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US Adds Cuban Bank, Fuel Firms to Sanctions List in New Measures

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The US added a Cuban bank and several state-owned companies to its sanctions list, tightening restrictions on entities linked to the island's financial, fuel, and industrial sectors, the Department of the Treasury said on Thursday.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, in updated guidance, sanctioned Comercial Cupet, which sells fuel and lubricants; Banco Exterior de Cuba, a Havana-based financial institution; Abapet, a unit of the state oil firm Union Cuba-Petroleo; Cexni and Nicarotec, which work in the mining industry.

OFAC also blacklisted Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, 31, the son of Alejandro Castro Espin, a high-ranking official in Cuba's interior ministry, who was sanctioned in June.

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Commodities

US Weighs Opening Utah's Ouray Wildlife Refuge to Oil, Gas Leasing

The US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management is weighing a proposal to allow oil and gas leasing on about 5,200 acres of federal mineral estate beneath Utah's Ouray National Wildlife Refuge near Vernal, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.The BLM intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan Amendment and associated environmental assessment to the Vernal Resource Management Plan, and has opened a 30-day public scoping period to gather comments on the proposal, according to a Federal Register notice set to publish Thursday.The planning area lies in Uintah County, where the US Fish and Wildlife Service manages the surface acreage as part of the refuge.The agency is weighing two preliminary alternatives, a "No Action Alternative" to keep the refuge closed to leasing and a "Proposed Action" that would open the underlying minerals to leasing subject to a no-surface-occupancy stipulation.Under that restriction, any lease development would have to be carried out through directional or horizontal drilling from well pads outside the refuge boundary, according to the notice.The BLM said it identified seven preliminary issues for analysis in the planning process and is inviting public comment on the planning criteria.The process will also address potential effects on threatened and endangered species and cultural resources under the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, the notice said.The agency cited the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, along with the Mineral Leasing Act, as part of its planning framework.The BLM said the effort aligns with Secretary's Order 3418, which supports President Donald Trump's executive order "Unleashing American Energy," aimed at expanding energy exploration and production on federal lands.Comments on the proposal and planning criteria will be accepted until Oct. 5, 2026, according to the BLM.The BLM will also hold a public meeting scheduled for 5-7 p.m. on Sep. 22 at the Vernal Field Office, according to BLM's statement.The BLM said oil and gas development on its managed lands in Utah provides the state a $3 billion economic boost, with BLM oil and gas activity nationwide contributing an additional $177 billion to the US economy.Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the existing Vernal Resource Management Plan, completed in 2008, currently bars all oil and gas access beneath the refuge, reversing restrictions last affirmed under the George W. Bush administration.The Trump administration has also opened Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, exempted offshore oil development in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act, and reduced royalty rates, air quality controls and other environmental safeguards, according to Bloomberg.

Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Gain on Hotter Weather, Tighter Storage Expectations

US natural gas prices extended gains in after-hours trading Wednesday as forecasts for hotter weather pointed to stronger cooling demand from power generators, while expectations for a smaller-than-average weekly storage injection provided additional support.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract both rose by 3.27% to $2.999 per million British thermal units.Higher US prices also drew support from a rally in European gas markets, Barchart reported. European natural gas futures climbed to a 3.75-year high Wednesday as concerns grew that disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could persist amid an escalation in the US-Iran conflict.However, most of Wednesday's gains were driven by expectations of increased cooling demand amid warmer US weather forecasts, Barchart said. Citing forecaster Vaisala, it said temperatures were trending hotter across the Midwest and eastern US for Sept. 7-11, and would shift even warmer across the Midwest for Sept. 12-16.Hotter weather typically boosts power burn, or the amount of natural gas consumed by power plants to generate electricity, increasing demand for the fuel.NRG Energy said power burn remained elevated at about 48.5 billion cubic feet per day Wednesday, roughly 20% above September 2025 levels. Gelber & Associates put Wednesday power burn at 48.3 Bcf/d.Celsius Energy said its data showed power burn averaged 46.6 Bcf/d for the week ended Aug. 31, up 4.7 Bcf/d from the comparable week last year.LNG feedgas demand held near 18.7 Bcf/d Wednesday despite softer nominations at Sabine Pass following Tropical Depression Edouard. G&A said there was no confirmed prolonged storm-related disruption at Gulf Coast export facilities, keeping LNG demand relatively strong as the storm moved inland.Trading Economics said average gas flows to the nine major US LNG export plants increased to 18.3 Bcf/d in early September from 17.2 Bcf/d in August, as Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi facility and Freeport LNG in Texas returned to full operations following maintenance.Total natural gas demand in the Lower 48 states was 79.5 Bcf/d Wednesday, up 7.6% from a year earlier, according to BNEF.Strong production, however, continued to limit the upside in prices. G&A estimated US natural gas production at 110.8 Bcf/d Wednesday, with Canadian imports at 5.9 Bcf/d, putting total supply near 116.7 Bcf/d.Trading Economics said U.S. natural gas output averaged a record 111.5 Bcf/d in August, up from 110.7 Bcf/d in July.Storage expectations ahead of Thursday's US Energy Information Administration report also supported prices.Barchart said analysts expected a 32 Bcf injection for the week ended Aug. 28, below the five-year average build of 37 Bcf. G&A was forecasting a smaller 28 Bcf increase, compared with a 45 Bcf build in the same week last year, while analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 29 Bcf increase.A smaller-than-average injection would signal that strong power-sector demand and LNG exports are drawing more gas from the market than is typical for this time of year, potentially keeping inventories tighter heading into the fall.

Commodities

US Power Update: Prices Mostly Higher in Afternoon

US wholesale electricity markets were mostly higher Wednesday afternoon, with Midcontinent Independent System Operator prices reaching an overnight peak of $314.14 per megawatt-hour, according to data from GridStatus.io.Electric Reliability Council of Texas' real-time locational marginal price stood at $38.30/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load came in at 52.31 gigawatts, with natural gas making up the largest share of the generation mix at 43.6%.California Independent System Operator's real-time LMP stood at $44.18/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load turned negative, reaching -1.03 GW, with solar making up the largest share of the generation mix at 68.1%.Southwest Power Pool's real-time LMP was $34.89/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 43.91 GW, with natural gas providing the largest share of the generation mix at 38.7%. Prices climbed to an intraday high of $126.57/MWh at 2:25 p.m. ET.PJM's real-time LMP stood at $45.66/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 127.78 GW, with gas providing the largest share of the generation mix at 42.8%. Prices reached an intraday high of $306.64/MWh at 5:20 a.m. ET.MISO's real-time LMP was $79.57/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load came in at 97.89 GW, with natural gas holding the largest share of the generation mix at 33.5%. Prices hit an overnight high of $314.14/MWh at 1:10 a.m. ET.New York Independent System Operator's real-time LMP stood at $37.70/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 19.62 GW, with dual-fuel sources making up the largest share of the generation mix at 28.3%.Independent System Operator New England's real-time LMP was $39.08/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load came in at 13.29 GW, with natural gas making up the largest share of the generation mix at 51.9%.Independent Electricity System Operator's real-time LMP stood at $48.12/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 20.36 GW at 3:55 p.m. ET, with nuclear making up the largest share of the generation mix at 40.6%.The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center forecasts temperatures to remain above normal across much of the central and eastern US from Sept. 10 to Sept. 16, with near-normal readings across much of the West.