Global exploration is signaling an “early recovery”, according to an Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) statement sent to Rigzone by the Enverus team recently. The statement, which highlighted that Enverus was releasing a new global exploration outlook, said EIR “finds that, while global exploration and appraisal activity in 2025 remained near historical lows, long lead indicators such as block awards, new country entries and increased seismic surveying point to a gradual recovery forming from a very low base”. “Despite depressed activity levels, exploration success rates have held steady in the 30 percent to 40 percent range, underscoring a continued focus on prospect high grading, capital discipline and risk weighted exploration strategies,” it added. EIR’s statement noted that offshore exploration accounted for more than 50 percent of total activity in 2025, “driven by infrastructure led exploration and renewed focus on higher impact opportunities”. It also said supermajors and national oil companies are leading the exploration recovery, “particularly in acquiring new acreage in regions where subsurface potential for giant discoveries is matched by above ground conditions that support faster project advancement”. Independent and junior explorers are increasing participation, according to the statement, “signaling broader industry reengagement beyond supermajors and national oil companies”. EIR noted in the statement that it expects “the slow recovery to contribute to a structural supply gap after 2030, as limited exploration today constrains future project pipelines and resource replacement”. EIR Director Patrick Rutty said in the statement, “exploration is not rebounding quickly, but the early indicators are clearly improving”. “Given recent drilling success and diminished concerns over peak demand, the industry is reprioritizing exploration, a dynamic that should drive resource capture to relatively high levels over the next five years but does not yet negate the risk of a structural supply gap later this decade,” he added. In a

China has bought some Venezuelan oil that was purchased earlier by the US, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “China has already bought some of the crude that’s been sold by the US government,” Wright told the media in Caracas, without giving details. “Legitimate Chinese business deals under legitimate business conditions” would be fine, he said, when asked about possible joint ventures in the country. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he wasn’t familiar with Wright’s comments when asked at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday. The global oil market was jolted in January as US forces swooped into Venezuela and seized former President Nicolás Maduro, with Washington asserting control over the OPEC member’s crude industry. Since then, traders have looked for signals about how export patterns may change, and how output may be revived after years of neglect, sanctions, and underinvestment. The South American country’s so-called “oil quarantine” was essentially over, Wright said on Thursday. Ahead of the intervention, the US blockaded the country’s oil flows with a vast naval force, and seized several vessels. Refiners in China — the largest world’s oil importer — were the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude before the US move, with the bulk of the imports bought by private processors. Given those flows were sanctioned, they were typically offered with deep discounts, making them attractive to local users. After Maduro’s seizure, President Donald Trump said that Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US, according to a post on Truth Social. In addition, Wright told Fox News in January that the US would not cut China off from accessing Venezuelan crude. Several Indian refiners have bought Venezuela’s flagship Merey-grade crude following the US action, and the government has asked state-owned processors to consider buying more Venezuelan and US oil.

Oil markets are awash in crude, keeping a lid on prices and squeezing drillers. For US refiners, though, the glut is proving a windfall.  The big three US refiners — Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy Corp. and Phillips 66 — all beat estimates in fourth quarter earnings results reported in recent weeks. On calls with analysts, executives signaled a profitable outlook for 2026 and the years ahead, not least because they’re set to benefit from an influx of cheaper and more readily available heavy crudes.  The divergence reflects a growing imbalance in global fuel markets: demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel is rising faster than new refining capacity is growing, even as oil producers continue to pump more crude than the world needs. That dynamic allows refiners to buy cheaper feedstock while charging more for finished fuels. “We are very bullish,” Phillips 66 Chief Executive Officer Mark Lashier said on a Feb. 4 call with analysts. Fuel demand is set to grow in 2026, and global refining capacity additions will fall short, Lashier said. The upbeat tone is a far cry from early 2025, when President Donald Trump’s tariff uncertainty clouded the economic outlook and sparked concerns over fuel demand. At the time, the industry braced for a wave of plant closures. Since then, fuel consumption has remained resilient even as the supply glut drove oil prices lower. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is down about 10% over the past 12 months.  Refining margins for America’s top fuel makers, who collectively process some 8 million barrels of oil a day, ended 2025 with profits that were about $5 a barrel higher than the fourth quarter of 2024. With fuel demand forecast to stay strong, the upward momentum for margins is likely to continue. Consultant Rapidan Energy, in its refined product outlook

Ukrainian drones hit another Russian refinery owned by Lukoil PJSC, as Kyiv’s attacks on its foe’s energy infrastructure resume after a lull last month. Fire crews are working to extinguish a blaze at an oil refinery in the city of Ukhta some 1,550 kilometers (965 miles) from Moscow, following a Ukrainian drone attack, Komi region Governor Rostislav Goldshtein said in a post on Telegram, without giving further details.  The fire broke out at the refinery’s primary unit and a visbreaker, a unit designed to convert heavy residue into lighter oil products, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Telegram. Lukoil didn’t respond to a Bloomberg request for comment.  Ukraine carried out multiple high-precision strikes on Russia’s energy assets last year, leading to refinery shutdowns, disruptions at oil terminals and the rerouting of some tankers. The attacks are designed to curb the Kremlin’s energy revenues and restrict fuel supplies to Russian front lines as the war is about to enter a fifth year.  The attacks slowed in January, targeting three small independent Russian refineries that together account for about 7% of the country’s typical monthly crude throughput. The lull offered temporary relief for Russia’s downstream sector, allowing refinery runs to gradually recover. As processing rates improved, the government lifted its ban on most gasoline exports, enabling producers to resume shipments in February, a month earlier than planned. On Wednesday, however, Ukraine attacked Lukoil’s oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region in the first major strike on the country’s oil-processing industry this year. The plant’s design capacity is about 300,000 barrels of crude a day.  The smaller Ukhta refinery has recently been processing just over 60,000 barrels per day.  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

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by 8.5 million barrels from the week ending January 30 to the week ending February 6. That’s what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report, which was released on Wednesday and included data for the week ending February 6. According to the EIA report, crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 428.8 million barrels on February 6, 420.3 million barrels on January 30, and 427.9 million barrels on February 7, 2025. Crude oil in the SPR stood at 415.2 million barrels on February 6, 415.2 million barrels on January 30, and 395.3 million barrels on February 7, 2025, the EIA report revealed. 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 1.689 billion barrels on February 6, the report highlighted. Total petroleum stocks were down 1.7 million barrels week on week and up 81.9 million barrels year on year, the report pointed out. “At 428.8 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about three 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 increased by 1.2 million barrels from last week and are about four percent above the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline inventories decreased, while blending components inventories increased last week,” it added. “Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 2.7 million barrels last week and are about four percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories decreased 5.4 million barrels from last week and are about 36 percent above the five

In a market update sent to Rigzone late Wednesday, Rystad Energy outlined that the January U.S. labor market report “surprise[d]… to the upside, underpinning energy demand”. Rystad noted in the report that the latest U.S. jobs data “shows promise, with the unemployment rate falling by 4.3 percent, pointing to market stability”. “Non-farm payrolls increased by 130,000 jobs in January, while the rise for December was downwardly revised to 48,000,” it pointed out, adding that the unemployment rate in December was 4.4 percent. “The latest data compares with consensus expectations of job gains of around 70,000 and the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.4 percent,” Rystad said. In the update, Rystad Energy Chief Economist Claudio Galimberti noted that payroll growth exceeded expectations and that unemployment edged lower. “Following a series of weaker private indicators, the data suggests stabilization rather than strong acceleration,” Galimberti said. “Markets that had positioned for a rapid easing cycle responded by repricing yields higher and scaling back expectations for near-term rate cuts,” he added. “For energy markets, the implications are moderately supportive. A resilient labor market underpins demand for transport fuels, petrochemicals and power generation, reducing downside risks to U.S. consumption at a time when macro sentiment had turned cautious,” he continued. “While the U.S. is not the primary driver of incremental global oil demand, labor market stability reinforces the view that the demand picture is firming up,” he went on to state. Galimberti noted in the update that “revisions to prior data confirm that the cycle is mature, not accelerating”. “Still, in a market already balancing OPEC+ supply management against geopolitical risk, a firmer U.S. macro signal marginally strengthens the demand outlook,” he said. “The result is a modestly constructive backdrop for oil prices in the near term, without materially shifting the fundamentals,” Galimberti concluded. In