Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd said a cold separator operating at high pressure in the coker hydrotreater unit of its 300,000 b/d Mangaluru refinery ruptured on September 30, followed by a fire the company said was brought under control, per Reuters via Hydrocarbon Processing. Mangaluru's Deputy Commissioner put the toll at one dead, a 30-year-old electrician, and nine injured, per IANS. The same day MRPL withdrew spot tenders to export diesel, jet fuel and reformate later in October, per three company notices seen by Reuters.
Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS took a final investment decision on September 28 to add two liquefaction trains, an LNG storage tank, a condensate tank, a loading berth and expanded utilities inside the existing Kitimat site, taking capacity from 14 to 28 million tonnes a year, with commercial operations expected in the early 2030s, per LNG Canada and Oil & Gas Journal. A day later TC Energy said Coastal GasLink Phase 2 will proceed: five new compressor stations and facility upgrades along the existing 670-kilometre route from Dawson Creek to nearly double the line's current throughput of about 2.1 Bcf/d, with construction from early 2027. Neither the partners nor TC Energy disclosed a total project cost.
Saudi Arabia has resumed crude exports through the East-West pipeline to Yanbu, with flows at about 3.5 million barrels a day against total capacity of about 7 million, according to people with direct knowledge cited by Bloomberg; Aramco and the energy ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Aramco was testing the line and building pressure last week, per Bloomberg via Al Arabiya, and a person familiar said earlier this month that full resumption could take about six weeks. The restart lands as preliminary Kpler data show crude exports from key Middle East producers rebounded to 12.8 million barrels a day in September, the highest since the war began in February, with shipments through Hormuz set at about 7.4 million, per Reuters.
President Trump said on September 26 that Iran's plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, in exchange for released assets, oil-sanctions relief and an end to the US naval blockade, would not be acceptable, per Al Jazeera. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will not back down on its conditions and is still waiting for a formal reply through mediators Qatar and Pakistan, per Al Jazeera and The National, while Trump told Axios he expects US negotiators to hold more talks in the days ahead, per The National. The rejection lands as independent trackers report crude leaving the Gulf back at its brief July peak: Tanker Trackers put crude exiting the US blockade line at 13 million barrels a day, double the level of less than a month ago, per Fortune.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on September 25 that Tehran has submitted a plan through intermediaries under which the Strait of Hormuz reopens on the seventh day of a region-wide truce, if the US releases frozen assets estimated at no less than $12 billion, lifts sanctions on Iranian oil and ends the naval blockade of Iranian ports, per AP and Al Jazeera. Araghchi said he was awaiting a US response and that China supports the proposal. Crude fell on the news: WTI for November settled down 2.3 percent at $92.41 and Brent down 2.1 percent at $104.32, per Bloomberg via Rigzone, giving WTI its first weekly loss since late August.
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed six ballistic missiles fired toward Taif and the Red Sea port of Yanbu on September 24, per spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki via the Saudi Press Agency, and Reuters reported that a Greek-operated Patriot battery in the wider Yanbu region shot down a ballistic missile and a drone the same day, both relayed by Al Jazeera. Saudi civil defence issued danger alerts for Mecca, Tabuk, Jeddah, Yanbu and Taif before declaring the threat passed. Brent settled near $106.50, up about 3.5 percent, after a session high around $108, per Reuters market reporting relayed by investingLive.
A Petroleum Facilities Guard unit from the southwest closed Valve No. 7 on the Sharara to Zawiya crude line on September 21, and NOC said the closure raised line pressure and cut output at Libya's largest field, with about 130,000 barrels a day offline and likely to rise, per NOC statements compiled by Libya-Analysis. On September 22 guard personnel blocked the gates of the Zawiya refinery, preventing the night-shift relief, and NOC said its board was preparing to declare force majeure within hours if the valve did not reopen; a September 23 NOC announcement relayed by GuruFocus said the blockade had shut refinery operations.
Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West Pipeline on Tuesday at a low pumping rate and could resume loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu the same day, with one China-bound cargo scheduled, three sources told Reuters; Aramco is seeking to return the line to about 4 million barrels a day, while a security source said full resumption could take weeks. Bloomberg's sources described the restart as in its early stages, with exports via the line targeted for later this week and tankers already arriving at Yanbu. Brent fell more than $2 intraday to its lowest since September 8, per Reuters, as a senior Iranian official separately said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days on conditions.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said an 'unknown projectile' struck a tanker as it headed into the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, injuring two crew, with the vessel continuing to its next port under its own power and no environmental impact reported, per the Associated Press. UKMTO counts four tankers targeted near the strait in the past week, per Iran International cited by the Straits daily brief, and IMF PortWatch logged 8 transits on September 13 against a pre-crisis baseline of 85 a day. West Texas Intermediate still fell 4.5 percent to settle at $95.78 and Brent lost 3.4 percent to $100.34, a fourth straight decline, per CNBC.
A large Ukrainian drone wave early Sunday ignited a fire at Gazprom Neft's Moscow Oil Refinery in Kapotnya, southeastern Moscow, per Kyiv Post; the geolocation outlet Astra verified an extensive fire at the complex. The plant processes about 11 million tons of crude a year and supplies about 40 percent of the capital's fuel. Warehouses in the Ramensky district were destroyed in the same wave, and Moscow region governor Andrey Vorobyov reported at least two dead and six injured.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it struck the Togo-flagged tanker Trend for attempting an "illegal passage" of the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a fire the UKMTO later reported extinguished with the crew safe, per The Hill and UKMTO reporting carried by CBS News. Hours later a second tanker was hit by a projectile in the strait, per a UK navy agency report cited by CBS News; UKMTO logged the earlier incident 16 nautical miles from Khasab, Oman. Tehran says it aims to charge ships for passage through the waterway.
Crude settled lower for a second day as Saudi Arabia's target of returning about half of East-West pipeline capacity within days held and Riyadh sold Asian refiners more oil for collection just outside the Strait of Hormuz, per Bloomberg. Prices extended the decline Thursday after Reuters reported that China had asked Iran to help rein in the Houthis. The same Bloomberg report has traders watching the Houthi advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and escalating attacks on Saudi oil and shipping assets, which sit on the route every Yanbu barrel must take.
Saudi Aramco is sustaining crude deliveries to Asia through ship-to-ship transfers off Sohar in the Gulf of Oman: shuttle vessels load at Gulf terminals, cross the Strait of Hormuz, and hand cargoes to long-haul tankers that never enter the strait, per energynews.pro citing loading data attributed to Kpler and Energy Aspects. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Saudi Arabia is seeking to return about half of the East-West pipeline's capacity within days by bypassing the damaged section. Neither Aramco nor the Saudi energy ministry has published a damage assessment or timeline.
Iran's IRGC Navy said Monday that a supertanker it identified as the El Gaia exploded and burned after hitting naval mines on what it called an unauthorized route south of the Strait of Hormuz, per the IRGC statement carried by Press TV and reported by IranWire. US Central Command rejected the account the same day, saying the vessel did not strike a mine and was hit again over the weekend after being damaged in an Iranian attack in late August, per Israel National News reporting of the CENTCOM statement. It is the second time in two weeks the IRGC has attributed a tanker casualty to mines in the strait's southern approaches; Washington has disputed both claims.
The first GCC-Iran meeting of the war, set for Salalah on Monday to design temporary Strait of Hormuz transit corridors, was postponed Sunday night with no new date, per Al Jazeera; Iran's foreign ministry attributed the deferral to Saudi objections, and Axios and CNN reported Riyadh had submitted amendments over concern the framework would harden a new status quo in the strait. On the physical side, satellite imagery published Monday showed the extent of damage along the East-West crude pipeline, per CNBC, and industry sources told CNN repairs could take five to six weeks, though partial operations may resume sooner. Bloomberg reported Asian refiners are seeking Saudi updates as cargoes sit in limbo at Yanbu.
Iraq confirmed the drones used in Thursday's attack on the East-West crude pipeline launched from its Maysan province, ordered a probe of the province's operations command, dismissed its commander and closed the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran, per Al Jazeera; no group has claimed the attack. The line had been moving 4 to 5 million b/d in recent months, 4 to 5 percent of global supply, per data cited by Reuters. Over the weekend Houthi forces completed rapid advances along Yemen's Red Sea coast, seized Mayun island in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, and declared Red Sea shipping safe except for Saudi vessels, per Al Jazeera.
The Ministry of Energy said Friday it shut the roughly 1,200 km East-West crude pipeline from the Abqaiq area to Yanbu as a precaution after multiple Thursday attacks in the Riyadh and Madinah regions injured several people, per The National and CNN. The line's pumping capacity is about 7 million b/d, per The National, and it is the kingdom's only large-volume path to tidewater that does not pass the Strait of Hormuz. Satellite imagery taken Friday appears to show extensive fire damage at one pumping station, per CNN.
Saudi Arabia reported to OPEC that August crude production fell by about 1.9 million b/d to 6.238 million b/d, the lowest since 1990, with exports near 3.2 million b/d, a 13-year low, as both of the kingdom's export arteries run constrained, per Al-Monitor and Seeking Alpha. The market repriced at once: Brent jumped 7.5 percent to $108.75, its highest since May 19, and WTI rose more than 8 percent to near $104, per Trading Economics.
CENTCOM said it destroyed five IRGC crude carriers, the Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman and the Derya near Kharg Island, after Iran twice attempted missile attacks on a US warship in two days. The IRGC answered with claimed strikes on two American vessels and eight tankers, told crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to abandon ship, and declared a new restricted area stretching from Chabahar into the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. Brent traded above $101 for the first time since May.
The September 8 barrage targeted Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran and Jazan plus the Khamis Mushait air base, wounded 73 people and forced operational halts the Saudi energy ministry confirmed without naming sites. After three August strikes confined to the Jazan refinery, the campaign against the world's largest crude exporter has widened to multiple sites in a single night, and Brent touched $98 a barrel, its highest since July 23.
The September 6-8 return-to-service window closed without a restart. In its place, Enbridge's September 6 and 7 updates describe a construction project: a temporary bypass of approximately 1,500 feet around the release site, with service now anticipated September 12. The bypass will isolate the incident site from Line 5 operations, which means the strike zone itself will not carry product when oil flows again. It is the third restart target in three weeks.
Thirteen days into the shutdown, Enbridge's September 5 update shows the recovery phase nearly finished: roughly 140 barrels of liquid remain in the valve excavation, down from about 2,000 a week earlier. The September 6-8 return-to-service window is now open, and WPR reports the operator hopes to have the line running by Tuesday. No restart confirmation had posted through the holiday weekend. PHMSA still holds the site; the Wisconsin DNR is still waiting at the fence.
Ten days into the Iron County shutdown, Enbridge has moved its return-to-service window back by up to three days and changed vapor-removal method at the excavation. Wisconsin health officials have now reviewed the air data and found no concern outside the evacuation zone but an elevated long-term benzene reading inside it. PHMSA still holds the site; the state DNR is still waiting at the fence.
Nine days after a subcontractor truck rolled into a valve excavation in Iron County, Wisconsin, crews are still purging the isolated one-mile segment with nitrogen and burning the vapor off through trailer-mounted flares. PHMSA holds the site and has not yet let the Wisconsin DNR in, so the state's groundwater and soil questions remain open while the operator holds to a September 5 restart target.
Satellite instruments have now flagged the same six-mile gathering corridor three times in five weeks. The owner disputes the attribution and no ground reading confirms it, which is exactly why the state's request for aerial survey data is the development that matters.