MARKETWIRE ALERTS – CLONED
MARKETWIRE ALERTS – CLONED
MARKETWIRE ALERTS
MarketWire Afternoon News for August 18th
Updated at 5:30 PM ET
HEADLINES:
— CFTC: Speculators Hold Historic Net Short in WTI
— SFPP Starts East Pipeline Expansion Open Season
— Coastal Bend LNG Starts Study on Carbon Capture
NEWS:
CFTC: Speculators Hold Historic Net Short in WTI
Speculative traders held the first-ever combined net short across the two major West Texas Intermediate contracts during the week ended August 12, with positions in both CME and ICE contracts showing reduced appetite for crude oil, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report released late Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, speculators reduced length in WTI futures to a net-long 49,113 contracts, the lowest level since 2009. That compares with a total net-long of more than 240,000 contracts in January 2025, underscoring the nearly 80% drawdown in speculative length this year, the CFTC said.
Speculators on the Intercontinental Exchange moved into bearish territory, holding a net-short 53,303 contracts in WTI, reflecting increased use of the contract in Brent–WTI spread trades and a decline in outright long exposure.
In Brent, speculators trimmed net length by 9,600 contracts to 153,928, according to CFTC.
Taken together, speculative positions across CME and ICE WTI and ICE Brent fell to a combined 202,538 contracts net-long. Within WTI, CME’s 49,113 net-long was more than offset by ICE’s 53,303 net-short, leaving the two contracts at a combined net-short of 4,190 contracts, the first such occurrence on record.
SFPP Starts East Pipeline Expansion Open Season
SFPP, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, has launched on Monday a binding open season to secure shipper commitments for a proposed expansion of its East Line pipeline system, running from El Paso, Texas, to Tucson, Arizona.
The open season began on August 18 at 8:00 a.m. CST and is scheduled to close September 19 at 5:00 p.m. CST.
The proposed expansion is expected to add up to 3,250 bpd of incremental capacity, measured on a gasoline-equivalent basis. It also expects to boost transportation links between Texas refining hubs and fuel markets in Arizona and Mexico.
The additional space is slated for domestic fuels, gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, as well as diesel that meets export requirements for Mexico. Final capacity will be based on shipper demand during the open season.
Shippers will be able to obtain firm capacity by making take-or-pay commitments during the process.
Kinder Morgan said the expansion is estimated to be in service on or before April 1, 2026.
Coastal Bend LNG Starts Study on Carbon Capture
Coast Bend LNG said Monday it has begun a front end engineering and design (FEED) study with Solvanic to explore a next generation carbon capture system for its proposed liquefied natural gas export facility on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The study will assess electrochemically mediated amine regeneration (EMAR), a carbon capture method created at MIT. Unlike conventional systems that rely on steam, EMAR uses electricity to release carbon dioxide, cutting energy use and costs while offering more flexibility.
Solvanic is working to commercialize the process after a decade of MIT research. Coast Bend LNG said the study will focus on capturing emissions from natural gas pretreatment and cogeneration.
“We’re highly encouraged by Solvanic’s preliminary economics and eager to accelerate their readiness with this study,” said Nick Flores CEO of Coast Bend LNG.
If adopted, the technology could help Coastal Bend LNG lower its carbon footprint and set a precedent for the U.S. LNG sector.