “And for our long laterals’ economics compared to a 10,000-foot Utica, our Utica was smoking our internal rate of return over direct offsets in the Marcellus that were long laterals and still in Tier I turf. “So, I would call it equivalent to probably East Texas, where Comstock is drilling the deep Bossier/Haynesville.” There, the target is deeper at up to 19,000 vertical feet. The temperature is higher at more than 300 F and up to 425 F. “We’re at 280 to 290 bottomhole temperatures,” Hillebrand said.

River watchdog issues intent to sue over oil and tar in the Allegheny River - The Pittsburgh-based environmental group, Three Rivers Waterkeeper,issued a formal notice of intent to sue on Wednesday to affiliates of Sunoco and BP, as well as other entities, claiming that they continue to pollute the Allegheny River with oil and tar. The group is being represented byAppalachian Mountain Advocates.Captain Evan Clark of the Waterkeeper group monitors Pittsburgh-area rivers by boat. Along the Allegheny, he has often noticed an oily sheen in the water and tar deposited on the shoreline near 57th Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. “There’s been a constant seep of oil coming out of that section of river bank, and a really strong petrochemical smell,” he said. The group alleges that petrochemicals are routinely discharged from multiple sources on the 50-acre site along the riverfront, which it calls a violation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law.According to Waterkeeper, in the past, a petroleum refinery and other industries were located on the site, and 35,000 gallons of gasoline were spilled.Now, a petroleum storage and distribution terminal, a cold storage warehouse and a parking lot occupy the site. The notice of intent to sue was sent to six entities that own property on the site, including affiliates of Sunoco and BP, and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Waterkeeper claims historic and current uses have contaminated the site.According to the group, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has observed water pollution in this part of the river since at least 1993.“This is an ongoing enforcement action and settlement negotiation, and DEP cannot comment further at this time,” said agency spokesperson Neil Shader in an email. “DEP has no comment on the NOI [notice of intent to sue] from [Three] Rivers Waterkeeper.”The group complained to DEP in 2023, according to Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper. Soon after, the Sunoco affiliate, Evergreen Resources Group LLC, had booms in the river upgraded to improve oil containment at the site. But Captain Clark continues to notice and document pollution in the water. “Most times I visit the site, I see oil leaking past those booms or the booms washed on shore,” he said. Clark is disturbed that people are coming into contact with the pollution. “Folks from the neighborhood going down there to enjoy being by the river, but sitting on these big globs of tar, fishing from them, their kids wading around,” he said. There is precedent for preventing a similar pollution problem at the Marcus Hook refinery on the Delaware River near Philadelphia. “The [EPA] had stepped in there to require them to put in a permanent system to contain the oil that was seeping into the river,” Clark said. “We’re hoping to see some solution like that come out of this.”

PA DEP Keeps a Close Eye on Leaky Eureka Wastewater Facility -- Marcellus Drilling News - In mid-August, a spill at Eureka Resources’ Williamsport facility released about 16,000 gallons of oil-based wastewater, with some entering Grafius Run and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (see ‘Black Goop’ Spills into Susquehanna River from Closed Eureka Plant). The leak, traced to a corroded tank fitting, was discovered by fishermen. In its ongoing investigation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) detected no radiation at the facility but did find significant permit violations, including improper long-term waste storage, faulty tank alarms, and unauthorized discharges. DEP issued orders requiring immediate containment, waste removal, tank repairs, and proof of proper disposal (see PA DEP Orders Eureka Resources to Remove Waste at Williamsport Plant). Cleanup continues with multiple agencies involved.

Freeport Twp (PA) Declares Disaster Emergency re EQT Frac-Out -- Marcellus Drilling News - Just coming to light for us: Freeport Township, located in Greene County, PA, declared a Disaster Emergency on June 23, 2025. The emergency is related to a “frac-out” at an EQT well that happened three years ago, in July 2022 (see Possible Frac-Out Reported at EQT Well Site in Greene County, PA). A frac-out, or “inadvertent return,” happens when drilling mud pops out of places where it’s not supposed to — places outside the borehole being drilled. The problem with this frac-out is that it is alleged to have affected many local water wells in the area (100 people)

DEP Closes Violations For Failing To Restore Shale Gas Water Impoundment For 7 Years In Clarion County After Owner Reports Using It To Frack A Well On July 31 - On August 25, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection closed violations issued to Laurel Mountain Production in April for failing to restore the Stacey Road Freshwater Impoundment in Perry Township, Clarion County after DEP said it was abandoned after more than seven years of not being used. DEP said the company notified the agency it used the water to frack a shale gas well at the Buffalo Yokel well pad in Parker Township, Butler County on July 31, 2025.Water use records with the August 25 inspection report show Laurel Mountain used 64,435 gallons of water from the impoundment to frack each of the 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, and 7H shale gas wells at the Buffalo Yokel well pad-- a few truck loads for each well. The same records show the company used an additional 16 and 21 million gallons from a nearby water source to frack each of those wells. One violation was continued for the site- correcting a submission on terminating the permit for the site. Click Here for DEP’s August 24 inspection report with attachments. On July 22, 2025, DEP did a follow-up inspection of the abandoned Laurel Mountain Production Stacey Road Freshwater Impoundment and found an unapproved dewatering operation was stopped. Dewatering consists of pumping water out of the impoundment and spraying it on surrounding vegetation. Dewatering started on July 8, but was halted by DEP on July 18 after the dewatering plan was not accepted by DEP and initial sampling of the impoundment water and during dewatering was not completed. DEP inspection report July 15.The July 22 inspection confirmed the pump had been removed and no dewatering was going on. DEP July 22 inspection report.DEP said in April Laurel Mountain Production also never complied with the basic requirement to register the impoundment with the agency since it was constructed in 2017 as required by state regulations.DEP said Laurel Mountain submitted the impoundment registration on May 7, 2025 in the August 25 inspection report..The Stacey Road Impoundment, located on part of a reclaimed surface coal mine, was issued a GP-2 Erosion and Sedimentation General Permit on April 11, 2017 to construct the facility. It was completed by August 2017, according to DEP eFACTs records. DEP’s April 15, 2025 inspection report said the impoundment was only used for about 9 months, until May 12, 2018 when it was last used as a source of water for fracking shale gas wells on the Glacial well pad. Impoundments like this must be restored no later than 9 months after their final use, which in this case would have been by February 12, 2019.

30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 18 – 24 -- For the week of August 18 – 24, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica nearly doubled from the previous week. There were 30 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, a significant increase from the 16 issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued the lion’s share with 14 new permits. Six of PA’s permits went to EQT for a single pad in Greene County. Four permits were issued to Expand Energy for a pad in Bradford County. Three permits were awarded to Sabre Energy for a pad in Sullivan County. And a single permit was issued to Range Resources in Beaver County. ANTERO RESOURCES | BEAVER COUNTY | BRADFORD COUNTY | CARROLL COUNTY | COLUMBIANA COUNTY | DODDRIDGE COUNTY | ENCINO ENERGY | EQT CORP | EXPAND ENERGY | GREENE COUNTY (PA) | HILCORP ENERGY | MONONGALIA COUNTY | MONROE COUNTY | NORTHEAST NATURAL ENERGY | RANGE RESOURCES CORP | SABRE ENERGY | SULLIVAN COUNTY

CNX Extends E-Fracking Contract with Evolution Another 32 Months --- Marcellus Drilling News - In 2018, CNX Resources announced it had signed a long-term contract with Evolution Well Services to use Evolution’s 100% natural gas-fueled electric pressure pumping equipment (see CNX Signs Deal with Evolution to Use 100% Electric Fracking Fleet). That is, CNX would use electric fracking equipment, with the electricity generated by burning natural gas, instead of diesel. In May 2019, the e-fracking fleet for CNX spun up and began operating in Greene County, PA (see CNX Operates SWPA’s Sole 100% All-Electric Fracking Unit). In 2022, CNX announced it had signed a four-year extension with Evolution to keep on e-fracking (see CNX Extends E-Fracking Contract with Evolution Another 4 Years). And now, CNX and Evolution have signed another extension, adding another 32 months to the deal, meaning the two will have worked together for a full decade.

WV Oil & Gas Production Up, $$ from Severance, Property Tax Up Too --- Marcellus Drilling News - West Virginia’s oil, gas, and coal industries are experiencing a resurgence, fueled by supportive state and federal policies. Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) President Charlie Burd reports that Fiscal Year FY25 severance tax collections rose to $318 million, alongside record natural gas production, 90% of which is exported out of the state. Property taxes levied on oil and gas in the state were $428 million for FY24 (the 2025 numbers are not out yet). Burd said the O&G industry continues to directly employ around 15,000 people. Read More“WV Oil & Gas Production Up, $$ from Severance, Property Tax Up Too”

Two Inspectors Charged with Faking Gas Pipeline Safety Tests in New York — Federal prosecutors have charged two pipeline safety inspectors with wire fraud, alleging they fabricated hundreds of inspection reports for natural gas pipelines installed across New York City and Westchester County. According to the indictment unsealed Wednesday, Liam Treibert, 30, of Wendell, North Carolina, and Michael Vasconcellos, 44, of Mahopac, New York, submitted fraudulent inspection records to a regulated utility between 2016 and 2023. Prosecutors said their actions deceived the company into believing critical welds had been tested when, in fact, they had not. “As alleged, Liam Treibert and Michael Vasconcellos violated the trust placed in them to ensure the safety of natural gas pipelines that were being installed throughout New York City and Westchester County,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “They lied about having performed hundreds of inspections and then covered up those lies with fraudulent paperwork. Their actions put the lives of New Yorkers at risk.” New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said the arrests reflect “unwavering commitment to protecting critical infrastructure and pursuing accountability on behalf of all New Yorkers.” The indictment alleges the men engaged in a practice known as “radaring,” in which radiographic images of a single weld were reused and passed off as inspections of additional welds. These falsified tests were submitted as invoices, which the utility paid. Federal prosecutors said the scheme compromised safety by bypassing inspections designed to detect defects that could lead to gas leaks or explosions. Treibert and Vasconcellos are each charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Both men were arrested on Wednesday and are scheduled to appear in federal courts in North Carolina and New York. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in White Plains with assistance from the New York State Inspector General’s Office.

Alliance Cloud, SEMCO Plan New Gas Infrastructure for Michigan Data Center (P&GJ) — Alliance Cloud Services, a subsidiary of Hyperscale Data, has signed an agreement with SEMCO Energy Gas Company to begin designing new natural gas infrastructure for its Michigan data center. SEMCO will handle engineering and design work for pipeline routing, metering equipment, and related facilities to expand natural gas distribution to the site. The project would support about 40 megawatts of additional on-site power generation. The companies expect to negotiate a construction and operations agreement in the coming months. Once approved, construction is expected to take about 15 months. “This Agreement marks a key milestone as we expand the infrastructure that powers our Michigan Site,” said Will Horne, CEO of Hyperscale Data. “With SEMCO's experience and support, we are laying the foundation for high-efficiency, on-site power generation to meet the growing demands of the artificial intelligence industry.” Alliance Cloud and SEMCO said they plan to advance to construction later this year, pending regulatory approvals and final due diligence.

EIA: US 2025 natural gas consumption to reach record level - Natural gas consumption in the US will rise by 1%, reaching a record high of 91.4 bcfd in 2025, according to forecasts by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA anticipates increased natural gas usage across all sectors, with the exception of the electric power sector, which was the primary driver of natural gas consumption growth over the past decade. Driving the forecast was high natural gas consumption in the beginning of the year. In January, US natural gas consumption reached a record 126.8 bcfd, 5% more than the previous record set in January 2024, according to EIA’s Natural Gas Monthly. In February 2025, the US saw natural gas consumption reach 115.9 bcfd, marking a 5% increase over the previous record set in February 2021. The increased consumption during the winter months can be attributed in part to colder weather, including a polar vortex event that occurred mid-January. Typically, natural gas consumption peaks in January or February due to heightened demand for heating in residential and commercial buildings. According to data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 45% of households rely on natural gas as their primary heating source. EIA estimates that US natural gas consumption decreased this spring and summer, compared with consumption over the same period last year, especially in the electric power sector. Natural gas remains the most prevalent source of electricity generation in the US, but so far in 2025 natural gas has lost market share in the electric power sector to coal, solar, and wind. According to EIA, increases in natural gas consumed in the residential and commercial sectors is expected to offset decreases in natural gas consumed in the electric power sector. EIA currently forecasts US natural gas consumption will decrease slightly in 2026, due in part to expected milder weather in the winter months and therefore less consumption in the residential and commercial sectors.

American Natural Gas Demand Poised for Historic Highs in 2025 -U.S. natural gas consumption is on track to set a new record in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the agency projected demand will average 91.4 billion cubic feet per day, up from 90.5 bcf/d in 2024. January usage climbed to 126.8 bcf/d, 5% higher than the same month a year earlier, reflecting colder conditions and steady heating requirements.Natural gas continues to show strong resilience. Despite rapid additions of renewable generation, natural gas remains the dominant fuel for electricity production, underpinned by competitive prices and flexible supply. Industrial facilities, especially petrochemicals, continue to absorb large volumes, reinforcing the fuel’s central role in U.S. manufacturing.Market pricing reflected a modest decline. At mid-day on Monday, Henry Hub natural gas traded at $2.677 per MMBtu, down 0.70% from the previous session. Prices remain under pressure from high storage inventories and steady production, even as annual consumption is set to hit new records. Fundamentals remain heavy. Working gas stocks stand at 3,199 Bcf, or around 6% above the five?year average, according to the latest EIA storage report. EIA’s weekly update also shows dry gas production averaging 107.4 Bcf/d last week (up from 101.8 Bcf/d a year earlier), keeping supply elevated. NOAA’s population?weighted degree?day outlook for the week into August 30 indicates national cooling demand roughly near to slightly below normal, limiting late?August power?burn upside even as the EIA projects record 2025 consumption in its latest forecast.The EIA also emphasized the growing influence of exports. Several new liquefaction trains are scheduled to begin operations in 2025, lifting liquefied natural gas shipments and extending America’s lead as the world’s top exporter. The agency expects LNG demand from Asia and Europe to absorb a significant share of incremental U.S. output, with global buyers seeking secure supply amid ongoing geopolitical disruptions.With domestic demand rising and export capacity expanding, U.S. natural gas markets face a sharp contrast between bearish short-term pricing and bullish long-term fundamentals.

Consolidation Nation: Just 40 Companies Produce 41% of U.S. O&G -- Marcellus Drilling News - EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational professional services network (i.e., consulting firm) based in London. EY is also one of the "big four" largest accounting firms in the world. EY published a new study last week titled "US Oil and Gas Reserves, Production and ESG Benchmarking Study" (full copy below). The study found that due to mergers and acquisitions in 2024, the largest publicly traded oil and gas companies in the U.S. went from 50 down to 40, and that those 40 companies produced a staggering 41% of all O&G production in this country. It's probably no surprise that many in the list produce natural gas (and oil) in the Marcellus/Utica: ANTERO RESOURCES | BKV/BANPU | CNX RESOURCES | COTERRA ENERGY (CABOT O&G) | DIVERSIFIED ENERGY | EOG RESOURCES | EQT CORP | EXPAND ENERGY | GULFPORT ENERGY | RANGE RESOURCES CORP | SENECA RESOURCES

Venture Global Nears Full Output at Louisiana Plaquemines LNG Facility, Filings Show -- (Reuters) — Venture Global could soon be producing liquefied natural gas from all blocks at its 27.2 million metric tons per annum Plaquemines facility, regulatory filings show. The company received permission on Friday to introduce nitrogen at Block 15, a precursory step toward natural gas production, according to an order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The regulator's move followed a authorization on Aug. 27 to introduce natural gas at Block 18. The Louisiana complex has 18 blocks, each comprising two plants that are also called trains. It had initially skipped starting up at Block 15 after receiving permission to begin output at the remainder of the facility, according to regulatory filings. Plaquemines is the second-largest LNG plant in the U.S., after Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass. Commissioning is expected to continue in phases for the next two years, with Venture Global likely earning higher liquefaction fees from the sale of early cargoes on the spot market before having to supply long-term customers including Exxon, Shell and Orlen, according to the company. Since it began producing LNG at the end of December last year, Plaquemines has increased output every month and is a major reason the U.S. has been able to export the superchilled gas at record levels in 2025, according to data from financial firm LSEG. On Aug. 29, Plaquemines was pulling 3.2 Bcf of gas, or almost 20% of all gas coming out of U.S. plants, LSEG data showed. A mere startup three years ago, Venture Global has grown to become the second-largest LNG exporter in the U.S. When it completes construction of CP2, its 28-mtpa export facility in Louisiana, the company will take the number one spot. Plaquemines has been the fastest greenfield LNG plant built in the U.S., having produced its first cargo in less than three years from its initial approval.

EQT Strikes First LNG Supply Deal, Joins Wave of Contracting, Project Momentum -EQT Corp., one of the nation’s largest natural gas producers, has signed its first binding deal to buy LNG as contracting continues at a steady pace for export projects across the world. Aerial rendering of the Port Arthur LNG export terminal in Texas, developed by Sempra Infrastructure, showing liquefaction facilities, storage tanks, and dock space along a waterway for natural gas shipments.

EQT Inks 20-Year LNG Supply Deal with Sempra’s Port Arthur Phase 2 — Sempra Infrastructure and EQT Corporation have signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the proposed Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project in Jefferson County, Texas. Under the agreement, EQT will purchase LNG on a free-on-board basis at a price linked to Henry Hub. "Advancing the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project with EQT reflects our mutual commitment to helping ensure U.S. natural gas projects continue to support local economic development and provide global markets with a stable, long-term supply of LNG," said Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure. EQT President and CEO Toby Z. Rice added: "This agreement underscores EQT's role in unleashing U.S. LNG that enhance global energy security while driving progress toward lower-carbon solutions. We are proud to partner with Sempra Infrastructure on this critical project, helping further the quest to ensure American energy dominance." The Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 expansion is expected to include two liquefaction trains with capacity of 13 MTPA, doubling the site’s total capacity to 26 MTPA. Phase 1, currently under construction, is scheduled for commercial operations in 2027 and 2028. Sempra has already secured long-term offtake agreements for Phase 2 with JERA Co., Inc. (1.5 MTPA) and ConocoPhillips (4 MTPA). The project has regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (2023) and the U.S. Department of Energy (2025) and is targeting a final investment decision later this year. Bechtel has been selected as the EPC contractor.

Sempra and EQT Sign 20-Year LNG Supply Deal for Port Arthur Phase 2 --Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra, and EQT Corporation announced a long-term sales and purchase agreement (SPA) that will see EQT offtake 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Sempra’s proposed Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project in Jefferson County, Texas. Under the 20-year deal, LNG will be sold on a free-on-board basis at prices indexed to Henry Hub. The agreement reinforces EQT’s strategy of linking Appalachian gas supplies to global markets while boosting Sempra’s commercial progress on its Port Arthur expansion. The deal follows two other major agreements secured this summer: a 1.5 Mtpa offtake contract with Japan’s JERA Co., Inc. in July and a 4 Mtpa deal with ConocoPhillips earlier in August. Together, these agreements mark strong momentum toward a final investment decision (FID) on Port Arthur LNG Phase 2, which Sempra is targeting in 2025. Phase 2 would add two new liquefaction trains with 13 Mtpa of capacity, doubling Port Arthur’s output from 13 Mtpa under Phase 1 to a total of up to 26 Mtpa. Phase 1 is currently under construction, with first train operations expected in 2027 and the second in 2028. Engineering and construction for Phase 2 is slated to be delivered by Bechtel. The Port Arthur LNG project has already secured full regulatory clearance, including Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval in 2023 and U.S. Department of Energy authorization in May 2025 for non-FTA exports. Commenting on the agreement, Sempra Infrastructure CEO Justin Bird said the project underscores U.S. LNG’s role in strengthening energy security and economic growth. EQT CEO Toby Rice framed the deal as part of the company’s ambition to position U.S. LNG at the center of global energy supply and lower-carbon solutions. The agreement also highlights a broader industry trend: U.S. LNG developers are moving quickly to lock in long-term offtake contracts as European and Asian buyers seek secure supplies amid volatile global markets. With Port Arthur Phase 2 advancing and future phases already under early development, Sempra is positioning itself as a major player in the next wave of U.S. LNG capacity expansion. While the SPA is a significant milestone, the project’s execution still depends on completing commercial agreements, financing, and a positive FID. If realized, Port Arthur LNG could become one of the largest U.S. LNG export hubs, strengthening America’s role in global gas trade and providing Appalachian producers like EQT with a long-sought outlet to international markets.

U.S. LNG Export Growth Wave Edges Closer to 2030 with New Approvals - The timeline of the next major boost in U.S. feed gas demand for LNG exports is stretching closer to the end of the decade after federal regulators granted key approvals for two long-proposed Gulf Coast projects. FERC reaffirmed Thursday (Aug. 21) its final authorization order for Texas LNG, a 4 million ton/year (Mt/y) export project proposed by Glenfarne Group LLC. As a part of its order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also granted Glenfarne’s request for a five-year extension for inservice to Nov. 22, 2029. The firm has targeted a final investment decision for later this year, but told regulators it needed more time to finalize commercial deals after a federal court remanded its FERC authorization for a second time last year.

Higher Natural Gas Prices? Few Catalysts Seen Near Term for E&Ps to Increase Activity - The United States continues to churn out beaucoup natural gas, with exports and power consumption still rising. Prices, though, have been less cooperative, and that may be the case into 2026, according to energy analysts. (Table titled “Top 2Q2025 Publicly-Traded U.S. Natural Gas Producers (MMcf/d) Top 30 List” showing the largest natural gas producers ranked by second-quarter 2025 output.) Expand Energy Corp. leads with 6,596 MMcf/d, followed by EQT Corp. at 5,873 MMcf/d and ExxonMobil at 3,313 MMcf/d. The table compares 2Q2025 production with 1Q2025 and 2Q2024, listing percentage changes for each operator. The total U.S. publicly traded production is 49,527 MMcf/d, up 2.3% quarter-over-quarter and 6.0% year-over-year. Data sources: NGI calculations, company documents, Bloomberg. NGI interviewed energy market experts and combed through second quarter conference calls to discern what, if anything, could lead to higher natural gas prices this year. The short answer: not a lot. “We think a price signal has to be sent” of $3.50-4.00/MMBtu, “which we are forecasting for 2026 and 2027,” Melius Research LLC analyst James West told NGI. “Winter weather will also help in the next several months.”

Early fall weather chilling natural gas market as futures trade sideways --Still smarting from a fifth straight week of declines, prompt-month natural gas futures finished flat on Monday as traders assessed a mostly bearish weather outlook, plump supply and strong LNG export demand. The September Nymex gas contract, set to roll off the board at Wednesday’s close, settled at $2.696/MMBtu, down 0.2 cents. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. slipped 4.0 cents to $2.305. Deteriorating cooling demand and near-record production caused futures to fall 21.8 cents last week, while NGI’s weekly National Avg. declined 19.0 cents to $2.485. The selloff “was attributed to cooler trends and a not even close to hot enough weather pattern” forecast for Tuesday through Sept. 3, NatGasWeather said.

Expiring September Natural Gas Contract Rose 15 Cents The expiring September natural gas contract rose 15.0 cents to roll off the board at $2.867 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) yesterday, sparking a relief rally across the NYMEX curve. That’s what Eli Rubin, an energy analyst at EBW Analytics Group, said in a report sent to Rigzone by the EBW team on Thursday. Rubin added in the report, however, that “fundamentally … the near-term outlook remains mired in mild weather and an anticipated surge in the storage surplus vs. five-year average above 200 billion cubic feet in early September”. “Production readings retreated early this week, contributing to the case for upside, with Marcellus spot pricing suggestive of producers curtailing supply on the margins. It is unclear whether recently softer Permian output figures are sustainable, however,” Rubin noted in the report. Rubin went on to state in the report that yesterday’s rally increases the stakes for this morning’s U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report. “Consensus expectations suggest a 25-29 billion cubic feet injection,” Rubin said. “A second straight bullish EIA surprise may extend yesterday’s relief rally - but a bearish surprise may quash nascent upside. Traders may also be slow to establish sizable short-term positions heading into the Labor Day holiday weekend,” he added. The EIA’s latest weekly natural gas storage report at the time of writing was released on August 21 and included data for the week ending August 15. That report stated that “working gas in storage was 3,199 billion cubic feet as of Friday, August 15, 2025, according to EIA estimates”. Stocks were 95 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 174 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3,025 billion cubic feet. At 3,199 billion cubic feet, total working gas is within the five-year historical range,” that report added. The EIA’s next weekly natural gas storage report is scheduled to be released on August 28. It will include data for the week ending August 22. In a separate EBW report sent to Rigzone by the EBW team on Wednesday, Rubin highlighted that September contract pricing on Wednesday morning traded within a penny of Friday’s close “as the market attempt[ed]… to shake off the loss of 18 CDDs [Cooling Degree Days]”. “Still, we note 2025 contract expiries to date averaged a 16.1 cent move as liquidity has thinned into final settlement,” he added.

U.S. Natural Gas Jumps 5% on Bargain Buying, Strong LNG Flows (Reuters) — U.S. natural gas futures rose over 5% on Aug. 27 after a sharp decline earlier this week, buoyed by bargain buying and strong LNG export flows. Front-month gas futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 15 cents, or 5.5%, to settle at $2.867 per million British thermal. The contract, which expires today, had touched a 10-month low on Aug. 25, its weakest since November 4, 2024. "I think the market has sold off a lot. The bearishness is already pretty well factored in," "Never say never with natural gas, but the most likely scenario is to chop or trend lower over the next few weeks until demand materializes in late October or November. There's little impetus for an increase as demand fades into the shoulder season, with national demand set to plummet and hurricane risks remaining largely bearish," The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants has risen to 15.9 Bcf/d so far in August, up from 15.6 Bcf/d in July. That compares with a record monthly high of 16.0 Bcf/d in April. Financial firm LSEG estimated 155 cooling degree days over the next two weeks, higher than the 131 CDDs estimated on Aug. 26. The norm for this time of year is 135 CDDs. CDDs, which are used to estimate demand to cool homes and businesses, measure the number of degrees a day's average temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would ease from 111.1 Bcf/d this week to 107.1 Bcf/d next week and 104.3 Bcf/d in two weeks. The forecasts for this week and next were similar to LSEG's outlook on Aug. 26. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states had risen to 108.5 billion cubic feet per day so far in August, up from a record monthly high of 107.8 Bcf/d in July. In the tropics, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said no disturbances were expected in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Fernand, which formed south-southeast of Bermuda on Saturday, is forecast to become post-tropical within a day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly storage report at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Aug. 27. Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms added 13 billion cubic feet of gas to storage during the week ended Aug. 15. That was smaller than the 22-Bcf build analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, and compares with an increase of 29 Bcf during the same week last year and an average build of 35 Bcf over the 2020 to 2024 period. Meanwhile, Sempra will supply 2 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 development project to EQT Corp., the companies said.

US natgas futures rise in thin trade, end August lower on fading summer heat — U.S. natural gas futures climbed on Friday to hover at a three-week high, supported by light holiday trade and forecasts for stronger cooling demand, though the market is still headed for a second straight monthly loss after a milder-than-expected summer. Front-month gas futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 5.3 cents, or 1.8%, higher, at $2.997 per million British thermal units. The contract touched its highest since August 8 earlier in the session and has logged an 11.5% weekly gain but a 3.1% monthly loss. Financial markets will be closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. "When you get a little heat in the South, people turn on their air conditioning. The short-term outlook and the longer-term outlook are both bullish," "The longer-term outlook is looking very bullish. Demand for natural gas is bottoming out, and cheap prices will inspire more demand, which should give us a floor. Projections for a colder winter also provide longer-term support." Global demand for natural gas will rise more than 20% by 2050 from last year's level, as it displaces coal to power industries and meet higher electricity use in developing countries, Exxon Mobil XOM said on Thursday in an annual outlook. "Overall, we expected some very robust heat across the U.S. in July and August, and it really didn't manifest. August ended up being a lot less impactful from a heat perspective, and now the outlooks for September are well off from what they were sixty days ago. That's why we're down for the month," Financial firm LSEG estimated 149 cooling degree days over the next two weeks, higher than the 128 CDDs estimated on Thursday. The normal for this time of year is 128 CDDs. CDDs, which are used to estimate demand to cool homes and businesses, measure the number of degrees a day's average temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday that energy firms added 18 billion cubic feet of gas into storage during the week ended August 22. That was smaller than the 26-bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compares with an increase of 35 bcf during the same week a year ago and a five-year (2020-2024) average build of 38 bcf for this time of year. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would slightly rise from 103.6 bcfd this week to 104.3 bcfd next. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states had risen to 108.5 bcfd so far in August, up from a record monthly high of 107.8 bcfd in July.

U.S. Deepwater Production Is Set for a Record High in 2026 - The Gulf of America (GoA) has witnessed an outstanding 2025 in terms of startup activity. Three new floating production units (FPU) are set to begin operations by year-end, with the potential to drive the basin’s deepwater output to an all-time high of nearly 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2026. The year started with a bang when Shell brought its Whale FPU on-line in January, reportedly achieving peak oil production rates of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) within five months. Private operator Beacon Offshore Energy set a record of its own in July with the start of its Shenandoah project, the second to produce from the Inboard Wilcox trend using so-called 20K technology designed to handle high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) conditions with wellhead pressures of up to 20,000 pounds per square inch (psi). That leaves the Salamanca FPU – a joint development between private operator LLOG, Spanish producer Repsol, and O.G. Oil & Gas – as the final floater startup of 2025, with output expected to begin imminently. The Gulf has in many ways come full circle since the price crash that rattled the industry a decade ago, with the floaters of 2025 adding nearly 350,000 boepd of nameplate processing capacity (Figure 1). This represents the highest capacity additions since 2015, when Anadarko Petroleum brought the Heidelberg and Lucius truss spars on-line and LLOG fired up its Delta House FPU in the Mississippi Canyon. While floaters have dominated the headlines, four new subsea tiebacks have also commenced operations in 2025 with material growth prospects going into 2026. Chevron’s Ballymore development – which targets the high-temperature Norphlet trend and ties back to the major’s Blind Faith FPU – is the largest of the four, while Shell’s nearby Dover field will provide around 20,000 boepd of backfill production to the Appomattox FPU. Meanwhile, BP in August announced early startup of its Argos Southwest Extension project, a three-well tieback with estimated peak rates of 20,000 bpd. Rystad Rystad All in all, the peer group of 2025 Gulf of America startups is set to add 350,000 boepd in 2026-2027, with new FPU projects accounting for around 70% of total near-term volume (Figure 2). Arguably more significant is that the class of 2025 is forecast to account for between 15% and 18% of total US deepwater output, representing the highest sustained production contributions from a single startup year since 2009. The next five years will see significant new commissioning activity with the likes of FPU-based projects such as Sparta, Kaskida and Tiber – all of which target more challenging Lower Tertiary reservoirs. More regular leasing and the initial results from multi-client ocean bottom node (OBN) seismic surveys may also set the stage for new discoveries as US deepwater players refill their exploration hoppers. For now, though, 2025 is shaping up to be a standout year for the Gulf, with few parallels in the recent past or near future.

Chemical Explosion Rained Down Oil, Sparked Massive Fire at Louisiana Auto Plant - An explosion at an auto supply plant in Louisiana caused a massive fire that is still burning one day later — and left local residents fleeing for cover as oil rained down over the area. According to the Louisiana State Police, a chemical explosion took place at around 12:50 p.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 22, at Smitty’s Supply Inc., an auto supply plant in Roseland, located about 60 miles northeast of Baton Rouge in Tangipahoa Parish.Police said no injuries have been reported, but the explosion sparked a massive blaze that sent black pillars of smoke into the sky and caused oil to rain down over the region.One resident, who spoke to Fox 8, recalled turning her windshield wipers on when the downpour began."My husband was like, 'That's not rain,' " the resident said. "I was like, 'Oh no, it smells like oil.' " The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post on Aug. 23 that the fire was still raging 24 hours after the initial explosion. In addition, a number of small explosions occurred overnight on Aug. 22, Louisiana State Police Sgt. William Huggins said at a press conference the next day.A mandatory evacuation has been put in place within a one-mile radius of the plant, and a temporary flight restriction is active in the three-mile radius around the site of the fire.According to ABC News, 42 people who evacuated the area were staying in a shelter, and an elementary school located near the plant was evacuated directly. More than 400 people are employed at the auto plant, Fox 8 reported.The Sheriff’s Office said on X that there is “no timeline for lifting [the evacuations] as business explosion and fire continues to be active.”"Air monitoring conducted off-site but within this evacuation zone has not indicated any health concerns at this time, and conditions will continue to be closely monitored throughout the event," the Louisiana State Police added on Aug. 22. "Out of an abundance of caution, residents in the surrounding community are advised to remain indoors and limit exposure."

Fire rages after plant explosion prompts evacuation in Tangipahoa. Former governor among evacuees - An explosion and raging fire at a plant in Tangipahoa Parish known to store highly flammable products prompted an evacuation order within a one-mile radius on Friday, affecting an elementary school and former Gov. John Bel Edwards, while firefighters battled the towering blaze. An aerial photograph from local authorities showed a portion of the facility in the small community of Roseland engulfed in flames with a dark black plume rising above it. Gov. Jeff Landry said his office was closely monitoring the situation. Firefighters battled the blaze for hours after it was reported just before 1 p.m., but by late Friday afternoon parish officials couldn't yet estimate when it would be brought under control. Louisiana State Police said Friday night that the fire was still burning nine hours after the explosion, and that the facility "has sustained severe damage." They urged people living nearby to remain indoors and limit exposure. No injuries were reported. "This is one of the worst things that has happened to our community," Roseland Mayor Van L. Showers said at the Amite Community Center, which had been set up as a shelter. He added that he was focused on making sure the town’s 960 residents who evacuated have a place to stay. On the steps outside the center, a pastor led a prayer as residents wearing white masks bowed their heads. The plume of smoke could be seen from there, located several miles away, and the air was acrid. School officials evacuated nearby Roseland Elementary on the advice of parish homeland security officials and brought them by bus to central offices in Amite for parent pickup. Edwards and his wife, Donna, live in Roseland and said in a text message that they had joined the evacuation. The site is less than a mile from their home.

Roseland lubrication plant explosion forces emergency evacuations, road closures — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office and other agencies are still on the scene of an explosion in Roseland Friday afternoon. The explosion and fire happened around 12:50 p.m. Smitty's Supply plant in Roseland. Advertisement According to Louisiana State Police, the fire remains active and no injuries have been reported. Louisiana State Police and the Tangipahoa Parish Government held a press conference Saturday morning to provide an update on the explosion in Roseland. The fire is active and crews are working to get the fire under control. Air monitoring is also being conducted off-site but within the evacuation zone, LSP reports there have not been any indication of health concerns at this time. Residents are asked to relocate immediately and stay away from the area until further notice. According to the sheriff's office, Highway 51 at Highway 10 is closed after the explosion was reported at a nearby business. No injuries have been reported at this time. The facility has sustained severe damage, according to State Police. The cleanup and recovery of the area will be managed by a unified incident command which will consist of State Police, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and private contractors. The Louisiana State Police is reminding residents, visitors, and pilots to check Federal Aviation Administration and Temporary Flight Restrictions before operating manned or unmanned aircraft in the Roseland area. The TFR is defined as a 3-nautical-mile radius around the Smitty’s incident site and up to 5,000 feet above surface level. A mandatory evacuation was issued for those living within a one-mile radius in all directions of Smitty's. EPA has established an emergency response site on EPA’s activities, which can be found here. Roseland Elementary was evacuated due to the explosion. All students were evacuated to the Central Office, located at 59656 Puleston Rd, Amite City, LA 70422. The Amite Community Center will serve as an evacuation site for Roseland evacuees. Parents are asked to pick their children up from that location. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issued a statement on the explosion in Roseland: "LDEQ is responding to the reported explosion in Roseland, working in coordination with local authorities. A one-mile radius around the facility has been evacuated. LDEQ is conducting air monitoring on-site, and all readings are zero at this time. The EPA is also responding with a contractor to provide additional air monitoring support. For information about injuries, please check with local authorities. Residents are urged to follow the guidance of local officials and heed evacuation orders and other safety instructions."

Roseland Oil Plant faces history of environmental violations and fines — The oil plant in Roseland where a mid-day explosion turned into a massive fire has a history of environmental regulations in recent years, including a $250,000 fine levied just two years ago. That fine stemmed from an oil spill into a nearby roadside ditch in 2021, according to court records of the settlement. In the settlement, Smitty’s did not admit to liability, but agreed to pay the fine pursuant findings by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Federal and state records show that Smitty’s Supply, Inc. also was cited for violations and forced to pay fines in several other mishaps at the plant over the past six years. One of the larger fines, $194,772, was paid in 2019 after findings by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The explosion and fire at the plant forced an evacuation around the facility for a one-mile radius. Regulatory records show that there are at least 250 homes with 474 residents in that area as of a couple of years ago. Smitty’s is listed as a “blending and packaging facility for oil and other engine lubricants.” The company’s website states that it stores, blends and distributes products from big name companies such as Penzoil, Quaker State, WD-40, Castrol, Armor All as well as its own brand, Super S. Smitty’s website says the company was founded in 1969 by Edgar Ray Smith Jr. with his wife, George Ann, joining him three years later. The company says the couple’s four sons joined the business, and eventually purchased the business from their parents in 2000.

Enterprise Closes $580 Million Purchase of Occidental Gas Gathering System (P&GJ) — Enterprise Products Partners has closed its acquisition of Occidental Petroleum’s natural gas gathering affiliate in the Permian Basin for $580 million in cash. The deal includes natural gas gathering systems in the Midland Basin and about 200 miles of pipelines supporting Occidental’s production in the region. Enterprise said the acquisition expands its footprint in the basin and provides long-term development visibility with access to more than 1,000 drillable locations. “By acquiring these gathering systems, we are enhancing our ability to support Midland Basin production and strengthen our natural gas value chain in the Permian,” Enterprise said in a statement. The transaction was completed on a debt-free basis. Troutman Pepper Locke and Sidley Austin LLP advised Enterprise, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and White & Case LLP advised Occidental.

450-Mile Eiger Express Pipeline Gets Green Light for Permian-to-Gulf NaturalGas Transport (P&GJ) — A major natural gas pipeline project connecting the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast has received final investment approval, marking another significant infrastructure development in the booming West Texas energy corridor. The Eiger Express Pipeline, a 450-mile, 42-inch diameter project, will transport up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Permian Basin to the Katy area near Houston. The pipeline is expected to begin operations in mid-2028, pending regulatory approvals. WhiteWater announced on Aug. 25 that it has partnered with MPLX LP, ONEOK, Inc. and Enbridge Inc. through their Matterhorn joint venture to move forward with construction after securing sufficient firm transportation agreements with primarily investment-grade shippers. The pipeline will source natural gas from multiple Permian Basin connections, including gas processing facilities in the Midland Basin and from the Delaware Basin via the existing Agua Blanca Pipeline, which is jointly owned by WhiteWater, Enbridge and MPLX. Ownership of the Eiger Express Pipeline is structured as a joint venture, with the Matterhorn joint venture holding a 70% stake, while ONEOK and MPLX each maintain 15% direct ownership positions. Combined with their ownership through the Matterhorn venture, ONEOK will hold 25.5% total ownership and MPLX will control 22% of the pipeline. WhiteWater will handle both construction and operations of the new pipeline system, adding to the growing network of natural gas infrastructure designed to move Permian production to Gulf Coast markets and export facilities. The project represents continued investment in midstream infrastructure as Permian Basin natural gas production continues to expand, requiring additional takeaway capacity to reach domestic and international markets.

Harvest Midstream to Acquire 1500 Miles of MPLX Pipelines in $1 Billion Deal (P&GJ) — Harvest Midstream has agreed to acquire MPLX LP’s natural gas gathering and processing systems in the Uinta and Green River basins for $1 billion, marking one of the largest midstream transactions of the year. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, will give Houston-based Harvest more than 1,500 miles of pipelines and nearly 850 million cubic feet per day of gas processing capacity across Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. In the Uinta Basin, the acquisition includes about 700 miles of gas gathering pipelines and 345 MMcf/d of processing capacity at the Ironhorse and Stagecoach plants. In Wyoming’s Green River Basin, the assets include roughly 800 miles of gathering and transportation pipelines, 500 MMcf/d of processing capacity from the Blacks Fork and Vermilion facilities, and a 10,000 bpd fractionator. “This acquisition is the beginning of the next chapter of Harvest’s ambitious and disciplined growth story,” said CEO Jason C. Rebrook. “We are executing on a long-term vision to build a scaled, resilient midstream network capable of supporting America’s energy needs for decades to come — and these premier MPLX assets fit squarely into that strategy.” Following the transaction, Harvest will take operational control of the systems and continue service to existing customers. The company said the purchase significantly broadens its geographic reach and positions it for future organic and acquisition-driven growth.

Greylock Sells Wyoming Assets, Plans 'Targeted Acquisitions' – Greylock Energy is ramping up its A&D search efforts once again, the private E&P revealed at Hart Energy’s DUG Appalachia Conference & Expo on Aug. 27.Greylock’s purse strings are open and its contents are earmarked for A&D after disclosing a sale of Wyoming assets from the last few weeks at the energy event.So what will the company buy with the transaction’s proceeds? Not even President and CEO Kyle Mork is sure.Mork also divulged the E&P made a foray into the Utica Shale in Pennsylvania. Greylock retains an average production of 145 MMcfe/d. It's Appalachian Basin assets produce an average of 115 MMcfe/d. Its remaining assets in the Rockies, including a Uinta Basin position, produce 30 MMcfe/d. Greylock President and CEO Kyle Mork said the company engaged in ground game A&D deals into the Utica to test a thesis. “The position that we put together was kind of an organic leasing prospect where we thought, ‘Hey, this has a lot of attributes that we think could work from a geology perspective, but also, we can optimize,’” he said.The premise: “We all drill our best stuff first and so our whole theory was, ‘Hey, if we can get areas where maybe the base productivity of the rock isn't quite as good as true Tier 1, you know, if it's 90% or 85%, but we can put together leases.”The company has also been acquiring new Utica development areas in Pennsylvania, anchored by about 15,000 net acres acquired during past two years, Mork said. Ample unleased acreage surrounding an anchor position allows for expansion of the footprint at favorable prices, Mork said. Mork said so far, sponsor ArcLight Capital Partners is “very much in support of us, at least for the time being, keeping the cash in the business.” The company retains 110,000 gross acres in the Rockies and 1,100 wells producing a mix of gas, oil and NGLs with access to West Coast gas markets. Mork said the company is “very bullish” on both its remaining positions in the Rockies’ Uinta Basin and Appalachian positions right now. But the company is also basin agnostic, if it understands the rock. But Mork is also encouraged to have cash on the balance sheet, low leverage and a good debt capacity to be able to “really look and see if there are other acquisitions that make sense.”When asked what areas might make sense, Mork replied: “There's no big limits.” The Utica may still be in play, of course.The Utica play is gaining momentum in Appalachia after EOG’s $5.6. billion acquisitionof Encino Energy this summer. While northeastern Pennsylvania is fairly locked up by large producers, leasehold in southwestern Appalachia is still relatively fragmented, said David Eudey, vice president of Northeast Appalachia for Expand Energy. Top producers active in the Utica include Ascent Resources, Antero Resources, Gulfport Energy and Infinity Natural Resources.

Methane leaks at California oil facilities are also spewing toxic chemicals - Large methane leaks at oil and gas facilities across the United States not only unleash massive plumes of the potent greenhouse gas, but also carry a toxic mix of air pollutants that jeopardize the health of communities nearby, according to new research.Over the course of 20 years, methane is capable of warming the atmosphere around 80 times more than carbon dioxide. Yet when methane seeps out of fossil-fuel extraction wells or storage tanks, it’s almost always commingled with a medley of toxic chemicals, such as cancer-causing benzene, according to a new analysis by PSE Healthy Energy.A new interactive map launched this week by the Oakland-based nonprofit research institute examines the health risk associated with more than 1,300 large methane releases nationwide, including 32 in California, that occurred from 2016 to 2025. The tool estimates the concentrations of airborne pollutants and outlines at-risk areas. Researchers say more than 126,000 people lived within two miles of these large methane leaks, sometimes referred to as “super-emitter” events, across the country, including roughly 24,100 Californians. And in almost every case, the levels of benzene — the most toxic hazardous pollutant associated with methane leaks — exceeded California’s health risk benchmarks. “Natural gas is not just methane,” said Seth Shonkoff, executive director of PSE Healthy Energy. “It’s actually closer to a chemical soup.” Methane is a naturally odorless and invisible gas, and it’s virtually impossible to detect these leaks of it without specialized equipment. “How do people know that this is happening? Usually, they don’t,” said Sofia Bisogno, an air quality scientist with PSE Healthy Energy. “That’s one of the most impactful things that I found from this. Any event that you see on this tool is likely not covered by local media sources because we don’t know that they exist. We don’t know that they’re happening.” The map is not an exhaustive analysis of methane leaks from oil and gas facilities. Nevertheless, the researchers believe that the mapping tool can provide residents with a better understanding of air quality effects from methane-leak episodes. “People are not made aware that these things are potentially impacting their communities, like this tank emitting right next to a bunch of residences,” said Bisogno, pointing to a benzene plume emanating from an oil storage tank near a mobile home park in Weld County, Colo.

Air pollution from U.S. oil and gas causes health crisis: Study -Air pollutants from U.S. oil and gas operations are causing 91,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of health issues each year — with racial and ethnic minority populations bearing the biggest burden, a new study has found. The outdoor contaminants, which include fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone, take the biggest toll on Black, Asian, Native American and Hispanic groups, according to the study, published Friday in Science Advances. While the U.S. has one of the world’s largest oil and gas industries, the associated air pollutants and health impacts have thus far been poorly characterized, the study authors noted. As such, they sought to quantify severe outcomes like asthma, preterm birth and early death — as well as where these effects take place. “What we found was striking: one in five preterm births and adult deaths linked to fine particulate pollution are from oil and gas,” lead author Karn Vohra, formerly of the University College of London, said in a statement. “Even more concerning is that nearly 90 percent of new childhood asthma cases tied to nitrogen dioxide pollution were from this sector,” added Vohra, who is now at the University of Birmingham. To make these determinations, the scientists harnessed advanced computer models to map air pollution from oil and gas activities and associated racial-ethnic disparities across the contiguous U.S. in 2017. The researchers also separated the contaminants generated in each major stage of the fossil fuel “lifecycle”: exploration and drilling (upstream); compression transport and storage (midstream); refinement or conversion into petrochemical products (downstream); and consumer end-use. Ultimately, they were able to attribute the annual lifecycle burdens of 91,000 premature deaths to a combination of PM 2.5, NO2 and ozone emissions. The scientists also linked 10,350 preterm births to PM 2.5 exposure, 216,000 incidences of childhood-onset asthma to NO2, and 1,610 lifetime cancers to a mix of hazardous air pollutants. The end-use stage — which include petroleum and gas uses, such as refueling, in the residential, industrial and commercial sectors — contributed the greatest detrimental health burden, accounting for 96 percent of total related incidents, according to the study. The five states with the overall greatest burden from all stages, the researchers found, were many of the most populated places: California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But racial-ethnic minorities exhibited gaping disparities in exposure and health burdens across almost all lifecycle stages, the scientists observed. Native American and Hispanic populations were more affected by upstream and midstream stages, while Black and Asian groups endured greater impacts in the downstream and end-use stages, per the study.

The Coming Collapse: What Economists Miss About Oil And The Global Economy - Gail the Actuary - The supply and demand model of economists suggests that oil prices might rise to consistently high levels, but this has not happened yet:In my view, the economists’ model of supply and demand is overly simple; its usefulness is limited to understanding short-term shifts in oil prices. The supply and demand model of economists does not consider the interconnected nature of the world economy. Every part of GDP requires energy consumption of some type. The price issue is basically a physics issue because the world economy operates under the laws of physics. In this post, I will try to explain what really happens when oil supply is constrained. My analysis indicates that there are three ways that long-term crude oil prices are held down:

(a) Growing wage and wealth disparities act to reduce the “demand” for oil. As wage and wealth disparities widen, the economy heads in the direction of a shrinking middle class. With the shrinking of the middle class, it becomes impossible to bid up oil prices because there are too few people who can afford their own private cars, long distance travel, and other luxury uses of oil. Strangely enough, this dynamic is a major source of sluggish growth in oil demand.
(b) Politicians work to prevent inflation. Oil is extensively used in food production and transport. If crude oil prices rise, food prices also tend to rise, making citizens unhappy. In fact, inflation in general is likely to rise, as it did in the 1970s. Politicians will use any method available to keep crude oil prices down because they don’t want to be voted out of office.
(c) In very oil deficient locations, such as California and Western Europe, politicians use high taxes to raise the prices of oil products, such as gasoline and diesel. These high prices don’t get back to the producers of crude oil because they are used directly where they are collected, or they act to subsidize renewables. My analysis suggests that indirectly this approach will tend to reduce world crude oil demand and prices. Thus, these high taxes will help prevent inflation, especially outside the areas with the high taxes on oil products.

Instead of oil prices rising to a high level, I expect that the methods used to try to work around oil limits will lead to fragility in many parts of the economic system. The financial system and international trade are particularly at risk. Ultimately, collapse over a period of years seems likely. Underlying this analysis is the fact that, in physics terms, the world economy is a dissipative structure. For more information on this subject, see my post, The Physics of Energy and the Economy. Growing demand for oil doesn’t just come from more babies being born each year. Somehow, the population needs to buy this oil. People cannot simply drive up to a gasoline station and honk their horns and “demand” more oil. They need to be able to afford to drive a car and purchase the fuel it uses. As another example, switching from a diet which reserves meat products for special holidays to one that uses meat products more extensively tends to require more oil consumption. For this type of demand to rise, there needs to be a growing middle class of workers who can afford a diet with more meat in it. These are just two examples of how a growing middle class will tend to increase the demand for oil products. Giving $1 billion more to a billionaire does not have the same impact on oil demand. For one thing, a billionaire cannot eat much more than three meals a day. Also, the number of vehicles they can drive are limited. They will spend their extra $1 billion on purchases such as shares of stock or consultations with advisors on tax avoidance strategies. Figure 2 shows an analysis of how income (including capital gains) has been split between the very rich and everyone else. What we don’t see in Figure 2 is the fact that total income (calculated in this way) has tended to rise in all these periods.Another way of seeing the problem of fewer funds going to ordinary wage earners is by analyzing wages and salary payments as a share of US GDP.Figure 3 shows that wages and salaries as a percentage of GDP held up well between 1944 and 1970, but they have been falling since that time.Furthermore, we all can see increasing evidence that young people are not doing as well financially as their parents did at the same age. They are not as likely to be able to afford to buy a home at a young age. They often have more college debt to repay. They are less able to buy a vehicle than their parents. They are struggling to find jobs that pay well enough to cover all their expenses. All these issues tend to hold down oil demand.

Canada LNG Attracts German Buyers for Swap Deals, Minister Says (Reuters) — German companies are looking to buy and swap Canadian LNG cargoes shipped off the Pacific coast to help meet European demand, Canada's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said on Aug. 27. Canada, the world's fifth-largest natural gas producer, shipped its first-ever liquefied natural gas export cargo in June from the recently constructed LNG Canada facility in British Columbia, which is led by Shell and is the first North American LNG export site with direct access to the Pacific Ocean. The bulk of LNG Canada's exports is expected to ship to Asia, but Hodgson told reporters the cargoes are also drawing interest from European buyers pursuing swap opportunities. "Many of the buyers are prepared to buy LNG off the West Coast of Canada and trade those products in the international market for LNG," Hodgson said at a press conference in Berlin. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Aug. 26 that Canada will discuss ways to provide LNG to Germany. Canada has no LNG export facilities proposed with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, and any such project would face significant costs and take years to build. But the Carney government's tone is a marked departure from that of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said there was little business case for Canada to export LNG to Europe. Trudeau cited the cost and difficulties associated with building the pipeline infrastructure required to get the gas from Western Canada to the East Coast

Canada Eyes East Coast LNG Hub to Supply Europe - Canada has agreed to explore exporting natural gas to European trade allies as Prime Minister Mark Carney previews an economic investment plan aimed at creating an east coast LNG hub. Aerial view of the LNG Canada marine terminal under construction in Kitimat, British Columbia, showing multiple docks, vessels, and infrastructure along the waterfront for liquefied natural gas export operations.

Mexican LNG Project Signs 15-Year Supply Deal with Macquarie (P&GJ) — AMIGO LNG has signed a 15-year sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Macquarie Group for liquefied natural gas supply from its planned Guaymas export project. Under the contract, AMIGO LNG will deliver 0.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG to Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets business once its first liquefaction train begins operations, targeted for the second half of 2028. The project, located in Sonora, is positioned to connect U.S. Permian Basin gas with Asia-Pacific and Latin American buyers through shorter shipping routes and competitive landed costs. "It is a privilege to have Macquarie join our portfolio of LNG offtakers," said Dr. Muthu Chezhian, CEO of LNG Alliance, a partner in AMIGO LNG. "Their reputation as a trusted and innovative global energy player reinforces the strong fundamentals of our project and highlights the long-term value AMIGO LNG will bring to global buyers." Michael Bennett, managing director in Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets unit, added: "LNG is a critical component of the global energy mix, providing a reliable and flexible fuel source. This agreement reflects our commitment to meeting the diverse energy needs of our clients worldwide and demonstrates the strength of our offering in this space." AMIGO LNG is a joint venture between Texas-based Epcilon LNG and Singapore’s LNG Alliance. The company plans to deploy U.S. liquefaction technology and modern marine infrastructure to position Mexico as an emerging LNG export hub.

Latin America’s LNG Race Heats Up as Mexico’s Amigo Opts for Floating Vessel - Amigo LNG SA de CV is set to develop what would be the world’s largest floating LNG export facility (FLNG) offshore the west coast of Mexico. Map showing the proposed Amigo LNG export facility in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, with connections to operational and proposed natural gas pipelines. The map highlights NGI’s Mexico gas price index locations, major import/export points, and nearby hubs such as Waha Hub in Texas, along with key infrastructure routes linking northern Mexico to U.S. pipeline networks. The FLNG option is a new twist for Amigo, which is a partnership between Epcilon LNG LLC and LNG Alliance Pte. Ltd, and is part of a growing trend in Latin America. United Arab Emirates-based Dubai Drydocks World LLC would develop the 4.2 million tons/year (Mt/y) LNG vessel and storage units. It would build the ship and storage units in Dubai before delivering them for use in Mexico.

Latin America LNG Prices Ease as Imports Dip; Argentina Greenlights 30-Year Export Plan — LatAm Recap -Latin American natural gas prices have continued to ease as the North American and European natural gas markets enter the slower shoulder season.NGI North America LNG Export Flow Tracker chart dated August 27, 2025, showing U.S. LNG export deliveries averaging around 16 million Dth/day. The chart highlights daily flows from August 18–27, with volumes rising from 14.44 million Dth to peaks above 16.6 million Dth. Major U.S. LNG facilities listed include Corpus Christi, Freeport, Golden Pass, Calcasieu Pass, Cameron, Plaquemines, Sabine Pass, Elba Island, and Cove Point, along with Canada’s LNG Canada and Mexico’s Energia Costa Azul. Map inset displays LNG terminal locations across the Gulf Coast, East Coast, and West Coast. Data sourced from Wood Mackenzie, pipeline EBBs, and NGI calculations.

PEMEX Works to Contain Poza Rica-Salamanca Pipeline Spill -- PEMEX is working to contain a crude oil spill reported on Aug. 23 along the Poza Rica–Salamanca pipeline near Huauchinango, Puebla. The state-owned company said specialized personnel from its Ductos Catalina unit immediately activated emergency protocols and deployed equipment, including a vacuum pressure recovery unit, backhoes and oleophilic barriers. The spill, classified as moderate, has affected roughly 800m of terrain. Containment and recovery work has been slowed by heavy rains and difficult access, but PEMEX said four task fronts are active to limit runoff. Company representatives also met with local authorities and residents on Sunday to provide updates on ongoing remediation efforts. PEMEX said it will maintain a permanent presence in the area, with priority given to safety, environmental protection, and community well-being. Once weather conditions improve, technical teams are expected to begin excavation to determine the root cause of the pipeline failure.

Global Natural Gas Prices Rebound as Market Dismisses Ukraine Peace Prospects — Global natural gas prices are climbing again as the prospect of peace in Ukraine fades. Image showing a comprehensive market analysis of the European Union’s gas storage levels with graphs representing trends in inventories, highlighting key insights into energy market dynamics and gas data projections for the near future. Expand The October Title Transfer Facility (TTF) contract gained 6 cents to finish at $11.64/MMBtu on Monday after climbing 7.5% last week. European natural gas prices had hit a 15-month low amid talks to end the war in Ukraine. No progress has been made toward peace after President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and later Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders earlier this month. Trump raised the possibility of Putin and Zelensky meeting, but nothing has been scheduled.

ExxonMobil Forecasting Global Natural Gas Demand Rising 20% and LNG Trade Doubling by 2050 -Natural gas consumption worldwide is forecast to increase by 20%, with LNG demand doubling to 2050, according to ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil global forecast chart showing industrial natural gas demand by sector from 2000 to 2050, measured in Bcf/d. Power leads demand growth, followed by buildings, other industrial use, and chemicals. Smaller contributions come from commercial transportation and passenger cars. Demand rises steadily from around 250 Bcf/d in 2000 to nearly 500 Bcf/d by 2050.

Exxon Forecasts 20% Rise in Global Natural Gas Demand by 2050 (Reuters) — Global demand for natural gas will rise more than 20% by 2050 from last year's level, as it displaces coal to power industries and meet higher electricity use in developing countries, Exxon Mobil said on Aug. 28 in an annual outlook. The projections provide the basis for the top U.S. oil producer's long-term strategy and investment. Exxon has ambitious growth plans compared to other global oil players, with a target to boost production by 18% over the next five years. Global oil demand will plateau after 2030 but remain above 100 million barrels per day through 2050, Exxon projected, consistent with its previous outlook. Oil and natural gas will account for 55% of the global energy mix in 25 years' time, down 1 percentage point from 2024 levels, the company said. The industrial sector will drive increased demand for natural gas as it replaces coal, Exxon's economics, energy and strategic planning director Chris Birdsall said in a press briefing. "It's a great way to provide the industrial (power) that's needed, but at the same time reduce some of the emissions challenges with coal," he said. Even as overall crude oil demand is expected to remain stable, Exxon forecasts that longer-term demand for gasoline will shrink 25% as electric vehicles proliferate, while demand for distillates will remain strong for commercial transportation and aviation. Refineries will have to adapt to the changing mix over time, Birdsall said. Exxon said more work is needed to reach the United Nation's 2050 emissions goal in order to limit global temperature increases. The company sees global carbon dioxide emissions falling to 27 billion metric tons in 2050, down about 25% from today's levels but still more than twice what the international body wants to see. The world's ability to reduce carbon emissions will depend on making technology and solutions more affordable, Exxon said, calling for public policy that avoids energy price spikes and supply constraints.

Germany Expanding LNG Import Capacity with Another FSRU -German state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH said the country’s fifth floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) would enter service in Wilhelmshaven on Friday (Aug. 29) ahead of the winter heating season. Bar chart showing Germany’s LNG imports by origin from December 2022 through December 2024. The United States is consistently the largest supplier, followed by contributions from Norway, Angola, Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and a category labeled “Other,” which includes imports from Belgium, Finland, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Russia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Imports peaked around June 2023 and mid-2024, reaching just over 1.0 million metric tons. Data compiled by NGI from Kpler.

Germany Boosts Energy Security with New LNG Terminal - The German port of Wilhelmshaven is launching its second LNG terminal to process imported liquefied natural gas, Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET), the state operator of the facility, said on Thursday. Wilhelmshaven 02 will commence commercial operations on August 29, following a successful commissioning phase, DET said, adding that the new LNG terminal has received approvals from the Oldenburg Trade Supervisory Authority (GAA) without any objections. Wilhelmshaven is the site of the first German LNG terminal, which began operations in December 2022, via the Höegh Esperanza Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Germany has installed several floating LNG import terminals since 2022—to make Europe’s biggest economy “independent of Russian gas”. Until the middle of 2022, Germany received most of its gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline before Russia axed deliveries in early September 2022, claiming an inability to repair gas turbines because of the Western sanctions. The sabotage on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 occurred at the end of the same month. After the Russian gas supply stopped, Norway became Germany’s top natural gas supplier, and supplies are coming via pipelines. LNG terminals are being used for imports of gas from the United States and other major producers of the super-chilled fuel, and Wilhelmshaven 02 now adds to these. “The Wilhelmshaven02 terminal, with the FSRU Excelsior, is now fully operational and can contribute to security of supply and to filling the gas storage facilities before the next heating season,” DET said in a statement. This year, FSRU Excelsior is expected to feed up to 1.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas into the German gas grid—equal to the annual natural gas consumption for heating 1.5 million four-person households in multi-family homes. In the two subsequent years, Excelsior’s regasification and grid feed-in capacity will reach capacity equivalent to the annual heating energy of up to 3.7 million households.

Barge leaks 10,000 litres of fuel oil in Albert Canal - On the evening of 20 August, the inland motor freighter River Drone 4 leaked around 10,000 litres of fuel oil while passing through the Olen Lock on Belgium’s Albert Canal. The barge, a 106-metre-long, semi-autonomous vessel flagged in Belgium and operated by Naval Inland Navigation, sustained a 15 cm puncture above the waterline in one of its fuel tanks. The cause of the damage remains unknown. The leak created a fuel slick several kilometres long, spreading across the full width of the canal and forcing authorities to halt shipping traffic in the area. Emergency crews and a specialised company were deployed immediately, using sorbent booms, vacuum systems, and filtration machines to contain and remove the oil. While one of the three locks was cleared of residues overnight, cleaning continues at the remaining locks, and the Flemish Waterways Agency has not provided a timeline for full reopening. Shipping remained suspended into the following days, with nearby industrial activity also disrupted. Officials described the incident as a “significant pollution event” but stressed that the damage to the vessel was repairable and that Antwerp’s water supply was not at immediate risk. The cleanup is ongoing, with the lock system currently holding back the remaining fuel to prevent further spread.

Congo LNG to Boost Exports to 3 Mt/y with Second Floating Unit — The Offtake -A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers

$11.50/MMBtu: European natural gas traders appear to be shrugging off maintenance and supply constraints from Norway, but September weather is creating a floor for Title Transfer Facility (TTF) prices. September contract prices reached $11.50/MMBtu Wednesday, a nearly 15-cent drop from the start of the week. However, Mind Energy analysts wrote Nordic electricity prices through early 2026 rose as traders anticipate dry and calm weather to reduce renewable generation through the coming months.
3 Mt/y: Congo LNG, operated by Eni SpA, is set to increase LNG exports to at least 3 million tons/year with the addition of a second floating LNG (FLNG) unit offshore the West African country. Eni disclosed Tuesday that the 2.4 million ton/year (Mt/y) capacity Nguya FLNG departed from a shipyard in China. The Italian supermajor expects to complete infrastructure work for the second phase of Congo LNG by the end of the year, coinciding with the arrival of Nguya. At least 12 cargoes have been exported from the already operating Tango FLNG that started operating in late 2023.
10 years: Dutch commodity trading firm Vitol SA launched a tender for short-term supply it plans to ship to East Asia, according to Kpler. Under the tender set to close Thursday (Aug. 28) Vitol is looking to purchase 1 Mt/y, or at least 4 cargoes a year, for a five- to 10-year term with delivery to China, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan. Deliveries are set to begin in 2027 or 2028.

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Hits Record Output as Ice Conditions Ease --Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project lifted production to record levels in late August as summer ice conditions opened the Northern Sea Route, allowing additional cargoes to reach Asia, according to Bloomberg data reported byLiveMint. Output topped 25 million cubic meters on August 25-26, averaging nearly 15 million cubic meters for much of the month. The figures mark the strongest operational run since the facility began trial shipments earlier this year.The Novatek-led facility, located on the Gydan Peninsula, has faced U.S. and EU sanctions that block Western financing, shipping insurance, and liquefaction technology. Despite these restrictions, Train-1 has ramped up throughput and dispatched multiple cargoes on specialized Arc7 ice-class carriers. Reuters tracking data earlier this month showed the Christophe de Margerie and other sanctioned vessels continuing liftings, demonstrating Russia’s reliance on its limited fleet of Arctic-class tankers.Arctic LNG 2 is designed for three trains of 6.6 million tons per year each for a total planned capacity of 19.8 million tons annually. Sanctions on Russian shipyards and technology suppliers have delayed deliveries of additional carriers, creating a shortage that caps export flexibility. Analysts note that ship-to-ship transfers near Murmansk are being used to free Arc7 capacity for Arctic liftings. The logistics challenge has forced Novatek to expand marketing outreach to Asia. Recent efforts to place cargoes in China and India suggest a pivot away from Europe. Russian officials promote the Northern Sea Route as a strategic corridor capable of cutting sailing times to the Pacific during ice-free months, reinforcing Moscow’s broader LNG export strategy.August’s higher run rate followed earlier commissioning stages when limited tanker capacity and storage constraints forced temporary cutbacks, with shipments now moving more regularly on Arc7 carriers.

First Arctic LNG 2 Cargo Arrives in China Ahead of Putin–Xi Talks (Reuters) — China received this week its first liquefied natural gas cargo from a sanctioned Russian project, ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG showed, days ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin is among more than 20 world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China's northern port city of Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, where he is expected to meet Xi to revive trade between the countries. The meeting is expected to mark another diplomatic coup for Russia, which has had sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Putin held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska earlier this month on a potential peace agreement. The tanker Arctic Mulan LNG, carrying LNG from the Arctic LNG 2 project, which is targeted by the sanctions, berthed at China's Beihai LNG terminal in the southern region of Guangxi on Thursday, data from Kpler and LSEG showed. The cargo came from a storage facility in the Russian Far East that has only received cargoes from Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project. The delivery marks the first time superchilled fuel from the project reached an end-user since it started up last year. "China and Russia are testing the waters," said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, researcher at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, in a post on LinkedIn. "If this one goes through without any U.S. reaction, that could be a signal for China and other buyers that it would be ok to buy sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 cargoes. India could be next in line for a Russian LNG cargo, especially at an attractive price." PipeChina, the Beihai LNG terminal's operator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Arctic Mulan is currently still near the Beihai LNG terminal. Reuters has not been able to find any contact information for its registered owner, and its ship or commercial manager. "It may have a political greenlight, and it is unlikely that Russia and China would proceed without some form of assurance that these cargo deliveries will not trigger sanctions risk for the terminal operator or lead to further consequences for Russia," said Siamak Adibi, director for gas and LNG supply analytics at consultancy FGE. The Arctic LNG 2 project had been due to become Russia's largest LNG plant with eventual output of 19.8 million metric tons per year of LNG from three trains. "If sanctions are lifted from Arctic LNG 2, some 12 million tons per annum of additional LNG could reach the market within a relatively short period, providing additional supply relief," Adibi said.

Pakistan Seeks to Defer 177 Qatari LNG Cargoes Amid $5.6B Contract Burden - Pakistan is preparing to ask Qatar to defer long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries as weak domestic demand collides with a heavy import schedule, according to local press and Bloomberg reporting. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) last week authorized the Petroleum Division to renegotiate contract terms, potentially pushing back obligations covering 177 cargoes between 2025 and 2031. The ECC decision reflects mounting pressure on Islamabad’s foreign exchange reserves and a $5.6 billion burden tied to the existing purchase agreements, the Daily Times reported. Pakistan’s 2016 contracts with Qatar set pricing at 13.37% of Brent crude, compared with India’s renegotiated rate of 12.66%. The Competition Commission of Pakistan has previously highlighted the cost differential, underscoring concerns that the deal placed Pakistani buyers at a relative disadvantage. As new LNG import terminals expand capacity, officials fear a glut could overwhelm local distribution and undermine fragile fiscal balances. Bloomberg noted that discussions with Doha may seek multi-year deferrals rather than short-term relief. The prospect of delaying contracted cargoes comes as Pakistan grapples with excess supply. Reuters reported in July that authorities were already exploring the resale of surplus volumes after curtailing domestic gas production. The negotiations also carry geopolitical weight. Qatar has long been Pakistan’s anchor supplier, with shipments running through Port Qasim under contracts extended in 2021. Deferral talks could ripple through regional LNG markets, as buyers across Asia reassess their exposure to long-dated agreements amid price volatility and uneven demand recovery. Islamabad’s strategy will be closely watched by other South Asian importers. India’s earlier success in securing lower-cost terms with Qatar remains a benchmark in the region, and Pakistan’s push for relief may reopen debate on the balance of risk in Gulf LNG contracts.

Kazakhstan Insists Oil Majors Pay $4.4 Billion Fine Despite Court Win - Kazakhstan insists that the international oil majors pay a hefty $4.4 billion fine for sulfur pollution despite a court win for Big Oil earlier this month. At the beginning of August, a Kazakh appellate court sided with the international oil majors operating the huge Kashagan oilfield, overturning the massive environmental fine over sulfur storage practices. The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC)—a consortium that includes Eni, Shell, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies—hailed the decision as confirmation that their sulfur handling meets both Kazakh legal requirements and global industry standards. The North Caspian Project is the first major offshore oil and gas development in Kazakhstan, covering three fields: Kashagan, Kairan, and Aktoty. The giant Kashagan field ranks as one of the largest oil discoveries of the past decades, with about 9-13 billion barrels of recoverable oil. However, Kazakhstan has been in a dispute with the international project partners. Kazakhstan claims that NCOC had improperly stored sulfur byproducts at the $55 billion Kashagan project, one of the most technically challenging and delay-ridden oil developments in the world. Authorities have sought 2.3 trillion Kazakh tenge (about $4.4 billion at the current exchange rate) in penalties, citing environmental violations. Kazakhstan has also taken the consortium to international arbitration over a jaw-dropping $160 billion in alleged damages—mostly tied to what it claims are lost revenues, but also including accusations of environmental harm and questionable contract dealings. Despite the early August appellate court decision in favor of the international majors, Kazakhstan’s environmental protection ministry has told the companies that the fine stands and they have 40 days to pay the $4.4 billion fine. The foreign firms also have 10 days to appeal the fine, sources familiar with the development have told Bloomberg.

Iraq increases oil exports amid declining prices -(IraqiNews.com) – Crude oil exports from Iraq increased last month as part of OPEC’s continuous effort to boost output among member countries. According to the latest monthly figures from the country’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), Iraq exported 104.7 million barrels of oil in July, or 3.38 million barrels per day. Iraq raised its oil exports by six percent on a monthly basis in July, despite crude prices falling by about 10 percent since the beginning of 2025, raising concerns about demand due to the US-driven tariff conflict, according to Bloomberg. The rise in exports comes after Bloomberg reported last month that Iraq was planning to raise shipments of a major oil grade in August as part of an extended export program, indicating that the country is attempting to enhance crude output. Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest producer and a member of the OPEC+ alliance, which has reduced oil production limitations that had been implemented for years to stabilize the oil market. According to estimations released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June, the oil price Iraq requires to break even in its 2024 budget has risen to $84 per barrel compared to $54 in 2020. The IMF anticipates Iraq’s oil exports to fall to $84.2 billion in 2025, compared to $99.2 billion in 2024 and $79.2 billion in 2026.

Asia Faces Zero Growth in Demand For Petroleum Products - Earlier this week, China’s Sinopec reported a plunge in its first-half profit, citing subdued fuel demand as a reason. According to Kpler, sluggish fuel demand is a global trend, and it is set to extend into next year as well.The energy research and analytics company reportedthis week that it expected global fuel demand to rise by some 840,000 barrels daily, which would accelerate modestly to 880,000 barrels daily in 2026. Kpler analyst Esteban Moreno cited weakened consumer confidence as one driver of the fuel demand trends and the proliferation of electric vehicles.The trend of EVs undermining demand for oil products appears to be especially visible in the Asia-Pacific, the Kpler report suggests, as analysts see no demand growth in that region for this year at all. One reason for the forecast is China’s petrochemical overcapacity. Another is slower economic growth. Ageing populations in the region, as well as improvements in fuel efficiency, would also contribute to zero demand growth in 2025.In China specifically, Kpler sees an actual decline in the demand for petroleum products this year, in part because of the trade war with the United States, which has affected certain fuel markets, most notably that for liquid petroleum gas. Of course, EVs are also affecting oil product demand in China, especially in the gasoline segment, while LNG-fueled trucks are undermining diesel demand in the world’s largest importer of crude. Speaking of LNG, the outlook for gas demand in Asia is a lot brighter than the outlook for crude oil. There is virtually no forecast that sees gas demand getting destroyed by EVs. On the contrary, the electrification of transport and the boom in data centers will drive demand for electricity much higher everywhere there is electrification of transport and a data center industry.Last month, Morgan Stanley forecast that Asia would see the strongest rate of gas demand growth, at an annual 5%, which would exceed the demand growth rates in other key regions such as Europe and the United States, where the rate of growth is seen at 1% and 3%, respectively.“Consumption of natural gas will rise much quicker than most fuels for the rest of the decade, making it more than just a transition fuel,” said Mayank Maheshwari, head of Morgan Stanley’s energy and utilities coverage in India and Southeast Asia. “Natural gas has become the backbone of energy security and has an essential role in fulfilling the world's insatiable electrification needs, which have more than tripled in the last half decade.”If electrification continues at the current rates, then the longer-term outlook for oil is no better than the short-term projections. It is worth remembering, however, that these projections are based on factors that may change. This is why Kpler noted in its report that if the trade war ends and global economic growth picks up the pace, demand for oil products in Asia and specifically China will improve, too.Europe, meanwhile, has served something of a surprise in oil product demand. Despite governments’ efforts to accelerate the rollout of electric vehicles, fuel demand on the continent remains robust. Indeed, Kpler sees growth in gasoline and jet fuel demand in Europe this year, but a decline in fuel oil and naphtha. Indeed, the International Air Transport Association recently warned.Europe was facing a jet fuel shortage resulting from a decline in domestic supply coupled with steady demand growth, again despite the green push that, among other things, aims to discourage Europeans from flying.“The progressive closure of refineries and the decline in domestic jet fuel production have increased Europe’s reliance on imports, jeopardizing energy security for the aviation sector,” IATA said this week. Europe has tightened environmental regulations on refineries severely in the past few years, which has resulted in a series of closures that have limited domestic refining capacity.According to FGE, Europe is also facing a diesel shortage in the second half of the year due to a decline in the availability of U.S. diesel. The firm attributed the forecast to “U.S. capacity closures and a heavier autumn maintenance schedule” as well as to price changes that would render fuels more expensive for European buyers.It is worth noting that Europe’s oil product consumption remains steady despite its negligible economic growth over the past couple of years. If that improves, it is likely that Europe too will see a pickup in oil product demand. Meanwhile, the U.S. will also see stable if not huge growth in fuel demand driven by heating during the winter months and a steady rise in air travel, Kpler also said.

India’s Crude Oil Imports Drop To 17-month Low - Fuel demand mirrored the slowdown, with India’s overall fuel consumption in July easing 4.3 per cent month-on-month to 19.43 million tonne, according to figures from the oil ministry. The import slump comes days before additional US tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian goods take effect on 27 August. Washington DC has already imposed 25 per cent duties, higher than on several other major trading partners, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as the trigger for new trade measures. Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that India would approach its future trade engagement with the United States with a 'very open mind.' Despite the tariff risk, state-run refiners Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum have resumed purchases of discounted Russian crude for September and October deliveries, according to company officials. Meanwhile, Nayara Energy, backed by Russian interests and operating under European Union sanctions, is using a “dark fleet” to import crude and ship refined fuels, shipping reports and LSEG flows indicated.

Indian Refiners Increase Russian Crude Purchases Despite Tariffs --India’s refiners are expected to import more Russian crude oil in September compared to this month’s levels as discounts are deepening amid Russia’s constrained refining capacity due to Ukrainian drone strikes, traders told Reuters on Thursday. A few weeks ago, the biggest Indian state-owned refiners, including IndianOil and BPCL, pulled out of spot purchases of Russian crude for cargoes loading in October, after the U.S. announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its imports of crude from Russia.The overall 50% tariff on Indian goods took effect on August 27. Despite the hiked tariff, due to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil, Indian refiners are set to raise their imports by between 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 300,000 bpd in September, or up by 10-20% compared to August volumes, anonymous trade sources involved in the deals told Reuters. Russia’s crude volumes for exports have jumped in recent weeks, as Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have crippled Russia’s processing capacity.As a result, Russian sellers need India to ship more crude abroad and are again offering deeper discounts. With difficult U.S.-India trade talks, the Trump Administration has singled out India to punish as a buyer of Russian crude.Russia and India, however, have talked up their strategic partnership with high-level meetings and visits since the U.S. tariff threat, and have reiterated their strategic alliance and cooperation in the energy sector—a sign that India isn’t giving up on Russia’s cheap crude.Due to stronger demand in India in September and October, crude arrivals will likely increase in the next two months, driven by higher inflows of Russian crude, said Ivan Mathews, Head of APAC Analysis at energy flow analytics firm Vortexa.

Trump’s 50% tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases take effect (AP) — Steep U.S. tariffs on a range of Indian products took effect Wednesday, threatening a serious blow to India’s overseas trade in its largest export market. President Donald Trump had initially announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods. But earlier this month he signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff due to India’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the U.S. on its ally to 50%. The Indian government estimates the tariffs will impact $48.2 billion worth of exports. Officials have warned the new duties could make shipments to the U.S. commercially unviable, triggering job losses and slower economic growth. India–U.S. trade relations have expanded in recent years but remain vulnerable to disputes over market access and domestic political pressures. India is one of the fastest-growing major global economies and it may face a slowdown as a result. Sectors to be impacted by US tariffs Estimates by New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative suggest labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewelry, leather goods, food and automobiles will be hit hardest. “The new tariff regime is a strategic shock that threatens to wipe out India’s long-established presence in the U.S., causing unemployment in export-driven hubs and weakening its role in the industrial value chain,” said Ajay Srivastava, the think tank’s founder and a former Indian trade official. The U.S. has for now exempted some sectors such as pharmaceuticals and electronic goods from additional tariffs, bringing some relief for India as its exposure in these sectors is significant.

India refiners to curb Russian oil buys --Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries and state-run processors, plan to modestly reduce purchases of Russian crude in the coming weeks, signaling a limited concession to Washington just before U.S. tariffs on Indian imports are set to double to 50% on Aug. 27. Purchases are expected to fall to 1.4–1.6 million barrels per day from an average of 1.8 million earlier this year, though India shows no intent to sever energy ties with Moscow. The Trump administration has ramped up pressure on New Delhi’s Russian oil trade, criticizing the sharp increase since 2022, when India went from negligible imports to accounting for 37% of Moscow’s exports. U.S. officials have also targeted India’s major energy companies amid broader efforts to curb Russia’s war funding. Volumes could shift if India secures a trade deal and Washington eases demands, but for now, refiners are signaling only a minor adjustment rather than a policy reversal.

Cutting Off Russian Oil for India is a Risky Game -- Today, an additional 25% tariff on all Indian exports to the United States should come into effect, making the total tariff owed by importers of Indian goods around 50%. The additional tariff aims to discourage Indian energy importers from buying Russian oil. And it could hurt the U.S. economy—although U.S. oil producers would welcome the price change. Russia has emerged as the largest single supplier of crude oil to India, which imports some 85% of the oil it consumes. Because of that, it is quite partial to a good bargain. Russian crude is just such a bargain due to the discount resulting from Western sanction pressure. Importantly, the United States under Biden had zero problem with India becoming a major oil customer of Russia. In fact, the Biden admin asked India to step up its Russian oil purchases following Russia’s 2022 incursion into Ukraine and the consequent start of sanctions. As then Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters back then, Russian oil “is going to be selling at bargain prices and we’re happy to have India get that bargain, or Africa or China. It’s fine.” Of course, less than two years later, Yelen stopped seeing the continued exports of Russian oil as fine because Moscow kept making money from these flows, but it was too late to change things without hurting the U.S. economy as much as the European one had already hurt itself. The goal of that Biden admin move was to keep Russian oil flows constrained but not blocked to avoid a price spike—which nevertheless happened but did not last for very long. Yet it still pushed oil companies’ profits sky-high. This is why the U.S. oil industry is probably rooting for the tariff push to backfire. Energy Aspects’ Amrita Sen explained in a recent op-ed for the Financial Times how the backfiring would unfold. India is currently importing Russian crude at a rate of some 1.6 million barrels daily, as of the first half of this year, per Energy Information Administration data cited by CNBC. There is no other oil buyer of such size in the world, so if the U.S. pressure campaign begins in earnest and Indian refiners and the government yield, that’s 1.6 million barrels daily that may well have nowhere else to go because of sanctions, so they would be effectively removed from the market. Now, despite all the talk about a “bloated” supply situation, the oil market appears to be, in fact, constantly on the verge of a shortage, so the loss of those 1.6 million barrels daily will push prices higher. Just how high will depend on just how much of that oil would indeed be cut off from the market. China is the most obvious alternative destination for Russian barrels, but here’s the thing: China cannot absorb a lot of additional oil, according to Energy Aspects’ Sen. “China does not have the refining capacity to absorb significantly higher volumes of Russian oil than they used to buy. Thus, geographically India became the logical clearing country for the Russian barrels,” the energy commodity analyst wrote in her FT op-ed. So, with those barrels effectively gone, prices will shoot up, raising the question of how much President Trump is willing to risk to make India play ball. The answer is yet to be revealed, but it may well be the risky nature of Trump's additional tariff move that has given India the confidence to repeatedly state it has no plans to change its oil-buying habits. Prime Minister Modi said it early on in a rather sharp response to Trump’s initial threat of additional tariffs. The Indian ambassador to Russia said it twice in the past week, emphasizing the bargain factor. “Indian companies will continue buying from wherever they get the best deal,” Vinay Kumar said this weekend.

Oil Prices Edge Higher on Revived Rate Cut Optimism -- Oil prices edged higher Monday morning, extending gains into the fourth consecutive trading day. On Friday, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a return to interest rate cuts, perhaps as early as at the next FOMC meeting in September. NYMEX-traded WTI for October delivery rose $0.47 to trade near $64.13 bbl, and ICE Brent for October delivery gained $0.41 to $68.14 bbl. September RBOB gasoline futures dipped $0.0010 to $2.1575 gal, and the front-month ULSD contract added $0.0340 to $2.3421 gal. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.216 points to 97.815. While interest rate cuts typically lead to higher oil demand, it was sluggish economic growth rather than low inflation prompting Powell to consider this step, keeping gains in check. Oil has been trading in a narrow range since early August as traders are awaiting more clarity on U.S. policy vis-a-vis Russia. The White House has lately been signaling a willingness to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, while at the same time threatening tougher sanctions on Russian oil trade and secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil. The push-and-pull on oil prices hasn't been entirely driven by geopolitical considerations. Macroeconomic indicators and low oil inventories across the OECD have been pointing to healthier-than-expected near-term demand, but supply growth is set to rapidly outpace demand growth over the coming months, with most market observers expecting a surplus by year-end. On Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis is set to release its second PCE price index estimate for the second quarter, as well as the second estimate for Q2 GDP growth. The PCE price index serves as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric and will provide more insight into future FOMC policy.

Oil Market Trends: Rise Amid Geopolitical Tensions - The oil market traded higher on Monday, adding to last week’s gains on geopolitical risk. The market traded higher with prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace looking uncertain and expectations that the U.S. will raise tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said there could be consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy do not meet. The crude market posted a low of $63.53 in overnight trading before it continued on its upward trend. The market extended its gains to over $1.40 and retraced almost 50% of its move from a high of $69.36 to a low of $61.29 as it rallied to a high of $65.10 in afternoon trading. The market later gave up some of its gains and traded sideways during the remainder of the session. The October WTI contract settled up $1.14 at $64.80 and the October Brent contract settled up $1.07 at $68.80. The product markets ended the session mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling up 3.94 cents at $2.3475 and the RB market settling down 1.02 cents at $2.1483. U.S. President Donald Trump said that he has not discussed specific security guarantees for Ukraine but says the U.S. will support the country. The potential security guarantees for Ukraine represent a major obstacle to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 318,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending August 29th, increasing available refining capacity by 135,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to increase to 408,000 bpd in the week ending September 5th. IIR said BP’s 440,000 bpd refinery in Whiting, Indiana is expected to be fully operational in the next 24 to 48 hours. The refinery experienced operational issues last week due to flooding caused by a severe thunderstorm. Motiva reported that its 640,500 bpd Port Arthur, Texas refinery experienced a process incident. It said it resulted in pressure relief valve relieving to flare with emissions in excess of reportable quantity at the refinery. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff called on Ukraine to end its attacks on energy supply routes for Hungary and Slovakia, after a recent suspension of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary’s MOL said that without the Druzhba pipeline, central Europe might face a fuel shortage in the short term, which might lead to an increase in fuel prices. Meanwhile, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said oil flows may resume as soon as today under the best-case scenario. On Friday, Hungary and Slovakia said that oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline could be suspended for at least five days following the latest Ukrainian attack on a facility in Russia. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said the country’s oil exports via the Russian port of Ust-Luga were continuing and were not interrupted by Ukrainian drone attacks on the key terminal.

Oil prices rise as Russia-Ukraine war threatens supply disruption (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed around 2% on Monday, continuing last week's gains, as traders anticipated more U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure that could disrupt supplies. Brent crude futures settled up $1.07, or 1.58%, at $68.80, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.14, or 1.79%, to $64.80. The U.S. is trying to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia to bring an end to the 3-1/2-year war. "There seems to be a sense the peace talks are dragging on," "There could be sanctions on Russia if these talks don't go well." U.S. President Donald Trump said again on Friday that he would impose sanctions on Russia if there was no progress toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks. He has also said he may hit India with harsh tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil. Over the weekend, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Russia had made "significant concessions" toward a negotiated settlement in the war. Ukraine, which has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, launched a drone attack on Sunday that caused a huge blaze at the Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian officials said. A fire at Russia's Novoshakhtinsk refinery, following a Ukrainian drone attack, burned for a fourth day on Sunday, the region's acting governor said. The refinery sells fuel mainly for export and has an annual capacity of 5 million metric tons of oil, or about 100,000 barrels per day. The market impact of possible Russian supply disruptions was offset by OPEC+'s reversal of a series of production cuts, which is adding millions of barrels to the market, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. Eight members of the oil exporters' group are scheduled to meet on September 7, when they are set to approve another boost. Investors' risk appetite increased after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday signalled a possible interest rate cut at the U.S. central bank's meeting in September. Both oil benchmarks, however, appear to lack momentum, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova, adding that markets seem increasingly convinced that Trump's tariffs will hit economic growth, which would limit fuel demand.

Global Oil Prices Drop Amid U.S. Sanctions Threats On Russia - Global crude oil prices fell on Tuesday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning of severe sanctions on Russia if it fails to negotiate with Ukraine, sparking concerns about economic disruptions and reduced energy demand. Brent crude traded at $67.73 per barrel, a 0.7% decline from $68.20, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 0.7% to $64.13 from $64.61. Trump’s threats to curb Russian oil exports have intensified downward pressure on prices. He emphasized that Russia and Ukraine must engage in direct talks, stating, “It’s up to them to resolve it. It takes two to tango.” Meanwhile, the U.S. is preparing to impose steep tariffs on India for its Russian oil purchases, escalating from a 25% to a 50% duty effective August 27. Indian exporters are bracing for disruptions as talks with Washington continue, with analysts warning that these measures could slow economic growth and dampen energy demand. The dismissal of Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook by Trump, citing alleged false statements in mortgage documents, has raised concerns about the Fed’s independence, partially offsetting further oil price declines. Analysts view this as a rare intervention in central bank affairs, potentially eroding investor confidence. In Russia, a gasoline export ban has been extended due to rising domestic prices driven by summer demand and agricultural needs. The Russian Ministry of Energy, led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, announced investigations into regional price inflation. The ban, initially implemented on July 28 and set to expire on August 31, aims to stabilize domestic fuel prices amid challenges from drone attacks on refineries and heightened agricultural demand. Russia, a major global energy exporter, produces over 40 million tons of gasoline annually.

Oil Market Trading Lower Amid Uncertainty - The oil market on Tuesday took a breather and traded lower following four consecutive days of gains amid the uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine and the possibility of further U.S. sanctions on Russian oil. The market opened at its high of $64.76 and erased its previous gains. It retraced more 50% of its move from a low of $61.29 to a high of $65.10 as it sold off to a low of $63.13 ahead of the close. The October WTI contract settled down $1.55 at $63.25 and the October Brent contract settled down $1.58 at $67.22. The product markets ended the session slightly lower, with the heating oil market settling down 67 points at $2.2805 and the RB market settling down 26 points at $2.1323. According to sources, U.S. and Russian government officials discussed several energy deals on the sidelines of negotiations this month that sought to achieve peace in Ukraine. These deals were put forward as incentives to encourage Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine and for Washington to ease sanctions on Russia. The officials discussed the possibility of Exxon Mobil re-entering Russia’s Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project. They also raised the prospect of Russia purchasing U.S. equipment for its LNG projects, such as Arctic LNG 2, which is under western sanctions. Another idea was for the U.S. to purchase nuclear-powered icebreaker vessels from Russia. The talks were held during U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s trip to Moscow earlier this month when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev. The deals were also discussed within the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Turkey, the Gulf States or European countries could host talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He “From our side, things will be prepared to the maximum in order to end the war.” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said Iran remains committed to diplomacy and a mutually beneficial solution, following a meeting with France, Britain and Germany in Geneva about its disputed nuclear program. Russia has revised up its crude oil export plan from western ports by 200,000 bpd in August from the initial schedule after Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted refinery operations and freed up more crude for shipment. Enbridge reported it has eased September apportionments for both light and heavy barrels compared with August levels. The company lowered its heavy crude apportionments to 3% from August’s apportionment of 5%, while light barrels apportionments were lowered by 1% to 5% for September levels. Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose by +11% w/w to 96.77 million bbl in the week ended August 22. BloombergNEF reported that global passenger jet fuel demand for August 26th-September 1st will fall 1.1% on the week to 7.32 million bpd. However, jet fuel demand was up 3.8% on the year.

Oil falls 2% from nearly three-week high; focus on tariffs, Russian supply (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2% on Tuesday, erasing gains from the previous session, as investors watched developments around U.S. tariffs, the war in Ukraine and the potential disruption of Russian fuel supplies. Brent crude was down $1.58, or 2.3%, at $67.22 a barrel, a day after hitting its highest price since early August. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost $1.55, or about 2.4%, to $63.25. "Given the huge amount of uncertainties in the oil market caused by the Ukrainian conflict and the tariff war, investors will remain unwilling to commit themselves to either direction on a prolonged basis," s Brent prices could be bound to a trading range of $65-$74 for the foreseeable future, he added. Oil's rally on Monday was primarily driven by supply risks after Ukraine strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and the possibility of further U.S. sanctions on Russian oil. Ukraine's attacks in response to Russia's advances in the conflict and its pounding of Ukrainian gas and power facilities have disrupted Moscow's oil processing and exports and created gasoline shortages in some parts of Russia. Russia has revised up its crude oil export plan from western ports by 200,000 barrels per day in August from the initial schedule after Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted refinery operations and freed up more crude for shipment, three people familiar with the matter said. U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to impose sanctions on Russia if there is no progress towards a peace deal in the next two weeks. However, sources have told Reuters that U.S. and Russian government officials discussed several energy deals on the sidelines of this month's negotiations to seek peace in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Indian exports could face U.S. duties of up to 50% - among the highest imposed by Washington. "Front and center in this week's trade is the possibility that U.S. tariffs on India could be doubled to 50% as early as tomorrow ... further restricting Russian export flows that are already being inhibited by recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries,"

Oil holds steady; Ukraine war, US-India tariffs weigh --Oil prices traded within a narrow range on Wednesday in Asia as investors monitored developments in the Ukraine conflict and assessed the impact of hefty United States tariffs on Indian exports, a move affecting the world’s third-largest crude consumer.By 3:20 pm AEST (5:20 am GMT), Brent crude futures were up just 4 cents or 0.1% to US$67.26 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was unchanged at US$63.25 per barrel.Both benchmarks had fallen more than 2.2% on Tuesday after starting the week at a two-week high.U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he would meet Ukrainian representatives in New York this week, while also confirming that Washington remained in talks with Russia as part of its efforts to end the war.Adding to investor focus, tariffs of 25% on Indian exports took effect on Wednesday, lifting overall duties to 50% - among the highest levels imposed by Washington. President Donald Trump has said the increased charges are a direct response to India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil, which surged after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.Indian refiners initially scaled back Russian crude imports after the tariff announcements and following stricter EU sanctions on Russia-linked Nayara Energy. However, state-owned Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum have resumed buying Russian supplies for September and October, company sources told Reuters last week. Indian Oil, the country’s largest refiner, has said it will continue to purchase Russian crude “depending on the economics.”Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues to influence global oil flows. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have forced them to curtail operations, leading to higher exports of crude that they can no longer process domestically.

Oil Steadies After Largest Daily Loss in Three Weeks -- Oil prices steadied Wednesday morning after having slipped more than 2% in Tuesday's session. The fall was feathered by an industry report late Tuesday suggesting another decline in U.S. oil inventories ahead of official government data releases due Wednesday. NYMEX-traded WTI for October delivery rose $0.13 to trade near $63.38 per barrel (bbl), and ICE Brent for October delivery gained $0.09 to $67.31 bbl. September RBOB gasoline futures added $0.0136 to $2.1359 per gallon, and the front-month ULSD contract advanced $0.0022 to $2.2827 per gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.378 points to 98.500. Concerns over the Federal Reserve's political independence led to a broader selloff, serving as a catalyst to growing bearish sentiment and erasing earlier gains which were driven by Russian supply woes and rate cut optimism. The doubling of tariffs on imports from India in response to the country's Russian crude oil purchases came into effect today, raising import duties from 25% to 50%. So far, however, there were no signs that Indian refiners, who over the past three years have become the main buyers of Russian crude oil, were stepping back from their purchases. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported across-the-board declines in U.S. crude oil, gasoline and diesel stocks. A second consecutive draw to crude oil and gasoline inventories, along with a nearly 500,000 bbl draw in Cushing, Oklahoma, the WTI futures delivery point, lent some price support. Official government oil inventory data is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT release today.

Oil edges up on US crude stocks drop, impact of US tariffs on India (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday after data showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories and as investors weighed the potential impact from new U.S. tariffs on India. Brent crude futures were up 83 cents, or 1.2%, at $68.05 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 90 cents, or 1.4%, to $64.15. Both contracts fell by more than 2% on Tuesday.U.S. crude inventories dropped by 2.4 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9-million-barrel draw.U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels compared with expectations for a 2.2 million-barrel draw. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.8 million barrels versus expectations for an 885,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed."The gasoline demand number is supportive and shows people are getting ready to travel over the Labor Day weekend. This is the crescendo of the summer driving season, also the last big hurrah for the summertime gasoline blend," U.S. President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50% was also in focus. The tariffs in response to India's purchases of Russian oil took effect on Wednesday.There was no sign of supply disruption so far, but uncertainty over whether the U.S. will target the oil flows is deterring some traders from taking new positions, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.While the immediate impact of U.S. tariffs on Indian exports appears limited, the ripple effects on the economy pose challenges that must be addressed, India's Finance Ministry said in its July monthly economic review, released on Wednesday.Russia and Ukraine have also stepped up attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, worrying traders about supply disruptions.Russia launched a massive drone attack on energy and gas transport infrastructure across six Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday. Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries and exporting infrastructure in recent days.U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he will meet Ukrainian representatives in New York this week and that Washington is also in talks with Russia in an effort to end the war.Russia has made an upward revision to its crude oil export plan from western ports by 200,000 barrels per day in August from the initial schedule after attacks on its refineries last week, three people close to the matter said on Tuesday.New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on Wednesday that interest rates will likely fall at some point but policymakers will need to see what upcoming data indicate about the economy before deciding whether it is appropriate to make a cut at the September 16-17 meeting.Lower interest rates can reduce consumer borrowing costs and boost economic growth and demand for oil.

Oil prices retreat as India tariffs weigh on market --Oil prices slipped during Asian trade on Thursday as market participants assessed the implications of United States tariffs on India’s Russian oil imports. By 3:10 pm AEST (5:10 am GMT), Brent crude futures declined 58 cents, or 0.9%, to US$67.47 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by the same margin to US$63.57. Both benchmarks had gained more than 1.1% in the previous session.Fresh data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed crude inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels in the week ending August 22, exceeding forecasts for a 2-million-barrel draw. The decline pointed to firm demand ahead of the U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend.Despite the supportive data, technical charts suggest crude remains capped by resistance around US$64–65 a barrel, with the potential to test support near US$60.Markets are also closely monitoring India’s response to mounting pressure from Washington to curb imports of Russian oil. U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian imports to as much as 50% on Wednesday, raising questions about future supply flows.Geopolitical risks added another layer of support this week, with Russia intensifying strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials reported that a massive drone attack overnight damaged gas and energy facilities across six regions, leaving more than 100,000 people without electricity.In the U.S., expectations of an interest rate cut also bolstered oil sentiment, with investors betting looser monetary policy could stimulate economic activity and fuel demand. New York Fed President John Williams said Wednesday that rates are likely to fall at some stage, but stressed the decision will hinge on upcoming economic data before the central bank’s 16–17 September meeting.

The Market Was Pressured by the Restart of Russian Oil Supplies - The crude market ended higher on Thursday following earlier losses after the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump was not happy about the Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine early on Thursday. Early in the session, the oil market was under as traders expected lower fuel demand after the approaching Labor Day weekend. The market was also pressured by the restart of Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline following an outage caused by a Ukrainian attack in Russia last week. The market traded mostly sideways as it held resistance at its previous high early in the session before it fell to a low of $63.35 by mid-day. The oil market later settled in a sideways trading range before it bounced higher and posted a high of $64.70 ahead of the close. The market rallied as it awaited a statement by President Donald Trump on the Russia-Ukraine situation later in the day. The October WTI contract ended the session up 45 cents at $64.60 and the October Brent ended the session up 57 cents at $68.62. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 1.45 cents at $2.3098 and the RB market settling up 5.02 cents at $2.1991. The White House said that President Donald Trump “was not happy” when he learned that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 15 people and damaging buildings, including the British Council in Kyiv. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump will make an additional statement on the situation later on Thursday. Two European diplomats said Britain, France and Germany began the process of reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. Slovak Economy Minister, Denisa Sakova, said Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia have resumed after an outage caused last week by a Ukrainian attack in Russia. Meanwhile, Hungary’s MOL said crude oil supplies have arrived in Hungary and Slovakia from Russia after the Druzhba pipeline restarted. Russian oil exports to India are set to increase in September, as producers cut prices to sell more crude because they cannot process as much in refineries that were damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks on energy infrastructure. Without India, Russia would struggle to maintain exports at existing levels, and that would cut the oil export revenues that finance the Kremlin’s budget and Russia’s continued war in Ukraine. Three trading sources involved in oil sales to India said Indian refiners would increase Russian oil purchases in September by 10-20% from August levels or by 150,000-300,000 bpd. Russia has more oil to export next month because planned and unplanned refinery outages have cut its capacity to process crude into fuels. According to Vortexa analysts, in the first 20 days of August, India imported 1.5 million bpd of Russian crude, unchanged from July but slightly below the average of 1.6 million bpd in January-June.

Oil settles higher as traders await Trump statement on Russia-Ukraine (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Thursday, bouncing off early losses after the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump was not happy when he learned that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight. Brent crude futures settled up 57 cents, or 0.8%, at $68.62 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $64.60 a barrel. Sign up here. Russia hit Ukraine with deadly missiles and drone strikes early on Thursday, killing at least 21 people in Kyiv, city officials said. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said it used drones to hit two Russian oil refineries overnight. Trump will make a statement on the situation later on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Both oil benchmarks were down about 1% earlier in the session, but turned positive after her comments. Traders are also watching for India's response to pressure from the U.S. to stop buying Russian oil, after Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50% on Wednesday. Russian oil exports to India are set to rise in September, dealers said, defying the U.S. pressure. Oil prices were under pressure earlier in the session as traders braced for lower fuel demand after the U.S. Labor Day long weekend. Crude oil supply is also set to rise due to an OPEC+ plan to raise September output by 547,000 barrels per day. Weaker demand and higher supply will cause oil inventories to rise, Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. "That will be weighing on energy futures across the spectrum as summer turns into fall, and as gasoline demand tapers off and refiners shift to the lower-priced winter grade product," they said. Further pressuring oil prices, Russian crude supplies to Hungary and Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline have restarted after an outage caused by a Ukrainian attack in Russia last week, Hungarian oil company MOL and Slovakia's economy minister said on Thursday.

Oil Futures Drop Amid Oversupply Expectations -- Oil prices edged lower Friday morning but were still on track for small weekly gains as futures continued to trade in a narrow range. With the main driving season in the U.S. coming to an end and supply disruption fears over Russian oil receding, the market turned its focus to widely shared oversupply expectations. NYMEX-traded WTI for October delivery fell $0.06 to trade near $64.54 bbl, and ICE Brent for October delivery slid $0.28 to $68.34 bbl.September RBOB gasoline futures rose $0.0542 to $2.2533 gal, while the front-month ULSD contract retreated $0.0156 to $2.2942 gal.The U.S. dollar index strengthened by 0.277 points to 98.015.Oil prices were on track for the first monthly losses since April, as globally weak demand growth in conjunction with rising production in non-OPEC countries and rapidly unwinding OPEC+ output cuts pointed to a possible oil glut by year-end.U.S. sanctions on Russian oil trade, including secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, remained one of the few bullish risk factors in an otherwise bearish market. The Trump administration this week imposed a 25% additional tariff on imports from India in response to the country's purchases of Russian crude oil. So far, these measures have had little measurable impact on global supply.

Oil prices fall with expected low demand, upcoming supply boost (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday as traders looked toward weaker demand in the U.S., the world's largest oil market, and a boost in supply this autumn from OPEC and its allies. Brent crude futures for October delivery , which expired on Friday, settled at $68.12 a barrel, down 50 cents, or 0.73%. The more active contract for November finished down 53 cents, or 0.78%, at $67.45. . West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $64.01, down 59 cents, or 0.91%. The market was in part shifting its focus toward next week's OPEC+ meeting, said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates. Crude output has increased from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, as the group has accelerated output hikes to regain market share, raising the supply outlook and weighing on global oil prices. "Overall, the bottom line is we're going to see a jump in supply feeding into a lackluster demand market," The U.S. summer driving season ends on Monday's Labor Day holiday, signalling the end of the highest demand period in the United States, which is the largest fuel market. "The market is beginning to wonder what effect the tariffs might have on the economic outlook next year," Lipow said, referring to tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump on U.S. imports from many trading partners. Crude supply increases have not made their way into the U.S. market yet, raising the possibility supply and demand will be in a tighter balance, "The pessimism about demand, I'm just not seeing it," . "Supply from OPEC is supposed to increase, but we're not seeing it in the U.S. I think things are going to stay tight." Prices rose earlier in the week due to Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil export terminals, but reports of talks between Ukraine's European allies about a possible ceasefire helped tamp down prices, Flynn said. U.S. crude inventories for the week ending August 22 showed higher-than-expected draws, implying late-summer demand was still firm, particularly in industrial and freight-related sectors, analyst Ole Hvalbye at SEB bank said in a note. Investors are also watching for India's response to pressure from the United States to stop buying Russian oil, after Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50% on Wednesday. So far, India has defied the U.S. and Russian oil exports to India are set to rise in September, traders said. "The prevalent view is that Russian sanctions are not forthcoming, and India will ignore U.S. sanction threats and continue buying Russian crude oil at heavily discounted prices,"

Oil Posts First Monthly Loss Since April - Oil notched its first monthly loss since April, with trading dominated by concerns about a looming glut and geopolitical issues, including US-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery slid 0.9% to settle near $64 a barrel, with the US benchmark down 7.6% this month. Brent closed above $68. Oil has lost ground in August on worries that global supplies will run ahead of demand in the coming quarters, boosting stockpiles. The commodity's slump deepened on Friday after US consumer sentiment declined to a three-month low, reflecting concerns that tariffs will hurt the economy. Investors are also focused on Ukraine and potential shifts in crude flows from Russia. US President Donald Trump was "not happy" about Moscow's recent strikes on Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Washington has imposed a 50% levy on most Indian imports to punish the South Asian nation for buying Russian crude. Moscow unleashed a wave of drone and missile strikes on Kyiv earlier this week, in defiance of US calls for an end to the fighting, killing 18 people, Ukrainian authorities said. A meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russia's Vladimir Putin was unlikely, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump has threatened "very big consequences" if Moscow doesn't come to the negotiating table. Oil is down 11% this year on concerns that Trump's trade war will hurt energy consumption at the same time that OPEC+ is working to restore idled capacity. "More OPEC+ oil is coming to the market amid worries over US economic growth, which keeps the market well-supplied," said Jens Naervig Pedersen, a strategist at Danske Bank AS. Trading volumes on Friday were muted ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend in the US, contributing to exaggerated price swings. Oil Prices WTI for October delivery slipped 0.9% to settle at $64.01 a barrel in New York. Brent for November settlement slipped 0.7% to settle at $67.48 a barrel. The October contract, which expires Friday, shed 0.7% to settle at $68.12.

Venezuela Orders Naval Patrols as US Warships Head To Southern Caribbean - US deploying a group of warships to the Southern Caribbean. According to Al Jazeera, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced a “significant” deployment of drones and warships, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters.”Last week, the US deployed three Navy destroyers to waters near Venezuela’s coast, and on Monday, Reuters reported that the US was also sending a Navy cruiser and a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine to the region.The official reason for the deployment is to combat drug cartels, but there are signs the US may be pushing for another regime change effort in Venezuela. The US claims Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is a cartel leader, but has not provided any evidence for the accusation.The US says that Maduro is the leader of Cartel de los Soles, a term used to describe a network of Venezuelan government and military officials allegedly involved in drug trafficking, but it does not actually exist as an organization with a leadership structure. That hasn’t stopped the US from labeling the group a terrorist organization and declaring Maduro its leader.The US also recently increased the bounty on Maduro’s head to $50 million. In response to the pressure, Maduro has mobilized a pro-government militia that the Venezuelan government says has millions of members and deployed troops to the border of Colombia, a major non-NATO ally of the US, where about 90% of the cocaine found in the US is produced.In comments on Monday, Maduro insisted that, unlike Colombia, Venezuela is “free of coca leaf crops and free of cocaine production.”

Repairs at Drone-Damaged Russian Baltic Fuel Port Could Take Months The fuel loading and gas processing complex at the Ust-Luga port on the Russian Baltic Sea that was damaged in a massive Ukrainian drone attack could take several months to repair, market sources told Reuters on Thursday. The complex, operated by Russian energy firm Novatek, was hit by a Ukrainian drone strike this weekend. That’s the second time Ukraine has attacked – and damaged – the Ust-Luga port. Alexander Drozdenko, the Governor of the Leningrad Region in Russia, said on Sunday that at least 10 drones had attacked the port of Ust-Luga, but he said these were all destroyed. However, debris from a drone was reported to have caused a fire at the Novatek terminal. Several units at Novatek’s complex have been damaged after the fire. Reports have it that all operations at the complex were shut in on Sunday, including loadings of fuel. One unit of the damaged complex could resume operations within days, but a second unit could take several weeks to repair. Repairs at a separate unit that was most seriously damaged by the attack could take up to six months, according to Reuters’ market sources.Ust-Luga, one of the key export hubs for Russian crude oil and fuels, has three processing units and refines stable gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil, and gasoil.Due to the damage at the hub, Novatek could curb its naphtha exports in September and ship more gas condensate instead, according to Reuters estimates and industry sources.This weekend’s attack on Ust-Luga is the second time this year that Ukraine has hit and damaged the Novatek complex at the port.In January, the Russian company was forced to suspend operations at the fuel export terminal at the Ust-Luga complex following a drone attack by Ukrainian forces, which caused a fire at one fuel storage tank.

Moscow says Kyiv has struck a nuclear power plant as Ukraine marks Independence Day - Russia accused Ukraine on Sunday of launching drone attacks that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight, as Ukraine celebrated 34 years since its independence. Russian officials said several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes. The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, according to the plant’s press service on Telegram. While the attack damaged a transformer, radiation levels remained within normal ranges. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports that a transformer at the plants had caught fire “due to military activity,” but hadn’t received independent confirmation. It said its director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said that “every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.” Ukraine did not immediately comment on the alleged attack. Firefighters also responded to a blaze at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad region, home to a major fuel export terminal. The regional governor said approximately 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down, with debris igniting the fire. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday. Russia fired 72 drones and decoys, along with a cruise missile, into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 48 drones were shot down or jammed.

Report: European Powers Likely To Start Process of Re-Imposing UN Sanctions on Iran on Thursday - The UK, France, and Germany are expected to initiate the process of reimposing sanctions on Iran on Thursday, according to a Reuters report, a step that could lead to another US-Israeli war against Iran. The European countries, known as the E3, are looking to trigger the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, to reimpose UN Security Council sanctions that were lifted when the agreement was signed. They’re eager to start the process since the ability to “snapback” expires on October 18. Iran has argued that the E3 countries don’t have the right to trigger the sanctions since it was the US that withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018. Iranian officials met with officials from the three European nations on Tuesday, but no progress was made, and the E3 had set a deadline at the end of August to trigger the sanctions. The Reuters report said that the E3 countries are planning to give Iran 30 days to defer the sanctions by making new commitments related to its nuclear program. The report said they want Iran to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to have access to nuclear sites and for Tehran to resume nuclear negotiations with Washington. Regarding the IAEA, Iran has allowed its inspectors to return to the country after expelling them in the wake of the 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran, but has said it does not mark the resumption of full cooperation. Iran expelled the IAEA over the watchdog’s role in providing a pretext for the initial Israeli attack and for its failure to condemn the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities.When it comes to talks with the US, Iranian officials have said they’re open to it, but they want assurances that they won’t be attacked again. The US and Israel used previous negotiations as a cover to launch the war, and since the ceasefire, President Trump and Israeli officials have been threatening to attack Iran again. Iranian officials have warned that there would be consequences if the snapback sanctions are reimposed, and some have suggested that one possibility would be withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The US and Israel could potentially use an Iranian withdrawal from the NPT as a pretext for another war, even though Israel is not a signatory to the treaty. Unlike Iran, Israel actually has a secret nuclear weapons program and a stockpile of nuclear weapons that’s not officially acknowledged by the US and Israel.

Houthi leaders targeted in massive airstrike -Houthi officials denied Israeli claims that senior leaders were killed in Thursday's air strikes on Yemen's capital Sanaa, calling reports of casualties "fake news."The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attacks precisely targeted Houthi military and political figures after the group launched missiles and drones toward Israel. Yemeni opposition outlets, however, reported that Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was among those eliminated.The attack underscores the deepening regional spillover of the war in Gaza, with the Houthis escalating cross-border drone and missile assaults against Israel. By striking in Sanaa, Israel demonstrated its willingness to expand operations against Iranian-backed groups it sees as destabilizing the region. The Houthis' denials, however, highlight the information war accompanying the conflict, with each side seeking to shape perceptions of success and failure.Yemeni outlets aligned with opponents of the Houthis said al-Rahawi was killed in the Bayt Baws neighborhood of Sanaa while in an apartment with several associates. They also reported that the Houthi defense minister and chief of staff were eliminated in a strike near the presidential palace compound during what was described as a cabinet-level meeting. Israeli sources said they believed the operation was successful, although Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group's leader, was not present.A post by an account called The Informant on X shared images purporting to show massive Israeli air strikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa, although their authenticity has not been independently verified.

Israeli Double-Tap Strike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital Kills Journalists and Rescue Workers - The Israeli military on Monday massacred 20 Palestinians, including five journalists, in an attack on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis that involved a double-tap strike on rescue workers.According to The Associated Press, the initial strike at 10:10 am Gaza time hit the fourth floor of the hospital, which has surgical operating rooms and doctors’ residences, killing at least two people. Once rescue workers and journalists arrived at the scene, a second strike hit, killing 18 more people, a double-tap attack that was caught on video. The Israeli outlet 972 Magazine published an investigation last month that said that the IDF has adopted using double-tap strikes as a “standard procedure” in Gaza. Yuval Abraham, a reporter for 972 who wrote the report,said on Monday that the video of the double-tap strike on Nasser Hospital is “footage of murder.”According to Reuters, the initial strike killed one of its contractors, cameraman Hussam al-Masri, who was killed near a live broadcasting position operated by Reuters on the upper floor of the hospital. Antiwar.com has a photo account with Reuters and has used several photos taken by al-Masri in previous news stories.The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli military said that the initial strike targeted a camera, which they claimed was a “Hamas camera” that was being used to observe IDF forces. They say that an Israeli tank shell struck the area, then another one was fired to make sure the camera was destroyed.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later claimed that the double-tap strike was a “tragic mishap,” but Israel’s Channel 14 reported that Israeli soldiers said the attack was “approved and coordinated with the senior command.” Mourners react next to the bodies of journalists Moaz Abu Taha, Hussam al-Masri, who was a contractor for Reuters, and Mohammed Salama, who Qatar-based Al Jazeera said worked for the broadcaster, after they were killed in Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, August 25, 2025. The other four journalists killed by the Israeli attack on the hospital were Mariam Abu Dagga, who freelanced for The Associated Press and other outlets, Mohammed Salama, who worked for Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera, Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist who worked with several news outlets, and Ahmed Abu Aziz, another freelancer who also contributed toMiddle East Eye.Dagga recently co-authored a report for The Associated Press that highlighted the plight of malnourished children in Gaza who are being starved by the Israeli blockade. Middle East Eye said that its head of video production recently spoke with Salama about Israel’s starvation policy and that he expressed fear of being targeted by the IDF in the wake of the assassination of Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif.The Israeli military has killed a huge number of journalists throughout its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the attack on the Nasser Hospital brought the total number of journalists killed by Israeli attacks to more than 244.

Israeli Attacks and Starvation Kill 69 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours - Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Monday that Israeli attacks killed at least 58 Palestinians and wounded 308 over the previous 24-hour period as US-backed Israeli attacks continue across the Strip.On top of the violent deaths, the Health Ministry also said that Gaza hospitals recorded 11 Palestinians who starved to death due to the Israeli blockade. “This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 300, including 117 children,” the ministry wrote on Telegram. The Israeli military has kept up its relentless attacks after the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed that famine was taking place in the Gaza Governorate, which includes Gaza City and nearby towns. The IPC is calling for an immediate ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe, but Israel is planning a major escalation to take over Gaza City. Palestinian man holds the body of a child during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while trying to receive aid on Sunday and others killed in overnight strikes, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, August 25, 2025. Israeli attacks on Monday included a double-tap strike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, which was caught on video and killed at least 20 Palestinians, including five journalists. Rescue workers were also hit by the second strike that targeted the scene of the initial attack after they had arrived to help the victims. According to Al Jazeera, a sixth journalist was killed in a separate Israeli attack in Khan Younis. The massacre at Nasser Hospital occurred as Israel was pressuring Palestinian civilians in Gaza City to flee to the south, but so far there’s been no sign of a mass evacuation since the civilians don’t believe the south will be any safer, and are tired of being displaced. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has reportedly told the head of the IDF that whoever doesn’t leave Gaza City can “die of hunger or surrender.”Israeli forces have also continued to kill desperate Palestinians seeking food, with the Health Ministry recording the killing of 28 aid seekers. Since the end of May, Israeli forces have killed 2,123 Palestinian aid seekers and wounded 15,615.

US-Funded Hunger Monitor Concurs With UN-Backed IPC That Famine Is Occurring in Gaza - A US government-funded hunger monitor has concurred with the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) that famine is taking place in the Gaza Strip.The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net), which hashistorically been funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), issued a report on August 22, the same day as the IPC report, stating that famine is ongoing in the Gaza Governorate, which includes Gaza City.The FEWS Net and IPC reports said that famine is also likely occurring in the North Gaza Governorate and that the situation may even be worse there, but that it couldn’t be officially confirmed due to the lack of data. The report said that famine is projected to begin in the Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah Governorates by the end of September unless immediate action is taken.“FEWS NET’s classification of current or projected Famine (IPC Phase 5) in three governorates was reached jointly with the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) partnership and independently reviewed by the Famine Review Committee (FRC),” FEWS Net said in its report.The FEWS Net report also made clear that Israel was responsible for the famine in northern Gaza and cited the Israeli government’s own data to say that no food was allowed into the area from March to May. “After 22 months of war, repeated mass displacements, the destruction of nearly all essential infrastructure, and extreme restrictions on the entry of food, northern Gazans have long exhausted their coping capacity,” Fews Net said.The US-funded hunger monitor also said that Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City will only make the situation worse. “The confinement of the population, density of overcrowding amid scarce shelter, and increasing strain on extremely limited humanitarian and healthcare services are all expected to worsen in the lead-up to Israel’s plan to forcibly displace the entire population of Gaza City by October,” FEWS Net said.The report noted the killing of Palestinians near aid distribution sites run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an effort strongly supported by the Trump administration. “Over 700 deaths linked to the distribution of aid were reported across the Gaza Strip in July alone, including 390 in or near GHF distribution sites in the south,” FEWS Net said.Antiwar.com asked the State Department if it agreed with or rejected the findings of FEWS Net. A State Department spokesperson pointed to President Trump’s earlier comments that “starvation” was taking place in Gaza and said that the administration will “neither use nor legitimize data from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) and we are seeking clarification on if and how any of that was used in IPC reporting.”The Famine Review Committee report on the famine determination listed Gaza Health Ministry mortality data as one of its many sources used to determine that famine was taking place, noting that surveys and indirect evidence suggest the ministry’s numbers are likely a significant undercount, which aligns with studies of the death toll in Gaza.“Multiple surveys of the population in Gaza indicate that the Ministry of Health facilities-based mortality fails to fully capture non-trauma mortality,” the report reads. “The high numbers of malnourished children and mothers of young children unable to access appropriate diets or nutrition treatment, in combination with environmental conditions detailed in this report, are known to exacerbate fatality rates among the malnourished. These indirect sources of evidence indicate a much higher mortality rate than malnutrition deaths reported by the Ministry of Health, providing reasonable evidence that mortality thresholds for famine have been passed.”

Christian Priests and Nuns Refuse To Leave Gaza City Despite Israel's Planned Offensive - Christian priests and nuns based in Gaza City will remain to help displaced people sheltering at two churches despite the Israeli military’s plans to conquer the city, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “At the time of this statement, evacuation orders were already in place for several neighborhoods in Gaza City. Reports of heavy bombardment continue to be received. There is more destruction and death in a situation that was already dramatic before this operation. It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that ‘the gates of hell will open’ is indeed taking on tragic forms,” the Patriarchates said. Hundreds of civilians have been sheltering at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City and the nearby Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church. Both churches have come under Israeli attack, including the recent IDF tank shelling of the Holy Family Church, which killed three Christians and injured Father Gabriel Romanelli, a Catholic priest from Argentina.Nuns with the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation founded by Mother Teresa, have had a presence in Gaza since the 1970s and have taken care of disabled Palestinians at the church since well before October 7, 2023.“Like other residents of Gaza City, the refugees living in the facilities will have to decide according to their conscience what they will do. Among those who have sought shelter within the walls of the compounds, many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months,” the Patriarchates said. “Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence. For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds,” they added. Israel’s plans for the takeover of Gaza City involve the forced displacement of more than one million Palestinians sheltering there. The idea is to push them into southern Gaza, and from there, the Israeli government wants topressure them to leave Gaza altogether, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have made clear their ultimate goal is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territory. According to numbers from the UN, at least 11,600 Palestinians have been displaced from north Gaza to southern Gaza since the Israeli military announced its plans to take over Gaza City and ramped up airstrikes and shelling of the city.

Focus on Fracking

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

natural gas prices bounce off 10 month low, gasoline supplies at a 35 week low, distillates demand at a 27 week high

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