XCF Global Inc said it had completed the initial site work for its second sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility, which will rise adjacent to the one it had put onstream in Storey County, Nevada, early this year. New Rise Reno 2’s 10-acre parcel has been graded and access roads have been built, according to Houston, Texas-based XCF. “Engineering, design and project planning are underway, positioning construction to begin in 2026”, it said in a press release. “Located adjacent to the existing New Rise Reno facility in Nevada, the new site will benefit from integration with common facilities such as gas, water, rail and personnel offices as well as existing pre-treatment, hydrogen production and broader logistics infrastructure – reducing capital costs, lowering execution risk and accelerating time to production. “Since inception, approximately $350 million has been invested in XCF’s flagship New Rise Reno facility. New Rise Reno 2 represents the next phase of this growth strategy, with an expected $300 million investment enabling XCF to double SAF production capacity to ~80 million gallons annually”. XCF expects New Rise Reno 2 to start production 2028, along with two other SAF projects in the United States. All three have a planned nameplate capacity of 40 million gallons a year. New Rise Reno began production in the first quarter. It has a nameplate capacity of 38 million gallons a year, according to XCF. “The facility is designed and configured to produce 3,000 barrels per day of synthetic blending component for blending to make sustainable aviation fuel. All fuel is made from renewable triglyceride feedstocks (corn oil, soybean oil or other qualifying oils) that meet the Federal Renewable Fuels Standard”, according to the project website. XCF chief executive Chris Cooper said, “This expansion exemplifies how XCF grows: intentionally, efficiently and with a platform built to meet surging global demand”. XCF noted, “Federal targets call for

In a BMI report sent to Rigzone by the Fitch Group on Monday, analysts at BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, projected that global oil demand “will post steady growth” in 2026 “but remain below historic trends”. “We forecast 2026 total fuel consumption to expand by 1.0 percent, a slight decrease from the 1.1 percent registered for 2025,” the BMI analysts noted in the report, which identified “key” oil and gas themes for next year. “The growth for 2026 will still see incremental demand of one million barrels per day for the year,” the analysts added. In the report, the BMI analysts said the 2026 global oil demand forecast “marks the continuation of waning oil consumption growth seen in the post-Covid era with most growth attributed to Mainland China and emerging markets (EMs)”. “The U.S. will post weaker growth in 2026 while other developed markets will see further contraction in fuel consumption,” they added. The analysts revealed in the report that global fuel consumption growth is forecast to continue shrinking throughout their 10-year forecast period, “despite the strength of gains in EMs”. “India will take over as the largest market for growth, adding 237,000 barrels per day of additional demand, followed by China with 165,000 barrels per day of growth in 2026,” they said. The BMI analysts went on to state in the report that the forecast for steady growth in fuel demand is supported by their global economic outlook, which they said “points to a year of steady gains in 2026, with forecast global GDP growth of 2.6 percent, unchanged from 2025”. “Supportive monetary and fiscal policies will bolster economic activity, unlocking consumer and business confidence. The stabilization of growth as trade frictions ease, following on from the volatility and uncertainty seen in 2025, will buttress demand for oil,”

Fluor Corp and JGC Corp said Monday they had handed over LNG Canada’s second production train, bringing the Shell PLC-led project’s capacity to 14 million tonnes a year. Train 2 completes phase 1 of “Canada’s first LNG mega-project”, Irving, Texas-based Fluor said in a press release. LNG Canada already announced November 6 that Train 2 had started production. Fluor energy solutions president Pierre Bechelany highlighted that the project had spent “more than CAD 3.3 billion [$2.38 billion] on goods and services contracted with Indigenous businesses and joint ventures and more than CAD 550 million with local area businesses”. Fluor said, “The LNG Canada plant consists of a natural gas receiving and liquification facility, a marine terminal with the capacity to accommodate one LNG carrier, a tugboat dock and LNG loading lines. The facility also includes LNG processing units, storage tanks, a rail yard, a water treatment facility and flare stacks”. “Located on Canada’s west coast, the LNG Canada facility benefits from access to abundant, natural gas and an ice-free harbor”, it added. The Fluor-JGC joint venture won the engineering, procurement and construction contract for phase 1 in 2018. According to an online statement by Fluor October 2, 2018, the contract totaled around $14 billion, with Fluor’s share at $8.4 billion. Earlier this year Fluor and Japan’s JGC also won a contract to update the front-end engineering design for LNG Canada’s proposed phase 2, as announced by the contractors last August. LNG Canada, which targets the Asian market, announced the dispatch of its first liquefied natural gas cargo on July 1, saying the milestone introduces Canada as an LNG exporter. “By turning aspiration into action, Canada can become the world’s leading energy superpower with the strongest economy in the G7”, Prime Minister Mark Carney declared then, as quoted in an LNG Canada

North America added eight rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest North America rotary rig count, which was published on December 5. The total U.S. rig count increased by five week on week and the total Canada rig count rose by three during the same period, taking the total North America rig count up to 740, comprising 549 rigs from the U.S. and 191 rigs from Canada, the count outlined. Of the total U.S. rig count of 549, 527 rigs are categorized as land rigs, 19 are categorized as offshore rigs, and three are categorized as inland water rigs. The total U.S. rig count is made up of 413 oil rigs, 129 gas rigs, and seven miscellaneous rigs, according to Baker Hughes’ count, which revealed that the U.S. total comprises 476 horizontal rigs, 58 directional rigs, and 15 vertical rigs. Week on week, the U.S. land rig count rose by three, and its offshore and inland water rig counts each increased by one, Baker Hughes highlighted. The U.S. oil rig count rose by six week on week, its gas rig count dropped by one by week on week, and its miscellaneous rig count remained unchanged week on week, the count showed. The U.S. horizontal rig count rose by one, its directional rig count remained unchanged, and its vertical rig count increased by four, week on week, the count revealed. A major state variances subcategory included in the rig count showed that, week on week, Louisiana added four rigs and New Mexico added one rig. A major basin variances subcategory included in Baker Hughes’ rig count showed that, week on week, the Eagle Ford basin dropped one rig. Canada’s total rig count of 191 is made up of 126 oil rigs and 65 gas rigs, Baker Hughes pointed out.

The US government is backing Iraq’s plan to transfer Lukoil PJSC’s stake in a giant oil field to an American company, days before a sanctions waiver on the Russian firm is set to expire. Iraq’s Oil Ministry last week said it’s approaching US companies to take over the majority holding in West Qurna 2, which pumps about 10 percent of the country’s crude. The Trump administration’s preference is for the Russian firm’s global assets to be taken over by a US entity, people familiar with the matter said last month. The ministry didn’t name any companies, but US firms including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have emerged as potential suitors for Lukoil’s assets. For West Qurna-2, Iraq would prefer Exxon, which had previously operated the neighboring West Qurna 1 oil field, one person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Exxon recently returned to Iraq after a two-year absence, signing an initial agreement in October that could pave the way for developing the Majnoon field in the country’s south. Chevron is in discussions to enter Iraq, Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said at the company’s Nov. 12 investor day. The company’s officials met with Iraq’s oil minister in Baghdad this week, according to a Iraqi statement. “We are encouraged by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil’s initial agreements with Exxon and Chevron, the recent commitment to transition West Qurna-2 to a US operator,” a State Department spokesperson said in answer to questions from Bloomberg. “The United States will continue to champion the interests of American companies in Iraq.” Exxon and Chevron declined to comment. A call to Lukoil’s press service went unanswered and the company didn’t respond to an email sent outside of normal business hours in Moscow on Monday. Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of

Noble Corp said Monday it had signed separate deals to sell five jackup rigs to Borr Drilling Ltd for $360 million and one jackup to Ocean Oilfield Drilling for $64 million. After the completion of the transactions, expected next year, “Noble will be a pureplay deepwater and ultra-harsh environment jackup operator”, the offshore driller said in an online statement. Borr will acquire Noble Resilient (built 2009), Noble Resolute (built 2009), Noble Mick O’Brien (built 2013), Noble Regina Allen (built 2013) and Noble Tom Prosser (built 2014). The purchase price consists of $210 million in cash and $150 million in seller notes. “The $150 million in proposed seller notes to Borr are expected to have a six-year maturity and be secured by a first lien on three jackups (Noble Tom Prosser, Noble Regina Allen and Noble Resilient)”, Noble said. “Additionally, Noble intends to operate two rigs – Noble Mick O’Brien and Noble Resolute – under a bareboat charter agreement with Borr for one year from signing of the definitive agreement”, it said. Meanwhile Ocean Oilfield Drilling will buy Noble Resolve, built 2009, after the rig’s ongoing contract ends. Noble Resolve will be freed in the first quarter of 2026, Nobel says on its online fleet inventory. The rig is currently deployed in Spain for an unnamed operator, according to Noble’s latest fleet status report, published October 27. Ocean Oilfield Drilling will pay in cash. “These transactions are expected to be immediately accretive to our shareholders based on both trailing 2025 and anticipated 2026 EBITDA and free cash flow, while also bolstering our balance sheet and sharpening the focus on our established positions in the deepwater and ultra-harsh jackup segments”, said president and chief executive Robert W. Eifler. In its quarterly report October 27, Noble said the Noble Globetrotter II drillship, built 2013, was also being sold. During the third