Thursday, 15 October 2026

U.S. crude oil inventories likely edged up last week, while product stocks are seen falling as refineries lowered capacity use, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal.

Commercial crude stocks were expected to rise by 100,000 barrels to 424.2 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 9, based on the average estimate of eight analysts and traders surveyed by the Journal.

The outlook split the respondents evenly, with four expecting a stock build and four predicting a withdrawal.

Oil prices rose as a flare-up in attacks in the Middle East raised uncertainty over a recovery in Persian Gulf energy flows. Brent moved toward USD 107 a barrel after falling 0.9% a day earlier, while West Texas Intermediate advanced to around USD 95.

Morgan Stanley raised its forecast for the physical benchmark Dated Brent by USD 5 a barrel for the current quarter and the next, citing elevated uncertainty around crude exports and attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure. "Crude oil exports continue, but uncertainty around it remains elevated," Morgan Stanley analysts including Martijn Rats said in a note.

Petrol and diesel prices climbed across two markets this week, with Australian drivers paying more at the pump as conflict in the Middle East threatens global oil supplies, according to Neos Kosmos.

Regular unleaded petrol rose above AUD 2.40 per litre across Australia for the first time in more than six months, while diesel exceeded AUD 2.80 per litre, according to Neos Kosmos. The outlet reported that prospects for de-escalation in the Middle East remain uncertain, adding pressure to global supply.

Separately, a review raised fuel prices effective October 15, 2026, according to KBC. Super petrol rose by KES 12.93 per litre and diesel by KES 9.90 per litre, while kerosene users faced the steepest increase at KES 28.49 per litre, KBC reported.

Under the revised prices, effective midnight, the maximum retail price reaches KES 226.96 per litre for super petrol, KES 227.76 for diesel and KES 219.87 for kerosene, according to KBC.

Oil prices finished mixed as hopes for added supply from a US-Russia diesel deal offset concern over disruptions from attacks in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, according to Business Post.

Brent futures fell 0.9%, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.4%, according to Business Post.

The prospect that the diesel deal could free up more supply countered the attacks, which could result in additional supply disruptions, according to Business Post.

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on Nigeria's Federal Government to prioritise subsidised mass transportation and support for food production, arguing that the current fuel price relief offers limited benefits to households facing rising living costs.

The current relief does little for households contending with higher costs of living, according to the CPPE, which pressed for the two measures as a more direct form of support.

Separately, the Federal Government identified infrastructure, capital, market access and predictable regulation as critical to unlocking the economic value of Nigeria's estimated 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.

The developer of a planned natural gas pipeline across North Dakota reached a final investment decision after securing long-term, demand-side commitments for almost all of the line's 1.4 Bcf/d capacity, according to RBN Energy.

Separately, a Kaieteur News editorial accused ExxonMobil's managers of secrecy over what was wrong with a gas pipeline off the village of Crane, West Coast Demerara, Guyana. The editorial said the company settled for stealth rather than transparency about the pipeline near the Crane community.

TotalEnergies and Namibia are still negotiating terms for the development of the Venus oil discovery, according to World Oil, leaving less time to meet a target of first production by 2030.

TotalEnergies said in April it was aiming for a final investment decision this year, but talks with the government remain unresolved, World Oil reported. The company had previously targeted 2025 to sanction the project.

Kornelia Shilunga, special adviser and head of the upstream petroleum unit in the Namibian Presidency, confirmed in an interview that the discussions are continuing.

Energy and Petroleum Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said Senegal is offering 104 oil and gas blocks to investors and seeking new upstream contracts to speed up exploration and production, World Oil reported from the African Energy Week conference in Cape Town.

The acreage was restructured in March into 113 blocks, of which 65 sit onshore and 48 offshore, according to World Oil.

Senegal is separately hunting for partners on the Yakaar-Teranga gas project alongside national oil company Petrosen, which assumed full control after Kosmos Energy pulled out in April, World Oil reported.

A rise in domestic U.S. diesel prices is driving discussion of a possible ban on U.S. diesel exports, according to The Conversation Energy.

Republicans from hard-hit U.S. farm states have called for the ban, and President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing the idea, The Conversation Energy reported.

Because the country is a net exporter of petroleum products, such a move would separate the U.S. and global diesel markets, according to The Conversation Energy.

The resulting mismatch between domestic supply and demand could depress U.S. diesel prices in the short term, The Conversation Energy said.

Angola plans to implement faster exploration concessions from next year under a new long-term hydrocarbon strategy aimed at attracting investment and stimulating oil and gas production, a senior government official said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cape Town.

The country intends to drop its multi-year auction rounds and open more than 100 blocks, mainly onshore, once the plan is passed, according to Alcides Andrade, a board member at the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG).

ANPG aims to cut the concession award process to three months, down from the current six months, Andrade said.

Slovakia and Bulgaria discussed developing the Vertical Gas Corridor and using Greek LNG terminals, according to TASR. The talks with the Bulgarian energy minister centered on the corridor's development and access to Greek regasification capacity.

The discussions coincide with recognition for Greek gas infrastructure serving the same region. Greece's Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System won the European Commission's REGIOSTARS 2026 award in the "A Connected Europe" category, according to Greek City Times. The award recognized the terminal's contribution to regional energy connectivity and security of supply across southeastern Europe.

The Alexandroupolis facility enables the import, storage and regasification of LNG, expanding natural gas supply options for markets across the wider region, according to Greek City Times.

Equinor and its Troll partners will finish the Troll West Electrification (TWEL) project in offshore Norway without installing a second electric export compressor on Troll C, according to World Oil. The move scales back the plan set out in the field's 2021 plan for development and operation (PDO).

Installing the second compressor would have cut Troll C production for up to 21 months, World Oil reported, for equipment needed only until the mid-2030s.

Equinor said the decision will make about 2.3 Bcm, or 81 Bcf, more gas available to Europe in 2027 and 2028.

TWEL has delivered roughly 75% of the annual emissions reduction planned in the field's development plan, according to World Oil.

The Troll partnership has canceled plans for a second electric export compressor on Troll C, a decision Offshore Magazine reported is expected to help maintain gas supplies to Europe while extending the Norwegian field's productive life.

In the same North Sea roundup, Offshore Magazine reported that Equinor's Grimsnes discovery near Oseberg could be fast-tracked through existing infrastructure, pointing to continued near-field growth opportunities in the mature North Sea.

DNO and Kistos are expanding their positions on the Norwegian Continental Shelf through acquisitions and licensing activity aimed at supporting future exploration and development, according to Offshore Magazine.

US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, dropped by 8.6 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 9 from the prior week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) cited by Oil & Gas Journal.

Total US crude oil inventories stood at 415.6 million barrels, according to the EIA report. At that level, stocks were 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Eni will begin drilling up to six development wells from November to feed gas to its Coral North floating liquefied natural gas platform offshore Mozambique, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The project is on track to start production by 2028, per OEDigital.

Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported that Coral North is expected to take Eni's output to around 7 million metric tons per annum.

Turkey's Osman Gazi floating gas platform is expected to begin production in early 2027, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The platform is expected to raise daily output from Turkey's Sakarya gas field to 20 million cubic metres, up from the current 9.5 million, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. That level equates to 7.3 billion cubic metres annually.

Hydra Subsea and Shell agreed on a standardized pipeline installation model for US Gulf tie-ins, according to Offshore Magazine.

The agreement creates a framework for selected short-distance subsea tie-ins in the Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Magazine reported. The Appomattox gas-lift flowline is identified as the first proposed application, with support planned from the upgraded Subsea Legend vessel.

HYDRA SUBSEA has signed a commercial agreement with Shell Offshore Inc. for a standardized deepwater pipeline installation solution covering selected short-distance subsea tie-ins in the Gulf of America, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Shell's Appomattox gas lift line is the first project proposed under the agreement, subject to project-specific approvals and requirements, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Each project under the agreement remains subject to separate evaluation, approval and award, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Higher crude prices raise the cost of refining and fuel production, squeezing marketing margins when retail fuel prices are not revised to match, according to livemint.

Separately, a petroleum dealers' association in Himachal demanded prompt redress of maintenance problems at retail outlets, according to The Tribune. The association said the delay in fixing those problems caused monetary losses to both the retail outlets and the government.