Four oil traders are claiming in a lawsuit that they can prove that BP, Statoil and Shell conspired with Morgan Stanley and trading firms such as Vitol to manipulate Brent crude prices. The traders say that the three oil companies placed orders to move markets, rather than buy crude. “Platts’ methodology ‘can be easily gamed by market participants that make false, inaccurate or misleading trades,’ the plaintiff traders alleged.” [Bloomberg]

Oil and gas industry group the American Petroleum Institute may seek to challenge the US ban on most crude oil exports on the grounds that it violates international trade rules. “Gary Hufbauer, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said a country would likely have a strong case that the U.S. restrictions do violate trade rules.” [Fuel Fix]

Politico has very helpfully provided a synopsis of voting results from earlier this week and what they could mean for the energy sector: environmentalists are claiming Terry McAuliffe’s win in the Virginia gubernatorial race as a victory, opponents of coal exports won seats on the Whatcom County Council in Washington State, and some proposed local fracking bans failed, while others prevailed. [Politico]