oil prices at one month low on prospects of peace in Ukraine

US oil prices finished lower for a third time in four weeks after Trump pushed a 28 point plan to end the war in Ukraine and both parties seemed willing to negotiate on his terms….after ending 0.6% higher at $60.09 a barrel last week after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian Black Sea port shut off 2% of global oil supplies, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for December delivery fell in early Asian trading on Monday, giving up last week’s gains, as loading operations resumed at Russia’s main export hub in Novorossiysk after a two-day halt at the Black Sea port, which had been shut by a Ukrainian attack, then traded in a narrow range in New York as the market weighed the resumption of oil loadings at Russia’s Novorossiysk port against comments made by Trump that Republicans were working on legislation that would impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia, and settled 18 cents lower at $59.91 a barrel as traders tried to gauge how Ukraine's attacks would affect Russia's crude exports in the long term….oil prices continued to move lower in early trading Tuesday, as Russian crude flows stabilized, revealing that physical suppl​ies remained resilient despite persistent geopolitical problems, then edged up Tuesday morning in New York as ​US diesel prices soared to 5-month highs amid a global diesel rally, and settled 83 cents ​higher at $60.74 a barrel after a choppy session​, as traders weighed the impact of Western sanctions on Russian oil flows and Trump said he had started interviewing for the next Federal Reserve chair…oil prices plummeted globally in early trading on Wednesday as traders reacted to a report from the American Petroleum Institute that showed U.S. commercial crude stocks rose sharply, with gasoline and distillate inventories also showing increases, but then stabilized in early US trading after the official data from the EIA showed a large crude inventory drawdown last week, only to reverse their early gains and tumble to settle down $1.30, or 2.1%, at $59.44 a barrel after reports indicated the U.S. had renewed its push to end Russia's war in Ukraine and had drafted a framework for it…December oil climbed during Asian trading on Thursday, as markets weighed the latest U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine and prepared for the U.S.-imposed deadline to halt dealings with two major Russian oil companies, but erased all of its gains and sold off to a low of $58.86 in afternoon trading in New York as the equities markets sold off sharply after the US jobs report clouded the outlook for further U.S. interest rate cuts, before expiring down 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $59.14 a barrel, as Trump pushed for Ukraine's acceptance of a peace agreement with Russia to end a war that had gone on for more than three years, while the more actively traded contract for the benchmark US light sweet crude for January delivery settled 25 cents lower at $59.00 a barrel….with markets now quoting the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for January delivery, oil prices fell in Asian trading on Friday on reports of Ukraine’s willingness to hold peace talks with Russia, then dropped further on Friday morning in New York, on fresh news that Ukraine's Zelenskyy agreed to work with Washington on a peace plan, a development that could ultimately add fresh barrels to an already fragile market, and settled 94 cents lower at a one month low of $58.06 a barrel as the U.S. pushed for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal that could boost global oil supplies, while uncertainty over U.S. interest rates curbed traders' risk appetite….oil prices thus ended 3.4% lower for the week, while the contract price for the benchmark US oil for January delivery, which had settled the prior week at $59.95 a barrel, finished 3.2% lower…

Meanwhile, natural gas prices managed to finish higher for a fifth straight week on swinging weather forecasts following the season’s first withdrawal of gas from storage … after rising 5.6% to $4.556 per mmBTU last week on greater LNG demand and on forecasts for colder than normal weather for early December, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for December delivery opened 13.3 cents lower on Monday, then traded in a wide 20 cent range as traders weighed stout storage and changing forecasts against strong LNG demand, before settling 20.5 cents lower at $4.361 per mmBTU after NOAA’s updated 6-10 Day and 8-14 Day Temperature Outlook graphics showed most of the country would experience warmer than average temperatures for 6-10 days, while the Northeast would experience warm temperatures into December….natural gas opened 5.6 cents lower on Tuesday and fell to an intraday low of $4.235 at 10:55AM, as traders took note of ample supplies, before bargain buying took hold and prices rallied to settle 1.0 cent higher at $4.371 per mmBTU​, as traders sought to decipher the scope and duration of cold weather patterns expected early next month….natural gas prices opened 16.9 cents higher on Wednesday, as LNG exports neared all-time highs and forecasts for a cold month-end gained confidence, and traded in a ten cent range around that level before settling 17.9 cents higher at $4.550 per mmBTU, as talk of a polar vortex for December entered the the market’s chatter…natural gas prices opened 5.4 cents lower on Thursday, but erased those overnight losses ahead of the weekly storage report, and continued moving upward following a historically bullish publication to reach as intraday high of $4.612 at 11:55 AM, before fading after midday to settle 7.6 cents lower at $4.474 per mmBTU, as traders sought direction from indecisive weather forecasts…natural gas prices opened higher Friday, as swinging weather outlooks jolted the market overnight and traders assessed demand in the wake of the season’s initial storage pull, then rallied on short covering as traders exited those positions ahead of the contract’s expiration during the truncated Thanksgiving holiday week, and settled 10.6 cents higher at $4.580 per mmBTU, on near-record LNG export flows following the Freeport LNG plant​'s return​ to service, and colder weather forecasts for December, and thus managed to eke out an 0.5% gain from an otherwise down week..

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending November 14th indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage fell by 14 cubic feet to 3,946 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 23 billion cubic feet, or 0.6% lower than the 3,969 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on November 14th of last year, but 146 billion cubic feet, or 3.8% more than the five-year average of 3,800 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 14th of November over th​e most recent five years….the 14 billion cubic foot withdrawal from natural gas storage for the cited week was in line with the 13 billion cubic foot withdrawal from storage that the market was expecting ahead of the report, but contrasted with the 3 billion cubic foot of gas that were added to natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2024, as well as the average 12 billion cubic foot addition to natural gas storage that had been typical for the same week of November 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 November 14th indicated that after a major jump in our oil exports and a sizable increase in the amount of oil being refined, we had to pull oil from our stored crude supplies for the 19th time in forty-one weeks, and for the 32nd time in seventy-one weeks, as demand for oil that the EIA could not account for was also a factor….Our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 729,000 barrels per day to 5,950,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 703,000 barrels per day over the prior week, while our exports of crude oil rose by an average of 1,342,000 barrels per day to average 4,158,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to an import average of 1,792,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending November 14th, an average of 613,000 fewer barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week. At the same time, transfers to our oil supplies from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils were 14,000 barrels per day higher at 470,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 28,000 barrels per day lower than the prior week at 13,834,000 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 16,096,000 barrels per day during the November 14th reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 16,232,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending November 14th, an average of 258,000 more barrels per day than the amount of oil that our refineries reported they were processing during the prior week, while over the same period, the EIA’s surveys indicated that a net average of 413,000 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 November 14th averaged a rounded 278,000 more barrels per day than what our oil refineries reported they used during the week. To account for the difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [-278,000 ] 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 this week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed.…moreover, since 279,000 barrels per day of oil supplies could not be accounted for in the prior week’s EIA data, that means there was a 557,000 barrel per day difference between this week’s oil balance sheet error and the EIA’s crude oil balance sheet error from a week ago, and hence the changes to supply and demand from that week to this one that are indicated by this week’s report are also off by that much, and hence pretty useless.... 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 413,000 barrel per day average decrease in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 489,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while an average of 114,000 barrels per day were being added to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending the string of nearly continuous weekly 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 5,537,000 barrels per day last week, which was 16.1% less than the 6,602,000 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 28,000 barrels per day lower at 13,834,000 barrels per day as the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 15,000 barrels per day lower at 13,409,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 13,000 barrels per day lower at 425,000 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 5.6% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also 42.6% above the pandemic low of 9,700,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the third week of February of 2021.

US oil refineries were operating at 90.0% of their capacity while processing those 16,232,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending November 14th, up from the 89.4% utilization rate of a week earlier, with increasing utilization largely due to an end to routine Fall refinery maintenance….the 16,232,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined that week were little changed from the 16,228,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending November 15th of 2024, but were 1.2% less than the 16,435,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending November 15th, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 89.5%, which was a little below the pre-pandemic normal range for this time of year…

Even with this week’s increase in the number of barrels of oil that were refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was lower, decreasing by 662,000 barrels per day to 9,271,000 barrels per day during the week ending November 14th, after our refineries’ gasoline output had increased by 102,000 barrels per day during the prior week.. This week’s gasoline production was thus 0.2% less than the 9,287,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending November 15th of last year, and 7.8% less than the gasoline production of 10,053,000 barrels per day seen during the prepandemic week ending November 15th, 2019….at the same time, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 116,000 barrels per day to 5,028,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had increased by 309,000 barrels per day during the prior week. After the two hefty production increases before this week​'s decrease, our distillates output was 1.5% more than the 4,837,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending November 15th of 2024, but 4.2% less than the 5,124,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending November 15th, 2019....

Even with this week’s drop in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week rose for the first time in seven weeks and for third time in eighteen weeks, increasing by 2,327,000 barrels to 207,391,000 barrels during the week ending November 14th, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 945,000 barrels to an eleven year low during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies increased this week because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users fell by 500,000 barrels per day to 8,528,000 barrels per day, and because our imports of gasoline rose by 100,000 barrels per day to 648,000 barrels per day, and because our exports of gasoline fell by 32,000 barrels per day to 973,000 barrels per day… Even after thirty gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past forty-one weeks, our gasoline supplies were just 0.7% less than last November 15th’s gasoline inventories of 208,927,000 barrels, and about 3% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…

Even after this week’s decrease in distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels rose for the 20th time in 45 weeks, increasing by 171,000 barrels to 111,080,000 barrels during the week ending November 14th, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 637,000 barrels during the prior week.. Our distillates supplies managed to rise this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, fell by 136,000 barrels to 3,882,000 barrels per day, and because our exports of distillates fell by 173,000 barrels per day to 1,093,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates fell by 79,000 barrels per day to 88,000 barrels per day... With 55 withdrawals from​ distillates inventories over the past 94 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 3.1% less than the 114,415,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on November 15th of 2024, and about 8% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…

Finally, with the jump in our oil exports and the increase in refinery demand, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 15th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 24th time over the past year, decreasing by 3,426,000 barrels over the week, from 427,581,000 barrels on November 7th to 424,155,000 barrels on November 14th, after our commercial crude supplies had increased by 6,413,000 barrels over the prior week… After this week’s decrease, our commercial crude oil inventories were 5% below the recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, while they were about 23% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the second week of November 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, changes in our commercial crude supplies have somewhat leveled off since, and as of this November 14th were 1.4% less than the 430,292,000 barrels of oil left in commercial storage on November 15th of 2024, and were 5.3% below the 448,054,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on November 17th of 2023, and 2.6% less than the 435,355,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on November 11th of 2022…

This Week's Rig Count

The US rig count was up by five over the week ending November 21st, the ninth increase in twelve weeks and the largest since September 26​th, as the number of rigs targeting oil rose by two, the count of rigs targeting natural gas was also up by two, and miscellaneous rigs were up by one…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 November 21st, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (November 14th) and this week’s (November 21st) count, the third column shows last week’s November 14th 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 22nd of November, 2024…

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Growth of data centers poses environmental threats for Southeast Ohio - By Finn Smith - Ohio has recently seen a massive growth in the construction of data centers. There are currently 194 data centers in Ohio, the fifth most of any state in the country, trailing only Virginia, Texas, California and Illinois, according to the Data Center Map.According to International Business Machines Corporation, a data center is “a physical room, building or facility that houses IT infrastructure for building, running and delivering applications and services. It also stores and manages the data associated with those applications and services.”In Ohio, the majority of data centers are located within the Central Ohio region, with 121 of the facilities located in Columbus. These data centers are mostly owned by large name-brand companies such as AWS, Meta and Google.A major concern regarding these data centers is the amount of water necessary for production. According to a report from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a large data center can use up to 5 million gallons per day, which is about 1.8 billion gallons annually.Another common environmental issue cited concerning data centers is the amount of power they require. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, about 56% of all data centers are powered by fossil fuels.In Ohio, many have raised concerns about the environmental impact that will be seen as a result of growing fracking sites.Resident of Harrison County, Randi Pokladnik, has her Ph.D. in environmental studies, and recently wrote a commentary article in the Ohio Capital Journal, which discussed how the boom in data centers is impacting, and will continue to impact, the environment across the state. Pokladnik said the statehouse has passed multiple bills that effectively block solar and wind energy production across the state. She cited Senate Bill 52, which gave county commissioners the power to restrict the development of wind and solar energy in designated areas.Pokladnik said legislation such as SB52 will only further the fracking of natural gas for powering data centers.Cathy Cowan Becker, board president of Save Ohio Parks, said the oil and gas industry is in the pockets of many state politicians.“The oil and gas industry provides a lot of campaign donations for a lot of politicians in the state house, and it’s documented, for example, on the carbon capture and storage bill,” Cowan Becker said. “The oil and gas industry basically wrote that bill, and basically wrote amendments to that bill.”Cowan Becker said the burden of these fracking initiatives will be felt most in the Southeast region because the shale gas, trapped gas obtained through fracking, is found underneath the area of the state.“There are two main, what they call shale plates, where the gas and some oil, but mainly gas, is,” Cowan Becker said. “One is the Marcellus, which is largely in Pennsylvania but comes into Ohio, and then also either on top or underneath that, is the Utica Shale, which is largely Eastern Ohio, and most of the fracking nominations and projects I have seen are in the Utica Shale, and that's across Appalachian Ohio.”A growing issue for many residents of Southeast Ohio is compulsory unitization. Cowan Becker discussed how homeowners can be forced into allowing fracking under their property if a majority of the land area owners agree to it.“If there is a particular land area that they want to frack, and 65% of the owners of that land agree, that could be just one or two large owners, and they say ‘yeah, you can frack it,’ then everyone else is what's called unitized, or forced, pulled in,” Cowan Becker said. “The fracking is forced under their property, whether they want it or not.”Pokladnik had compulsory unitization occur under her land in Harrison County. According to Pokladnik, natural gas company Encino Energy had been petitioning for leases from homeowners in Harrison County until they received a majority.“If they found anybody who did not sign the lease, then we got a notification in the mail, and we got, I think it was in January, two years ago, that we were involved in forced pulling,” Pokladnik said. “They had the name of the well and they had the name of the company, Encino, and they told us the time of the zoom hearing … once we got on the hearing, I got on the phone and the guy in the ODNR, who does this, he made it quite clear that he did not want to hear anything about environmental stuff, only involving economic stuff.”Proponents of data centers cite job and economic growth to be the benefits. According to a study released by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation, over 95,000 jobs were supported in 2024 due to data centers. Additionally, the study claims data centers contributed $11.8 billion to the gross domestic product and $6.9 billion to labor income.Pokladnik commented on the long-term effects the increase in fracking could have on the southeast region, specifically due to the history of coal mining and strip mining.“I'm 70 years old, and I'm old enough to remember whenever they strip mined this area, Belmont County, Harrison, Jefferson,” Pokladnik said. “And when we were kids, we used to go out and fish in the strip pits, which were just areas where they had stripped and water filled up, or a stream fed into that area, and it never looked the same. And a lot of times it wasn't reclaimed, but you can't reclaim the damage that's being done right now.”

Antis in Ohio Join the Chorus Bashing AI Data Centers -Marcellus Drilling News- In honor of the new Wizard of Oz movie coming this week: “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” The environmental left version of that is, “Fossil fuels, fracking, and data centers, oh never!” Just yesterday, we outlined a trend we see in Pennsylvania (and on the national level): anti-fracking groups morphing into anti-data center groups (see More Evidence that PA’s Anti-Frackers are Now Anti-Data Center). The cancer is spreading. We now have evidence of anti-frackers in Ohio beginning to badmouth data centers. And it matters. Read More

Columbia Gas Open Season for Extra 500 MMcf/d of M-U Capacity in OH - Marcellus Drilling News Existing pipelines in the Marcellus/Utica region are testing the market for expansion. Two weeks ago, we told you that DT Midstream (50% owner of NEXUS Pipeline) is eyeing the growing AI data center market in northwestern Ohio as a customer for M-U molecules that flow through NEXUS (see DT Midstream Eyes Data Center/Power Market for NEXUS Pipeline). Now comes the news that TC Energy, the owner of the Columbia Gas Transmission (CGT) pipeline network, is conducting a non-binding open season to expand CGT capacity in Ohio, including in Columbus, Toledo, Lima, and other locations.

TC Energy Opens Ohio Pipeline Capacity Open Season Amid Rising Demand - TC Energy launched a non-binding open season to assess shipper interest in up to 500,000 Dth/d of new natural gas transportation capacity in Ohio, targeting rising demand from power generation, data centers and industrial growth. COLUMBUS, Ohio (P&GJ) — TC Energy has launched a non-binding open season to gauge market interest in up to 500,000 dekatherms per day of new natural gas transportation capacity on its Columbia Gas Transmission (TCO) system as Ohio braces for a major surge in energy demand. The open season runs from Nov. 12, 2025, through Jan. 9, 2026.TC Energy said its existing TCO infrastructure is positioned to connect Marcellus and Utica shale supply to rapidly growing demand centers across the state, driven by new manufacturing, power generation projects and more than 40 data centers planned for the Columbus and New Albany regions.“Ohio is poised for a major energy demand surge and TC Energy is in a leading position to serve this growth,” said David Brast, President, US Natural Gas Pipelines, TC Energy. “Natural gas is the foundation of reliable, affordable energy — and we stand ready to help power the next generation of Ohio’s economic growth.”Ohio’s natural gas demand is forecast to rise by more than 30% over the next decade — about 1.2 billion cubic feet per day — one of the highest increases nationally outside LNG export states. Natural gas currently produces about 60% of the state’s electricity, well above the U.S. average of 43%.TC Energy’s footprint in the region includes 5,000 miles of pipeline and more than $2 billion in investment since 2020, positioning the company to support what it calls a significant shift toward energy-intensive industries. Open Season Details:

• Capacity: Up to 500,000 Dth/d of incremental transportation
• Markets: Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and other growing industrial hubs
• Supply: Connections to shale gas production in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
• Timing: Partial capacity could be in service by 2027, with full availability by 2029
• Anchor Shipper Terms: Long-term commitments of at least 200,000 Dth/d for 20 years

The open season is TC Energy’s first step in evaluating whether additional pipeline capacity will be built to meet Ohio’s projected long-term natural gas needs.

Priority Creditor Liens Do Not Block Charging Order In JobsOhio Case – Forbes -- EmKey Energy LLC was building a natural gas pipeline but needed financial assistance. That assistance came from a non-profit call JobsOhio, which in 2017 loaned $4 million to RH Entergytrans LLC, which was an affiliate of EmKey Energy. Yet another affiliate called EmKey Gathering LLC giving a guarantee of repayment. The pipeline was successfully finished, but the loan remained.The next year, 2018, EmKey Energy took over the loan obligations from RH Entergytrans and gave a new $4 million note to JobsOhio. At this time, EmKey Energy's CEO (a fellow by the name of Risberg) also personally guaranteed the repayment of the loan.Now advance forward two years, to 2020, and the COVID pandemic hit. This apparently caused the EmKey companies to financially wobble, like so many other businesses, and payments to JobsOhio was deferred for six months. But even with this six month deferral, Emkey Energy couldn't make its loan payments to JobsOhio and ultimately defaulted on the loan in the amount (presumably taking into account accrued interest) of about $4.3 million.The next year, 2021, JobsOhio sued Emkey Energy for the loan, as well as Risburg and Emkey Gathering for the breach of their guarantees. The litigation percolated for a number of years until January 16, 2025, when judgment was entered by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio against all of EmKey Entergy and EmKey Gathering. The question of judgment against Risburg deferred until the maturity date of the loan on December 31, 2025.Literally the next day, January 17, 2025, JobsOhio moved for the entry of a charging order against Emkey Energy's interests in EmKey Gathering and another company called EmKey Gas Processing LLC. On June 2, 2025, JobsOhio also moved for a charging order against EmKey Energy's interests in a company called CGE Ventures LLC. In the meantime, JobsOhio had sought and obtained a Writ of Garnishment against apparently both EmKey Energy and EmKey Gathering. So, to recap, by June of 2025, JobsOhio held a Writ of Garnishment against EmKey Energy and EmKey Gathering, and two motions for charging order were pending to charge EmKey Energy's interests in EmKey Processing and CGE Ventures. While all of this was going on, JobsOhio had also sought a Writ of Garnishment in Houston before the Harris County District Court. The Harris County court had, however, refused to grant a Writ of Garnishment to JobsOhio because another lender, known as Hallan Invest, SA, had asserted that it had a priority lien on the assets of EmKey Energy and EmKey Gathering. Thus, in June of 2025, Hallan sought to intervene in the Ohio proceedings to protect its own interests and, based on the Harris County court's refusal to grant OhioJob's Writ of Garnishment, both EmKey Energy and EmKey Gathering asked the U.S. District Court to vacate the Writ of Garnishment which it had issued. Ultimately, the U.S. District Court issued an opinion as to JobsOhio's two motions for charging orders inJobsOhio v. EmKey Energy, LLC, 2025 WL 2780920 (S.D.Ohio, Sep. 30, 2025), which we will now examine. The court began its opinion with an overview that a charging order effectively "garnishes" the financial rights attached to the debtor's interest, and that the issuance of a charging order is discretionary by the court.To avoid the charging order, EmKey Energy argued that its interest in EmKey Gathering had "long-since been assigned to a prior lender", meaning Hallan. This meant that EmKey Energy no longer had an interest in EmKey Gathering that could be the subject of a charging order.Nice try, but no cookie. The court noted that when a member of an LLC assigns an interest, the interest being assigned is the right to distributions and the member remains a member (unless substituted, which did not happen here). The assignment to Hallan was not a permanent assignment, but only to secure Hallan's loan to EmKey Energy, and that assignment would disappear as quickly as Hallan's loan was paid off, i.e., it was a temporary assignment. Thus, if the charging order were to be issued, the charging order would still place a lien on EmKey Energy's interest in EmKey Gathering ― but it would be behind Hallan's assignment in priority. But the mere fact that there would be another creditor in line ahead of the creditor seeking a charging order is not a valid reason to deny the issuance of the charging order, as the court made clear:"Thus, assuming (without deciding) that EmKey Energy is correct and its membership interest is currently assigned to Hallan, Plaintiff is still entitled to charge EmKey Energy’s membership interest—even if EmKey Energy presently is not receiving any distributions. Under these circumstances, such a charging order would—at a minimum—ensure that EmKey Energy could not obtain a distribution for itself at some point in the future without first satisfying its debt to Plaintiff."As to EmKey Processing, EmKey argued that its interest in EmKey Processing was worthless because another lender had a priority lien and that company had never generated a profit. These arguments fell on deaf ears since the assignment of an interest or that another creditor has lien priority does not block the entry of a charging order. Further:"Just because EmKey Energy has not received a distribution in the past does not mean it may not receive a distribution in the future. This Court need not consider EmKey Energy’s arguments about the prospectivefinancial viability of EmKey Processing, or credit its essentially self-serving (and caveated) claim that it 'does not foresee ever receiving a distribution from EmKey Processing' given EmKey Processing’s 'current state.' " * * * As EmKey Energy implicitly concedes, conditions may change in the future, and EmKey Energy may one day receive a distribution from EmKey Processing. EmKey Processing’s present state has no bearing on Plaintiff’s right to a charging order as against EmKey Energy’s membership interest in it." [Emphasis in original.] This left the charging order sought by JobsOhio against EmKey Energy's interest in CGE Ventures. Here, EmKey Energy basically asserted the same arguments that it had for EmKey Gathering and EmKey Processing, and the court swatted away those arguments the same way.Thus, in the end, the court granted JobsOhio's motions for charging order against all three of EmKey Energies affiates. Not much to say here other than the court got it exactly right. The fact that another creditor already has security interests in an LLC does not prevent a court from issuing a charging order in favor of a debtor, albeit the debtor goes behind existing creditors to get paid. It is certainly no defense to a charging order, although of course debtors try to assert it all the time. Irth Solutions and Integrity Solutions Announce Partnership to Expand Pipeline Integrity Across North America.... --- Irth Solutions, a leader in cloud-native SaaS for asset integrity and risk management, and Integrity Solutions, a U.S.-based pipeline integrity and risk management consulting firm, today announced a strategic partnership to strengthen AIP implementation and operator support across North America.Irth Solutions, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, delivers enterprise software for critical network infrastructure. Its Asset Integrity for Pipelines (AIP) platform is designed to transform pipeline integrity management through advanced data science and machine learning. It automates anomaly classification, condition evaluation, and fitness-for-service assessments, enabling operators to manage complex pipeline assets with full traceability, real-time reporting, and audit-ready compliance.This partnership aligns Irth’s powerful Asset Integrity for Pipelines (AIP) software with Integrity Solutions’ extensive integrity management and regulatory expertise. The collaboration is designed to provide pipeline operators with both advanced analytics and hands-on technical support, ensuring they can fully leverage AIP to modernize their integrity management programs. As part of this collaboration, Integrity Solutions will transition its anomaly analysis work from its Anomaly Data Manager software to Irth’s AIP platform, standardizing its integrity workflows on AIP to take advantage of its industry-leading data integration, corrosion growth modeling, anomaly analysis, and dig management capabilities.
Through the agreement, Integrity Solutions will:
• Deliver direct support for AIP implementation and onboarding, helping operators configure, integrate, and operationalize the platform.
• Leverage AIP’s data analytics and automation tools to enhance core services such as inline inspection (ILI) alignment, corrosion growth modeling, risk evaluation, and fitness-for-service assessments.
• Offer ongoing consulting expertise to bridge the gap between digital analytics and real-world integrity and compliance execution.
Empowering Operators Who Depend on Engineering Partners
Many operators rely heavily on third-party integrity engineering firms to execute their integrity programs. By partnering with Integrity Solutions, Irth ensures that those operators receive both world-class technology and knowledgeable, on-the-ground support from professionals who understand the nuances of integrity data, regulatory requirements, and pipeline operations. “We’re excited to partner with Integrity Solutions to better serve pipeline operators who rely heavily on outside consulting firms for their integrity management,” said Brandon Taylor, Chief Business Officer and General Manager of Asset Integrity at Irth Solutions. “Their on-the-ground expertise ensures AIP users get the full benefit of the platform—technically, operationally, and strategically.” “This partnership allows us to combine the data intelligence of Irth’s AIP platform with our real-world integrity, compliance, and pipeline operations expertise,” said Ryan Pivonka, CEO of Integrity Solutions. “Together, we’re helping operators accelerate insights, improve asset performance, and strengthen compliance through a more connected approach to integrity management.”

Talen Energy Gets Fed OK to Buy 2 M-U Gas-Powered Plants in PA, OH -- Marcellus Drilling News - In July, MDN told you that Talen Energy, a leading energy producer in the U.S., which owns and operates approximately 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of power infrastructure, had announced the acquisition of two gas-fired power plants: one located near Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the other in Guernsey County, in eastern Ohio (see Talen Energy Buys 2 M-U Gas-Powered Plants in PA, OH for $3.8B). These types of transactions require approval from the federal government. Yesterday, Talen announced that both FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) have approved the transaction.

DEP: Crude Oil Released From Failed Conventional Oil Well Gathering Line Travels Nearly Length Of 2 Football Fields In Hamilton Twp., McKean County --On November 18, 2025, DEP did an inspection of the Backwards L 3 conventional oil well in response to a notification by Bull Run Resources LLC and found evidence of a significant spill of crude oil in Hamilton Township, McKean County. -An investigation found that a gathering pipeline had failed and released an unknown quantity of crude oil leaving a visible trail of contamination of about 690 feet-- nearly the length of two football fields. The crude oil traveled down a road ditch for about 500 feet, then through a culvert crossing under the road traveling another 190 feet before being stopped in a depression in the ditch.Luckily, the crude oil was stopped before reaching nearby Chappel Fork Creek.Remediation work with a mini-excavator was underway during the inspection making its way down the path of the crude oil removing contaminated soil and debris.DEP requested documentation that the contaminated soil was disposed of at an approved facility.DEP will conduct more inspections to document ongoing cleanup.DEP issued violations related to the crude oil release and requested a response from the owner by December 7. DEP inspection report.To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.Text photos and the location of abandoned wells to 717-788-8990.Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.Sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE service which sends you information on oil and gas and other permits submitted to DEP for review in your community.Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports. (Photos: Partially remediate site of crude oil gathering line failure from well (in upper left); Crude oil traveled down a ditch; Crude oil was stopped by a depression in the ditch, contains absorbent pads placed by owners.)

PA DEP Issues Air Permit for Largest Gas-Fired Power Plant in U.S.- Marcellus Drilling News -In April, Knighthead Capital Management, Homer City Redevelopment (HCR), and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. announced a plan to convert the former Homer City Generating Station, previously the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania (Indiana County, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (see Largest Gas-Fired Power Plant in the U.S. Coming in Western Pa.). The new gas-fired plant will be THE LARGEST gas-fired power plant in the country, capable of producing up to 4.5 gigawatts (4,500 MW) of electricity. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently floated a draft air permit it planned to issue for the project, which the environmental left objected to (see Big Green Asks PA DEP to Reconsider Homer City Power Plant Permit). Fortunately, the DEP ignored the lefties and issued the permit this week.

Study Shows Urgent Need for Gas-Fired Power for AI Data Centers -- Marcellus Drilling News -- The American Energy + AI Initiative, a collaboration between the Hamm Institute and the American Energy + AI Coalition, held a summit on Monday in Washington, D.C., to address the urgent need for firm power to sustain the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the U.S. Cabinet officials, including DOE Secretary Chris Wright, and industry leaders, discussed concrete steps to modernize federal tools and accelerate power production. During the summit, a new study was released (full copy below) emphasizing that America’s ability to lead in AI depends on quickly building reliable energy and highlighted the immediate need for more natural gas to meet the massive, unexpected demand from data centers.

More Evidence that PA’s Anti-Frackers are Now Anti-Data Center - Marcellus Drilling News -- Last week, MDN warned you that the enviro-left that opposes fracking and shale energy in Pennsylvania (because they have an irrational hatred of fossil fuels) has morphed into opposing data centers, because data centers need lots of electricity and the only practical way of providing that power is via natural gas-fired power plants (see Anti-Fossil Fuel Groups Like Protect PT Morph to Anti-Data Center). We noticed that Protect PT in western PA had succumbed to anti-data centerism. Today, we have more examples of PA-based anti-shale groups that are now anti-data center.

Radicals Sue NY, NJ to Block NESE Pipeline Water Permits -- Marcellus Drilling News -- In May, pipeline giant Williams filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expedite the reissuance of a certificate for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, a $1 billion+ project designed to increase Transco pipeline capacity and flows of Marcellus gas heading into New York City and other northeastern markets (see Williams Files Request Asking FERC to Reissue NESE Cert in NY, NJ). In late August, FERC did just that (see FERC Reissues NESE Pipeline Project Certificate for NY, NJ). Two weeks ago, the states of New York and New Jersey issued federal Clean Water Act permits for their respective states, allowing NESE to be built (see Trump Won: New York & New Jersey Issue Water Permits for NESE Pipe). Radical anti-fossil fuel groups are now suing FERC and environmental agencies in New York and New Jersey to block the project.

Blackstone Invests $1.2 Billion to Build First Natural Gas Power Plant in West Virginia -Blackstone Energy Transition Partners has approved a $1.2 billion investment to build West Virginia’s first combined-cycle natural gas power plant, a 600-MW facility expected to create 500 construction jobs and meet rising AI-driven electricity demand. (P&GJ) — Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, through its affiliated funds, announced a $1.2 billion investment to build Wolf Summit Energy, a 600-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas power plant in Harrison County, West Virginia — the state’s first-ever facility of its kind. The project reached a Final Investment Decision (FID) last week, paving the way for construction to begin. Wolf Summit is fully contracted to serve Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), which supplies power to about 1.5 million residents across Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The new plant is expected to create 500 construction jobs and stimulate local economic development, while providing reliable power to meet growing electricity demand driven by AI and data center expansion. “Helping meet the rising demand for electricity from AI and other areas is among our highest conviction investment themes at Blackstone,” said Bilal Khan, Senior Managing Director, and Mark Zhu, Managing Director, at Blackstone. “We are proud that this project is expected to not only create hundreds of local jobs in West Virginia, but also generate more affordable, efficient and reliable power supply.” GE Vernova will supply its 7HA.02 gas turbine for the facility. “We look forward to working closely with Blackstone to complete development and start construction of this important project for the community,” said Dave Ross, President and CEO of GE Vernova’s Gas Power business in the Americas. West Virginia Governor Morrisey called the investment a signal of the state’s emergence as “the leading state in the country for energy growth and investment.” Blackstone said the project aligns with its broader energy transition strategy. The firm’s Energy Transition Partners unit has recently invested in Hill Top Energy Center (620 MW, Pennsylvania) and Potomac Energy Center (774 MW, Virginia), adding about 1,600 MW of new gas-fired generation in the U.S. over the past three and a half years.

31 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 10 – 16 -Marcellus Drilling News- Back into the 30s! The number of new permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica last week was 31, after being 24 the week before. Over the past five weeks (including last week), the number of new permits issued has been 37, 39, 37, 24, and 31, respectively. Not bad at all. Pennsylvania issued 14 new permits last week, down from 16 the prior week. Ohio issued 5 new permits, down from 6 the prior week. West Virginia, which issued no new permits two weeks ago, soared, issuing 12 permits last week. ARMSTRONG COUNTY | ARSENAL RESOURCES | ASCENT RESOURCES | BEECH RESOURCES | BELMONT COUNTY | BRADFORD COUNTY | EQT CORP | EXPAND ENERGY | GULFPORT ENERGY | HARRISON COUNTY | INDIANA COUNTY |INR/INFINITY NATURAL RESOURCES | LYCOMING COUNTY | SENECA RESOURCES | SNYDER BROTHERS| TAYLOR COUNTY | TIOGA COUNTY (PA) | WESTMORELAND COUNTY | WETZEL COUNTY |XPR RESOURCES

Regional, National Indicators Suggest Greater Demand Call For Appalachian Natural Gas - The Appalachian Basin remains the undisputed king of U.S. natural gas, accounting for 31% of total domestic marketed production in 2024. However, the one-two combination of constrained pipeline takeaway capacity to transport the 35.6 billion cubic feet a day of production out of the basin and last year’s historically low regional wellhead prices conspired to mute basinwide output in both 2023 and 2024, constricting growth to less than 1 Bcf/d for both years combined. But the past is the past, and the future is all that matters. A confluence of favorable market indicators and upstream innovations have players in the nation’s largest gas province optimistic about answering the call for projected demand increases both in-basin and out-of-basin. The largest immediate difference-maker is in-basin demand growth from power generation to support artificial intelligence data centers. Included are two major power plant conversions from coal to gas at multibillion-dollar data center campuses in Pennsylvania at Homer City east of Pittsburgh and Shippingport on the Ohio River to the northwest. Other projects that will need Appalachian gas are in process in West Virginia and Virginia, and producers are anticipating opportunities to backfill gas volumes diverted to major data center power projects. Looking outside the Northeast region, a growing list of new and revitalized pipeline projects are in the works to carry more Appalachian gas to market demand centers. One example is Boardwalk Pipelines LP’s proposed Borealis pipeline project, which could carry up to 2 Bcf/d out of western Appalachia to as far south as the Louisiana Gulf Coast.On the upstream end, newly public company Infinity Natural Resources Inc. and established private player PennEnergy Resources are both eying aggressive double-digit production growth through the drill bit, while innovations deployed by the nation’s leading gas producer—Expand Energy Inc.—are breaking Marcellus drilling records and Seneca Resource is turning heads by developing the dry-gas deep Utica in Northeast Pennsylvania. Optimism about natural gas demand growth reinforced the appeal of Infinity Natural Resources as the Morgantown, W.V., company prepared throughout 2024 for an initial public offering in January after seven years as a private company, says Chief Executive Officer Zack Arnold.Ohio oil assets checkerboarded among acreage held by EOG Resources garnered most of the early attention from potential underwriters, he recalls. As talks progressed, investment bankers began asking more about gas properties. By the time shares under the INR ticker were offered on the New York Stock Exchange, Infinity was considered a gas production company with oil assets.Industry momentum from last November’s presidential election, a balanced asset base, and a focus on growth helped. This year, the company is anticipating 40% production growth after achieving 28% last year, Arnold reveals. After successfully conducting an initial public stock offering in January, Infinity Natural Resources is projecting an anticipated 40% increase in production across its portfolio of Utica oil locations in Ohio and Marcellus dry gas locations in Southwest Pennsylvania, following 28% growth in output last year.“The IPO was done with the expectation that our company is poised to grow both organically through the drill bit and is well positioned to do acquisitions,” he comments. “We are a small company, and it does not take a lot of growth to be meaningful. That is a component for sure, but our team has fought to bring locations forward, to drill faster, and to make sure we are drilling the most economic locations possible. That has really allowed us to grow quickly.”Current daily output is 33,100 barrels of oil equivalent across 125,000 net acres with 150 Utica oil locations in Ohio (19.5 MBoe/d) and 170 Marcellus dry gas locations in Southwest Pennsylvania (13.6 MBoe/d). Break-evens are $27.80/bbl and $1.35/MMBtu. respectively.Infinity plans to drill 20 wells this year with laterals averaging about 15,000 feet. Ohio acreage is especially suited for longer horizontals and completion designs are like those widely deployed in the basin.Coupled with growth through drilling, the company is open to the right acquisitions, says Arnold, whose resume includes work on the first Marcellus and Utica wells drilled by Chesapeake Energy. With 15 years together in Appalachia, Infinity’s management team can readily identify the best acquisition candidates from potential companies with neighboring assets.Previous transactions have included deals for undeveloped land, proved, developed and producing (PDP)-weighted assets, and everything in between, he notes, adding that any future deal would likely include acreage in Infinity’s home state of West Virginia. Expand Energy Corporation is relying on staff expertise and proven contractors to push the drilling envelope on its massive 1.26 million net acres in Northeast and Southwest Pennsylvania. And true to its name, Expand Energy is expanding. In its third-quarter earnings report issued in late October, the company announced that it acquired ~7,500 acres of undeveloped core Marcellus in Southwest Appalachia along with ~75,000 net acres in the Western Haynesville in the second half of 2025. Expand Energy is deploying AI and machine learning to optimize drilling results. A multi-agent AI tool includes a large language model with self-learning capabilities that uses available data on current and prior wells to help engineers make decisions such as selecting the best bottom-hole assembly for various portions of the wellbore. Other tools monitor real-time downhole motor conditions to recommend changes such as increasing penetration rate or changing out the bit, and analyze drilling parameters to adjust wellbore inclination or identify whether to directionally drill in slide or rotating mode. Formed from the 2024 merger of Chesapeake and Southwestern Energy, Expand maintains a nation-leading 7.3 Bcf/d of production while it shatters records in drilling feet per day in Northeast Pennsylvania and extends record lateral lengths in Southwest Appalachia and the Haynesville Shale, where it operates 664,000 acres.Record operational performance is driving capital efficiencies as the Oklahoma City-based company is positioned to bump production to 7.5 Bcf/d in 2026 and looks ahead to supply some of the 4 Bcf/d of additional demand from data center-driven power demand in the Northeast, according to Beard.AI is aiding operational achievements. Currently, employees are focusing on a drilling-related platform called KORAI™, formerly DrillOpsIQ. The multi-agent AI tool includes a large language model with self-learning capabilities that uses available data on current and prior wells to help engineers quickly identify drilling solutions that can include choosing the best bottom-hole assembly for various portions of the wellbore, he points out. Tools include SEER and Build and Turn. SEER enables the team to monitor real-time drilling motor conditions downhole and consider making changes as needed, including whether to accelerate the pace of drilling or trip pipe. Build and Turn can suggest changes to drilling parameters, including adjusting wellbore inclination through specific changes in weight on bit, rpm or flow rates, states Beard. It also analyzes steerable BHA tendencies in real-time to help identify which of two operational modes in directional drilling—slide or rotate—is best to control well trajectory.In Northeast Pennsylvania, the tools allow the team to understand differential pressure on motors and BHAs in co-development of the lower and upper Marcellus intervals, including offering monitoring and performance adjustments when navigating the challenging geological structures, Beard says.A data science and technology team representing drilling, completions, production, reservoir engineering and geosciences continually examines ways to utilize AI to optimize operations and achieve pre-determined economic thresholds, comments Dan Lopata, vice president of completions, facilities and production services, who heads AI deployment and development. Successful rollout in drilling operations will guide rollout for completions. Innovation for Seneca Resources is helping the Houston company exploit the deep, dry gas Utica in Northeast Pennsylvania as it works to boost access to more markets in and out of Appalachia, says Justin Loweth, president of Seneca and National Fuel Gas Midstream, both subsidiaries of National Fuel Gas Co., which includes a regulated utility. Producing over 1.25 Bcf/d across 1.2 million net acres, Seneca Resources plans to drill 25-28 wells this year as it accelerates deep Utica development, a strategy that is paying off handsomely. Average per-well production on the five-well Taft Pad in Tioga County is a choked-backed 30 MMcf/d, Loweth reports. The rate has remained constant for 10 months now with total average daily pad production of 150 MMcf. Seneca Resources is accelerating deep Utica development, a strategy that has in part helped it grow production by 20% while reducing capital spending by 18% over the past three years. Wells on its five-well Taft Pad in Tioga County, Pa., have averaged a constant choked-backed rate of 30 MMcf/d apiece for 10 months and counting.Overall, production has grown 20% in three years and capital spending has been lowered 18% as the company takes advantage of time-saving advancements in drilling, continual improvements in drilling sequencing, more efficient facility design and a 20% reduction in water costs.More is being spent on completions with changes in frac design, Loweth says. Stages of 150 feet are being stimulated with up to 3,000 pounds of proppant per foot. In-depth studies have led the company to adopt an average 1,800-foot spacing between laterals that extend to an average 13,000 feet on Utica wells and 10,000 feet on Marcellus wells. Across Seneca’s position, total integrated operating costs, including taxes, lease operating expenses, and general and administrative, are $0.47 per Mcf, he points out.Competitive advantages include higher returns on Utica wells. Also, more pipeline capacity is expected to open as producers that signed long-term sales agreements 10-15 years ago now weigh other options as contracts expire, he adds.At the same time, the region is looking at the possibility of multiple new pipeline projects that would provide additional access to out-of-basin markets and provide more transportation to less-served markets inside the region.“We have been spending the past two and a half years educating those pipeline companies about the amount of growth we think we could have within our area of operations given the quality and depth of the resource and the number of wells we have to drill,” Loweth remarks.Additional out-of-basin takeaway includes the proposed 190 MMcf/d Tioga Pathway, an affiliated project Seneca expects to supply. Earlier in the year, the company announced a separate shipping agreement to move an additional 50 MMcf/d to the Gulf Coast.In addition to data center demand growth, especially over the next five years, power needs are climbing for the PJM electrical grid serving Pennsylvania and other states, which is expected to drive gas demand even higher, Loweth offers. Behind it all there are plans to continually assess growth prospects, including the potential for acquiring companies active in the same area, he concludes. PennEnergy is anticipating 50% growth over the next five years as it co-develops the Upper Devonian and Marcellus on liquids-rich acreage north of Pittsburgh. The company uses a wine-rack well configuration with Upper Devonian laterals evenly spaced at 450 feet between each Marcellus lateral below, which are spaced 900 feet apart. In late October, EnCap Investments and affiliated partners closed on more than $2 billion in commitments to PennEnergy through a continuation fund.The company was recapitalized with over $2 billion in commitments through a continuation fund with EnCap Investments and affiliated partners, as announced by EnCap on Oct. 28. Launched in 2011, the private Pittsburgh player in 2014 began co-developing the Marcellus and Upper Devonian, which includes the Genesee, Middlesex and Burket Shale formations completed and produced as one bench.Co-development is done in a wine-rack configuration with deeper Marcellus laterals 900 feet apart, Bates explains. About 200 feet shallower, Upper Devonian laterals are evenly spaced at 450 feet between each Marcellus lateral below. The Marcellus and the Upper Devonian group do not communicate, he points out, and completion designs are similar.NGL output makes up about one-third of the company’s total production and on average about 45% of co-developed wells. About 70% of remaining inventory with a duration of 20-25 years will be co-developed at a planned clip of 25 wells annually.With net production of about 660 MMcfe/d, PennEnergy is one of the basin’s largest private producers and expects to turn in line 26 wells this year. A 12-well pad now under development includes six Marcellus and six Upper Devonian wells, Bates notes.About three quarters of remaining inventory includes wet gas, but the company can readily intersperse dry gas development, depending on commodity cycles, he states, adding that the company’s PDP decline rate of about 15%, excluding additional production from new wells and completions, is one of the lowest in the basin.

U.S. is world's leading natural gas producer -- From staff reports The United States produced 104 billion cubic f eet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas – 75% more than the world’s second-largest natural gas producer, Russia – in 2023, the most r ecent year for which comprehensive worldwide data on natural gas production is available.The U.S. has been the world’s largest producer of natural gas since 2009. More recently, U.S. natural gas production has increased further, averaging 106 Bcf/d for the f irst half of 2025 (1H2025).Three regions in the U.S. are among the top 10 natural gas-producing areas in the world when ranked independently against other natural gas-producing countries:

• • The Appalachia region, in northeastern United States, encompasses the Marcellus and Utica shale plays and was ranked as the second-largest producer with 33 Bcf/d in 2023. More recently, production from the region has continued to average 33 Bcf/d in 1H2025.
• • The Permian region, in Texas and New Mexico, ranked fifth worldwide with 21 Bcf/d in 2023. Production from the Permian has since increased to average 25 Bcf/d in 1H2025.
• • The Haynesville region, in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, ranked as the eighth-largest natural gas-producing area with 15 Bcf/d in 2023. Production from the Haynesville has declined slightly to average 14 Bcf/d in 1H2025.

Va. Gov-Elect Selects 3 Radicals from SELC to Co-Chair Energy Team -- Marcellus Drilling News -- We continue to laugh hysterically at those in the oil and gas industry in Virginia who think that the recently elected new Governor, Abigail Spanberger, will “keep her campaign promise” to support expanding the use of natural gas in the state (see O&G Tells Incoming Va. Gov. to Keep Pledge to Embrace NatGas (LOL)). You folks in Virginia are so screwed. Earlier this week, Spanberger announced three co-chairs for her energy policy team. One is a current attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). The other two are former SELC attorneys. Let us tell you about the SELC’s official position on natural gas…

Cost to Extend Gas Pipe to Proposed Maryland Power Plant is $800M -- Marcellus Drilling News - During October, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) accepted applications for large-scale power projects, also known as “dispatchable” generation, that can provide energy quickly during periods of peak demand under the state’s Next Generation Act (seeMaryland Offers Expedited Gas Power Plant Approvals Next 30 Days). Constellation, one of the largest power generation companies in the U.S., took them up on the offer and submitted three projects under the program. One of the projects is a gas-fired power plant in Harford County. However, the cost of running a pipeline to feed it may tank the project before it’s begun—unless the state kicks in part of the pipeline cost, estimated at roughly $800 million.

Developers seek 7 more years to start Louisiana gas project - Developers of the Cameron LNG expansion project in southwestern Louisiana are asking the Department of Energy for nearly seven more years to start gas exports.In a notice set to be published Tuesday, DOE said Cameron LNG wants to amend an existing authorization in a few ways — such as delaying the deadline to begin commercial exports of liquefied natural gas to countries without a U.S. free trade agreement from May 2026 to March 2033. The expansion of the Cameron LNG facility, located outside Hackberry, Louisiana, is part of a wave of gas export projects underway in Texas and the Bayou State. The region’s facilities are a major reason why North America’s LNG export capacity could more than double by 2029.The United States exported more than 450 billion cubic feet of LNG in August, DOE said in a report last month. That was a 4 percent increase from the month before and a 24 percent jump from the same month last year.

Argent LNG Proposes Huge 25 MTPA LNG Terminal in Louisiana -Marcellus Drilling News -A brand new massive LNG export project has been announced for southern Louisiana. Argent LNG, LLC, a privately-owned company, announced a proposal to construct, own, and operate the Argent LNG Project, a world-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Port Fourchon, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The plant would produce 25 million tons per annum (MTPA), ranking it among the top LNG export facilities in the country. The project will connect with the Kinetica interstate pipeline system, which in turn connects to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) system.

Commonwealth LNG Wins Back Key Coastal Use Permit Following Court Remand - Louisiana regulators have reissued a key land-use permit for the proposed Commonwealth LNG export project after a state district court ordered an additional environmental review. At A Glance:

• Louisiana OCM reissues coastal use permit
• Project could add 9.5 Mt/y in export capacity
• FID targeted for year’s end

Venture Global Upscales Plaquemines LNG Expansion 40% as Export Wave Pushes Into 2030s --North American LNG export developers are moving forward with a series of capacity expansions and start-up extensions that will push the massive wave of feed gas demand further into the next decade. At A Glance:

• Plaquemines Phase 3 increased to 30 Mt/y
• Targeted for 2027 commissioning
• Cameron LNG expansion could shift to 2033

Cheniere: Rapid LNG Buildout Could Double U.S. Gas Demand for Liquefaction - U.S. LNG feedgas demand could more than double to 40 billion cubic feet per day in the coming years, Cheniere’s Anatol Feygin said, warning that the rapid buildout of liquefaction capacity may tighten gas markets and push prices higher by decade’s end. (Reuters) — U.S. liquefied natural gas plants could take on as much as 40 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in coming years, Cheniere Energy Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin said on Friday. U.S. plants are currently using a record 18 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to produce LNG, according to data from financial firm LSEG. The increased demand for liquefaction could lead to natural gas prices, which have risen around 62% over the past year, becoming even more expensive toward the end of the decade, Feygin said at a seminar held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. "You kind of saw that in 22/23 coming out of COVID. LNG went back up to full utilization and then grew, so Nymex had an incursion into the high single digits. Very quickly supply responded," Feygin said, suggesting that natural gas drillers would be able to increase output to match the increased demand. While there are fears about an oversupplied market as new LNG capacity comes online, the executive said that Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan could be attracted by lower prices and end up increasing demand. The world will need to add 30 million metric tons of LNG every year to meet global demand growth, with most of the new capacity coming from the U.S., Feygin said. Rising construction costs have driven some of the recent final investment decisions in U.S. LNG, he said. "Over two-thirds of the FID this year was done because the fixed-priced EPC contracts were about to expire and there was a rush to maintain the construction cost of building the LNG plant," Feygin said. The U.S. LNG sector could eventually produce as much as 300 million tons per year, Feygin said, acknowledging that the sharp growth could challenge some producers if they're not prepared to weather periods of lower prices. Only 17% of the new capacity to come from plants that reached FID this year has been sold under long-term contracts, and many portfolio players are unprepared, he warned.

FERC Weighs Blanket Authorizations to Streamline LNG Permitting -- FERC is seeking comments on creating blanket authorizations for certain LNG and hydropower activities, aiming to streamline permitting and improve regulatory certainty for infrastructure developers. (P&GJ) — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is considering new blanket authorizations that could ease permitting and maintenance activities at liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and hydroelectric projects. The Commission opened two Notices of Inquiry (NOI) to gather industry feedback on ways to simplify regulatory approvals. “Energy infrastructure needs to be built now, and existing projects need to be maintained efficiently to ensure grid reliability today and in the future. We are taking a hard look at our processes and ways we can simplify certain activities,” FERC Chairman Laura Swett said. The first NOI asks whether FERC should revise its regulations to create streamlined procedures that would allow certain activities at LNG plants to proceed without case-specific orders under Section 3 or Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act. The agency is seeking information and stakeholder perspectives on how such a framework might be implemented. The second NOI focuses on hydropower facilities. FERC is asking for comments on whether its post-licensing review process should be updated to simplify approvals for maintenance, repairs, and infrastructure upgrades. It also seeks views on whether some activities could be carried out without case-specific authorization under the Federal Power Act. Comments on both inquiries are due 60 days after they are published in the Federal Register.

US LNG Industry Breaks Records | RBN Energy --U.S. LNG demand set new records last week, averaging 18.7 Bcf/d, more than 5 Bcf/d higher than the same time a year ago. Every U.S. terminal is now running at or above full contracted capacity. Corpus Christi and Freeport rebounded to full operations, driving the latest gains. The commissioning activity at Plaquemines ticked up slightly, averaging 3.92 Bcf/d. The U.S. hasn’t seen its highest level of feedgas demand yet this year and we expect it to rise even higher in the next month as the commissioning activity at Golden Pass ramps up. Last week, the terminal received FERC authorization to introduce feed gas to Train 1. So far, the terminal has only taken in minuscule amounts of feedgas, but that is expected to increase soon. Stay tuned to the LNG Voyager Weekly Report to glean the latest insights in the U.S. LNG industry.

Global Natural Gas Supply Surges as U.S. Cargoes Hit Another Record — LNG Recap --Ample LNG supplies, led by record output from the United States, continue to keep a lid on global natural prices, which have been rangebound for well over a month. North America LNG Export Flow Tracker chart showing daily U.S. LNG feed gas deliveries from Nov. 8–17, 2025, with volumes ranging from 18.32 to 18.86 million Dth. Includes facility-by-facility delivery and capacity utilization data for Corpus Christi, Freeport, Golden Pass, Calcasieu Pass, Cameron, Plaquemines, Sabine Pass, Elba Island, and Cove Point, plus indicators for Canadian and Mexican LNG sites. A U.S. map highlights the geographic locations of all listed export terminals. At A Glance:
Australia, Russia, U.S. LNG output up
U.S. feed gas hovering near 18 Bcf/d
Asian spot buying increases

Venture Global Files Applications for Plaquemines LNG Expansion | Rigzone -Venture Global Inc said Monday it had applied for a construction permit before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and export authorization before the Department of Energy (DOE) for a project to add over 30 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of capacity to the Plaquemines LNG complex in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The Arlington, Virginia-based producer said in a statement on its website it has increased the project's capacity by nearly 40 percent from the initial announcement earlier this year "due to the continued optimization of our liquefaction trains and strong market demand". "This bolt-on expansion will be built incrementally in three phases and consist of 32 modular liquefaction trains… This will bring the total peak production capacity across the entire Plaquemines complex to over 58 MTPA", Venture Global said. Chief executive Greg Sabel said, "This strategic step provides Venture Global with the optionality to develop a scalable project that can efficiently meet market needs as they evolve". When it announced the brownfield expansion March 6, initially comprising 24 trains, Venture Global estimated the investment to be around $18 billion. Venture Global shipped the first LNG cargo from Plaquemines LNG late 2024. The shipment to Germany was for Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG. "Plaquemines LNG is one of the two fastest greenfield projects of its size to reach first production and, now, first cargo delivery, along with Venture Global's first project, Calcasieu Pass", Venture Global said in a statement December 26, 2024. Sabel said then, "In just five years, Venture Global has built, produced and launched exports from two large-scale LNG projects which has never been done before in the history of the industry". Venture Global said at the time, "Like Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass project, Plaquemines has exported its first cargo far in advance of the U.S. Department of Energy's requirement to commence exports within seven years from issuance of the non-FTA [free-trade agreement] export authorization".

Atlantic LNG Freight Rates at Highest in Nearly 2 Years -- The cost of transporting liquefied natural gas across the Atlantic Ocean surged to the highest in almost two years, as expanding exports from North America boosted demand for tankers. The spot rate to hire an LNG vessel for delivery from the US to Europe jumped 19 percent to $98,250 per day on Monday, the highest since January 2024, according to Spark Commodities, which tracks shipping prices. Costs to hire a tanker in the Pacific Ocean also jumped 15 percent to the highest in over a year, the data show. This is a stark turnaround for the market, which had languished at rock-bottom prices for most of the year amid a glut of available ships. Output from North America has increased steadily as new projects ramp up, requiring more vessels to deliver the fuel to customers in Europe and Asia. The 30-day moving average for LNG exports from North America has climbed nearly 40 percent year-to-date, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Higher freight rates threaten to widen the spread between Asian and European gas prices, as it will be more expensive to send US shipments to the Pacific. A company booked a vessel for December in the Atlantic for about $100,000 per day, traders said. Likewise, when freight rates were lower, companies sent some vessels to Asia, further exacerbating a shortage of ships in the Atlantic, they added. Still, the surge in charter rates is likely to have peaked and has "limited potential to run much higher," according to Han Wei, a BloombergNEF analyst. "On the LNG tanker supply side, we'll continue to see strong new build deliveries, which should keep spot charter rates in check," he said.

Some U.S. LNG Offtakers Hoping to Swap, Delay Loading Windows Amid Surge in Freight Rates -Some U.S. LNG offtakers are looking to delay cargo loadings as freight rates surge to some of their highest levels in nearly two years and add to the costs of moving shipments overseas. At A Glance:

• Atlantic freight rates highest in two years
• Some seeking later loading windows
• Rally could fizzle as market loosens

Souki Sees Need for U.S. LNG Developers to Shift Strategy as New Era Dawns --As another massive wave of supply starts hitting the water, LNG industry veteran Charif Souki is betting the future of the global natural gas market will not only be defined by the size of U.S. exports but by American innovation.. At A Glance:
Supply glut expected to pressure contracts
U.S. LNG capacity approaching 30 Bcf/d
80-plus Mt/year indexed to Henry Hub

ExxonMobil to boost NGL takeaway with Bahia pipeline expansion -- ExxonMobil plans to expand the Enterprise Products Bahia natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline, increasing its capacity by 400,000 barrels per day and bringing total throughput to 1 million barrels per day. The project is designed to provide additional takeaway for rising NGL volumes from the Permian Basin and improve access to the U.S. Gulf Coast refining and petrochemical complex. As part of the investment, ExxonMobil will add a new extension from its Cowboy Central Delivery Point in Eddy County, New Mexico. The new segment, known as the Cowboy Connector Pipeline, will transport NGLs from the Delaware and Midland basins into the Bahia system for fractionation and downstream processing. According to the company, the project is expected to strengthen logistics for ExxonMobil’s growing Permian operations and support long-term development plans in the basin. By increasing access to fractionation, chemical feedstocks and Gulf Coast export terminals, the expansion provides greater flexibility for moving raw NGL mix into domestic and global markets.The additional NGL volumes are expected to supply U.S. chemical plants with key components used in plastics, synthetic materials and other industrial products. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals. ExxonMobil and Enterprise Products expect the expansion to enter service by late 2027 following a targeted closing in early 2026.

Natural Gas Market Jolted: NYMEX Futures Plunge 4.5% Amidst Warming Outlook and Abundant Supply – The benchmark NYMEX "front month" futures price for natural gas experienced a sharp single-day dive on Monday, November 17, falling by 20.5 cents, or a significant 4.5%. This abrupt decline saw the December futures contract settle at $4.361 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), though the price successfully remained firmly within the $4 range. The immediate implication of this notable dip is a palpable shift in short-term market sentiment, signaling a bearish outlook for the very near future, primarily driven by evolving supply and demand dynamics, but not necessarily a complete collapse of the broader upward trend witnessed in recent weeks. This sudden price correction highlights the inherent volatility of the natural gas market, where even minor shifts in fundamental drivers can trigger substantial movements. For the energy market, this suggests traders are rapidly adjusting to fresh information, particularly concerning weather-driven demand expectations and robust supply figures. While consumers may anticipate a potential, albeit delayed, relief in energy costs, producers face immediate pressure on revenue expectations, underscoring the delicate balance within the sector. The specific 20.5-cent (4.5%) single-day dive in NYMEX natural gas front-month futures prices occurred on Monday, November 17, 2025, with the December contract settling at $4.361/MMBtu. This sharp decline was primarily a confluence of bearish weather forecasts and abundant supply reports, which collectively overshadowed earlier bullish sentiment that had pushed prices higher. A critical trigger was the updated weather outlook indicating warmer-than-normal temperatures across key consumption regions, particularly the eastern half of the United States, for the period of November 22-26. This significantly reduced expectations for immediate heating demand, with the Global Forecast System model specifically trending 8 heating degree days (HDDs) warmer over the preceding weekend. Compounding this was robust U.S. natural gas production, with Lower 48 dry gas output reported at 110.0 Bcf/day on November 17, a 7.1% year-over-year increase and near record highs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) had also recently raised its forecast for 2025 U.S. natural gas production, contributing to the perception of ample supply. The timeline leading up to this event saw December futures gain 25.0 cents in the week prior to November 17, fueled by initial weather models hinting at a cold start to December. However, this momentum began to dissipate on Friday, November 14, when the EIA released its weekly natural gas storage report, revealing a larger-than-expected injection of 45 Bcf into storage for the week ended November 7. This figure surpassed the market consensus of 34 Bcf and the five-year weekly average of 35 Bcf, pushing U.S. natural gas inventories 4.5% above their five-year seasonal average. Over the weekend of November 15-16, the market absorbed this bearish data, and updated forecasts from entities like NatGasWeather confirmed the warming trend, setting the stage for Monday's significant sell-off. A 4.5% single-day dive in NYMEX natural gas prices, even while remaining in the $4 range, creates a clear delineation of potential winners and losers across the energy landscape. The impact largely hinges on a company's position in the value chain and its hedging strategies. Natural gas producers are typically the primary losers in such a scenario. Lower spot and futures prices directly translate to reduced revenue for every unit of gas sold, impacting their profitability and cash flow. Companies with a higher proportion of unhedged production will feel this impact most acutely. Major U.S. natural gas producers like EQT Corporation, the largest in the U.S., Chesapeake Energy, Antero Resources and Southwestern Energy are highly sensitive to these price movements. While diversified supermajors such as ExxonMobil and Chevron also produce natural gas, their broader portfolios offer some insulation. Effective hedging, using instruments like fixed-price swaps, can mitigate the immediate revenue hit for producers, securing a more stable income stream. However, those with less effective hedging or expiring contracts would bear the full brunt of the price decline. Conversely, industrial consumers and many utility companies often emerge as beneficiaries. Industrial players that rely on natural gas as a primary fuel for energy or a feedstock for manufacturing, such as chemical companies like Dow Inc. and LyondellBasell Industries, or fertilizer manufacturers like CF Industries Holdings (NYSE: CF), see a direct reduction in their operating costs. This can lead to improved profit margins and enhanced competitiveness. For utilities, particularly those operating natural gas-fired power plants, lower natural gas prices reduce their fuel costs, potentially improving profit margins in deregulated markets or allowing them to pass savings to consumers in regulated environments.

US Natural Gas Futures Climb 4% With LNG Flows, Cold - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 4% on Wednesday on near-record flows to liquefied natural gas export plants and forecasts for higher demand than previously expected as the weather turns colder than normal going into December. Front-month gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 17.9 cents, or 4.1%, to settle at $4.550 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to 109.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in November, up from 107.3 bcfd in October and a record monthly high of 108.3 bcfd in August. Record output so far this year has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual. There was about 4% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain warmer than normal through November 26 before turning colder than normal from November 28 to December 4. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would hold around 116.6 bcfd this week and next. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Tuesday. The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. rose to 18.0 bcfd so far in November, up from a record 16.6 bcfd in October. In other LNG news, the Imsaikah LNG vessel continued to move across the Atlantic Ocean to Exxon Mobil QatarEnergy's 2.4-bcfd Golden Pass LNG export plant under construction in Texas, according to LSEG data and analysts' comments. The ship, expected to arrive at Golden Pass around November 29, is carrying LNG from Qatar that traders and analysts say will be used to cool equipment as part of the commissioning of the plant. The facility is expected to start producing LNG later this year or early next year. Around the world, gas traded near $11 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility benchmark in Europe and at a two-month high of $12 at the Japan Korea Marker benchmark in Asia.

US natgas futures up 2% on near-record LNG flows and cold December forecast — U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% to a one-week high on Friday with flows to liquefied natural gas export plants back near record highs on the expected return to full service of Freeport LNG's plant in Texas and on a planned jump in demand in two weeks with the coming of some colder-than-normal weather. Front-month gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 10.6 cents, or 2.4%, to settle at $4.580 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since November 13. That put the front-month up about 0.3% for the week, marking the first time prices have increased for five weeks in a row since November 2024. During those five weeks, the contract has gained about 52%. Looking ahead, the premium of futures for January over December fell to around 16 cents per mmBtu, its lowest since September 2022. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in November, up from 107.4 bcfd in October and a record monthly high of 108.3 bcfd in August. Record output so far this year has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual. There was about 5% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain warmer than normal through December 6 with some colder-than-normal days around November 28-29 and December 3-5. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 118.8 bcfd this week to 119.7 bcfd next week and 131.3 bcfd in two weeks. The forecasts for this week and next were higher than LSEG's outlook on Thursday. The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. rose to 18.0 bcfd so far in November, up from a record 16.6 bcfd in October. In LNG export news, Freeport LNG's plant in Texas was on track to take in more gas on Friday in a sign that one of its three liquefaction trains returned to service after shutting down on Thursday. Around the world, gas was trading at a 15-month low of about $10 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility benchmark in Europe, but at a three-month high near $12 at the Japan Korea Marker benchmark in Asia.

Higher U.S. Natural Gas Prices Coming as Demand Boom Outpaces Low-cost Supply, Experts Say -- A surge in export demand, coupled with growing domestic power needs, is expected to drive U.S. benchmark Henry Hub natural gas prices higher as resources become exhausted, two experts told NGI. Chart comparing NGI’s Henry Hub natural gas daily and forward prices with Lower 48 U.S. natural gas demand from Nov. 2024 through Dec. 2025, showing price fluctuations between $2-10/MMBtu and rising demand driven by residential, commercial, industrial, power generation, LNG sendouts, and Mexican exports.At A Glance:
Export demand accelerates
Henry Hub strengthens
Low-cost production stressed

Natural Gas Price Spread Compression Ahead as LNG Capacity Surges, Goldman Sachs Says - A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers

• $4.04/MMBtu: Global natural gas benchmarks are expected to converge closer together in the next three years as LNG supply explodes, which could temporarily close the profitable arb curve for U.S. exports, according to Goldman Sachs. Analysts with the bank forecast Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark for Europe could average around $4.04/MMBtu, in 2028 2029. During the same period, the Japan-Korea Marker was seen at $4.40 in 2028 and $4.45 in 2029. Analysts estimated Henry Hub could average $2.70 and $2.75.
• 17.72 Bcf/d: Feed gas nominations to U.S. terminals have slightly moderated this week, but still remain at elevated levels as commissioning at Plaquemines LNG continues. Feed gas nominations averaged 17.72 Bcf/d during the week, down from more than 18 Bcf/d the week prior. Nominations to Venture Global’s facility in southeast Louisiana Wednesday were reported at 104% of pipeline design capacity, according to NGI calculations of pipeline flow data.
• $10.40/MMBtu: European gas prices have dropped through the winter curve as traders weigh how a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine may impact available supplies. The prompt TTF contract settled around $10.40/MMBtu Wednesday after reaching a weekly high of $10.84 the day before. TTF contracts dropped an average of 23 cents from January through March. Analysts from trading firm Mind Energy wrote the market seemed to be shrugging off approaching cold weather and pipeline constraints from Norway and Algeria.
• 4 Bcm: DTEK Group, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, has secured its first volumes of U.S. LNG through Lithuania as it leans on supplies from the country to meet an expected supply shortfall. The firm imported Monday (Nov. 19) a roughly 100 Mcm cargo from Venture Global Inc.’s Plaquemines terminal to Lithuania’s Klaipeda import facility. It was the first LNG cargo purchased by DTEK on a free-on-board basis. DTEK estimates around 4 Bcm in LNG supply will need to be imported through alternative routes to meet Ukraine’s winter demand.

Gas Processing Frac Spread Drops to Three-Year Low - The frac spread — a rough gauge of the value of extracting NGLs from raw gas — has fallen off a cliff, sinking from $4.93/MMBtu in late January to just $1.89/MMBtu on Friday (red dashed circle, right graph below). That’s the weakest showing in three years.The frac spread is simply the differential between the price of natural gas and the weighted average price of a typical basket of NGLs on a dollars-per-MMBtu basis. The primary culprit in the current squeeze is the price of natural gas, up 50% over the same ten-month timeframe that the frac spread declined by 62%. The basket of NGLs declined 17% over the same period. As shown in the left graph below, the average annual Frac Spread has ranged between a low of $2.38/MMbtu in 2020 to a high of $5.30/MMBtu in 2021. Since 2017, it has averaged just over $4.00/MMbtu. The drop below $2.00/MMbtu last week is highly unusual, and a red flag for gas processors and their customers. The Frac Spread will likely stay weak as long as natural gas prices remain above $4/MMbtu and crude prices (which influence most NGL prices) remain in the low-$60s/bbl or below.

Chevron Powering Up (Literally) in Permian With Natural Gas-to-AI Strategy -- Chevron Corp. is deepening its long-term commitment to natural gas, positioning the fuel as a core export commodity and a power generation driver for the industrial boom, executives said. (NGI's Waha Daily gas price snapshot showing historical volatility.) At A Glance:
LNG exports climb despite oversupply outlook
2.5 GW Permian project launched
Eastern Med gas output jumping

Greens challenge Interior for bypassing NEPA in offshore lease sales - Green groups are suing the Trump administration for planning an oil lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico without first conducting an environmental review. The lawsuit — filed on Tuesday — asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to vacate and stop the Dec. 10 lease sale. The challenge comes a week after the Interior Department told POLITICO’s E&E News that it was forgoing environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act for all of the offshore lease sales mandated in the Republican megalaw. “If you’re going to auction off 80 million acres of our public waters to the oil industry, the least you can do is not break the law in a plethora of ways as you do it,” George Torgun, a senior attorney at Earthjustice said in a Tuesday statement. Earthjustice brought the lawsuit on behalf of Friends of the Earth and Healthy Gulf; other plaintiffs include the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club.The GOP megalaw, which President Donald Trump signed in July, directs Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold 30 oil and gas lease sales over the next 15 years in what Trump has renamed the Gulf of America. The law also mandates six lease auctions in Alaska’s Cook Inlet between now and 2032.

October Upswing — Gulf Coast Re-Exports of Canadian Heavy Crude Oil Stage a Recovery -Re-exports of Canadian heavy crude oil are estimated to have been 145 Mb/d in October 2025 (rightmost stacked columns in chart below), an increase of 45 Mb/d from September, itself a six-month low, and 145 Mb/d more than a year ago based on tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Since the departure last year of China (red columns) from the Gulf Coast in favor of Canada’s west coast as a buyer of Canadian crude, two nations have remained prominent in purchasing Canadian barrels, partly motivated by logistical proximity. India (gray columns) lifted 63 Mb/d, nearly twice the level of September (33 Mb/d) and 63 Mb/d more than a year ago. Spain (blue columns) bought 83 Mb/d, 17 Mb/d more than September and 83 Mb/d more than a year ago. Data for the most recent three months are derived from Bloomberg tracking estimates as official monthly data from the U.S. Census Bureau beyond July remains unavailable until further notice.The increase in re-exports may be reflecting a shift in purchase patterns by India and Spain as they attempt to maneuver around sanctions on portions of the global oil tanker fleet and those directed against Russia. This is of particular importance for India, a frequent and sizeable buyer of discounted Russian crude in the past few years. Its latest increase in purchases of Canadian heavy oil from the Gulf may be a possible first step to higher volumes in the future as it diversifies its crude import slate to a broader suite of exporting nations.

U.S. Gasoline Inventories Sink To 12-Year Lows | OilPrice.com -Previously, we reported that the pivot by Indian refiners away from Russian oil has triggered a spike in oil product prices even as crude prices remain largely unchanged. To wit, ICE Brent-Gasoil crack spreads doubled from the $15-17/bbl range held in the first half of the year, to a 21-month high above $32/bbl, good for a nearly 70% increase in the year-to-date. Gasoil is a middle distillate mainly used in commercial and agricultural sectors for off-road vehicles, machinery, and generators. And now reports have emerged that the distillates market continues to tighten even as crude prices remain weak. According to new data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline inventories clocked in at 205.06 million barrels (mb) for the week ending 7th November, 8.2mb lower than the five-year average and the lowest level in 12 years. For consumers across the U.S., fuel costs continue to edge higher. Gasoline prices have seen modest gains over the past year, while diesel has climbed by roughly 25 cents per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. Regional differences remain wide, but diesel remains under particular strain as U.S. distillate inventories — including diesel and heating oil — have dropped to their lowest levels in more than a decade. The decline stems from stronger export demand to Europe, reduced refinery capacity, and limited stockpiling ahead of winter. While the Energy Information Administration expects diesel prices to stabilize somewhat in 2026, they are likely to stay elevated compared to historical averages. U.S. distillate inventories were 110.91 million barrels, 9.3mb below the five-year average and close to the bottom of their five-year range. U.S. distillate inventories are now at the lowest level since mid-July as we move into the high-demand winter season, which should continue to support product strength. Meanwhile, strength in product cracks continues, with the ICE gasoil-Brent crack now exceeding $34 per barrel (bbl), the highest level since September 2023. The price differential has now stayed above $30/bbl for 10 trading days. Oil markets, on the other hand, continue to be weak and dominated by bearish supply sentiment, with recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure failing to give oil prices a significant boost. Brent crude for December delivery was trading at $63.32/bbl at 12 pm ET on Wednesday, less than a dollar higher from a week ago, while the corresponding WTI contract was changing hands at $59.28/bbl, up from $58.26/bbl seven days ago. Last week, the port of Novorossiysk, in Krasnodar Krai, was targeted by Ukrainian missiles and drones, with a focus on the Sheskharis oil terminal. The giant terminal has an export capacity of ~2.2 million barrels per day (mb/d), and loadings were suspended for two days. Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s Black Sea export terminals have, however, highlighted the vulnerability of exports via the southern route. According to commodity analysts at Standard Chartered, this is particularly important, with the weather closing down the Northern Sea Route via the Arctic over the winter. The winter transit routes to Asia will then be limited to the Suez Canal, taking 10 days longer on average. These longer transit routes have contributed to a 294 million barrels Y/Y surge in seaborne crude to an all-time high of 1.37 billion barrels as of 14 November. Russian crude exports have, however, remained relatively steady, although StanChart has predicted they will slow down sharply after the November 21 deadline for sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft kicks in. The sanctions could also be contributing to the large increase in volumes of oil on water. U.S. natural gas prices remain elevated, with Henry Hub gas quoted at $4.55/MMBtu in Wednesday’s session, nearly double in the year-to-date. Expectations of high demand have been driving prices higher, despite inventories remaining elevated. Surging demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, increased domestic power needs from factors like data centers, and strong heating demand have helped prop U.S. gas prices. Meanwhile, production growth has not kept pace with this escalating demand. The production backlog for utility-scale gas turbines has pushed back equipment delivery dates, further straining the supply-demand balance. In contrast, Europe’s gas prices remain depressed, with TFF natural gas futures falling close to an 18-month low at $30.870/MW, with warmer weather expected to lower heating demand. European natural gas inventories have been declining as the continent moves through the shoulder season into prolonged net withdrawals. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Europe’s gas inventories stood at 95.784 billion cubic metres (bcm) on 17 November, above the mandatory 90% storage target set for November 1st. The relatively high level is a positive sign for meeting winter demand, as it can supply up to one-third of the EU's annual gas consumption. Weather patterns across north-west Europe have pushed temperatures sharply lower; however, they remain supportive of renewable power generation, with high pressure supporting solar and wind, rather than the dreaded ‘dunkelflaute’ conditions that can be seasonally prevalent. This, in part, has dampened European natural gas prices. Dunkelflaute is a German term describing a period of low wind and solar power generation, often occurring in winter. During these times, which can last for hours or days, there is little to no wind, and cloud cover prevents solar panels from producing much electricity. This phenomenon poses challenges for electricity grids that rely heavily on renewables because energy demand, particularly for heating, is often high.

Major oil spill leaks into the Kenduskeag Stream - 75 Gallons of heating oil spilled into the Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor Monday morning. It happened around 6 a.m., when a truck driver was delivering oil to Print Bangor on Central Street. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection arrived soon after to establish the cleanup process. According to a responder from the DEP, the incident happened after the driver hit a concrete abutment, damaging the oil release. A boom was put into the stream to prevent the oil from flowing into the Penobscot river. Ben Metzger, who owns the business, saw the entire mishap unfold on his security cameras. “It flowed for about two and a half minutes, just total free flow,” he said. Metzger said his property was unscathed. “By the time I got here DEP was already on site checking out the stream and everything. I don’t think anything got in the building fortunately,” he said. The Maine DEP urges anyone who works along the Kenduskeag Stream or in downtown Bangor to call them if you notice any fumes or vapor issues inside.

Oil Spill Cleanup Underway Southwest of Salem - A cleanup is underway on an oil spill near the intersection of Lazy Acres Road and Selmaville Road southwest of Salem. The Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management have been assisting the responsible party with cleanup since the spill was reported on Wednesday. It is estimated that five barrels (210 gallons) of crude oil were released from a ruptured flowline. The release has been contained by an earthen dam and catch pit, and repairs have been made to the flowline. Cleanup, which includes recovery of oil and removal of impacted vegetation, is ongoing under the Illinois EPA’s supervision.

Enbridge Rolls Forward with Oil Pipeline Expansion Plans -- Enbridge, North America’s largest energy pipeline company, reported its Q3 2025 earnings on November 7 in which it announced the sanctioning of its Southern Illinois Connector Project. One week later, the company announced additional projects that will expand and enhance flows on its Mainline that ships crude oil from Western Canada to the U.S. Midwest.

• Southern Illinois Connector (orange lines in map below): a new pipeline that will connect the terminus of the Platte Pipeline at Wood River, IL to Patoka, IL and the origin of the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline (jointly owned with Energy Transfer) that ships crude to Nederland, TX. With 100 Mb/d of firm contract capacity in place, it is expected to enter service in 2028. It will also involve a 30 Mb/d expansion of the Express/Platte Pipeline system and utilize 70 Mb/d of existing capacity on the Spearhead Pipeline.
• Mainline Optimization Phase 1: the company will pursue a 150 Mb/d capacity expansion of the Mainline (purple line in map below) through a combination of upstream and terminal enhancements; a 100 Mb/d capacity expansion of its Flanagan South Pipeline (green line) utilizing terminal enhancements and additional pumping stations. Both expansions have an anticipated in service of 2027.
• The company stated that it is also in active discussions for its Mainline Optimization Phase 2 which could further enhance throughput capacity on the Mainline by 250 Mb/d by 2028.

Let’s Get It Started – Enbridge In Early Stages of Major Crude Oil Pipeline Expansion Program - Buoyed by record crude oil flows through its Mainline system and the expectation of further growth in Western Canadian production, Enbridge has been sanctioning more pipeline expansion projects and discussing plans for adding still more capacity later this decade. The magnitude of the broader effort is significant, adding up to 500 Mb/d of incremental capacity on key parts of its far-flung crude oil pipeline network by 2028, including a project with Energy Transfer involving their Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss Enbridge’s newly ramped-up plans.As we said in The Race Is On this past summer, two of the surest bets in the North American energy space these days are that (1) Western Canadian production of heavy crude oil will continue rising and (2) new pipeline takeaway capacity will be needed to handle those increasing volumes. No one is a bigger player in the region’s crude oil pipeline business than Enbridge, whose Mainline system (dark-blue line in Figure 1 below) delivered an average of 3.1 MMb/d to the U.S. Midwest in Q3 2025 — an all-time high. Enbridge also owns all or part of several pipelines that either transport crude to the U.S. via a more westerly route (the company’s Express-Platte system; light-purple line) or take crude from the Mainline system to the Cushing (OK) and Patoka (IL) hubs — and from there to the Gulf Coast. (More on those in a moment.) Enhancements to the Mainline system, which consists of more than a dozen distinct pipelines (Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 61, 62, 64, 65, 67 and 78), have been a fairly regular thing over the years, a notable example being the Line 3 Replacement Project completed in 2021. It would be fair to say, however, that the multifaceted program Enbridge has now laid out may be the largest to date.As part of the company’s Q3 earnings announcement and conference call on November 7, Enbridge said it has made final investment decisions (FIDs) on two projects. The first is the Southern Illinois Connector (dashed yellow line), a new 56-mile, 100-Mb/d pipeline that Enbridge and Energy Transfer will build from Wood River, IL, to Patoka. The second project is a 30-Mb/d expansion of Express-Platte, which will increase the capacity of that long-haul system from Hardisty, AB, to Wood River to 340 Mb/d. Those expansions — plus the utilization of 70 Mb/d of existing-but-unused capacity on the Flanagan-to-Wood-River portion of Enbridge’s 193-Mb/d Spearhead Pipeline (light-blue line) — will provide a pathway for 100 Mb/d of fully contracted, Alberta-to-Gulf-Coast pipeline capacity.Of that 100 Mb/d, 70 Mb/d will move southwest on Spearhead from Enbridge’s Flanagan (IL) hub to Express-Platte, then east on that to Wood River; the other 30 Mb/d will flow south and east on Express-Platte, also to Wood River. From there, the 100 Mb/d will be transported on the new Southern Illinois Connector to Patoka, where it will flow into the now-underutilized 470-Mb/d Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline (ETCOP; magenta line) to Nederland, TX. Energy Transfer holds a 38.2% ownership interest in ETCOP and operates the pipeline; Enbridge holds a 27.6% stake.During the November 7 call, Enbridge also detailed plans for the first phase of its planned Mainline Optimization Project, referred to as MLO 1. One week later, on November 14, Enbridge announced that it had taken FID on the C$1.4 billion (US$1 billion) MLO 1, which will add 150 Mb/d of capacity to the 3.2-MMb/d Mainline system and 100 Mb/d to Enbridge’s 660-Mb/d Flanagan South Pipeline (dark-purple line) between the Flanagan hub and Cushing. The Mainline capacity gains will be achieved through a combination of “upstream optimization and terminal enhancements,” while the Flanagan South expansion will come from new pumps and terminal improvements. The new capacity is expected to come online in 2027. President and CEO Greg Ebel said that the company also has made “significant progress” on MLO 2 — the second phase of its Mainline Optimization Project — which would add another 250 Mb/d of capacity in 2028. He said that MLO 2 “will utilize capacity on the Dakota Access Pipeline, and we’re happy to announce that we're teaming up with Energy Transfer to make that happen.” DAPL (red line) is a 750-Mb/d crude oil pipeline from the Bakken Shale in western North Dakota to the Patoka hub in Illinois. Like ETCOP (with which it connects at Patoka), DAPL is 38.2%-owned by Energy Transfer (and operated by the company), with Enbridge holding a 27.6% stake and Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum owning 25% and 9.2%, respectively. DAPL currently transports 500-550 Mb/d, leaving up to one-third of its capacity available. Enbridge and Energy Transfer said they expect to take FID on the project by mid-2026.

Trump proposes to open up new drilling off California coast and in eastern Gulf - The Trump administration proposed Thursday to open up new oil and gas drilling off the coast of California, a move that had already been denounced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The administration also proposed opening to drilling an area that had been considered part of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a plan that could rankle Florida Republicans. It proposes to hold six auctions for drilling rights off California’s coast over the next several years. It also proposes to auction off the right to drill in an area that includes part of the Gulf that had been considered part of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. However, the Trump administration is now calling the region the “South-Central Gulf of America.” Maps of both areas indicate that there is overlap between what had been considered Eastern and is now being called “South-Central.” In both California and Florida, offshore drilling is controversial — many Florida Republicans, as well as Florida Democrats, oppose drilling because of the importance of beach tourism to the state’s economy and the potential for spills. President Trump’s proposal greatly expands offshore drilling plans in general, proposing to hold as many as 34 offshore oil and gas lease sales between the years 2026 and 2031. It would replace a Biden administration-era plan that proposed just three offshore lease sales, all in the Gulf of Mexico, between the years 2024 and 2029. The new plan would hold 21 lease sales off the coast of Alaska in addition to the six in California and seven in the Gulf. Of the Gulf sales, five would take place in the less-controversial western and central gulf while the other two would take place in an area that includes parts of the eastern Gulf. California hasn’t seen a new lease sale off its coasts since 1984, though some drilling occurs there under previously issued leases. Drilling off the California coast has been controversial since a major 1969 oil spill soaked beaches in oil.

Democrats revive package of bills to clamp down on fracking - A group of Democrats are reviving a package of bills that would tighten federal regulations for oil and gas drilling, in a rebuttal to expected votes in the House to shore up the energy industry this week. The five-bill package, dubbed the “Frack Pack,” aims to hold oil and gas companies accountable to national standards for air and water quality. It would also eliminate the so-called Halliburton Loophole, which has exempted fracking fluids from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2005. “What all of us are hoping is that this will make the oil and gas industry comply with the same environmental regulations as anybody else,” said Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat and the sponsor of the “Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act.” “If we’re going to be drilling, and if we’re going to be leaning in on drilling, we need to make sure we’re not contaminating our aquifers with harmful chemicals,” DeGette said.

Greens say Congress has put oil and gas leases in jeopardy - Environmental groups told the Bureau of Land Management in a letter this week that Congress’ new interpretation of land-use plans has “raised serious questions” about more than 5,000 oil and gas leases.The Wilderness Society and five other groups said the leases may violate federal management law, and they’ve asked BLM to halt all oil and gas leasing on federal lands while the matter is sorted out.“BLM should pause all further leasing and permitting until it takes affirmative steps to ensure compliance with the law and remedy this grave legal uncertainty,” green leaders said in the letter to the BLM acting Director Bill Groffy.The letter was signed by Alison Flint, senior legal director at The Wilderness Society, as well as officials with the Conservation Lands Foundation, the Western Environmental Law Center, Advocates for the West, Wild Montana and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Sable Offshore Raises $250 Million Amid Financial Setbacks and Santa Ynez Pipeline Restart Roadblocks – Sable Offshore Corp., the Houston-based oil and gas company, announced on November 10, 2025, that it raised $250 million via a private stock sale to improve its financial health and stabilize its financial condition. Sable will issue 45.4 million shares of its common stock in a private placement at a purchase price of $5.50 per share, according to the statement. The company said it plans to use the proceeds for “general corporate purposes.” The fundraising follows a Hunterbrook report citing SEC filings that suggested Sable was running out of money and “had only weeks of cash remaining” as of mid-September 2025.. Sable required $2.3 billion to achieve commercial production of oil and gas from its three platforms near the Santa Barbara coast, according to Hunterbrook. The company acquired the platforms, a pipeline, and an onshore processing facility in Santa Ynez from ExxonMobil, under a 2022 agreement, Reuters reported in January 2024. All of the assets have remained idle since May 2015, when a ruptured pipeline caused an oil spill. More than 100,000 gallons of crude oil were dumped onto the coast, creating a 10-square-mile oil slick that threatened, injured, and killed wildlife near the Refugio State Beach, and contaminated the shoreline. The total of $2.3 billion includes at least $900 million to buy out Exxon, to which Sable owes 15% interest on debt that is due by March 31, 2027, according to the Hunterbrook report. By then, the loan will be roughly $1.1 billion, accruing $200 million in additional debt. Amid this financial crisis, Pilgrim Global, Sable’s long-term investor, amended its filings on November 6, 2025, claiming that there were errors in its previous filings. As a result, Pilgrim Global can trade $SOC without disclosure, Hunterbrook added. Sable is looking to restart oil production at the Santa Ynez Unit. In May 2025, the company announced that it had restarted production and flowing oil production to Las Flores Canyon. However, the company suffered a setback on November 4, 2025, when the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted against Exxon transferring the oil pipeline permits to Sable. In a statement, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wishtoyo Foundation pointed out that Sable has a record of noncompliance and has not posted the performance bonds required to guarantee future decommissioning. The pipeline’s restart process has been controversial for Sable. The company was fined $18 million by the Coastal Commission, charged with criminal wrongdoing by the Santa Barbara district attorney, and sued by the California attorney general for actions related to construction on the pipeline, the statement added. Sable experienced another hurdle in October 2025, when the CAL Fire Office of the State Fire Marshal announced that Sable could not restart the pipeline until all safety requirements were fulfilled. The Fire Marshal mandated Sable to show that their infrastructure was safe, especially since the pipeline had caused one of the worst oil spills. Sable is expected to undergo a “multi-stage review process” to comply with all the requirements, and work with other agencies to meet their regulations before the pipelines can be restarted, the Fire Marshal noted. Sable’s attempts to restart the Santa Ynez Unit come at a time when the Trump administration is looking to expand domestic drilling operations and open offshore drilling in California, according to a news report by The Washington Post. The administration is considering six offshore lease sales between 2027 and 2030 along the California coast, according to the report. The administration also proposed expanding drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including over 20 lease sales in Alaska through 2031.

420 gallons of crude oil spills into Ventura County creek - CBS Los Angeles -- Roughly 420 gallons of crude oil spilled into Sisar Creek between Ojai and Santa Paula in Ventura County. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Carbon California personnel got a notification about the spill at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. They believe about 420 gallons spilled into roughly a 0.75-mile stretch of Sisar Creek. State officials said the figures may change once crews complete their full assessment in the rugged terrain. Crews began cleaning up the spill and recovering the oil. Officials have set up a safety zone around the spill site and established air monitoring. They advised visitors to avoid the spill. Fish and Wildlife has not found any animals covered in oil, but the department has placed the Oiled Wildlife Care Network on standby in case crews find any. They urged people to refrain from trying to capture oiled animals. Instead, they asked anyone who encounters distressed wildlife to call 1(877) 823-6926. Fish and Wildlife has established a unified command with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Spill Prevention and Response, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and Carbon California. They said crews do not need volunteers at this time.

Jet fuel spill shuts down Northwest's main oil pipeline --Spill-response crews planned to start digging up a blueberry farm near Everett on Tuesday to find the cause of a jet-fuel spill that shut down the Pacific Northwest’s primary oil pipeline. The farm sits on the route of the Olympic Pipeline, a mostly underground, 400-mile system of pipes owned by BP. It carries gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from four refineries on the shores of Puget Sound to Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Renton, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Portland. A sheen of jet fuel was reported in a drainage ditch on the farm on Nov. 11, according to BP spokesperson Cesar Rodriguez. Where the jet fuel spilled, the Olympic Pipeline is actually two parallel pipes, one 16 inches wide and the other 20 inches wide. The larger underground pipe somehow sprang a leak, with the cause currently under investigation. Responders have deployed oil-spill containment boom and a vacuum truck to capture spilled fuel. They have also installed a barrier to stop fuel from flowing from the drainage ditch into the Snohomish River. The paired steel pipes were shut down until Nov. 16, when the smaller pipe resumed carrying fuels to customers in Washington and Oregon, including jet fuel to Sea-Tac Airport. The larger pipe remains shut down.

BP Shuts Entire Olympic Fuel Pipeline System After Leak Near Everett - BP has shut down the full 400-mile Olympic Pipeline system after a product leak triggered repeated shutdowns and inspections near Everett, Washington. Crews have begun excavating the affected segment, with no timeline yet announced for repairs or restart. (Reuters) — BP on Nov. 19 said it shut down the 400-mile Olympic Pipeline following a leak, halting fuel delivery from the system. The company restored one of the two pipelines east of Everett, Washington, on Nov. 17 that was shut to determine the source of some product discharge. But the restored line was shut down again, the London-based oil and gas company said. "On the afternoon of Monday, November 17, the 16-inch line was shut down to investigate an increase in product observed in a collection point on the response site," the company said in a statement. Crews have begun excavation of the pipelines to allow for inspection, the company said, without providing a timeline for the repairs. The Olympic Pipeline system moves fuel from northern Washington to Oregon. The pipeline transports key refined petroleum products - including gasoline and diesel - and supplies jet fuel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Harvest Midstream Aiming for First Alaska LNG Imports by 2028 at Long-Idled Kenai Terminal -- Harvest Midstream Co. is in advanced talks with global LNG suppliers to import the super-chilled fuel in Alaska and is now seeking customers interested in those supplies after it closed its acquisition of the Kenai LNG terminal from Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC). At A Glance:

• Harvest seeking LNG suppliers
• FID targeted for 2026
• Project to serve local demand

U.S. Plans for Alaska Part of Larger Focus on Expanding Arctic Development -Expanded energy development in Alaska has been a priority since President Trump returned to office. The latest move by his administration was its October 23 announcement that it would allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and make other changes to advance production in that resource-rich area. In today’s RBN blog, we look at what the moves could mean for Alaska and how they fit into the Trump administration’s plans to accelerate Arctic exploration and development. President Trump’s flurry of executive orders upon returning to office (see Brand New Day) included one titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” whose aim is to revitalize energy production in the state, streamline the permitting process and prioritize the development of the long-dormant Alaska LNG project (see Road to Alaska), a multibillion-dollar plan to transport natural gas several hundred miles from Alaska’s North Slope to Anchorage and Cook Inlet for eventual liquefaction and export. The president’s endorsement renewed interest in the project, which has been on the drawing board for more than 30 years, although many still see it as a bit of a long shot given the high costs and significant logistical hurdles it would have to clear. Gas for the Alaska LNG project would flow from a gas treatment facility (purple diamond in Figure 1 below) on the proposed Alaska Gasline (dashed aqua line), an 800-mile, 42-inch-diameter overland pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Cook Inlet, where a subsea section would deliver up to 3.3 Bcf/d of gas to the project site at Nikiski (striped purple-and-white diamond), located north of the original Kenai LNG export project (gray diamond) that ceased operation in 2016 due to the depletion of reserves in Cook Inlet. The pipeline would also supply gas to electricity and gas utilities along its path and to Cook Inlet, where demand is expected to reach 200 MMcf/d by 2030.

Investor Confidentiality Clash Complicates Mexico Pacific’s Saguaro LNG Export Timeline -- Mexico Pacific Ltd. LLC could have to disclose its minority owners before receiving an extension of its export authorization, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Detailed map showing the planned Saguaro LNG export project on Mexico’s Pacific Coast and surrounding natural gas infrastructure, including major pipelines, import/export points, proposed LNG facilities, and connections to the Waha Hub and U.S.–Mexico border crossings. The map highlights key systems such as the SNG network, Tarahumara Pipeline, Samalayuca–Sásabe corridor, and multiple proposed expansions supporting gas flows from West Texas into Sonora and Baja California. At A Glance:
DOE requests more info
Saguaro LNG NFTA extension pending
15 Mt/y capacity project remains unsanctioned

Ksi Lisims LNG ‘Not Far Off’ From FID as Canadian Government’s Support Eases Path Forward --Backers of Ksi Lisims LNG in British Columbia (BC) expect to reach a final investment decision (FID) next year and see an easier path toward the project becoming reality after the federal government selected it for fast-tracking under a broader plan to strengthen the country’s economy.Line chart titled “NGI’s NOVA/AECO C Forward Fixed Price Curve” showing forward natural gas prices from early 2026 through late 2027, with values fluctuating between roughly $2.00 and $3.00/MMBtu. The curve dips through mid-2026, spikes sharply to around $3.00/MMBtu in early 2027, then falls below $2.00/MMBtu by mid-2027 before gradually rising again into late 2027. At A Glance:
FID expected in 2026
Project targeting 2029 for first LNG
Mature offtake, financing talks ongoing

Yes We Can – Western Canada’s NGLs Growth Gets a Boost with NorthRiver Midstream’s BC Pipeline | RBN Energy -The production of natural gas liquids in Western Canada has been on a nearly unbroken upward trend since 2010, with expectations that this will continue until at least the end of the decade. Into this growth, NorthRiver Midstream recently sanctioned a new NGL pipeline, dubbed the NEBC Connector, that will ship growing liquids production from northeastern British Columbia to fractionators in Alberta. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at this new project. NGL production growth in Western Canada has been phenomenal in recent years. Primarily a byproduct of rising natural gas output in the region, production of the NGLs suite comprised of ethane, propane, butane and field condensate/natural gasoline — the last of these referred to as condensate and pentanes-plus in Canada, or more simply, condensate — doubled between 2010 and 2024 to 1.2 MMb/d (left chart in Figure 1 below). Additional growth of 75 to 80 Mb/d is expected this year.As we said, a good portion of that growth has been tied to rising natural gas production, which was up 29% between 2010 and 2024 (right chart). To deal with that rising production, existing fractionators have been taking a “deeper cut” of the liquids from the gas stream (i.e., removing a greater share of the NGLs). Also, midstream companies have been adding new fractionation capacity in British Columbia (BC) and Alberta. (We should note that Western Canada’s NGLs output is not just tied to big fractionation plants but also to hundreds of gas processing plants at which small fractionation units are installed.)The fractionated NGLs being produced, highly valued and looking for a home, have been channelled into several important outlets. Propane is being exported off Canada’s West Coast in increasing quantities, with those export facilities set to expand in the next few years — and to include butane beginning in 2027. In addition, there have been increases in rail exports of propane and butane to the U.S. Most coveted has been the rising output of condensate, which is in demand as a diluent in Alberta’s oil sands to allow bitumen to be shipped to market in pipelines. As for ethane, its production has been rising slightly for several years due to small increases in Alberta’s ethane cracker demand, the only large outlet for ethane in Western Canada. Ethane output could be set to increase significantly by the end of the decade if an expansion of a large ethane cracker is eventually completed (see Shock to the System and Wish You Were Here for additional details). Of course, it's not only about rising NGL production, but also where it’s occurring. We have blogged several times about the prolific unconventional natural gas and NGLs-prone Montney formation and it has been the BC side that has been responsible for most of the natural gas production growth in recent years. As you might expect, with that production has come growth in those highly valued NGLs from BC, up nearly fivefold since 2010 to recent levels near 250 Mb/d (see Figure 2 below). Going forward, will there still be more NGLs from the BC side of the Montney? That is a question that we delved into at RBN’s recent School of Energy. We expect that a good deal of Western Canada’s future NGLs output will originate from BC (see Figure 3 below); the only real exception in the overall mix is that we expect most of the condensate growth will come from the Alberta side of the border, driven by its portion of the Montney and its condensate-rich Duvernay shale. From the combined output of 1.2 MMb/d in 2024, we expect total NGLs production from BC (blue layer) and Alberta (orange layer) to reach just under 1.6 MMb/d by 2030, with BC’s liquids share rising over that time from 35% to 45%.With that kind of outlook for BC NGLs and condensate, it would seem natural for midstream operators to look into expansions of the pipeline networks that ship condensate and the unfractionated NGLs mix (commonly known as y-grade) from BC to large fractionation plants and markets in Alberta. There is only one existing pipeline player in the region — Pembina Pipeline Corp. — but another midstream operator is looking to make a bigger splash with a new pipeline of its own.South Bow has achieved mechanical completion of its Blackrod Connection Project and placed the project’s 25-km (15.5-mile), 16-inch natural gas lateral into commercial service, the company said during its quarterly earnings call November 14. Calgary, AB-based NorthRiver Midstream Inc. owns natural gas processing plants and gas gathering pipelines in northeastern BC and northwestern Alberta. The company was formed by the purchase of Enbridge’s midstream assets (gas plants and gathering pipelines) by Brookfield Infrastructure, part of Toronto-based Brookfield Corp., a global investment firm with infrastructure holdings across a wide range of industries. Announced in July 2018 and with a purchase price of C$4.3 billion (US$3.1 billion), the transaction passed regulatory muster in October 2019 and closed at the end of that year. In total, 19 gas processing plants and 3,550 km (~2,200 miles) of gathering pipelines were placed under NorthRiver’s umbrella.With such a starting base, it seemed natural for NorthRiver to explore building its own pipeline system to deal with the rising quantities of liquids originating from the BC side of the Montney and from its own processing plants. NorthRiver recently proposed a new 215-km (~134-mile) NGLs pipeline (dashed purple-and-black line in Figure 4 below), dubbed the Northeast BC (NEBC) Connector, that would run from its Highway gas processing plant and liquids hub (black triangle) near Wonowon, BC, to a third-party pipeline connection near Gordondale, AB. The pipeline would consist of two parallel lines, one dedicated to condensate and the other to other NGLs; each would have an initial capacity of about 60 Mb/d but could be expanded to 200 Mb/d of aggregate capacity.

Canadian Natural Resources Contemplates Massive Oil Sands Output Expansion | RBN Energy --Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL), subsequent to its Q3 2025 earnings report on November 6, announced a series of oil sands production initiatives as part of its Investor Open House on November 7. If all projects are pursued as currently planned, the company has the potential to increase its output of non-upgraded bitumen in the range of 340 Mb/d by 2032. Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) will begin in 2026 for the expansion of four oil sands projects.

1. Jackfish: an expansion of the existing Jackfish Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) production site that would undertake three increments of 10 Mb/d each to push capacity from 120 Mb/d to 150 Mb/d with an in-service date of 2030.
2. Pike 2: a new SAGD facility contemplated south of the existing Pike 1 site with incremental production of 70 Mb/d and planned for in-service by 2031.
3. Jackpine Mine Expansion: an incremental 150 Mb/d from an expansion of the existing Jackpine Mine which will require an additional processing plant and targeting start up by 2031. Output would be sold to the market as diluted bitumen and not upgraded as is the case for current production sent to the Scotford Upgrader.
4. Horizon North Mine Expansion: an additional 90 Mb/d from the existing Horizon North Mine that will require new regulatory approvals with a potential start date of 2032.

The company gave no specific timeline for the completion of the projects, stating that the Jackfish and Pike 2 projects are “medium term” priorities, while Jackpine and Horizon are “long term” opportunities. This latest set of announcements tie in with RBN’s assessment that output of oil sands bitumen from all operators could expand by as much as 500 Mb/d by 2030.

Ovintiv Ramps Up Montney Exposure with Acquisition of NuVista Energy -- Consolidation in Western Canada’s oil and gas sector received another boost recently with the takeover of Montney-focused producer NuVista Energy by Ovintiv, already one of the region’s largest producers of natural gas and condensate. The C$3.8 billion (US$2.7 billion) deal builds on Ovintiv’s similarly sized acquisition of Paramount Resources in 2024 and gives the company an even stronger position in one of Canada’s most important plays. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the transaction and where it positions Ovintiv in the Montney.The old saying, “When it rains, it pours,” certainly applies to the merger and acquisition (M&A) frenzy that has been gripping Western Canada’s energy sector. Like many oil and gas companies worldwide, Canadian firms have been subjected to volatile and declining crude oil prices for most of this year, but they have also had to endure another summer of painfully low Western Canadian natural gas cash prices (for those that were not sufficiently hedged). These trends have depressed stock valuations for some producers and spurred buying interest by larger — and better capitalized — rivals.Aside from relatively cheap stock valuations, the reasons for M&A can be as varied as the people and companies involved but typically incorporate numerous factors such as: the purchase of specific assets or whole companies outright to increase efficiency and lower per unit production costs; the magnitude of oil and gas production on offer; land position; existing surface facilities for production and processing; and future drilling opportunities that might arise from acquired oil and gas reserves. Other intangibles such as tax pools, regulatory exposure, the exchange rate and employee talents can also be part of the mix.With Canada’s economy being buffeted by seemingly random and inconsistent changes to tariffs by its largest trading partner, the U.S., and competitive export opportunities for crude oil and natural gas expanding in the past year or so thanks to the start of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion (aka TMX) and LNG Canada, becoming a bigger producer and landholder to remain cost effective and relevant has become even more imperative. This backdrop, especially since January, has seen several major acquisitions come to light in Canada’s oil and gas business. The largest this year was the C$15 billion (US$10.7 billion) blockbuster deal in March involving the acquisition of Veren Inc. by Whitecap Resources. Whitecap made no secret that the motivation was not only to buy into quality complementary assets but also to grow its land position and production in key unconventional formations, such as the Montney and Duvernay, and to stay competitive against larger rivals. The next major takeover came in the midstream sector with Keyera Corp. buying the Canadian NGLs business of Plains Midstream Canada for C$5.2 billion (US$3.8 billion). This deal not only gave Keyera a huge national footprint, but “Canadian-ized” assets that had been held for many years through the U.S. parent company of Plains Midstream, Plains All American.

Oil spill from vessel in Maple Bay cleaned up | Saanich News - An oil and gas spill from a ship in Maple Bay has been cleaned up. A spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard said a Coast Guard duty officer talked to the owner of the vessel where the spill originated, and action to clear the spill began immediately. “The spill has been cleaned up and the duty officer is monitoring the situation to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” the spokesperson said. “We need to ensure this is not an ongoing issue.” Maple Bay resident Sharon Horsburgh said the spill was from a boat in a flotilla that came from Ladysmith and anchored in Maple Bay on Oct 24. She said the spill began on Nov. 13.

Peru’s Pipeline Troubles Complicate Effort to Restart Amazon Oil Output - Peru is seeking to restart long-stalled Amazon oil production to supply its expanded Talara refinery, but persistent spills, Indigenous resistance, and uncertainty surrounding the North Peruvian Pipeline (ONP) threaten the country’s midstream future. (Reuters) — Near a remote bend of the Patoyacu River in Peru's northern Amazon, Wilmer Macusi stood atop a rusty pipeline cutting through the jungle, swirling a branch in the pool of stagnant water surrounding it. “They say this is clean,” said Macusi, a 25-year-old Indigenous Urarina leader, pointing to the spot where an oil spill occurred in early 2023. “But if you move the water, oil still comes out.” Black droplets bubbled to the surface as plastic barriers meant to contain the spill drooped into the water. The pipeline links a nearby oilfield, Block 8, to the larger government-owned North Peruvian Pipeline (ONP). Macusi's community of Santa Rosa lies a short walk away. Peru’s northern Amazon holds hundreds of millions of barrels of crude, according to government data. But Indigenous groups say oil extraction over the past half-century brought pollution, not progress, and are opposed to a fresh wave of development. The region once pumped more than half of Peru's oil, peaking at about 200,000 barrels a day in the 1980s before environmental liabilities and community opposition drove production below 40,000 bpd. Key blocks went dormant in 2020. Now, the region's modest reserves are again central to state oil firm Petroperu's plans. The company has spent $6.5 billion upgrading its Talara refinery into a 95,000-bpd complex aimed at producing high-grade fuels for export. Heavily indebted with a CCC+ junk credit rating from ratings agency Fitch, Petroperu wants to revive Amazon oil output to supply Talara. The state firm estimated last month that proven and probable reserves in the region were worth $20.9 billion, which Petroperu said could deliver $3.1 billion in tax revenues for local governments and communities. While the amount of oil at stake is relatively small, the plans have fueled tensions over past spills, stoking Indigenous opposition at a time Brazil, Ecuador and Guyana are trying to expand their Amazon oil frontiers. Frustration about climate action and forest protection boiled over at the COP30 climate summit this week, when dozens of Indigenous protesters forced their way into the venue and clashed with security guards. Petroperu is also planning to import oil to the refinery by linking the 1,100-km (683 miles) ONP to neighboring Ecuador, which aims to boost production in its own Amazon region as part of a $47 billion oil expansion plan. Hailed as an engineering marvel when it was built in the 1970s, the ONP has since become a lightning rod for leaks, protests and sabotage. Indigenous groups in both countries are resisting the pipeline link-up. The government is weighing options for how best to run the pipeline, including through a joint venture or outsourcing its management. Petroperu failed to attract an international partner to run its largest oilfield, Block 192, which produced more than 100,000 bpd at its peak but has recently been the focus of Indigenous protests demanding remediation for damage to the forest, soil and waterways. Petroperu's former chairman Alejandro Narvaez, who was fired last month, estimated Block 192 could produce at least 20,000 bpd with investment and overall Amazon production could hit 100,000 bpd. The state oil firm selected domestic firm Upland Oil & Gas to operate the block, but Peru's state oil regulator disqualified Upland last month on the grounds it did not demonstrate financial capacity. Upland disputes the decision and has asked for a review. Petroperu also partnered with Upland to revive production at the smaller Block 8, which produced 5,000 bpd last month. Upland's CEO Jorge Rivera, son of one of Peru's early oil prospectors, told Reuters that Upland has offered Indigenous communities training, jobs and funding. "We've dedicated ourselves to understanding the complexities behind operating these fields,” he said. Rivera visited Santa Rosa in March, gifting a Starlink terminal and requesting a report on the community's needs. The community's main demand was the cleanup of the nearby spill, but questions remain over who bears responsibility. Though the operator is responsible for the 108-km stretch of pipeline that runs through Block 8 connecting it to the ONP, Upland's contract exempts it from liability for past pollution. The previous operator, an Argentine subsidiary named Pluspetrol Norte, was fined a record number of times by Peru's environmental regulator OEFA before it filed for liquidation and left the area in late 2020. Eight Indigenous federations and non-governmental organizations filed a complaint to the OECD's Dutch National Contact Point, a mechanism to implement OECD guidelines for businesses, which concluded in September that Pluspetrol had violated Indigenous communities' rights in Peru's Amazon and urged the company to address the environmental damage. In a response to Reuters, Pluspetrol said it already had complied with environmental and human rights regulations and that the NCP statement was "without merit" for not reflecting the "breadth and complexity of the evidence presented and the extent of actions taken by the company." Decades of scientific research have found high levels of lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic in wildlife and Indigenous people living near Peru's oilfields. Estimated cleanup costs for Block 192 alone stand at $1.5 billion. OEFA registered over 560 environmental infractions including oil spills and others from the ONP or other oil infrastructure in Blocks 192 and 8 from 2011 through September 2025. Petroperu has said any damage is "temporary and reversible" and blamed unspecified "economic and rural-domestic activities" by local communities as the main driver of water pollution. In late 2023, Peru's prosecutor's office said it had broken up a network of businessmen, local Indigenous leaders and a Petroperu employee that it said was orchestrating oil spills to secure lucrative cleanup contracts. In an interview with Reuters before his dismissal, Narvaez said Petroperu had prioritized cleaning up spills under the regulator's supervision. The government of Peru's interim President Jose Jeri, who took power last month, replaced Narvaez with Petroperu board vice president Fidel Moreno and said it will soon replace Petroperu's entire board of directors. Moreno did not reply to an interview request. Macusi said communities had yet to access a fund from Upland promising 2.5% of oil sales. Meanwhile, meetings with the oil regulator, Perupetro, to discuss funding for community projects have been delayed. After an oil spill from the Block 8 connector pipeline in 2022, Urarina communities held a strike, taking over oil facilities, fields and blockading a river to demand a better state response. Macusi, who as a teen worked hauling buckets of spilled oil, says communities are ready to take action again. "If the promised benefits don't come soon, we'll take measures," he said.

ADNOC Gas Achieves Record Q3 -- ADNOC Gas PLC has reported an eight percent year-on-year increase in net profit to $1.34 billion for the third quarter, the company's highest for the July-September period. The increase was driven by a four percent rise in domestic gas sales volumes, according to an online statement by the company. Demand is supported by growth in the United Arab Emirates' economy, while contract negotiations also improved underlying margins, said the gas processing and sales arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. Earnings per share landed at $0.017. ADNOC Gas has extended its five percent annual dividend growth policy to 2030, aiming for $24.4 billion in total for 2025-30, according to a stock filing October 8. ADNOC Gas has introduced a policy to distribute dividends quarterly starting with Q3 2025. "The introduction of quarterly dividend distributions starting in Q3 2025 with $896 million to be paid by December 12 - alongside a five percent annual increase in dividend payout now extended until 2030 - offers greater transparency and even more regular income, allowing shareholders to plan and manage their finances with confidence", it said in its quarterly statement. ADNOC Gas said, "Year-to-date net income reached $3.99 billion, exceeding market expectations, even as oil prices averaged $71/barrel in the first nine months of 2025 compared to $83/barrel in 2024". "Q3 2025 saw ADNOC Gas' domestic gas business deliver record results, with EBITDA rising to $914 million, up 26 percent year-on-year". On lower prices, revenue fell from $4.87 billion for Q3 2024 to $4.86 billion for Q3 2025. Operating profit landed at $1.74 billion, up from $1.69 billion for Q3 2024. Profit before tax was $1.72 billion, up from $1.68 billion for Q3 2024. Net cash from operating activities before changes in working capital was $4.65 billion, up from $4.24 billion for Q3 2024. ADNOC Gas ended Q3 2025 with $3.43 billion in cash and cash equivalents, while current assets totaled $6.48 billion. Current liabilities stood at $3.65 billion.

Natural gas demand down 15% in October on high international prices - The Economic Times -High international prices and shrinking domestic output are dragging down India's natural gas consumption, which fell 14.6% in October as industries shift to cheaper liquid fuels amid softer oil prices. Consumption in the April-October period is 8.1% lower year-on-year. A mild summer reduced demand from power generators, while tightening supplies of relatively cheaper domestically produced gas have also weighed on consumption. Domestic output fell 5.1% in October and 3.4% in April-October, driven by lower production from RIL-BP's KG basin fields. Industrial users are increasingly substituting natural gas with liquid fuels such as propane and fuel oil, which have become relatively cheaper following the sharp decline in crude prices. Gujarat Gas is moving into propane distribution to retain customers in the key industrial cluster of Morbi, where propane has heavily displaced natural gas. Propane is ?4-6 per standard cubic metre cheaper than gas, according to ICICI Securities. Falling domestic gas demand has pushed LNG imports down 22.6% in October and 12.5% in the April-October period. Imports account for about half of India's gas consumption. "Natural gas prices are similar to where they were last year, but customers find the fuel expensive as crude has come down," said an industry executive. Asian LNG benchmark JKM averaged $11.7/mmbtu in April-October compared with $12.6/mmbtu a year earlier. Brent crude averaged $68 in the same period versus $81 last year. High prices have long been a hurdle for Indian gas consumers, limiting progress on the government's goal of raising gas's share in the energy mix. In recent years, domestic gas has become expensive. Gas from nominated fields operated by ONGC and Oil India is currently sold at $6.75/mmbtu, based on a government-set formula introduced in 2023, up from $1.79/mmbtu five years ago. Gas from difficult fields is capped at $9.72/mmbtu, compared with $4.06/mmbtu five years earlier. India is seeking more investments in its exploration sector to help raise gas production and has framed new policies to attract foreign majors.

Venezuela Approves 15-Year Extension of Russia-Linked Oil Joint Ventures - (Reuters) – Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday approved a 15-year extension of the joint ventures between state company PDVSA and a unit of Russia’s Roszarubezhneft that operate two oilfields in the South American country’s western region, according to a session broadcast on TV. The partnerships may continue operating the Boqueron and Perija oilfields through 2041 with the goal of producing some 91 million barrels or 16,600 barrels per day of crude, said lawmakers before approving the extension. The total investment is estimated at about $616 million. The agreement was signed between PDVSA and Roszarubezhneft’s Moscow-based unit Petromost, two lawmakers told Reuters. Roszarubezhneft, owned by a unit of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, was incorporated in 2020 and soon afterwards acquired the Venezuelan holdings of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft as Washington imposed sanctions on two of Rosneft’s units for trading Venezuelan oil. Venezuela’s PDVSA also remains under U.S. sanctions, which in recent years have limited foreign investment and partners willing to do business in the South American country.

Goldman Sachs sees oil prices falling through 2026 on supply surge (Reuters) - Oil prices are expected to decline through 2026, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, citing a production surge that will keep the market in a large surplus of around 2 million barrels per day. The bank forecast Brent crude will average $56 a barrel and WTI $52 in 2026, below current forward curves of $63 and $60. "The 2025-2026 supply wave mostly results from long-cycle projects that saw Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) just before the pandemic, got delayed during Covid, and are now all coming online and from OPEC's strategic decision to unwind production cuts," the bank noted. OPEC+, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, has been boosting output since April. Other producers, such as the U.S. and Brazil, are also increasing supply, adding to glut fears and weighing on prices. The International Energy Agency said the global oil market faces an even bigger surplus next year of as much as 4.09 mbpd. Goldman Sachs expects prices to rebound from 2027 as low 2025–2026 prices weigh on non-OPEC production and very few new projects come online after 15 years of underinvestment. "We therefore expect Brent/WTI to rise to our long-run $80/76 forecasts by late 2028," the bank said. In 2026/2027, Brent crude could fall into the $40s if non-OPEC supply proves more resilient than expected or if the global economy enters a recession, but could rise above $70 a barrel if Russian supply declines more sharply, Goldman Sachs said. Brent crude futures were trading around $64.31 a barrel as of 1809 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $60.02.

Oil Prices Decline in Asian Trading -Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Monday, giving up last week’s gains, as loading operations resumed at Russia’s main export hub in Novorossiysk after a two-day halt at the Black Sea port, which had been subjected to a Ukrainian attack. Brent crude futures fell by 58 cents, or 0.9 percent, to reach $63.81 a barrel at 00:50 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were traded at $59.50 a barrel, down 59 cents, or 1.0 percent from Friday’s close. Both benchmark crudes rose by more than two percent on Friday, ending the week with modest gains, after exports were suspended at the Novorossiysk port and the nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, affecting the equivalent of two percent of global supplies. Earlier this month, the OPEC+ alliance agreed to raise production targets for December by 137,000 barrels per day, the same level as in October and November. It also agreed to pause the increase in the first quarter of next year. Data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes on Friday showed that the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs rose by three to reach 417 in the week ending November 14.

Crude Up as Sanctions Offset Reopen of Russian Oil Hub -- Crude futures edged higher Monday, Nov. 17, morning as concerns over new Russian sanctions maintained the market's upward momentum despite news that loading operations had resumed at the Black Sea oil hub Novorossiysk after a two-day outage. On Friday, Nov. 14, oil prices rose more than 2% after a Ukrainian strike briefly suspended operations at the terminal, which exports more than 700,000 bpd of Russian crude oil. The resumption in loadings at Novorossiysk, however, did not fully alleviate concerns around Russian crude supply, as U.S. President Trump on Sunday reiterated his support for secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian energy, backing a proposed Senate bill that would impose sanctions "on any country doing business with Russia." The NYMEX WTI contract for December delivery was up $0.30 at $60.39 bbl, and ICE Brent for January delivery edged up $0.26 to $64.65 bbl. Among refined products, December RBOB gasoline futures softened by $0.0027 to $2.0089 gallon, and front-month ULSD futures retreated $0.0117 to $2.5194 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.091 points to 99.290 against a basket of foreign currencies. Ukrainian attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure continued over the weekend, reportedly striking two refineries. Global refining margins have surged amid the wave of strikes on the Russian downstream sector, which led to severe fuel shortages and prompted the country to extend fuel export bans. European and Asian middle distillate cracks have rocketed to seven-year highs, and relative strength in ULSD amid soft crude oil prices led the 3:2:1 crack spread versus WTI to best the record highs reached in May 2022 amid Europe's shunning of Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine. The U.S., meanwhile, is set for a macroeconomic data heavy week. Several important macroeconomic indicators, delayed by the U.S. government shutdown and whose absence has complicated deliberations on monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, are scheduled for release this week. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish data on U.S. imports and exports for August on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the Employment Situation report for September, originally scheduled for Oct. 3, on Thursday, Nov. 20, followed by the Real Earnings report for September on Friday.

Oil prices ease after loadings resume at Russian export hub (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Monday as loadings resumed at Russia's Novorossiysk export hub after a two-day suspension at the Black Sea port that had been hit by a Ukrainian attack. Brent crude settled 19 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $64.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $59.91. Sign up here. Both benchmarks rose more than 2% on Friday to end the week with a modest gain after exports were suspended at Novorossiysk and a neighbouring Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, affecting the equivalent of 2% of global supply. Novorossiysk resumed oil loadings on Sunday, according to two industry sources and LSEG data. However, Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure remain in focus. "Early weakness was due to the resumption of loadings in Novorossiysk, but was short-lived," said Scott Shelton, energy specialist at TP ICAP Group. Ukraine's military said on Saturday that it hit Russia's Ryazan oil refinery, and Kyiv's General Staff said on Sunday that the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia's Samara region had also been struck. "Investors are trying to gauge how Ukraine's attacks will affect Russia's crude exports in the long term," Investors are also monitoring the impact of Western sanctions on Russian supply and trade flows. The U.S. imposed sanctions banning deals with Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft after November 21 to try to push Moscow towards peace talks over Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Republicans are working on legislation that will impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia, adding that Iran could be added to that list. OPEC+ this month agreed to increase December output targets by 137,000 barrels per day, the same as for October and November. It also agreed to a pause in increases in the first quarter of next year. An ING report said the oil market was expected to remain in a large surplus through 2026. But it warned of rising supply risks from Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian energy facilities and flagged Iran's seizure of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it transited the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for about 20 million bpd of global oil flows. The choppiness in crude oil prices is likely to remain as the geopolitical risk stays elevated against the expectations of more global crude supplies, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. Latest positioning data shows that speculators increased net long positions in ICE Brent by 12,636 lots over the past reporting week to 164,867 lots as of last Tuesday. ING said this was driven predominantly by short-covering and suggested that participants were reluctant to be short amid supply risks related to sanctions uncertainty. Meanwhile, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo expects oil prices to remain supported. "Rising oil-on-water levels have not yet led to an increase in on-land inventories," Staunovo said in a note. "While we expect prices to dip to the lower part of the trading range over the coming months, we hold a more constructive outlook for the second half of 2026." Oil prices are expected to decline through 2026, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, citing a production surge that will keep the market in a large surplus of around 2 million barrels per day.

Crude Oil: Resumed Russian Exports Strip Geopolitical Premium - A fragile balance in the oil market has emerged as supply normalizes just when geopolitical risk premiums had started to build. The resumption of tanker operations at Russia’s Novorossiysk port, a major export hub, restored physical flow capacity, softening prices in a market recently driven by risk sentiment rather than demand fundamentals. Transportation capacity is the principal transmission channel, and the immediate result is a moderation of the risk premium that had supported prices. Tanker activity is a pivotal indicator because it links geopolitical headlines to actual barrel availability. The market had begun to price in a potential tightening after operations were halted following a Ukrainian drone strike. That halt supported bullish positioning, as tail risks from U.S.-Venezuela tensions and disruptions in Sudan pointed toward constrained supply. When operations resumed, crude flows stabilized, allowing traders to reassess risk exposure. The headline effect faded, revealing that physical supply remains resilient despite persistent geopolitical pockets of uncertainty. These events unfolded against a broader macro backdrop where major central banks are still monitoring disinflation trends and keeping policy conditions restrictive but not aggressively tightening. Slower global manufacturing demand, especially from Europe and parts of Asia, has limited the upside for oil even when supply concerns arise. Market reaction confirmed this shift in tone. Front-month WTI crude futures traded 0.4 percent lower at 59.69 dollars per barrel, while front-month Brent crude futures slipped 0.4 percent to 63.97 dollars per barrel. Price movements suggest traders are unwinding short-term risk premiums rather than positioning for a long-term supply deficit. Brent’s price holding above 60 dollars signals that structural support remains from medium-term demand expectations, while WTI’s dip below 60 dollars hints at weaker U.S. inventory drawdowns. Equity markets typically treat oil softness as marginally disinflationary, offering some relief for sectors sensitive to input costs. The dollar remains sensitive to oil dynamics, as a lower energy complex can temper inflation expectations, reinforcing the view that central bank easing remains a credible theme for later in the year. Looking ahead, the base case assumes that oil stabilizes near current levels if tanker flows remain uninterrupted and geopolitical risk remains localized rather than systemic. In this scenario, prices may fluctuate within a tight range over the next several weeks, with traders focusing on U.S. inventory data, OPEC messaging, and demand signals from Asia. Over the next quarter, positioning could turn constructive if signs of stronger industrial demand emerge or if fiscal stimulus in key economies supports energy consumption. The alternative case centers on renewed supply disruptions, possibly through escalation in the Black Sea or broader sanctions enforcement, which could quickly reintroduce a risk premium. Under such conditions, traders may re-establish long positions, particularly if disruptions coincide with higher seasonal demand during the northern hemisphere’s cold months. .

Oil Prices Steady, ULSD Rises Amid Global Diesel Tightness - Crude oil futures edged up Tuesday morning, while ULSD futures soared to 5-month highs amid a global diesel rally. The NYMEX WTI contract for December delivery edged up $0.07 barrel (bbl) to $59.98 bbl, and ICE Brent for January delivery rose $0.04 to $64.24 bbl. December RBOB gasoline futures softened $0.0114 to $1.9787 gallon. Front-month ULSD futures, meanwhile, were up $0.0660 to $2.6130 gallon after soaring earlier to $2.6262 -- their highest since June. The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.123 points to 99.365 against a basket of foreign currencies. In Europe, diesel fuel has been in short supply by historical standards since the European Union imposed import embargos on Russian oil in reaction to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. A barrage of Ukrainian strikes on Russia's downstream sector since August further put a strain on diesel supply, lifting European and Asian refining margins to 2-year highs last month. Globally, refinery runs were down 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. That same month, the E.U. announced new sanctions that would ban imports of diesel made from Russian crude oil starting Jan. 1, sending diesel prices soaring. New U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Russian oil are one of the few factors still providing a counterbalance to an otherwise gloomy oil price outlook. The global crude oil market appears more than well supplied compared with the Russian situation. Global production in October was 6.2 million bpd higher than at the beginning of the year, according to IEA data. In fact, supply additions have far outpaced demand growth this year, a fact that compelled even the typically bullish Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to acknowledge in its latest monthly oil market report that the supply overhang feared for 2026 had already appeared in the third quarter.

The Market Weighed the Impact of Sanctions on Russia’s Oil Supply - The oil market traded higher on Tuesday as it weighed the impact of sanctions on Russia’s oil supply and the news that the Trump administration had started interviewing for the next Federal Reserve chairman. The crude market continued to retrace Monday’s early gains and breached its previous low as it posted a low of $59.31 in overnight trading. However, the market retraced its losses and rallied sharply higher. The market was supported by the White House statement that U.S. President Donald Trump is willing to sign legislation to impose sanctions on Russia as long as President Trump retains the final authority over its implementation. The market briefly rallied more than $1 to a high of $60.92 in afternoon trading after President Trump announced the Federal Reserve chair interviews. The oil market breached a resistance line at $60.73 and retraced more than 62% of its move from a high of $62.59 to a low of $58.12 as it rallied to its high. The December WTI contract ended the session up 83 cents at $60.74 and the January Brent contract settled up 69 cents at $64.89. The WTI contract later traded to a new high of $60.93 in the post settlement period. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 15.41 cents at $2.7011 and the RB market settling up 92 points at $1.9993. Crude loadings at Russia’s Novorossiysk port are about two to three days behind schedule as damage caused by a November 14th Ukrainian attack has limited the capacity of a key jetty at the terminal. The Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and a neighboring Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal suspended oil exports on Friday after the attack. Novorossiysk resumed crude loadings on Sunday.On Monday, BP said it responded to a release of refined products on the Olympic Pipeline System east of Everett, Washington, and had partially restored part of the system. The BP-operated Olympic shut its pipelines in the area after the discharge on Sunday. The segment of the pipeline system that was not impacted by the issue was restored on Sunday, resuming product delivery on that line. BP said the incident is still under investigation. Marathon Petroleum reported emissions from an aromatics unit No. 2 fugitives F-170 at its 631,000 bpd Galveston Bay, Texas refinery on November 17th. Separately, Marathon reported an emissions event at its 133,000 bpd El Paso refinery linked to the shutdown of a main fractionator reflux pump, which forced the company to begin shutting down process units to stabilize the plant. Marathon also reported unplanned flaring at its 365,000 bpd Carson, California refinery on Sunday as it works to finish upgrading the facility.Valero reported an upset at its delayed coking unit 843 at its 380,000 bpd Port Arthur, Texas refinery that caused a brief flaring event on Saturday.

Oil settles up 1% on Russia sanctions, interviews for next US Fed chair (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday after a choppy session as traders weighed the impact of Western sanctions on Russian oil flows, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump saying his administration had started interviewing for the next Federal Reserve chair. Brent crude settled up 69 cents, or 1.07%, at $64.89 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 83 cents, or 1.39%, to $60.74. . U.S. crude futures briefly rose by more than $1 a barrel in afternoon trade to a session high of $60.92 after Trump announced the Federal Reserve chair interviews. Trump has been vocally critical of current Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates more quickly. “I think this news is supportive of the market because it is obvious what kind of person Trump will bring in for that job. This gave a risk-on type of nudge to the market," Lower borrowing costs typically boost demand for oil and push prices higher. The U.S. Treasury said sanctions imposed in October on Rosneft and Lukoil are already squeezing Russia's oil revenue and are expected to curb its export volumes over time. "Traders weighed the impact of a growing global surplus against U.S. sanctions that are disrupting Russian crude flows," A senior White House official said Trump was willing to sign Russian sanctions legislation as long as he retains final authority over its implementation. Trump said on Sunday that Republicans were drafting a bill to impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia, adding that Iran could also be included. “This Russia sanctions legislation they are kicking around is exactly the type of secondary sanction that could make a real difference. The risk of losing Russian supplies is supportive and it has the attention of the market,” said Kilduff. Russia's Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings on Sunday after a two-day suspension triggered by a Ukrainian missile and drone attack, according to two industry sources and data compiled by LSEG. Exports from Novorossiysk and a nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, together representing about 2.2 million barrels per day, or roughly 2% of global supply, were halted on Friday, pushing crude prices up more than 2% that day. Oil prices are expected to decline through 2026, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, citing a supply wave that keeps the market in surplus. However, it noted that Brent could rise above $70 a barrel in 2026/2027 if Russian output falls more sharply. Meanwhile, U.S. crude and fuel stocks rose last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Crude stocks rose by 4.45 million barrels in the week ended November 14, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.55 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 577,000 barrels from a week earlier, the sources said.

Oil Prices Sink 3% as Rising U.S. Inventories Deepen Oversupply Fears - Oil prices plummeted in early trading on Wednesday as traders reacted to another rise in U.S. oil inventories, and signals continue to mount that global supply is running ahead of demand. At the time of writing, WTI was trading at $58.91 per barrel, down 3.01% on the session... While Brent slipped to $63, down by roughly 2.91%. The drop came after prices had climbed in the previous session on the back of Trump announcing interviews for a new Fed chair, a statement that briefly lifted risk sentiment by reviving expectations of a more growth-friendly monetary stance. The latest report from the American Petroleum Institute was then released,showing U.S. commercial crude stocks rising by about 4.4 million barrels in the week to 14 November, with gasoline and distillate inventories also posting builds. This sizeable increase in crude stocks reinforced the perception that the world’s largest oil consumer is comfortably supplied as the year draws to a close. A survey compiled by The Wall Street Journal andreported by MarketWatch suggests that analysts are expecting a third straight weekly increase in crude inventories in the EIA's figures, which will be released later today. Both the API numbers and the expectation of another build being reported by the EIA today will add to oversupply concerns. The broader supply backdrop has turned steadily more bearish over the past few months, with the IEA warning that the 2026 oil glut could be worse than feared. U.S. crude production climbed to record levels last week, even as drilling activity slowed, and new customs and production data out of China show that the world’s biggest crude importer has been using the recent price moderation to quietly rebuild strategic and commercial stocks rather than ramping up refinery runs. Reuters’ analysis of October flows estimates that China’s combined domestic production and imports exceeded refinery throughput by about 690,000 bpd, the latest in a string of monthly surpluses that have added some 900,000 bpd to stockpiles since March. That pattern – buying extra crude when Brent dips into the mid-$60s – helps absorb some of the surplus on the water but also underlines that end-user fuel demand is not surging; refiners are choosing to store rather than sell. On the back of these developments, analysts are turning increasingly bearish on oil prices. A new oil market outlook from Goldman Sachs this week projects a roughly 2 million bpd global surplus in 2026 as delayed long-cycle projects come online, OPEC+ unwinds more of its remaining cuts, and non-OPEC supply from the U.S. and Brazil continues to edge higher. The bank now sees Brent averaging about $56 and WTI about $52 in 2026, well below current forward prices, with the International Energy Agency’s latest projections pointing to an even larger potential surplus if demand growth underperforms. While those forecasts don’t dictate today’s spot price, they do shape how much risk appetite there is among funds to buy dips in the front of the curve when the medium-term picture is one of abundant supply. The immediate focus is squarely on today’s EIA report, with another sizeable crude build, especially if accompanied by weaker gasoline or distillate demand, keeping pressure on prices into Thanksgiving. A smaller-than-expected build or a surprise draw, particularly in products, could spark a short-covering bounce but would not, on its own, erase the larger narrative of plentiful supply and cautious demand.

Surprise Crude Draw Stabilizes Oil Prices After Early Plunge On Russia Peace Talk Headlines -Oil prices tumbled overnight following API's report suggesting a large build in crude inventories, which would take oil stored in commercial tanks to the highest level in more than five months, if confirmed by official data this morning. The supply buildup may help cushion the impact of US sanctions against Russian producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC that are set to kick in within days, part of efforts to raise the pressure against Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. An Axios report that Washington has been working in consultation with the Kremlin to draft a new plan also eased supply concerns, though Moscow denied any talks. Additionally, Politico reported that the White House is expecting a new peace agreement with Russia by the end of November, which could bring the war with Ukraine to an end. While on the topic of Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told journalists that while the country has under-utilized its OPEC+ allocation recently, within the coming months, Russia will be able to increase oil production to the level permitted under the OPEC+ agreement, he said. "I think within the next few months, perhaps by the end of the year, maybe at the beginning of next year, we will see how the companies [respond]," he said. "In November, production will be higher than in October. I cannot say exactly by how much right now, but there is an increase." So will the official data confirm API's report? API

• Crude +4.4mm
• Cushing -800k
• Gasoline +1.5mm
• Distillates +600k

DOE:

• Crude -3.426mm
• Cushing -698k
• Gasoline +2.327mm - first build in seven weeks
• Distillates +171k

Shocker: while API reported a big build, the official data showed a large crude inventory drawdown last week. Additionally, Gasoline stocks rose for the first time in seven weeks... Graphs Source: Bloomberg. Cushing stocks are hovering near 'tank bottoms' - so much for the SPR rebuild? US Crude production remains near record highs... WTI fell to around $59 overnight and is stabilizing there after the official data report... Finally, Prices were also pressured after failure to break past their 50-day moving average in recent days.

Oil settles down on renewed push to end Russia-Ukraine war(Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday after reports indicated the U.S. is renewing its push to end Russia's war in Ukraine and has drafted a framework for it. Brent crude futures fell $1.38, or 2.1%, to settle at $63.51 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures closed down $1.30, or 2.1%, to $59.44.. The U.S. has signaled to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that his side must accept a U.S.-drafted framework to end the war with Russia, which proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two sources told Reuters. Zelenskiy said U.S. leadership had to remain effective in order to end the war which has lasted more than 3-1/2 years. The Ukrainian President said his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan had proposed different formats for talks. An end to the war in Ukraine might pave the way for higher Russian oil flows, adding to oversupply concerns, analysts said. "With the amount of oil on the water, in floating storage and what has been sanctioned, prices will probably end up in the low $50s as all of that oil that is sanctioned from Russia will probably come to market," said Scott Shelton, energy specialist at TP ICAP Group. Last month, the U.S. announced sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, setting a November 21 deadline for companies to wind down business with the Russian oil majors. The sanctions had already reduced Moscow's oil revenues and are likely to reduce the amount of oil it can sell in the long-term, the U.S. Treasury said on Monday. "There is maximum pressure right now as Friday's deadline is looming," said Rystad Energy oil analyst Janiv Shah, adding that a lower geopolitical risk premium would leave investors focusing more closely on weak market fundamentals. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak denied that the sanctions were harming oil production, and said Russia will reach its OPEC+ production quota by the end of this year or early next year. Supporting oil prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected draw from U.S. crude stockpiles last week on higher refinery runs and exports. The oil market is also suffering "headline fatigue" around Russia-Ukraine news, suggesting will likely stay rangebound in the short term as traders await firm agreements to end the war

Oil Prices Rise Ahead of U.S. Deadline to End Deals with Two Russian Firms --Oil prices climbed on Thursday following losses in the previous session, as markets weighed the latest U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine and prepared for the U.S.-imposed deadline to halt dealings with two major Russian oil companies. Brent crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.33%, to $63.72 per barrel by 01:42 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased 24 cents, or 0.40%, to $59.68 per barrel. Both benchmarks had fallen nearly 2% on Wednesday. Thursday’s gains followed a Reuters report that the United States had signaled to Ukraine to accept a U.S.-crafted framework to end the conflict with Russia, involving concessions of some territory and weapons, according to two sources familiar with the matter. As part of U.S. efforts to end the conflict, Washington imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s largest oil producers and exporters. The deadline to cease dealings with these firms is set for November 21. In response, Rosneft reduced its stake in the Kurdistan pipeline company—a major oil export route in Iraq’s Kurdistan region—to below 50% in order to protect its subsidiary from U.S. sanctions.

Sideways Trading on the Last Day of the December Contract - The oil market on Thursday continued to trend sideways and posted an inside trading day on the December contract’s last day as the spot contract. The market retraced some of its previous losses and posted a high of $60.33 by mid-day. However, the market erased all of its gains and sold off to a low of $58.86 in afternoon trading. The crude market erased its gains as the Trump administration was seeking Ukraine’s acceptance of a peace agreement with Russia to end the war. The market was also pressured as the equities markets sold off sharply following the earlier gains posted in the morning as jobs data clouded the outlook for further U.S. interest rate cuts. The December WTI contract went off the board down 30 cents at $59.14 and the January WTI contract settled down 25 cents at $59.00 and the January Brent contract settled down 13 cents at $63.38. Meanwhile, the product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 10.24 cents at $2.5333 and the RB market settling down 1.37 cents at $1.9184. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and the visiting Secretary of the U.S. Army had discussed ways of achieving peace and pledged both sides would work on the points of a plan to end the war with Russia. He met with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the Army’s Chief of Staff Randy George. Ukraine’s President said he was ready to work with the U.S. on a plan to end the war in Ukraine and added that he expects to discuss it with U.S. President Donald Trump in coming days. Earlier, European countries pushed back on Thursday against a U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine that sources said would require Ukraine to give up more land and partially disarm. The Kremlin said that any peace plan for Ukraine would have to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and that though there were contacts with the United States there were currently no negotiations with Washington on such a plan. Bloomberg reported that U.S. sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil and Rosneft will take effect, jeopardizing about half the country’s crude exports or about 2.2 million bpd. It noted that despite the possible loss of 2% of global supply, oil prices are down about 20% its mid-June peak. It stated that the global market is oversupplied as OPEC+ revives idle output and producers outside the group also increase their output. A glut is forming and will get worse next year, meaning big buyers in India and China are not expecting too much trouble sourcing alternative barrels. Bloomberg also stated that while sanctions may work for a while, its effectiveness declines over time as the oil is eventually expected to find a buyer. On Wednesday, BP shut down the 400-mile Olympic Pipeline following a leak, halting fuel delivery from the system. The company restored one of the two pipelines east of Everett, Washington, on Monday that was shut to determine the source of some product discharge. However, the restored line was shut down again. BP said crews have begun excavation of the pipelines to allow for inspection, without providing a timeline for the repairs.

Oil slides as US pushes for Russia-Ukraine peace deal (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pushed for Ukraine's acceptance of a peace agreement with Russia to end a war that has gone on for more than three years. Brent crude futures settled at $63.38 a barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.2%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $59.14 a barrel, down 30 cents, or 0.5%. Both benchmarks rose earlier in Thursday's session on a larger-than-expected draw on U.S. crude supplies, reported on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S.-Russia peace proposal includes concessions of Ukrainian territory to Russia and reductions in Ukraine's armed forces, both of which Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has previously rejected. On Thursday, Zelenskiy said he would look over the proposal and confer with the United States about the peace plan. "A lot of people thought this new proposal would be dead on arrival with Zelenskiy, but he didn't dismiss it out of hand," "Now the billion-dollar question is are the sanctions going to go into effect tomorrow? If they are close they might get lifted or delayed." U.S. sanctions on trading with Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil come into effect on Friday, while Lukoil has until December 13 to sell its sprawling international portfolio. The bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles reflected increased refining in response to strong margins and export demand for U.S. crude. Crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels to 424.2 million in the week ended November 14, the Energy Information Administration said, against a draw of 603,000 barrels projected by analysts in a Reuters poll. That said, analysts also noted that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased for the first time in more than a month, suggesting slowing consumption.

Oil Market Sentiment Shifts as Peace Prospects Challenge Geopolitical Premium Oil prices are under renewed pressure as signals of potential diplomatic progress in Eastern Europe begin to reshape geopolitical risk expectations. Energy markets reacted to news that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to advance discussions on a U.S.-drafted peace framework, prompting traders to reassess the conflict-related risk premium embedded in crude benchmarks. Brent crude slipped 1.2% to $62.62 a barrel, while WTI declined 1.4% to $58.15. Both are heading for a weekly loss near 3%, reflecting not only softer geopolitical sentiment but also mounting concerns about an oversupplied market.For much of the past two years, geopolitical instability has played a central role in price formation, reinforcing a structural risk premium in Brent and WTI. The possible thaw in geopolitical tensions introduces a pivotal shift. If the conflict risk premium fades, crude pricing could increasingly return to fundamentals: supply capacity, demand resilience, and inventory trends.The market is already adjusting its focus toward supply-side risks. Sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are set to take full effect, and traders are assessing potential disruptions in Russia’s export volumes. However, analysts emphasize that diplomatic progress could change the policy outlook. ANZ notes that a broader peace deal, particularly one that includes the easing of U.S. sanctions, could unlock additional Russian barrels for the global market. That would reinforce supply-side pressure and reduce the probability of a price rebound in the near term.This geopolitical recalibration is coming at a time when inventory levels are rising, refinery demand is seasonally weaker, and non-OPEC production growth remains resilient. The combined effect is shifting sentiment toward a bearish bias, underlining the fragility of the current pricing structure. Brent falling to $62.62 and WTI to $58.15 signals a break below psychological thresholds, increasing the likelihood of technical repositioning. Lower crude prices typically soften inflation expectations, which may indirectly influence rate-sensitive assets. However, the market reaction remains contained within commodity pricing for now. Energy equities also face growing headwinds. If sanctions unwind and Russian crude exports increase, upstream producers could see narrowing margins. Conversely, refiners and consumers in energy-importing economies would benefit from lower feedstock costs.Investor sentiment remains cautious. The decline of nearly 3% across both benchmarks this week indicates that traders are leaning toward supply re-expansion as the dominant narrative. Any confirmation of reduced geopolitical tensions could deepen that move.In the short term, pricing depends on two variables: confirmation of peace progress and clarity on the operational impact of sanctions enforcement.Base case: Diplomatic negotiations move forward, but sanctions remain only partially relaxed. Brent stabilizes in the low $60s, while WTI trades closer to the upper $50s as markets balance geopolitical easing with regulatory uncertainty.Alternative scenario: Peace negotiations accelerate and lead to sanction relief. Russian supply re-enters the market at scale, amplifying oversupply concerns and pushing prices toward deeper correction territory.Upcoming OPEC commentary and monthly market reports will deliver crucial guidance. If OPEC+ signals willingness to counterbalance potential supply increases, price stabilization could emerge. Without intervention, volatility could intensify.

Oil Prices Sink 2.6% After Zelenskyy Agrees to Work on Peace Deal -Oil prices dropped again on Friday morning, bogged down by fresh news that Ukraine's Zelenskyy agreed to work with Washington on a peace plan, a development that could ultimately add fresh barrels into an already fragile market. At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate for December delivery had slipped by 2.51% to $57.52 per barrel... Brent crude, for its part, had fallen 2.19% to $61.99... A continued pullback would mark the third consecutive daily decline for WTI, putting the U.S. benchmark on track for a weekly loss of over 4%, a reflection of broader concerns over global supply growth and a weakening demand outlook. News of Zelenskyy considering the peace proposal comes on the same day that new U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil officially take effect, targeting key subsidiaries in an effort to restrict Kremlin revenue from fossil-fuel sales. While those sanctions should tighten supply, that has largely been baked into markets at this point. Russian Urals crude, already discounted due to sanctions, has been tradingas much as $23 per barrel below other global grades, evidence that sanctions are having an effect. In the U.S., crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell by 3.4 million barrels last week on the back of strong refinery activity. But the bullish inventory surprise failed to lift prices as traders remained focused on the geopolitical picture. Energy markets also faced macro-driven pressure, with Asian stocks declining sharply after Thursday’s U.S. employment data clouded expectations for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts, boosting the dollar and intensifying risk-off sentiment. A stronger greenback, the currency hit a broad rally against major and commodity-linked currencies, further weighed on dollar-priced crude. OPEC+ remains a fundamental force in the overall bearishness of oil markets, with the group committed to boosting production in December before halting output increases in early 2026. If oil prices continue to tumble, then markets will look to the group to rein in its output. In the short term, markets will remain fixated on Kyiv and Washington for the next major signal, one that could determine the trajectory of crude heading into December.

Oil prices settle down at lowest in a month as US seeks Russia-Ukraine peace deal (Reuters) - Oil prices eased about 1% on Friday to settle at one-month lows as the U.S. pushed for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal that could boost global oil supplies, while uncertainty over U.S. interest rates curbed investors' risk appetite. Brent futures fell 82 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $62.56 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 94 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $58.06. Both crude benchmarks were down about 3% for the week and at their lowest settlements since October 21. Market sentiment turned bearish as Washington pushed for a peace plan between Ukraine and Russia to end the three-year war, while sanctions on Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil were set to take effect on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Friday that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom — or Washington’s backing — over a Washington peace plan that , a proposal U.S. President Donald Trump said Kyiv should accept within a week. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that U.S. proposals for peace in Ukraine could be the basis of a resolution of the conflict but that if Kyiv turned down the plan then Russian forces would advance further. A peace deal could allow Russia to export more fuel. Russia was the second-biggest producer of crude oil in the world after the U.S. in 2024, according to U.S. federal energy data. "With the news of talks coming just as U.S. sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies are due to take effect today, oil markets saw some relief on risks to Russian oil supply," said Jim Reid, a managing director at Deutsche Bank. However, a peace deal could be some way off. "An accord is far from certain," ANZ analysts said in a note to clients, adding that Kyiv has repeatedly dismissed Russia's demands as unacceptable. "The market is also becoming sceptical that the latest restrictions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil will be effective," the analysts said. Lukoil has until December 13 to sell its huge international portfolio. A stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on oil prices. The greenback hit a six-month high versus a basket of other currencies, making dollar-priced oil more expensive for many global buyers. On U.S. interest rates, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan called for leaving the policy rate on hold "for a time" while the central bank assesses how much of a brake the current level of borrowing costs is putting on the economy. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said policy was in the right place, suggesting she remains skeptical of the need to cut rates again at next month’s meeting. New York Fed President John Williams said the central bank can still cut interest rates "in the near term" without putting its inflation goal at risk. Lower interest rates could boost economic growth and oil demand. In other economic news, U.S. factory activity slowed to a four-month low in November as higher prices because of tariffs on imports restrained demand, leading to a piling up of unsold goods that could hinder growth in the overall economy.

Oil Drops 4% on Week as Russian Sanctions Deadline Hits -- Crude oil futures settled down almost 4% at the close of the week on Friday, Nov. 21, as concerns about growing global oversupply intensified when U.S. sanctions against Russian companies Rosneft and Lukoil took effect today. The bearish sentiment was due to expectations that millions of barrels of Russian oil could be stranded at sea. Crude buyers and transporters had been given until Nov. 21 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to end trade relationships with Rosneft and Lukoil, otherwise they would face sanctions as well. The Trump administration is attempting to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war by depriving the Kremlin of critically needed oil money. Approximately 48 million bbl of Russian Urals and ESPO crudes from Rosneft and Lukoil were currently on water or in the process of being loaded, according to a Bloomberg report. The Russian supply at sea adds to recent forecasts from the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries indicating that the market was in a glut as of the third quarter. "Indian refiners stopped buying Russian crude and China has also slowed purchases. Yet before we say bingo, petroleum prices are assessing the potential likelihood of a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Russia and Ukraine," Phil Flynn, analyst at Chicago's Price Futures Group, said in a commentary. Media reports stating that the U.S. government has also urged Ukraine to make territorial concessions, as part of a potential deal to end the war with Russia, helped limit some of the pressure on crude prices on Friday. The NYMEX WTI crude futures contract for January delivery settled down $0.94, or 1.6%, at $58.06 bbl. January ICE Brent futures contract fell $0.90, or 1.5%, to $62.48 bbl. WTI and Brent crude benchmarks lost 3.6% and 3%, respectively, on week. The December RBOB gasoline futures contract closed down $0.035 at $1.8834 gallon. Front-month ULSD futures dropped $0.0769 to $2.4564 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.045 points to 100.135 against a basket of foreign currencies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Says IAEA Resolution 'Disrupts' Cooperation - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday condemned a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors, saying that it “disrupts” cooperation between Tehran and the global nuclear watchdog.The 35-member Board of Governors passed a resolution drafted by the UK, France, Germany, and the US that called on Iran to provide “precise information” about its stockpile of enriched uranium and allow IAEA inspectors to access nuclear sites that were bombed by the US during the 12-Day War. The resolution demands that Iran take these steps “without delay.”“These countries, through this action and their disregard for Iran’s interactions and good faith, have undermined the credibility and independence of the Agency and will cause disruption in the process of interactions and cooperation between the Agency and Iran,” Araghchi said after the vote, according to a statement from Iran’s Foreign Ministry.Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA following the 12-day US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic over the agency’s role in providing a pretext for the initial attack and its lack of condemnation of the US and Israeli bombings of Iranian nuclear sites. Tehran also suspects that Israel obtained information about the Iranian nuclear scientists it assassinated from the IAEA.In September, Iran signed a new cooperation deal with the IAEA during talks in Cairo, but that agreement failed to make progress after the UK, France, and Germany triggered the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal, which re-imposed UN Security Council sanctions on Iran. Araghchi said Iran was scrapping the Cairo deal in response to Thursday’s IAEA resolution, though he noted it has been effectively suspended due to the snapback sanctions.

Russia Confirms Ukraine Fired US-Provided ATACMS Missiles Into Russian Territory - The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that Ukrainian forces fired US-provided ATACMS missiles into Russian territory a day earlier.The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine fired the ATACMS at the southern Russian city of Voronezh, while the Ukrainian military said that it struck a military target. “Russian S-400 air defence crews and Pantsir missile and gun systems shot down all ATACMS missiles,” the Russian Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram.According to Reuters, the ministry said the debris from the downed ATACMS damaged a retirement home, an orphanage, and a house in Voronezh, but there were no casualties. The ministry shared photos of the remnants of the downed US-made missiles.Fragment of a US-made ATACMS missile in Russia’s Voronezh region (photo released by Russia’s Defense Ministry)ATACMS have a range of about 190 miles, and the Ukrainian military requires US targeting data to fire them. Ukraine was first given the green light to use the missiles in strikes on Russian territory by the Biden administration toward the end of 2024.According to media reports, the Trump administration had been blocking Ukraine’s use of ATACMS in strikes on Russian territory but recently reversed the policy. Last month, the Ukrainian military said it struck a chemical plant inside Russia using British-provided Storm Shadow missiles, which also require US targeting data.

NATO country's ship explodes in 'drone strike' as WW3 fears explode --A Turkish-flagged tanker, ORINDA, was struck in a reported drone attack near the Port of Izmail in Ukraine, causing a fire on board.The vessel, which was carrying liquified petroleum gas, was hit during evacuation operations, sparking a fire on board. An unidentified missile or rocket slammed into the ship while 16 crew members were evacuating.Thankfully, they managed to escape safely before the fire fully ignited and officials confirmed there were no injuries to the crew. Ukrainian firefighters quickly responded to the scene to support the crew, with Turkish authorities also keeping a close eye on the unfolding situation. It comes after Donald Trump made an incredibly rude gesture to a key figure in the Ukraine War. A more comprehensive assessment of the damage is anticipated once the fire is under control.This isn't the first time a Turkish-flagged ship has been targeted in the Black Sea since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, reports the Express. In 2024, Russia was suspected of launching a missile strike on a Turkish-operated cargo ship transporting Ukrainian grain to Egypt. The incident took place approximately 30 miles off Romania's coastline. The tanker was reportedly hit by a drone© denizhaber Which was outside national waters but within the country's exclusive maritime economic zone.While there were no casualties, the ship suffered significant damage.The year prior, a Turkish-owned cargo vessel was attacked and boarded by the Russian navy.Warning shots from automatic weapons were fired at the ükrü Okan before it was raided via helicopter roughly 37 miles off Turkey's northwest coast.Russia claimed the ship failed to respond when asked to stop.

NATO Scrambles Jets Amid One Of Deadliest Russian Attacks On Western Ukraine - Russia overnight carried out its typical aerial and drone strikes on Ukraine, but this time escalated attacks in Ukraine's West, which apparently were close enough to the border to cause alarm in nearby Poland and Romania. The two NATO member countries scrambled jet fighters in response amid the massive Russian and drone and missile strikes which killed at least 25 people, some of which were reported as children. Romania's defense ministry said that during the attacks on Ukraine a Russian drone entered its sovereign airspace. Its military then scrambled two Eurofighters which are part of NATO's fleet. An additional pair of Romanian F-16s were also sent. Simultaneously, Polish jets were launched to protect Polish airspace on Wednesday morning. "In connection with the attack by the Russian Federation carrying out strikes on facilities located on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation is operating in our airspace," Poland's military announced. All of this caused some regional commercial airport closures:

• Poland temporarily shut down two airports in its southeast, Rzeszow and Lublin, the Polish Civil Aviation Authority said.
• The air hubs were closed to provide freedom for warplanes, the regulator explained.

Russian strikes also focused on Kharkiv, resulting in dozens injured, in the overnight hours. These eastern strikes have become frequent, but large-scale attacks on Western Ukraine are much more rare.Major direct hit on a residential area captured on video from the early morning hours... BBC describes of the carnage, "At least 25 people have been killed including three children in a Russian drone and missile attack on the western city of Ternopil that hit two blocks of flats, Ukrainian rescue officials say.""Another 73 people were wounded, 15 of them children, officials said, in one of the deadliest Russian strikes on western Ukraine since Moscow launched a full-scale war in 2022," the report continues.The attack comes at a moment of 'secretive' US-Russia talks based on a new 28-point peace plan by the Trump White House, but also as Europe is trying to rally bigger, urgent support to Kiev:The Western cities of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk were also hit, which wounded over 30 people, and resulted in buildings and cars destroyed and set ablaze. Russia is rejecting Ukrainian and European assertions it attacked civilian residencies, instead issuing a statement claiming the targets were military-linked defense industry buildings and energy sites:

NATO faces logistics challenge over moving tanks across EU in face of Russian threat - Long overlooked, the question of military mobility has returned to the forefront of Western priorities in response to the Russian threat. Amid delayed investments, bureaucratic hurdles and continued dependence on the United States, Europeans have been striving to build infrastructure capable of supporting the rapid deployment of alliance troops to the eastern flank. If there is one unique feature of the Alsatian detachment of the 6th Equipment Regiment (6th RMAT), it is the two tracks that connect it to the civilian rail network. The service members of this unit, based in Gresswiller, a town of 1,700 residents near France's border with Strasbourg, specialize in operational support and have nicknamed these tracks the Voie-Sacrée, or "Sacred Way," platform. This name pays homage to the vital logistical route that, during the 1916 Battle of Verdun in World War I, allowed troops, munitions and supplies to reach the front line. Beyond the railway line, mechanics, technicians and logisticians work in enormous hangars where equipment is stored, ready to be tested, repaired and shipped to French forces. In a way, it serves as the military's version of Amazon – a logistics hub where convoys can enter or leave through two gates opening directly onto the national railway tracks. This connection to the civilian rail network has proved a valuable asset. Since 2022, military command staffers have learned the lessons of the war in Ukraine, particularly from the failure of Russia's lightning offensive on Kyiv, which stemmed from shortcomings in fuel supply. With the prospect of a Russian military advance beyond Ukraine, into a country belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), having an effective logistical support chain to deploy troops to the eastern flank of Europe once again became a top priority.

As 'Golden Toilet' Corruption Scheme Rocks Ukraine, Support For Zelensky Plunges Below 20% - After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s close associate, Timur Mindich, fled to Israel after allegedly masterminding a €100 million corruption scheme, it appears the Ukrainian public is turning on their leader — at least according to polls cited by a Ukrainian member of parliament. “According to the polls I’ve seen, Zelensky’s popularity has fallen below 20 percent,” said Ukrainian parliament member Yaroslav Zheleznyak.Zheleznyak’s comments came from a video on the Strana media outlet’s Telegram channel, cited by Hirado, On Nov. 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which are independent of Zelensky’s office, announced an investigation into a major corruption case related to the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas.The salacious details saw police raid 70 locations and recover stacks of cash, still with barcodes from U.S. banks, in Mindich’s apartment, along with a golden toilet. The Golden toilet found in Mindich’s apartment. The Times of Israel provides more details in the case. Mindich has reportedly fled to Israel amid a probe of his growing influence within the country’s lucrative industries, and fears that his access was facilitated by his ties to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two were once business partners, and Mindich’s influence had expanded since Zelensky was elected in 2019.Mindich was a co-owner of Zelensky’s production company Kvartal 95, named for the comedy troupe that helped catapult the Ukrainian president to fame as a comedian before he entered politics. Zelensky transferred his stake in the company to his partners after he was elected.Despite expanding his business portfolio since Zelensky’s election, Mindich maintained ties to the entertainment world. Until the corruption probe was exposed this week, he was a producer of the comedy show “Stadium Family” on YouTube. In light of the scandal and his tarnished reputation, the show’s owners shut it down this week.He is also a relative of Leonid Mindich, who was arrested by Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs in June when he was trying to flee the country, according to local reports; he was charged with embezzling $16 million from an electric power company.

Israeli Military Has Killed 266 Palestinians in Gaza Since 'Ceasefire' Went Into Effect: Health Ministry - The Israeli military has killed 266 Palestinians and wounded 635 since the US-backed “ceasefire” deal went into effect on October 10, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday.The Health Ministry said that over the previous 72-hour period, at least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces. The Palestinian news agencyWAFA reported on Sunday that at least one Palestinian was killed by an Israeli airstrike targeting a group of civilians to the east of Gaza City. A source at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza told Al Jazeera that three Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes east of Khan Younis.Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while allegedly crossing or approaching the so-called “yellow line,” the boundary that Israeli troops withdrew to under the ceasefire deal. The IDF has maintained a policy of shooting or bombing anyone who approaches the line, which is not clearly marked for the Palestinians on the ground. Many Palestinians want to return to their homes or the rubble of their homes on the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza.

In the first month of Gaza “ceasefire,” Israel has violated the agreement 282 times - According to information compiled by the Government Media Office in Gaza and reported by Al Jazeera, the Israeli military has repeatedly violated the ceasefire that was imposed on Palestinians by the Zionist state in collaboration with the government of President Donald Trump. The Al Jazeera report says that between October 10 and November 10, Israel breached the agreement at least 282 times, resulting in the death of 242 Palestinians and the wounding of 622. Through ongoing sustained military offensives and occupation actions, Israel has criminally violated the terms of the ceasefire. The Gaza Media Office figures show that Trump’s so-called “peace plan” amounts to a continuation of the campaign of violence and repression that began in October 2023 at the outset of the genocide. Cloaked in the language of “security” and “counter-terrorism,” the ongoing targeted assassinations and airstrikes have repeatedly hit civilian Palestinian infrastructure and humanitarian zones, obliterating homes, schools and medical facilities. Israeli forces have continued to directly target those attempting to deliver and receive humanitarian aid, further deepening the starvation and misery of Palestinians. Despite promises to allow up to 600 aid trucks daily, actual deliveries have fallen far short, a shortage compounded by Israeli announcements to further limit or halt distribution entirely. The overall death toll continues to mount with Gaza’s Ministry of Health now reporting over 69,000 Palestinian dead and tens of thousands more injured, with many bodies still trapped under debris. These figures alone expose any talk of “peace” as a cynical cover for ongoing atrocities. Following Trump’s high-profile Gaza “peace plan,” Israel has escalated its military operations under the banner of restoring order but in reality, orchestrated new massacres. Al Jazeera has detailed several of these episodes, including the deadliest day so far, when Israeli attacks killed 45 Palestinians in a series of coordinated strikes shortly after the ceasefire was proclaimed. The “peace” process coincided with the annexation and permanent occupation of vast sectors of Gaza, while regular killings continued in full view of the world’s population. So blatant are the violations that the Trump-backed plan has been quickly exposed as an instrument for Israel to consolidate its control, with every subsequent action—mass killings, forced displacement, starvation—carried out under its aegis. Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir has openly declared the army’s intention to take control of further areas within Gaza, regardless of the red or yellow lines stipulated in the ceasefire plan. “Our troops continue operating along the Yellow Line to clear the area and eliminate terrorist strongholds,” Zamir stated, making explicit that the military “must be prepared to take control” beyond any established perimeter. Zamir’s public statements show that the Israeli military build-up in Gaza is continuing and that further advances are being prepared, intensifying the ethnic cleansing operation against Palestinians. Israeli officials anticipate that control will soon extend into all of Rafah, Khan Younis and significant portions north of Gaza City, with 75 percent of the territory coming under IDF rule. These policies were put forward as nonnegotiable, placing the continued presence of Israeli troops at the heart of the new Gaza order. Meanwhile, since the Gaza ceasefire on October 10, violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged with frequent raids, shootings, demolitions and settler attacks. The United Nations recorded over 260 settler incidents in October alone, the highest monthly total since record-keeping began in 2006. Israeli settlers have assaulted Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, destroyed crops, burned homes and physically attacked residents, often with the acquiescence or collaboration of Israeli security forces. Israeli military operations have included ground raids in cities like Jenin and Tulkarm, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, including children, and thousands of Palestinians have been arrested or forcibly displaced since October. These attacks have caused immense suffering and displacement amid an environment of ongoing militarization and settlement expansion. This violence is part of increasing aggression across the West Bank, with nearly every governorate witnessing incursions, clashes and settler violence that contribute to what has been described as “slow-motion ethnic cleansing.” Palestinian communities face systematic deprivation, loss of homes and restricted access to essential resources, while Israel pursues legislative and military measures to consolidate control over the territory.

Israel Launches Major Attacks Across Gaza, Killing at Least 28 Palestinians, Including Many Children - The Israeli military launched strikes across Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 28 Palestinians, including 17 women and children, as it continues to violate the US-backed ceasefire deal. The Israeli military claimed that its forces came under fire in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, but provided no evidence, and according to Israeli media, there were no casualties among IDF troops, and the attack occurred on the Israeli-occupied side of the yellow line. Hamas later denied that its fighters fired on Israeli troops, and called the claim “a weak and exposed attempt to justify their ongoing crimes and violations.” Following the alleged incident, the IDF unleashed strikes on Gaza City. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that one Israeli strike targeted the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in southeastern Gaza City, killing at least 10 people, including two women and three children. Al Jazeera reported that a family of five in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood was wiped out by Israeli strikes. In southern Gaza, WAFA reported that at least four Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes on the al-Mawasi tent camp on the coast. The news agency also said that an Israeli attack on a neighborhood of Khan Younis killed two children.

HRW Says Israel's 'Ethnic Cleansing' of West Bank Refugee Camps Amounts to War Crimes - Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday that the Israeli military’s forced displacement of Palestinians in three refugee camps in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank amounts to “ethnic cleansing” and “war crimes.”The IDF began a major military offensive in the northern West Bank in January 2025, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” which began after a temporary Gaza ceasefire deal was reached. The IDF quickly displaced tens of thousands of residents of the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps, and began destroying many of their homes.At the time, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Palestinians wouldn’t be able to return, and he has kept that promise. The HRW said that the approximately 32,000 people who have been forcibly removed from the camps have been unable to return.“Since the raids and forced displacement, Israeli authorities have repeatedly and uniformly denied camp residents the right to return to the camps, even though there are no active military operations taking place in the vicinity,”the report said. “Israeli soldiers have fired upon people trying to reach their homes, while only very few whose homes have been slated for demolition have been permitted a short window to return to collect essential belongings.”Within the first six months of Operation Iron Wall, the Israeli military demolished at least 850 homes and other buildings across the three camps. “With global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank that should be investigated and prosecuted,” said Nadia Hardman, senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Israel's Ben Gvir Calls for the Killing of Palestinian Authority Officials If UN Backs Palestinian State - Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir has called for the assassination of Palestinian Authority officials and for PA President Mahmoud Abbas to be placed in solitary confinement if the UN advances the recognition of a Palestinian state.“A ‘Palestinian’ state of the ‘invented people’ who call themselves ‘Palestinian’ must never be established, because the aspiration of those seeking to establish such a state is to build it on the ruins of the State of Israel,” Ben Gvir said at a meeting of his Jewish Power party, according toThe Times of Israel.“If they accelerate recognition of a Palestinian terror state… orders must be given for targeted killings of senior Palestinian Authority officials — who are terrorists in every respect — as well as an order for the arrest of [Mahmoud Abbas]. There is a solitary confinement cell ready for him in Ketziot Prison,” he added.As the minister of national security, Ben Gvir oversees Israeli prisons, where at least 98 Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, according to new data, due to torture, food deprivation, medical neglect, and other Israeli abuses.Ben Gvir’s call for the killing of PA officials came ahead of a UN Security Council resolution that would authorize the deployment of an “International Stabilization Force” to Gaza. Some states initially objected to the resolution because it made no mention of a Palestinian state, prompting the US to add an amendment that says once the PA “faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced, the conditions may be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”The US issued a joint statement with several Arab states on Friday that said the US resolution “offers a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” But the Israeli government has made clear that it’s very opposed to the establishment of the Palestinian state, and the US plan for Gaza doesn’t address the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the territory.

Israel Attacks UNIFIL Peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon - Adding to a growing number of such incidents, the UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported on Sunday that the Israeli military attacked their personnel. This incident saw Israeli tanks fire on the UNIFIL near one of the military outposts the IDF has built in Lebanese territory. No UNIFIL troops were injured in the incident, though they had to hunker down in a position for 30 minutes before withdrawing from the area. The IDF claimed the weather was poor and they mistook the UNIFIL for “suspects,” though they also claimed firing on them was not “deliberate.” This is the first Israeli attack on the UNIFIL this month, but in October, they had two incidents in which Israeli drones dropped grenades on the UNIFIL, one of which wounded a UNIFIL member. The IDF continually referred to the UNIFIL as “suspects.”