Equinor ASA and its partners have agreed on a NOK-13 billion ($1.29 billion) investment to proceed with the third phase of Johan Sverdrup to increase recoverable volumes from the North Sea field by 40-50 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The majority state-owned energy major said Tuesday the consortium had submitted a development plan to Norwegian authorities. Phase 3 is targeted to start production 2027. Phase 3 is designed to have two new subsea templates in the Avaldsnes and Kvitsoy areas, each with six well slots. However, phase 3 would only develop eight wells, consisting of seven for production and one for water injection. These wells would be tied back to existing templates and pipelines to the P2 platform for processing and export. Trond Bokn, senior vice president for project development at Equinor, said, “By building on the technologies, solutions, and infrastructure from phases 1 and 2 of Johan Sverdrup, we can carry out an efficient development with a rapid start-up of production. The project increases the recovery rate and value creation from Johan Sverdrup, one of the world’s most carbon-efficient oil and gas fields”. “At the same time, it contributes to stable energy supplies to Europe”, Bokn added. The company said, “To ensure optimal resource utilization, the project leveraged artificial intelligence to analyze field layouts and well paths. This technology has enabled faster decision-making and resulted in cost savings of NOK 130 million for the phase 3 project”. “The project also facilitates future value creation at Johan Sverdrup by adding extra well slots, and opportunities for connecting additional subsea templates”, Equinor added. Newcastle, England-based TechnipFMC PLC won phase 3’s engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract, valued NOK 5.3 billion. “Additional contracts, including platform modifications and the drilling of eight wells, are planned to be awarded later in 2025”, Equinor

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced new updates to the Department’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures, fixing the broken permitting process and delivering on President Trump’s pledge to unleash American energy dominance and accelerate critical energy infrastructure. As part of a government-wide effort to restore common sense to permitting, DOE published an interim final rule rescinding all NEPA regulations and published new NEPA guidance procedures for the Department of Energy. “President Trump promised to break the permitting logjam, and he is delivering,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “America can and will build big things again, but we must cut the red tape that has brought American energy innovation to a standstill and end this era of permitting paralysis. These reforms replace outdated rules with clear deadlines, restore agency authority, and put us back on the path to energy dominance, job creation, and commonsense action. Build, baby, build!” “This overhaul restores NEPA to the role originally envisioned by Congress—informing agency decision makers, not needlessly obstructing the development of critical infrastructure,” said Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly. “We’re eliminating the accretion of decades of unnecessary procedure and reestablishing a legally sound permitting regime that is disciplined, predictable, and fast. Agencies finally have the authority to conduct reviews efficiently, avoid duplicative reviews, and deliver timely decisions consistent with the law.” With President Trump’s leadership, the Council on Environmental Quality coordinated a historic, interagency effort to simplify NEPA compliance, lower construction costs, eliminate years-long delays, and ensure environmental reviews can no longer be used to stall American energy production and infrastructure development. Today’s action fulfils President Trump’s Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, and implementing reforms enacted by Congress under the 2023 BUILDER Act. Background: This effort builds on President Trump’s January 2025 action to rescind CEQ’s outdated NEPA regulations

A tanker hauling 1 million barrels of oil suffered an explosion while near Libya, its manager said Monday.  The Vilamoura is being towed to Greece, where damage will be assessed upon arrival. The blast caused water intake and the vessel’s engine room is flooded, a spokesperson for TMS Tankers said. Exactly what caused the explosion was unclear, they added.  In recent months, a series of mystery blasts hit oil tankers that had previously called at Russian ports. In the aftermath, shipowners began checking their ships’ hulls for mines with human divers and underwater vehicles. The Vilamoura has sailed to Russian oil terminals twice since April to pick up Kazakh oil, rather than Russian barrels.  The Vilamoura called at the Russian port of Ust-Luga in early April, where it loaded Kazakh-origin barrels, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It also called at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk in May, which also loads mostly Kazakh barrels. There was no pollution from the blast and the crew are all safe, the spokesperson said. Four more vessels have suffered explosions since the start of the year, according to Vanguard Tech, a maritime risk consultancy company. All had recently called at Russian ports, it added.  Ukraine has repeatedly sought to undermine Russia’s energy infrastructure since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of the country. In February, Ukrainian drones attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium link, through which 80% of Kazakh oil exports must pass. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Oil edged down after its biggest weekly loss in two years as traders speculated on the volume of an expected OPEC+ supply hike and fears of Middle East tensions disrupting global oil flows dissipated. West Texas Intermediate crude shed 0.6% to settle near $65 a barrel, following a 13% slump last week. Key members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are ready to consider another 411,000 barrel-a-day increase for August when they meet Sunday, according to several delegates. It would be the fourth month in a row the group agreed on such a bumper hike, triple the initially planned volumes. “Crude futures continue in a consolidation pattern, seemingly finding equilibrium around the $65 a barrel area,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president for trading at BOK Financial Securities. “The real test will be if summer travel demand can take up the extra supplies OPEC will be adding. The wild card again focuses on Iran and their compliance.” Hedge funds piled into bearish bets after a fragile Iran-Israel truce removed a super-sized geopolitical risk premium from the market last week. Though Iran remains skeptical the US-brokered ceasefire will last, US President Donald Trump suggested he might back sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic “if they can be peaceful.” Meanwhile, trend-following commodity trading advisers, which tend to exacerbate price swings, liquidated long positions to sit at 45% net long in WTI on Monday, compared with 55% on June 27, according to data from Bridgeton Research Group. Oil is back near where it was before Israel initially attacked Iran on June 13, with futures on track for a 9% loss this quarter, as focus returns to supply and demand balances. Apart from the potential OPEC+ increase, which may worsen a glut forecast for later this year, investors will

Israeli natural gas flows to Egypt returned to normal levels after a truce with Iran allowed the Jewish state to reopen facilities shuttered by the 12-day conflict. Daily exports have climbed to 1 billion cubic feet per day, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. That’s up from 260 million cubic feet when Israel’s Leviathan gas field, the country’s biggest, restarted on Wednesday, they said, declining to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the media.  The increased flows have let Egyptian authorities resume supplies to some factories that had been halted because of the shortages. Israel temporarily closed two of its three gas fields – Chevron-operated Leviathan and Energean’s Karish – shortly after launching attacks on Iran on June 13. The facilities that provided the bulk of exports to Egypt and Jordan resumed operations last week after a US-brokered ceasefire with the Islamic Republic took hold. The ramped-up supplies are a relief for Cairo, which has swung from a net exporter to importer of natural gas in recent years. As Israel and Iran traded blows, Egypt enacted contingency plans that included seeking alternative fuel purchases, limiting gas to some industries and switching power stations to fuel oil and diesel to maintain electricity output. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.

California’s energy market regulator is backing off a plan to place a profit cap on oil refiners in the state.  Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, said during a Friday briefing that the cap would “serve as a deterrent” to refiners boosting investments in the state. Gunda said the commission wants to increase gasoline supply in California after two refineries announced plans to close in the next year, accounting for about one-fifth of the state’s crude-processing capacity. The recommendation marks a reversal from years of regulatory scrutiny by Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Energy Commission that contributed to plans by Phillips 66 and Valero Energy Corp. to shut their refineries. The closings prompted Newsom to adjust course in April and urge the energy regulator to collaborate with fuel makers to ensure affordable and reliable supply. Gunda wrote in a Friday letter to Newsom that the commission should pause implementation of a profit margin cap and focus on fuel resupply strategies instead. It comes more than two years after Newsom and state lawmakers gave the energy commission authority to determine a profit margin on refiners and impose financial penalties for violations. The state will be looking to increase fuel imports to make up for the loss of refining capacity, Gunda said. In the short term, California gas prices could rise 15 to 30 cents a gallon because of the loss of production, he said. A spokesperson for the energy commission said the estimated price increases would be mitigated by the plan presented on Friday. Californians already pay the highest gasoline prices in the country. Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, said residents want the state to transition away from oil and gas yet they need to prevent cost spikes. “We get it,” he said.