Woodfibre LNG said it plans to submit an application to regulatory agencies to add a second workplace accommodation floatel at the Woodfibre LNG project site in British Columbia. The application seeks regulatory approval to moor a second floatel adjacent to the current floatel, the MV Isabelle X, to add approximately 900 employees to the construction project, the company said in a news release. The MV Isabelle X is moored at the Woodfibre LNG project site, located 4.3 miles (7 kilometers) near Squamish. Once complete, the Woodfibre LNG facility will produce approximately 2.1 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year, according to the release. The requirement to house the project’s non-local construction workforce on the floatel was established through an amendment to its environmental assessment certificate approved by the provincial government in November 2023. The Squamish Nation approved an amendment to its environmental assessment agreement with the company to support the floatel in December 2023. This second floatel will now undergo the same regulatory review process through multiple levels of regulatory oversight, Woodfibre LNG said. Woodfibre LNG said it plans to enlist the services of Bridgeman Services Group, who procured and retrofitted the MV Isabelle X, to do the same for the second floatel. “It is clear that Canada is looking to diversify its energy markets, and when complete, Woodfibre LNG will do exactly that by making more Canadian LNG available to Asian markets,” WoodFibre LNG CEO Luke Schauerte said. “If approved, the addition of a second floatel creates more than 900 new jobs and allows Woodfibre LNG to answer the call to advance and diversify Canadian energy exports, provide more employment opportunities sooner and accelerate construction of the world’s first net zero LNG export facility”. “Bridgemans is proud to undertake the retrofit, delivery and operation of a

Google LLC and Shell PLC have partnered to extend the life of the NordzeeWind project, the first wind farm on the Dutch side of the North Sea according to Shell, by at least four years. “We purchased 100 percent of the wind farm’s 108-megawatt capacity, which enabled Shell to pursue permit extensions and invest in crucial upgrades, preventing the premature loss of valuable clean energy”, the Internet giant said in an online statement. “This initiative helps to keep existing carbon-free energy resources on the grid that would otherwise have retired”. Put online 2007, the project, off the coast of the village of Egmond aan Zee, produces enough power to cover 0.3 percent of Dutch demand, according to Shell. It consists of 36 turbines. It has been fully owned by Shell since the British energy giant acquired the stake of 50-50 co-venturer Vattenfall AB in 2021. Google said the deal represents “the first time a corporate PPA [power purchase agreement] has extended the lifespan of an offshore wind farm”. “To date, we’ve supported over 1 gigawatt of clean energy generation capacity in the Netherlands through PPAs”, it added. Google said last year its Dutch PPAs as of the time would help its data centers and offices in the western European country reach over 90 percent of carbon-free electricity that year. Those PPAs include agreements with Shell and Eneco “to support 478 megawatts of carbon-free energy capacity with two new-to-the-grid offshore wind farms: HKN V and HKW VI”. Of the two joint offshore wind ventures, HKN V has been onstream since December 2023 while HKW VI is expected to start production 2026. “These agreements [HKN V and HKW VI] support the development of these subsidy-free offshore wind farms, which are expected to contribute to about six percent of the country’s annual electricity consumption and will foster technology innovation and ecological

It is very easy to fall for the temptation of layering various types of conspiracy theories together as explanations of changes in OPEC+ policy, analysts at Standard Chartered Bank, including the company’s commodities research head Paul Horsnell, said in a report sent to Rigzone late Tuesday by Horsnell. They added in the report, however, that they think the reality is simpler, “with policy being explained by two main factors”. “The first is simply that inventories are low enough to create a window to scale back the voluntary cuts, and the window will remain open until signs of the long-heralded, but so far absent, market surplus finally arrives,” the analysts said in the report. “The second is that keeping your promises is the most important part of any collective agreement, and it has proved impossible to keep oil market intervention at its current scale without all parties involved proving themselves to be reliable partners in the combined enterprise,” they added. The analysts stated in the report that there is a significant group within the OPEC+ eight that believe the 2023 voluntary cut agreements are only sustainable if two conditions are met. “One, all eight countries should meet their targets, and two, they should also provide the full extent of the additional cuts promised to compensate for all production above target since the start of 2024,” the analysts said. “No additional conspiracy theories are needed when some of the partners are aggrieved that the level of promise-keeping among the group has been very uneven, and when those countries have been giving very clear warnings about over-production for more than a year,” they added. The Standard Chartered Bank analysts noted in the report that, in the longer term, demonstrating that effective international oil agreements require promises to be kept would be positive for

Russia’s federal budget deficit surged in April as declining oil revenue and rising military spending continue to strain government finances. The monthly shortfall reached 1.05 trillion rubles ($13 billion) after being in surplus a month earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the Finance Ministry. That brings the cumulative deficit for the first four months of the year to 3.2 trillion rubles – nearly triple the level recorded over the same period in 2024. Oil and gas revenue, the backbone of Russia’s state finances, dropped by 12 percent in April from a year earlier, the third consecutive monthly decline. Russia depends on proceeds from energy sales for 30 percent of the state’s income. The widening deficit underscores the budget challenges the Kremlin will face if oil prices remain lower for longer amid record levels of spending on the military for the war on Ukraine. Non-oil revenue provided a partial cushion, growing 23 percent year-on-year in April. The Finance Ministry said that category of revenue is expected to “significantly” exceed annual targets, with the windfall already factored into recent revisions of the federal budget. Still, the ministry warned of “substantial risks” to oil and gas income. The revised fiscal plan anticipates the budget deficit will triple compared to the original forecast, largely due to the weaker outlook for proceeds from energy exports. For the first four months of the year, oil and gas revenues declined by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2024 to 3.7 trillion rubles, while expenditures surged by 21 percent to 15.5 trillion rubles. The benchmark Brent crude has so far in May been trading near its lowest since early 2021 as US President Donald Trump’s tariff war threatens to derail global economic growth and undercut energy demand.  The worsening oil market has triggered concern in Moscow over the sustainability

The engineering group, which has seen its shares suspended, is also the subject of a takeover offer. Troubled Aberdeen firm Wood has secured three North Sea contracts worth around £88 million. The engineering group will continue to deliver operations and maintenance solutions for Shell UK, Dana Petroleum and CNOOC International’s UK business. Wood shares are currently suspended after the group did not file its accounts for the 2024 financial year in time. It is undergoing an independent review, which has already highlighted “inappropriate management pressure” as well as issues with project contracts. The contracts will continue to be supported by around 500 employees in the north-east. Aberdeen firm’s ‘unmatched legacy’ Wood president of operations Steve Nicol said the firm has an “unmatched legacy” in operating and maintaining North Sea energy infrastructure. Its contracts will see it support operations for an “extensive” offshore portfolio including Shell UK’s Shearwater, Nelson and Penguins assets. Mr Nicol said: “Our long-standing clients continue to partner with us to enhance operations. “And improve production efficiency to ensure a reliable, safe and sustainable energy supply. © DARRELL BENNS / DC THOMSONSteve Nicol, executive president of operations, Wood. “In 2024 we secured 100% of our contract renewal and extension options across our UK North Sea portfolio. “And continuing this success in 2025 reinforces our position as a trusted long-term partner for operations solutions in the region.” Wood shares suspended as takeover talks continue Last week, Wood issued a statement confirming that its accounts wouldn’t be published in time. It said: “As a result, Wood’s shares will be temporarily suspended from listing and from trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange with effect from 7:30am on May 1 until its FY24 results are published.” Wood said temporary retrospective waivers for its debt facilities have been extended

Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2) has announced the completion of the third and final site acceptance test at its green hydrogen electrolyser project in Northern Ireland. CPH2 said the development is a “pivotal milestone” for the company in commercialising its membrane-free electrolyser (MFE) technology. The 500 kW MFE110 electrolyser produced high purity hydrogen and oxygen in a commercial environment for the first time, CPH2 said. The project is located at Northern Ireland Water’s (NIW) site in Belfast, with the final tests witnessed by contractors Lagan and Arup. CPH2 said the MFE110 will play an “important role” in NIW’s efforts to decarbonise its wastewater treatment operations, with the region a “key market” for the company. The test signifies Northern Ireland’s first production of pure hydrogen and oxygen generated “reliably at scale”, CPH2 added. CPH2 chief executive Jon Duffy said the successful test “proves that our technology is a current solution to green hydrogen production”. © Supplied by CPH2CPH2’s membrane free electrolyser Duffy said his team is now “laser-focused” on advancing its next stage project, the 1 MW MFE220 electrolyser. NIW director of business services Alistair Jinks said he is “extremely pleased” to have the first operational scale MFE electrolyser in Northern Ireland. “While we have always taken pride in having a pioneering approach to sustainable water management, to have our vision become a reality is a special moment as we contribute to the hydrogen economy in Northern Ireland,” Jinks said. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with CPH2 and continuing to push the boundaries of the transformative potential of hydrogen and oxygen in wastewater treatment.” Northern Ireland green hydrogen The CPH2 milestone comes amid efforts from Mutual Energy to establish a Greater Belfast Hydrogen Hub. According to Mutual Energy, Northern Ireland has a “golden ticket” to develop a green hydrogen economy