FAA grounds takeoffs at all US airports

Spanish Market: Crude oil, Oil products
13/11/26

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday ordered a nationwide halt to aircraft departures because of "extraordinary circumstances" that government officials said was related to a communications issue.

The FAA, in an advisory at 3:54 pm ET, ordered all departing aircraft to be "ground stopped" until further notice because of "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety". Inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis, the FAA said in the advisory.

US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the nationwide ground stop was issued "following a communications issue" that was affecting facilities that manage air traffic control across the US.

"FAA technicians are investigating the issue," Duffy wrote in a social media post. "We will provide immediate updates as we have them."

By Chris Knight

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13/11/26

Asphalt ship collision halts lower Mississippi traffic

Houston, 13 November (Argus) — A tanker ship that typically carries asphalt collided with a cruise ship on Friday afternoon along the Mississippi River near the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana, capsizing the smaller vessel. The US Coast Guard closed Algiers Point to all vessel traffic until further notice on Friday at 3:24pm ET. The tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the riverboat American Heritage while it was docked in New Orleans, American Cruise Lines confirmed. Rescue efforts are underway as guests and crew were evacuated. The 17,764 dwt Atlantic Asphalt tanker was ballasting to Louisiana, according to the latest Vortexa data. Video of the scene from a local television station showed the tanker the a capsized cruise ship next to the Port of New Orleans administration building. Multiple rescue units, including US Coast Guard vessels were in the river. By Angelina Contreras Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Nabep crude split to US, Venezuela blending

13/11/26

Nabep crude split to US, Venezuela blending

Caracas, 13 November (Argus) — Private oil producer North America Blue Energy Partners (Nabep) said it is sending about half of its Venezuelan oil production directly to the US while the other half is sent to eastern Venezuela for blending and upgrading. In a tour of its operations this week — ranging from air-conditioned offices in Ciudad Ojeda to drilling rigs and gas compression plants 50 miles out on Maracaibo Lake — the US government-backed company said it is busy trying to boost production from long-neglected wells. A floating workover rig, "la 28", has been traveling around the lake for seven months working on existing wells. The workovers take between 9-12 days on wells with laterals as long as 16,000 feet, says lake operations supervisor Wilber Palencia and Nabep supervisor Rolando Moran. In some cases the work is relatively easy, like replacing a submerged electrical pump that stopped operating in 2018, at the height of the first wave of US sanctions against PdV. In other cases, it requires a combination of drilling, fuel oil flooding, gas lift techniques and submersible pumping. Gas lift has been the most successful technique so far, helping to produce 30°API crude from the Ceuta formation, although the lake can yield crude as low as 8°API. There are 114 wells Nabep operates on the lake that are being supported by heavy gas compression equipment to produce about 25,000 b/d. Pulling light crude from Ceuta and adjacent fields is a priority for Nabep. "We have several wells to attack, at least 40," Moran said. "If we can fix them to produce 2,000 b/d each, well, that's something." Nabep's Zulia division, which includes much of the former Petrozamora project, reported record production of 120,000 b/d on 12 November, about half of the company's total 220,000 b/d production, with an end-of-year goal of 130,000 b/d. There are no plans for new wells in Zulia at this time, according to to Nabep. Moran highlighted a number of aspects about the operations, such at the ability to switch from gas lift to submersible electric pumps with almost no loss in daily production if needed. The drilling mud is domestically produced, and much of the fuel used for maintaining well pressure, like fuel oil and diesel are also local and do not need to be imported. By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Jones Act waiver extended for 90 days: White House

13/11/26

Jones Act waiver extended for 90 days: White House

New York, 13 November (Argus) — US President Donald Trump will continue to waive domestic shipping requirements under the Jones Act for another 90 days, a White House official told Argus . The current waiver extension was slated to expire on 15 November, but the administration chose to make the third extension of the waiver despite domestic maritime interests calling on the president to not renew it . "The Jones Act waiver allows states additional flexibility to source products given supply disruptions due to ongoing international conflicts," the White House told Argus . The US administration initially waived the Jones Act — which allows only US-flagged, US-owned and US-crewed vessels to carry US-to-US shipments — on 17 March on national security grounds, opening up domestic shipping to foreign vessels. But some of the voyages conducted under the waiver have been criticized by the domestic maritime industry as not serving any national security purpose, with the waiver otherwise proving highly popular with US refiners. The waiver was extended in May and again in August, when the process switched from an automatic blanket approval to a case-by-case review in which the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) consults with the domestic maritime community to assess the availability of domestic vessels to carry a cargo before deciding to approve or deny a request. The combination of increased scrutiny by MARAD, high international tanker rates and the clarification by US authorities that foreign vessels using the waiver would still be subject to US taxes have lowered the use of the most recent iteration of Jones Act waivers by foreign shipowners. While the case-by-case review process is seen as an improvement, the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) said the process still operates with almost no transparency. There is no real-time public reporting of which requests are approved or denied, and approved movements continue to be posted late and in batches, sometimes weeks or months after the fact, OMSA tells Argus . The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), which represents domestic shipping interests, today urged the administration to continue scrutinizing all waiver requests using the case-by-case process to ensure waivers meet the statutory standard of military necessity and are not used to displace American vessels and American workers for routine commercial moves. "AMP calls for a prompt end to the waiver and looks forward to working with the Administration to advance our shared goal of restoring American maritime dominance by unleashing investment in rebuilding and growing the US domestic fleet," the group said today. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop: Presidencies release cover decision wish list

13/11/26

Cop: Presidencies release cover decision wish list

Edinburgh, 13 November (Argus) — The UN Cop 31 climate summit presidencies — Australia and Turkey — today published an informal list of themes countries would wish to address in a potential cover decision for the talks, including Turkey's electrification pledge, methane reductions and tripling finance adaptation. Today's note is meant to support discussions among parties, the Cop 31 presidencies said. Negotiations on the potential cover decision — an overarching political text led by the event's presidency, which can address themes that are not part of official negotiations — will start in earnest next week when ministers are due to arrive at the summit. "The document raises a long list of options, but sometimes in a contradictory and repetitive way," climate think-tank the World Resources Institute (WRI) said. Some parties commented on the need to not reopen negotiations, to make a distinction between the action agenda and negotiations and the importance of consensus. Some parties said there is "value in sending signals", but the text should not have "top-down targets, should not target specific sectors or energy sources, technology neutral" and not put additional pressure on budgets. At the same time, the section about increasing the share of electrification in final energy consumption globally to 35pc by 2035 talks about renewables and clean sources, and the text on methane clearly refers to the oil and gas industry as it mentions venting and flaring. This is likely to face opposition from major oil and gas producing countries. Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on 12 November that the expansion of electrification does not necessarily mean cutting emissions depending on the production sources. "The ultimate end is to cut emissions regardless of their sources. The kingdom reiterates that what unites us is the objective and not necessarily the track to achieving it," he said. Some parties in the list also "welcome" the Cop 30 presidency roadmaps on transitioning away from fossil fuels and forests and talk about "forward work" on this, although no details were given. This is also likely to face opposition by key parties which had signalled early on that the roadmaps should stay outside the negotiation process. The cover decision has some "positive points", notably on methane which France had asked for, even if it could be more precise and have a timeline, sources at the French climate ministry said, adding that the country will pay attention to the language on the 35 by 35 target in the upcoming negotiations. "Electrification is not an end in itself, electrification is a means of decarbonising," the source said. The Turkish Cop 31 presidency has set out a broad voluntary "35-by-35" global goal for electricity to reach 35pc of global final energy consumption by 2035, up from around 20pc currently, which could serve as a base for language in the cover decisions, according to some observers. Countries have started to come out in support of Turkey's electrification goal and more could signal interest in the second week of Cop 31. Support "in principle" for the goal is very wide, but it has not translated into a large number of countries coming out in favour of it officially, European Commission director for climate finance Diana Acconccia said today. She added that this could change when the ministers arrive to continue the negotiations in the second week of the summit. On finance, the list mentions following through on the $300bn/yr finance pledge by developed countries to developing countries and "pursuing efforts to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035". Adaptation finance language is likely to face developed countries' scrutiny. The EU said before the summit that there is no room for additional climate finance commitments at Cop 31 . "We are committed to deliver on [the $300bn/yr goal], Germany's state secretary at the environment ministry Heike Henn said today. But the US is no longer at the table and that makes a difference, she said, adding that finance discussions are also difficult for the countries that provide it. The presidency list for cover decision themes also acknowledges the value of co-operation under Article 6. By Caroline Varin and Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Global oil supply to surpass demand in 4Q: IEA

13/11/26

Global oil supply to surpass demand in 4Q: IEA

London, 13 November (Argus) — Global oil supply will surpass demand in the fourth quarter for the first time since the outbreak of the US-Iran war, and this gap will widen significantly in 2027, the IEA said today. In its latest Oil Market Report (OMR), the agency said that observed oil inventories rose by 52mn bl in October, the first monthly increase since June. The IEA said global oil supplies rose by 2.3mn b/d in October, driven by the Mideast Gulf, bringing the increase since August to 5.3mn b/d. Production and exports from the Gulf have steadily risen over the past few months as NOCs and traders shuttle cargoes through the strait of Hormuz in the face of attacks in the waterway. "Despite continued attacks on tankers, Gulf oil exports, excluding Oman, reached 18.4mn b/d last month, 26pc below pre-war levels," the IEA said. The recent output surge suggests the global oil market will return to a surplus in the fourth quarter, with an even larger build in 2027, the IEA said. It projects the world to flip from a deficit of around 720,000 b/d this year to a surplus of 3.8mn b/d in 2027. The agency said this year's supply losses from the Mideast Gulf and Russia were being partially offset by growth from the Americas, including the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Guyana, which are on track to boost combined output by 1.6mn b/d. Still, global oil supply is set to fall by 4.8mn b/d to 101.6mn b/d in 2026, before rebounding by 6.6mn b/d to 108.1mn b/d in 2027, it said. "Downside risks to the forecast persist, as attacks on shipping undermine maritime security, which is pivotal to a sustained recovery," it said. A key driver of the global market's rebalancing has been this year's fall in demand, which has been driven by higher oil prices and lower refined product supply linked to the US-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. "Global oil demand continues to be weighed down by ongoing disruptions to exports of refined products and LPG from the [Mideast] Gulf, remaining at roughly half of pre-war levels, and high fuel prices," the IEA said, adding that attacks on Russian energy infrastructure continued to weigh on diesel supply. Global oil demand is set to fall by 2.7mn b/d to 102.3mn b/d in 2026, before rebounding by 2mn b/d to 104.3mn b/d in 2027, the IEA said. LPG/ethane and naphtha will account for 80pc of the 2027 increase, compared with modest gains for transport fuels as high prices accelerate electrification and fuel efficiencies for road transport. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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