In its latest weekly petroleum status report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), decreased by 6.9 million barrels from the week ending October 17 to the week ending October 24. This EIA report, which was released on October 29 and included data for the week ending October 24, showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 416.0 million barrels on October 24, 422.8 million barrels on October 17, and 425.5 million barrels on October 25, 2024. The report highlighted that data may not add up to totals due to independent rounding. Crude oil in the SPR stood at 409.1 million barrels on October 24, 408.6 million barrels on October 17, and 385.8 million barrels on October 25, 2024, the report highlighted. Total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.677 billion barrels on October 24, the report revealed. Total petroleum stocks were down 15.4 million barrels week on week and up 43.6 million barrels year on year, the report showed. “At 416.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about six percent below the five year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report. “Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 5.9 million barrels from last week and are about three percent below the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline and blending components inventories decreased last week,” it added. “Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 3.4 million barrels last week and are about eight percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 2.5

Shell Plc beat profit estimates and maintained share buybacks while paying down debt, showing its resilience to weaker oil prices. The third-quarter performance was helped by stronger oil and gas trading, a vital part of the business that struggled earlier in the year amid geopolitical volatility. An expansion in Shell’s liquefied natural gas business after the startup of a new project in Canada also contributed to the positive outlook.  The strength of Shell’s balance sheet — with net-debt falling from the prior quarter — has positioned the company to maintain consistent returns to investors even as oil prices have fallen. Following years of wide fluctuations, the company’s results have reached the point of “boring” consistency for some analysts. Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has been on a two-year push to cut costs, improve reliability and offload under-performing assets in an effort to close a valuation gap with the company’s US rivals. Shell’s shares have risen 16% in London since the start of 2025, outperforming its closest peers.  “Shell delivered another strong set of results, with clear progress across our portfolio and excellent performance in our marketing business and deepwater assets in the Gulf of America and Brazil,” Sawan said in a statement on Thursday.  The company maintained its pace of share buybacks at $3.5 billion a quarter. Adjusted third-quarter net income dropped about 10% from a year earlier to $5.43 billion, but was well above the average analyst estimate of $4.74 billion. Net debt declined to $41.2 billion from $43.2 billion at the end of June. Shares of the company were little changed.  After years of outsized profits as demand roared back following the pandemic, the world’s largest energy producers are facing leaner times with crude prices having dropped about 14% this year. Oil market fundamentals point to an oversupply

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced, in a statement posted on its site this week, a new partnership with NVIDIA and Oracle “to build [the] largest DOE AI supercomputer”. “The U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, NVIDIA and Oracle … announced a landmark public-private partnership to deliver the DOE’s largest AI supercomputer and accelerate scientific discovery,” the DOE said in the statement, adding that the partnership will “immediately deliver world-class AI computing resources to DOE researchers while simultaneously building two next-generation AI supercomputing systems at Argonne National Laboratory”. In its statement, the DOE highlighted that the announcement is “in accordance” with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders titled Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure and Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. The DOE noted in its statement that the Solstice system will feature 100,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and said it will be the largest AI supercomputer in the DOE’s lab complex. Another system, called Equinox, will feature 10,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, the DOE added. “Construction at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility will immediately begin for the Equinox system,” the DOE pointed out in the statement, revealing that it is expected to be delivered in 2026. “These AI systems will be seamlessly connected with DOE’s vast network of scientific instruments and data assets to address some of the nation’s most pressing challenges in energy, security, and discovery science,” it added. The DOE went on to state that, as part of the partnership, Oracle will also immediately provide DOE with access to AI computing resources that use a combination of NVIDIA Hopper and Blackwell architectures. “Scientists from Argonne and across the country will have access to new AI capabilities to drive technological leadership for science and energy applications,” the DOE said. In the statement, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright

In a report sent to Rigzone by the Standard Chartered team on Wednesday, Emily Ashford, Head of Energy Research at Standard Chartered Bank, offered a prediction for OPEC+’s next meeting, which is scheduled to be held on November 2. “OPEC+ [is] likely to continue [a] gradual unwinding of cuts, adding a further 137,000 barrels per day month on month at [the] November 2 meeting,” Ashford said in the report. “We see no reason for a change in strategy this month. The week on week change in the shape of the Brent forward curve and Russia-based market supply concerns are supportive of OPEC+ continuing its small monthly unwind of the April 2023 voluntary output cuts,” Ashford added. In the report, Ashford highlighted that, “just one week ago”, the company “might have suggested that any decision at this meeting by OPEC+ could be considered with a bearish tint”. “Continuing to add barrels slowly back to the market via the 137,000 barrel per day increase mechanism could have been reported as adding barrels to a market under pressure from poor sentiment, and concerns over impending surpluses,” Ashford said. “A pause in the process could have suggested that OPEC+ did not view the market as healthy enough to add barrels, given its repeated commentary that it remains responsive to the global economic outlook and market fundamentals,” the head of energy research added. Ashford went on to state in the report that Standard Chartered Bank expects the group’s next meeting “to continue the trend of rapid decisions, with the communiqué focusing on the group’s ability to pause or reverse the additional adjustments, including the previous November 2023 tranche of 2.2 million barrels per day”. “Given the price change over the past week, increased supply pressure, and – most critically – the adjustment in the shape

(Update) October 29, 2025, 4:36 PM GMT: Updates with companies’ reporting schedule in seventh paragraph. The world’s biggest oil companies are expected to press ahead with plans to accelerate production growth when they report earnings this week, despite weak crude prices and higher supplies from OPEC and its allies.  Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Shell Plc, BP Plc and TotalEnergies SE will likely grow output 3.9% this year and 4.7% in 2026, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The increases — which include new projects as well as acquisitions — appear designed to capitalize on an expected oil-price upturn in the latter half of next year.  But they could add to the supply glut in the short term. “They’re taking the long view that oil demand is going to be a lot more resilient post-2030,” Noah Barrett, a research analyst at Janus Henderson, which manages about $457 billion. “If they’re not making the investments today, then their portfolios will be really disadvantaged when prices move higher.” After years of outsized profits as oil demand roared back following the pandemic, the world’s largest energy companies are feeling the pinch of crude prices that have dropped about 14% this year near to a four-year low. In response, they’re cutting jobs, reducing low-carbon investments and trimming share buybacks to channel funds toward the most valuable part of their business: oil and gas production. “All the supply coming to the market is shrinking OPEC’s spare capacity — so there’s a light at end of the tunnel,” said Betty Jiang, an analyst at Barclays Plc. “Whether that’s second half of 2026 or 2027, the balance is going to tighten. It’s just a matter of when.” Shell and TotalEnergies will kick off Big Oil earnings season on Thursday, followed by Exxon and Chevron the next

Caterpillar Inc., the company synonymous with yellow bulldozers and mining trucks, is getting a boost from another type of machinery. Power generators and turbines, which keep data centers running, have become a dominant driver for the company as demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure takes off globally. Caterpillar told investors on Wednesday that sales of those products jumped 31% in its latest quarter, trouncing sales growth for its more traditional equipment.  The stock surged as much as 14%, to a record high. It’s an example of how the AI fervor that’s fueled Nvidia Corp.’s rise to become the world’s first $5 trillion company is also lifting the fortunes of more traditional industrial players.  For instance, shares of ProPetro Holding Corp., a West Texas oil contractor, soared an eye-popping 44% Wednesday after saying it was expanding its business to supply electricity to data centers. It is the biggest single-day jump on record for the company, which has traditionally focused on fracking oil and gas wells.  Last week, another fracking company, Halliburton Co., announced a deal to provide power to data centers, sending its up 12% for the biggest gain in six months. And a third, Liberty Energy Inc., has gained 60% since saying earlier this month it planned to expand its power generation business.   For Caterpillar, the boom in data center construction has transformed a once-sleepy segment of its business. Its so-called Energy & Transportation unit, which sells generators and related machinery, used to lag the firm’s other two divisions. But now that unit, which also sells equipment to oil producers and rail services, has become the company’s largest and fast-growing, accounting for about 40% of the firm’s total revenue last year. In quarterly earnings on Wednesday, Texas-based Caterpillar said that sales within the unit increased 17% year-over-year. And some analysts are expecting revenue from the unit to