Wednesday, 30 September 2026

Brent crude climbed to USD 107 per barrel on Monday, near two-week highs, after US President Donald Trump rejected a Middle East peace deal, according to GMA News. Iran said it would not soften its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz following the rejection.

Philippine financial markets opened the week weak, dragged down by the rising crude prices and the unresolved Middle East conflict after Trump rejected the deal, GMA News reported.

Stocks fell as Treasury yields rose at the start of the week, according to CNBC. CNBC's Jim Cramer said investors should not abandon the market as oil prices and interest rates add pressure, but should focus instead on companies with strong demand, pricing power and scale.

European natural gas prices moved higher as traders weighed QatarEnergy's extended supply force majeure against mixed signals on talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Moneycontrol.

QatarEnergy extended its force majeure on liquefied natural gas supplies to Italy's Edison SpA until December, the Italian company said in a remit notice cited by Moneycontrol.

Dutch front-month futures, Europe's gas benchmark, traded 2.2% higher at EUR 73.67 per MWh by 9:39 a.m. in Amsterdam, according to Moneycontrol.

A tariff-reduction framework covering US coal imports has not taken effect, and both countries must complete their domestic legal procedures before the cuts apply, according to Hellenic Shipping News.

The White House said China will import at least 10 million metric tons of US coal in 2027 and again in 2028. Beijing has not confirmed that purchase figure, according to Mint.

Colorado's Amendment 82 would amend the state Constitution to give Coloradans a right to natural gas, according to Complete Colorado.

The measure would create a constitutional right for consumers to buy natural gas for cooking and heating, and for distributors and utilities to sell it to homes and businesses, CBS News reported.

Because it is a constitutional amendment, the measure needs 55% of the vote to pass rather than a simple majority, according to CBS News.

Former Greens leader Adam Bandt said grassroots members would push the party's next leader to stop the Labor government approving any new coal and gas projects "by whatever means", according to The Brief.

Bandt set out three decisions in Australia that he said would test the incoming leader, The Brief reported. The first is whether the government approves Woodside's Browse gas project in Western Australia. The second is whether it allows fracking in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory. The third is whether data centres are permitted to use fracked gas.

Bobby Charles proposed using USD 207 million of Maine's USD 1 billion rainy day fund to offset high fuel and heating oil prices, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Charles called on Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to temporarily suspend Maine's 30-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. He also urged the state to match USD 42 million in federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding.

Charles proposed providing Maine schools with an additional USD 100 million to cover heating costs.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) identified inadequate investment as a major challenge to Nigeria's efforts to meet rising energy demand, improve electricity access and expand clean cooking solutions.

In a separate assessment, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that Iraq had about 25 GW of available peak electricity supply in 2024, against roughly 48 GW needed to meet summer peak demand.

Declining rainfall is lowering river levels and narrowing shipping channels across Indonesia, sometimes leaving them impassable, according to FashionNetwork. Shallow water is forcing coal barges to shrink their cargoes to avoid grounding, raising costs and slowing movements.

Export volumes in August were the lowest in five years, FashionNetwork reported. A local employers' group estimated the disruption may affect about 3.9 million metric tons of production per month.

Forecasts point to further strain. Rainfall through November was projected to run as much as 80% below normal levels across the Indonesian archipelago, according to FashionNetwork.

The Spanish government was set to approve caps on regulated gas tariffs and bottled butane prices to prevent further increases in household energy bills, according to TodoAlicante. The measure forms part of a crisis response decree that TodoAlicante linked to conflict in the Middle East.

Under the plan, increases in the regulated Last Resort Tariff (TUR) will be limited to a maximum of 15%, TodoAlicante reported. Ministers will also set a maximum price of EUR 19.55 for bottled butane gas, holding until June of the following year, according to the same report.

Cyprus is moving on a parallel track. The Finance Ministry said it was preparing additional cost-of-living measures for approval as the Middle East conflict pushed up international energy prices and threatened to add pressure on family budgets, according to Kathimerini.

A federal judge blocked New York's climate superfund law last week, according to Grist. The law sought to make fossil fuel companies pay for climate-related damages linked to their activities.

Two court decisions found that the New York law was preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, Grist reported.

The law sought $75 billion from fossil fuel companies to help cover costs associated with climate change, according to Grist. Those costs included recovery from extreme weather and adaptive infrastructure projects such as upgraded stormwater drainage systems and new cooling systems in public buildings.

New York is expected to appeal both cases, per Grist.

A bipartisan Senate permitting reform package aimed at speeding federal approvals for energy and infrastructure projects has drawn backing from U.S. oil and gas industry groups, which want Congress to act on it quickly, according to World Oil. The bill would rework federal permitting and environmental review procedures that govern energy and other large infrastructure development.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said the package would modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), cut duplicative reviews and litigation, and give energy projects more certainty.

The measure has not yet cleared Congress. Industry groups are pushing lawmakers to build on earlier House permitting work and move the bipartisan package through both chambers.

Dozens of U.S. states, cities, counties and tribes have sued major oil companies over climate-related damage, according to The Conversation Energy.

The lawsuits seek reimbursement for recovery, reconstruction and measures to protect people and property from climate-related damage, The Conversation Energy reported.

The fossil fuel companies generally argue that federal laws and the U.S. Constitution preclude claims to recover costs borne by taxpayers, according to The Conversation Energy.

India's federal Ministry of Mines said it would launch an auction of offshore mineral blocks in the Andaman Sea on Thursday, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The sale covers two blocks in the Andaman Sea for the grant of a composite licence, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

The auction follows changes to the law in 2023 that allowed the ministry to auction offshore mineral blocks, according to the same report.