Chord Energy Corporation announced a “strategic acquisition of Williston Basin assets” in a statement posted on its website recently. In the statement, Chord said a wholly owned subsidiary of the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire assets in the Williston Basin from XTO Energy Inc. and affiliates for a total cash consideration of $550 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The consideration is expected to be funded through a combination of cash on hand and borrowings, Chord noted in the statement, which highlighted that the effective date for the transaction is September 1, 2025, and that the deal is expected to close by year-end. Chord outlined in the statement that the deal includes 48,000 net acres in the Williston core, noting that “90 net 10,000 foot equivalent locations (72 net operated) extend Chord’s inventory life”. Pointing out “inventory quality” in the statement, Chord highlighted that “low average NYMEX WTI breakeven economics ($40s) compete at the front-end of Chord’s program and lower the weighted-average breakeven of Chord’s portfolio”. The company outlined that the deal is “expected to be accretive to all key metrics including cash flow, free cash flow and NAV in both near and long-term”. “We are excited to announce the acquisition of these high-quality assets,” Danny Brown, Chord Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said in the statement. “The acquired assets are in one of the best areas of the Williston Basin and have significant overlap with Chord’s existing footprint, setting the stage for long-lateral development. The assets have a low average NYMEX WTI breakeven and are immediately competitive for capital,” he added. “We expect that the transaction will create significant accretion for shareholders across all key metrics, while maintaining pro forma leverage below the peer group and supporting sustainable FCF generation and return of capital,” he continued.

Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Generative AI models are able to produce effective retrofit decisions but do less well identifying which ones can produce the best result most quickly and at the least cost, according to analysis by researchers at Michigan State University. The study, “Can AI Make Energy Retrofit Decisions? An Evaluation of Large Language Models,” is one of the first to examine how large language models, or LLMs, perform in determining efficient and effective building energy retrofits.  Identifying the optimal retrofit solution can be critical from a cost standpoint. Light to medium retrofits can unlock between 10% and 40% in energy savings, or $0.49 to $1.94 per square foot of savings on average, according to JLL research published last September. Despite these savings, these actions aren’t being implemented at the scale required to meet decarbonization targets because of their capital-intensive nature, the report says. Decision-making complexity and the inadequacy of data and tools are also problem, according to the report. To determine the potential of generative AI in addressing these limitations, MSU researchers tasked seven LLMs with generating energy retrofit decisions under two contexts: a technical context focused on maximum CO2 reduction and a sociotechnical context focused on minimum packback period.  The AI-generated retrofit decisions were evaluated based on whether they matched the top-ranked retrofit measure or fell within the top three or the top five measures. The researchers then used a sample of 400 homes from ResStock 2024.2 data, spanning 49 states, to evaluate LLM performance based on accuracy, consistency, sensitivity and reasoning.   Researchers evaluated each LLM by issuing prompts, which included an overview of 16 potential retrofit packages and building-specific information. The overview described each retrofit measure’s features like heat pump efficiency, whether

CPS Energy has signed an agreement to acquire four natural gas power plants operated by ProEnergy in the ERCOT area for $1.387 billion. The facilities have an aggregate capacity of 1.632 gigawatts, according to a joint statement. “Located in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, the acquired assets include state-of-the-art, recently constructed peaking natural gas plants in Harris, Brazoria and Galveston Counties”, the companies said. “The acquired assets are dual-fuel capable, providing CPS Energy future optionality to transition to a hydrogen fuel blend that would enable reduced carbon emissions”. San Antonio, Texas-based CPS Energy has a prior agreement with Modern Hydrogen, announced July 22, to use the latter’s technology to convert natural gas into hydrogen. CPS Energy president and chief executive Rudy D. Garza said of the agreement with ProEnergy, “By acquiring recently constructed, currently operating modern power plants that utilize proven technology already in use by CPS Energy, we avoid higher construction costs, inflationary risk, and long timelines associated with building new facilities – while also enhancing the reliability and affordability of the CPS Energy generation portfolio”. “As we add resources to meet the needs of our fast-growing communities, we will continue to look to a diverse balance of energy sources that complement our portfolio, including natural gas, solar, wind and storage, keeping our community powered and growing”, Garza added. CPS Energy earlier issued a request for proposals (RFP) to secure up to 400 MW of wind generation capacity through one or more PPAs (power purchase agreements). “The RFP marks the first time in over a decade that CPS Energy has specifically sought proposals for wind projects. CPS Energy’s target to contract up to 400 MW of wind capacity would bring the utility’s total wind generation to 1,467 MW”, it said in a press release July 31. “The

New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE) said Tuesday it had agreed contract terms with local authorities to continue delivering natural gas for Puerto Rico’s power system for seven more years. The agreement with the Third-Party Procurement Office and the Public-Private Partnership Authority provides for the supply of up to 75 trillion British thermal units a year (TBtu) “with minimum annual take-or-pay volumes of 40 TBtu, increasing to up to 50 TBtu if certain conditions are met”, New York City-based NFE said in a statement on its website. “This landmark agreement provides two critical benefits to the island. First, it establishes security of supply in San Juan for the next seven years for power plants currently running on LNG”, said NFE chair and chief executive Wes Edens. “Second, it provides for incremental LNG volumes to be delivered, allowing for the conversion of additional gas-ready plants currently burning diesel, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in energy savings for Puerto Ricans”. “Puerto Ricans pay far too much for electricity today and this long-term agreement provides cheaper and cleaner fuel for existing power plants for years to come”, Edens added, noting talks with the Puerto Rican government for a long-term fuel supply had been ongoing since April. “This contract complements our existing long-term 25-year supply contract with Energiza and the new 550-megawatt power plant they are developing”. NFE said, “Pricing of the volumes supplied through the GSA [Gas Supply Agreement] is set at a blend of 115 percent of Henry Hub plus $7.95/million Btu, excluding natural gas supplied to the units at San Juan 5 & 6 (which has historically consumed ~20 TBtu per year). Instead, these volumes are priced at 115 percent of Henry Hub plus $6.50/MMBtu”. NFE expects to source the LNG under the new GSA from its Fast LNG facility in Altamira, Mexico. With a capacity of 1.4 million metric

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects U.S. crude oil production to drop next year, according to its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on September 9. In its September STEO, the EIA projected that total U.S. crude oil output, including lease condensate, will average 13.44 million barrels per day in 2025 and 13.30 million barrels per day in 2026. This output came in at 13.23 million barrels per day in 2024, the STEO highlighted. The STEO showed that Lower 48 states, excluding the Gulf of America, will provide 11.18 million barrels per day of the projected total in 2025 and 10.96 million barrels per day of the projected total in 2026. Of this 11.18 million barrel per day figure, the STEO expects 6.52 million barrels per day to come from the Permian region, 1.20 million barrels per day to come from the Bakken region, 1.12 million barrels per day to come from the Eagle Ford region, 0.19 million barrels per day to come from the Appalachia region, 0.03 million barrels per day to come from the Haynesville region, and 2.12 million barrels per day to come from the “rest of [the] Lower 48 states”. In 2026, the STEO sees 6.41 million barrels per day coming from the Permian region, 1.20 million barrels per day coming from the Bakken region, 1.10 million barrels per day coming from the Eagle Ford region, 0.17 million barrels per day coming from the Appalachia region, 0.03 million barrels per day to come from the Haynesville region, and 2.05 million barrels per day to come from the “rest of [the] Lower 48 states”. The EIA’s latest STEO showed that, in 2024, the Permian region produced 6.30 million barrels per day, the Bakken region produced 1.23 million barrels per day, the Eagle Ford

Aramco announced, in a statement posted on its site recently, that it has signed an $11 billion lease and leaseback deal involving its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium of international investors. The consortium is led by funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, Aramco highlighted in the statement. As part of the transaction, a newly formed subsidiary, Jafurah Midstream Gas Company (JMGC), will lease development and usage rights for the Jafurah Field Gas Plant and the Riyas NGL Fractionation Facility, and lease them back to Aramco for a period of 20 years, the statement noted. JMGC will receive a tariff payable by Aramco in exchange for granting Aramco the exclusive right to receive, process, and treat raw gas from Jafurah, Aramco said in the statement, which highlighted that the company will hold a 51 percent majority stake in JMGC, with the remaining 49 percent held by investors led by GIP. The transaction will not impose any restrictions on Aramco’s production volumes, according to the statement. Aramco noted in the statement that the deal is “expected to close as soon as practicable, subject to customary closing conditions”. Jafurah is the largest non-associated gas development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Aramco highlighted in the statement, pointing out that it is estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion Stock Tank Barrels of condensate. In the statement, Aramco described Jafurah as a “key component in Aramco’s plans to increase gas production capacity by 60 percent between 2021 and 2030, to meet rising demand”. Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in the statement, “Jafurah is a cornerstone of our ambitious gas expansion program, and the GIP-led consortium’s participation as investors in a key component of our unconventional gas operations demonstrates