In a Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) report sent to Rigzone by the SEB team on Thursday, SEB Commodities Analyst Ole R. Hvalbye outlined that “fresh U.S. sanctions reignited strong upside momentum” in the oil market. “The U.S. has now announced sanctions targeting Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC, effectively blacklisting both companies,” Hvalbye said in the report. “Washington cited Moscow’s lack of progress toward peace in Ukraine, marking a significant escalation in pressure on President Vladimir Putin to enter negotiations,” he added. Hvalbye stated in the report that a full blacklisting would, at least in theory, make it very difficult for Rosneft and Lukoil barrels to reach the market. “Rosneft produced nearly 3.7 million barrels per day during the first half of 2025, while Lukoil’s Russian assets contributed roughly 1.6 million barrels per day of oil and condensate output (2024 data),” he noted. “Together, the two companies account for almost half of Russia’s total crude exports, underscoring the scale and impact of Washington’s move. Rosneft, led by Igor Sechin, and privately held Lukoil are by far Russia’s largest oil producers and central to the country’s energy income,” he added. “It is worth noting that oil and gas revenues make up around 24 percent of Russia’s federal budget, highlighting the strategic importance of these sanctions,” Hvalbye continued. The SEB analyst went on to state that, while the sanctions’ effectiveness remains uncertain, the move represents a clear shift in tone from the Trump administration and opens the door for even tougher measures ahead. “Trump has also stated his intention to raise the issue of Chinese purchases of Russian oil when he meets President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week,” Hvalbye highlighted. “Earlier this week, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly signaled that India would begin to

The European Union adopted a new package of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure, joining a new US push to chip away at Moscow’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine. The EU measures will ban LNG imports from 2027, according to a statement from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU will also impose a full transaction ban on two major Russian oil companies, Rosneft PJSC and Gazpromneft, and sanction 118 additional so-called shadow fleet vessels, which have enabled Russia to evade previous measures. The move adds momentum to western allies’ renewed push to punish Moscow. On Wednesday, the US announced sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC, after a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin was called off. Those penalties came a week after the UK also hit the same Russian oil giants. “The 19th package is very important,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters on Thursday before joining EU leaders at a summit in Brussels. “But American sanctions are also very important. And this is a good signal to other countries in the world to join the sanctions.”  The potential Trump-Putin gathering had unnerved European officials, who feared Trump may be adopting a more Putin-friendly stance after several months where he publicly threatened Russia with sanctions and appeared receptive to Ukraine’s pleas for additional weapons.  Still, Zelenskiy left a meeting with Trump last week without desired commitments on long-range missiles. Instead, Trump urged both Zelenskiy and Putin to declare an immediate ceasefire and begin negotiations. Zelenskiy is open to that approach and joined a statement with European leaders this week, when they all endorsed the suggestion. “A ceasefire is possible, of course, and I think all of us need a ceasefire,” Zelenskiy said Thursday. “But we need more pressure

(Update) October 23, 2025, 8:25 AM GMT+1: Article updated with European Commission comment. The energy chiefs of leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters Qatar and the United States on Wednesday addressed a letter to European Union heads of state calling for the removal of provisions in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) that they say curtail LNG trade. The directive does not single out the LNG sector, or the energy industry. It compels any “large” EU company or that sources revenue from the EU to, as per the words of the European Commission, “identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their actions inside and outside Europe”. According to the latest amendment to the CSDDD adopted by the European Parliament and Council on April 14, 2025, the new rules will not take effect for companies until 2028. That is a year after EU member states are required to transpose the directive into their national laws. However, the U.S. and Qatar expressed concern over a lack of engagement on the EU side over “unintended consequences for LNG export competitiveness and the availability of reliable, affordable energy for EU consumers”, according to the letter. “We have consistently and transparently communicated how the CSDDD, as it is worded today, poses a significant risk to the affordability and reliability of critical energy supplies for households and businesses across Europe and an existential threat to the future growth, competitiveness and resilience of the EU’s industrial economy”, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Qatar Energy Affairs Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said in the open letter, shared on the U.S. Energy Department’s website. It said an omnibus revision package proposed by the European Commission to make the CSDDD workable for affected companies “falls grossly short of its aspirations”. “The EU and its member states

The energy chiefs of leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters Qatar and the United States on Wednesday addressed a letter to European Union heads of state calling for the removal of provisions in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) that they say curtail LNG trade. The directive does not single out the LNG sector, or the energy industry. It compels any “large” EU company or that sources revenue from the EU to, as per the words of the European Commission, “identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their actions inside and outside Europe”. According to the latest amendment to the CSDDD adopted by the European Parliament and Council on April 14, 2025, the new rules will not take effect for companies until 2028. That is a year after EU member states are required to transpose the directive into their national laws. However, the U.S. and Qatar expressed concern over a lack of engagement on the EU side over “unintended consequences for LNG export competitiveness and the availability of reliable, affordable energy for EU consumers”, according to the letter. “We have consistently and transparently communicated how the CSDDD, as it is worded today, poses a significant risk to the affordability and reliability of critical energy supplies for households and businesses across Europe and an existential threat to the future growth, competitiveness and resilience of the EU’s industrial economy”, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Qatar Energy Affairs Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said in the open letter, shared on the U.S. Energy Department’s website. It said an omnibus revision package proposed by the European Commission to make the CSDDD workable for affected companies “falls grossly short of its aspirations”. “The EU and its member states must now act swiftly to address these legitimate concerns, either by repealing the

Norway averaged 326.26 million standard cubic meters a day (MMscmd) in natural gas production in the first three quarters, down from 341.25 MMscmd in the same nine-month period last year, according to official data. Data is preliminary for September 2025, for which the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) estimated 282.1 MMscmd of gas output. That is down 15.6 percent from August 2025 but up 17.2 percent against September 2024. The September 2025 figure fell short of the NOD’s forecast for the month by 1.9 percent. Norway sold 8.5 billion scmd last month, down 1.9 billion scmd from August, according to the data published on the NOD’s website. According to the European Commission’s latest quarterly gas market report, covering the first quarter of 2025, the Nordic country remained the European Union’s top gas supplier, accounting for 31 percent or 21.7 Bcm. Norway remained the EU’s biggest pipeline gas supplier, accounting for 55 percent or 20.6 Bcm. Norway’s share of the EU’s piped gas imports increased by five percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 following the end of the Ukraine-Russia transit deal. Meanwhile Norway’s oil production in September averaged 1.82 million barrels per day (MMbpd), down seven percent from August but up 13.7 percent from September 2024. The figure exceeded the NOD projection by 5.4 percent. Total liquids production was 1.99 MMbpd, down 7.8 percent month-on-month but up 14.8 percent year-on-year. “Preliminary production figures for September 2025 show an average daily production of 1,991,000 barrels of oil, NGL [natural gas liquids] and condensate”, the NOD reported. “The total petroleum production so far in 2025 is about 176.2 million Sm3 oil equivalents (MSm3 o.e.), broken down as follows: about 78.5 MSm3 o.e. of oil, about 8.7 MSm3 o.e. of NGL and condensate and about 89.4 MSm3 o.e. of gas for sale”, it

Matador Resources Co., Dallas, ramped up operations and spending during the third quarter—topping the midpoint of the July capex guidance by $95 million—to take advantage of lower service prices. That decision resulted in Matador turning in line 34.5 net operated wells, which was 4.5 wells above executives’ guidance from 3 months ago. Those incremental wells added $15 million to capex during the quarter but executives said they also allocated $56 million to wells that they expect to turn in line this quarter. Also contributing to the spending increase was due to unexpected non-operated well activity of $15 million. Those factors contributed to third-quarter capex coming in at $430 million versus the $335 million midpoint of executives’ range from the summer. For the full year, chairman and chief executive officer Joe Foran and his team now expect the midpoint of spending to be a little more than $1.5 billion, up from nearly $1.28 billion after the year’s second quarter.  During the current quarter, Matador produced more than 119,500 b/d of oil, which was above the range of 116,500-118,000 b/d of production Foran and his lieutenants forecast 3 months ago but below second-quarter’s s nearly 123,000 b/d. Total production was flat with the spring quarter at about 209,000 boe/d. In midday trading, shares of Matador (Ticker: MTDR) were down about 10% to $39.42, the lowest level since early May. The company’s market capitalization, which was roughly $6.2 billion in late July, is now back to about $5 billion. The executive team is guiding for full-year production to be about 206,000 boe/d, slightly higher than the previous 202,500 boe/d estimate. For 2026, the company expects oil production growth of 2-5% and total production to be about 210,000 boe/d. Foran said the team will use the greater efficiency gained over the last quarter—Matador’s drilling and