In an EBW Analytics Group report sent to Rigzone by the EBW team on Thursday, Eli Rubin, an energy analyst at the company, highlighted that the February natural gas contract “collapsed” yesterday. Rubin outlined in the report that the February natural gas contract fell to $3.068 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday “on (i) chances for a dissipating Alaska ridge opening milder February risks and (ii) a Webber Research report that Golden Pass LNG Trains 2-3 may be delayed until 2027”. “Weakness was compounded by volatility: yesterday’s $3.120 close is within 1.1 cents of Friday’s low,” Rubin added. In the report, Rubin pointed out that daily LNG demand “dropped to a two month low” yesterday, “mitigating weather driven Henry Hub spot price upside to clear at $3.12 per MMBtu”. He also noted that “LNG could jump 3.5 billion cubic feet per day – adding to a 12.4 billion cubic foot per day increase in weather-driven demand into Tuesday”. Rubin went on to outline in the report that “consensus projections” for the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) next weekly natural gas storage report – which is scheduled to be released later today and will include data for the week ending January 9 – “are for an 87-91 billion cubic foot draw”. “The bigger story is likely to be rising physical market strength into a cold Martin Luther King holiday weekend,” Rubin added. “Healthy storage surpluses suggest NYMEX futures may try to continue to look past near term cold, however,” he continued. The EBW report highlighted that the February natural gas contract closed at $3.120 per MMBtu on Wednesday. It outlined that this marked a 29.9 cent, or 8.7 percent, decrease from Tuesday’s close. In Thursday’s report, EBW predicted a “mixed signals” trend for the NYMEX front-month natural gas contract

Chile’s National Petroleum Company (ENAP) has signed an agreement with Oxiquim allowing ENAP to transfer and store fuels at Oxiquim’s terminal in the municipality of Coronel, Región del Biobío. The agreement allows ENAP to use the Escuadrón Maritime Terminal starting this quarter, ENAP said in a press release. Oxiquim general manager Cecilia Pardo, in comments about the deal, noted of “limited infrastructure available for fuel storage and difficulty in executing new projects”.  Escuadrón is one of three terminals operated by Oxiquim for bulk liquid raw materials and chemicals, fuels and liquefied petroleum gas in Chile, Oxiquim says on its website. The other two are the Mejillones and Quintero terminals. “The agreement is consistent with ENAP’s recent announcement to consolidate its logistics business as a key pillar of the company, incorporating strategic partners and high service standards”, ENAP said. “This is based on the fact that ENAP has logistics assets exceeding $3 billion and that its operations span from Arica to Punta Arenas”. ENAP general manager Julio Friedmann said, “[S]ome of the main areas of work in the immediate term are to generate greater storage capacity and to develop future partnerships with third parties, always for the purpose of strengthening fuel supply throughout the territory”. Last year ENAP consolidated its logistics assets under a “Corporate Logistics Management” and announced an investment plan of $540 million over the next five years for its logistics business. “Among the main areas of focus of this new management are operational excellence, efficiency and profitability of the logistics chain, and the adaptation of infrastructure to meet current and future needs”, ENAP said in an online statement September 5, 2025. “Currently, ENAP manages logistics assets valued at over $3 billion, including a large land fleet, 11 ships, 830 kilometers [515.74 miles] of pipelines, three million cubic meters [105.94 million

Petrofac on Wednesday called on certain creditors to sign a “voluntary arrangement” regarding their claims, to allow the British energy engineering company to proceed with a recent agreement to sell its Asset Solutions business to CB&I. Petrofac said in an online statement it has scheduled a meeting of Petrofac Facilities Management Ltd’s creditors on January 30 for a vote on “a proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) related to the sale”. “The CVA is intended to compromise certain creditor claims to enable the completion of the sale”, the statement said. “Trade creditors, employees and certain other parties are not affected by the CVA. “Operations will continue as normal during the CVA process and Asset Solutions will continue to serve its customers and work with suppliers as usual”. Petrofac did not disclose the terms of the voluntary arrangement. “The agreed sale of Asset Solutions to CB&I is a strong outcome for the business and for around 3,000 colleagues who are expected to move across on completion”, said John Pearson, chief operating officer for Petrofac’s Asset Solutions business. “After more than two years of restructuring, this CVA is the final step to deliver that outcome, and we are asking creditors to support it so the sale can complete”. Petrofac and CB&I, a maker of storage facilities, tanks and terminals, announced their agreement December 24, 2025. “The consideration for the sale has been agreed on a debt-free cash-free basis”, Petrofac said then. “The ultimate net proceeds from the transaction will depend on the quantum of various deductions which will only be confirmed closer to completion. However, the administrators of the company expect the net proceeds to be in the range of $45m to $55m”. “The net proceeds will be distributed to the secured creditors in accordance with the intercreditor agreement entered into between the company and the secured creditors on 26

Oil prices retreated after a five-session rebound as concerns about the geopolitical situation in the Middle East abated to some extent. That’s what Daniel Takieddine, Co-founder and CEO of Sky Links Capital Group, said in a market analysis sent to Rigzone today, adding that “the announcement that the U.S. administration has put its latest move in the area on hold tempered immediate fears of supply disruption in an important oil producing region”. Takieddine warned, however, that geopolitical risk has not disappeared. “Tensions across major producing regions remain elevated, and developments in Eastern Europe and Latin America continue to inject uncertainty into energy supply chains,” he said in the analysis. “In parallel, U.S. crude inventory data showed a strong increase in stockpiles, reinforcing the perception that physical inventory remains plentiful and that recent gains were running ahead of underlying demand conditions,” he added. Looking ahead, Takieddine stated in the analysis that any renewed escalation in the Middle East or other producing regions would quickly push crude prices back to the upside. “However, over the long term, the concerns over an oversupplied market remain a weight on prices and could pull oil toward new lows if geopolitical risks abate more consistently,” he said. In a market comment sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Naeem Aslam, Chief Analyst at Zaye Capital Markets, noted that “crude oil prices remain volatile as markets continuously reprice the geopolitical risk premium against underlying supply-demand fundamentals”. “The latest price swings have largely been driven by shifting Middle East dynamics, including troop movements, Iran-related tension, and broader security posturing, which lifted risk premium earlier, while recent signs of de-escalation have triggered a pullback,” Aslam said in the comment. “Meanwhile, recent economic data reinforced resilient consumption and steady housing activity, supporting the view that demand remains intact but not overheating enough to

JERA Co Inc and Woodside Energy Group Ltd have finalized an agreement for the Australian company to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Japanese power utility in the winter months for five years. The companies already have an existing contract under which Woodside is to deliver 400,000 metric tons a year of LNG to Japan. The 10-year agreement is to fulfill its first cargo this year on a delivered basis, as announced September 18, 2024. Under the new deal, Woodside will deliver the volumes on an ex-ship basis between the months of December and February from 2027. Three cargoes totaling about 200,000 metric tons will be delivered per year, JERA said in a press release Wednesday. “Gas-fired power generation plays a critical role in meeting peak energy demand and balancing seasonal fluctuations – challenges that are becoming more pronounced as renewable energy expands”, JERA said. “Securing sufficient LNG supply during the winter months, when global gas demand surges, is essential to maintaining a stable electricity supply in Japan”. “The volumes supplied to JERA will be sourced from Woodside’s global LNG portfolio, leveraging assets such as Scarborough, North West Shelf, Pluto LNG and LALNG, once it is operational”, Woodside said in a separate online statement about the new agreement. JERA owns 15.1 percent in the Scarborough field offshore Western Australia, part of the broader Scarborough Energy Project. Scarborough Energy is on track to start exporting LNG in the second half of this year, Woodside affirmed Tuesday as it announced the arrival of the project’s floating production unit. Scarborough Energy includes the development of the Scarborough field off the coast of Karratha, the construction of a second gas processing train for Pluto LNG with a capacity of five million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) and modifications to Pluto Train 1, according to

Cross-sector collaboration and close consultation of industry experts will be key to delivering the North Sea Future Plan (NSFP). That’s what Mark Wilson, HSE and Operations Director at industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), said in a release sent to Rigzone recently, which highlighted that OEUK will host its 2026 HSE conference on February 25, “bringing together leaders from across sectors to shape the future of the North Sea as a multi-purpose energy basin”. “Under the theme ‘Trust. Transparency. Transformation’, the conference will kick off with a pivotal session based on the UK government’s North Sea Future Plan, which will explore how co-location between offshore wind, oil and gas, and carbon capture and storage (CCUS) can deliver a safer, cleaner basin,” OEUK said in its release. The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced the NSFP in a statement posted on its site back in November 2025. “We look forward to welcoming industry leaders, technical experts, regulators, and innovators to this one-day event,” Wilson said in the OEUK release. “The first session of the day is a great opportunity to hear how improved guidance, aligned standards, better data sharing, and early engagement can enable offshore energies to achieve safe and sustainable co-location across the North Sea and support the plan’s integrated vision,” he added. OEUK noted in its release that its event explores the themes of trust, transparency, and transformation across all areas of health, safety, and environment, including emissions performance. It added that the conference features full audience events as well as a series of parallel breakout sessions throughout the day. In its statement published in November last year, DESNZ announced the publication of a “landmark plan to protect existing jobs and deliver the next generation of good, new jobs”.  “The government is charting a new course for the North Sea, providing a