Tullow Oil PLC said Monday it had signed an agreement to divest its Kenyan portfolio to Gulf Energy Ltd. for at least $120 million in cash. The assets to be sold hold about 463 million barrels of 2C resources, London-based Tullow said in a statement online. The transaction involves the sale of the shares of Tullow Kenya BV by Tullow Overseas Holdings BV to Gulf Energy’s Auron Energy E&P Ltd. The sale and purchase agreement announced Monday builds on a heads of terms agreement announced April. “Tullow retains a back-in right for a 30 percent participation in potential future development phases at no historic cost”, Tullow said. “This right can be exercised if a third-party investor participates in future development phases, whether through a sale or farm-down of the purchaser’s interest in the assets”. The parties expect to complete the transaction this year, subject to approval by the Eastern African country’s Competition Authority, approval of a development plan and the fulfillment of payments. “The consideration will be split into a $40 million payment due on completion, $40 million payable at the earlier of field development plan approval or 30 June 2026, and $40 million payable over five years from the third quarter of 2028 onwards”, Tullow said. “In addition, Tullow will be entitled to royalty payments subject to certain conditions”. Tullow added, “All past and future decommissioning liabilities and all material past and future environmental liabilities will be transferred to the purchaser”. Tullow chief executive Richard Miller said, “For a total consideration of at least $120 million, the Transaction supports our strategic priority to strengthen the balance sheet, with the first two payments totaling $80 million expected before the end of the year”. “We continue to advance plans to optimize our capital structure during 2025”, Miller added. “Coupled with the

Equinor said it entered into a long-term strategic agreement to supply up to 23 terawatt-hours of natural gas, or around 2 billion cubic meters, annually to BASF SE over a 10-year period. The contract secures a substantial share of BASF’s natural gas needs in Europe, Equinor said in a news release. The gas will be sold on market terms, and deliveries will start on October 1. BASF uses natural gas both as an energy source and as a raw material in the production of basic chemicals, according to the release. The partnership will support BASF’s strategy to diversify its energy and raw materials portfolio, Equinor said. “This agreement further strengthens our partnership with BASF. Natural gas not only provides energy security to Europe but also critical feedstock to European industries. I am very happy that our gas also supports BASF’s efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. Gas from Norway comes with the lowest emissions from production and transportation,” Equinor President and CEO Anders Opedal said. “We are very happy to enter into this long-term partnership with Equinor for the reliable supply of low-carbon natural gas for BASF’s operations in Europe. Equinor is a trusted and valued partner. The supply agreement not only comes with competitive terms but also supports our sustainability targets,” BASF CFO and Chief Digital Officer Dirk Elvermann said. For the past several years, Equinor has been supplying gas and liquids to BASF, which develops a broad portfolio of solutions that are components in the manufacturing of everyday consumer goods, such as car interiors, sportswear, personal care items, and agricultural solutions, according to the release. Development Plans for Johan Sverdup Meanwhile, Equinor and its partners plan to invest $1.27 billion (NOK 13 billion) in the third phase of Johan Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea, approximately 87

In its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that total U.S. electricity generation from the electric power sector will come in at 4,244.2 billion kilowatt-hours (BK) in 2025. The EIA projected in its latest STEO that 1,696.9 BK of that total will come from natural gas, which represents around 40 percent, and 1,046.7 BK will come from renewable energy sources, which represents around 25 percent. Renewable energy sources included in the STEO comprised conventional hydropower, wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar. The solar category included generation from utility-scale (larger than one megawatt) solar photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants and excluded generation from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems, the STEO highlighted. The EIA expects wind to contribute the largest figure to the renewable energy sources category this year, at 472.8 BK, the STEO showed. Solar is expected to come second in this category, with 291.5 BK, and biomass third, with 20.5 BK, the STEO highlighted. Nuclear is projected in the STEO to be the third largest source of total U.S. electricity generation from the electric power sector, at 783.8 BK, and coal is forecast to be the fourth largest source, at 702.6 BK. Petroleum – comprising residual fuel oil, distillate fuel oil, petroleum coke, and other petroleum liquids – is expected to contribute 17.4 BK to the total, according to the STEO, which projected that other fossil gases will make up 3.0 BK and other non-renewable fuels will make up 1.4 BK. These comprise batteries, chemicals, hydrogen, pitch, purchased steam, sulfur, nonrenewable waste, and miscellaneous technologies, the STEO pointed out. The EIA highlighted in its July STEO that total U.S. electricity generation from the electric power sector came in at 4,150.9 BK in 2024. That STEO pointed out that

Buru Energy Ltd. has adjusted the timeline for the development of the Rafael natural gas project in Western Australia’s Canning Basin but still aims for a startup late 2027. The Rafael gas and condensate field is in Exploration Permit 428, about 150 kilometers (93.21 miles) east of Broome and around 85 kilometers south of Derby in the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley, according to Buru. Rafael is the only confirmed source of conventional gas and liquids onshore Western Australia north of the North West Shelf Project, according to Buru. First drilled in 2021 and confirmed as a discovery the same year, Rafael has been assessed to hold contingent and unrisked gross recoverable volumes of 85-523 Bscf of gas and 1.8-10.6 MMstb of condensate, according to Buru. Buru eyes a 20-year production life. It expects the project to supply trucked liquefied natural gas and liquids to Pilbara and the Northern Territory. Buru plans to drill two wells, including the 2021 discovery. Under the new timeline, instead of recompleting the discovery well as a producer before drilling a second well called Rafael B, Buru will now drill and test Rafael B first. Drilling is planned to start June 2026. The change aims “to reduce risk and increase the probability of higher reserves”, West Perth-based Buru said in a regulatory filing. Chief executive Thomas Nador said, “The Rafael technical assurance process has delivered valuable information to underpin decision making on the risks and opportunities of our planned Rafael appraisal and production flow test program”. “Drilling and testing the Rafael B appraisal well next is the optimum pathway to proving up the resource and underpinning a robust Final Investment Decision, whilst maintaining our first cashflow target of late 2027”, Nador added. Earlier this month Buru said it had received government approval for a two-year extension

According to the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association’s (TIPRO) analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for June totaled 205,400. That’s what TIPRO said in a statement sent to Rigzone by the TIPRO team on Friday, which cited the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In the statement, TIPRO noted that the June figure was a decline of 2,700 industry positions from May employment numbers, adding that this represented an increase of 200 jobs in oil and gas extraction and a decrease of 2,900 jobs in the services sector. TIPRO said in the statement that fluctuations in monthly employment are normal and subject to revisions with CES data. It also noted in the statement that “demand for talent in the Texas upstream sector remains high” and pointed out “recent policy developments that will support the continued expansion of domestic production and energy infrastructure in the coming years”. “TIPRO’s new workforce data indicated strong job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry,” TIPRO said in its statement, highlighting that, according to the association, “there were 8,457 active unique jobs postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry last month, compared to 8,157 postings in May, and 3,533 new postings, compared to 3,050 in the previous month”. “In comparison, the state of Pennsylvania had 2,689 unique job postings in June, followed by California (2,555), New York (2,265) and Ohio (2,201),” TIPRO continued. “TIPRO reported a total of 51,661 unique job postings nationwide last month within the oil and natural gas sector, including 21,861 new postings,” it went on to state. The industry body noted in the statement that, among the 19 specific industry sectors it uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations led in the ranking for

The European Commission, acting on allegations raised by German authorities in March 2023, has failed to confirm any fraud related to the sustainability and emissions savings of biofuels imported from China. “The Commission identified some systemic weaknesses in the way certification audits have been conducted and is taking action to address these issues. Nevertheless, the information gathered did not allow confirmation of the existence of fraud”, the Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy said in a statement online. “The German authorities may perform additional verifications or investigations if they wish to do so”. The investigation was conducted under Article 30 (10) of the Renewable Energy Directive of 2018, amended October 2023. To be eligible for European Union financial support and to count toward the fulfilment of renewable energy targets, biofuels must meet certain criteria that protect biodiversity and soil and prevent deforestation. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by using biofuels must also meet certain thresholds. On the lower end, emission savings must be at least 50 percent for biofuels consumed in the transport sector. On the upper end, as updated in the 2023 directive, savings must be at least 80 percent for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels. “In close cooperation with the German authorities, it [the Commission] collected input from numerous stakeholders and reviewed audit reports from the voluntary certification scheme that certified the economic operators concerned”, the statement said. It added, “To tackle the risk of fraud in the biofuels market, the Commission is undertaking a range of actions in the short and medium term, in particular in areas where the Implementing Regulation on sustainability certification (EU/2022/996) can be further strengthened”. The Commission has formed a working group with EU states under the Committee on the Sustainability of Biofuels, Bioliquids and Biomass Fuels to review the certification law. The Commission