AccuWeather long-range experts are predicting wildfires to burn more land across the United States this year compared to the historical average, AccuWeather stated in a media advisory sent to Rigzone this week by the AccuWeather team. “We’ve seen fires reported across 20 states that have already burned nearly one million acres so far this year,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok said in the advisory. “AccuWeather is forecasting seven to nine million acres to burn across the country this year, which is more than the historical average,” he added. In the advisory, AccuWeather highlighted that nearly nine million acres burned in fires across the United States last year. It added that wildfire season in the U.S. typically peaks later in summer and through autumn but warned that springtime fires can pose a unique danger, especially in areas facing drought after winter.  “Roughly half of the country is dealing with abnormally dry or drought conditions right now,” Pastelok said in the advisory. “Nearly nine percent of the nation is in an extreme or exceptional drought, significantly higher than at this time last year. This is a concerning situation,” he added. “The good news is, we’re chipping away at drought conditions across the northern mid-Atlantic states, so the fire risk is starting to decrease. It’s not completely over, because we still have cold fronts coming through this region,” he continued. AccuWeather noted in the advisory that shifting weather conditions from spring to summer will prime the environment for a surge in wildfire activity. “While the season may start slowly, there is strong potential for rapid escalation as drought conditions and heat set in,” Pastelok warned. “This is the time of year when grasses, brush, and other vegetation really start to dry out as trigger mechanisms kick in, like lightning and wind,” he

Saipem SpA has reported EUR 77 million ($87.45 million) in net income for the first quarter (Q1), up 35.1 percent from the same three-month period a year ago on the back of improvements in both its onshore and offshore engineering and construction segments. Revenue rose 15.5 percent year-on-year to EUR 3.52 billion. Operating profit climbed 27.6 percent to EUR 157 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 31 percent to EUR 351 million. “In addition to the positive change in adjusted operating profit of EUR 34 million, there was also the effect of the improvement in the balance of equity investments of EUR 7 million, partly offset by the worsening of the balance of financial and tax operations of EUR 21 million”, the Italian energy engineering company said in an online statement. Saipem did not have adjustments for extraordinary or nonrecurring items for the January-March 2025 period. Operating cash flow landed at EUR 395 million, while free cash flow came at EUR 387 million. Backlog, excluding contributions from nonconsolidated companies, stood at EUR32.67 billion, with EUR2.12 billion worth of contracts won in Q1 2025. Earlier the board upgraded Saipem’s shareholder remuneration policy to at least 40 percent of free cash flow post-repayment of lease liabilities. The board plans to propose a dividend of EUR 333 million for 2025 (on the 2024 results) and eyes a dividend of at least $300 million for 2026 (on the 2025 results), according to a company statement February 25. Saipem recently unveiled a four-year plan targeting EUR 15 billion in revenue for 2028 and at least EUR 2.2 billion in free cash flow cumulative over the four-year period. Under the plan Saipem also committed to maintaining at least EUR 1 billion in available cash. The plan also aims to cut debt by about EUR

In a statement posted on social media, Rhino Resources Ltd announced the discovery of hydrocarbons at the Capricornus 1-X well, which is situated in Petroleum Exploration License 85, in Block 2914, offshore the Orange Basin in Namibia. The well was spudded on February 17 using the Noble Venturer drillship and reached a total depth of 16,263 feet on April 2, the statement revealed, adding that the well found over 124 feet of net pay, “with the reservoir showing good petrophysical properties and no observed water contact”. Hydrocarbon samples and sidewall cores were collected through intensive wireline logging operations, Rhino noted in the statement. In addition to wireline acquisition, the well successfully completed a production test across the light oil-bearing reservoir, the company added. The well achieved a surface-constrained flow rate in excess of 11,000 stock tank barrels per day on a 40/64” choke, according to the statement, which noted that the light ~37° API oil exhibited limited associated gas with less than two percent CO2 and no hydrogen sulphide. Rhino said in the statement that laboratory studies will be conducted on fluid samples collected during the test. It noted that the well will now be temporarily plugged and abandoned and that the rig will be released. PEL 85 is operated by Rhino Resources with a working interest of 42.5 percent, Rhino highlighted in the statement. The company pointed out that its co-venturers are Azule Energy, with a 42.5 percent stake, NAMCOR, with a 10 percent stake, and Korres Investments, with a five percent stake. BP and Eni each hold a 50 percent interest in Azule Energy, Azule’s site shows. “Rhino, on behalf of the PEL85 JV, are delighted to announce the discovery of hydrocarbons at the Capricornus 1-X well,” Travis Smithard, Rhino Resources CEO, said in the statement. “The results of

Eni SpA and the United Kingdom government have reached financial close on the Liverpool Bay carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, allowing the project to proceed to construction, the Italian operator said Thursday. The project will provide the transport and storage infrastructure for the HyNet North West Industrial Decarbonization Cluster project, which spans North West England and North Wales. Planned to reach 4.5 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity by 2030, HyNet will store captured emissions in depleted hydrocarbon fields in the Irish Sea. The HyNet consortium, led by Eni, plans to expand the capacity to 10 MMtpa after 2030. Eni has updated the expected startup date to 2028. “The strategic agreement with the UK Government paves the way for the industrial-scale development of CCS, a sector in which the United Kingdom reaffirms its leadership thanks to the promotion of a regulatory framework that aims to strengthen the development of CCS and make it fully competitive in the market”, Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said in an online statement Thursday. The government has put in place plans to establish 2 carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) clusters, as outlined in the “CCUS Net Zero Investment Roadmap” published April 2023. The roadmap identified 78 gigatons of potential CO2 storage capacity. “The UK is a first mover; we are aiming to support the establishment of two CCUS clusters by the mid-2020s and a further two by 2030, through which we aim to capture 20- 30MtCO2 per year”, the roadmap states. Descalzi added, “Eni has established itself as a leading operator in the UK thanks to its key role in CO2 transport and storage activities as the leader of the HyNet Consortium, which will become one of the first low-carbon clusters in the world”. “CCS will play a crucial role

Exxon Mobil Corporation has signed a deal with Calpine Corporation to transport and permanently store up to 2 million metric tons per annum (MTA) of carbon dioxide (CO2) from Calpine’s Baytown Energy Center, a cogeneration facility near Houston. ExxonMobil said in a media release that the Baytown Energy Center is part of Calpine’s Baytown Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, which is designed to capture CO2 emissions and provide a constant supply of low-carbon electricity to Texas customers. This agreement makes Calpine the sixth CCS customer of ExxonMobil, bringing the latter’s total amount of CO2 under contract to about 16 MTA, ExxonMobil said. The CO2 from Calpine’s facility will tie into ExxonMobil’s CO2 pipeline system, the largest in the world, which is strategically located along the U.S. Gulf Coast and supports enhanced oil recovery as well as permanent CO2 sequestration, according to ExxonMobil. “This agreement underscores the growing confidence our customers across diverse sectors – including steel, fertilizer, industrial gases, natural gas processing, and now power generation – have in our unique end-to-end CCS system”, Barry Engle, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said. Calpine’s Baytown CCS Project aims to generate approximately 500 megawatts of low-carbon electricity, sufficient to supply power to over 500,000 households and steam for industrial applications, ExxonMobil said. Engineering, permitting, and additional development efforts are in progress. “Calpine is excited to partner with ExxonMobil to achieve this important project milestone,” Caleb Stephenson, Calpine Executive Vice President, said. “As the largest U.S. generator of electricity from natural gas, we understand that the nation’s gas fleet will remain the backbone of the grid for decades to come. We believe CCS is an actionable and cost-effective way to meet customers’ demand for reliable power and alleviate concerns about the indisputable long-term need for gas-fired facilities. Low-cost natural gas along

Russia’s oil producers have been drilling wells at a pace not seen in at least five years as the nation readies for both a loosening of OPEC+ output limits and the possibility of relief from some international sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.  The level of activity, which is also more than a third above the pre-war level, is the latest sign of the Russian oil industry’s resilience to Western sanctions, which were designed to cripple the country’s long-term ability to pump crude by restricting access to advanced technologies and equipment.  The drilling activity means Russia’s total capacity for producing crude and a light oil called condensate is 11 million to 11.5 million barrels a day, virtually unchanged from 2016, said Ronald Smith from Emerging Markets Oil & Gas Consulting Partners LLC. “We can safely say that the Russian oilfield service industry has, for the most part, successfully adapted to the sanctions regime,” said Smith. “This does not mean that a perfect replacement has been found in all cases, but that suitable substitutes exist at a broader level.”  Russia’s production drilling averaged more than 2,370 km (7.8 million feet) in January and February, according to the latest available data seen by Bloomberg. That’s higher than the seasonal average for the first three years of the Kremlin’s invasion in Ukraine, which triggered broad restrictions on the availability of western oilfield services in Russia, historical data show.  Even as some major foreign providers left the country in the wake of the invasion, they sold Russian units to local managers, keeping the equipment and the expertise in the sanctioned nation, while other suppliers including SLB Plc and Weatherford International Plc have continued to operate, although on a smaller scale.  Over the past three years, local service companies have also been able to find alternative equipment