WTI (Sep) $62.35 -$1.07, Brent (Oct) $65.79 -81c, Diff -$3.44 +26c
USNG (Sep) $2.93 +4c, UKNG (Sep) 76.79p +0.72p, TTF (Sep) €31.37 +€0.335

Oil price

Oil is up today, probably on the back of comments from the Kremlin indicating that Russia was not that interested in talks which involve Zelensky. If that’s the case then everything is off and quite what happens next is anyones guess. 

The API reported quite good inventory stats, a draw of 2.42m in crude was twice the whisper, should the EIA deliver anything similar tonight then the price should hold a small gain. 

It is worth taking a look at an article in Forbes magazine written by the eminent commentator Gaurav Sharma whom I have known for many years. I may get the article for the blog but he looks at what has happened to oil and gas in New Zealand since drilling there was banned by the Government back in 2018. At the time Jacinda Ardern declared that the age of oil and gas was over, now that call is coming back to roost with huge inflation in natural gas prices in particular and the effect on balance of payments has been hit.

Jadestone Energy

Jadestone has announced an update on the testing of the Skua-11ST development well at the Montara field offshore Australia.

Consistent with previous disclosures, production from the Skua-11ST well commenced in early August 2025. Initial oil production rates from the well exceeded 6,000 bbls/d, significantly ahead of previous guidance of 3,500 bbls/d, with oil production rates subsequently stabilizing at 4,400 bbls/d on a 40% open choke prior to restart of the Montara field’s other subsea wells. 

Skua-11ST was completed with downhole inflow control devices, which are designed to maximize reservoir sweep and recovery from the well. Skua-11ST, along with the other Montara wells, will be managed in the longer-term to maximise overall recovery from the Montara field.

T. Mitch Little, Chief Executive Officer of Jadestone, commented:
“We are pleased to report the strong initial flows from the Skua-11ST well, which will meaningfully contribute to higher production from Montara, underpinning our revised 2025 production guidance which was upgraded in July. The increase in production will also reduce Montara unit operating costs and extend field life by approximately one year.”

I would suggest that this is an excellent final result and certainly to me better than the expected overall situation at the Skua-11ST well that was already announced. The impressive initial rate has settled and will ‘meaningfully contribute to higher production from Montara’ which we know cuts opex and extends the field life by about one year.

The company will now manage the well along with the others to maximise the overall recovery from Montara safe in the knowledge that this will increase the value of the entire development. Finally CEO Mitch Little confirms that the revised production guidance will be ‘underpinned’ which will go a long way to keeping shareholders happy.

I suspended my TP a long time ago but with so much good news now coming from Jadestone I feel that I will be happy to reinstate something realistic along with the upcoming interims. New management appears to be very much hitting the ground running which is the best news.

Original article   l   KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Malcy's Blog