Sunday, 27 September 2026

An explosion at the Elga coal deposit in Yakutia, Russia, killed four people, Event Registry reported.

The prosecutor's office said the blast occurred during welding work at a backup pumping station.

Elgaugol said preliminary information indicated that a loss of pressure or a breach in the pumping station's water tank may have caused the explosion.

The regional Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over alleged safety violations that resulted in multiple deaths through negligence.

European diesel’s premium to Brent crude climbed past USD 95 a barrel on Wednesday, according to Event Registry.

Event Registry also reported that Washington is drawing down in Europe and moving assets to the Middle East. Europe has been told it is responsible for fighting the Donbass war, the source reported.

Event Registry reported that the OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report for September 2026 had been published, showing OPEC 12 output rose by 346 thousand barrels per day from July 2026 to August 2026.

The report recorded increases of 664 thousand barrels per day from Iraq, 54 thousand from the UAE and 49 thousand from Kuwait.

Event Registry also reported that the benchmark Nifty recovered more than 100 points from its intraday low as crude declined to around USD 104 per barrel and optimism grew over a potential US-Iran peace agreement.

A 60-day state of emergency in Moldova’s energy and hydrological sectors took effect on September 26, according to Event Registry.

Moldova’s parliament approved the measure on September 22.

The Moldovan government said the preventive measure followed a simultaneous increase in energy and water supply risks ahead of the cold season.

South Africa’s growing reliance on imported fuel is adding cost pressure as tanker freight rates rise amid Middle Eastern shipping disruptions, according to Event Registry.

The country is a net importer of petroleum products, and shipping expenses form part of the international costs used to calculate domestic fuel prices. Higher freight rates therefore raise imported fuel costs even when the underlying oil price is unchanged.

Clermont County is suing the owners of the former Beckjord Power Plant over alleged toxic coal ash contamination, according to Event Registry.

The federal lawsuit alleges that the owners violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act by storing coal ash in a way that allowed it to contact groundwater at the Beckjord property.

Well fields downstream of the coal ash ponds supply drinking water to approximately 145,000 residents, Event Registry reported.

The lawsuit seeks to compel the plant owners to clean up the coal ash and control the alleged contamination.

Nigeria and the United States signed the agreement on Sept. 24 on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Event Registry reported.

The framework covers mineral exploration, geological information, development, processing, infrastructure and technical capacity, according to Event Registry.

The USD 700 billion figure is the Nigerian government's estimate of the potential value of the country's untapped mineral resources, not money received from the United States, Event Registry reported.

Saudi Arabia's diversion of crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz is straining ship-to-ship transfer capacity in the Gulf of Oman and reducing supertanker availability, according to Event Registry.

Event Registry also reported that increased Saudi oil exports through the two waterways have contributed to a tanker shortage.

The pressure has driven shipping costs higher, with Event Registry reporting that the daily time-charter rate for a VLCC carrying Middle Eastern crude to China reached a record USD 1.27 million.

The Trump administration has approved fast-tracking for 10 lithium mines across the United States since last year, Inside Climate News reported.

President Donald Trump is weakening endangered-species protections while promoting domestic mining, leaving wildlife in U.S. lithium areas particularly exposed, according to Inside Climate News.

The McDermitt Lithium project, which would mine a sage-grouse mating area, was among the first mines fast-tracked during Trump's second term, Inside Climate News reported.

The McDermitt Caldera on the Oregon-Nevada border supports threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout and sage-grouse habitat, according to Inside Climate News.

West Texas Intermediate futures fell about 2.3% as tentative signs indicated that US-Iran talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz were progressing, according to Event Registry.

Physical oil markets remained tight, and many traders were reluctant to change positions without a meaningful increase in supplies, Event Registry reported.

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said India’s government, oil marketing companies and consumers may again have to share the burden of higher crude prices if the increase persists into October and November.

Any renewed burden-sharing arrangement would depend on how long oil prices remain elevated, Nageswaran said.

He said India’s energy challenges also include availability, freight and insurance costs.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission rejected Duke Energy's proposed USD 500 million, 250 MW natural gas project in September, Event Registry reported.

Duke Energy wanted the plant to power a 21-building Amazon facility under construction near Charlotte.

Commissioners argued that Duke Energy had not adequately demonstrated how consumers would be shielded from construction costs under the Ratepayer Protection Pledge.

They said any renewed application for construction permission would require cost-recovery mechanisms that comply with the pledge.

The U.S. Energy Department continues to order aging coal plants to remain open after a federal appeals court ruled that it had exceeded its emergency powers, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright ordered units at Indiana's R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley coal plants to remain available through Dec. 18, the foundation reported.

The Indiana orders came one week after the D.C. Circuit vacated Wright's first emergency order keeping Michigan's J.H. Campbell coal plant operating beyond its planned retirement.

The Energy Department disagrees with the decision and is working with the Justice Department to assess possible rehearing and appeal options, the foundation reported.

Jamaat-e-Islami announced nationwide rallies and a signature campaign against Pakistan's petroleum levy, according to Event Registry.

JI aims to collect signatures from 20 million people and present them to the authorities, Event Registry reported.

The campaign calls for abolishing the petroleum levy, lowering petrol prices, reviewing independent power producer agreements, making flour cheaper and reducing government spending, according to Event Registry.

JI said it would consider launching a long march if the levy was not withdrawn after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned to Pakistan, Event Registry reported.

Syria has begun transporting imported gasoline by road from Baniyas to Iraq amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Event Registry reported.

The first shipment totaled about 32,800 metric tons, according to Event Registry.

Event Registry reported that 77 tanker trucks carrying the gasoline had departed for the Iraqi border while loading continued.

The Syrian Petroleum Company is moving the fuel under a transit contract with Qatar-based UCC Holding, which supplies the gasoline and manages transportation, according to Event Registry.

The energy price cap will rise by 4% from Thursday for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales, Event Registry reported.

More than four million homes on standard energy tariffs were urged to submit meter readings before October 1 to avoid paying higher prices.

Ofgem attributed the increase to higher wholesale gas prices resulting from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

SCCL has nearly two million tonnes of high-grade coal at its Naini mine in Odisha, but can transport only a fraction, Event Registry reported.

The shortfall has left Telangana power utilities seeking alternative fuel sources as the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant is prepared to produce 140 million units of electricity per day.

Officials said Yadadri requires at least 14,000 tonnes of coal per day to operate at full capacity, according to Event Registry.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed the energy department and Telangana Genco to procure G-9 coal from Mahanadi Coalfields and ensure Yadadri operates at full capacity by Dasara, Event Registry reported.

Iraq currently produces about 4.5 million barrels of crude oil per day and is targeting 10 million barrels per day over the long term, according to Event Registry.

Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi said Iraq aims to become a global hub for energy production, Event Registry reported.

Iraq is working to diversify its oil export outlets and develop energy corridors linking it with Türkiye, Jordan and Syria, with connections onward to global markets, according to Event Registry.

Al-Zaidi also invited global investment in Iraq, citing its resources, market, location and intention to build a new economy, Event Registry reported.

Drone attacks halted operations at Russia's Perm and Novoshakhtinsk oil refineries, according to Event Registry.

The Perm refinery stopped operating after a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire and damaged equipment.

A separate drone attack damaged the Novoshakhtinsk refinery and forced it to suspend operations temporarily.

Refineries hit during the week also included facilities in Moscow and Kuibyshev, Event Registry reported.

The UN Support Mission in Libya said attacks on Libya's energy infrastructure, or other actions that could undermine it, may constitute grounds for sanctions under relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The mission said the Sharara-Zawiya oil pipeline remains closed, causing losses in crude production and public revenues while raising risks to fuel supplies and electricity generation.

Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority has introduced a dumping surcharge for electricity supplied to the grid without approval or a valid net-metering agreement, according to Event Registry.

Customers feeding electricity into the Kenya Power network without approval will have it treated as dumping and be charged the applicable base tariff, Event Registry reported.

Customers must sign a net-metering agreement with Kenya Power before exporting electricity to the grid, according to Event Registry.

President Donald Trump said he would like to ban US diesel exports amid high energy prices.

A White House official said no policy announcement had been made and that Trump was evaluating options to lower US pump prices.

Event Registry reported, citing an industry source, that US Energy Secretary Chris Wright contacted US refiners to assess support for voluntarily limiting diesel exports.

Experts warned that an export ban would not make diesel cheaper and would cause refiners to produce less fuel, according to Event Registry.

Ukraine said its forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region overnight, sparking a fire at the facility.

Ukraine's General Staff said the refinery can process around 6.6 million tonnes of crude oil per year.

The General Staff said products from the refinery are used in part to supply the Russian military.

China has canceled 67% of the coal power capacity it planned to build overseas in 2021, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and People of Asia for Climate Solutions (PACS).

The report put canceled capacity at 61.5 GW, covering planned overseas coal projects canceled since 2021.

It estimated that the cancellations avoided 6.4 billion tonnes of lifetime carbon dioxide emissions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged in 2021 that China would stop funding overseas coal power plants.

Event Registry reported that experts warned Chinese companies were using regulatory loopholes to continue investing in overseas coal despite Xi's pledge.

CREA analyst Syahdiva Moezbar said the pledge still allows private Chinese companies to invest in overseas coal projects, enabling coal expansion to continue.

India's Ministry of Power directed 112 captive coal-fired generating stations with at least 50 MW of installed capacity to operate at maximum available capacity from October 1 through December 31, 2026.

The ministry said the order responds to the prevailing demand-supply situation and an expected rise in electricity demand. The September 25 directive was issued under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act.

The generators were ordered to maintain adequate coal stocks to support maximum generation during the mandated period. They were also instructed to sell surplus electricity through power exchanges.

The directive requires weekly reports covering generation, captive consumption, available capacity and coal stocks.

Trump administration officials are considering suspending fuel taxes and easing sales restrictions on dyed diesel normally reserved for off-road use to curb soaring US diesel costs, Event Registry reported.

US President Donald Trump has supported curbing American diesel exports, while his economic advisers assess a potential short-term ban, according to Event Registry.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration is working with refiners on voluntary diesel export limits as an alternative to government action, Event Registry reported.

Energy analysts and industry groups warn that a US diesel export ban could raise fuel prices domestically and abroad, according to Event Registry.

The United States exports about 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day, equal to about 20% of the volume sold on international markets, Event Registry reported.

Yemen's Houthi movement said it attacked a strategic site in Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, on September 25, News.az reported.

The claimed attacks involved missiles and drones, according to News.az.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree described the operations as retaliation for alleged Saudi aggression against Yemen and its blockade.

News.az said the claims had not been independently verified and Saudi authorities had not confirmed the reported attacks at the time of publication.