Wednesday, 14 October 2026

Greece is increasingly serving as a hub for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies intended to replace Russian gas in Europe, according to To Vima.

The outlet reported that the Vertical Energy Corridor and the planned Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center are strengthening cooperation among Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States.

Chevron and ExxonMobil are taking leading roles in renewed hydrocarbon exploration in Greece, according to To Vima, which described the activity as marking a new phase in cooperation between the two countries.

Iraq's North Oil Company (NOC) aims to eliminate associated gas flaring at its oilfields by the end of 2027, according to the Ministry of Oil.

In Baghdad, holders of postgraduate degrees and top-ranking graduates began an open-ended sit-in outside Iraq's Federal Public Service Council after government authorities failed to respond to their demands.

Texas Eastern Transmission LP launched a non-binding open season for its proposed Katy to Gillis Expansion Project, which would connect the Katy Hub in Texas with markets in southwest Louisiana by early 2031, according to Oil & Gas Journal.

The project is designed to move natural gas from the Katy Hub in Texas to demand markets in southwest Louisiana.

Parent company Enbridge Inc. expects the project to provide up to 2 bcfd of additional transportation capacity along the US Gulf Coast, enhancing access to LNG plants, industrial customers, electric generation markets, and pipeline interconnections, according to Oil & Gas Journal.

The open season will close on October 30, 2026.

North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) is putting 11 new 550-horsepower workover rigs into service across Venezuelan oil fields, the company said. The deployment is the first for new mobile maintenance rigs in those fields in over 15 years.

Two 1,500-horsepower drilling rigs reached NABEP's operations on October 7.

NABEP said it is scaling up activity in Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco Belt, with a near-term objective of lifting output above 1 million barrels per day.

Western economies are becoming more exposed to further energy shocks as conflict in the Middle East strains global supplies and heavy public debt curbs governments' ability to soften the blow, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF said energy inventories are dwindling, and that additional geopolitical shocks could transmit rapidly through prices and supply disruptions. Global oil inventories are being drawn down by around 2.7 million barrels a day, according to the IMF.

Refined petroleum products remain 70% to 95% more expensive than before the war, with diesel and gasoline under the greatest pressure, the IMF said.

The fund linked the vulnerability to constrained fiscal room, noting that mounting public debt limits the capacity of governments to cushion the impact of further shocks.

A group marched to Ameren Missouri's headquarters to call for lower electricity bills and cleaner sources of energy, according to KCUR. The demonstration targeted the utility's plan to expand generation capacity.

Ameren Missouri said the planned expansion of power plants is primarily driven by new large data centers moving to Missouri, according to KCUR.

Missouri's new state energy plan, drawn up by the state's Department of Natural Resources, prioritizes new nuclear plants, energy independence and grid reliability, according to KTLO. Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Jake Buxton said nuclear power is best suited to provide the state around-the-clock electricity as demand rises from artificial intelligence data centers, according to KTLO.

Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi warned that escalating conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global oil supplies, raising shipping costs and driving up petroleum import costs.

At CIF Mombasa, Super Petrol import costs rose from about USD 1,199 per tonne in August to USD 1,385 in September, according to a statement cited in the reporting. Diesel import costs increased from approximately USD 1,200 to USD 1,313 per tonne over the same period.

Wandayi said the higher import bill creates further upward pressure on fuel prices.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will help the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) finance 84 transmission and distribution projects spread across eight states, including Tennessee, as part of an effort to strengthen grid reliability and cut electricity costs.

The planned award comes to roughly USD 581 million, the DOE said. Federal dollars cover USD 250 million of that total, with applicants contributing around USD 331 million in cost-share funding.

Officials said the work should bring about 2.5 GW of additional grid capacity, reducing outages and adding resilience.

The DOE noted that the final federal amount, project scope, schedules and remaining award terms still depend on executed agreements and applicable reviews.

Guyana received USD 1.9 billion in earnings from its oil sector during a six-month period in which USD 15 billion worth of oil left the country, according to Kaieteur News.

The country collected USD 761 million in petroleum receipts between January and March 2026, Kaieteur News reported, citing figures published by the Ministry of Finance. Its Natural Resource Fund received a further USD 1.2 billion between April and June.

Guyana exported more oil over the first six months than a year earlier, with export volume up 40% year over year, according to Kaieteur News.

Guyana's Central Bank attributed the rise in oil export earnings to higher export volumes and higher prices during the period, Kaieteur News reported.