Weatherford International plc said it was awarded a “significant” contract to deliver managed pressure drilling (MPD) services for the Trion project, a deepwater oil production project in Mexico operated by Woodside Petróleo Operaciones de Mexico. The multi-year contract includes MPD services for an initial eight wells with the potential to expand to 24 wells, the company said in a news release. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. As part of the project, Weatherford said it plans to deploy its Victus intelligent MPD system, which it describes as a solution “designed to enhance drilling safety, efficiency, and performance”. The solution features algorithm-driven pressure control, real-time downhole data for automated responses, and the industry’s first field-proven deepwater riser system for floating rigs, according to the release. The Trion project is located in deepwater about 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) in the Gulf of America, approximately 112 miles (180 kilometers) east of the coast of Tamaulipas and 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) south of the US-Mexico maritime border, the release said. Trion is a joint venture between Woodside Petróleo Operaciones de México, S. de R.L. de C.V., who serves as the operator with a 60 percent interest, and Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) with 40 percent. The contract award “reinforces Weatherford’s market leadership in high-performance MPD and expands its presence in Mexico’s offshore energy sector,” the company said. Weatherford President and CEO Girish Saligram said, “We are proud to support Woodside Energy on this historic project. The Trion development represents a defining moment for Mexico’s energy sector, and Weatherford is honored to contribute with trusted MPD technologies that improve safety, efficiency, and well delivery. This award further strengthens our position as a trusted partner for complex offshore operations”. Second-Quarter Results In the second quarter, Weatherford reported revenue of $1.2 billion, an increase of 1 percent

The European Union’s pledge of up to $750 billion in purchases of U.S. energy products over three years is “a figure widely viewed as unrealistic”, a gas and LNG market update from Masanori Odaka, Rystad Energy Vice President, Gas & LNG Research, outlined. Rystad’s market update highlighted that European gas prices opened higher last week following the trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union, “which established a 15 percent tariff on most EU imports – excluding the existing 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as several other sectors”. “As part of the agreement, the EU pledged up to $750 billion in purchases of U.S. energy products over three years – mainly LNG, oil and nuclear technology,” the update, which was sent to Rigzone by the Rystad team recently, pointed out. The update noted that the $750 billion target has drawn widespread skepticism. “In 2024, the EU imported 37.82 million tons of U.S. LNG, equivalent to a 43 percent share in the EU’s LNG imports,” Rystad’s update said. “So far in 2025, the U.S. share of EU LNG imports has risen to 55.5 percent, equivalent to 35.6 million tons,” it added. “If this exceptionally high share is sustained and the EU imports a total ranging from 100 million tons to 120 million tons this year, it would translate to approximately $28 to $34 billion in U.S. LNG sales, assuming an average price of $11 per million British thermal units (MMBtu),” it continued. Rystad’s update went on to state that, with global LNG supply expected to grow, prices are widely forecast to decline. “This means the EU would need to import significantly higher volumes just to maintain current spending levels – let alone hit $250 billion annually,” the update noted. Rystad’s update stated that other American energy commodities such

A 5.2 percent decline in coal-fired power generation in the Philippines in the first half of 2025 has put the Southeast Asian country on course for its first annual decline in coal power production in decades. This would be due to the growth of renewable energy rather than an increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said. “Recent media coverage has asserted that growing LNG imports are responsible for coal’s decline, reciting oil and gas industry logic that Asia’s energy transition hinges on replacing one fossil fuel (coal) with another (LNG)”, the United States-based IEEFA said. “However, these conclusions overlook basic trends in the Philippines’ energy market. Renewables have rapidly outpaced the growth of LNG, while gas-fired power generation remains below historical levels. “Outages at existing coal facilities provide a better explanation for declining coal generation than the growth of LNG, which is significantly more expensive than renewables and other energy resources”. Based on an analysis of government data, the IEEFA said the country did not add any new greenfield gas or LNG-fired generation capacity between 2017 and 2024. “The most recent increase in the country’s gas capacity was in 2022, when several existing facilities were uprated”, the IEEFA said, citing data from the nation’s Department of Energy (DOE). On the other hand the Philippines installed over one gigawatt (GW) of solar capacity in 2024 alone. “This growth outpaced all other asset classes last year and previous projections for solar deployment. Centralized government auctions, among other government policies, are driving project developments”, the IEEFA said. Last month the DOE said it had awarded geothermal, hydropower and pumped storage capacities totaling about 6.68 GW. It also launched an auction offering over 10 GW of solar and wind, targeted for commercial operations 2026-29, and a

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