WTI (Dec) $60.57 +9c, Brent (Dec) $65.00 +8c, Diff -$4.43 -1c
USNG (Dec) $3.96 +16c, UKNG (Dec)* 81.84+2.04p, TTF (Dec) €31.535 -€0.445
*Denotes November contract expiry

Oil price

Today apart from being Halloween is the last day of the month and as such traders will I suspect bank the 3% fall on the period, put away their books and head off for the weekend. Another reason for this scenario is that Sunday sees the Opec+ monthly meeting which is again expected to raise production, probably by 137/- b/d. This sounds bad but hardly anyone in Opec can do anything more now and the Saudis, who can, have according to Reuters wisely cut prices by $1.50 pb in advance of the meeting.

At the moment this activity, as well as other scenarios have led to a bit of a glut in world markets which many observers are concluding will keep the price under pressure for some months. This may be right and I won’t argue with the likes of Guru Javier Blas who are bearish but I would note that inventories are quite tight and particularly in products worldwide, ahead of the winter season. 

Chevron and Exxon have both come in beating the whisper this morning and whilst they rarely if ever forecast prices they both concentrate on costs, Darren Woods was excellent on CNBC this morning. 

Finally, note that having rolled over the contract, US natural gas prices have firmed and going into the winter months have now gone over the $4 mark. 

Corcel

Corcel  confirm that, further to the announcements of 30th September 2025 and 14th October 2025, all of the 1,698,125,000 February 2025 Warrants (the ‘Warrants’) have been successfully exercised, generating total proceeds to the Company of £3.85 million.  The last 334,375,000 of the Warrants to be exercised fell under the Block Admission dated 24th June 2025.

Scott Gilbert Corcel CEO commented: 
“Through the accelerated exercise of the Warrants, Corcel has secured £3.8 million in funding. Together with the anticipated funds due from the soon-to-close transaction with Sintana Energy, Corcel is now fully funded to advance its high impact exploration ambitions, starting with the seismic program in KON-16. The Company is entering its most exciting period yet, accelerating activity in the onshore Kwanza Basin and pursuing strategic business development opportunities in producing assets to broaden its portfolio and cash flow base.“

It has been fascinating to follow the exercise of the warrants in recent months and at huge premiums to the current share price which is of course great news for the company. Along with the transaction with Sintana the company is now ‘fully funded to advance its high impact exploration ambitions, starting with the seismic program in KON-16′. 

The shares have paused a little in recent weeks, not a surprise after the huge rally which saw the shares more than double from the April low and with the news that the company is about to embark on its ‘most exciting period yet’ I still see plenty of upside. 

CEO Scott Gilbert expects to see ‘accelerating activity in the Kwanza Basin’ and in addition Corcel is pursuing strategic business development opportunities in producing assets to broaden its portfolio and cash flow base’. My TP of 2p a share was struck when that would have made the shares a ten-bagger, from these levels that price still gives a great deal of upside, something that I am very confident that can occur.

Chariot

Chariot has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ACWA Power, one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies, to explore the creation of a southern African sustainable energy business. • The partnership will aim to develop, own and operate transitional power assets across renewable energy, battery storage and gas-to-power, and the energy generated will be sold to national grids, corporate customers and energy traders • Initial target countries include South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania • This strategic collaboration will leverage ACWA Power’s and Chariot’s technical, operational, and financing expertise to unlock investment opportunities and deliver a portfolio of scalable energy projects across the region With the initial principles now agreed, both parties are committed to concluding binding agreements. While there is no certainty that this MoU will lead to a definitive agreement, good progress is being made toward the next stage of documentation. Chariot will provide further updates as appropriate.

Adonis Pouroulis, CEO of Chariot commented,
“We are delighted to announce this MoU with ACWA, one of the leading global players in renewables. We see significant potential in combining our respective strengths to build a meaningful and impactful energy business across southern Africa. With the largest renewable footprint outside China, ACWA Power brings exceptional capability and reach across the energy spectrum, and we share a common vision to harness Africa’s resources to deliver competitive, accessible and sustainable power. This partnership also represents an important step as we advance the proposed separation of the Chariot Group into two distinct entities. It could form a key part of our future power generation platform, and we look forward to developing this relationship over the longer term.” This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU R

More good news from Chariot who are taking great strides in the renewable business and as they say, ‘building a meaningful and impactful energy business across southern Africa’. This looks to be a potentially really good deal, ACWA is one of the biggest players in renewables across the globe and is now moving into southern Africa and appears to have chosen Chariot as its partner. 

With ACWA identifying the area as potentially lucrative I am happy to have been so positive about the area that Chariot has chosen to place so many chips, clearly ACWA agreed and they have a track record in northern Africa, the Middle East and central Asia to go on. 

I think that we now have some serious visibility of progress for Chariot, I am expecting the long-awaited financing of the South African renewable business pretty soon and that changes everything. I would expect that milestone to be followed by the split of the two businesses, each fully justified in their own right.  

Chariot will reappear in the oil & gas sector with a dynamic, potentially exciting portfolio. In Morocco, after the disappointment it has taken the opportunity to re-size the Anchois development which I am led to believe is definitely a viable project progressing to profitable production. With a portfolio of  potential prospects and of course much possible excitement in Namibia there is built-in exploration upside. 

Chariot is now looking very interesting, it has funded its renewable operations at subsidiary level ensuring that there is no dilution for shareholders, once the financing is complete and the split takes place I think that the company will be well worth more than a glance. 

Prospex Energy

Prospex has provided an update from the Selva Malvezzi production concession in Italy following the publication by Po Valley Energy Limited of its Q3-2025 activity report.  Po Valley Operations Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of PVE is the operator of the Selva Malvezzi production concession, which has a 63% working interest, while Prospex has the remaining 37% working interest.

Highlights

• Consistent well performance from the Podere Maiar-1 well (“PM-1”) for the quarter meeting production expectations and driving continued strong operating cashflows.
• Transition to a new offtake agreement with a new supply contract commencing 1 October 2025 with Hera Trading.
• Updated EIA and development program for Casale Guida-1d, Ronchi-1d, Bagnarola-1d, and Selva Malvezzi-1d, incorporating further progress on ministry recommendations.
• Field activities scheduled for Q4-2025 for the 3D geophysical survey for the Broader Selva Concession Development Program, with permitting processes and landowner agreements near completion.

Gas production and revenues from the PM-1 gas well in the Selva Malvezzi Production Concession

Mark Routh, Prospex’s CEO, commented:
“I am very pleased to report that Po Valley Energy, the operator of the Selva Malvezzi Production Concession, continues to deliver steady and reliable gas production from the PM-1 well with the related ongoing cash generation with consistent production averaging ~80,000 scm per day during the period.

Meanwhile, the operator has continued to make progress on the permitting front, with EIA and development programme revisions underway for the proposed 4 new wells and the upcoming 3D geophysical survey in December.”

Good news today from Prospex where production remains in line with fairly modest projections, cash generation is consistent and will rise with winter gas prices I assume. From what Mark Routh says that permitting is ‘making progress’, which is OK for Italy and the necessary revisions to the documentation are underway ready for 4 new wells and the 3D geophysical survey in December. 

Operational Overview

Selva Malvezzi

Selva is an onshore natural gas field located in the eastern part of the Po Plain, in the Bologna province of the Emilia Romagna Region.  Awarded in July 2022, the Selva Malvezzi Production Concession covers 80.68km2 carved out from the former Podere Gallina Exploration Permit.

It includes the Podere Maiar Gas field (in production) and the gas prospects Selva Malvezzi (East Selva), Casale Guida (Selva North), Ronchi (Selva South) and Bagnarola (Riccardina).

1. PM-1 gas production and well management

Total production (100%) in Q3 2025 was 7,249,134 scm, generating revenue of €2,681,549 (100%) for the quarter.  Total gas production (100%) since initial flow now stands at 58,633,799 scm from the C2 level, representing ~84% of the total (100%) P1 reserves of C2 Level certified in the July 2022 CPR[1] (PXEN share of the gross amounts quoted above is 37% of total).

Daily production was consistent at ~80,000scm/day, with the exception of the final days in September with a routine alumina replacement at the gas plant undertaken.  The well re-opened on 2 October 2025 with production resuming at ~80,000 scm/day.

The quarter has seen the conclusion of the Gas Sales Agreement with BP Gas Marketing, with final production supplied at the end of September.  From 1 October 2025, gas is supplied under the new Gas Sales Agreement with Hera Trading, a group entity headed by Hera S.p.A. (refer RNS announcement RNS: 21 August 2025).

Net government royalties for the quarter of €99k (€329k year to date) on the production gas sales are accrued and would be due for payment in Q2 of 2026.

2. Casale Guida 1d, Ronchi 1d, Bagnarola 1d, Selva Malvezzi 1d wells

The key area of focus for the Joint Venture with the next stages of development is at Casale Guida 1d (Selva North discovery), Ronchi 1d (South Selva discovery), Selva Malvezzi 1d (East Selva prospect) and Bagnarola 1d (Riccardina prospect), all of which lie within the Selva Malvezzi Production Concession.

The drilling programs for the four new drilling projects were submitted to the UNMIG department of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) for drilling authorisation in September 2024 with an Environmental Impact Study (EIA) covering the drilling, development and production phases of the four wells filed in December 2024 reported last quarter.  The EIA technical commission of the Ministry (MASE) requested further studies with observations and recommendations to be addressed.

The operator has progressed a new environmental study incorporating recommendations and amendments from the EIA technical commission which include, amongst others, addressing the location of wells to mitigate any flooding concerns for the Selva Malvezzi-1 well site location and addressing visual and noise impact concerns of the Casale Guida and Ronchi well sites.

Field work, including geophysical acquisition, on the approved 3D geophysical survey over the Selva Malvezzi Production concession, is on track to commence in Q4/2025.  The permitting process and execution of landowner access agreements were near completion at the end of this quarter; a lengthy process with over 1,800 landowners across the Production Concession area.

Expenditure for the quarter in relation to the above progression of work programs on the Selva prospects was ≈€13k (net to PXEN), with expenditure expected to increase over the next two quarters as the Company implements the 3D geophysical survey and completes the EIA study and drilling programs of the new wells.

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