State-owned Kuwait Oil Co. made a “major” discovery in the Jazah natural gas field in the OPEC member’s offshore region. “The initial exploration well recorded the highest production rate from a vertical well in the Minagish formation in Kuwait’s history,” KOC said in a statement on Monday. The company has made similar announcements for oil and gas offshore discoveries since last year. Initial tests from the Jazah-1 well revealed “exceptional production exceeding 29 million cubic feet of gas per day, and more than 5,000 barrels per day of condensate,” KOC, a unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., said. The field’s initial estimated area measures about 40 square kilometers (15.4 square miles), with projections indicating about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 120 million barrels of condensate, KOC said. Kuwait is OPEC’s fifth-biggest producer, with a current output of about 2.52 million barrels a day. It aims to boost capacity to 4 million barrels a day by 2035. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.

The impact from Ukrainian drone strikes will suppress Russia’s refinery processing rates until at least mid-2026, the International Energy Agency says in its latest monthly oil-market report.  Kyiv has been intensifying attacks on its foe’s energy infrastructure — including oil refineries, pipelines and sea terminals — in a move to cut the Kremlin’s energy revenue and reduce its ability to supply fuel to the front lines.  Since the start of August, Ukraine has launched at least 28 strikes on key Russian refineries — with the range of the attacks increasing — causing gasoline shortages in several regions, including occupied Crimea. This has forced the Kremlin to impose fuel-export restrictions until the end of the year. “Previously, we had assumed a normalization of refining activity as we approached year-end but now embed a more cautious outlook,” the Paris-based agency said in a report on Tuesday. The IEA currently sees Russian processing rates at just under 5 million barrels a day through June 2026, and a recovery toward 5.4 million barrels a day later, with the outlook to be revised as more information becomes available. “The increasingly widespread and significant Ukrainian drone campaign against Russian oil refineries and infrastructure” has so far cut the nation’s crude processing by an estimated 500,000 barrels a day, the agency said. The government in Moscow has classified most energy data, including refinery runs and car-fuel production, which makes it difficult to make a precise assessment of the drone-related damage. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the nation’s refiners have increased their runs, balancing domestic fuel demand and supply. Lower Revenue With the drone strikes weighing on refinery runs, Russia raised its crude exports in September to 5.1 million barrels a day, the highest since May 2023, according to the IEA. Still, the nation’s oil-export

In a statement sent to Rigzone by the BP team on Monday, BP announced the award of a rig contract to Valaris for the DS-12 deepwater drillship to drill five wells in the Mediterranean. The statement outlined that the wells will be drilled offshore Egypt in water depths ranging from 300 to 1,500 meters (984 to 4,921 feet). Drilling operations are expected to start in 2026, according to the statement, which noted that the program aims to “accelerate the development and production of gas reserves while utilizing existing production facilities in the Nile Delta”.  The rig contract signing ceremony took place at the Egypt Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and was attended by Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, BP highlighted in the statement. BP also pointed out in the statement that the rig contract signing follows the visit of Badawi to BP’s London headquarters in September. During that visit, BP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EGAS to drill five wells in the Mediterranean, BP highlighted. Nader Zaki, BP Regional President for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the statement, “we value our longstanding partnership with the Egyptian government”. “This signing represents a strategic milestone in our investments in Egypt’s energy sector during this decade, enabling us to develop additional gas resources in the Nile Delta and bring them into production as quickly as possible to meet the growing domestic market needs,” Zaki added. Wail Shaheen, BP Egypt President, said in the statement, “this signing builds on our recent exploration success in the Nile Delta and reflects our continued commitment to developing Egypt’s gas resources”. “The DS-12 rig will enable us to build on the momentum of our recent campaign, explore for new

Shell PLC on Tuesday announced a final investment decision (FID) to develop the HI field to supply up to 350 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day to Nigeria LNG. The project is part of a joint venture in which Shell owns 40 percent through Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co Ltd and Sunlink Energies and Resources Ltd holds 60 percent. At Nigeria LNG, which has a declared capacity of 22 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year, Shell owns 25.6 percent. “The increase in feedstock to NLNG, via the train VII project that aims to expand the Bonny Island terminal’s production capacity, is in line with Shell’s plans to grow its global LNG volumes by an average of four to five percent per year until 2030”, Shell said in a statement on its website. HI also supports Shell’s plan announced on Capital Market Day 2025 to start up upstream and integrated gas projects with a total capacity of one million barrels of oil equivalent per day between 2025 and 2030. It also contributes to the company’s target to grow top line production across its upstream and integrated gas business by one percent per year through the end of the decade, Shell said. HI is estimated to hold about 285 million barrels of oil equivalent, Shell said. The field, discovered 1985, lies 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) from shore in waters 100 meters (328.08 feet) deep, according to Shell. The development consists of a wellhead platform with four wells, a pipeline to transport the gas to Bonny and a gas processing plant on the island, from where the processed gas will be transported to Nigeria LNG and the condensate to the Bonny Oil and Gas Export Terminal, Shell said. “Following recent investment decisions related to the Bonga

Oil prices fell to their lowest point in five months on Tuesday, extending their downward trend. That’s what Daniel Takieddine, Co-founder and CEO of Sky Links Capital Group, said in a market analysis sent to Rigzone today. “Mounting concerns of a global supply surplus weighed on the market, compounded by renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China,” Takieddine stated in the analysis. “The latest International Energy Agency (IEA) market report added to the concerns and forecasts a growing oversupply of oil,” he added. “The IEA has increased its global supply growth projections to three million barrels per day for this year and 2.4 million for 2026, pointing to production hikes from OPEC+ and robust output from the Americas,” he continued. “In contrast, the agency has lowered its demand growth estimates to approximately 700,000 barrels per day for both years, reinforcing expectations of a significant surplus,” Takieddine warned. The Sky Links Capital Group CEO went on to state in the analysis that trade tensions are injecting fresh uncertainty into the market. “A brief rebound in prices on Monday, sparked by hopes for de-escalation in U.S.-China trade talks, quickly faded,” he said. “The market was further affected by a reduced geopolitical risk premium as hopes for stability in the Middle East grew,” he added. Looking ahead, Takieddine noted in the analysis that markets could closely monitor U.S.-China relations, OPEC+ supply, and upcoming inventory data from the EIA (Energy Information Administration) “to determine the market’s next direction”. “Without a positive surprise from inventory reports or broader macroeconomic data, prices could remain under pressure,” he warned. In a separate statement sent to Rigzone this morning, Naeem Aslam, Chief Market Analyst at Zay Capital Markets, highlighted that the Brent and West Texas Intermediate oil prices were “reflecting the balance between geopolitical tensions, economic policies, and

Repsol SA has declared a “technological milestone” with the start of “industrial-scale” production of 100 percent renewable gasoline at its complex in Tarragona, Spain, making a case for combustion engines. “This new product, made entirely from renewable sources, is fully compatible with gasoline vehicles without the need for any modifications”, the Spanish energy company said in a press release. “Its use reduces net CO2 emissions by more than 70 percent compared to conventional gasoline. “Nexa 95 Gasoline of 100 percent renewable origin – Repsol’s highest-quality 95-octane product – is already available at 20 service stations in Spain, in the Madrid and Catalonia regions”. Repsol expects to deploy the product at 30 stations by yearend by expanding in other parts of the country including the cities of Bilbao, Tarragona, Valencia and Zaragoza. The formulation was developed with Honeywell, according to Repsol. In 2024 Repsol launched Nexa 100 Percent Renewable Diesel, which it says is designed for all diesel engines. Repsol said the development of the products demonstrate that “decarbonizing transport with renewable liquid fuels is a viable solution for combustion engine vehicles, whether gasoline, diesel or hybrid”. “These vehicles today represent 97 percent of the Spanish and European vehicle fleet, and 87 percent of sales in Spain so far this year”, it said. “To meet the climate targets set by Spain and the European Union, it is essential to recognize the role of 100 percent renewable fuels and, consequently, to reconsider the EU regulation on CO2 emission standards, which proposes a ban on combustion engines by 2035. The uncertainty caused by this measure has led to considerable aging of Spain’s vehicle fleet, with an average age of 14.5 years and 8.5 million vehicles – nearly one-third of the total fleet – over 20 years old. “To accelerate the development of renewable fuels, it is essential to establish