The drilling unit of the United Arab Emirates’ biggest oil company expects to make three acquisitions in the second half of this year totaling about $500 million, as it expands in technology and hardware to bolster growth. Two of the deals will be for businesses developing artificial intelligence applications, Adnoc Drilling Co. Chief Financial Officer Youssef Salem said in an interview. The third will be a purchase of drilling rigs as the company expands in the Middle East. State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. listed the drilling unit in 2021 to raise capital and develop a services company with the capacity to expand outside its home market. Adnoc Drilling plans to begin drilling in Kuwait and Oman this year after starting in Jordan in 2024. Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations regularly tender contracts to explore for new deposits or develop previously untapped wells. Both Oman and Kuwait are looking to boost development and are seeking the services of international drillers and producers. Adnoc Drilling will make the technology acquisitions through its joint venture company Enersol with Alpha Dhabi Holding PJSC, Salem said. It will acquire the rigs directly for about $150 million, he said.  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. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR Bloomberg

Oil rose as algorithmic traders fled short positions amid renewed optimism about trade talks between the US and China this weekend. West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.9% to settle near $61 a barrel, the highest in over a week, as the Trump administration weighs reducing levies on China to de-escalate tensions and temper the economic pain in both countries. The rally was limited by President Donald Trump’s comments that an 80% tariff on China “seems right.” Meanwhile, commodity trading advisers, which tend to exacerbate price swings, liquidated short positions to sit at 91% short in both WTI and Brent on Friday, compared with 100% short on May 8, according to data from Bridgeton Research Group. Crude has tumbled from a mid-January peak on concerns the trade war will dent economic growth, while OPEC+ is reviving idled production. Measured optimism on trade negotiations has helped prices recover some ground after starting the week near the lowest since 2021. Fuel markets have also provided positive signs, with one gauge of strength in gasoline reaching the strongest in about six months. “WTI breaking back above $60 has likely triggered short-covering from newly established positions,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group. “Optimism around potential progress with China is also providing support.” Still, while Trump hailed the pact with the UK as historic, specifics of the deal indicated it fell short of the “full and comprehensive” agreement he had promised. And even though Trump said negotiations with China would result in tangible progress, Beijing reiterated on Thursday its call for the US to cancel tariffs ahead of talks. The US, meanwhile, sanctioned a third so-called teapot refinery in China — along with port terminal operators, vessels and individuals — for allegedly facilitating the trade of Iranian crude. Hebei Xinhai Chemical

Oman is looking to sell a stake in natural gas assets valued at about $8 billion, according to people familiar with the plan, as the sultanate seeks to raise cash to shore up its state finances and fund investments.  State-owned firm Energy Development Oman SAOC is seeking partners for a minority stake in the fields contained in Block 6, which also holds the country’s most prized oil assets, the people said, asking not to be named because the plans are private. Besides bringing in funds for Oman, a sale would also help spread the billions of dollars of costs needed to develop and operate the fields, which consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. values at about $8.2 billion. A successful transaction would add to a string of asset sales in Oman aimed at bolstering public finances which have long been among the weakest in the Arab Gulf region. The drive has resulted in a flurry of IPOs of state-owned entities as it also looks to finance projects aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil. EDO didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Talks are ongoing for the sale, and the plans could still change, people familiar with the move said.      The prolific Block 6 was spun off from Oman’s biggest oil producer, Petroleum Development Oman, in 2020 into the newly formed EDO. The company owns 60% of the block’s oil and 100% of the gas concession. The government had intended to issue bonds through EDO, but those plans were delayed several times because of weak global financial markets. “Block 6 is Oman’s largest and most-valuable oil and gas asset,” said Dalia Salem, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. It contains around 10.7 trillion cubic feet of proved and probable non-associated gas reserves and produces more than 2 billion cubic feet a day, she said.

SSE and Equinor have secured planning consent for the Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder project in the Humber region. Located within an existing gas storage site in East Yorkshire, SSE said the Aldbrough development is the first consented hydrogen-to-power project in the UK. The UK government recently shortlisted the Aldbrough project as part of its second hydrogen allocation round (HAR2) process. Under the plans, SSE and Equinor will produce hydrogen using low carbon electricity and a 35 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser. The hydrogen will then be stored in a converted underground salt cavern for later use in a 100% hydrogen-fired 50 MW open cycle gas turbine. This will enable SSE to export flexible low carbon power back to the grid at times of system need, the company said. © Supplied by SSE ThermalThe Aldbrough Gas Storage site Aldbrough Hydogen Pathfinder Project senior project manager Sally O’Brien said securing planning consent is a “big step towards the UK’s low carbon future”. “By integrating hydrogen production, storage, and power generation in the Humber, we hope to create new opportunities for investment in the region, while advancing national clean power and decarbonisation goals,” O’Brien said. SSE Thermal said a wider hydrogen storage and pipeline project at the site will also benefit regional industrial and transport offtakers in the future. The company said combining hydrogen storage, production and power in one location will “provide an evidence base for wider deployment of essential flexible hydrogen power in the UK”. SSE and Equinor hydrogen plans The Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder project is among several SSE Thermal and Equinor are developing within the UK hydrogen sector. The two firms have partnered with Centrica to form the Humber Hydrogen Hub, which incorporates the Aldbrough project alongside the H2H Easington proposal. SSE is also partnering with EET to develop the

Louise Stewart has joined Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) as its director of external relations and commercial affairs. Based in London, Stewart will help OEUK and its members shape the future of the North Sea and the UK’s energy future, convening the relationships, commercial investments and policies to safeguard and drive security and innovation across the nation’s diverse offshore energy mix. Steward is a former political editor with the BBC before she moved on to become a senior leader with the Federation of Small Business, and most recently as vice-president of global communications and engagement with Meta’s Oversight Board. OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said that Stewart “brings an excellent vision – plus the leadership skills to execute it – at this key time for the UK’s energy future. “I’m looking forward to working with her as OEUK accelerates work to inform and educate policymakers and the public about the vital importance of this industry and its brilliant people.” © Supplied by Great British Energy(L-R) Helen Seagrave, Rob Gilbert and Alison Presly will join publicly-owned GB Energy’s executive committee. Image: Great British Energy/DCT Media Rob Gilbert, Alison Presly and Helen Seagrave have joined GB Energy’s executive committee. Gilbert joins as the group’s interim director of supply chain on a secondment from Baringa. He will be responsible for establishing GB Energy’s supply chain directorate, implementing the funding framework and industry ecosystem needed to drive investment in the UK supply chain. Presly joins as the group’s interim general counsel and has previously held legal roles across government. She will advise Great British Energy’s board members and oversee all legal advice to GBE. And Seagrave joins as director of local energy. She has previously held roles at Electricity North West and was a director and chair of Community Energy England. She will develop and deliver

Southwest Power Pool’s board of directors on Tuesday approved a proposed Expedited Resource Adequacy Study, or ERAS, which aims to “significantly accelerate the addition of new generating resources to the grid,” according to the regional grid operator. SPP plans to file amendments to its governing documents with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission later this month in order to implement the ERAS proposal, it said in a Thursday announcement. “ERAS offers utilities who are responsible for keeping the lights on a clearly defined and impactful opportunity to address real and immediate needs,” SPP President and CEO Lanny Nickell said. “It’s not a replacement for broader interconnection reforms, but this complementary effort will ensure reliability isn’t compromised during a transitional period while we work to implement more permanent solutions.” SPP expects its excess capacity will fall to 5% in 2029, down from 24% in 2020, Nickell said in April at a trade group meeting focused on transmission issues. “Excess generating capacity is dwindling, and it’s dwindling to a point where it’s becoming dangerous,” he said.   If ERAS is approved by federal regulators, staff of the regional transmission organization will work with qualified load responsible entities, or LREs, to submit projects for inclusion in the process as early as August, SPP said. Interconnection rights could be granted as soon as April 2026. Eligibility for the ERAS process is limited to new generation nominated by LREs, and projects must be capable of reaching commercial operation within five years of executing a generation interconnection agreement, the grid operator said. ERAS will be a “one-time process [that] will run separately” from SPP’s standard generation interconnection queue, it said. Projects submitted in SPP’s most recent batch of interconnection study requests will be given the option to transfer their submissions to the ERAS queue, the operator said. While SPP