Dive Brief: Nuveen, the investment manager for retirement services company TIAA, said Wednesday it completed a $1.3 billion funding round for its second energy and power infrastructure credit fund to support a growing global power demand due to artificial intelligence, digitalization and electrification.  The firm’s EPIC II fund will provide companies with credit solutions aimed at “supporting the build-out of secure and reliable energy and power generation while also focusing on credit opportunities involving sustainable infrastructure,” Wednesday’s release said. The fund has a $2.5 billion target and will take an all-of-the-above strategy to its energy investments, investing in renewables and energy storage technologies, along with liquefied natural gas and other fossil fuels. Dive Insight: Nuveen manages more than $1.3 trillion in assets, including more than $35 billion in infrastructure assets as of March 31, according to the release. Those assets include solar and battery storage in the United States. The EPIC II fund — which shares the same investment strategy and name as its predecessor EPIC I — will provide project and corporate financing to companies for equipment and growth capital, along with financing acquisitions, capital restructuring and other structured credit options. The senior managing director and portfolio manager of Nuveen’s energy infrastructure credit platform, Don Dimitrievich, said the fund is “focused on deploying capital into resilient companies and projects across the energy and power ecosystem” to capitalize on a “historic market opportunity.”  “Investors are increasingly interested in strategies that capitalize on their conviction in the growing global energy demand brought on by digitalization, electrification and reindustrialization while also seeking downside risk mitigation to guard against macro volatility, and inflationary and geopolitical risk,” Dimitrievich said in the release. The initial funding round announced Wednesday was “anchored” by TIAA and an unnamed “leading Canadian pension fund manager,” Nuveen said. Investors other

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp.’s quarterly profit declined on lower crude prices and stagnant production from its aging fields.  The New Delhi-based explorer’s net income fell 10% on year in the three months ended June 30 to 80.24 billion rupees ($915 million), according to a stock exchange filing. That was almost in-line with 80.74 billion rupees estimated by analysts, according to a Bloomberg survey.  The tepid earnings comes as the South Asian nation’s largest oil and gas producer is looking to cut dependence on exploration by diversifying into refining and liquefied natural gas. It is investing 2 trillion rupees on new energy offerings and emission control in its goal to become an integrated energy company.  ONGC’s weak June quarter performance contrasts with those of global peers like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which made up for weak crude prices with record production.  The company’s oil output increased just 1%, and gas production was flat as most of its older fields are witnessing a natural decline in performance. To boost production, it will focus on recent discoveries and enhance recovery from aging fields, Chairman Arun Kumar Singh said in ONGC’s annual report published last week. The company is pursuing deepwater collaboration with global giants like BP Plc, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies SE to mitigate exploration risks in difficult regions, he said.  ONGC, which accounts for two-thirds of India’s oil and more than half the gas output, saw its quarterly revenue fall 9.3% to 320 billion rupees. Its crude oil earnings per barrel plunged 20.4% to $66.13 a barrel, while that from gas rose 2.2% to $6.64 per million British thermal units.  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

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the first selections for a new pathway for the testing of advanced nuclear reactors. Last June, DOE opened application for testing such technologies outside of national laboratories using the federal authorization process. The program is called the Reactor Pilot Program. “DOE will work with industry on these 11 projects, with the goal to construct, operate and achieve criticality of at least three test reactors using the DOE authorization process by July 4, 2026”, the agency said in a statement on its website. “Today’s initial selections represent an important step toward streamlining nuclear reactor testing and unleash a new pathway toward fast-tracking commercial licensing activities”. The selected companies are Aalo Atomics Inc., Antares Nuclear Inc., Atomic Alchemy Inc., Deep Fission Inc., Last Energy Inc., Natura Resources LLC, Oklo Inc., Radiant Industries Inc., Terrestrial Energy Inc. and Valar Atomics Inc. “The diversity of applications received shows the remarkable breath of innovation and ingenuity in American reactor developers”, DOE said. “Each company will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating and decommissioning their test reactors”.   The pilot implements an order issued by President Donald Trump May 23 that seeks to reform the national lab process for reactor testing, establish a pilot program for reactor construction and operation outside of national labs and streamline environmental reviews for reactor facilities. The White House order aims to have at least three advanced reactors achieve “criticality” by July 2026. Under U.S. law, advanced nuclear reactors include fusion reactors or radioisotope power systems that use heat from radioactive decay to generate energy. Nuclear fission reactors may also be considered advanced reactors if they provide significant improvements compared to reactors operating as of 2020, according to Title 42 Section 16271(b)(1) of the U.S. Code. Last week DOE

The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) revealed its latest preliminary crude oil and natural gas production figures in a statement posted on its site recently. The preliminary reported total volume of crude oil in Texas in May was 121,302,500 barrels, according to the statement, which showed that the preliminary reported total volume of natural gas in the state during the same month was 1.04 trillion cubic feet. The RRC noted in the statement that crude oil and natural gas production for May came from 159,047 oil wells and 83,808 gas wells. In its statement, the RRC highlighted that crude oil production reported by the RRC is limited to oil produced from oil leases and does not include condensate, which the organization said is reported separately by the RRC. The RRC also pointed out in the statement that preliminary figures are based on production volumes reported by operators and said they will be updated as late and corrected production reports are received. The RRC’s statement showed that the updated reported total volume of crude oil in Texas in May 2024 was 146,390,317 barrels. The preliminary reported total volume was 119,144,564 barrels, the statement highlighted. It showed that the updated reported total volume of natural gas in the state came in at 1.07 trillion cubic feet in May last year. The preliminary reported total volume was 907.4 billion cubic feet, the statement outlined. According to the RRC’s statement, the county in Texas with the highest preliminary crude oil production figure in May was Martin, with 20,553,614 barrels. Midland ranked second, with 17,459,325 barrels, Upton was third, with 8,649,677 barrels, Loving was fourth, with 7,696,320 barrels, Howard was fifth, with 6,950,654 barrels, Reeves was sixth, with 5,906,457 barrels, Karnes was seventh, with 5,875,271 barrels, Reagan was eighth, with 5,704,205 barrels, Andrews was ninth, with 4,130,374

Amigo LNG SA de CV said it has awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for its marine facilities to international marine and port infrastructure contractor Constructora Manzanillo SA de CV (COMSA Marine). Amigo LNG’s export terminal, which is designed for a nameplate capacity of 7.8 million metric tons per annum (mtpa), is located in Guaymas, Sonora, on Mexico’s west coast. Under the EPC contract, COMSA Marine will be responsible for the detailed engineering, construction, and commissioning of the Amigo LNG terminal’s marine infrastructure, including the liquefied natural gas (LNG) jetty, berthing and mooring facilities, and associated utilities to support LNG loading operations, according to a news release from LNG Alliance Pte Ltd, which leads the project. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. The quad-berth marine facilities are planned to be equipped with high-capacity LNG loading arms exceeding 15,000 cubic meters per hour, targeting rapid vessel turnaround and efficient LNG loading operations, according to the release. Strategically located to leverage Guaymas’ deepwater port and proximity to major gas supplies, Amigo LNG aims to begin LNG exports by the third quarter of 2028, offering economic development, local supply chain engagement and job creation within Sonora. Amigo LNG’s “competitive pricing and reduced shipping distances could equate to 35 percent shorter voyage time,” LNG Alliance said. “Awarding the EPC contract for our marine facilities represents a key achievement in our project schedule,” LNG Alliance CEO Muthu Chezhian said. “COMSA Marine brings extensive experience in LNG terminal construction and marine engineering, which ensures we will meet the highest standards of safety, quality, and environmental stewardship”. COMSA Marine President Ruben Alamo said, “We are honored to be entrusted with this challenging project. Its success will be driven by our unique combination of local expertise and an unwavering commitment to the highest international standards

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by three million barrels from the week ending August 1 to the week ending August 8, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report. That report was released on August 13 and included data for the week ending August 8. It showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 426.7 million barrels on August 8, 423.7 million barrels on August 1, and 430.7 million barrels on August 9, 2024. Crude oil in the SPR stood at 403.2 million barrels on August 8, 403.0 million barrels on August 1, and 376.5 million barrels on August 9, 2024, the report revealed. Total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.670 billion barrels on August 8, the report highlighted. Total petroleum stocks were up 7.7 million barrels week on week and up 6.9 million barrels year on year, the report showed. “At 426.7 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about six percent below the five year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report. “Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 0.8 million barrels from last week and are at the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline inventories increased and blending components inventories decreased last week,” it added. “Distillate fuel inventories increased by 0.7 million barrels last week and are about 15 percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 3.9 million barrels from last week and are 11 percent above the five year average for this time of year,”