Oil rose by the most since July, topping $64 a barrel, after US President Donald Trump’s increasingly hawkish rhetoric on Russia sent futures above a key technical level. Trump on Wednesday said NATO nations should shoot down Russian aircraft that violated their airspace, raising the specter of supply disruption after remarking on Tuesday, that Europe should energy purchases from Moscow. West Texas Intermediate crossed its 100-day moving average of about $64.68. Commodity trading advisers, which can exaggerate price swings, have been liquidating short positions, which sat at 36% on Monday, compared with 55% on Sept. 23, according to data from Bridgeton Research Group. Meanwhile, Russia mulled restrictions on diesel exports for some companies following a spate of attacks by Ukrainian drones on its energy infrastructure, including pipeline facilities, that have put the nation’s supply in focus. Gasoil, a category that includes diesel, settled 2.4% higher in Europe on Tuesday, its biggest gain in three weeks, while diesel traders piled into bets on a surging diesel market. “Crude continues to march higher today as geopolitical headlines escalate across several regions, while Ukraine’s strikes on energy infrastructure are impacting product flows and could eventually spill over into crude exports if unresolved,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group. Oil is little changed this month as traders weigh a bearish fundamental outlook against long-running geopolitical tensions. On the supply front, Iraq is finalizing a deal to restart crude exports from its Kurdistan region following a two-year halt. That could bring about 230,000 barrels a day back to the international market, exacerbating a looming glut. Some market metrics are strengthening, with WTI’s prompt spread — the difference between its two closest contracts — at 51 cents a barrel in backwardation, almost doubling from a week ago. Meanwhile, the difference

India wants to increase purchase of oil and gas from the US, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said, amid efforts to persuade Washington to lower tariff on country’s exports and secure a trade deal. “We expect to increase our trade with the US on energy products in the years to come,” Goyal said at an event in New York. “And being close friends, natural partners, our energy security goals will have a very high element of US involvement.” The minister is visiting US to meet his counterparts after President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports last month, partly to penalize New Delhi for continuing to buy Russian oil. The move upended decades of US diplomacy with India and came amid favorable signs after resumption of trade talks. Trump administration has maintained that India is helping to fund Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. India has been the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude as the discounted barrels have helped the world’s third largest oil consumer keep its import bill in check.  Stepping up oil and gas imports from the US will help reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries and bolster the trade negotiations.  Relations between New Delhi and Washington seemed to be back on track after Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday. But it ran into rough weather again after Washington slapped a $100,000 fees on new H-1B visa used mainly by Indian tech workers.  Goyal said US had a crucial role to play in diversifying India’s energy security goals, and ensuring stability for the import-dependent nation. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

In the face of mounting criticism from governors, Manu Asthana, the president and CEO of the PJM Interconnection, said states need infrastructure siting and permit reform to make sure the PJM Interconnection has enough power to meet their needs. PJM has adopted interconnection and capacity market reforms to help address resource adequacy concerns, but key issues remain, Asthana said Monday during the Summit on the State of PJM Interconnection in Philadelphia. Those issues include developing rules for adding data center loads to the grid, providing avenues for demand flexibility, improving load forecasting and further interconnection reform, Asthana said. State leaders used the summit to demand a greater role in PJM’s governance, accusing the grid operator of failing to ensure that power supplies are being added to its system quickly enough. PJM is seeing a sudden change in its outlook for load growth, with new load expected mainly from data center development. Although the bulk of new demand has yet to materialize, the system is already struggling with tightening supply-demand conditions, which caused a surge in capacity prices a year ago. That led to double-digit electricity bill increases in some states in PJM’s footprint, which spans 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states and the District of Columbia. PJM set a new record for capacity auction prices again this year, prompting outcry from members, consumers and politicians.  Asthana, however, said states need to work on issues under their control, such as infrastructure siting and permitting reform, that can affect resource adequacy. “We can do whatever we want in the [wholesale power] markets, but if our [power] plants run into a hostile siting and permitting regime, they will not get built,” Asthana said. States also control cost allocation at the retail level and engage in risk management through default services auctions that protect ratepayers from potentially volatile spot energy prices, Asthana said.

Lee Taylor is cofounder and CEO of REsurety. Last month, the GHG Protocol dropped a bombshell on clean energy markets. Through a blog post and meeting minutes, we learned that the GHGP Independent Standards Board, or ISB, had voted to disregard the recommendation of its experts, walk back expectations previously set publicly, and prioritize optics over impact.  This explosive development relates to the GHGP’s revision process for Scope 2 accounting that governs how organizations calculate the emissions associated with electricity use and clean energy purchases.  And before you dismiss this concern as the realm of wonkish energy nerds, know this: In the U.S. alone, carbon accounting has supported the development of over $150 billion of clean energy infrastructure. Changes to the GHGP Scope 2 Protocol will absolutely shape how much clean energy infrastructure we build in the decade ahead — for better or for worse.   GHGP thumbs its nose at emissions experts and the public There were two major decisions ahead of the ISB for a vote: whether to advance hourly matching as a mandate for inventory accounting, and whether to advance an impact accounting metric in parallel. Prior to the ISB vote, nearly 40% of the expert Technical Working Group, or TWG, that is tasked with developing the technical standards voted against hourly matching as a mandate, while 74% of TWG members voted to advance impact accounting in parallel as a critical, complementary methodology.  Despite the widespread TWG support, the ISB voted not to advance impact accounting to the public comment period in parallel with hourly matching, while all but a single dissenting ISB member voted to advance the plan to mandate hourly matching. Some have argued that the ISB didn’t kill impact accounting, but merely sent it on a different path. This is nonsense. The public notes show the ISB prefers not to allow

Macquarie Group Ltd. aims to boost its liquefied natural gas business by ramping up physical trading, the latest effort by the bank to capture a larger share of the fast-growing market. The company is pursuing long-term LNG supply deals of up to 10 to 15 years, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The strategy also involves taking positions in shipping and assets, they said, asking not to be identified as the plans have not been made public.  The push underscores a broader shift as financial institutions move to establish themselves in the LNG market, which is dominated by oil majors, commodity traders and utilities. The industry forecasts that global demand for the super-chilled fuel is poised to climb 60% through 2040. A spokesperson for Macquarie declined to comment.  Macquarie’s physical LNG plans are being developed via a non-banking unit, the people added. The company is looking to expand its team in the coming months, with more hires in locations including London, they said.  The company recently hired former Equinor ASA executive Samuele Ravelli to lead its global LNG trading business. Macquarie last month signed a sales and purchase agreement for 600,000 tons a year of LNG over 15 years with AMIGO LNG, a Mexican joint venture that aims to start exports in 2028. The bank is also in the process of converting its preliminary offtake pact with the planned Texas LNG project into a definite agreement.  Several banks are considering getting back into physical trading to take advantage of an expected flurry of activity. Regulatory pressure forced financial institutions to pull back from the sector more than a decade ago. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in talks to start trading physical LNG again, Bloomberg reported last year. Macquarie has been one of the few banks that has remained active in the LNG market over the last decade,

U.S. Energy Development Corporation (USEDC) announced the opening of a Houston office, and the appointment of Howard House as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer, in a release sent to Rigzone late Tuesday. The company noted in the release that, “in his new role, House will focus on strategic initiatives and opportunities to ensure the company remains competitive while adapting to the evolving energy landscape”. “In addition to these responsibilities, he will coordinate activities associated with opening and managing the new Houston office. He also will join USEDC’s investment committee,” the release added. USEDC highlighted in its release that House has over 35 years of experience as an energy investment banker and “brings over $125 billion in transactional experience in the energy space, including approximately $60 billion of completed strategic advisory mandates including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, takeover defense and restructurings”. House has also raised over $65 billion in public and private capital markets transactions, the release added, noting that “his industry reputation and extensive oil and gas network will be key to facilitating the firm’s growth”. “House will focus on strengthening industry relationships across the energy value chain as well as sourcing and evaluating strategic opportunities,” the release stated. USEDC’s release pointed out that House’s career includes senior roles at Greenhill & Co, Raymond James & Associates, and Lehman Brothers. It also highlighted that he began his career in the energy industry as a petroleum engineer at Exxon Company USA. In its release, USEDC said the decision to open a Houston office “reflects USEDC’s commitment to continued growth in Texas and beyond”.  “Houston is a global hub of the energy industry, and establishing an office here will allow the company to leverage existing and new relationships in order to enhance deal flow,” it added. In the release, Jordan Jayson,