Thursday, 10 September 2026

US crude oil production is set to average a record 13.8 MMbpd in 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, reported by World Oil. That would beat the previous annual record of 13.7 MMbpd set in 2025.

Output has already run at that record pace. Production averaged 13.7 MMbpd during first-half 2026, up roughly 300,000 bpd, or 2%, from the same period a year earlier, World Oil reported.

The Permian basin remains the largest single contributor. EIA forecasts Permian crude production will average 6.8 MMbpd this year, a 3% gain on 2025, supported by higher oil prices and continued oil-directed drilling.

Prices have moved in the producers' favor. WTI crude averaged USD 84 per barrel through August, against USD 65 per barrel in 2025, according to World Oil.

Offshore volumes grew faster in percentage terms than the national total. Federal offshore crude production rose by about 200,000 bpd, or 10%, in first-half 2026 versus the same stretch of 2025. For the full year, EIA expects Gulf production to add 3%, or roughly 100,000 bpd.

New deepwater capacity is behind part of that gain. The Shenandoah floating production unit has averaged approximately 70,000 bpd since coming online in July 2025, World Oil reported.

TotalEnergies is accelerating development of the Acacia-5 oil discovery offshore Angola and targeting first production three months after the find, according to World Oil.

The well was drilled on Block 17, where the company holds a 38% operated interest, and the discovery dates to June 2026, World Oil reported.

Rather than build new facilities, the operator will tie the discovery into spare capacity on the existing Pazflor floating production, storage and offloading vessel. World Oil put the expected contribution at approximately 6,000 bpd of additional Block 17 output.

Separately, TotalEnergies signed agreements with Angola's Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG) to take 40% operated interests in exploration Blocks 17/25 and 32/21 in the Lower Congo basin, per World Oil.

Chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said exploration is a key pillar of the company's ambition in Angola, supported by incentives introduced to encourage investment.

Saipem and Jan De Nul have signed a letter of intent with ExxonMobil covering preliminary work on the offshore portion of the Rovuma LNG Phase 1 development in Mozambique, ahead of a possible engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The initial scope is worth about USD 12.7 million (EUR 11 million) and covers limited preliminary engineering and procurement plus other technical services aimed at advancing project definition and execution planning, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

ExxonMobil Moçambique Limitada signed the letter of intent on behalf of Mozambique Rovuma Venture, which represents the Area 4 partners ENH, CNPC, ENI, KOGAS and XRG.

A final EPCI award to the Saipem-Jan De Nul consortium depends on a positive final investment decision by the Area 4 partners, together with government and regulatory approvals, which Offshore Engineer OEDigital said are expected in 2026.

The planned development would produce gas from 18 subsea wells, moved through a network of subsea pipelines and manifolds.

Vår Energi has awarded Odfjell Drilling a multi-year drilling contract for the semi-submersible rig Deepsea Bergen, with firm backlog valued at about USD 518 million, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The work pushes the rig's firm contract backlog out to the first quarter of 2031, OEDigital reported.

The award lands less than 12 months after Odfjell Drilling bought the Deepsea Bergen, per the same report. OEDigital put the firm portion of the contract at roughly USD 518 million.

The rig was delivered in 2019, has a maximum drilling capacity of 12,000 m and berths for 180 people, according to OEDigital.

Senegal will offer 109 oil and gas blocks to local and foreign investors at a roadshow, energy minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The offer covers almost the entire national acreage. Diouf said Senegal holds 113 blocks in total, and only four of them are currently under contract, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Diouf tied the opening to domestic industrial policy, saying the president's plan is to create local leaders in the energy, oil and gas sectors.

The average US price of diesel stood at $5.98 per gallon as of September 10, according to AAA figures cited by Grist. That is roughly $2.31 above the level of late February, when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.

California drivers pay far more. A gallon of diesel currently costs $7.91 in the state, Grist reported.

The war has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which once carried 10 percent of seaborne diesel, according to Grist.

Domestic supply has thinned alongside the trade disruption. US diesel inventories sit at their lowest level since 1982, based on Energy Information Administration data cited by Grist.

The fuel has repriced faster than gasoline. Diesel is up 61 percent against a 41 percent rise in gasoline, per Grist.

That gap carries a bill for households. A Brown University tracker cited by Grist puts the added cost to US consumers at $46 billion, or about $350 per household.

The last comparable run-up came in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and diesel reached $5.82 per gallon, according to Grist.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is looking at further financing in Angola's oil and gas sector after putting close to USD 2 billion into the industry, according to World Oil, with the emphasis on widening the ownership and operating roles held by local companies.

The bank set out a pipeline of Angolan energy investment opportunities: USD 2.5 billion tied to Lobito Oil, USD 1 billion for Sonangol, USD 1.4 billion for Amufert and USD 280 million for Itracom, World Oil reported.

Those plans were presented at a Local Content Development Forum in Luanda, where government agencies, financial institutions, operators and Angolan companies reviewed financing and investment options across the country's energy sector, according to World Oil.

"The next phase is about enabling more Angolan companies to move from participation and service provision towards ownership and scale," said Haytham Elmaayergi.

US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 400,000 bbl in the week ended Sept. 4, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported by Oil & Gas Journal.

Refiners drove the draw. US refineries processed 17.6 million b/d over the week and ran at 97.8% of capacity, per the EIA.

Product stocks moved the other way. Total motor gasoline inventories rose 1.3 million bbl from the prior week and sit 5% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said. Distillate inventories climbed 2.1 million bbl and remain about 13% under the five-year average.

Propane-propylene stocks added 3.1 million bbl, leaving them 27% above the five-year average, according to the EIA.

Crude oil imports averaged 6.8 million b/d, an increase of 53,000 b/d week on week.