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Oil Headed to Weekly Gain; Gas Flat Into October Expiry With LNG Feedgas High

Oil on track for weekly gain as Russian tensions escalate
- The WTI prompt-month contract rose $0.06 to $65.04/Bbl Friday morning (7:45 AM CT)
- Crude is heading for its strongest weekly advance in more than three months as President Trump stepped up pressure on buyers of Russian energy
- Gains are supported by the risk of tougher sanctions on Moscow and fears of major supply disruptions
- Trump urged Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to halt Russian oil purchases and discussed energy security with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
- European diplomats warned that NATO is prepared to respond with full force to further airspace violations, including shooting down Russian aircraft, according to Bloomberg
- Offsetting factors include the resumption of exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region through the Ceyhan pipeline, which is expected to initially return 230 MBbl/d to global markets
Russian refinery hit by fresh drone strikes (Bloomberg)
- The Afipsky refinery in southern Russia caught fire overnight after Ukrainian drone attacks, worsening local fuel shortages
- Ukraine has been staging near-daily drone strikes on key Russian energy assets, including refineries, pipelines, and export terminals

Regional Market Insights

Updated regularly with the most important market moves and outlooks.

Natural gas is trading lower ahead of October expiration
- The October Henry Hub contract expires today, and is mostly flat relative to last week’s prices
- The demand outlook for the next two weeks continues to look limited, with Lower-48 temperatures declining
- LNG feedgas Is near the highest levels seen over the past few months, around 17 Bcf/d, despite Cove Point LNG being full down for maintenance
Delfin LNG looks to make FID by November (Bloomberg)
- Delfin Midstream is developing an offshore LNG export plant south of Louisiana, and is expected to secure a final investment decision by November
- The offshore facility will have three floating liquefaction platforms in Phase 1, with a capacity of 1.76 Bcf/d
- The facility is expected to enter service around the end of the decade