Saudi Satorp refinery at capacity: TotalEnergies

Market: Crude oil, Oil products
29/10/26

Saudi Arabia's 460,000 b/d Satorp refinery is operating at capacity, according to TotalEnergies' chief executive Patrick Pouyanne.

"Satorp is now back at nominal capacity since the end of the third quarter," Pouyanne said today during a call about the company's earnings. TotalEnergies operates Satorp in a 37.5-62.5 venture with state-controlled Saudi Aramco.

Satorp was damaged in early April by Iranian attacks. No details about the extent of the damage were disclosed by TotalEnergies or Aramco. TotalEnergies had said the refinery was operating at 70pc in June.

The plant is on Saudi Arabia's Mideast Gulf coast, so exports are subject to safe passage through the strait of Hormuz.

By Ben Winkley

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29/10/26

Iran downplays latest US overture

Washington, 29 October (Argus) — Iran has confirmed receiving a diplomatic missive from US vice president JD Vance but is restating its conditions for allowing free navigation through the strait of Hormuz. Neither Tehran nor Washington disclosed the content of Vance's letter or explained its timing. President Donald Trump on Wednesday presented the message as Vance's initiative, which, Trump said, had to do with providing "help with medical supplies and various things". Vance addressed his letter to Iran's supreme national security council secretary Mohsen Rezaei, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim. Rezaei has yet to respond to the letter, but Tehran would insist on the US' consent to the conditions set for allowing free navigation through Hormuz, said Tasnim, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran's conditions effectively restate, and demand implementation, of the concessions Trump agreed to in June under a briefly-lived Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. Tehran is eyeing repatriation of frozen Iranian assets in foreign banks, the lifting of the US naval blockade and broad sanctions relief. The Trump administration appears to believe that those concessions are no longer plausible. The US naval blockade has chocked off Iran's crude exports since mid-July. A US military-assisted campaign has increased the flow of oil through Hormuz. But the US-sponsored maritime oil transporting operation has significantly increased freight and insurance costs for the tankers that do make it to the Gulf of Oman without being hit by Iran. The US military on Wednesday warned commercial vessels to plan for additional transit times near the strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman as military forces step up the blockade of Iranian ports and coastlines. Tehran says it has reasons to be wary of any diplomatic overtures from the US. Both in June 2025 and February 2026, US diplomatic outreach to Tehran set the scene for US military strikes against Iran. The White House may feel less constrained over resuming large-scale hostilities with Iran after the midterms elections, as Trump has indicated. Israel held a parliamentary election on 27 October, with interim results signaling that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu could to remain in office in the near term, at least in a caretaker capacity. But "I don't see any possibility of what President Trump is looking for, which is a knockout punch that will essentially force the Iranians into a compromise or capitulation", Washington-based Carnegie Endowment senior fellow Karim Sadjadpour said last week. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Nabors sees ‘huge potential’ in Venezuela

29/10/26

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29/10/26

Nabors sees ‘huge potential’ in Venezuela

Pittsburgh, 29 October (Argus) — US-based drilling rig operator Nabors sees "huge potential" to grow its rig count in Venezuela and expects its Lower 48 rig count to extend gains into the fourth quarter. Nabors said the broader outlook for Venezuela is improving, with customers considering new long-term drilling programs. "With the right commercial arrangements, Venezuela could quickly become a meaningful contributor to our international business," president and chief executive Anthony Petrello said on an earnings call. Venezuela has slowly re-emerged as an oil exporter following the lifting of US sanctions after the 3 January seizure of former leader Nicolas Maduro and years of underinvestment. Crude output for the country has increased by 200,000 b/d since January to 1.2mn b/d in September but remains well below its past peak of 3mn b/d . Nabors won a multi-year drilling contract in Venezuela in the third quarter and is redeploying an idle US rig to meet its undisclosed client's schedule. The country currently has nine working rigs, down from more than 85 in 2013, Petrello said. Nabors retained a small employee presence in the country during the downturn and maintained its rigs there to the best extent possible. Nabors is tracking more than 20 additional rig opportunities in Venezuela, excluding potential increases by vertically integrated operators with their own rigs, Petrello said. The company has five idle rigs in Venezuela ready to respond to increased activity. "We are evaluating a number of opportunities with long-standing customers and other customers in Venezuela to start operations next year," Petrello said. Nabors expects its international drilling rig count to average 92-93 rigs in the fourth quarter and exit the year with 92 rigs. Intensified hostilities in the Middle East delayed some rig growth and equipment deliveries during the quarter. Nabors received suspension notices for five rigs in Saudi Arabia and pushed one rig deployment from the fourth quarter into the first quarter because of the disruption. Despite those delays, it remains on schedule for 18 new-build rigs to begin operations in the fourth quarter, chief financial officer Miguel Rodriguez said. In its US business, Nabors' average Lower 48 rig count increased by six sequentially in the third quarter to 73. The company ended the quarter with 74 rigs and expects to average 75 rigs in the fourth quarter, exiting 2026 with 76-77 rigs, Rodriguez said. Nabors expects tight US rig availability and consistent global demand to support further price gains. By Brad MacAulay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UK liquids production rises in September

29/10/26

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29/10/26

UK liquids production rises in September

London, 29 October (Argus) — UK crude production rose by 25pc in September from a 50-year low in August, but output remained well below the first-half year average. UK crude output was 482,000 b/d in September. The rise in output was likely due to a return of some North fields from maintenance which typically happens in August. September's average was around 13pc lower than the first-half year average. The figures suggest crude and condensate production averaged 524,000 b/d in September. The UK's annual production is on course to hit an historic low as fields the North Sea basin continue to mature. Liquids production averaged just 568,000 b/d in the first nine months of the year, down by 11pc from the first nine months of 2025. By Ellanee Kruck Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Incoming BC gov't questions oil tanker ban: Update

28/10/26

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28/10/26

Incoming BC gov't questions oil tanker ban: Update

Adds results from vote in Ottawa. Calgary, 28 October (Argus) — British Columbia's (BC) newly elected government is questioning the oil tanker ban along its northern coast but says debate over the federal law belongs in Ottawa. The federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which went into effect in June 2019, prohibits tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil from loading, unloading or stopping at ports from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border. The ban has effectively made crude exports from BC's northern coast impossible, to the ire of oil-rich Alberta, and was supported by the outgoing New Democratic Party (NDP) provincial government. But a 24 October majority win by the Conservative Party of BC may suggest an appetite to revisit the law that premier-elect Lorne Doerkson says "applies to Canadians and nobody else". "American tankers move oil down this same coast from Alaska every day, and the law says nothing to them. Those are real concerns and British Columbians should know I share them," Doerkson said in a statement to Argus on 27 October. Issues regarding Canada's west coast waters and the tanker moratorium fall under federal jurisdiction, so cannot be undone by BC. Prime minister Mark Carney agreed with outgoing BC premier David Eby in July to leave the tanker ban intact in exchange for BC to not resist the proposed 1mn b/d Pacific Link pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Delta, BC. Doerkson said his focus is on Pacific Link, which was initially spearheaded by the Alberta government but is now a joint venture between Alberta, Canada and Pembina Pipeline. Conservative-led Alberta seeks to capitalize on a change in government in its western neighbour, calling on Carney this week to end the tanker ban and take advantage of the port of Prince Rupert, the deepest port in North America and Canada's closest to Asia. A proposal to repeal the ban, brought forward by the federal Conservatives, failed to advance beyond the second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday by a 132-191 count with the Liberal-majority voting against. Bill C-264 would have required Carney to reverse his position on the ban only months after his pact with Eby. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US pushing further cuts to methane regulations

28/10/26

News

28/10/26

US pushing further cuts to methane regulations

Washington, 28 October (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration has unveiled a proposal to roll back methane regulations on the oil and gas industry, ahead of a subsequent initiative that could end further federal regulation of the potent greenhouse gas. The proposal — released on Tuesday — is meant to provide "near-term relief" on oil and gas methane rules that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said were unachievable, unreasonable or lacked clarity. The administration said the existing methane rules, which were issued under former president Joe Biden, will result in 100,000-200,000 low-producing wells closing by 2030 because of the costs of coming into compliance. "I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45bn in costs," Trump said at an event in Texas on Tuesday. The proposal rollback, which will be open to comment through 16 December, would dismantle key parts of Biden-era regulations that were expected to cut the industry's methane emissions by nearly 80pc below baseline levels. EPA plans to eliminate a program to monitor for massive methane leaks called "super emitter" events it said was unnecessary, while ending a ban on flaring of associated gas at oil wells it said was infeasible in some locations. Another major cut to the rules would cut methane detection at the estimated 1mn "marginal" wells in the US that produce less than 15 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) but account for roughly half of the industry's methane emissions. EPA said weakening those rules will mean only about 25,000 wells will be decommissioned in 2029, rather than nearly 200,000 wells if the rules stayed intact. Those and other changes will result in 55,000 boe/d more oil and gas production by 2030 compared to a baseline scenario, the agency expects. EPA began dismantling the methane rules soon after Trump started his second term. The agency already cut back on mandatory flare testing and delayed some compliance deadlines by 18 months or longer. In the latest proposal, EPA said it will decide whether to eliminate the methane rules entirely once it finalizes a rule where it claims to have no authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. "EPA's proposal sets the stage for the complete deregulation of methane under the Clean Air Act even after a decade of widely supported standards and multiple congressional actions mandating that EPA regulate methane," Clean Air Task Force methane regulatory director Darin Schroeder said. Oil and gas groups lauded EPA for its proposal to cut back on methane regulations. The regulations as initially finalized under Biden would have "threatened the continued operation of hundreds of thousands of marginal wells nationwide", Independent Petroleum Association of America chief executive Edith Naegele said. EPA expects the rule will result in 54mn-80mn metric tonnes of additional methane emissions through 2050, which at the high end would produce the same annual greenhouse gas emissions of 24 coal-fired power plants. Another effect of the rollback will be increased ozone emissions and smog, particularly in oil-producing states such as Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, EPA found. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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