In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, downstream editor and lead reporter Robert Brelsford talks with Joe Barnes, principal of Barnes’ Engineering Consultants and a veteran oil and gas operations, maintenance, reliability, and major-projects leader with more than 30 years of industry experience. Barnes, who spent roughly half of his career in refining and half in exploration and production, discusses why process safety management must remain a central concern for everyone working in oil and gas—not only safety professionals. Drawing on his experience with a major refinery accident and the aftermath of a separate major offshore incident, Barnes explains why good intentions are not enough to prevent major incidents, particularly in times when the potential for high margins could tempt operator’s into promoting maximized production over execution of maintenance on processing and production installations to ensure safe and reliable operations. During the conversation, Robert and Joe examine recurring root causes identified through Barnes’ review of process-safety incidents dating back to the mid-1980s, including absence of  leadership, poor communication, inadequate risk identification and mitigation, aging equipment, deferred maintenance, workforce turnover, and the loss of experienced personnel. They also discuss why the industry has sometimes failed to consistently share and apply lessons from previous incidents, particularly when investigation findings are not widely accessible. The two consider the difference between personal safety and process safety metrics, the warning signs that preceded the 2005 BP Texas City refinery explosion, and the role of management of change (MOC) in evaluating staffing, maintenance, turnaround, efficiency, and capital-reduction decisions. Barnes also outlines the questions boards and executive leaders should be asking to ensure that process safety remains a business priority across economic cycles. Robert and Joe further explore how refineries can use past incident scenarios as practical training tools, strengthen external oversight

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) today launched the PROSPECT Planning Prize to support universities in developing the skilled workforce required to produce, process, recover, and recycle critical minerals on American soil. Each winner will receive up to $1 million from a total prize pool of $16 million. “Mining and critical minerals professionals are essential to America’s success in manufacturing, AI, energy, and national security—but this country isn’t producing enough of them,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. “Through this prize competition, DOE will empower universities to pursue more ambitious strategies for attracting and educating the workers we need for a robust critical mineral supply chain.” This prize competition is part of DOE’s $100 million Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) initiative, which delivers on President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy dominance, rebuild domestic supply chains, and reduce reliance on foreign adversaries for critical minerals. The initiative’s near-term goal is to double the number of graduates with mining, minerals, and associated supply chain credentials across the United States. U.S.-based academic institutions with prize-eligible degree programs are encouraged to submit plans. Proposed programs should aim to substantially increase the number of graduates and other credentialed professionals prepared for relevant mining and supply chain careers in the next two years. Programs may target a range of beneficiaries, including early-career professionals, incumbent workers, educators, and students in university, community college, or high school. Applications are now open. The deadline for submission is Oct. 5, 2026. Learn more about this competition, including key dates and submission details, on the PROSPECT Prize page. The PROSPECT Planning Prize is funded by CMEI and managed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies under the American-Made prize program. ###

VIENNA, AUSTRIA—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today delivered the U.S. National Statement at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. Secretary Wright’s full remarks from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference are below: I am honored to represent the United States of America at the 70th IAEA General Conference. This year, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we reflect on a history defined by a tireless spirit of innovation and bold exploration. It was this American drive that, over seven decades ago, moved President Dwight D. Eisenhower to deliver his historic ‘Atoms for Peace’ address, sowing the seeds for the creation of this very Agency. Together, our high-level cooperation has achieved monumental milestones—pioneering global safeguards, securing vulnerable fissile materials across the globe, countering and preparing for radiological and nuclear threats, creating energy abundance, and advancing nuclear science to improve living standards. As the world’s foremost nuclear innovator, the United States remains steadfastly dedicated to the IAEA’s mission. I would like to take a moment to congratulate Timor Leste on becoming the newest member of the IAEA. America looks forward to working with you. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the United States is ushering in an American nuclear renaissance. President Trump directed the Administration to revitalize America’s nuclear sector, modernizing regulations, improving processes and streamlining advanced reactor testing to rebuild the nuclear industrial base. This agenda allows the United States to establish an expedited pathway for testing and approving advanced reactors, set standards for converting surplus uranium and plutonium into reactor fuel, and support the energy infrastructure needed for America’s reindustrialization and artificial intelligence. These actions advance President Trump’s bold goal of adding 300 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the United States by 2050.

YPF SA has let a contract to Axens Group to license proprietary technology and provide associated equipment for a new 5,000-cu m/day diesel hydrotreating unit to be installed at one of the Argentine operator’s in-country industrial complexes. As part of the contract announced in September, Axens will deliver the new diesel hydrotreating unit—which will be configured with Prime-D technology—in prefabricated modules, an approach the technology provider said will reduce project execution time by 6 months compared with conventional site construction. The modular design will integrate pressure vessels, structural components, piping, and instrumentation before shipment to the refinery. The approach is intended to limit on-site construction and interference with ongoing refinery operations, Axens said. While Axens confirmed it will execute the project in a way that allows YPF to maintain ongoing operations of the refinery, neither the service provider nor YPF identified which industrial complex will receive the new unit or disclose its capital cost, schedule, or anticipated startup date. Broader fuel-improvement program The new unit comes as part of YPF’s broader program to bring its refining system into compliance with Argentina’s tighter diesel specifications. YPF operates three refineries with combined capacity of 338,000 b/d: La Plata, Luján de Cuyo, and Plaza Huincul. In the operator’s second-quarter 2026 earnings report and accompanying presentation, YPF confirmed completing installation and commissioning in July of its previously announced new hydrotreating unit at the 113,900-b/d Luján de Cuyo refining complex in Mendoza Province, Argentina. In its 2025 annual report published earlier in 2026, YPF said the Luján de Cuyo project also was to include a new hydrogen-generation unit, as well as a revamp of a separate hydrotreating unit at the site. The report identified an estimated $637 million investment for the refinery’s wider fuel-quality program. The annual report also confirmed advanced engineering design for new

Increasingly frequent and precise Ukrainian drone attacks are damaging Russian processing units and lengthening repair times, forcing Moscow into unprecedented export bans, relaxed fuel-quality standards, and imports to protect domestic supply, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Russia’s 32 major refineries, with 6.5 million b/d of nameplate capacity, make it the world’s third-largest refined-products producer after the US and China. But crude runs fell to 3.8 million b/d in June 2026, down 30% year on year and the lowest since May 2004. Gasoline output is reportedly down about 20%. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil infrastructure since the 2022 full-scale invasion, but IEA said the campaign’s scale, range, and effectiveness increased sharply during 2025-26. A Russian refinery was successfully struck once every 3 days on average in the first 8 months of 2026. Ukrainian forces are now sending multiple drone waves against single sites, overwhelming protective netting and air defenses. Reach has expanded as well. On July 7, Ukraine struck Gazprom Neft PJSC’s 450,000-b/d Omsk refinery, Russia’s largest, some 2,500 km from the border, while several refineries closer to Ukraine have been hit as many as 15 times. By late August, only four major refineries—all in Eastern Siberia or farther east, 3,500-6,500 km from Ukraine—remained untouched. Secondary units targeted Targeting also appears more precise, increasingly hitting secondary units alongside crude distillation units. Fluid catalytic crackers, reformers, and hydrotreaters are critical to light-product yields and fuel specifications. Minor damage to a crude distillation unit can often be repaired in 1-2 weeks, but serious damage to more complex units can require 6-8 months, IEA said. The 250,000-b/d Moscow refinery, heavily damaged in June, is reportedly offline until early 2027. Sanctions are compounding the problem by restricting access to replacement equipment and specialist suppliers. Refiners have tried to preserve throughput by postponing maintenance,

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s quarterly lease sale in Wyoming Sept. 10 showed a robust $82.4 million in high bids, while its Colorado lease sale pulled in $4.7 million, a fraction of the $35.26 million in revenue generated at the bureau’s last lease sale in the state in June. In Wyoming, BLM leased 99 parcels totaling 114,389 acres, with strong interest and competition in Converse and Campbell Counties in the Powder River basin of northeastern Wyoming. The two counties produced 64% of Wyoming’s crude oil in 2024, with Converse leading at 43.3 million bbl, according to the Wyoming State Geological Survey. BLM’s sales statistics show that of the 17 parcels receiving 10 or more bids during the sale, all but 2 were in Converse and Campbell Counties. Most parcels there fetched over $1000/acre, with one in Converse receiving an $8,000/acre winning bid. In contrast, many other counties saw little competition, with 37,000 acres receiving no bids and 12 parcels, totaling over 16,000 acres, going for the legal minimum of $10/acre. In Colorado, BLM leased 29 parcels totaling 14,212 acres. The bureau offered far more acreage in the two previous sales–leasing 134,173 acres in June and 42,532 acres in September. Details of the Colorado sale were unavailable pending the state’s final review. Federal onshore oil and gas leases extend 10 years or as long as production continues in paying quantities, and they carry a 12.5% royalty rate, with revenues split between the federal government and the state.