The Gulf Barrel

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a draft environmental impact statement finding Cheniere Energy's proposed 24-mtpa Corpus Christi Stage 4 LNG expansion in Texas would have only less-than-significant adverse effects, opening a 45-day comment window — a procedural step, not a construction permit, ahead of a Final EIS and Commission certificate order.

US commercial crude stocks rose 3.0 million barrels to 426.39 million barrels in the week to September 18, about 2% above the five-year average, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data reported by Rigzone. Cushing, Oklahoma took most of the build while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) shrank. This is analysis, not a trading call.

BP entered, then reportedly walked from, the data room for Devon Energy's Eagle Ford assets — valued at $3.5-4.5 billion by Reuters sourcing and TPH Research — with no deal reached. The episode marks CEO Meg O'Neill's return to US shale M&A, while merged Devon sheds non-core Eagle Ford and Powder River acreage.

Woodside's first 235,000-cubic-metre storage tank at Louisiana LNG is confirmed under construction, part of a project Woodside itself says is 28% complete — its own disclosure, not third-party tracking. That milestone matters for the Gulf: it advances one of several new LNG origins competing for buyers against QatarEnergy's targeted 142-million-tonne North Field capacity, due by 2030.

Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) is discounting September Basrah crude by $15 to $20.80 a barrel and rushing late-loading offers, Bloomberg reported on September 25, 2026, as Strait of Hormuz tanker traffic stays below prewar levels, Gulf-to-Asia freight adds roughly $20 a barrel, and Vitol Group still lifts cargoes at the discount.