https://oilprice.com/rss/main All the latest in Oil, Gas, Commodity news and analysis Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/StanChart-Sees-Higher-Oil-Floor-as-Hormuz-Crisis-Spreads-to-Saudi-Export-Routes.html oilprice-article-45527 Oil prices pulled back but remained elevated ahead of a critical Fed decision on Wednesday, with market expectations shifting towards a prolonged US-Iran conflict. Brent crude for November delivery fell 2.88% at 2:18 p.m. ET, to trade at $105.6 per barrel, while WTI crude for October delivery declined 3.33% to change hands at $102.3/bbl. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, its first rate hike since 2023, as policymakers responded to renewed inflationary pressure. Fed officials… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 19:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Tanker-Rates-Smash-1-Million-a-Day-as-Oil-Shipping-Crisis-Deepens.html oilprice-article-45526 The daily rate for commissioning a tanker topped $1 million for the first time in history amid a tightening supply of vessels to carry crude oil and fuels whose owners are willing to dare the Strait of Hormuz. The squeeze is adding extra costs to the price of oil for physical delivery, just as tankers become a cybersecurity target. Bloomberg reported record-high tanker rates earlier this week, noting that tankers commissioned to pick up crude from inside the Persian Gulf fetched as much as $1.035 per day, based on data from the Baltic Exchange.… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Irina Slav https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Above-100-Pushes-US-Fuel-Prices-to-New-Records.html oilprice-article-45525 Oil markets appear to have reached the inflection point that many analysts had predicted weeks ago as the Middle East conflict re-escalated with no diplomatic push in sight and global inventories continue to slump. Oil prices are back above $100 per barrel, lifting diesel and gasoline prices, including in the United States. The Trump Administration is looking to downplay the price spikes it sees as only temporary. Prices would “drop like a rock” when the Iran war ends, U.S. President Donald Trump said, but he appears to have acknowledged… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Tsvetana Paraskova https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Inside-Putins-135-Billion-Arctic-Gamble-That-Could-Save-His-Ukraine-War.html oilprice-article-45524 Back in early February 2022, Vladimir Putin had his first in-person meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for nearly two years, at the opening of the Winter Olympics ceremony in Beijing. To avoid disrupting this landmark event for Xi and to allow China to finalise the multiple hoarding deals for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies in which it had been engaged over the previous year, as analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order, Putin had delayed the imminent invasion of Ukraine. At that meeting,… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Simon Watkins https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Shale-Oil-Now-Makes-Up-72-of-Argentinas-Crude-Output-Data-Shows.html oilprice-article-45521 Argentina's controversial right-wing president, Javier Milei, slashed inflation with a brutal dose of economic austerity, but this came at a steep social cost. The cost of living is spiraling higher, fueling household debt, loan delinquencies, and economic hardship. Industrial output, since Milei took office, has declined sharply, with local companies closing at an alarming rate. While parts of the economy are falling into chaos, Argentina's oil and gas sector is experiencing a generational boom driven by the Vaca Muerta shale. Argentina's vital… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Matthew Smith https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/AI-Data-Centers-Are-Driving-Southeast-Asias-LNG-Demand-Through-the-Roof.html oilprice-article-45520 The artificial intelligence boom is sending Southeast Asia’s natural gas demand projections through the roof – but prolonged price hikes triggered by the war in Iran could turn the region toward renewable energies instead. What is more, these competing market forces are taking place against the backdrop of competing political forces as Southeast Asian leaders try to walk a tightrope between developing their economies through the increased growth of the tech sector as well as achieving their climate and decarbonization goals. These opposing… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Haley Zaremba https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Saudi-Oil-Crisis-Is-About-to-Hit-Europe.html oilprice-article-45523 Saudi Arabia’s oil supply crisis is rapidly becoming Europe’s problem. The September 10 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline struck the system at multiple locations and damaged at least one pumping station, forcing Riyadh to shut down the Kingdom’s critical alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The 1,200-kilometer Petroline can carry around 7 million barrels per day from Saudi Arabia’s eastern producing regions to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Since the war effectively closed Hormuz, it has become one of the most important… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:32:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Tom Kool https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Continental-Strikes-Venezuela-Oil-Deal-with-PDVSA.html oilprice-news-45527 Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA on Wednesday to operate and develop the Ayacucho 2 Block in the Orinoco Belt, the company announced, with an estimated 30 billion barrels of resource in place across roughly 126,000 acres in Anzoátegui state.  The two sides intend to advance a long-term Contrato de Participación Productiva agreement in the coming weeks; once it's signed, Continental will operate the block with a 100% working interest. The deal is one in a flurry… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:30:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Export-Constraints-Curb-Kazakhstans-Ability-to-Offset-the-Global-Oil-Shortage.html oilprice-article-45517 Kazakhstan, which has major oil reserves, is not in a position to help offset a looming energy crisis by expanding production, industry analysts say.  With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Russia sanctioned and Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline knocked out of action by Iranian drones, experts are predicting a spike in energy prices. The Saudi pipeline alone was responsible for supplying up to 4 percent, or 4 million tons per day, of global oil needs, mostly to Asian markets.  Kazakhstan cannot be counted on to make up for some of the… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Leaked-EU-Draft-Would-Scrap-Hydrogen-Mandates-for-EU-Wide-Target.html oilprice-article-45519 A leaked European Commission impact assessment working document for the upcoming Renewable Energy Directive, RED IV, signals a potentially significant shift in renewable fuels policy after 2030. The draft's "preferred pacage" would replace binding national renewable hydrogen mandates with a more flexible EU-wide target, while giving greater room to crop-based biofuels and favoring advanced biofuels made from European feedstocks. The direction suggests that energy security, cost and national flexibility are gaining weight alongside emissions reduction,… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Equinor-Targets-15-Million-Tons-of-LNG-as-Qatar-Exports-Stay-Blocked.html oilprice-news-45526 Equinor plans to expand its global LNG portfolio to between 10 million and 15 million tons a year in the early 2030s, targeting European and Asian buyers left short on supply by the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Reuters reported Wednesday. The company expects to announce a second Asian supply agreement this week, Equinor LNG vice president Ingvar Egeland said. The Hormuz passage normally carries about a fifth of global LNG supply, and the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has blocked Qatar and the UAE from exporting most of theirs through it, pushing Asian… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Energy-Shock-Puts-Bank-of-England-Under-Pressure-to-Raise-Rates.html oilprice-article-45518 The Bank of England is facing mounting pressure to raise interest rates on Thursday amid a global bond market rout fuelled by concerns over runaway government borrowing and sticky inflation. Investors told Threadneedle Street it was “essential” to rein in prices before the energy shock triggered by the Iran war spreads through the economy and that failing to do so would risk the Bank “losing credibility”. Government bonds across the developed world have been swept up in a historic sell-off, as oil prices surged to multi-month… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:00:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-Extends-Diesel-Export-Ban-Through-October.html oilprice-news-45525 Russia will extend its ban on diesel exports for all fuel producers to October 31, Vedomosti reported Tuesday, citing delayed refinery maintenance and the need to rebuild fuel reserves before winter. The ban, expanded in July from traders and small refineries to cover all producers, had been due to expire September 30. Diesel on the St. Petersburg commodity exchange traded at 70,546 rubles a ton in early September, and retail prices reached 88.44 rubles a liter on September 7, up 18.4% since the start of the year. Russia's Energy Ministry said… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:30:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/US-Oil-Inventories-Edge-Lower-as-Fuel-Demand-Softens.html oilprice-article-45522 Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 600,000 barrels during the week ending September 11, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 423.4 million barrels, according to government data, which are now 1% above with the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories had gained 7.14 million barrels in… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:41:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/TTF-Gas-Hits-9295-as-Gulf-Tensions-Weigh-on-Energy-Markets.html oilprice-news-45524 Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices held above the 80-euro mark early on Wednesday, staying close to 2022 highs, as low gas volumes in storage sites fuel concerns about winter supplies amid continued disruption and widening conflict in the Middle East. The front-month price at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, rose by 0.3% to $$92.95 (80.545 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of 9:15 a.m. in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Prices have held above the 80-euro per MWh threshold this week, after soaring… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:30:00 -0500 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:23:23 -0500 Michael Kern