Saturday, 26 September 2026

The Henry Hub natural gas spot price averaged $2.93 per million British thermal units from June through August, 6% lower than the same period a year earlier, according to reporting carried by Hellenic Shipping News.

Several supply and demand factors capped the market. Increased renewable electricity generation, record natural gas production, and ample inventories helped limit upward pressure on prices, per the same reporting. Maintenance at liquefied natural gas terminals moderated demand growth from that sector over the summer.

JPMorgan's commodities team has told clients it can no longer reliably model where crude prices go from here, according to reporting by Fox Business's Teuta Dedvukaj cited by The Financial News.

The bank abandoned its "baseline view" on oil prices as the White House's on-again, off-again Iran negotiations dragged into their seventh month, per the same reporting. The baseline represents the benchmark targets weighing various factors that influence oil markets.

A JPMorgan executive said the team continues to publish estimates but wanted to acknowledge that the endgame has become hard to model given ongoing volatility and a wide range of potential outcomes.

Truckers rolled through a go-slow convoy on a north-central Portugal motorway on Friday, Lusa reported.

The column stretched 150 km (93 miles) from Paredes down to Coimbra. The drivers want access to the same partial refunds on the tax on petroleum products that freight and passenger transport companies already collect.

Lisbon commuters joined the day of action by sounding horns on the capital's main bridge, protesting fuel prices. Aristides Teixeira of the Ponte 25 de Abril Users' Association told Lusa the group is pushing to bring back remote working, first used during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to suspend both bridge tolls and the 23% value-added tax on fuel.

Brent crude futures climbed back above USD 104 a barrel in early Thursday trading after Iran threatened to widen the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean and optimism around U.S.-Iranian talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly faded, according to Gulf Insider.

The move reversed later in the session. The November ICE Brent contract settled down USD 1.85 at USD 104.75 a barrel.

Continuing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz were affecting oil and gas exports and the wider global economy, with the conflict approaching its seventh month.

Nigeria's Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has started defining the measurable conditions that would move the country's domestic gas market to a willing-buyer, willing-seller commercial framework, according to Nigerian News Direct.

The regulator's approach ties the shift to market maturity rather than a fixed switch-on date, according to Prime Business Africa.

Umar said the framework will assess gas supply, market participation, infrastructure access, contract performance, payment discipline, reliable market data and credible price signals, Prime Business Africa reported.

Fuel oil inventories at the world's main bunkering hubs are running about 30% below their three-year seasonal averages, according to data compiled by Reuters covering Singapore, Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp and Fujairah. The drawdown reflects a growing squeeze on the residual fuel used by ships and power plants as refiners tilt output toward diesel and other higher-value products.

The reallocation is being driven by war-related disruption to crude processing and tanker traffic, which is pushing refiners to prioritise middle distillates at the expense of fuel oil, according to the TELS Global report.

On the diesel side, Russia's withdrawal from export markets is amplifying the strain. Russia normally runs an annual diesel surplus of more than 30 million tonnes, and its absence, combined with disruption in the Gulf, has sent diesel prices to record levels from Iowa to Paris, according to Intellinews.

Russian refining outages remain substantial. Seala AI estimated that as of September 24, about 477,000 tonnes per day of Russia's primary refining capacity was idle for unplanned repairs, according to Intellinews.

Crude oil and long-dated US government bond yields rose in tandem Thursday, tightening financial conditions across risk assets. Brent settled up 3.4% at $106.60, according to Benzinga, while WTI gained about 2.7% to $94.61.

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.18%, Benzinga reported, rising seven basis points on the day and 17 basis points from the previous Friday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.02% on the session.

The move at the long end extended further out the curve. Per Investing.com, 30-year Treasury yields pushed to their highest levels since 2004, with the selloff spreading across the US, Europe and Japan.

Saudi-led coalition air defenses shot down all six projectiles aimed at the kingdom, with the intercepts recorded over Yanbu and Taif, according to Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the coalition, in remarks reported by Eastern Herald.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Egypt were relaying an Iranian framework proposing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports, paired with a 60-day regional ceasefire, Eastern Herald reported.

No US-Iran truce had been agreed, according to International News and Views.

Diesel prices reached a nationwide record of USD 8.4387 per gallon, Event Registry reported.

Southern California diesel prices in September were about USD 3.27 per gallon above the California average a year earlier, according to AAA Fuel Prices.

The high prices have burdened truckers and added to the financial strain on smaller trucking companies in California, Event Registry reported.

Peabody Energy, Union Pacific and Ferromex shipped coal from Peabody's North Antelope Rochelle surface mine in Wyoming through Mexico to Vietnam in a pilot project, Event Registry reported.

According to Event Registry, the test shipments traveled by rail from Gillette to Nogales and then to Guaymas, where the coal was loaded onto ships bound for Vietnam.

Union Pacific and Peabody described the shipments as a feasibility test, while future runs will depend on market conditions, Event Registry reported.

NIPCO Group plans to develop a floating LNG facility in Nigeria valued at more than USD 3 billion, according to Energy Focus Report and Majorwaves Energy Report.

The proposed facility is envisaged to produce approximately 3 million tonnes of LNG per year, subject to studies, project economics, approvals and final investment decisions, the outlets reported.

Its final location will depend on an ongoing feasibility study, with the Escravos region of Delta State and the Akwa Ibom region under consideration.

NIPCO is also exploring a strategic partnership with NNPC to develop the project, according to the reports.

Event Registry reported that Brent crude moved back toward $106 per barrel as Iran threatened to expand the conflict toward the Indian Ocean.

The source said Saudi Arabia reported intercepting six Houthi ballistic missiles.

India's economy is vulnerable to the Strait of Hormuz closure because most of its oil is imported through the strait, according to Event Registry.

Higher crude oil prices put pressure on India's inflation, current account deficit, corporate margins and currency, the source reported.

Squamish council voted 5-2 on Sept. 22 to withhold three readings from a proposed financial arrangement with Woodfibre LNG, Event Registry reported.

The rejected arrangement would have provided the Squamish community with at least $142 million over a decade, according to Event Registry.

Woodfibre LNG expressed disappointment after the council declined the agreement.

The company said it was reviewing the decision and considering its next steps, including a standstill agreement related to existing litigation.

Rystad Energy models Venezuelan crude production reaching around 1.6 million barrels per day by 2028 and 1.8 million barrels per day by 2030, provided capital deployment, rig availability and oilfield services scale as required.

Venezuela's upstream oil sector is attracting its broadest pool of international operators and capital in decades, Event Registry reported.

Baker Hughes reported two active drilling rigs in Venezuela as of August, compared with the Hydrocarbons Ministry's target of around 93 rigs by 2028.

Rystad estimates that supporting its modeled production pathway would require around 50 rigs by 2028 and nearly 80 by 2030.

Seatrium completed its seventh floating storage and regasification unit conversion for Karpowership, according to Offshore Magazine.

Offshore Magazine reported that Seatrium confirmed the sailaway of LNGT Türkiye after converting the LNG carrier at Admiralty Yard.

The companies also signed a letter of intent covering three more LNG carrier-to-FSRU conversions, including the subsequently awarded LNGT Karadeniz project, according to Offshore Magazine.

More than 100 oil-bearing communities protested in Port Harcourt, Niger Delta, demanding alleged ground-rent arrears of NGN 87 billion from Renaissance Africa Energy Company, according to Event Registry.

Chief Ayiba Job, speaking for the communities, alleged that Renaissance Africa Energy had refused to settle the claimed payments.

Renaissance executive Igo Weli said the company had met its agreed obligations and held signed confirmation from the landlords.

Oil companies without previous investment agreements may sign new deals between January 1 and September 30, 2026, according to Event Registry.

The commissioning period under the new agreements has been extended through 2033, Event Registry reported.

The amendments do not apply to agreements concluded before the decree took effect, according to the source.

Gardaí in Cork warned that thieves were siphoning diesel directly from vehicle tanks as fuel costs soared, Event Registry reported.

According to Event Registry, diesel was priced at EUR 2.20 per litre at many forecourts across Cork.

The US national diesel price reached a record USD 6.53 per gallon in September 2026, driven by disruptions from the war in Iran and rising autumn harvest demand, Event Registry reported.

High diesel costs were shifting US freight from long-haul trucks to trains and driving record intermodal traffic volumes for major rail operators, according to Event Registry.

Petrobras and Mozambique's national oil company, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for oil and gas cooperation, Event Registry reported.

The agreement was signed on 22 September in Rio de Janeiro during the ROG.e 2026 energy conference and has a two-year duration, according to Event Registry.

Under the memorandum, Petrobras and ENH will consider cooperation on studies, evaluation, development and commercialisation while sharing knowledge and technical expertise, Event Registry reported.

Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson called for House members to return to Washington immediately to address fuel prices, Event Registry reported.

Hinson said she texted House Speaker Mike Johnson and urged him to bring members back to Washington. Johnson told her that House leaders were discussing whether members would return, according to Hinson.

House members were not scheduled to return until after the midterm election, preventing Congress from quickly considering fuel-cost relief unless leaders recalled them.