The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) increased its 2026 West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil average spot price forecast, and lowered its 2027 projection, in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO). According to the EIA’s February STEO, which was released on February 10, the EIA now sees the WTI spot price averaging $53.42 per barrel this year and $49.34 per barrel next year. In its previous STEO, which was released in January, the EIA projected that the WTI spot price would average $52.21 per barrel in 2026 and $50.36 per barrel in 2027. A quarterly breakdown included in the EIA’s latest STEO projected that the WTI average spot price will come in at $58.62 per barrel in the first quarter of this year, $53.65 per barrel in the second quarter, $51.69 per barrel in the third quarter, $50.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $49.00 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $49.66 per barrel in the second quarter, $49.68 per barrel in the third quarter, and $49.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2027. In its previous STEO, the EIA forecast that the WTI spot price would average $54.93 per barrel in the first quarter of this year, $52.67 per barrel in the second quarter, $52.03 per barrel in the third quarter, $49.34 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $49.00 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $50.66 per barrel in the second quarter, $50.68 per barrel in the third quarter, and $51.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2027. In a BMI report sent to Rigzone by the Fitch Group on Friday, BMI projected that the front month WTI crude price will average $64.00 per barrel in 2026 and $68.00 per barrel in 2027. Standard Chartered sees the NYMEX WTI nearby

Some OPEC+ members see scope for the alliance to resume supply increases in April, believing concerns of a glut in global oil markets to be overblown. The group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia hasn’t committed to any course of action or begun formal discussions ahead of its meeting on March 1, according to several delegates, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. Their ultimate decision may depend on whether US President Donald Trump launches military action against — or reaches a nuclear deal with — OPEC member Iran, one added.  Nonetheless, some nations in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies said they see room to resume the output increases the coalition paused during the seasonal demand slowdown of the first quarter.  Trump’s assertive stance toward OPEC members Venezuela and Iran, along with disruptions spanning from North America to Kazakhstan, drove oil prices to a strong start of the year despite warnings of a supply glut. Several top traders have said that prices are supported by tightness in key markets, as many of the surplus barrels are from producers subject to sanctions like Russia and Iran, and thus remain unavailable to a wider pool of buyers. That has made the market surprisingly resilient. Brent futures are up 11% this year, after spiking to a six-month high near $72 a barrel at the end of January over concerns a conflict might erupt in the Middle East. Oil inventories piled up last year at the fastest pace since the 2020 pandemic amid swelling output from both OPEC+ and its competitors in the Americas, according to the International Energy Agency, though the impact on prices was tempered as China scooped up barrels for its strategic reserves. Last April, the Saudis stunned crude traders by steering OPEC+ to

In a release sent to Rigzone on Thursday, ADNOC Drilling said it had delivered its “best year on record with 2025 net profit of $1.45 billion”. “ADNOC Drilling Company PJSC announced today record fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, marking a step change in scale, technology-enabled performance and excellence in execution,” the company noted in the release. “This performance represents the strongest in the company’s history, reflecting high asset utilization and continued growth across integrated drilling and oilfield services, and driven by strong operational execution across the fleet,” it added. ADNOC Drilling highlighted in the release that its 2025 net profit marked an 11 percent year on year increase. In 2025, the company reported revenue of $4.9 billion, which it pointed out was a 22 percent increase year on year, and EBITDA of $2.2 billion, which it highlighted was an increase of nine percent year on year. “2025 was a defining year for ADNOC Drilling,” ADNOC Drilling CEO Abdulla Ateya Al Messabi said in the release. “Our record breaking results were delivered by our people, whose discipline, innovation and commitment to operational excellence and safety underpin every milestone we achieve,” Messabi added. “Our resilience as a business, built on strong systems, disciplined operations and the ability to adapt at pace, continues to reinforce our competitive strength,” the CEO continued. “Through execution excellence, technology‑led efficiency and a disciplined approach to capital allocation and operations, we continue our transformation into the region’s most advanced energy services company,” Messabi said. “By expanding across the GCC, pioneering AI‑driven operations and setting new benchmarks in sustainability, we are unlocking value and helping power the UAE’s energy future. This is just the beginning of a new era of growth, innovation and impact,” Messabi went on to note. In a release posted on its site in November last year, ADNOC Drilling announced that

A vast hoard of sanctioned oil that’s stranded at sea is driving up global prices as buyers compete for other barrels, several of the world’s top traders said. Refineries that would typically buy Russian and Iranian crude are increasingly turning elsewhere, Russell Hardy, the chief executive officer of Vitol Group, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, said at an event in London on Thursday. His views are widely echoed by traders from around the world, including at Gunvor Group and Pacific Investment Management Co.  A ramp-up of sanctions pressure on Russia and Iran has tightened the screws on flows from the two nations over the past few months, forcing buyers in countries like India to seek alternatives. The shift marks a potential turning point after years of sanctioned oil flowing with little restriction, and is supporting prices even as analysts warn of a mounting excess of supply. “The traditional buyers of those two supply sources are reaching for more Western or Saudi supply sources, which is in turn tightening the real market,” Hardy said at the International Energy Week conference in London. “The global supply demand balance needs to factor in some of these difficult situations — because that’s roughly a million barrels a day that’s not reaching a refinery — it’s just sitting on the high seas.” The US and European nations have stepped up moves to seize tankers from the shadow fleet that helps keep sanctioned barrels flowing, while restrictions on Russia’s biggest producers, and American political pressure have forced Indian refiners to look elsewhere for barrels. The result has been a large volume of oil building up at sea that’s not getting bought. While a flotilla of oil tankers can often be very bearish because it points to oversupply, this time it’s pressuring refiners to look elsewhere

The oil market is positioning itself for a period of higher geopolitical risk and unpredictability, according to Emily Ashford, Energy Research Head at Standard Chartered Bank. “This is evident in both the gradual push higher in flat price, adjustments in the forward curve and volatility skew,” Ashford said in a report sent to Rigzone by the Standard Chartered team this week. “Brent crude for April delivery settled at $69.04 per barrel on 9 February, a week on week rise of $2.74 per barrel (or 4.13 percent). The forward curve has moved higher week on week,” Ashford added. “While movement at the front of the curve is the most significant, even delivery in five years is $0.53 per barrel higher week on week,” Ashford continued. “Call skew is very well bid, with 1m risk reversal (RR) at 18.69 on 9 February; approximately the same levels as during the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine (19.14 on 8 March 2022) , and was only recently higher in mid-June 2025 (23.01 on 17 June 2025), during the previous escalation in the U.S.-Iran-Israel conflict,” the Standard Chartered Bank Energy Research Head went on to state. In the report, Ashford highlighted that traders and analysts were meeting in London this week for the annual International Energy Week, which the energy head said “is always a useful gauge of market sentiment”. “Last year the focus was around the new second Trump administration, and whether it would be inherently bullish or bearish for oil prices,” Ashford noted. “This was particularly so given the signing of a National Security Presidential Memorandum in early February 2025 that restored maximum pressure on Iran, with a focus on reducing its crude exports,” Ashford said. “One year later, and the complex U.S.-Iran relationship and potential impact on Iranian barrels in the market remains

CARACAS, VENEZUELA—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright deliveredremarks today alongside Interim President Delcy Rodriguez after meetings at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas. Secretary Wright’s full remarks are below: Thank you so much, Interim President Rodriguez. It is an honor to stand here with you today, and to be among the tremendous people of Venezuela. As Interim President Rodriguez mentioned, our countries share a long history. It has gone through different chapters as all relationships do. But today, I bring a message from President Trump: He is passionately committed to absolutely transforming the relationship between the United States and Venezuela. This is part of a broader agenda to make the Americas great again, to bring our countries closer together, and to bring commerce, peace, prosperity, jobs, and opportunity to the people of Venezuela in partnership with the United States. These are not just words or ambitions. We have very specific plans and very specific actions already. This is President Trump’s broader agenda: peace, commerce, and trade, not conflict, not military action, not what has dominated so much of our world. Whether it’s in the Middle East, whether it’s in South Asia, or maybe, most importantly, in the Americas, we want commerce, we want peace, we want prosperity, we want security. Our government in Washington, DC, has been working 7 days a week to issue licenses, so existing businesses in Venezuela, new businesses that want to enter Venezuela, Venezuelan national companies can buy products, invest money, raise oil production, create new jobs, grow export revenue. All of the things that have constricted the Venezuelan economy, we want to set the Venezuelan people and the economy free. We had very wonderful and candid dialogues today. We both spoke very candidly about the tremendous opportunities in front of us, and some of the problems