When a design team hands off a drawing package for construction, the work isn’t measured only in megawatts delivered or miles of line energized. The stakes are human. Personal experience working in the field on a recent transmission line project supports this assertion. Collaboration with craft labor and general foremen during a multiyear engineer-procure-construct (EPC) project reinforced the value of understanding what is necessary for successful project delivery. Successful construction means more than creating a flow of electricity for consumers; it’s also a matter of seeing that everyone involved in the project goes home safe to their families each day. Designing from this perspective requires engineers to frame their decisions around a central question: “How will this get built?” This approach means moving beyond just designing for code compliance and final configurations. It demands attention to the nuances of outage planning and phased construction, including but not limited to access road limitations, construction package clarity and the real-time dynamics of jobsite decision-making. Engineering for every phase, not just the end A 55-mile project rebuilding existing double-circuit 230-kV lines into new tubular steel 345-kV lines involved seven major construction segments spread across three years. Within tight nonreturnable outage windows, temporary configurations were just as critical as the permanent installation. These temporary configurations were carefully planned; however, it took the knowledge of a foreman to recognize that changes would need to be made to one of these temporary configurations for safer wire pulling. The foreman raised concerns about pulling new conductor through a deadend structure that supported an energized temporary tie. Although required clearance would be met once installed, the setup introduced high safety risk from induced voltage for work crews. Because a design engineer was on-site, the team was able to develop a new shoo-fly configuration well ahead of wire-pulling efforts,

A new ruling from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) makes it easier for utilities to help customers lower energy bills and reduce grid strain. The FCC ruled that utilities may send automated calls and text messages to customers about demand response programs without needing a separate “opt-in” as long as customers have already shared their phone number and the messages aren’t marketing products. This clarification unlocks one of the most powerful yet underused tools in the energy transition: demand response. It puts utilities in a better position to engage customers at scale, shifting usage during peak periods and easing stress on the grid. Backed by industry data and real-world success stories, this ruling positions utilities to put customers at the center of a smarter, more flexible energy system. A Grid Under Pressure The U.S. electric grid is facing a convergence of stressors. Electricity demand is rising rapidly, driven by data center growth, electric vehicle adoption, and the reshoring of US manufacturing. Industry forecasts suggest that the next decade of growth will be equivalent to adding another California to the grid. At the same time, utility-scale generation and transmission expansion continues to face permitting delays, high costs, and long lead times. These strains are already pushing up prices. In 2024, electricity prices increased 4.5 percent year-over-year, nearly twice the rate of overall inflation. While long-term infrastructure investment is vital, utilities need fast, affordable solutions now. Demand response fits the bill. By encouraging customers to reduce or shift usage during high-demand periods, demand response can flatten load curves, lower costs, and prevent reliability issues. But for it to work, scale and immediate communication are essential. FCC Removes a Major Barrier Until now, legal uncertainty around the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) made utilities cautious. Some utilities interpreted the law to require customers

State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) has signed a heads of agreement with ADNOC Gas PLC for the delivery of 500,000 metric tons a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 10 years to India. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s gas processing and sales arm will source the LNG from the Das Island liquefaction facility, which has a capacity of six million metric tons per annum (MMtpa). “The agreement underscores ADNOC Gas’ expanded global footprint, particularly across the high-demand Asian LNG market, reinforcing its role as a reliable global supplier of LNG”, ADNOC Gas said in a statement online. “The long-term contract strengthens ADNOC Gas’ partnership with key Indian players as it continues to support India’s energy security, building on recent agreements with Indian Oil Corp. and GAIL India Ltd.” ADNOC Gas chief executive Fatema Al Nuaimi said, “This long-term agreement with HPCL, our third with Indian companies in the past year, reflects the robust energy partnership between the UAE and India. This milestone underscores ADNOC Gas’ ability to reliably meet rising global demand for LNG and support India’s ambition to increase natural gas to 15 percent of its primary energy mix by 2030”. HPCL said separately it would receive the LNG at the recently commissioned Chhara LNG Terminal in Gujarat “to meet the demand of its refineries, City Gas Distribution Network and for marketing to downstream customers”. “This initiative further enables HPCL in building a diverse portfolio encompassing long and short-term LNG contracts to secure LNG and serve customers at competitive prices”, HPCL added. Last February ADNOC Gas announced a 14-year deal to supply up to 1.2 MMtpa of LNG to Indian Oil. Deliveries, from the Das Island facility, are to start 2026. The agreement was valued $7-9 billion. Last year ADNOC Gas said it had signed a 10-year

A statement posted on OPEC’s website on Sunday announced that Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman “will implement a production adjustment of 547,000 barrels per day in September”. “The eight OPEC+ countries, which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023 … met virtually on 3 August 2025, to review global market conditions and outlook,” the statement noted. “In view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories, and in accordance with the decision agreed upon on 5 December 2024 to start a gradual and flexible return of the 2.2 million barrels per day voluntary adjustments starting from 1 April 2025, the eight participating countries will implement a production adjustment of 547,000 barrels per day in September 2025 from August 2025 required production level,” the statement added. “This is equivalent to four monthly increments … The phase-out of the additional voluntary production adjustments may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions. This flexibility will allow the group to continue to support oil market stability,” it continued. The eight OPEC+ countries also noted that this measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation, the statement said. “The eight countries reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation, including the additional voluntary production adjustments that were agreed to be monitored by the JMMC during its 53rd meeting held on April 3rd 2024,” it added. The countries also confirmed their intention to fully compensate for any overproduced volume since January 2024, the statement highlighted. It went on to state that the eight OPEC+ countries will hold monthly meetings to review market conditions, conformity, and compensation. The eight countries are currently next scheduled to meet on September

BP Plc said it made its biggest discovery in 25 years in deep waters off Brazil, a boon for the UK oil major as it seeks to turn around years of underperformance. BP found an estimated 500-meter (1,640-foot) column of oil and gas at the Bumerangue block in the Santos basin, it said Monday, giving little other detail. The find adds to other discoveries this year in Trinidad & Tobago, the Gulf of Mexico and Egypt. “This is another success in what has been an exceptional year so far for our exploration team,” the energy giant said in a statement. “Our ambition is to explore the potential of establishing a material and advantaged production hub” in Brazil. Chief Executive Officer Murray Auchincloss reset BP’s strategy in February by promising to refocus on oil and gas after years of failed low-carbon investments. Other supermajors had recommitted more quickly to the hydrocarbon-focused strategies that fed their profits. BP’s 2030 production target – 2.3 million to 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day – remains unchanged. The London-based company said it has “capacity to increase production out to 2035.” 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.

The European Commission has launched an “in-depth” investigation into Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. PJSC’s pending takeover of Covestro AG under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to protect competition in the European Union market. “The preliminary investigation indicates that ADNOC and Covestro may receive foreign subsidies distorting the EU internal market”, the Commission said in a statement online. “The possible foreign subsidies notably include an unlimited guarantee from the UAE, as well as a committed capital increase by ADNOC into Covestro. “The Commission has preliminary concerns that the foreign subsidies may have enabled ADNOC to acquire Covestro at a valuation and financial terms that would not be in line with market conditions, and which could not have been matched by unsubsidized investors. “The Commission also has preliminary concerns that the transaction could allow ADNOC to adopt investment strategies that would impact competitive conditions in the internal market”. ADNOC, through its global investment arm XRG PJSC, is in the process of completing its takeover of German chemicals producer Covestro with a share acquisition offer of about EUR 11.7 billion ($13.53 billion) or EUR 62 per Covestro share. As of the end of 2024, 91.58 percent of Covestro shares were included in ADNOC’s takeover offer, exceeding the acceptance threshold of 50 percent plus one share, according to a Covestro statement February 26, 2025. “The takeover offer is subject to the usual conditions of completion with regard to antitrust and foreign trade clearance and clearance under EU law on foreign subsidies”, Covestro said then. On April 17, 2025, Covestro affirmed, “The transaction is expected to be closed in the second half of 2025”. In announcing its in-depth probe last week, the European Commission said it had 90 working days until December 2, 2025, to make a decision. The Commission will probe “whether the foreign subsidies that