Week of October 5, 2026

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 9 — The board of Brazil's National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) approved geological and economic studies of the Oeste de Jubarte exploration block for possible future inclusion in the Permanent Production-Sharing Offer.

The agency said the block covers about 690 square km in the Campos Basin, inside the pre-salt polygon, and was classified as having high exploratory potential. According to the agency, its studies estimate an unrisked mean total volume of oil and natural gas in the order of tens of millions of barrels of oil equivalent. The agency defines this as the volume estimated before the risks of exploration are considered.

The ANP said it will send the studies to Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), and that its approval does not mean the whole area will necessarily be offered at auction. According to the agency, the ministry is responsible for proposing to the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), after hearing the ANP, which blocks will be auctioned under the production-sharing regime.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 9 — The board of Brazil's fuel regulator ANP on Oct 9 approved bringing back a restriction on biodiesel sales between liquid fuel distributors for 24 months, saying the measure aims to make the biodiesel blended into diesel easier to trace.

The restriction will take effect on the first day of the month after it is published in the Diario Oficial da Uniao. The board also told ANP's technical staff to take steps so that it can make a final decision on the matter before the 24 months end, possibly by changing ANP Resolution No. 950/2023.

According to the agency, the restriction was previously in force from May 2025 to June 2026. ANP said that between March 2024 and April 2025, more than 579,000 cubic meters of biodiesel were recorded without a direct match to purchases from suppliers, or about 5.9% of total declared purchases. An ANP technical review found that the earlier measure helped reduce those discrepancies. The agency said it found no significant effect on biodiesel availability.

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced 12 Phase II Genesis Mission project awards totaling $159 million, which the department said will develop Super Intelligence (SI) capabilities for science, including work on fusion and geothermal energy.

The projects, awarded through DOE's Office of Science, include a digital twin led by Commonwealth Fusion Systems to simulate and optimize operations of a fusion demonstration device. They also include a University of California Irvine platform to map, stimulate and manage deep underground reservoirs for geothermal energy. MIT, Harvard University, Fermilab and the Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories lead other projects.

"These awards give them the opportunity to take that work to the next level," DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said. DOE said the selections bring the total number of Phase II projects to 14, and the department is also issuing six new Phase I awards. President Trump launched the Genesis Mission in November 2025, according to DOE.

PJM has accepted the first three projects in its temporary Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT): two battery storage projects and a natural gas generator upgrade with more than 2,100 MW of combined nameplate capacity. The projects are slated to come online in mid-2029.

ENGIE IR Holdings LLC's two storage projects total 1,660 MW. Wayne 345 kV, with 860 MW, is to be sited in Crawford, Pennsylvania, and Galion 345 kV, with 800 MW, is in Morrow, Ohio. The Hunterstown 500 kV upgrade to an existing natural gas facility in Adams, Pennsylvania, adds 455 MW, PJM said.

Under the EIT, PJM will approve up to 10 interconnection requests per calendar year in 2026 and 2027 for large new or uprated capacity resources. Among other requirements, a project needs a commitment from a relevant state authority to help expedite site permitting and must offer at least 250 MW of unforced capacity. PJM said it expects the projects to execute a Generation Interconnection Agreement within 10 months of submission. The process will sunset at the end of 2027.

BRASILIA, Oct 8 — Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) on Thursday opened a public consultation on the summary report of the Ten-Year Energy Expansion Plan 2036 (PDE 2036), which presents the main outlook for energy supply and demand in Brazil between 2027 and 2036.

The ministry said it prepared the document with the Energy Research Company (EPE). Starting with this edition, the plan's main results are consolidated in a summary report, according to the ministry, which said the plan historically ran to more than 600 pages. The report has four chapters. A new Chapter 4, on questions for the future of Brazil's energy sector, is open to institutions, companies, experts and citizens, who may suggest topics to address in the coming years.

Contributions may be sent until Nov. 6 through the MME portal and the Brasil Participativo platform, the ministry said. It said 10 thematic reports, including ones on electric mobility, oil and natural gas production, and electricity transmission, will be published in the coming weeks.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has established a categorical exclusion for wintertime oil and gas exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, which the agency said would reduce burdens for companies seeking permits.

The exclusion lets projects such as exploratory seismic surveys, exploration wells, and plugging and abandonment move forward efficiently, the agency said. BLM said it developed the exclusion after analyzing dozens of previous environmental assessments for wintertime exploration in the reserve. According to BLM, those assessments showed the activities result in no significant impacts on human health or the environment when conducted under established operating procedures and mitigation measures.

Categorical exclusions are categories of actions that have been determined to not typically result in significant environmental impacts, removing the need for a full environmental review, BLM said. Before relying on one for a proposed project, an agency must verify that there are no extraordinary circumstances that may result in significant environmental effects, such as potential impacts to endangered species or cultural resources, according to the agency.

PARIS — International Energy Agency (IEA) member governments backed speeding up the oil stock releases announced in the March 2026 Collective Action and giving priority to diesel stocks where possible, citing current tightness in diesel markets, the IEA Executive Director said in a statement.

About 325 million barrels of oil have been released so far under the March 2026 action, and some countries have released more than they first pledged, according to the statement. Releasing all stocks that were pledged but not yet released would bring about 100 million barrels to the market.

The statement said member governments still hold publicly held emergency oil stocks equal to around 1.1 billion barrels, including over 200 million barrels of diesel, and that the IEA stands ready to release more "if and when required". Members agreed to continue to assess and review the situation at the next scheduled IEA Governing Board meeting, which will take place next week.

BRASILIA, Oct 6 — Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) on Tuesday approved a new rule that sets the order for mandatory generation cuts at power plants, known as curtailment, closing a debate that began seven years ago under Public Consultation No. 45/2019.

For cuts caused by an oversupply of energy, the rule gives guidance to the National System Operator (ONS). It gives priority to cuts that bring the most cost relief to the system, sets the order among generation sources and limits situations that could raise charges, the agency said. Cuts will be shared among sources. The hydro component linked to turbinable spilled energy (EVT) will be phased in over four years, in steps of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%.

According to ANEEL, a 12-month shadow period to simulate the rules' impacts will begin 180 days after the resolution is published. The rule will apply in full 18 months after publication.

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 — The U.S. Department of Energy announced its intent to deploy up to $150 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) funding for a second high-voltage connection between Southcentral and Interior Alaska, which the department said would strengthen grid infrastructure essential to national defense.

The Alaska Energy Authority's Beluga-Healy Transmission Project combines the DPA funding with $268 million in non-federal funding, for a planned total investment of $418 million, the department said. About 223 miles of new transmission line will be built between Beluga and Healy, giving grid operators an additional pathway to move power between Alaska's most densely populated communities and major military installations, according to the department.

"This project will not only support the major U.S. military expansion currently underway in Alaska, but also mining and other resource development critical to our national security," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Global ocean surface temperatures in September 2026 were 1.98°F (1.10°C) above average, the highest departure for any month on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) said in its monthly global climate report.

The ocean figure topped the previous all-time record, set in August 2026, by 0.04°F (0.02°C). It was the fourth consecutive month in which the global ocean surface temperature departure set a new record high, NCEI said. The agency said persistent El Niño conditions drove record warmth across the central and eastern tropical Pacific.

Globally, September 2026 was 2.39°F (1.33°C) above the 20th-century average, making it the second-warmest September in the 1850–2026 record, behind 2023, according to the report. NCEI said the January–September global surface temperature was the second highest on record, behind 2024, and that it is very likely 2026 will rank among the five warmest years on record.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — September 2026 was the warmest September on record for the contiguous U.S., with an average temperature of 69.4°F, 4.6°F above the 20th-century average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) said.

NCEI said the month beat the previous record of 68.95°F, set in 1998, in the 132-year record. Eight states had their warmest September on record. Five of them, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, broke records dating to the 1920s or 1930s. NCEI said the monthly average temperature for the contiguous U.S. has been above the 20th-century average for the past 20 months.

Drought covered 89% of the South region in the Sept 29 U.S. Drought Monitor, which NCEI said was the largest extent for the region since October 2000. NCEI said a full September 2026 U.S. Climate Report is scheduled for release on Oct 14, 2026.

The European Parliament on Tuesday approved a sixth revision of the EU directive on carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances, setting new exposure limit values for cobalt, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 1,4-dioxane and a long-term limit for isoprene.

Parliament endorsed the updates by 499 votes to 49, with 104 abstentions. Parliament and the Council had already provisionally agreed them. The European Commission says the measures will prevent about 1,700 lung cancer cases and 19,000 other illnesses over the next 40 years. According to Parliament, the rules also clarify provisions on personal protective equipment. They require employers to ensure additional protection measures for firefighters and other emergency services personnel.

Member states will have two years from the directive's entry into force to transpose its provisions, with longer transitional periods for certain occupational exposure limit values, Parliament said. The European Commission will have to assess the need to set additional limit values for substances contained in welding fumes.

OMAHA — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it is setting Gavins Point Dam releases to provide minimum-service navigation flow support on the Missouri River and will end the flow support season early, on Nov 15.

The Corps forecasts 2026 runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, at 16.3 MAF (million acre-feet), 63% of average. If that forecast is realized, it would be the 14th lowest runoff in the period of record. As of Oct 1, the System stored 46.1 MAF, 10 MAF below the base of its flood control zone. The Corps said Gavins Point releases may be reduced to 9,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) for about two weeks before winter releases of at least 12,000 cfs begin on Dec 1.

The comment period on the draft 2026-2027 Annual Operating Plan closes on Nov 27. The Corps' Northwestern Division will hold public meetings during the week of Oct 26 in Bismarck, Fort Pierre, Sioux City, Smithville and Nebraska City.