In its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on November 12, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) increased its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot average price forecast for 2025 and 2026. According to this STEO, the EIA now sees the WTI spot price averaging $65.15 per barrel in 2025 and $51.26 per barrel in 2026. In its previous STEO, which was released in October, the EIA projected that the WTI spot price would average $65.00 per barrel in 2025 and $48.50 per barrel in 2026. The EIA’s September STEO forecast that the WTI spot price average would come in at $64.16 per barrel this year and $47.77 per barrel next year. A quarterly breakdown included in the EIA’s latest STEO projected that the WTI spot price will average $58.65 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2025, $50.30 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $50.68 per barrel in the second quarter, and $52.00 per barrel across the third and fourth quarters of 2026. The EIA’s October STEO saw the WTI spot price averaging $58.05 per barrel in the fourth quarter of next year, $47.97 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $48.33 per barrel in the second quarter, $48.68 per barrel in the third quarter, and $49.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026. In its September STEO, the EIA projected that the WTI spot price would come in at $65.14 per barrel in the third quarter of 2025, $55.41 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $45.97 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $46.33 per barrel in the second quarter, $48.68 per barrel in the third quarter, and $50.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026. The EIA’s latest STEO showed that the WTI spot price averaged

Phillips 66 has won a three-year contract to deliver over 240,000 metric tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to DHL Group. “The SAF will be produced at Phillips 66’s Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex in California, one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities with a production capacity of 150 million gallons per year of neat SAF (i.e. SAF that is not blended with conventional jet fuel)”, DHL said in an online statement. The bulk of the supply is for the Los Angeles International Airport, “with future intended deliveries to other West Coast airports where DHL maintains operations, such as San Francisco International Airport”, the German logistics giant said. “The agreement with Phillips 66 represents one of the largest SAF deals by a U.S. producer and for the overall air cargo sector, paving the way for future collaborations in the SAF space”, DHL said. The volume represents an avoidance of about 737,000 metric tons of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, according to DHL. “DHL Express has been actively securing SAF partnerships worldwide including in the Europe, America and Asia-Pacific regions since 2021, and this new agreement exemplifies its dedication to leveraging sustainable aviation fuels to address its air freight carbon footprint effectively”, DHL said. “This agreement will contribute significantly to DHL’s GoGreen Plus service, which enables customers to reduce their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions using SAF”. Phillips 66 vice president for aviation Ronald Sanchez said in a separate statement, “Our integrated model is a competitive advantage that enables resilience and value creation in the SAF market. Our people, capabilities and assets allow for feedstock optionality; our supply chain agility accounts for an evolving environment”. Phillips 66 said that earlier this year it had signed agreements to supply SAF to Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Qantas Airlines and United Airlines. Last year Phillips

Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC has reached an agreement with Chiyoda International Corp and McDermott LLC to amend the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) terms for the second and third trains of the Texas project owned by QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil Corp. Yokohama-based Chiyoda, Houston-based McDermott and San Antonio-based Zachry Holdings Inc (ZHI) won the contract 2019. However, ZHI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, leading to a court-approved settlement that allowed ZHI to exit the contract. The EPC terms for Train 1 had been amended late last year, as announced by Chiyoda November 25, 2024. Earlier this year Chiyoda and McDermott signed binding terms with Golden Pass for key components of Trains 2 and 3 including payment terms based on the reassessment of the allocation regarding future costs, according to online statements by Chiyoda. Later the parties agreed on more detailed terms, and the revised EPC contract for Trains 2 and 3 was signed this month, Chiyoda said in a statement this week. Chiyoda has not disclosed details about the revised contract terms for the three liquefaction trains. Its latest statement said, “We will further examine the details of the revised provisions and impacts on profitability and will make any adjustments for prompt announcement based on disclosure standards for performance forecasts when it becomes possible to calculate profit and loss”. In 2024 ZHI filed for bankruptcy before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to allow it to restructure finances and exit the project. According to the text of the Chapter 11 complaint filed May 21, 2024, ZHI had to shoulder higher costs emanating from demands by Golden Pass to get the project back on track after it had gone beyond schedule and over budget due to “unexpected challenges”. On July 24, 2024, ZHI said the

A surge in bookings for oil tankers to bring cargoes from the Middle East to India points to higher import flows ahead, as sanctions on major Russian producers force the South Asian importer to seek alternatives.  So far this week, roughly a dozen vessels have been chartered to ship crude from countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates and ferry it across the Arabian Sea, according to shipbroker reports. That’s a jump from the same time last month, when about four fixtures were seen. These bookings include supertankers known as Very Large Crude Carriers as well as smaller Suezmax vessels, for oil loading late November to December. Indian importers are still seeking even more tankers for the same routes, the reports show. Oil traders have been closely monitoring India’s spot and term purchases of non-Russian crudes as they try to make sense of the Asian nation’s next steps, ahead of Nov. 21, when sanctions on Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC come into effect. While these fixtures are not necessarily exhaustive – bookings can be made through private negotiations – they reflect the broader purchasing patterns of refiners and as such provide a window into an opaque market. The latest bookings are helping to push up freight rates, with daily costs of hiring an oil supertanker from the Middle East to Asia hovering near a five-year high. Five of India’s seven refiners, including Reliance Industries Ltd., have said they would no longer take delivery of Russian crude after the wind-down period ends this week. The remaining companies are expected to continue considering purchases from non-sanctioned sellers. India’s oil purchases through monthly tenders has showed a small increase in volume from usual patterns. However, the addition isn’t yet enough to make up for the possible loss of over one million

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) announced a “giant leap forward for North Sea data sharing” in a statement posted on its website recently. In that statement, the NSTA revealed that a new “data portal signposting page” had been established by eight organizations “dedicated to sharing offshore information”. The NSTA described the new page as “a one-stop shop providing easy access to North Sea facts and figures”.  The UKCS Data Portals site was set up by the Offshore Energy Digital Strategy Group (DSG) and signposts to data from Admiralty Marine (AM), BGS GeoIndex, The Crown Estate (TCE), The Crown Estate Scotland (CES), European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMOD), Marine Data Exchange (MDE), Marine Environmental & Data Network (MEDIN), and the NSTA, the NSTA highlighted in the statement.  “Each organization has agreed to share the information available on their individual sites in one convenient place,” the NSTA said in the statement. “Users will be able to access and cross-refer information that will aid effective decision-making and help to ensure that the North Sea is used to its full potential and environmental rules are followed,” it added. “From wrecks on the seabed to the movements of sharks, and the locations of wells to where carbon can be stored, the new UKCS data portals site has all the info you need,” the NSTA noted in the statement.   The NSTA pointed out that the new portal follows a workshop run by the DSG in February this year, which the NSTA said “highlighted the growing need for access to reliable information”. “This need is becoming more acute as more industries look to share space in the North Sea,” the NSTA said. The NSTA noted that the site is the first iteration and added that it is expected that further improvements, including standardizing terms, will

NuEnergy Gas Ltd said it had completed drilling for the fourth and final well in its “Early Gas Sales” project under the initial development plan for the Tanjung Enim coalbed methane (CBM) production sharing contract (PSC) in Indonesia. “Gas shows were observed at surface via surface logging equipment, confirming the presence of methane across multiple seams”, the Australian company said in a stock filing. The TE-B01-003 well, drilled 451 meters (1,479.66 feet) deep, intersected five coal seams at depths ranging between 299 and 419 meters, according to NuEnergy. “NuEnergy has installed a progressive cavity pump system for the TE-B01-003 well and preparations are now underway to commence dewatering – a key step toward establishing stable gas flow and optimizing well performance”, the company said. “Gas will be gathered at the surface facility and delivered to the gas processing facility upon reaching target production levels”. It added, “Pursuant to the signed heads of agreement with PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (PGN), gas produced from the drilled wells, TE-B06-001, TE-B06-002, TE-B06-003 well and the TE-B01-003 well, will be delivered via an infield pipeline to PGN’s processing and distribution facility”. The Early Gas Sales project will sell one million standard cubic feet a day (MMscfd) to Indonesian state-owned gas distributor PGN, toward the 25-MMscfd initial plan for the Tanjung Enim license, according to NuEnergy. On September 8, it announced approval from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry for the one-MMscfd sale through its subsidiary Dart Energy (Tanjung Enim) Pte Ltd (DETE). “With the gas allocation approval now secured, DETE will proceed with finalizing the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement with PGN”, NuEnergy said then. Meanwhile the bigger Tanjung Enim Plan of Development (POD) 1 was approved June 2021 “under a gross split scheme which will allow the PSC to proceed field development, surface facility