Equinor, Norway's largest oil company, scales back its climate ambitions due to wind change
Equinor, the Norwegian energy company, has weakened its plan for energy transition as it struggles with delivering on promises to invest in renewable energy technologies and low-carbon technology. It cited practical difficulties and shifts in political priorities. In 2022, the oil and gas producer laid out short and medium term steps to achieve net zero emission, including those from using its products, by 2050. In February, however, the company reneged on its pledge to dedicate more than half of its capital expenditures to low-carbon and renewable solutions by 2030.
Carlyle is looking for buyers of Colombian oil producers
According to sources familiar with the matter, Carlyle's private equity group is looking for a buyer of its Colombian oil company SierraCol. The price would be around $1.5 billion. SierraCol was established by Carlyle in 2020, after purchasing assets from Occidental Petroleum. With a production of 45,000 barrels equivalent per day, it is the largest independent producer of Colombia. According to a SierraCol website presentation, its free cash flow for the year ended September was $172 millions and its net debt was $511 million. Carlyle declined comment.
Energean reports a rise in its annual profit and flags exploration costs
Energean, a UK-based gas company, reported a 2% increase in its annual profit after taxes on Thursday. However, it also flagged $241 million in impairments relating to assets located in Egypt, Morrocco, and Greece. The company reported a profit of $188 millions for the year ending December 31, 2024. This is up from $185 in 2023. The company stated that the increasing demand for electricity and the government's plan to phase out coal in Israel have increased the demand for natural gas in Israel, which is the majority of the country's production. It added that its operations in Israel were not affected by the Middle East conflict.
Trump's Energy dominance aims to attract more global companies to the US
Executives said that the market upheaval caused by U.S. president Donald Trump's protectionist policies on trade has not dampened interest from foreign investors in the U.S. Energy Industry. They praised his promise to reduce regulations and support fossil energies. Trump made energy dominance the cornerstone of his administration. He declared a national emergency on his first official day in office, and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. He has encouraged energy companies to increase fossil fuel production, and promised lower prices for consumers. Trump's energy stance has been widely welcomed by the U.S.
Naftogaz, Ukraine's gas producer, says that the Russian attack has damaged its production facilities.
Ukraine's Energy Minister said that Russian forces had targeted Ukraine's gas and energy infrastructure with their latest drones and missile attacks, which took place on Friday. Rescuers and engineers work to minimize the effects. "All necessary measures are taken to stabilise the power and gas supply," he said. In a press release, Naftogaz said that the attack had damaged its natural gas production plants. "Production installations that ensure gas production have been damaged. Naftogaz reported that there were no fatalities via Telegram.
The gender pay gap in Australia has improved slightly but women are still paid 18.6% lower than men
A government report revealed that the gender pay gap in Australia has shrunk slightly, but women still earn nearly a fifth of what men do. The biggest disparities are found in the mining, construction and finance industries. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's survey showed that 72.2% had a gender gap in favour of men, while 21.3% of employers had an equal gap between the two groups within +/-5%. The remaining employers had a gender gap in their favour. The median wage gap in March 2024, which was 19% the previous year, was now 18.6%. About 56% of businesses reduced their pay gap.
Expand Energy is on track to increase US natgas production to meet the growing demand
Expand Energy, previously known as Chesapeake Energy, and the largest natural gas producer in America, announced on Thursday that it is on track to increase output by over 5% from the levels expected in 2020, as long as the market conditions allow for such an action. The CEO of Expand, Nick Dell'Osso, told analysts on the company's earnings call for the fourth-quarter that the company was ready to increase output from 6.4 billion cubic foot equivalents per day (bcfed), in the fourth quarter 2024 to 7.1 bcfed by 2025 or 7.5 bcfed by 2026 depending on the market conditions.
Woodside Energy's profit for the year is at its lowest level in three years due to low oil and gas prices
Woodside Energy, a major oil and gas company, reported on Tuesday its lowest annual profit in the last three years, due to lower realized prices. However, it maintained its production forecast for 2025, based on expectations that demand for liquefied gas will be strong. The energy markets were affected by geopolitical events that occurred in the past year. Slowing global growth, and a softening of demand from China's top consumer also pushed down commodity prices. Woodside's average realized price for its products is $63.60 per bar of oil equivalent. This is a 7% decrease from last year.
Diamondback Energy exceeds profit expectations for the fourth quarter on higher production
Diamondback Energy, a U.S. shale oil producer, surpassed Wall Street's expectations for the fourth quarter profit on Monday as higher production offset lower prices. In extended trading, shares were up 3% to $159.95. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the total oil production of the United States reached a record 13.6 million barrels a day (bpd), as increased efficiencies allowed producers to pump more oil. Diamondback's fourth quarter production nearly doubled, to an average 883.424 barrels equivalent per day (boepd), helping offset a drop of 9% in oil prices.
Stock prices of US natgas producers soar as gas futures soar
Gas futures prices have risen by 27% in the last seven days, reaching a two-year high. The extreme cold of recent days has pushed U.S. Gas Futures up to $4.42 per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) at midday on Wednesday. This puts the front-month just a few cents away from the closing high of $2.258, which was reached on January 16 of this year. The increase in gas futures has helped Devon Energy's stock, which announced earnings on February 18th, to reach a three-month high at $38.58 by midday Wednesday. Devon reported that the total revenue from oil, gas, and midstream sales, as well as natural gas liquids, was $4.4 billion.
Sources: Validus Energy will buy natural gas producer, 89 Energy III, for $850 Million.
Sources familiar with the deal said that Validus Energy, a privately owned U.S. gas and oil producer, has agreed to purchase 89 Energy III, a rival company, for $850 million including debt. According to sources, the deal will add more than 25,000 barrels equivalent to oil per day to Validus’s growing footprint in Oklahoma's Anadarko Shale Basin, making it one of the biggest private players in U.S. Mid-Continent region oil. According to its website, 89 Energy III produces 70% gas. Kayne Anderson announced the formation of this company in May 2021, after a merger between three Mid-Continent oil and gas producers.
Equinor will continue with the Rosebank oil and Gas Project in Britain
The UK manager of Equinor, the Norwegian oil and natural gas producer, said Wednesday at a conference on energy in New Delhi that the company will continue to develop its Rosebank oil field. Equinor, along with its partner Ithaca Energy, wants to develop the Rosebank Oil and Gas Field. However the plans to develop one of Britain's final major oil reservoirs have been a lightning-rod for climate activists who are calling for an end to fossil fuel production. The British Prime Minister Keir starmer said that while his government would not be issuing new exploration licenses, it would not revoke any existing ones.
Chevron is struggling to replace its oil and gas reserves amid uncertainty surrounding the Hess deal
Chevron’s oil and natural gas reserves are at their lowest level in more than a decade. This highlights the importance of its planned acquisition of oil producers Hess, which has been stalled by a legal battle with Exxon Mobil. Investors in energy companies use reserve replacement as a key metric. It gives them an idea of how much gas and oil the company could produce, and how long. Chevron would be able to gain a stake on the lucrative oilfields in Guyana, which are run by Exxon, Chevron’s main rival. Exxon…
Sources say that RPT-Encino owner is considering a $7 billion sale and IPO.
CPP Investments, a Canadian pension fund, is considering strategic options for Encino Acquisition Partners, such as a sale or an initial public offering that could value Encino Acquisition Partners at up to $7 billion including debt. The energy industry has been anticipating a boost from President Donald Trump's administration, which has outlined an economic agenda that aims to increase fossil-fuel production by speeding up the approval process for energy projects, and rolling back environmental protections.
Sources: Encino's owner is considering a $7 billion sale and the IPO of an energy producer.
CPP Investments, a Canadian pension fund, is considering strategic options for Encino Acquisition Partners, such as a sale or an initial public offering that could value Encino Acquisition Partners at up to $7 billion including debt. The energy industry has been anticipating a boost from President Donald Trump's administration, which has outlined an economic agenda that aims to increase fossil-fuel production by speeding up the approval process for energy projects, and rolling back environmental protections.
Sources say that US energy company Talos is set to name Shell CEO Goodfellow its next CEO
Two people with knowledge of the matter confirmed on Sunday that Talos Energy is preparing to appoint veteran Shell executive Paul Goodfellow, as its new CEO. Sources said that the appointment of Goodfellow who is currently the chief internal auditor for Shell is expected to be made this week. They requested anonymity as the matter was confidential. Goodfellow succeeds Tim Duncan, the long-time founder and CEO of Talos. Duncan abruptly left the firm in August after 12 years of service. He had helped it become the fifth largest oil and gas producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Australia's Origin Energy lowers its APLNG production for 2025
Origin Energy announced on Friday that it expects Australia Pacific LNG to produce less in 2025. However, the company reported a sequential increase of 11% in its second-quarter revenues from its stake in this project due to higher gas prices. The power producer expects production in 2025 from APLNG, Origin's joint-venture with U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips (and Sinopec) -- to be between 670-690 Petajoules. This is 2%-3 % lower than its previous guidance. Origin's forecast was impacted by the lower performance of some Queensland projects and weaker performance in non-operated asset due to unplanned maintenance.
Chevron will build gas plants for data centers in the AI boom
The oil and gas company Chevron announced on Tuesday that it will build natural gas power plants near data centers in the U.S. as the energy demand for artificial intelligence growth is expected to grow. The second largest U.S. oil and gas producer has partnered with Engine No. The project is a partnership between Engine No. 1 and electric service company GE Vernova. Chevron announced the project a day after Chinese startup DeepSeek revealed an AI model it claims uses much less computing power than leading models in the United States.
Santos Australia targets higher output in 2025, pinning hopes on Barossa Project
Santos, Australia's largest oil and gas company, forecast higher production for fiscal 2025 based on the expectation that Barossa will start production this year. The company also reported a sequential increase in its fourth quarter revenue on Thursday. Santos is the second largest independent gas producer in the country. Santos, the country's no. Visible Alpha's consensus was 89.9 million mmboe. If gains continue, shares could rise as high as 1.7% at A$7.250. This would be the best day for trading since January 13, 2013. As of 0046 GMT, the broader ASX 200 was down by 0.3%.
Can Trump reverse Biden's offshore oil drilling ban?
In an executive order issued on Monday, President Donald Trump revoked the ban placed by former Democratic president Joe Biden against new offshore oil-and-gas development along most of America's coasts. Trump will face legal challenges regarding his authority. What did BIDEN and Trump do? Biden used his authority, granted by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1970, to stop oil and gas drilling in federal waters along the East and Western coasts of the United States as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico. He also halted the drilling of portions of the northern Bering sea of Alaska.
