Saturday, 19 September 2026

The Bank of England kept UK Bank Rate at 3.75% on Thursday in a 6-3 vote, according to Market Business News. Policymakers signaled they are prepared to raise rates if energy prices stay high, Hellenic Shipping News reported.

Governor Andrew Bailey warned that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East may require tighter policy, according to Global Banking and Finance and Channel News Asia. The Bank said higher energy prices could push UK inflation above 4% in early 2027, Market Business News reported.

The Bank judged there was little evidence so far of material second-round effects, when a temporary cost shock feeds into wage demands or broader price-setting, but said that risk would rise if higher energy prices persisted, according to Market Business News.

The hold came as major central banks moved onto a tightening path, with the Federal Reserve recalibrating its policy to a more restrictive stance on Wednesday, Global Banking and Finance and Channel News Asia reported.

Falling crude prices and softer bond yields lifted US equities on Thursday, recovering most of the week's losses, according to reporting carried by the Sun Sentinel, Newsday, The Korea Times and BNN Bloomberg.

Brent crude slid 2.3% in one account of the session, while a separate report from the Times Colonist put the decline at 1%. The pullback in oil was cited alongside easing pressure from the bond market as the trigger for the reversal in equities.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.95% from 5.01% late Wednesday, per the Sun Sentinel and Newsday.

Equity benchmarks moved higher across the board. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.7%, according to the Times Colonist.

Asian spot liquefied natural gas prices have more than doubled to $26 per million British thermal units, the highest level since December 2022, according to Reuters. Reuters reports that Asian LNG demand is on track to fall for a second straight year as the US-Israeli war on Iran curtails Gulf supplies, tightens market availability and pushes prices to multi-year highs that destroy consumption.

Analysts cited by Reuters estimate the region's demand will drop between 3% and 10% from 2025 levels, with Northeast Asia bearing most of the decline.

Prices have continued to climb since. Energy Intelligence assessed spot LNG in Northeast Asia at $28.40 per MMBtu for deliveries one to two months ahead, up $2.70 from the prior week, according to Oilprice.

The supply squeeze is reshaping European procurement as well. Anadolu Agency reports that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and outages at Qatar's LNG export facilities are tightening global gas markets and pushing the European Union to seek alternative supplies and greater flexibility ahead of winter. EU gas storage facilities were about 69% full in mid-September, per Gas Infrastructure Europe data cited by Anadolu Agency.

ExxonMobil is close to signing a preliminary deal to explore investments in several Venezuelan oil fields, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Under the potential agreement, Exxon would partner with state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), according to Semafor. The fields covered by the prospective arrangement contain as many as 50 billion barrels of crude.

Semafor framed the move as a return for the company two decades after its exit from the country.

Renewables supplied nearly 80% of Australia's main grid on a spring Friday afternoon, a record share driven by rooftop solar, according to RenewEconomy.

OpenElectricity.org data cited by RenewEconomy put the renewable share of the National Electricity Market at 79.5% at 1.30 pm on Friday September 18, above the previous high of 78.6% recorded at 11.30 am the same day.

RenewEconomy attributed the record to an abundance of rooftop solar generation on the NEM.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released its Annual Technical Report on ReFuelEU Aviation, drawing on 2025 data, according to CleanTechnica.

CleanTechnica reports that the document offers the first full picture of the EU sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market since the mandatory targets under ReFuelEU Aviation came into force.

Petrobras has secured eight offshore blocks in Côte d'Ivoire, according to Offshore Magazine.

On the awarded acreage, Petrobras will hold a 90% operated interest, with the remaining 10% assigned to PETROCI, per Offshore Magazine.

Separately, the government of Senegal plans to market 109 oil and gas blocks to local and international investors, Offshore Magazine reported. The plan would leave only four of Senegal's 113 blocks under contract.

Major Asian economies are drawing revenue from the global buildout of AI infrastructure by producing the high-end equipment feeding the worldwide data center boom, economists told Semafor Net Zero.

Goldman Sachs economists said corporate profits are climbing quickly at manufacturers serving that demand, lifting tax receipts in Seoul and Taipei and financing higher government spending in both capitals.

Barclays said Japan sits further up the supply chain, producing the semiconductor manufacturing equipment used by other Asian economies making chips for AI systems.

Centrus Energy has signed a definitive multi-year contract to supply Antares Nuclear with High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), with deliveries starting before the end of the decade, according to Neutron Bytes.

The agreement includes prepayments from Antares to support expanded HALEU production capacity, Neutron Bytes reported. Centrus is ramping output at its American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio.

The contract is intended to secure a reliable domestic HALEU source for Antares advanced reactor projects, including space and U.S. national security missions, per Neutron Bytes.

Energy consultancy Xodus estimates the Asia Pacific carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) market could reach as much as GBP 187.8 billion (USD 255 billion) by 2035 under an accelerated deployment scenario, according to a regional assessment reported by World Oil.

The study frames the opportunity against the region's emissions footprint. Xodus said the Asia Pacific area covered by the assessment accounts for more than half of global carbon dioxide emissions, giving it outsized weight in any scenario for carbon capture, CO2 transport and geological storage.

Cross-border trade in captured CO2 is central to the higher-ambition case. Under Xodus' more ambitious deployment scenario, seven countries could export roughly 83 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, rising to nine exporting countries and 145 million tonnes annually by 2035.

Xodus cautioned that the headline figures depend on clearing several hurdles. The consultancy said regulatory, commercial and technical barriers must be addressed for CCUS projects in the region to advance.

The US Department of Energy issued an emergency order to reduce blackout risk across the Mid-Atlantic, citing forecast hot weather and planned transmission outages, according to a September 17, 2026 statement from the department.

The order directs PJM Interconnection to dispatch specified resources and to order their operation as needed to keep the grid reliable, the DOE said.

It also authorizes PJM to call on backup generation as a last resort ahead of, or during, an Energy Emergency Alert 3, per the same DOE release.

The measure took effect on issuance on September 17, 2026 and runs through September 18, 2026, according to the DOE.

Hyundai has opened orders for the Staria Electric van across Europe and other global markets following its earlier launch in Korea, according to Electrek.

In Germany, the van starts at EUR 57,450, or about USD 66,500, Electrek reported.

Electrek said the Staria Electric seats nine passengers.

The van uses an 800V electrical architecture, and Electrek reported its battery can charge from 10% to 80% in about 20 minutes at a 350 kW DC fast-charging station.

The jackup Valaris 104 is being shipped to Batam, Indonesia, for conversion into a mobile offshore production unit rated to handle 172 MMcf/d of raw gas, according to Offshore Magazine.

On the contracting side, Transocean has won an approximately USD 80 million job for the Deepwater Conqueror drillship offshore Equatorial Guinea, Offshore Magazine reported.

Noble Corp. picked up two new jackup contracts in Norway, per the same report.

Eni exercised a nine-month extension option on Borr Drilling's Bestla jackup offshore Europe, adding to the contractor's backlog, according to Offshore Magazine.

The Valaris 104 was wet-towed through the Strait of Hormuz and loaded onto a heavy-lift vessel for the voyage to Batam, where the conversion to a production unit will take place.

BYD launched the 2027 Atto 2 in China on Thursday, adding a longer-range variant to the lineup for its top-selling small electric SUV, according to Electrek. Electrek reports the upgraded model starts at about USD 11,000.

A new Excellent variant offers up to 501 km of range with a 51.13 kWh battery, per Electrek.

Electrek reports the base 301 km variant keeps the same starting price, while the 401 km variant comes in about CNY 18,000, or USD 2,500, below the current Yuan Up.

Skyborn Renewables has reached financial close on the 976.5-MW Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, according to Offshore Magazine.

The milestone locks in the project's debt and equity financing, power purchase arrangements, and its key supply and installation contracts, the outlet reported.

Gennaker is now moving into the execution phase, with commercial operations expected by the end of 2028, per Offshore Magazine.

Panasonic Energy has opened a lithium-ion battery research and development center in Kadoma, near Osaka, according to electrive.

The site, called Energy Innovation Square, is expected to house around 500 employees working on next-generation battery cells and materials, electrive reported.

Panasonic Energy is targeting a doubling of battery development efficiency by fiscal year 2031, which ends in March 2031, compared with fiscal year 2024, per electrive.

To support that goal, the company is bringing together development and prototyping activities that had been split across multiple sites. Consolidation is expected to cut development times, including associated transportation, by more than 15%, according to electrive.

Grid operator Eon Edis withdrew previously agreed import capacity for a newly opened 69 MW solar-plus-storage plant in northeastern Germany, restricting its 76.5 MWh battery to storing only electricity generated on-site, according to ESS News.

The operating company has escalated the dispute, sending a letter from its lawyers to Eon Edis seeking to restore the battery's import capacity.

At stake is the battery's commercial model. If import capacity is restored, the unit could also operate as a grid-charged storage system, expanding its potential revenue streams beyond shifting on-site solar output, per ESS News.

Egypt is coupling a planned 2,000 MW wind power project in the Gulf of Suez with the country's first wind turbine manufacturing plant, linking renewable capacity growth to domestic industrial build-out.

The development is being carried out in partnership with China's SANY Renewable Energy. Grid connection to Egypt's national electricity network is targeted within about 23 months of the completion of final agreements.

The planned factory is expected to supply turbines for Egyptian renewable energy projects, with potential to serve markets across Africa and the Middle East.

The US national average price of gasoline rose 7.1 cents to $4.438, marking the 17th increase in 18 days.

In Riverside County, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline climbed 3.8 cents to $6.026, crossing the $6 threshold for the first time since May 26.

San Diego County's average reached $6.157 after a 4.3-cent gain, its highest level since May 22. That move was the 29th increase in 30 days for the county, according to KPBS.

Telangana is weighing floating solar projects as part of its response to rising power demand, according to Construction World. Minister Vikramarka said such projects would be taken up wherever they were technically and economically viable.

The state government plans to provide 2,000 MW of solar power to farmers under the PM-KUSUM scheme, Construction World reported.

Authorities are also examining a pilot to solarise about 80 villages in the Amrabad tribal region, using household solar panels feeding a micro-grid, per the same outlet.

National Fuel Gas Company is studying whether to break itself into two listed entities, one containing its regulated gas infrastructure and the other its Appalachian upstream and gathering arm, citybiz reported.

The board expects to finish its review by October 15, 2026, according to citybiz. Any deal would still need board sign-off.

One of the resulting entities, built around the Integrated Upstream and Gathering unit, would produce and gather natural gas in Appalachia as a separately listed company. The other would hold gas utilities and interstate pipeline and storage assets in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, leaving it 100% rate-regulated.

Rescue crews in Nepal pulled four bodies from a hydropower plant tunnel as searchers continue looking for people still missing after a flash flood, according to Event Registry.

Nepal's army said the remains were recovered from the Chilime Hydropower plant on the Trishuli River, which was inundated on August 26. The army also reported recovering a body part alongside the four bodies.

Access to the tunnels has been slowed by thick mud, debris and damaged infrastructure, per the same reporting.

BOSTenergies said the reduction in its fuel export volumes to Burkina Faso and Mali is not caused by an imminent fuel shortage in Ghana.

The company attributed the cut in supplies to the two Sahelian countries largely to ongoing revamp works at its Bolgatanga depot.

While that facility is being upgraded, BOSTenergies said it has continued serving the regional market by moving fuel from its coastal depot in Tema using Bulk Road Vehicles.

Full regional supply capacity will be restored once the Bolgatanga depot revamp is completed, according to the company.

Industrial energy developer Kanin Energy has raised up to $100 million in new equity financing to accelerate deployment of projects that convert industrial waste heat into electricity across North America.

The round was led by S2G Investments, which committed up to $50 million, alongside the Canada Growth Fund (CGF), which matched that commitment with up to $50 million.

Kanin said the capital will scale its Energy-as-a-Service model, under which the company finances, develops, builds, and operates waste-heat-to-power (WHP) and other heavy-industry projects for industrial operators. The company said the arrangement is designed to reduce customers' cost of power, improve reliability, and cut emissions.

India's infrastructure investment cycle has yet to turn decisively, according to a commentary published by The Economic Times, which found that rising public capital expenditure has supported growth while weak private participation continues to hold the cycle back.

Private infrastructure investment has stagnated at a low level since COVID, the outlet reported.

World Bank data cited by The Economic Times show the scale of the retreat. Private participation in infrastructure peaked during the 2008-12 period, with financial closure of 453 projects accounting for USD 170 billion of investment. In the most recent five years covered by the World Bank's PPI database, 2020-24, that had fallen to 119 projects accounting for USD 36 billion.

The outlet argued that the surge in capital expenditure by India's central government, not all of which is infrastructure investment, is substituting for the low level of private infrastructure spending rather than crowding in new private capital.

Costco is restricting customers to two boxes of synthetic motor oil per week as a supply crunch persists, according to KTNV. The retailer is among those imposing new purchase limits amid the ongoing shortage.

Pricing has moved sharply. A two-pack of Kirkland Signature five-quart full-synthetic bottles now sells for USD 58, up from about USD 30 at the same point a year earlier, KTNV reported.

The squeeze traces to refinery output decisions. KTNV reported that the shortage began in May as refineries prioritized producing more gasoline.

Samsung E&A announced a full-scale entry into the LNG plant market with the unveiling of its LNG Module Package at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The company said the package is optimized for small and medium-sized LNG projects and modularizes key liquefaction plant processes. It combines Samsung E&A's proprietary modular technology with Honeywell Technologies' AP-SMR single mixed refrigerant liquefaction process.

Samsung E&A said the integrated, pre-engineered solution can reduce total project duration by around 20% across phases from initial development through full EPC execution.

UK household energy bills could rise between 25% and 30% in the first quarter of 2027 as natural gas prices climb and the Middle East crisis continues, according to analysts cited by Oilprice.

EDF projected that Ofgem would lift the household energy price cap by 30% for the January to March 2027 window. The utility's forecast puts the cap at GBP 2,165 a year for a typical household over that quarter, compared with GBP 1,723 for October to December 2026, according to Oilprice.

Analysts warned the government may need to spend more on measures to ease the cost-of-living crisis if the increases land as projected.

The Queensland government has selected a joint venture led by Omega Oil & Gas as preferred tenderer for petroleum acreage in the state's onshore Taroom Trough.

The award covers the PLR2026-1-10 petroleum land release area. The landholding spans 1,138 square kilometres and adjoins the lower portion of Omega's wholly owned Canyon project, where current drilling is demonstrating a resource base according to the reporting.

The acreage sits on what the reporting describes as the highly prospective eastern flank and southernmost part of the trough.

Oil futures turned lower on Sept. 16, according to Petroleum News. WTI dropped $3.40 and Brent lost $2.92 the same day, the outlet reported.

The pullback followed remarks from U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who told CNBC on Sept. 15 that the East-West pipeline outage was a "brief and temporary interruption" that "will be measured in days," per Petroleum News.

Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras has signed production-sharing contracts for eight exploratory offshore blocks in Ivory Coast, extending its push into Africa, according to Bloomberg.

The blocks sit on what geologists call the equatorial margin, off the West African coast, where Petrobras will hunt for oil.

Petrobras has not disclosed the cost of the eight contracts, when drilling will start, or which blocks are prioritized.

PJM Interconnection asked large electricity consumers across 13 states to reduce usage as high temperatures pushed up power demand and raised the risk of blackouts, according to Reuters.

The grid operator said roughly 36,000 MW of generation was offline at the time, shrinking the pool of available supply, Reuters reported.

Reuters described PJM as the top US electric grid operator, and framed the appeal to big users as a step tied directly to warm weather stoking demand.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a 90-day waiver temporarily raising the maximum on-duty driving time for truck drivers hauling gasoline and diesel to 16 hours within a 24-hour window, up from the standard 14-hour limit, according to The Hill.

The waiver took effect on Wednesday and expires on December 16, The Hill reported.

Eligibility is limited. In a release cited by The Hill, the Transportation Department said the waiver applies only to drivers in good standing and excludes anyone holding a conditional safety rating or an active out-of-service order.

Angola's minister of mineral resources, oil and gas, Diamantino Azevedo, reaffirmed on Thursday in Luanda that the country remains committed to attracting investment to the sector to halt the decline in production and promote national development, according to AllAfrica.

Separately, Angolan investor Zandre Campos has acquired a stake in Refriango, described by Billionaires Africa as the largest and best known beverage company in Angola, through his investment firm ABO Capital.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the Starlight Solar power and battery storage project for the unincorporated East County community of Boulevard, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The paper reported the vote proceeded despite objections from residents who argued the clean energy project raised safety concerns.

Starlight Solar pairs a solar farm with up to 100 MW of generating capacity and a 217 MW battery energy storage system, per the Union-Tribune.

Separately, oilprice.com reported that MOL opened a project combining a 37.4 MWp solar park with a battery energy storage system rated at 20 MW and 40 MWh, which the outlet said would allow MOL to store surplus renewable electricity and help manage fluctuations in power generation.

Economists are sharply divided on where oil prices head next, with forecasts submitted to the Bureau of Market Research and Unisa Economist of the Year Competition placing fourth-quarter Brent crude between about USD 65 and USD 95 a barrel.

The range reflects submissions from 44 private- and public-sector economists taking part in the competition. Rising oil prices can be critical drivers of headline inflation, and views on their trajectory remain far apart.

Professor Carel van Aardt, project lead for the competition, said the forecasts were less pessimistic than he had expected, and that economies appeared to be adapting to the Middle East conflict, treating it as a persistent condition rather than a short-lived shock.

Verdant Energy has arranged up to USD 25 million in non-recourse project financing from responsAbility Investments AG to grow its commercial and industrial solar portfolio in Thailand, according to SolarQuarter.

The deal was announced on September 16, 2026.

SolarQuarter reports the facility is being deployed through responsAbility's USD 500 million Climate Investment Strategy for Asia.