Monday, 2 November 2026

A new lender for African oil and gas projects, the Africa Energy Bank (AEB), has been set up by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers' Organization (APPO), carrying $5 billion in authorized capital, according to World Oil.

The launch came at the bank's first general meeting, held in Abuja, Nigeria, on Oct. 31, World Oil reported.

AEB lending will run across the oil and gas value chain, from upstream exploration and production through to refining and distribution, with stated aims that include cutting reliance on imported petroleum products, World Oil reported.

The bank is meant to cover financing that conventional lenders have withdrawn as they step back from fossil fuels, according to World Oil.

Major OPEC+ nations reaffirmed plans to keep oil production quotas unchanged in December, according to World Oil, as conflict in the Middle East continues to curb part of the group's output.

A subgroup of seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will hold its current production targets, World Oil reported, citing a statement issued after a video conference on Sunday.

The decision follows earlier signals from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies that they would pause quota increases through the end of this year. Those earlier increases came in a series of modest steps over the six months through August, according to World Oil.

World Oil reported that TotalEnergies has struck fresh and widened deals with three state oil firms to curb methane emissions: Petronas in Malaysia, Sonangol in Angola and Oil India Ltd. (OIL).

OIL and TotalEnergies will carry out a second round of field surveys in India using AUSEA (Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Application), the drone-mounted methane sensor developed by TotalEnergies, according to World Oil.

Sonangol and TotalEnergies signed a memorandum of understanding in Angola to work together on methane reduction and decarbonization.

TotalEnergies also joined Petronas, the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and JGC Corp. on a collaboration agreement to build out SEA METEC (Southeast Asia Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center).

Peterbilt has added its medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric trucks to its cooperative purchasing agreement with Sourcewell, according to Electrek.

Electrek reported that the expanded contract runs through July 2028 and covers the brand's full lineup of Class 5-8 commercial trucks. It gives more than 50,000 Sourcewell member organizations access to pre-negotiated pricing and terms, according to Electrek.

Eligible agencies can source Peterbilt's on-highway, vocational and medium-duty battery-electric vehicles through the pre-negotiated agreement, which Electrek said can eliminate the need for a separate bidding process.

US gasoline prices rose 34.2% and heating oil jumped 74.2% over the preceding 12 months, according to the October 14 Consumer Price Index. The index showed overall prices up 3.7% over the same period, with energy costs driving much of the increase.

The price gains were attributed largely to oil and gas trade disruptions stemming from US and Israeli military involvement in Iran, according to the Consumer Price Index data.

Average US gasoline prices had surpassed their peak during the Biden administration as of Monday, according to AAA data analyzed by Politico.

FPL filed a proposal with state regulators setting an average monthly payment of USD 141.87 for households using 1,000 kWh.

The proposed average bill is USD 1.18 below FPL's previous projection for January 2027.

According to FPL, lower projected natural gas costs and operational efficiencies would more than offset a Hurricane Isaias surcharge.

Cameco, which zerohedge describes as the world's second-largest uranium producer, reported USD 43 million in third-quarter net earnings and lowered its production guidance while raising cost expectations.

The quarterly earnings came in well below the year-earlier period, Startup Fortune reported. Cameco traced the shortfall to softer equity earnings from its Westinghouse stake and a higher average unit cost of sales.

The weaker quarter landed against rising uranium prices. The long-term uranium contract price reached USD 96.50 per pound in September 2026, the highest month-end level since the price series started in 1996, according to Startup Fortune. That exceeded the prior peak of USD 95.00 recorded between 2007 and 2008.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum as invalid, non-existent and completely illegal, according to Greek City Times.

Mitsotakis said a diagonal maritime boundary drawn between Turkey and Libya completely ignores the Greek islands.

He argued that countries can delimit maritime zones only when they have adjacent or opposite coastlines, Greek City Times reported.

Mitsotakis said the Greek islands are entitled under international law to an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.

Two directors of GB News, which has advocated for the new Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields, hold shares in the firms behind the projects, according to DeSmog.

At the end of June, Paul Marshall's hedge fund Marshall Wace held Shell stock valued at USD 16.3 million, or about GBP 12.3 million, DeSmog reported, citing filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lord Agnew owns an Equinor stake worth at least GBP 100,000, according to his parliamentary register.

The disclosures land as the projects draw political scrutiny. SNP MSP Jack Middleton asked Russell Findlay whether all tax revenue raised from Jackdaw and Rosebank should be ring-fenced for investment in the North East of Scotland, according to The National.

Sarawak reported electricity demand of 4,887 MW against total capacity of 5,898 MW, leaving a power surplus of more than 1,000 MW, according to Newswav.

That headroom has drawn attention as a potential base for AI infrastructure, a sector whose power draw is rising. The IEA's Energy and AI report estimated that data centers worldwide used about 415 TWh in 2024, around 1.5% of global electricity.

Operators are working to manage that load. Google is exploring demand-response programs to handle the growing electricity needs of its AI data centers, Cryptobriefing reported. The company has established agreements with several utilities, securing around 1 GW of demand-response capacity.

Judge Barmann found that California's categorical well-stimulation ban lacked substantial evidence and a rational connection to reducing greenhouse gases, and he vacated the regulation.

According to the New York Post, the judge held that CalGEM's determination that a categorical ban was reasonably necessary to reduce greenhouse gases was not supported by substantial evidence.

The New York Post reported that CalGEM admitted in October 2024 that it had imposed a shadow ban to avoid the legally required rulemaking process.

American oil companies earned USD 130 billion in profits between April and September, up from less than USD 47 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the New York Times. The figure draws on six months of financial results covering more than 50 companies, including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and Valero.

ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron together earned just over USD 36 billion in the quarter.

NPR reported that the surge in earnings was largely due to the war in Iran disrupting the global oil supply.

GAIL (India) more than doubled its September-quarter net profit to INR 4,650 crore from INR 2,217 crore a year earlier, according to the Economic Times.

The gain came as global energy supply disruptions triggered by the West Asia crisis sharply boosted gas marketing margins, the Economic Times reported. Revenue from operations at the state-run gas transporter rose 31% year on year.

GAIL's board approved listing its wholly owned city gas distribution subsidiary GAIL Gas by diluting up to 25% of its stake, according to the Economic Times.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Adani Energy Solutions Limited's proposed Rs 3,050-crore acquisition of IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited, according to EQ Magazine.

The deal gives Adani Energy Solutions 100% of IntelliSmart's equity share capital, bought from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), per EQ Magazine.

The competition regulator dated its approval October 30, 2026, with the decision made public through a government announcement on October 31, according to Business News Today.

Business News Today reported that the clearance advances the transaction toward completion but does not establish that ownership has already transferred.

The UK Government approved development of the Jackdaw gas field on 21 October 2026, according to Caithness Business.

The field is expected to lift UK domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak, Caithness Business reported.

Over its lifetime, Jackdaw could contribute approximately GBP 2.9 billion to the UK economy, according to the same report.

The future of Rosebank, a larger oil and gas development west of Shetland, remains unresolved, Caithness Business said.

Offshore wind development off the coast of Scotland could be curtailed under new UK government plans to bring down electricity bills, according to Daily Business.

New offshore wind projects bidding for subsidy contracts would be approved only if ministers were confident that all the power generated could be accommodated by Britain's electricity grid without pushing up costs for consumers, according to wind-watch.org.

The policy targets constraint charges, the payments made when turbines are switched off because the grid cannot carry their output. Those charges are predicted to add up to GBP 100 to energy bills by the end of the decade, according to Daily Business.

Ministers will approve new offshore wind subsidy contracts only when the power generated can be carried by Britain's electricity grid without raising consumer costs. New projects lodging bids will be signed off only if the output can be accommodated by the grid without pushing up bills.

Healey said the government will take the same approach into the next renewables auction, buying only projects that can lower bills while strengthening energy security.

The United States, Russia and China are competing to deploy nuclear reactors on the moon, according to Al Jazeera, which reported that scientists have warned about the possible risk of a radioactive mishap.

NASA plans to launch Lunar Reactor 1 by 2030, while Russia and China are targeting 2036, according to ABC News. The technology is viewed as essential for sustaining a human presence given limited solar energy, the outlet reported.

The planned reactors would power the mining of frozen water trapped deep in the moon's craters, according to Al Jazeera. Scientists believe that water could supply drinking water, air and rocket fuel for future bases. The reactors would also provide electricity for lunar bases, the outlet reported.

The Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) supports the Federal Government's plan to supply domestic refineries with crude through forward contracts, while rejecting a proposed petrol price ceiling that lacks a mechanism to recover excess costs, according to The Times Nigeria.

The petrol market shifts at month-end. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) set October 31, 2026 as the last day of its NGN 66-per-litre petrol discount, according to National Daily. That report noted fuel costs for motorists and businesses could climb from November.

In electricity, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cited the issuance of NGN 728.979 billion in bonds to settle debts owed to participating power generation and gas companies, according to The Nation. He credited Akin Odeyemi, Managing Director of Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), with resolving the obligations.

A preliminary report from the National System Operator (NSO) traced Sri Lanka's October 17 islandwide blackout to the abrupt loss of 187 MW from the first generating unit at the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant, filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).

That unit dropped off in roughly 450 milliseconds, pulling the national frequency down to 48.75 hertz, the NSO said. From there the whole system went dark in 4.1 seconds.

Protective controls could not hold the grid together. All five under-frequency load-shedding stages fired, yet the system still failed. They shed 449.2 MW, about 39.6% of the 1,135 MW running just before the outage.

The report names the trigger but stops short of the cause. Investigators have not yet determined why the Norochcholai unit disconnected.

U.S. fuel prices spiked after President Donald Trump decided to attack Iran, according to CNBC.

The national average gasoline price stood at $4.20 a gallon on Friday, CNBC reported.

Diesel, which CNBC described as critical to transportation and agriculture, has surged about 70% over the past year, according to the outlet.

The fourth consignment of Russian uranium reached the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project site on Saturday morning under tight security, according to tob.news. The shipment was moved to the site in three specialised lorries.

Rosatom plans to deliver nuclear fuel to Bangladesh in nine consignments in total, according to tob.news.

The Russian state nuclear corporation's plan covers 163 uranium fuel assemblies for Rooppur Unit 2, to be shipped in seven cargo flights, along with 48 additional assemblies for refuelling Unit 1 in two cargo consignments, according to The Financial Express.

North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) said its in-country fleet in Venezuela will reach 41 of the 60 rigs it announced earlier this month, during November 2026.

NABEP reported production of 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent per day on October 19, up from about 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in August.

The company said its near-term goal for its expanding Venezuelan operations is to increase oil production to more than 1 million barrels per day.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals attracted investor applications valued at NGN 2.15 trillion, or USD 1.58 billion, in what it describes as "The People's IPO", according to Sahara Reporters.

The applications came from 120 countries across six continents, including all 54 African countries.

The offer closed on October 27, 2026, according to Sahara Reporters. It involved 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at NGN 525 each.

NTPC's standalone net profit rose 14% year on year to Rs 5,320 crore in the second quarter of FY27, up from Rs 4,653 crore in the same period a year earlier, according to the Economic Times.

Consolidated profit grew faster. It climbed 40.7% in the quarter ended September 30, according to EconoTimes. Consolidated revenue from operations rose 21.2% to Rs 54,269.95 crore from Rs 44,784.05 crore.

The group's renewable arm expanded from a smaller base. NTPC Green Energy Limited posted a net profit of Rs 137.50 crore, 59% higher than the Rs 86.38 crore reported in the year-ago period, according to Livemint. EconoTimes said the subsidiary's faster growth underscored the renewable unit's expansion within the group.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said a fourth oil tanker struck a mine and caught fire while attempting to pass through an unauthorised route in the Strait of Hormuz.

The vessel was a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil, according to the IRGC Navy's public relations office. The office said the tanker ignored repeated radio warnings against using the southern passage through the waterway.

The mine strike triggered a powerful explosion and left the tanker burning, according to the IRGC statement.

Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Oct. 30 left roughly 280,000 families without electricity across several regions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The disruptions hit multiple regions at once, according to Zelensky.

DTEK said the fresh strikes compounded damage from earlier shelling, worsening the situation across the power system.

India's antitrust regulator signed off on five proposed transactions, two of them in the power and renewable energy sectors, according to ANI.

The Competition Commission of India cleared Aditya Birla Renewables Limited's bid to buy all of Solenergi Power Private Limited, acquiring 100% of the company from Shell Overseas Investment BV, ANI reported.

The regulator also waved through Adani Energy Solutions Limited's purchase of IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited, valued at Rs 3,050 crore, from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and Energy Efficiency Services Limited.

The other cleared transactions spanned food services, financial services and telecommunications, and included deals tied to Prosus and Vodafone Group.