The governments of Germany and Denmark said they have paved a new regulatory ground with the signing of an agreement for a cross-border project that will connect several wind farms via a single hub on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The project, called the Bornholm Energy Island, is designed to deliver three gigawatts of electricity onshore to be distributed to around three million homes and businesses in Denmark and Germany. The project is owned by Danish state-owned power and gas transmission systems operator Energinet and German electricity transmission system operator 50Hertz. “Denmark and Germany have agreed on sharing the costs to finance the support need for the offshore wind”, said a joint statement by the countries’ energy ministries. “The project entails the first example of two countries sharing the support needed for an offshore wind farm and proves a landmark in the development of European cross-border offshore cooperation”, the statement added. Energinet said separately “the agreement provides greater clarity on the political and economic framework for planning and coordination across the border”. 50Hertz said in its own statement the government agreement is the project’s “decisive building block”. 50 Hertz chief executive Stefan Kapferer highlighted, “The agreement between Germany and Denmark has an impact on the offshore industry across Europe, extending far beyond the Baltic Sea project Bornholm Energy Island. It is furthermore a strong European signal in geopolitically difficult times”. A statement from the European Commission, which last year signed a grant agreement worth EUR 645.2 million ($770.68 million) for the Bornholm Energy Island, said the agreement between Berlin and Copenhagen “marks a first key delivery of the Energy Highways initiative set out as part of the European Grids Package published in December 2025”. The project “will transform offshore wind energy from a national resource into a shared European resource

In a market comment sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Mazen Salhab, Head of Market Research at MH Markets, highlighted that oil prices “remain elevated and volatile … as the market prices supply risk and demand uncertainty at the same time”. “Geopolitical tension around Iran continues to underpin prices by lifting the risk premium, even without actual disruptions, while producer discipline and recent weather related outages are limiting downside,” Salhab said in the comment. “At the same time, economic data points to slowing but resilient demand, keeping oil supported as both a growth-sensitive asset and a hedge,” he added. Looking at the near term in his comment, Salhab said labor market data “is the key trigger”. “Weaker jobs data would support oil via a softer dollar but raise demand concerns, while stronger data may pressure prices initially yet reinforce demand expectations,” he warned. “Until either geopolitics or macro data clearly dominates, oil is likely to remain range-bound but firm, with sharp reactions to headlines and data surprises,” Salhab projected. In a report sent to Rigzone by the Standard Chartered team on Wednesday, Standard Chartered Bank Energy Research Head Emily Ashford noted that a U.S. winter storm “disrupted crude oil output and refining operations, prompting localized supply tightness”. “The NYMEX heating oil-WTI spread has stabilized between $36-38 per barrel over the week, while the ICE gasoil-Brent spread pushed above $25 per barrel on 21 January and is currently trading around $23 per barrel,” Ashford added. “We expect these cracks to remain sensitive to refining throughput-recovery timelines,” Ashford continued. The Standard Chartered report projected that the ICE Brent nearby future crude oil price will average $63.50 per barrel in 2026 and $67.00 per barrel in 2027. This commodity averaged $68.50 per barrel in 2025, the report showed. A quarterly breakdown included in the Standard Chartered

Petróleo Brasileiro SA said Wednesday it has renewed contracts to supply crude oil to three of India’s main refiners. “The crude oil sales contracts with Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will remain in force until March 2027”, the Brazilian state-owned company said in an online statement. “The commercial instruments represent potential sales of up to 60 million barrels, with a total value that could exceed $3.1 billion. “With IOC, India’s largest state-owned refiner, the new contract provides for the sale of up to 24 million barrels of Brazilian crude oil, with a 12-month term, renewable for an equal period. “With BPCL and HPCL, Petrobras expanded the maximum volume of each contract from six million barrels to 18 million barrels, also running through March 2027”. Petrobras noted, “India, one of the world’s largest crude oil importers, purchases around five million barrels per day and is a strategic market for Petrobras”. Petrobras director for logistics, marketing and markets Cláudio Schlosser said, “The contracts strengthen Petrobras’ presence in the Indian market and contribute to diversifying our crude oil export customer base. We are committed to strengthening strategic partnerships, expanding our global footprint and generating value for Brazil”. The new contracts with the state-owned refiners were signed at the India Energy Week in the Indian city of Goa. Increased Reserves Separately on Wednesday Petrobras said it had increased its proven reserves of oil, natural gas and condensate to 12.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (Bboe) as of the end of 2025. The company said it had added 1.7 Bboe of reserves last year. “The reserve replacement rate was 175 percent, even after a record annual production in 2025. The proved reserves-to-production ratio is 12.5 years”, Petrobras said in a press release. “The reserves addition occurred mainly due to the outstanding performance of the assets, with emphasis on Búzios,

Russia’s Lukoil PJSC agreed to sell most of its international assets to private equity giant Carlyle Group, three months after being hit by US sanctions. The deal doesn’t include assets in Kazakhstan, the oil producer said Thursday in a statement, without disclosing financial terms. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and talks with other potential buyers continue, it said.  The US last year blacklisted the company and peer Rosneft PJSC as the Trump administration ramped up pressure on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. The move sent shockwaves across countries where Lukoil operates, prompting some governments to press Washington for special licenses. The proposed transaction has been structured to be “fully compliant” with the requirements of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, Carlyle said in a separate statement. The firm said it’ll ensure “operational continuity, preserving jobs, stabilizing the asset base and supporting safe, reliable performance.” Lukoil announced in October it had agreed to sell its international assets to energy trader Gunvor Group, but the deal collapsed after the US Treasury described Gunvor as the Kremlin’s “puppet.” The assets subsequently drew attention from companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. As Russia’s most internationally diversified oil company, Lukoil has stakes in refineries in Europe, significant holdings in oil fields from Iraq to Kazakhstan and a network of 5,300 fuel stations in 20 countries. Kazakh Interest Kazakhstan has expressed an interest in buying out Lukoil’s share of joint projects in the country and has submitted a request to OFAC, Interfax reported this week, citing Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov. Following the imposition of sanctions, Lukoil’s international oil-trading business has had to wind down operations in some locations. In the US, gasoline stations linked to the company experienced issues with card payments, while its fuel-retail

New Effort to Modernize America’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Support Advanced Reactor Deployment WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Request for Information (RFI) inviting states to express interest in hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses, a new effort to modernize the nation’s full nuclear fuel cycle and strengthen America’s leadership in advanced nuclear energy. This action marks the first step towards potentially establishing voluntary Federal-State partnerships designed to advance regional economic growth, enhance national energy security, and build a coherent, end-to-end nuclear energy strategy for the country. “Unleashing the next American nuclear renaissance will drive innovation, fuel economic growth, and create good-paying American jobs while delivering the affordable, reliable and secure energy America needs to power its future,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses give us the opportunity to work directly with states on regional priorities that support President Trump’s vision to revitalize America’s nuclear base.” The proposed campuses could support activities across the full nuclear fuel lifecycle, including fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel, and disposition of waste. Depending on state priorities and regional capabilities, the sites could also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation, advanced manufacturing, and co located data centers. DOE is inviting states to provide clear statements of interest and constructive feedback on the structure of the Innovation Campuses. Submissions should outline state priorities—such as workforce development, infrastructure investment, economic diversification, or technology leadership— and describe the scope of activities the state envisions hosting. States are also encouraged to identify the funding structures, risk sharing approaches, incentives and federal partnerships required to successfully establish and sustain a full-cycle Innovation Campus.  Responses to the RFI are requested no later than April 1, 2026. Interested parties can learn more and respond at SAM.gov. ###

Oil traders are paying a premium for bullish call options for the longest stretch in about 14 months as they huddle in the options market to protect against the risk of a new confrontation between the US and Iran.  The global Brent benchmark has registered a call skew for 14 consecutive sessions, while the equivalent US marker has seen such a pattern for the 13 most recent trading days. Those are the longest stretches since late 2024, when Israel launched attacks on Iranian military installations.  Thousands are estimated to have been killed in the recent wave of unrest to challenge Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime, sparking an international outcry, including warnings from US President Donald Trump of “strong action” if the killings did not stop. Trump said this week that the US has a “big armada” headed to the Middle East because of Iran, but added that he hoped the US won’t have to use it.  Options markets have been the main way traders have wagered on heightened geopolitical risk in the Middle East in recent years, in a period that started with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023. When the US struck Iran last year, premiums for calls spiked and then collapsed after it became apparent that oil facilities had been spared.  “The focus on Iran continues,” said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at A/S Global Risk Management. “The market will likely remain nervous over the coming days.” The uncertainty is leading to chunky additions of bullish options contracts. Open interest in Brent call options has accrued at the fastest pace this month in at least six years, according to Bloomberg calculations of ICE Futures Europe data. It follows the busiest ever day of Brent crude call options trading earlier this month. Hedge funds have also boosted net-bullish wagers on crude