On Oct. 3 Petroecuador said the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline (SOTE) suspended operations after a pump station fire in Napo province. Petroecuador has asked the National Oil Crime Investigation Unit and the national police intervention rescue team to investigate. The roughly 500 km SOTE is the main export pipeline for oil produced in Ecuador’s Amazon region.

The New York Times reports US-Russia negotiations on ending the Ukraine war have expanded to a proposed multibillion-dollar oil transaction that would transfer large Lukoil oilfields, refineries and service stations worldwide. Potential bidders include investor Todd Boehly (reported $2m donor to Trump), two Middle Eastern groups with prior business links to Jared Kushner or Steve Witkoff, and a US government department. The deal would require approvals from both the US government and the Kremlin; the report notes no indication Kushner or Witkoff would personally profit.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC’s Insiders the US conflict with Iran has become an economic disaster that is raising global inflation and borrowing costs and weighing on growth. He said the Middle East war has significantly increased cost-of-living pressures worldwide, helping drive up interest rates. Asked whether President Trump should end the war immediately, Chalmers said he would not advise the US president but added the conflict should end as soon as possible, warning that the longer it continues the greater the hit to the global and Australian economies.