Varco Energy and Fluence Energy Inc said the first phase of their Sizing John Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the United Kingdom is now in full commercial operation and has entered phase 2. “The 57 MW/137.5 MWh project is located within the Mersey Ring east of Liverpool, a region known for its acute grid constraints”, a joint statement said. Sizing John Phase 1 has “one of the longest durations [2.4 hours] of any operational battery project in the UK”, the companies said. “Its longer duration will help lower overall energy costs by addressing growing congestion in the region and reducing price volatility created by rising renewable generation”. Phase 2, which will continue to involve intelligent energy storage and optimization software provider Fluence, will add 85.5 MW/201 MWh. The partners expect to start up phase 2 next year. “On energization of phase 2, the Sizing John project will rank among the largest battery energy storage systems in the UK”, the companies said. “Phase 2 will incorporate the Fluence-supplied next-generation Gridstack Pro 5000 with advanced grid-forming capabilities, providing critical support to the UK’s grid by actively regulating voltage and frequency, providing essential regional grid stability”, they said. Varco director Richard Whitmore said, “The addition of grid-forming capabilities will set a new standard for regional grid support, especially in the wake of recent Iberian Peninsula blackout”.  Brian Perusse, Fluence managing director for the UK and Ireland, said, “Sizing John is a key step in bringing longer-duration storage and additional grid-forming capabilities to the UK, technologies that play a vital role in improving system resilience, unlocking greater renewable integration and reducing costs to consumers”. Sizing John is the second project by Varco, a BESS asset owner and operator backed by the Adaptogen Capital Battery Storage Fund, to start operation, according to the statement. Native

Kinder Morgan Inc has announced adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.37 for 2026, with the North American pipeline operator encouraged by growth in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and power sectors. That is an increase of eight percent versus its adjusted EPS forecast for 2025. For 2026 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Kinder Morgan expects $8.7 billion, up four percent compared to its guidance for 2025. The outlook reflects “continued execution on expansion projects in our natural gas pipelines business segment”, chief executive Kim Dang said in an online statement. “We are projecting an annualized dividend of $1.19 for 2026, marking the ninth consecutive year of dividend increases”, Dang added. “Our year-end 2026 net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio is forecast at 3.8 times, remaining at the low end of our 3.5x-4.5x target range and preserving flexibility for opportunistic investments”. The Houston, Texas-based owner of oil and gas pipelines and terminals, which also produces oil and renewable natural gas, plans nearly $3.4 billion in discretionary capital next year, “substantially funded from internally generated cash flow”. Kinder Morgan president Tom Martin said, “We expect to continue benefiting from strong natural gas market fundamentals, supporting growth on our existing transportation and storage assets and creating expansion opportunities”. For the first nine months of 2025, Kinder Morgan recorded $0.91 in EPS adjusted for nonrecurring items. That was up 10 percent from the same period in 2024, according to its third-quarter report October 22. Adjusted EBITDA for January-September 2025 totaled $6.12 billion, up four percent year-on-year. Volumes transported via its gas and liquid pipelines rose year-over-year. Gas transport volumes exceeded 46 trillion British thermal units a day, while it delivered 2.12 million barrels per day of liquids (crude oil, condensate and refined products). Revenue totaled $12.43 billion, up from $11.11 billion for the

After being overshadowed by oil focused transactions, gas deals have taken center stage in the final quarter of 2025 as strong current pricing and a bullish outlook for the commodity motivates buyers. That’s what Andrew Dittmar, Principal Analyst at Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), said in a statement sent to Rigzone recently, adding that “the latest round of deals include Antero Resources acquiring West Virginia producer HG Energy’s upstream assets for $2.8 billion plus the purchase of its midstream infrastructure by Antero Midstream for $1.1 billion”. “Concurrently Antero and Antero Midstream are divesting their Ohio Utica position to a partnership of Infinity Natural Resources and Northern Oil and Gas [NOG] for a total of $1.2 billion, with the upstream portion garnering $800 million and the balance from midstream,” Dittmar continued. In the statement, Dittmar said the deals “have an obvious strategic rationale for Antero as the company blocks up its core operating region in West Virginia and adds the second largest private E&P in the Marcellus by remaining inventory”. “HG’s more than 400 remaining locations compliment Antero’s legacy position with comparable quality. The acquisition of HG by Antero had a sense of inevitability given their relative positions within the play and likely just needed the right time and commodity price environment for the two companies to come together,” he added. “Along with the strategic fit between leasehold positions, the deal offers the opportunity to add further midstream infrastructure to Antero Midstream’s holdings,” he continued. Dittmar highlighted in the statement that Antero “says it has identified $950 million in cumulative synergies (P-10 over 10 years) with more than half coming from drilling and completion savings and development optimization including longer laterals”, noting that “that is the type of strategic fit that investors want to see in acquisitions”. Looking at HG “and their

Kinder Morgan Inc has bumped up its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance for next year to $1.37, with the North American pipeline operator encouraged by growth in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and power sectors. That is an increase of eight percent from its forecast in the third quarter. For 2026 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Kinder Morgan now expects $8.7 billion, up four percent versus its Q3 guidance. The upward revisions reflect “continued execution on expansion projects in our natural gas pipelines business segment”, chief executive Kim Dang said in an online statement. “We are projecting an annualized dividend of $1.19 for 2026, marking the ninth consecutive year of dividend increases”, Dang added. “Our year-end 2026 net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio is forecast at 3.8 times, remaining at the low end of our 3.5x-4.5x target range and preserving flexibility for opportunistic investments”. The Houston, Texas-based owner of oil and gas pipelines and terminals, which also produces oil and renewable natural gas, plans nearly $3.4 billion in discretionary capital next year, “substantially funded from internally generated cash flow”. Kinder Morgan president Tom Martin said, “We expect to continue benefiting from strong natural gas market fundamentals, supporting growth on our existing transportation and storage assets and creating expansion opportunities”. For the first nine months of 2025, Kinder Morgan recorded $0.91 in EPS adjusted for nonrecurring items. That was up 10 percent from the same period in 2024, according to its third-quarter report October 22. Adjusted EBITDA for January-September 2025 totaled $6.12 billion, up four percent year-on-year. Volumes transported via its gas and liquid pipelines rose year-over-year. Gas transport volumes exceeded 46 trillion British thermal units a day, while it delivered 2.12 million barrels per day of liquids (crude oil, condensate and refined products). Revenue totaled $12.43 billion,

Fresh off the back of Saudi Aramco’s recently released third quarter 2025 results, Rigzone connected with Faisal A. Al-Hajji, Aramco Senior Vice President (SVP) of Human Resources, for a deep dive into a range of employment related topics. In this exclusive Q&A session, Al-Hajji talks about career progression at Aramco, which skills he thinks will be most in demand over the next 5-10 years, and the effect of automation and artificial intelligence on jobs at the company, among a host of other subjects. Rigzone: What does Aramco look for in an employee?  How many people does Aramco employ at the moment? Al-Hajji: At Aramco, we are fortunate to have a wealth of exceptional talent, both locally and internationally. Our robust talent pipeline is particularly strong within Saudi Arabia, where we consistently attract outstanding individuals from top-tier universities. These candidates typically boast high assessment scores, strong GPAs, and accredited certifications, ensuring a highly qualified and attractive talent pool, reaching an average 200+ of Saudi applicants daily. This great pool is thoroughly reviewed through rigorous assessment processes and standardized interviews. At Aramco, we’re looking for talented individuals who can thrive in a dynamic and diverse energy company. While specific skills and qualifications vary by position, we prioritize candidates who are well-rounded, academically strong, and possess a positive and adaptable mindset. We seek professionals who are eager to learn, embrace new technologies, and contribute to a collaborative and innovative work environment. We currently employ over 75,000 employees with diverse backgrounds, experiences, ages, and nationalities. Over 90 percent of our workforce is Saudi, while employees from more than 90 other nationalities make up the remainder, underscoring the remarkable diversity within our company. And that’s why we always look for candidates who are able to work seamlessly as part of a diverse, global team. Rigzone:

Germany plans to tweak the system that controls the local assets of Rosneft PJSC to ensure it is complying with the tougher US sanctions imposed on the Russian oil company last month. The government forwarded a draft law to both chambers of parliament “as a matter of particular urgency,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote in a letter to the Bundestag’s president that was seen by Bloomberg. The proposal, which lawmakers will discuss in a public session of the energy committee on Dec. 17, would change the current trusteeship into a “public-law trust” under the nation’s Foreign Trade Act. Germany has received a temporary exemption from the US sanctions against Rosneft and was seeking a solution for when the general license runs out on April 29, 2026. Berlin had seized the company’s assets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has extended its trusteeship of Rosneft Deutschland multiple times, leaving the Moscow-based parent as the owner but cutting any financial ties to it. Rosneft Deutschland holds shares in three German refineries, which account for 12 percent of the nation’s total processing capacity, including PCK Raffinerie GmbH’s Schwedt plant near Berlin. The government has so far steered clear of nationalizing the entities amid concerns that such a move could risk retaliatory measures by the Kremlin against German operations in Russia. The public law trust would allow any company or organization with headquarters in Germany to become a trustee of the Rosneft assets, which have so far been held by the nation’s energy regulator, the Federal Network Agency. This so-called “sanctions trusteeship” should be accompanied by an independent share custodian appointed by a court, according to the document.  The proposal doesn’t resolve two key issues, said Michael Kellner, an energy lawmaker from the opposition Green party and a former parliamentary state secretary of the Economy Ministry. “It