Venezuela's OPEC Exit Isn't the Real Story — a 100-Year U.S. Oil Lease Is

Venezuela’s OPEC Exit Isn’t the Real Story — a 100-Year U.S. Oil Lease Is

Watch next week, not this week: Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected in Caracas as Chevron and Halliburton finalize billion-dollar field investments, and Washington and Caracas discuss a stake in Venezuelan oil fields with a possible 100-year lease on the table. Venezuela is separately weighing an OPEC exit — a move that would barely dent prices given its ~1.16 million bpd output, but would crack the cartel’s founding membership and hand the U.S. long-term access to the world’s largest proven reserves just as it needs a Hormuz-independent supply cushion.

#Venezuela #OPEC #Chevron #CrudeSupply #OilGeopolitics

South Africa’s Only Inland Refinery Just Went Down — OR Tambo Has Days, Not Weeks, of Jet Fuel Cover

A steam boiler failure at Sasol’s Natref refinery — the only inland crude plant serving Johannesburg — has cut supply to OR Tambo, Africa’s busiest airport, which normally sources 70-80% of its jet fuel from the site and currently holds just five to six days of cover. Sasol’s own repair timeline flags disruption running from roughly September 6 to October 4, meaning airlines are locking in coastal imports through Durban for a full month, not a quick patch — a preview of how thin Africa’s refining redundancy has become since regional capacity was halved.

#Natref #Sasol #JetFuel #RefineryOutage #SouthAfrica

Brussels Wants a Windfall Tax on Refiners This Time, Not Just Producers

Six EU finance ministers have asked Dublin to put an EU-wide windfall-profits mechanism on the September 18-19 agenda — but unlike the 2022 levy, this one is explicitly aimed at refiners, with ministers demanding results from an investigation into whether margins are outrunning crude’s rise. With European diesel up over 70% and gasoline up 20% since the Iran war began, refiners with strong Q3 cracks should expect the tax debate to move from letter-writing to draft legislation once ministers reconvene in Dublin.

#EU #WindfallTax #RefiningMargins #DieselMarket #EnergyPolicy