Shell Plc is planning to dissolve a partnership with Russia’s Rosneft PJSC through which the two oil giants jointly own a stake in a pipeline from Kazakhstan. If the process is successful, Shell will still keep the stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium – rather than own it jointly with the sanctioned Russian energy giant, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is not public. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin this week authorized the two producers to make transactions that may lead to “establishment, modification, termination, or encumbrance” of property rights in their Caspian venture.  Shell pledged back in March 2022 to withdraw from Russian oil and gas in a phased manner due to the war in Ukraine.  The Kremlin provided no explanation for the permission, raising speculation over potential changes in the shareholdering structure of the CPC project, the main export route for Kazakhstan’s oil.  Shell has no plans to quit the wider CPC venture, the people said. Shell’s total stake in CPC is 7.4 percent, according to the company’s website. That includes 3.75 percent through the venture with Rosneft, 1.75 percent through direct participation and 2 percent through its affiliate BG Overseas Holding Ltd. A spokesman for Shell declined to comment. CPC carries Kazakh barrels to the Black Sea coast through Russia, and its shareholders include several global oil majors, as well as Russia’s largest producers Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC, both sanctioned by the US. The Rosneft-Shell JV owns 7.4 percent in the consortium. In the recent months, the CPC infrastructure has been a target of multiple drone attacks.  The strikes have led to temporary halts and curtailments in oil loadings, and the latest attack shut in one out of three CPC moorings, key for the facility’s operations.  Ukraine didn’t explicitly take responsibility for the attacks, although

The International Energy Agency trimmed estimates for a global oil supply surplus this year and next for the first time in several months as demand strengthens and output growth slows. World supplies will exceed demand by 3.815 million barrels a day in 2026, which would still mark a record, but trims last month’s estimate by 231,000 barrels a day. It’s also the first reduction since OPEC+ started ramping up production in May, while an estimate for this year’s overhang was curbed for the first time since February. The revision by the IEA — whose forecasts are used by the global oil industry and governments alike — reflects several factors: last month’s decision by OPEC+ to pause supply increases, slightly reduced estimates for the group’s rivals and a stronger outlook for world oil consumption. “The projected global oil surplus in the fourth quarter of 2025 has narrowed since last month’s report, as the relentless surge in global oil supply came to an abrupt halt,” the Paris-based agency said in a report. Meanwhile, “an improving macroeconomic and trade outlook” are buoying demand. Expectations for a world supply excess — which top trader Trafigura Group warned could turn into a “super glut” — have been weighing on prices ever since the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia agreed to open the taps earlier this year. Brent futures traded below $62 a barrel on Thursday, down 17% this year.  Despite the revision, the supply excess anticipated by the IEA next year would be unprecedented in annual terms, surpassed only during the depths of the Covid pandemic when demand crashed in 2020. The agency has said actual volumes may fall short of the overhang projected on paper, as crude producers make adjustments.  The accumulation of oil inventories to a four-year high — including a steep build-up of

Britain’s BP PLC and the United States’ Chevron Corp and Murphy Oil Corp led the first oil and gas area auction under the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Act, winning 51, 24 and 14 blocks respectively in federal waters in the Gulf of America, according to official results published Wednesday. “Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1” is the first of at least 30 lease sales required by the 2025 budget “reconciliation bill” for the Gulf of America, which President Donald Trump renamed from Gulf of Mexico after he assumed office for his second non-consecutive term. Out of nearly 15,200 blocks spanning 81.18 million acres offered, 181 blocks got winning bids. Thirty companies participated, submitting 219 bids, worth a total of $371.88 million. Winning bids totaled $300.43 million, according to the “Sale Day Statistics” released by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). “Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 1 marks a renewed, proactive offshore energy strategy focused on strengthening national security, expanding economic opportunity and responsibly stewarding America’s abundant natural resources”, Interior said in an online statement. Britain’s Shell PLC and Spain’s Repsol SA completed the top five winners, each of the two landing 12 blocks. Rounding up the top 10 successful bidders are Houston, Texas-based Talos Energy Inc with 11 blocks, Covington, Louisiana-based LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC (11 blocks), Australia’s Woodside Energy Group Ltd (eight blocks), Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp (eight blocks) and Norway’s majority state-owned Equinor ASA (seven blocks). BP, Chevron and Woodside spent the most for successful bids, totaling $61.88 million, $53.1 million and $38.08 million respectively. Rounding up the top five bidders in terms of the sum of their winning bids are Murphy ($27.39 million) and Houston-based Beacon Offshore Energy LLC ($20.06 million). Chevron offered the biggest single winning bid at $18.59 million, for Block

In a blog posted on GasBuddy’s website this week, the company outlined that the average U.S. gasoline price reached a “fresh multi-year low”. “Gas prices continued to decline in most states last week, while some price-cycling states saw temporary spikes to restore margins,” Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at the company, stated in the blog, which was published on Monday. “With the national average falling further, we’re now at multi-year lows heading into Christmas. Diesel prices are also easing, and in the cheapest cities, averages have dipped into the low-$2 range, with a few stations still offering gas under $2 per gallon,” De Haan added. “Barring any major disruptions, prices are likely to stay relatively low into the new year,” he continued. In Monday’s blog, GasBuddy noted that the nation’s average price of gasoline had fallen 5.0 cents over the last week and pointed out that it stood at $2.90 per gallon, “according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country”. “The national average is down 17.6 cents from a month ago and is 7.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago,” GasBuddy highlighted in the blog. “The national average price of diesel has fallen 5.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.671 per gallon,” it added. GasBuddy stated in the blog that the most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.79 per gallon, which it said was down 20 cents from last week. This was followed by $2.89, $2.69, $2.99, and $2.59, GasBuddy highlighted. “The median U.S. gas price is $2.79 per gallon, down four cents from last week and about 11 cents lower than the national average,” GasBuddy said. “The top 10 percent of stations in the

In a market update sent to Rigzone by the Rystad Energy team late Wednesday, Rystad highlighted that the price of oil “[did] not shift… on the Fed’s cut”. Rystad pointed out in the update that the Fed lowered its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to a range of 3.50-3.75 percent, describing the action as “a move that was largely in line with expectations”. “Fundamentals are still the primary drivers of change in commodity markets, with the price of oil not shifting based on the Fed’s cut,” Rystad noted in the statement. “Market participants and investors are paying closer attention to the forward-looking view shared by the central bank,” it added. “The Fed said that uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated, and it remains attentive to the risks to its dual mandate of achieving maximum employment and maintaining the inflation rate at two percent,” it continued. In Rystad’s update, Claudio Galimberti, Rystad Energy Chief Economist and Global Director of Market Analysis, stated that “the Federal Reserve’s divided decision to cut rates today [Wednesday] underscores a central bank that is easing cautiously while signaling a potential pause”. “For commodity markets, the message is clear: monetary policy is no longer a dominant driver of price direction. The Fed is cutting, but only reluctantly, and its projections show limited easing ahead despite a still-uncertain labor market and inflation that remains above target,” he added. Galimberti noted in the update that, in the near term, the rate cut modestly loosens financial conditions and may weaken the U.S. dollar at the margin, which he pointed out is typically supportive for crude, metals, and some agricultural commodities. He added, however, that “the signal of a pause tempers that boost, reminding markets that the Fed is unwilling to validate the two-cut easing path

Exxon Mobil Corp and Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) have agreed to evaluate upgrading their Samref refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, with plans to expand the site into an integrated petrochemical complex. The facility currently has a declared oil processing capacity and storage capacity of about 400,000 barrels per day and 13.2 million barrels respectively. It produces mostly gasoline, as well as diesel fuel, heating oil, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and others, the joint venture says on its website. “The companies will explore capital investments to upgrade and diversify production, including high-quality distillates that result in lower emissions and high-performance chemicals, as well as opportunities to improve the refinery’s energy efficiency and reduce emissions from operations through an integrated emissions-reduction strategy”, Aramco said in a press release. Aramco downstream president Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani said, “Designed to increase the conversion of crude oil and petroleum liquids into high-value chemicals, this project reinforces our commitment to advancing downstream value creation and our liquids-to-chemicals strategy. It will also position Samref as a key driver in the growth of the Kingdom’s petrochemical sector”. ExxonMobil senior vice president Jack Williams said, “We look forward to evaluating this project, which aligns with our strategy to focus on investments that allow us to grow high-value products that meet society’s evolving energy needs and contribute to a lower-emission future”. Aramco said, “The companies will commence a preliminary front-end engineering and design phase for the proposed project, which would aim to maximize operational advantages, enhance Samref’s competitiveness and help to meet growing demand for high-quality petrochemical products in the Kingdom”. “Plans are subject to market conditions, regulatory approvals and final investment decisions by Aramco and ExxonMobil”, it said. Samref is equally owned between Aramco and United States energy giant ExxonMobil. In other downstream expansion activities Aramco recently completed