Vista Oil & Gas Holding VB.V

07/05/2026

Australia’s government has mandated energy companies in the country to set aside 20% of their natural gas output for the domestic market to avoid supply shortages along the east coast.

The mandate will come into effect from July next year, Reuters reported today, adding that it will affect three companies with LNG facilities on the east coast of Australia: Shell, Santos, and Origin Energy. The mandates will not interfere with long-term LNG export contracts, concerning instead spot market sales and prospective contracts, according to Australia’s energy minister.

“This is a carefully calibrated model which ensures that Australia's national best interests are put first,” Chris Bowen told the media. “This is a policy which will obviously not please everyone - often good policy doesn't - but it's good policy.”

The energy industry is far from thrilled with this good policy, however. The idea of gas reserve mandates first emerged in 2017, leading to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism aimed at making sure one of the top global exporters of liquefied natural gas did not suffer shortages at home.

Big Oil immediately responded with warnings that this could discourage further investment in the country’s gas industry, which is necessary to boost supply, including for the domestic market, for the future.

The east coast of Australia is particularly vulnerable to supply shortages. Last year, the country's competition regulator warned the market could swing into a deficit by December. That danger was temporarily averted thanks to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, but the competition authority still warned last year that the risk of shortages remains.

In fact, the competition authority last October said gas supply for the eastern coast will swing into a surplus in the first quarter of this year, with the size of the surplus estimated at between 2 and 24 petajoules. That was before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on February 28, which changed the global supply situation radically, bringing the risk of a shortage closer as demand for non-Middle Eastern LNG surged.

23/04/2026

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) has unveiled plans to invest 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in exploration and production in a bid to quadruple oil and gas output over the next decade, mainly in the United States. Japex has set a goal to raise net profit to 100 billion yen and achieve a 12% Return on Equity (ROE) by 2035.

In February, Japex completed the acquisition of Denver-based tight oil company, Verdad Resources, in a $1.3-billion deal, the company’s largest ever M&A transaction. The merger gives Japex exposure to the sprawling U.S. shale sector, including tight oil and gas assets in Colorado and Wyoming. The company will direct more than half of that investment into the U.S. market as it looks to develop existing assets and pursue further acquisitions.

Outside the U.S., Japex is also focusing on expanding production and exploration in Norway and Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. The company operates in Norway through its subsidiary, Japex Norge AS (J Norge), focusing on areas with established infrastructure to enable cost-efficient development. Recently, J Norge agreed to acquire a 20% interest in Production License PL1119 from OKEA ASA, including the Mistral South gas field and the Mistral North exploration prospect. Last year, Japex commenced production at the Verdande oil and gas fields and aims to start producing at the Alve Nord field in the first half of 2027.

Last year, Japex divested its 25% stake in Indonesia’s mature Kangean block and acquired a 50% stake in the Gebang gas block in northern Sumatra. The company is leading the development of the Secanggang gas field within the Gebang block, with production expected to come onstream by 2027. Japex is also pursuing the Sukowati CCUS project and the Limau BECCS project as part of its commitment to becoming a "comprehensive energy company" that addresses both energy security and decarbonisation Japex has also unveiled plans to store 8 million metric tons of CO2 cumulatively by 2035 as part of its CCUS operations.

17/03/2026

U.S. diesel fuel prices topped $5 per gallon, according to GasBuddy, which has only happened once before, Reuters noted in a report, citing the GasBuddy data.

The price tracker earlier in the week reported that the national average price for diesel had reached $4.951 per gallon last week, up by $0.34, while gasoline prices had gone up to $3.68 per gallon on average, $0.232 higher than they were over the previous week.

“Consumers continue to feel the sting of rising oil, gasoline, and diesel costs as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain elevated, pushing gasoline prices to their highest levels in years while diesel could soon approach the $5-per-gallon mark nationally,” GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan said earlier on Monday, before diesel hit $5 per gallon.

11/02/2026

Shell’s disappointing 2025 results continue to create ripples across oil markets as the London-based energy major now only wields proven reserves of 8.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, less than 8 years of its current production.

- Shell is now facing a 200,000 boe/d production gap by 2030, despite its corporate policy pledging to grow total hydrocarbon output by 1% annually and to keep crude production flat.

- Shrinking reserves might be the key factor in triggering a long-mooted Shell-BP merger, especially as BP’s own reserve replacement ratio came in at 90% in 2025, taking its own reserve life to just 6 years of current production.

- Saudi Aramco towers above oil majors with 52 years of reserve life, with ExxonMobil posting the strongest reserve numbers among Western firms with 12 years’ worth of proven reserves.

- The reserve plight of majors is underscored by particularly weak exploration results last year as the 2025 total amounted to 8.2 billion boe, with the largest discovery of all (Bumerangue in Brazil) remaining an open question in terms of commerciality due to extremely high CO2 levels.

30/01/2026

The recovery in China’s imports of liquefied natural gas is expected to extend for another month in January, Kpler has reported, for a total of three consecutive months of higher LNG imports year-on-year.

The analytics provider estimates that China will import 6.94 million tons of LNG this month, as quoted by Bloomberg, which added the amount would represent a respectable 15% increase on January 2025. According to the report, the import increase may suggest more cargoes getting delivered to China under long-term contracts.

Over most of last year, China recorded annual declines in its LNG imports, resulting from the U.S. president’s tariff offensive against the world’s biggest energy importer, to which China responded with its own tariffs on LNG, and from rising domestic production.

26/01/2026

US naphtha has begun arriving in Venezuelan waters, marking an early and telling step in efforts to restart the country’s long-crippled heavy oil production. Ship tracking data showed a tanker chartered by Vitol reaching Venezuelan waters with the first naphtha cargo tied to a new oil deal between Washington and Caracas.

The shipment follows a flagship agreement struck earlier this month after the removal of Nicolás Maduro, allowing Venezuela to sell up to 50 million barrels of crude currently in storage under a $2 billion supply framework. Getting oil out of tanks, however, requires more than political permission.

Naphtha is not fuel for cars or power plants. It is a light petroleum product used as a diluent, blended with Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude to thin it enough to flow through pipelines and load onto export tankers. Without it, Venezuela’s crude behaves less like oil and more like asphalt. Production stalls without naphtha because the heavy crude physically cannot move.

29/08/2025

Oil prices fell on Friday, but were set for a weekly gain, tugged between uncertainty about Russian supply and expectations of lower demand as the summer driving season in the United States, the world's biggest fuel consumer, nears its close.
Brent crude futures for October delivery , which will expire on Friday, fell 36 cents, or 0.5%, at $68.26 at 0816 GMT, while the more active contract for November slid 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $67.69. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $64.32.

Oil prices fell on Friday, but were set for a weekly gain, tugged between uncertainty about Russian supply and expectations of lower demand as the summer driving season in the United States, the world's biggest fuel consumer, nears its close.

22/08/2025

Oil prices were little changed on Friday as hopes for an imminent peace deal between Russia and Ukraine dimmed, putting prices on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks.
Brent crude futures were down 17 cents, or 0.25%, at $67.50 a barrel by 1000 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $63.39.

Oil prices were little changed on Friday as hopes for an imminent peace deal between Russia and Ukraine dimmed, putting prices on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks.

06/08/2025

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, rebounding from a five-week low the previous day, as traders focused on U.S. President Donald Trump threatening India with higher tariffs over its Russian crude purchases and a larger-than-expected U.S. crude draw.
Brent crude futures gained 90 cents, or 1.3%, to $68.54 a barrel by 0936 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 92 cents, or 1.4%, at $66.08 a barrel.

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, rebounding from a five-week low in the previous day, on concerns of supply disruptions after U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of tariffs on India over its Russian crude purchases.

09/07/2025

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, maintaining their highest levels since June 23, following attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and a forecast for lower U.S. oil production while uncertainty over U.S. tariffs loomed in the background.
Brent crude futures gained 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $70.27 a barrel by 1232 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $68.44 a barrel.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, maintaining their highest levels since June 23, lifted by attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and a forecast for lower U.S. oil production while uncertainty over U.S. tariffs loomed in the background.