Monday, 12 October 2026

The first Russian diesel cargo bound for the United States was expected to reach the East Coast during the week following a deal between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin, according to Daily Post.

The Greek-flagged tanker MINERVA ZEN was carrying about 275,000 barrels of oil and reportedly left St. Petersburg in late September, Daily Post reported. The departure was not publicized, likely for security reasons.

Germany said it would maintain its existing sanctions policy after the United States announced it would buy Russian diesel, according to Times Now. Spokesman Stefan Cornelius said Berlin had taken note of the American decision but would keep following its existing sanctions policy.

EU foreign ministers intended to approve the largest set of sanctions listings targeting Russia's war machine since the invasion began, Times Now reported.

Nigeria cannot yet supply the Dangote Petroleum Refinery with the 700,000 barrels of crude oil it requires each day because national production remains insufficient, according to Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele.

The shortfall leaves the Lagos refinery short of the volume it needs to run at its stated daily requirement.

Since February 2026, Fatima Aliko-Dangote has led commercial operations for Dangote Industries' oil and gas businesses, including the Lagos refinery, according to Business Journal.

Saudi Arabia's Industrial Production Index fell to 87.1 in August, down from 101.3 in July and 113.9 a year earlier, according to Arab News.

The decline was driven largely by a 35.8% annual contraction in mining and quarrying activity, Arab News reported.

Non-oil industrial activities ran against the broader trend, growing 1.2% year on year in August, according to Arab News.

Pakistani officials said on Wednesday that the country is lining up alternative liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes and readying supply cuts to some sectors, after Qatar pushed back force majeure notices on deliveries to Islamabad until Nov. 5, according to Hellenic Shipping News. The officials pointed to the risk of gas shortages this winter.

Qatar accounted for 35 of the 36 LNG cargoes Pakistan imported last winter, Hellenic Shipping News reported, citing official data.

The Ministry of Petroleum has drawn up a plan directing state-owned Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) to source cargoes elsewhere, including from the US, the Middle East and Azerbaijan, Hellenic Shipping News reported.

To balance winter demand, the government intends to use load management and curtail supplies. "There will be load management and curtailment of supplies," an official said, according to Hellenic Shipping News.

President Donald Trump's promise not to strike Iran before November's U.S. midterm elections did little to reassure energy markets, according to Tekedia.

As of Oct. 12, Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire that would take effect immediately, according to TokenPost.

Despite that agreement, Middle East supply concerns and security risks remained factors for international financial markets, TokenPost reported.

Oil output at Trident OGX could climb up to twentyfold within two years, moving from roughly 2,500 barrels a day toward a range of 45,000 to 50,000, according to Congolese oil tycoon Lucien Ebata.

The company is chasing an interim mark of 10,000 barrels a day before pushing further, Ebata, its chairman and chief executive, told the news site Vox Congo.

Clearing that stage opens the way to the Mengo field in 2027, where Ebata expects production to reach the upper end of his target.

Heating oil in New York's North Country was priced at $6.01 per gallon this week, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Heating oil, kerosene and propane prices in northern New York have all risen from last year, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said.

Fuel costs weighed on markets elsewhere. GasBuddy reported the average price of gasoline on Oct. 7 was $4.34 per gallon, with diesel at $6.26 per gallon.

A California farmer described rising diesel costs as affecting farming, transportation and the cost of getting fresh produce to consumers.

Nigeria does not produce enough crude oil to run Aliko Dangote's refinery at full capacity, according to Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele.

"We don't have enough to service Dangote. Dangote imports crude," Oyedele said. He said the refinery buys crude on international markets because domestic supply falls short.

Oyedele said Nigeria did not have up to 700,000 barrels of free crude available to give to any recipient, including Dangote, a figure he tied to the refinery's daily demand.

The refinery has bought cargoes from the United States, Brazil and other West African producers because it could not secure enough barrels locally, according to the minister.

The comments underscore the gap between the refinery's processing needs and Nigeria's available crude, which the finance minister acknowledged leaves the plant short of feedstock.

TGS signed a framework agreement with newly established Galdor Exploration to apply AI and integrated subsurface data to identify exploration opportunities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and across the wider North Sea region, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Under the agreement, Galdor gains access to TGS' integrated energy data and technology solutions, and the two companies will jointly implement AI-enabled exploration workflows, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

The collaboration will use TGS' proprietary Seismic Foundation Model alongside advanced machine learning techniques to support the identification and evaluation of exploration prospects, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Sri Lanka's government has decided to seek the Attorney General's advice on agreements signed with private companies engaged in fuel operations, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said. The advice would focus on measures that could be taken if the companies fail to meet their operational obligations.

The move follows reports that several private fuel suppliers had cut distribution in the country's fuel market, according to the Sunday Times. The government provided a detailed explanation in Parliament on the challenges affecting the market.

The immediate response was to increase fuel supply from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the Sunday Times reported.

CPC Chairman D.J. Rajakaruna said the public had no reason to fear a fuel shortage and confirmed that no further fuel price increase would take place this month.

Murphy reported an exploration oil discovery at the Lac Da Trang North-1X well in Block 15-1/05 offshore Vietnam, according to World Oil.

The nearby Lac Da Vang development began production on Sept. 27, 2026, World Oil reported.

According to World Oil, the Lac Da Vang development could provide infrastructure for a future subsea tieback of the Lac Da Trang discovery.

TotalEnergies has awarded Vallourec a contract to deliver over 16,000 tonnes of tubular products for the Absheron offshore gas field, located in Azerbaijan's portion of the Caspian Sea, World Oil reported.

The order spans oil country tubular goods and roughly 159 km of line pipe tied to drilling, completion and pipeline infrastructure at the development.

Completion accessories and Vallourec's CLEANWELL dope-free technology form part of the supply package. Operational support near the site will run through the company's VAM Caspian subsidiary.

TotalEnergies will apply varying price cuts for diesel and heating fuel in France from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, with road diesel trimmed by about 10 euro cents a liter, according to World Oil.

The reductions target customers including farmers, fishermen, and construction firms, World Oil reported.

The company has already spent about EUR 500 million, equivalent to USD 559 million, to cap prices at its French service stations, according to World Oil.

Viking Completion Technology has opened an API-certified plant for manufacturing, testing and service in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, letting it build well completion equipment inside the Kingdom for domestic operators.

The site runs as a joint venture with Abdulrahman Algosaibi Holdings, a group with several businesses in the country, World Oil reported.

Viking said the plant is one of two in Saudi Arabia certified to API Q1, API 14A, API 11D1, API 19AC and API 14L.

The operation handles equipment assembly, testing and completion assembly, which Viking said cuts reliance on imports and shortens delivery times for Saudi oil and gas operators.

Offshore Magazine reported that Equinor found gas at the Gullfaks South field, a deposit the company judges likely commercial despite its modest size, sited in the Norwegian North Sea 190 km northwest of Bergen.

Recoverable reserves at the find run between 3.3 million and 10.3 million barrels of oil equivalent on Equinor's estimate, according to Offshore Magazine.

The discovery well was sunk by the jackup Askeladden while it worked on a production well, Offshore Magazine reported.

DOF Group ASA has been awarded a significant contract with a North Sea operator for a subsea decommissioning campaign, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The contract scope covers project management, engineering, offshore execution and disposal services, OEDigital reported. The work involves removing subsea infrastructure and clearing the seabed across multiple offshore fields.

Offshore operations will be performed by one of DOF's Construction Support Vessels, according to OEDigital.

The United Kingdom government opened a second consultation on draft supplementary guidance for the derogation methodology under OSPAR Decision 98/3 on 12 October 2026, according to UK DESNZ. The consultation covers offshore decommissioning derogations for oil and gas installations.

UK DESNZ said it is inviting views on draft supplementary guidance for the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations.

The revisions respond to public feedback received after the previous consultation in 2025, according to UK DESNZ.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 6 December 2026.

Delta Air Lines cut its 2026 profit outlook as high fuel prices persisted, according to The City Weekly. CEO Ed Bastian said pricier fares have not turned off travelers.

Bastian said in an interview that fares have continued to tick up as the airline passes along much of a $6 billion increase in fuel costs this year, and that travelers keep booking.

The company's oil refinery generated $1.36 billion in operating profit from 2022 through 2025, according to View from the Wing. The outlet wrote that the refinery does not make Delta's flight fuel economically cheaper; it is a refining business that can earn more when jet fuel becomes expensive.

Energy analyst Amrita Sen said that since May, 10-year U.S. Treasury yields have correlated more closely with diesel prices than with crude oil prices, the first time this has happened.

Sen said diesel and gasoline, not crude oil, drive inflation.

The U.S. national diesel average hit a record USD 6.5276 per gallon on Sept. 22, according to the figures she cited. It stood at USD 6.3895 on Oct. 1, against USD 3.7068 a year earlier.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury par yield reached 5.28% on Oct. 7, then eased to 5.22% on Oct. 8 and 5.24% on Oct. 9.

Mexico is considering fracking to reduce its reliance on US natural gas, drawing opposition from northern communities concerned about water scarcity and environmental damage, according to Anadolu Agency.

The proposal is intended to raise domestic natural gas production and cut dependence on the US, which supplies about 75% of the gas Mexico consumes, Anadolu Agency reported.

The plan to explore fracking has sparked protests over potential water contamination and environmental damage.

PDVSA has 44 hydrocarbon contracts left to finalize under Venezuela's new legal framework ahead of a self-imposed December 31 deadline. PDVSA president Héctor Obregón confirmed this week that 61 contracts have already been executed under the framework, against a total target of 105 agreements.

The signed deals do not by themselves lift output. Analysts at Kpler identified rig shortages and deteriorated infrastructure as the primary obstacles to converting contracts into additional production, warning that signed agreements alone cannot resolve a physical production ceiling.

The average price of diesel in the UK has risen above GBP 2 per litre for the first time, according to the RAC motoring group. Charities and businesses across North East England said the rising cost was causing financial strain.

Daft as a Brush, a Newcastle-based cancer charity that transports patients to hospital appointments, said it was spending GBP 15,000 per month on diesel, according to the BBC. That monthly bill ran GBP 5,000 higher than the previous year.

The International Energy Agency urged its members to accelerate pledged diesel releases and consider supplying more as global markets tighten, according to Bloomberg.

IEA head Birol encouraged all members, including those that have already completed their pledged releases, to assess whether further diesel releases are needed and to set out their scale and timing, according to Bloomberg Law.

The IEA's 32 members agreed in March to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves, the largest such action in the agency's history, according to investinglive.

Supertanker rates on the Persian Gulf-to-East Asia route reached USD 1.4 million per day in the first week of October, according to Bloomberg data cited by RocketNews.

That level marked a 40% increase from September's record rate of USD 1 million per day on the same route, RocketNews reported.

JPMorgan attributed the oil-market bottleneck to limited shipping capacity rather than a shortage of crude.

Ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman are consuming a significant portion of the global very large crude carrier fleet, leaving vessels waiting for weeks outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to RocketNews.

The UN's development arm warned that developing countries face a triple shock from the energy crisis, El Niño and surging borrowing costs, and need urgent support from the international community.

The El Niño climate pattern is expected to cause widespread crop failures and increase the risk of extreme weather events, while a global bond sell-off drives up government borrowing costs.

Bond financing for developing countries now costs 9%, according to UNDP administrator Alexander De Croo.