Venezuela’s oil quality deteriorates. Reuters reports that PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, is increasingly shipping poor quality oil to refiners in the U.S., India and China, sparking complaints and demands for discounts. PDVSA’s oil is increasingly “soiled with high levels of water, salt or metals that can cause problems for refineries,” according to Reuters. The problems are the direct result of equipment and chemical shortages, and the decrepit state of Venezuela’s oil industry. Reuters says that U.S. refiner Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) canceled at least eight cargoes because of poor quality in the first half of 2017. The problems for PDVSA could accelerate and deepen the country’s fiscal and economic crisis.

Saudi oil minister downplays IPO rumors. “We are on track,” Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said on the sidelines of the Oil and Money energy conference in London. He insisted that Saudi Aramco is still targeting a partial IPO in 2018 after numerous reports in the past week suggested that the company could shelve the plans and opt for a private offering.

U.S. set for mild winter. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said that an upcoming mild winter meant that it does “not see major risk factors that would likely lead to significant market disruptions during this winter,” undercutting the rationale for Sec. of Energy Rick Perry’s proposal to prop up coal and nuclear power plants. Mild temperatures could also keep a lid on natural gas prices and put further pressure on coal.