Aberdeen-based Exceed has secured a multi-million-pound contract to operate Viaro Energy’s recently obtained UK assets. Late last year, Viaro announced a takeover of Shell and Exxon’s joint venture Southern North Sea assets and has now awarded a well operator contract to the north-east firm. Exceed will take over operatorship of the 192 wells which make up Viaro’s One Gas West assets. The first order of business for the newly appointed well operator will be to handle the decommissioning of the 26 wells associated with the Leman Foxtrot and Golf platforms, which is set to kick off later in the year. Exceed’s commercial director of wells, John Anderson, said: “Understandably, this contract has been keenly contested across the North Sea industry, and we are delighted that our capacity and competency have been recognised by Viaro as providing optimum levels of expertise and support for its major acquisition.” Over the course of the five-year contract, Exceed will also work on well intervention and further decommissioning operations, as well as the development of new gas production wells. © Supplied by ExceedJohn Anderson, Exceed The Aberdeen business described the win as “one of the most significant contract wins” in its 20-year history. Despite this, Exceed was unable to confirm the contract value, nor if it would be creating jobs off the back of it. Last year, the business announced record-breaking figures as it reported £29 million in turnover, which it claimed was the result of activities across its full asset lifecycle offerings. Exceed gained well operator status in 2022 and, following its latest deal with Viaro, will be responsible for more than 200 wells across the North Sea. The business already works alongside big names like Apache, Serica, Ping and Anasuria Operating Company. © Supplied by Viaro EnergyViaro Energy CEO Francesco Mazzagatti (left) and

Shell Plc’s liquefied natural gas project in Canada, the country’s first large-scale export terminal for the fuel, is preparing to begin overseas sales as soon as late June. The facility is testing equipment ahead of the start of LNG production according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified as the details are private. The export plans could change depending on the rate of progress at the project, the people said. The project remain on track to load first cargoes by the middle of 2025, an LNG Canada spokesperson said by email.  The project is set to transform Canada into an LNG exporter, providing much-needed supply to a market grappling with price spikes. Europe is increasingly dependent on the super-cooled fuel to replace Russian pipeline gas, a trend that has tightened global flows for the past several years. LNG Canada, located on the country’s western coast, is also convenient for Asian gas consumers due to the shorter transport time compared with tankers that sail from terminals on the US Gulf Coast, which mainly pass through the Panama Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope to reach the Pacific. The project is a joint venture between Shell Plc, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas.   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

APA Corp. said it is lowering its 2025 spending plan by $175 million to protect cash flow amid uncertainty in commodity prices. “Improved efficiencies and reduced activity will lower the company’s 2025 development capital by $150 million”, the Houston, Texas-based explorer and producer said in its quarterly report. “Combined with a $25 million reduction in exploration capital, these steps will protect free cash flow amidst volatile commodity prices. “As the company integrated the Callon acquisition, activity was reduced to 8 rigs, a level capable of maintaining oil volumes in the Permian”. APA completed its merger with Callon Petroleum Co. in the second quarter of 2024, in a $4.5-billion transaction that it said would raise its production to about 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). The acquired assets included about 120,000 net acres in the Delaware Basin and 25,000 net acres in the Midland Basin, which are Permian sub-basins. APA has said the Permian is expected to account for about two-thirds of the production of the combined company. “With confidence in captured operating efficiencies, APA now expects to hold Permian oil volumes sustainably flat with 6.5 rigs”, the quarterly statement said. “Given current market conditions the company is in the process of reducing activity to 6 rigs by the end of the second quarter and adjusting its completion schedule to align with this cadence”. However, it is keeping its full-year United States oil production guidance at 125,000-127,000 bpd. APA added, “In Egypt, given early success in the gas appraisal and development programs, gas-focused drilling has increased to over a third of the activity. The company expects 2025 gas production volumes to continue on a strong growing trajectory, leading to higher average realized gas prices through the fourth quarter”. APA also recently signed an agreement to sell New Mexico acreage

Dive Brief: Increased coordination between 11 Western states could save up to $3.25 billion per year — but the states need not create a regional transmission organization or agree on clean energy policies to realize savings, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California San Diego. At the lower end of coordination, expanding energy imbalance markets in the West could realize between $330 million to $610 million in annual savings. Coordinating transmission planning alone could save $125 million to $2.23 billion, while enhanced coordination in generation planning could yield a further $17 million in savings, according to the study. By focusing less on environmental benefits and more on the potential cost savings, Western states may be able to overcome their political differences to improve power system coordination, said Michael Davidson, an assistant professor in UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. Dive Insight: While many studies have suggested the Western U.S. could benefit from an RTO because regional grid coordination could accelerate decarbonization, disparate political beliefs about the value of clean energy have prevented the West from realizing this potential. So the researchers at UC San Diego decided to try a different approach: evaluating the impacts of more incremental coordination that could occur even if the West never agrees on a more uniform, RTO-like regulatory structure. And several actions, from energy market expansion to improved coordination in transmission planning, could have a sizable impact on energy costs in the West, Davidson said. Expanded reserve sharing across the 11 states in the study — Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana — is probably a baseline minimum action required to realize savings from any other actions, he said. After that, improved coordination in transmission planning could result in the

Propane marketing firm Alliance Energy Services said it has acquired 18 propane terminals from NGL Energy Partners LP. The acquisition “significantly expands Alliance Energy Services’ infrastructure, strengthening its ability to serve customers across key markets nationwide,” the company said in a news release. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The propane terminals are strategically located across multiple regions and will enhance Alliance Energy Services’ capacity to meet the growing demand for reliable propane supply, the company said. The company said it aims to integrate the facilities into its existing network and optimize distribution, as well as improve logistics efficiency. “The acquisition of these 18 propane terminals represents a significant milestone for Alliance Energy Services. This investment underscores our commitment to enhancing supply security, expanding our market reach, and delivering best-in-class service to our customers. We also look forward to the new employees joining our team from NGL,” Alliance Energy Services CEO Jason Doyle said. As part of the transaction, the company said it closed a sustainability-linked term loan financing led by Breakwall Capital LP, an energy-focused asset manager and employee-owned firm committed to supporting the growth and improvement of conventional, renewable, and next generation energy companies. According to the release, Sustainable Fitch provided a second-party opinion on the sustainability-linked term loan and considers the transaction to be aligned with the ICMA Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles and the Loan Market Association, Loan Syndications and Trading Association and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles. Meanwhile NGL Energy Partners said it closed on the sale of its Rack Marketing refined products business, its Limestone Ranch ownership, and its remaining crude rail car fleet, as well as other miscellaneous proceeds. The non-core asset sales will allow NGL Energy Partners to “focus on its core assets in the portfolio and redirect the

Murphy Oil Corp. has declared an oil discovery in Block 15-1/05 in the Cuu Long Basin offshore Vietnam. Exploration well Lac Da Hong-1X, or Pink Camel, encountered 106 feet of net oil pay from one reservoir after being drilled to a total depth of 13,616 feet in 151 feet of water. Testing yielded a maximum flow rate of 2,500 barrels per day (bpd). “Additional testing showed high-quality oil with an API gravity of 38 degrees”, the Houston, Texas-based oil and gas explorer and producer said in its quarterly report. The well sits 3 miles southwest of Murphy’s Lac Da Vang (Golden Camel) field project, whose floating storage and offloading vessel began construction in the quarter. Murphy Cuu Long Bac Oil Co. Ltd. operates Block 15-1/05 with a 40 percent working stake. PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp. Ltd., the upstream arm of state-owned Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group (PetroVietnam), holds 35 percent and South Korea’s SK Earthon Co. Ltd.  25 percent. “The Lac Da Hong (Pink Camel) discovery, combined with the recently announced Hai Su Vang (Golden Sea Lion) discovery, deepens our understanding of the resource potential in our Cuu Long Basin blocks”, Murphy president and chief executive Eric M. Hambly said. “Each of these discoveries validates our exploration strategy and helps optimize future development plans in the Cuu Long Basin”. Golden Sea Lion, in Block 15-2/17, showed about 370 feet of net oil pay from two reservoirs, drilled in 149 feet of water. Testing resulted in a facility-constrained flow rate of 10,000 bpd. The well showed “high-quality, 37-degree API oil”. Murphy plans to drill an appraisal well in the third quarter (Q3). Murphy estimates the mean to upward gross potential to be 170 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) to 430 MMboe. Murphy operates Block 15-2/17 with a 40 percent interest. PetroVietnam owns 35 percent and SK Earthon 25 percent. Elsewhere in the Southeast Asian