After decades of developing its renewable energy capacity, Uruguay is now looking to explore for oil and gas, having made no successful discoveries in the past. New hopes of offshore reserves have encouraged the government to welcome foreign oil majors into its waters to explore for crude, despite the potentially harmful environmental implications of these activities.
U.S. natural gas futures surged to $4.25/MMBtu in Wednesday’s session as Arctic cold boosts heating demand while potential freeze-offs threaten supply. An incoming Arctic blast is driving a surge in heating demand and also fueling concerns over potential production freeze-offs. According to Maxar’s latest forecast models, colder-than-expected temperatures are expected across the central and eastern U.S. through early March. Natural gas demand has been surging, with consumption currently at 122.9 Bcf/d, good for a 21% Y/Y increase.
U.S. President Donald Trump has kicked off his second term with a bang, launching the most systemic and aggressive makeover of the American government. Trump and his allies have moved at lightning speed to force out longtime civil servants by launching a legally suspect buyout program, firing federal prosecutors who worked on criminal cases against Trump, and even attempting to unilaterally shutter the foreign aid agency USAID.
Over the past decade, only one pipeline made it through all the protests. The Trans Mountain Expansion Project, after it was abandoned by Kinder Morgan and purchased by the federal government, tripled the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia.
Trump has repeatedly stated that the energy industry is crucial for the country’s growth and wellbeing, and wasted no time in launching support measures, such as the removal of the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export terminal approvals and easing red tape around oil and gas exploration and production.
Occidental launched a $4.5 billion-$6 billion divestiture program when it announced its merger with CrownRock LP late 2023. It announced the completion of the $12.4 billion purchase August 1, 2024.
When TotalEnergies and Shell made offshore discoveries there in 2022, the sparsely populated African country aspired to develop its resources quickly before a global energy transition lowers demand for crude. But recent results from offshore fields have brought on a more measured view, and central bank Governor Johannes !Gawaxab says expectations should be dialed back.
Diamondback Energy revealed in the statement that the cash portion of the deal “is expected to be funded through a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under the company’s credit facility, and/or proceeds from term loans and senior notes offerings”.
“I still remember the conversation by phone between three of us: your humble servant, the US President Trump and the King of Saudi Arabia participated,” Putin told reporters on Wednesday in comments broadcast by state TV channel Rossiya 24. “The three of us talked on the phone and discussed the global energy market. Discussing these issues in such format is still in demand today.”
OPEC+ is considering pushing back its planned output increase due in April, potentially the fourth time it has delayed bringing back production. Adding to the prospect of tighter supplies, as much as 30% of oil exports from a major Kazakh pipeline to the Black Sea may be halted after a Ukrainian drone attacked a pumping station in Russia. The Group of Seven also is considering tightening the price cap on Russian crude exports, possibly curbing supplies further.