The Gulf Barrel

ExxonMobil produced the most among the three U.S. majors in the third quarter of 2026, at 4.496 million barrels of oil equivalent per day as reported by Rigzone, ahead of Chevron at 3.980 million and ConocoPhillips at 2.302 million. Chevron and ConocoPhillips both cited the Middle East conflict in explaining lower volumes.

Iraq's claim of more than 5 million bpd undercuts its own case for a larger OPEC+ quota. The 4.431 million bpd requirement, held for December, means such output would be a clear overshoot. Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair argues compliance rests on exports, but OPEC+ measures crude production.

Space-based solar power is a funding-and-demonstration story, not an energy supply. OilPrice.com reports programmes in China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, with UK funding for Space Solar cited at about $1.6 million. The report describes no grid delivery, so oil, gas and LNG balances are unchanged. Analysis, not advice.

Vopak's Victoria LNG import project is in permitting, which is a process step rather than a financing decision. The FSRU terminal planned for Port Phillip Bay still lacks a confirmed final investment decision in the sources reviewed, so Vopak's plan remains announced, not yet financed. Approval would be only the first gate.

ADNOC's new LNG deal with Gujarat Energy is real but modest: up to 4 million tonnes over ten years, or roughly 0.4 million tonnes a year, with deliveries reported from 2028. It matters more as a signal of XRG's supply push into India than as a volume shift.

Malampaya Phase 4 has delivered first gas, but sustainable output is not yet set. Prime Energy and its SC 38 partners report two wells, Malampaya East-1 and Camago-3, feeding existing infrastructure, with operators estimating 222 Bcf of recoverable gas. It is mainly a Philippine supply story, with a small Gulf link through condensate.

ONGC is negotiating to become operator of two Venezuelan oil projects, chiefly to recover more than $500 million in unpaid dividends, but nothing is signed. ONGC Videsh, its overseas arm, says agreements could close within three to six months. Control of San Cristobal would turn a stranded financial claim into a barrel it can sell.

The Iran war's supply shock is measured; a lasting policy shift is not. EIA's October 6, 2026 outlook puts Q4 Brent at $105/b and assumes constrained Middle East flows, but no dataset yet shows governments permanently trading ideology for reliability. That thesis is OilPrice.com opinion, and this is analysis, not trading advice.

UK carbon capture has a funded first tranche and an exposed second one. Wood Mackenzie's Mhairidh Evans told the EAGE conference the system is "perhaps under threat" from political cycles and Treasury budgets. Track-1 projects HyNet and the Northern Endurance Partnership reached final investment decisions, while Acorn and Viking only hold development funding.

Rigzone reported on 6 November 2026 that ADNOC will supply Gujarat Energy with 4 MMtpa of LNG for 10 years. The volume rests on that single trade-press report; the desk found no ADNOC or Gujarat Energy statement, so the figure is unconfirmed and the buyer's identity unverified.