In a report sent to Rigzone by the Morningstar team this week, Morningstar analysts said they believe oil demand “still has five to 10 years of decent growth before plateauing in the early 2030s”. “Demand doesn’t start declining until the late 2030s,” the analysts said in the report, which is titled The Future of Oil to 2050. “We project oil demand to grow from 104 million barrels per day in 2024 to a peak of 108 million barrels per day in 2032, then decline to 96 million barrels per day in 2050,” they added. The analysts highlighted in the report that the 2050 projection represents a cumulative eight percent drop versus 2024, “or 0.3 percent annually”. The Morningstar analysts stated in the report that, as a result of their demand outlook, they’ve recently upgraded their midcycle oil price to $65 per barrel from $60. “Over 2025 to 2034, they expect Brent oil prices to average $65 per barrel in inflation-adjusted terms,” the analysts said in the report. “This is close to the current Brent price at $63 as of November 2025, and a bit below the 2015-24 average real Brent price of $76,” they added. “We use this 10-year average through 2034 as our midcycle price. By the 2040s, we project oil prices to surge over $100 per barrel in real terms,” they continued. Morningstar analysts highlighted that The Future of Oil to 2050 report is an update to the company’s 2021 report, The Future of Oil Demand. “Our bullish thesis on oil demand remains essentially unchanged from that earlier report,” the analysts added. “New in this year’s report is a price forecast through 2050, derived by combining our in-house demand view with Rystad’s supply-side projections,” they added. The analysts pointed out in the report that Morningstar’s methodology includes a

Chevron Corp said Wednesday it expects organic capital spending for consolidated subsidiaries to be $18-19 billion next year, at the lower end of its annual capex guidance of $18-21 billion through 2030. On investor day on November 12 Chevron set a “structural cost reductions” goal of $3-4 billion by the end of 2026. It expects the United States to account for $10.5 billion of next year’s projected capex, more than half of the total figure. “Nearly $6 billion is expected for U.S. shale and tight assets that include Permian, DJ and Bakken, underpinning anticipated U.S. production of more than two million barrels of oil equivalent per day”, Chevron said in an online statement Wednesday. U.S. upstream capex is projected to be $8.9-9.2 billion. “Spend related to the power business [is] expected to be primarily incorporated into U.S. upstream segment, pending final commercial agreements”, Chevron noted. “Global offshore capex is expected to be approximately $7 billion, primarily supporting growth in Guyana, Eastern Mediterranean and Gulf of America”, it said. Upstream capex for 2026 is pegged at $17 billion. “Included in upstream spend is about $0.4 billion in capitalized interest, primarily related to Guyana assets”, Chevron said. On September 23 operator Exxon Mobil Corp announced a positive final investment decision on the Hammerhead field in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana after receiving regulatory approvals, earmarking $6.8 billion for the 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) development. Hammerhead represents the first project approved in Stabroek with Chevron as a partner. ExxonMobil and China National Offshore Oil Corp had tried to prevent Chevron’s entry into Stabroek by initiating arbitration, asserting their preemption rights. Preemption would have prevented Hess Corp from selling its stake to Chevron as part of Chevron’s acquisition of Hess. The arbitration ruling favored Chevron, as confirmed separately by Chevron and ExxonMobil in July.

Macquarie Energy LLC, part of trading and financial services multinational Macquarie Group Ltd, has signed a definitive agreement to buy 0.5 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 20 years from Glenfarne Group LLC’s Texas LNG project. “This agreement, along with the three previously announced Texas LNG offtake agreements, brings Texas LNG one step closer to a final investment decision”, said a joint statement Wednesday. Earlier this year Glenfarne secured a 20-year contract to supply 0.5 MMtpa of LNG to Gunvor Group Ltd from Texas LNG. Supply under the agreement, which converted a heads-of-agreement document announced last year, will be delivered to the commodities trader’s Singapore subsidiary on a free-on-board basis, said a joint statement September 10. Last year Glenfarne signed with EQT Corp a 20-year tolling agreement for natural gas liquefaction services for two MMtpa of LNG from Texas LNG. “The agreement solidifies the two heads of agreement signed by Texas LNG and EQT” earlier in 2024, Glenfarne said in a press release July 23, 2024. In August the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) upheld its approval for Texas LNG, acting on a second court remand. FERC also granted Glenfarne’s request to extend the deadline for the start of operations from November 2024 to November 2029. In July FERC issued a final supplemental environmental impact statement for the project in response to the second remand by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in August 2024. In the August 2024 order, the court vacated FERC’s authorization issued April 2023 because the Commission had not issued a supplemental environmental impact statement. In March 2025 the court modified its August 2024 order and issued a remand without vacatur. “The Commission affirms its earlier determinations that the Texas LNG Project is not inconsistent with the public interest”,

UK union Unite announced, in a statement sent to Rigzone this week, that over 400 offshore members employed by Bilfinger UK Limited “have supported taking strike action in an escalating dispute over pensions”. “A majority of Bilfinger workers have emphatically backed strike action in a fight to secure a fairer pension deal,” Unite said in the statement. “Unite members are demanding that Bilfinger move to a gross earnings pension scheme like many other private sector and offshore companies because workers are losing out on thousands of pounds in pension contributions due to their pattern of pay being weekly,” it added. Unite noted in the statement that the majority of Bilfinger workers are enrolled in a statutory minimum workplace pension scheme “where the company pays a maximum three percent of ‘qualifying earnings’ contribution”. “The qualifying earnings income is between GBP 6,240 [$8,322] and GBP 50,270 [$67,060]. Anything above or below that does not factor in pension contributions. It means Bilfinger’s annual pension contribution is capped at GBP 1,320.90 [$1,762.10] per year irrespective of income,” Unite said. The union estimated in the statement that around GBP 2,254 [$3,006] is being lost every year in employer pension contributions when compared with a gross salary pension scheme for a worker earning GBP 59,580.36 [$79,486.58]. “If Bilfinger fails to act on the pensions issue then strikes will be called in the coming weeks”, Unite warned in the statement, which highlighted that “a number of oil and gas operators are set to be hit by any industrial action involving Bilfinger offshore members including BP, CNR, Ineos, Ithaca, and TAQA”. According to the statement, the following assets would be impacted by industrial action: Operator Asset BP Andrew BP Clair BP Clair Ridge BP ETAP BP Glen Lyon BP Mungo CNR Ninian Central CNR Ninian South CNR Tiffany

Germany has begun preliminary discussions with potential investors – including Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. – about a deal to buy the trading unit of SEFE, as the government looks at options for the future of the nationalized energy company. The former European trading and supply unit of Gazprom PJSC, SEFE has retained a big team of traders and is expanding its LNG business through recent deals with Turkey and Argentina. The profile of the trading unit might appeal to Middle East companies wanting to get into gas markets. Separating trading out from more strategic assets like gas storage in Germany, could also make a deal easier to reach. Government advisers and Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, known as SEFE, have held discussions with Adnoc about a possible buyout, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private talks. Conversations are focused on investors in the Middle East and Asia, said one the people.  Germany hasn’t decided yet how exactly it will exit SEFE or formally started a sales process. Talks are preliminary and cover other options like a public offering and could still fall through.  A spokesperson for the economy ministry said that the reprivatization options are being examined “from all angles”, but declined to comment on sales talks or meetings with Adnoc. Spokespeople for SEFE and Adnoc’s international investment business XRG declined to comment. SEFE is still importing Russian LNG to Europe via France through a much-criticized legacy contract. The company has said it will end shipments in the next two years when the EU bans imports. SEFE was nationalized in 2022 as part of a EUR 6.3 billion ($7.2 billion) rescue package in the height of the energy crisis. Bloomberg reported that the economy ministry hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG

Turkiye’s state-owned BOTAS has signed separate 10-year agreements for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH and Eni SpA. Germany’s state-owned SEFE will deliver about five million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) from the fourth quarter of 2028. “This long-term contract builds on the three-year deal concluded earlier this year, through which SEFE is providing over 1.5 million tons of LNG in total”, SEFE said in an online statement Wednesday. “The LNG [under the new agreement] will be delivered from SEFE’s growing global LNG portfolio, which includes a stable foundation of long-term U.S. LNG volumes”, SEFE said. Italy’s state-backed Eni will supply BOTAS around 0.4 MMtpa. The agreement is on top of an earlier one signed September under which BOTAS committed to buying 0.4 MMtpa of LNG for three years from Eni. BOTAS said September 12 it had signed agreements with Eni, SEFE, BP PLC, Cheniere Energy Inc, Equinor ASA, Hartree Partners LP, JERA Co Inc and Shell PLC for around 15 billion cubic meters (529.72 billion cubic feet) of LNG. The volumes are to be delivered to Turkiye in 2025-28.   Eni said in a press release Wednesday, “The agreement is Eni’s first long-term LNG sale to Turkiye, confirming the growing role of LNG in supporting the country’s energy needs, and is in line with Eni’s strategy to diversify its global LNG footprint, expanding its customer base in markets with high potential and growing its LNG portfolio to approximately 20 MTPA [million metric tons per annum] by 2030, leveraging its projects in Congo, Mozambique, U.S., Indonesia and other countries”. On Tuesday Eni said the second phase of Congo LNG in the Republic of the Congo has started operations. The project now has a capacity of three MMtpa or 4.5 billion cubic meters