Oil and Gas Industry

OTC 2025: NOV executive sees solid future for deepwater sector

Although the deepwater portion of the offshore oil and gas industry may be traversing a few rough spots at present, the general outlook for this sector over the next few years remains solidly positive. That’s the theme of comments made by Scott Livingston (Fig. 1), NOV’s President of Energy Products and Services, during an Executive Dialogue session during Day 2 at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

Exxon planning $1.5 billion investment in deepwater development, Nigeria says

The investment, expected within the next two years, will focus on reviving production in the Usan field and is in addition to funding earmarked for planned developments in Owowo and Erha, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said in a statement Tuesday, citing a visit by Shane Harris, Exxon’s managing director in Nigeria.

Banks Slash Oil Price Forecasts as OPEC Resumes Fight for Market Share

Wall Street banks are racing this week to slash their oil price forecasts for 2025 and 2026 after OPEC+ threw another curveball at the market this weekend by vowing to continue raising production by more than initially planned.

Commodity strategists and analysts from major U.S. and European investment banks have issued notes with downgraded oil price forecasts for 2025 and 2026 since OPEC+ producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Saturday to raise collective output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd), nearly triple the volume originally scheduled.

Revenue Shock Looms for Kazakhstan Despite Strong Oil Output

Kazakhstan’s national oil company KazMunayGas (KMG) says it is fully prepared to navigate recent oil price volatility, even as global benchmarks hit new lows and concerns mount over falling state revenues.

Despite the slump, driven largely by OPEC+ plans to increase output, KMG Deputy Chairman Aset Magauov stated that the company remains confident in its resilience.

PDO launches flare gas recovery project with Enerhash

PDO has initiated a flare gas recovery project at Zulaiyah Station in Hazar South, Oman, as part of its decarbonisation strategy, the company reported on Tuesday.

The initiative, developed in partnership with Hungary-based Enerhash, aims to convert flare gas into a sustainable energy source through modular digital mining infrastructure. Enerhash’s technology powers containerised data centres directly with flare gas, offering a decentralised solution suitable for remote oilfields.

EU plan to end Russian gas imports faces legal, geopolitical snags

The EU’s plan to fully cut off Russian gas imports by 2027 faces legal, logistical and political hurdles.

Although the bloc has slashed Russian gas from 45% of its supply in 2021 to 19% in 2024, fully severing ties is proving difficult. Long-term contracts with companies such as TotalEnergies and Naturgy, lasting into the 2030s, are a major obstacle. Brussels is weighing “force majeure” clauses to exit these deals, but legal experts caution that without sanctions, such moves could spark costly arbitration.

BW Energy to buy VALARIS 247 jackup rig for $108 million

Valaris Limited has agreed to sell its jackup VALARIS 247 to BW Energy for cash proceeds of approximately $108 million. This sale is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. As part of the sales agreement, BWE will be restricted from using the rig outside of BWE-owned or affiliated properties for the rig’s expected remaining useful life.

SLB launches Electris™ well completions technology to boost production, recovery

Electris completions digitalize control of the entire productive area of the wellbore, providing real-time production intelligence across the reservoir. This enables operators to predict, adapt and act with confidence in response to dynamic production conditions — improving reservoir management over the life of the well and accessing reserves that conventional systems leave behind.