-Electrobras, the state-owned Brazilian utility, could beprivatized under Jair Bolsonaro, should he win Brazil’s upcoming second roundpresidential election. Bolsonaro’s top economic advisor favors selling off the company. 

Iran exports falling inOctober. In the first two weeks of October, Iran’s oilexports averaged 1.3 million barrels per day (mb/d), down sharply from the1.6 mb/d it averaged in October, and down from the recent peak of 2.5 mb/d in April.Sanctions on Iran take effect on November 4, and most analysts see exportsfalling further over the next few weeks. 

Signs of Permianoverheating. Bloomberg reported on the signs that the Permian basin is overheating,including high costs for frac sand, six-figure salaries for truck drivers, andclogged roads from truck traffic make West Texas one of the deadliest places todrive in the country. Output is still growing, but pipeline bottlenecks havecut the monthly growth rate down by three-quarters. Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB)has warned producers that drilling wells too closely together has led to lowerproductivity, raising the prospect that drilling efficiencies are bumping upagainst their limits. 

U.S. to add 98,000 bpdin November. The latest Drilling Productivity Report from the EIA shows strong gains expected for next month.The EIA predicts the U.S. will add 98,000 bpd in November compared to a monthearlier. Unsurprisingly, the Permian leads the way with 53,000 bpd in growth,followed by the Eagle Ford (+15,000 bpd), the Bakken (+13,000 bpd) and smallercontributions from the Anadarko, Appalachia and Niobrara.

DOE’s coal bailout puton ice. The U.S. Department of Energy has gone to greatlengths to bail out aging coal and nuclear power plants, digging up obscurestatutes related to national security to justify subsidizing them. But the DOEproposal has apparently “run aground” at the White House, according to Politico. The White House does not think the proposal is on solidlegal ground, and perhaps more importantly, intervening in electricity marketsto prop up coal has angered the oil and gas industry, as well asenvironmentalists, consumer advocacy groups and free market proponents. Fornow, the initiative appears dead. 

AMLO tells oil companiesto show results. Incoming Mexican President Andres ManuelLopez Obrador has reiterated his support for existing oil contracts withforeign companies, but pressed them to hurry up and show results, according to Reuters. “We know we have to exceed expectations and we’re tryingto make sure we do that,” TalosEnergy (NYSE: TALO) CEO Tim Duncan, one of the executives whoattended a September meeting with AMLO, told Reuters.

Nigeria shut key oilpipeline. Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. shut down a keyoil pipeline network, the NNPC System 2E, due to an explosion triggered by oilthieves. The outage has interrupted operations at the 210,000-bpd Port Harcourtrefineries, according to S&P Global Platts. 

Oil companies pursueaugmented reality technologies. The Houston Chronicle reports on how the oil industry is using new technologies,such as augmented reality, in order to cut costs. Maintenance and managementdecisions can be made remotely, speeding up decision-making and defrayingexpenses. It’s somewhat of a merger between Silicon Valley and Big Oil. “Wehave some experts that travel a half-million miles a year,” Ed Moore, Chevron’senterprise architecture and strategy manager, told the Houston Chronicle.“There’s a lot of opportunity to make savings.”

U.S. oil exports toChina fall to zero. Chinese companies are cutting back inthe midst of the U.S.-China trade war, scrambling the flow of oil around theworld. In August, China’s purchases of oil from the U.S. fell to zero, after China had been the largest buyer of American crudein the first half of the year. U.S. producers are still finding buyers, but arehaving to look elsewhere. Meanwhile, Russia and Saudi Arabia are replacing theU.S. as the main suppliers to China. 

Venezuela has $949million bond payment due. Venezuela has a $949 million bondpayment due on October 27, and analysts believe it will meet the paymentschedule since the bond is backed by a majority stake in Citgo Holdings.Instead of letting creditors lay claim to Citgo, Venezuela will likely pull outall stops in order to meet the payment, analysts believe. Venezuela is already late on some $7 billion in bondpayments and is dangerously low on funds. 

Oil sands companiesscrambling amid $50-per-barrel discount. Canadian oilcompanies are hedging production, booking oil-by-rail shipments and otherwise scrambling to find storage as Western Canada Select (WCS) suffersfrom a price discount as large as $50 per barrel below WTI. The pipelines outof Alberta are full and those without pricing protection are getting slammed.