The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Monday. WCS for October delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $11.40 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $11.50 a barrel discount on Friday. * Monday's close was the narrowest discount for WCS since late July. Discounts widened in August due in part to the shutdown of BP's 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, [Read more]
Cuts to US oil jobs and spending threaten output growth
The U.S. oil industry has laid off thousands of workers and cut billions in spending due to lower oil prices and the biggest consolidation in a generation, in what could mark the end of the rapid output growth that made the U.S. the world's top producer. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in the OPEC+ producer group are increasing output to win back market share that was lost to the United States and other producers in recent years. OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to [Read more]
ConocoPhillips’ deep layoffs highlight need for capital discipline, analysts say
ConocoPhillips must sharpen its focus on capital discipline and investment priorities in order to regain its competitiveness against peers as oil prices and revenues fall, investors and analysts said, after the company announced last week it would lay off up to 25% of staff to cut costs. The third-largest U.S. oil producer joins majors Chevron and BP, and the world's largest oil service providers SLB and Halliburton, in cutting staff as increased output from OPEC+ and economic uncertainty due to [Read more]
Barclays cuts 2026 Brent forecast on OPEC+ supply increase expectations
Barclays on Monday lowered its Brent crude oil price forecast for 2026 by $4 to $66 a barrel, citing expectations that OPEC+ will fully unwind voluntary production cuts by September next year. The bank said OPEC+'s weekend decision to raise October production targets by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) was "the group initiating the unwind of its initial voluntary adjustments that came into effect in May 2023." At this pace, the bank noted, OPEC+ would complete the full rollback of 1.66 million [Read more]
Saudi Power Play
Hello Power Up readers, It’s a real pleasure to welcome you to the revamped Power Up newsletter from Reuters Open Interest (ROI). Power Up will continue to bring you the latest news and analysis about what’s shaping energy markets, covering everything from oil and gas to renewables and power, but it will now feature more keen insights and commentary from Reuters and the ROI team. Whether you're an industry professional or simply energy-curious, Power Up is your go-to guide to understand one of [Read more]
Japan hires Wood Mackenzie to assess Trump-backed Alaska LNG project, sources say
Japan has hired energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie to assess a proposed 800-mile Alaska gas pipeline and LNG plant in a sign it is weighing support for the $44 billion project touted by U.S. President Donald Trump, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The assessment could help assuage lingering concerns among potential Japanese off-takers and investors about a project that has languished for decades due to cost and logistical challenges, said one of the sources, requesting anonymity [Read more]
Kremlin says sanctions will never force Russia to change course
The Kremlin said on Monday that no sanctions will ever be able to force Russia to change course on Ukraine, just hours after both the United States and European Union indicated they were considering additional sanctions. The West has imposed thousands of different sanctions on Russia over the 2022 war in Ukraine and the 2014 annexation of Crimea in a bid to sink Russia's $2.2 trillion economy and undermine support for President Vladimir Putin. Putin says the Russian economy, which has [Read more]
China oil demand to peak in 2027, up 100,000 bpd this year, state researcher says
China's total oil demand including all products is set to peak in 2027, with a rise of about 100,000 barrels per day this year driven by increased volumes from the petrochemicals sector, a state oil researcher said on Monday. Surging usage of electric vehicles in China, the world's biggest oil importer, is eroding fuel demand, with use of EVs poised to replace at least 25 million metric tons of gasoline (582,000 barrels per day) this year, the researcher said. The country's independent [Read more]
Canada’s Strathcona sweetens MEG Energy bid to top Cenovus offer
Canadian oil and gas producer Strathcona Resources raised its offer for MEG Energy on Monday, seeking to outbid Cenovus Energy. MEG's Christina Lake oil sands project has become a prize asset in Canada's energy sector, with its long reserve life, low operating costs and significant potential for production growth making it one of the few large-scale expansion opportunities left on the oil patch. MEG's board has backed Cenovus' offer, which would combine its Christina Lake operations with [Read more]
Ships will be able to load more TMX oil by early 2027, Trans Mountain exec says
Canadian pipeline operator Trans Mountain expects dredging works at the port in Vancouver to be completed at the end of 2026 or early 2027, which will allow ships to load more oil than before, a senior executive said on Monday. "Right now, Aframaxes can only leave our dock 70% full," Jennifer Pierce, chief administrative officer, Trans Mountain said at the APPEC conference in Singapore. "When this dredging is completed at the end of '26, beginning of 2027, an Aframax would be able to move [Read more]