UK liquids production rises in September

: Crude oil
26/10/29

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

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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

26/10/28

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26/10/28

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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Oil futures: WTI rises above $102/bl

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Incoming British Columbia govt questions oil tanker ban

26/10/28

News

26/10/28

Incoming British Columbia govt questions oil tanker ban

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Trump claims Venezuela crude 'gift': Update

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