Angelina Jolie put her storied Los Feliz estate on the market in May, marking the latest chapter in a house that has already had more than a few famous owners. Now it has a new one: Madonna, who has reportedly bought the former Cecil B. DeMille estate for $24.75 million.
Jolie bought the property for $24.5 million in 2017 and listed it this spring for $29.85 million. It ultimately sold for just $250,000 more than she paid nearly a decade ago. Madonna apparently didn't need to spend much time getting acquainted with the place. According to the New York Post, her team arranged a private tour after she expressed interest in the property, even though she wasn't in Los Angeles at the time.
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#million #jolie

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Group of Seven wealthy democracies said Friday that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with "substantial" amounts of diesel after the fuel recently hit record high prices in the United States.
President Donald Trump said the diesel release would happen "immediately," echoing a G7 promise to start "immediately" with a "frontloaded substantial release" of diesel within the next 20 days and the rest over four months.
Trump and his Republican Party face pressure to address surging prices ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and Trump announced the action Friday on social media. The president's approval ratings on the economy hit a new low, according to an AP-NORC poll, as the Iran war and his trade battles have increased U.S. prices for oil and other goods.
Gas prices in the U.S. and abroad have soared during the eight-month-long war, a cost Trump has repeatedly said is worth it for making sure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. The national average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. was $6.37 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on Sept. 22. Diesel prices have hit records in Europe, too.
France holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group and made the announcement in a statement released after videoconference talks that Macron presided over. The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, ******* an, the U.K. and the U.S., plus EU representation.

#Diesel #prices #release #substantial

A Wall Street Journal report on September 16 revealed that ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is nearing a preliminary agreement with Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA, potentially marking its return to the country almost two decades after its ***** ets were nationalized. According to Reuters, Exxon has shown interest in the large Petromonagas heavy oil project in the Orinoco Belt, as well as in areas in the neighboring Carabobo block.
While the talks are still in their preliminary phase and could still fall apart or be delayed, they mark a major turnaround from Exxon's previous stance on Venezuela. The company's CEO, Darren Woods, stated in January that the country was "uninvestable" without durable investment protections, legal reforms, and changes to its hydrocarbon laws.
The development comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to open Venezuela's oil industry to American companies and revive the country's dilapidated oil infrastructure. The South American nation is sitting on the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world, accounting for roughly 17% of the global total.
Venezuela could provide Exxon with access to an enormous resource base at a time when the company is actively seeking low-cost and long-duration ***** ets. The fields under consideration are estimated to contain more than 50 billion barrels of oil buried underground.
Exxon already holds an advantage through its previous experience in the country. Petromonagas, formerly called Cerro Negro, was once the energy firm's flagship project in Venezuela, giving it familiarity with the country's vast heavy and extra-heavy crude resources. Petromonagas also remains one of the few Venezuelan projects with an operational upgrader capable of turning the Orinoco's extra-heavy crude into lighter exportable grades.

#heavy #project

Americans have paid about $97 billion more for fuel since the Iran war started in late February, roughly $740 extra per household, according to CNN. President Trump says prices will come down after the midterms. The CEO of Chevron just said publicly he does not see how that happens quickly.
Mike Wirth, Chevron's chairman and chief executive, spoke at a University of Texas at Austin energy conference on September 11. He told the audience that the mechanisms that helped absorb the oil supply shock earlier in the conflict have largely been used up, and that prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next few months.
When the U.S.-Iran conflict began, the oil market had several ways to handle the disruption. Countries could release crude from strategic reserves. Commercial inventories could be drawn down. The U.S. eased restrictions on sanctioned crude stored on vessels at sea. Those measures helped limit the initial price spike.
"Those have largely now played out," Wirth said. The energy system no longer has the buffers it had when the war began.
The loss of flexibility became more acute after attacks knocked out a major Saudi crude pipeline that had been bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. That single disruption put an estimated 2.5 million barrels of oil per day in limbo, tightening a market that was already running short on supply.

#crude #prices #energy #conflict

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is about to significantly expand its operations in Venezuela. The company's CFO, Eimear Bonner, revealed at a Barclays conference on September 8 that the American oil giant plans to more than double the number of oil rigs it operates in the country as part of its five-year plan ‌to increase output.
The statement follows the company's recent announcement that its joint venture partnerships in Venezuela would invest more than $7 billion to more than double oil ⁠output to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. The current production from Chevron's three Venezuelan JVs totals around 290,000, which is all exported to the United States.
The move builds on Chevron's longstanding presence in Venezuela, as it was the only American oil major that continued operating in the country under a special US license, allowing it to produce and export oil despite the sanctions.
The expansion comes alongside a much larger agreement between Washington and Caracas announced this month, which gave the US majority control over around 20% of Venezuela's proven crude reserves. The White House has now invited American oil companies to revive and modernize the South American country's oil infrastructure and more than double its crude production in the next few years.
Chevron has maintained operations in Venezuela since 1923 and even stayed through the nationalizations that forced ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to exit in 2007. This gives it a significant competitive advantage, since it already has a longstanding relationship with the state-owned PDVSA and extensive experience operating in the country's complex regulatory environment.

#around

On September 16, Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN:EPM) held its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings call, and the numbers told a story of a company climbing out of a rough patch. Revenue jumped 20% sequentially to $24.2 million as oil prices realized before hedge settlements shot up 49% year over year to $90.74 a barrel. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $6.5 million. After a bruising third quarter, the fourth quarter finally looked like the recovery management had promised investors back in May.
The fourth-quarter turnaround wasn't just about crude. NGL prices realized $32.49 a barrel, up 27% year over year, and because Evolution leaves its NGL production entirely unhedged, every dollar of that gain flowed straight through. That combination of higher liquids pricing, growing production, and the roll-off of a prior-period transportation adjustment at the Delhi Field pushed operating cash flow to $6.8 million in the quarter, nearly double the $3.5 million generated in the third quarter.
Behind the quarterly numbers sits a longer-term shift in how Evolution makes money. The company closed a roughly $16 million acquisition of mineral and royalty acreage in the Permian's Midland Basin after the fiscal year ended, adding about 3,420 net royalty acres and more than 200 barrels of oil equivalent per day of current production, all without Evolution spending a dime on development. That mirrors what's already happening in the SCOOP/STACK play, where fourth-quarter production climbed 14% year over year to 1,275 BOE per day while unit operating costs fell to $10.33 a barrel. Evolution also replaced more than 100% of the 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent it produced during the year, ending fiscal 2026 with 27.2 million barrels of proved reserves, an outcome that matters directly to a dividend now in its 52nd consecutive quarter.
Not every part of the business bounced back. Average daily production fell 4% year over year to 6,901 barrels of oil equivalent per day, largely because the flush production from new Chaveroo wells that boosted last year's fourth quarter has since tapered off. Natural gas pricing remained the softest spot in the portfolio, especially at the Jonah Field, where CEO Kelly Loyd said "regional differentials have weighed on realizations" even as broader demand for gas keeps growing. CFO Ryan Stash noted that stronger oil and NGL results helped offset "continued weakness in natural gas realizations, particularly at Jonah."

#barrel

On August 6, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) held its second-quarter earnings call, and one number stood out from the rest. The oil and gas producer is now holding its Permian oil production steady with four drilling rigs, half the eight it once estimated it would need. Adjusted production of 347,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day beat management's own guidance, free cash flow kept climbing, and the balance sheet is healing faster than planned. That combination is the story of the quarter.
APA raised its full-year US oil guidance to 123,000 barrels per day, up from an original 120,000, while holding its capital budget at $1.3 billion despite higher diesel and other input costs. Management also lifted its cost-savings target to $500 million in annualized run-rate savings by year-end, up from the $450 million goal it set at the start of the year.
That flexibility is showing up in cash flow. Free cash flow hit $738 million in the second quarter, pushing the first half of 2026 past $1.2 billion, which topped what APA generated in each of the past three full years. The company returned $189 million of that to shareholders through dividends and the repurchase of 2.8 million shares at an average price of $35.26, continuing a streak of returning at least 60% of free cash flow to investors every year since 2021.
The balance sheet is moving just as fast. Net debt stood at $3.3 billion at quarter-end after APA repaid $752 million of bonds in the first half, including $673 million in the second quarter alone, cutting total debt by $2.3 billion since the end of 2024 and lowering annualized interest expense by roughly $175 million. Management now expects to hit its $3 billion net debt target in 2027, well ahead of the three- to four-year window it laid out when the goal was first announced.
Further out, APA is building option value beyond its core Permian and Egypt ****** ets. It agreed to acquire Savant Alaska for $70 million, picking up an airstrip, a dock, and a pipeline connection into the Trans Alaska system to support two exploration wells planned for 2027. In Uruguay, ENI signed on as a partner in Block 6, funding a significant share of the first exploration well while APA keeps 60% ownership. In Suriname, the GranMorgu project remains on budget for first oil in mid-2028.

#billion

The temporary closure of the key onshore pipeline Saudi Arabia uses to bypass the Strait of Hormuz has added another shock to an oil market already struggling with six months of Middle East supply disruptions.
And the damage now appears to be more extensive than initially believed.
Three pumping stations along Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline were damaged in last week's attack, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing satellite imagery and industry sources. Earlier ***** sments had identified damage at two stations. Three sources told Reuters that repairs could take five to six weeks, although partial pumping could resume sooner.
Before the attack, the system was moving between 4 million and 5 million barrels per day (bpd), equivalent to roughly 4%–5% of global oil supply. Its total capacity is around 7 million bpd, including approximately 2 million bpd supplied to refineries.
Saudi Arabia shut the pipeline following multiple attacks on September 10. Satellite imagery previously published by MizarVision showed extensive fire and structural damage around pumping stations along the route.

#million #pumping #arabia

Sept 17 (Reuters) - JP Morgan said on Thursday that it does not have a clear baseline view for oil markets for the first time since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
"We simply don't ‌know how to model the endgame," ***** ysts at the bank noted.
The note flagged that at the beginning of ‌the conflict, JP Morgan had ***** umed there were some economic thresholds that the U.S. administration would not cross, but six months into the conflict, many of those lines have been crossed with no clear exit strategy in view.
The bank noted that oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel with gasoline at $4.37 a gallon. It also noted that US diesel prices have hit an all-time high of $6.31 a gallon heading into winter, the period of peak seasonal demand, while inventories sit at all-time lows.
JP Morgan estimated Brent's fair value at around $90 a ‌barrel for September, compared with current prices ⁠near $106, suggesting markets are pricing in the risk of further supply losses beyond the estimated 10 million barrels per day already disrupted.

#noted #markets

Corn futures saw some late session strength as contracts closed with losses of 1 ½ to 2 ¼ cents across the board on Wednesday. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was down 1 1/2 cents at $4.89.
The weekly EIA report showed ethanol production at 1.099 million barrels per day in the week of 9/4, steady with the week prior. That is still 4.17% above the same week last year. Stocks saw a 33,000 barrel increase to 25.22 million barrels, which is 11.58% above the same week last year. Refiner inputs of ethanol were up 3,000 barrels per day to 911,000 barrels per day, with exports up 14,000 barrels per day to 161,000 bpd.
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#coffee #cents #ethanol #million

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 hydrocarbon sector continues to surge, with oil production hitting yet another record in July 2026. Output reached 902,920 barrels per day, almost 1% above June and 12% higher than a year earlier, marking the country's highest oil production on record. Natural gas production has also expanded strongly, although output slipped 0.5% month over month and 1.6% year over year in July to average 5.6 billion cubic feet per day. That modest setback barely dents the bigger picture: economically crucial gas production has surged 21% over the past five years.
It is the ongoing and growing exploitation of the Vaca Muerta shale, situated in northern Patagonia in Neuquén Province which is responsible for Argentina's booming oil and natural gas complex. For July 2026, shale oil production rose by 1.2% month over month and a whopping 26% year over year to an all-time high of 648,347 barrels per day. As a result, shale oil now comprises a record 72% of Argentina's total petroleum output. This is also responsible for bolstering energy security in the Americas.
Shale gas production is also expanding at a healthy clip. For July 2026, Argentina lifted an average of 3.9 billion cubic feet per day of the fossil, which, despite being nearly 1% less than a month prior, was almost 4% higher year over year. That is the second-highest monthly shale gas production ever recorded. It was only eclipsed by June 2026 output, which hit 3.94 billion cubic feet per day. Shale gas now makes up 70% of Argentina's natural gas output, which is the highest level ever recorded.
Shale oil and gas production will keep growing at a solid pace, with Argentina on track to become a pure unconventional producer. You see, conventional oil output is in decline and has been for over a decade. Argentina's conventional fields are well past their prime, in many cases having hit peak production a decade ago with output now truly in decline. Government data shows July 2026 conventional oil production of 254,574 barrels per day, which is 2% lower than a month prior and 13% less year over year, indicating conventional oil output is 50% lower than a decade ago.

#shale #july #higher #record

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 pieces of energy infrastructure in the world.
Kpler estimates the pipeline had been moving roughly 4 million bpd around Hormuz before the attack. A prolonged outage could ultimately threaten 3.5–4 million bpd of Saudi crude exports. The figure is below Petroline's nameplate capacity because Saudi Arabia can still export some crude from eastern terminals such as Ras Tanura, despite the severe constraints on Gulf shipping.
The immediate problem is storage.

#hormuz #crude

Corn futures are trading with 6 cent losses across the front months at midday. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price is down 6 cents at $4.84 1/2.
The weekly EIA report showed ethanol production at 1.099 million barrels per day in the week of 9/4, steady with the week prior. That is still 4.17% above the same week last year. Stocks saw a 33,000 barrel increase to 25.22 million barrels, which is 11.58% above the same week last year. Refiner inputs of ethanol were up 3,000 barrels per day to 911,000 barrels per day, with exports up 14,000 barrels per day to 161,000 bpd.
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#corn #cocoa #million

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY) are trading lower Wednesday as energy equities experience broad profit-taking alongside a pullback in crude oil prices.
The weakness in benchmark energy commodities comes as fresh market data indicates a weekly drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, dampening immediate commodity momentum alongside sector-wide risk mitigation ahead of the Federal Reserve's afternoon interest rate decision.
Occidental Petroleum stock is taking a hit today. Why are OXY shares down?
A major catalyst cooling OXY's momentum today is the latest U.S. crude oil inventory report. The Energy Information Administration reported that crude stockpiles fell by just 640,000 barrels for the week ending Sept. 11, missing market expectations for a significantly larger drawdown.
Because a smaller-than-expected inventory draw signals softer overall energy demand, crude prices faced renewed downward pressure, pulling upstream producers like Occidental lower in tandem.

#lower #taking #alongside #market

US stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wednesday as crude oil prices declined and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later in the day.
The indicated rebound followed two consecutive sessions of losses that pushed the S&P 500 to its lowest closing level in more than a month.
US crude oil futures fell nearly 2% after gaining almost 6% over the previous two days. The decline followed an American Petroleum Institute report showing an unexpected increase of 7.1 million barrels in US crude oil inventories last week.
Trading activity could remain limited ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.
According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, market pricing indicated a 92.7% probability of a 25-basis-point interest rate increase. The figure reflects market-implied expectations rather than a confirmed policy decision.

#increase

Brent crude climbed above $108 a barrel on Tuesday as traders grew increasingly uncertain about when Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline would reopen, with fresh Houthi attacks on the kingdom and suspended oil loadings at its Red Sea export terminal adding to supply fears.
By 1:00 p.m. ET, Brent futures had climbed 3% to $108.88 per barrel, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate up 4.7% at $106.12. A close at those levels would mark the highest settlement for either contract in close to four months, according to Reuters. Prices have risen around 20% this month as fighting in the Persian Gulf has escalated.
According to shipping industry sources who spoke with Reuters, crude loadings at the Yanbu terminal on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast had been halted as of Tuesday. Separately, sources told Reuters that Saudi officials had notified European buyers that certain crude shipments scheduled for late September would not proceed.
Saudi Arabia shut down the East-West Pipeline after drone attacks originating from Iraq struck it last week, forcing the kingdom to halt the export route it had been using to bypass the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S.-Iran war. The pipeline can move up to 7 million barrels per day. Saudi officials have described the closure as a precautionary measure but have not provided a damage ******* sment or a timeline for resuming operations. U.K. authorities fear the pipeline may remain mostly shut for six weeks, according to Bloomberg.
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen carried out additional strikes on Saudi Arabia on Monday. According to a spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, the group fired drones and ballistic missiles targeting the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Taif. According to Reuters, the Houthis claimed to have struck a military air base in Khamis Mushait, with their stated targets including hangars, radar installations, runway infrastructure, and stores of ammunition.

#west #east

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The oil crisis is leaking into other parts of the car. Costco, the land of big and cheap, flipped the script and doubled the price of its full-synthetic motor oil and started rationing purchases. As crude pushes toward $100 a barrel, a 10-quart case that cost roughly $30 now runs $57.99, with purchases capped at two units per member per week.
U.S. diesel crossed $6 a gallon for the first time this week, and global oil inventories have drawn down more than 500 million barrels since the U.S.-Iran conflict began. This is affecting the entire crude industrial complex.
Base oil, which is the feedstock for motor oil, comes from the same barrel as gasoline and diesel so when refiners can earn more finishing crude into fuel than into lubricants, lubricant stock gets squeezed first.
The pressure for Costco, however, is more intense: Its signature Kirkland oil carries GM's Dexos1 Gen 3 certification, which requires manufacturers to pay GM separately per product and per unit sold. As a result, and much against its brand ethos, changing your own oil with Kirkland product now costs roughly what an independent shop would charge, thus eroding the DIY savings case entirely.

#crude #motor #case #week

Our ****** ysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here.
The oil crisis is leaking into other parts of the car. Costco, the land of big and cheap, flipped the script and doubled the price of its full-synthetic motor oil and started rationing purchases. As crude pushes toward $100 a barrel, a 10-quart case that cost roughly $30 now runs $57.99, with purchases capped at two units per member per week.
U.S. diesel crossed $6 a gallon for the first time this week, and global oil inventories have drawn down more than 500 million barrels since the U.S.-Iran conflict began. This is affecting the entire crude industrial complex.
Base oil, which is the feedstock for motor oil, comes from the same barrel as gasoline and diesel so when refiners can earn more finishing crude into fuel than into lubricants, lubricant stock gets squeezed first.
The pressure for Costco, however, is more intense: Its signature Kirkland oil carries GM's Dexos1 Gen 3 certification, which requires manufacturers to pay GM separately per product and per unit sold. As a result, and much against its brand ethos, changing your own oil with Kirkland product now costs roughly what an independent shop would charge, thus eroding the DIY savings case entirely.

#costco #Stock #roughly

TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) plans to invest $10 billion alongside its partners in Angola over the next five years, with the goal of maintaining and potentially increasing its oil production in the country. TotalEnergies currently produces around 450,000 barrels per day in Angola, making it the country's largest oil operator and accounting for more than 40% of its total output.
The investment will go toward existing operations, new exploration, and projects aimed at replacing production from Angola's aging offshore fields. One of the biggest projects in the pipeline is the $6 billion Kaminho development, which is expected to start producing oil in 2028. TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is also expanding its exploration efforts after signing agreements for two additional offshore blocks. On top of that, the company recently announced a new discovery in Block 17 that could add roughly 6,000 barrels per day to production.
The investment strengthens TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE)'s position in one of Africa's key oil-producing markets and, perhaps more importantly, helps protect a major source of existing production. With around 450,000 barrels per day already coming from Angola, simply keeping output at current levels could continue to provide a meaningful contribution to the company's upstream cash flow. Any additional production from new discoveries and projects would offer further upside.
The current oil-price environment also works in TotalEnergies' favor. Brent crude recently climbed above $100 a barrel amid supply concerns and geopolitical tensions and is currently trading near this range. If prices remain elevated, projects designed to maintain or increase Angolan production could generate strong returns and make the company's investment more attractive.
There are also signs that TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is doing more than just trying to slow production declines. Its recent Acacia-5 discovery in Block 17 could add around 6,000 barrels per day, while the company is expanding its exploration presence through new offshore blocks in the Lower Congo Basin. Angola's efforts to reform its oil sector and attract more exploration investment could also create a more favorable environment for TotalEnergies over the longer term.

#investment #offshore

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) has agreed to buy Blackstone-owned Tallgrass Energy's crude oil business for $2.55 billion in cash, expanding its presence in the U.S. liquids pipeline market. The deal includes a 75% stake in the 1,050-mile Pony Express Pipeline, a 51% interest in the Powder River Gateway system, around 8.4 million barrels of storage capacity and crude marketing operations.
Pony Express can move roughly 460,000 barrels of crude per day between the Rockies and the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub. The deal also gives Enbridge greater exposure to major producing regions, including the Bakken, Powder River and Denver-Julesburg basins.
The acquisition gives Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) a stronger position in U.S. crude transportation at a time when domestic oil production is expected to remain important. Pony Express gives the company a larger presence in the Rockies and complements its existing Express-Platte system.
That combination could allow Enbridge to bring the operations together more efficiently and find synergies across its wider liquids network. The deal also gives Enbridge more than additional pipeline capacity. It adds storage infrastructure and crude marketing operations, giving the company more flexibility in how it manages and optimizes volumes. Bringing these parts of the business together could also improve the economics of the acquired **** ets.
Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) expects the **** ets to generate significant free cash flow. The company also says the transaction should add to distributable cash flow per share in the first full year after closing. The **** ets also offer relatively predictable infrastructure-style cash flows. This means Enbridge does not need higher crude prices to benefit from the acquisition. The deal fits with the company's broader strategy of growing its fee-based energy infrastructure business across North America, backed by its C$41 billion secured growth backlog.

#enbridge #cash #gives #business

Costco has raised the price of its Kirkland Signature full-synthetic motor oil and begun limiting how much any one member can purchase, as a global lubricant shortage tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict pushes crude oil toward $100 a barrel.
That 10-quart case — two 5-quart bottles, enough for a typical V6 or V8 oil change — has jumped to $57.99, compared with the roughly $30 price members had grown accustomed to paying, according to The Drive. Stores are capping purchases at two units per customer per week. The retailer has also imposed a five-per-member limit on Mobil 1, with six quarts of that brand running $44.
The rationing reflects pressure from multiple directions. The connection to fuel prices runs through the refinery: base oil shares its crude-oil origins with gasoline and diesel, so when margins on finished fuel are strong, refiners have a financial reason to favor fuel production over lubricant stock, according to The Auto Wire. EIA data showed the gasoline crack spread sitting roughly a dollar per gallon higher than where it stood at the same point in 2025, a gap that has squeezed base oil availability and pushed its price upward.
Regulatory and licensing costs add a separate layer of expense. The Kirkland 5W-30 displays the dexos1 Gen 3 certification, GM's proprietary specification, and earning that mark is not free — manufacturers must put their formulation through GM's independent testing protocol and obtain a license from the automaker, paying separately for each product and each unit sold, according to The Auto Wire. Layered on top of that is an industry-wide burden: when the API SP category took effect around 2020, it introduced seven additional laboratory tests with no equivalent in the previous standard, among them a procedure targeting low-speed pre-ignition, the knock-like detonation problem **** ociated with modern turbocharged, direct-injection engines.
The supply squeeze is unfolding against a backdrop of a worsening global oil deficit. The International Energy Agency cut its 2026 global oil supply forecast to 102 million barrels per day in August, projecting a deficit of 1.8 million barrels per day in the third quarter — more than double its prior estimate. **** ulative global inventory draws since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict have reached more than 500 million barrels, and Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said last week that the cushions that had softened earlier price increases have been exhausted. U.S. diesel prices crossed $6 per gallon for the first time, sitting at $6.06 as of Monday, an 8-cent increase from Sunday and 21 cents above week-earlier levels, according to AAA.

#barrels #wire

Jim Cramer sees Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) as a major beneficiary of the disruption surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, as he said during the September 8 episode of Mad Money:
When I wrote How to Make Money in Any Market… I didn't know that Enterprise Products Partners was going to be the, maybe the single biggest pipeline winner in this country thanks to the war. I didn't see that war coming. The CEO of Enterprise, Jim Teague, has raised awareness for the company's profit opportunity because of the Hormuz closing. The margins of some of its liquids, like ethane to ethylene, ethylene to polyethylene, have soared. As Teague says, the Houston Ship Channel is now just as important as the Strait of Hormuz. Now, there's an endorsement. Stock yields 5.8%.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) reported record second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $2.8 billion, up 17% year over year, while operational distributable cash flow reached a record $2.3 billion, up 21%. Moreover, pipeline volumes reached a record 14.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 8%, while marine-terminal volumes increased 33% to 2.8 million barrels per day. Co-Chief Executive Officer James Teague said:
Volumes at our marine terminals have returned to normal levels in June and July after the initial rush to backfill volumes affected by hostilities in the Middle East in April and May.
In July, Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) declared a quarterly distribution of $0.56 per unit, or $2.24 annualized, a 2.8% increase from a year earlier. At EPD's September 8 closing price of $38.83, that equates to a yield of approximately 5.8%. The company has increased its distribution for 27 consecutive years. The company's latest investor materials show $6.5 billion of major capital projects under construction. It expects 2026 organic growth capital spending, net of ***** et-sale proceeds, of $2.9 billion to $3.4 billion. The company retained $1.1 billion of DCF for internally funded growth capital expenditures and buybacks.

#partners #hormuz

Corn futures were busy squaring up ahead of the Friday USDA report, closing Thursday with gains of 5 to 7 cents across the board. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was up 6 cents at $4.87.
The weekly EIA report showed ethanol production at 1.099 million barrels per day in the week of 9/4, down 11,000 bpd from the week prior. Stocks saw a 152,000 barrel increase to 25.187 million barrels, which is 10.29% above the same week last year.
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#million #USDA

After signing what President Donald Trump touted as "the biggest oil deal in world history" to take majority control of 65 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves in Venezuela, the U.S. Administration is setting its sights on the South American country's potentially vast gold and critical minerals wealth.
The Trump Administration is weighing measures to involve U.S. companies in Venezuela's gold and critical minerals and has held initial meetings with firms to see if there is interest in engaging in the Venezuelan mining sector, sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters this week.
Securing gold and critical minerals from Venezuela could help the U.S. with its supply of metals crucial for defense technology and applications that don't depend on China. Moreover, greater access for U.S. and Western firms in Venezuela's minerals sector would further undermine Chinese and Russian influence in the country, which the ousted Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, deposed and arrested by the U.S. in January, had enjoyed.
"We are all watching the oil situation closely and recognize there could be a parallel track with critical minerals," an executive from a critical minerals firm who met with the U.S. Administration about Venezuela, told Reuters.
However, the path to mining Venezuela's minerals would not be as straightforward as it arguably is for the oil reserves. Operators generally know how much crude oil Venezuela has (the biggest reserves in the world), but no one really knows the reserves and mining potential of the gold and critical minerals deposits.

#venezuela

India's refineries have been running at 105% to 108% capacity utilization in the past six months as demand for diesel soars and international fuel markets tighten amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.
Refinery capacity utilization in the world's third-largest crude oil importer has been between 105% and 108% since the war began, a senior executive at Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) said at the APPEC petroleum conference in Singapore on Wednesday.
"Most of our refiners are complex, ‌can take a wide ‌variety of crude from an API range of something like 16 to 45 or 48," Nandakumar Pillai, a company director at MRPL, said at the event, as carried by Reuters.
MRPL operates a refinery with the capacity to process 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) on the coast of India's southern state of Karnataka. The refinery has a versatile design with complex secondary processing units and high flexibility to process crudes of various API, delivering a variety of quality products, the refiner says.
MRPL will continue to run its refinery at above 100% until March 2027, Pillai told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.

#mrpl #utilization #crude

Chinese independent refiners may be about to start reducing their processing rates as international oil prices rise and supply from major exporters such as Venezuela and Iran dries up as a result of U.S. foreign policy decisions.
"Teapots are unlikely to be able to afford a full shift to mainstream grades," an Energy Aspects ***** yst said this week, as quoted by Bloomberg. The so-called teapots are more sensitive to adverse oil market changes due to their refining margins being slimmer than those of state-owned majors. These margins have already fallen to breakeven, from around $10 per barrel in early July, Jianan Sun also said.
China imported 37.93 million tons, or 8.93 million barrels per day of crude oil in August, up by 6.2% compared to July, and further recovering from the decade-low seen in June, official Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday. The August import level was still 23.4% lower compared to the same month last year, but it's a marked improvement from the June lows of just 7.1 million bpd.
China slashed its total crude oil imports to a decade low in June, culminating three months of very low import levels amid high prices and constrained supply from the Middle East. This affected refinery output, which in turn contributed to the global fuel squeeze that is now set to deepen and extend in time as fighting in the Middle East continues and intensifies, pushing oil prices higher and sapping some refiners' appetite for the commodity.
With Venezuelan and Iranian crude all but gone, Chinese refiners will probably lean more heavily on Russian crude in the coming weeks. However, Russian crude prices are also on the rise on the futures market, in tune with all the other blends that trade internationally, which will likely put a lid on demand.

#june #july #China #middle

China's crude oil imports rose for the second consecutive month in August as refiners turned to additional non-Middle Eastern supply and boosted overseas fuel shipments amid eased export restrictions.
China imported 37.93 million tons, or 8.93 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in August, up by 6.2% compared to July, and further recovering from the decade-low seen in June, official Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday.
The August import level was still 23.4% lower compared to the same month last year, but it's a marked improvement from the June lows of just 7.1 million bpd.
China slashed its total crude oil imports to a decade low in June, culminating three months of very low import levels amid high prices and constrained supply from the Middle East.
Beijing, having amassed about 1.4 billion barrels of crude before the war, could afford to dramatically reduce its crude buying, slashing import volumes in June by an estimated 4.4 million bpd compared to the 2025 average.

#compared

Citi and ANZ have raised their Brent crude oil price forecasts as disruptions to Middle East supplies continue to affect the global oil market.
Citi increased its third-quarter 2026 Brent forecast to $86 per barrel. The bank described the current situation, including a U.S. blockade of Iran and reduced oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as unsustainable.
Citi expects renewed dealmaking or other developments to allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen during the fourth quarter. The bank estimates that reopening the waterway would result in an oil-market surplus of between 3 million and 4 million barrels per day, compared with its previous estimate of approximately 2 million barrels per day.
ANZ separately raised its short-term Brent crude forecast to $95 per barrel.
The bank said the oil market is entering what it described as a delicate adaptation phase as inventories decline. ANZ expects additional demand destruction will be required to rebuild inventories.

#bank #raised #crude

VLADIVOSTOK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Igor Sechin, chief of Russia's top oil producer Rosneft, said ‌on Thursday that China, not OPEC, has ‌stabilized global oil markets by reducing crude imports by 5.5 million barrels per day this year.
Sechin, the most influential Russian energy manager and a long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin, was speaking at a ‌Russian - Chinese business ⁠forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
"This year, China has effectively ⁠taken the lead from OPEC and, without being a member of any cartel, has managed to stabilise the global oil market by cutting its oil ‌imports by 5.5 million barrels per day," Sechin said.
Sechin, known for his skepticism towards OPEC, said China will get more influence on the energy markets as the number of OPEC members is ‌declining.
"I believe that further growth in China's reserves will strengthen China's role in the energy market, against a ‌backdrop of OPEC's waning influence and a reduction in the number of its members," Sechin said.

#sechin #energy #vladivostok

Chevron's 52-week high reflects three Venezuela JVs that grew production to 250,000 barrels daily, not the private company's 65-billion-barrel headline lease.
CVX's core thesis rests on Permian scale, Guyana's Stabroek block, and a 20-year Microsoft power purchase agreement, while Venezuela represents pure upside optionality.
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Venezuela reportedly lays claim to over 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, and the U.S. has set its sights on more of them.
Bloomberg News correspondent Tyler Kendall reported from Caracas this week that the headline prize of Washington's Venezuela deal, a 100-year lease on 17 strategic oil fields holding a claimed 65 billion barrels, went to a private, non-supermajor bidder: North American Blue Energy Partners, a private company that cannot develop the fields alone and has yet to sign on producing partners. Meanwhile, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) stock just printed a fresh 52-week high at $212.79 on a separate, parallel Venezuela commitment. The two developments deserve to be evaluated separately.

#barrels #lease #year