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SM Energy, Civitas set $1-billion post-merger divestiture target

The leaders of SM Energy Co. and Civitas Resources Inc. plan to sell at least $1 billion worth of assets in the year after joining forces. Following up on the merger announcement from earlier this month—under which SM Energy will pay about $2.7 billion in stock for Civitas to create a company with operations in four US basins—executives also added details about where they expect to generate cost savings by combining the two Denver-based companies.  In setting the $1-billion divestiture target, Herb Vogel, SM Energy’s chief executive officer, Beth McDonald—now president and chief operating officer of SM and tabbed to be the combined company’s leader come spring—and others pointed to a recent “robust” market for oil-and-gas deals. Among the transactions they cite as benchmarks are ConocoPhillips’ $1.3-billion sale of assets in the Anadarko basin, the $2.3-billion sale by Canada’s Baytex of its US foothold in the Eagle Ford, and Civitas’ own $435 million divestiture of Denver-Julesburg basin assets its leaders considered non-core. Based on the valuations of those deals, the $1 billion being eyed by the SM-Civitas team suggests the company will look to sell about 30,000 boe/d of production. The combined company’s output in the third quarter would have been 550,000 boe/d. On the synergies front, executives broke down their previously announced target of $200-$300 million annually into the following buckets: Drilling and completion as well as operational: $100-150 million, which amounts to about 2.5% of the companies’ combined spending. Administrative: $70-95 million from streamlining corporate teams and integrating offices and technology systems. Cost of capital: $30-55 million from paying down and/or refinancing debt. Set to join McDonald in the C-suite once the deal is completed, which is expected early next year, are the following SM veterans: Wade Pursell, SM’s chief financial officer since September 2008. Blake McKenna, who today oversees

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North American weekly rig count rises as counts in Canada, US both increase

North American drilling activity posted an increase for the week ended Nov. 21, with 749 total rotary rigs working in the US and Canada this week, Baker Hughes officials reported Friday. Oil drove the gain in Canada, with 128 rigs drilling for oil this week, 4 more than the previous week. Three additional rigs were gas-directed this week, increasing the count to 67 from the prior week. Canada’s total rig count of 195 is 6 fewer than this time last year. The US rig count is up 5 from the previous week to 554 rigs working. The count is down 29 from the same period in 2024. The number of rigs drilling on land increased by 6 units to 533 rigs working. That count is down 35 from the same period a year ago. One fewer rig was drilling in inland waters, leaving 2 working. The offshore rig count is unchanged at 19. In the US, gas-directed rigs increased by 2 to 127, up 28 from the same time last year. The number of oil-directed rigs also increased by 2, with a total of 419 rigs working this week. That number is 60 fewer than the 479 rigs drilling for oil in the US and its waters this time last year. Wyoming gained 3 rigs to end the week with 15 working. New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania each added a rig to end the week with respective counts of 106, 42, and 18. Louisiana, North Dakota, and Alaska each dropped a rig to end the week with 43, 27, and 9 rigs running, respectively.  

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Vista expands Vaca Muerta base with $4.5-billion plan to reach 180,000 boe/d by 2028

Vista Energy plans to invest more than $4.5 billion in Vaca Muerta operations in Argentina between 2026 and 2028 with a goal to increase production by 60% to 180,000 boe/d by 2028 and up to 200,000 boe/d by 2030. In third-quarter 2025, Vista averaged 126,000 boe/d, including 110,000 b/d of oil. The 74% year-on-year increase was driven by growth in the operated blocks Bajada del Palo Oeste, Bajada del Palo Este, and Aguada Federal, together with a 50% stake in La Amarga Chica. Combined, these assets total 1,473 wells in inventory, with 335 currently producing, across 228,000 net acres under concession through 2054. The investment plan is supported by existing infrastructure: 144,000 b/d of evacuation capacity secured through contracts on Oldelval Duplicar, Vaca Muerta Norte, and Vaca Muerta Sur pipelines, and 178,000 b/d of crude treatment capacity, including 75,000 b/d at La Amarga Chica. In the third quarter, Vista spent $350.8 million. Of that, $216 million was spent on drilling and completions of nine wells drilled and sixteen completed in Vaca Muerta (typical lateral of 2,800 m, 47 stages); $105.4 million in La Amarga Chica (non-operated); $13.6 million in surface infrastructure; and $15.8 million in geoscience and IT studies. Vista expects annual free cash flow between 2026 and 2028 of $1.5 billion, assuming Brent oil prices of $65-70/bbl—enough to self-finance its capital program. Export revenues of $8 billion are expected over the next 3 years. During a presentation in Neuquén, Vista’s chief executive officer, Miguel Galuccio, said the company’s next phase is built on a more stable macroeconomic environment and renewed access to international capital markets. “Stabilizing the economy and gaining access to capital markets is the best thing the country could have done for Vaca Muerta,” he said. There is still room to improve regulatory and fiscal components that

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Expand sees value in keeping natural gas pipeline stake

Expand Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, is in “no rush” to sell its stake in the New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) pipeline that entered service last month, the company’s chief operating officer told an investment bank conference on Nov. 20. The 255-mile NG3 project was developed by Momentum Sustainable Ventures LLC and was placed into service Oct. 1 after starting commissioning work in late August. It is moving natural gas from the Haynesville basin to the Gulf Coast, ending in Gillis, La., and has a capacity of 1.7-bcfd. Expand—then still Chesapeake Energy before its merger with Southwestern Energy—signed onto the project in late 2022 and has a stake that executives valued at $317 million as of Sept. 30. Asked at the Stephens Annual Investment Conference being held in Nashville if Expand might look to cash in on that commitment now that the NG3 pipeline is up and running, Josh Viets said “that option is there” but also made it clear he and other executives see upside to their investment. “If somebody showed up at the door with something that we just couldn’t pass up, we’re going to listen,” Viets said. “But financially, the balance sheet is in a great spot and we feel no pressure to look at an opportunity to monetize that right now. We love the investment. We think there’s a ton of value with it and we only expect that value to increase over time.”

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Trump administration unveils major offshore leasing expansion

The US Interior Department announced plans Nov. 20 to dramatically expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters, including offshore Florida and California, where drilling is opposed by most state officials and lawmakers.  The plan, announced by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM), envisions up to 34 lease sales covering some 1.27 billion acres through 2031, and broadens the number of lease sales outlined in the Biden administration’s 5-year plan that was to run through 2029. That plan was the smallest in decades, offering just three lease sales, all in the Gulf. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a press release. “By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.” The plan envisions six lease sales along the southern, central, and northern California coasts from 2027 to 2029. It includes a 2030 sale in the North Arctic, an area north of Alaska near the North Pole that the US has laid claim to, as well as sales offshore Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, and Chukchi Sea.  It also proposes seven Gulf of Mexico sales, including two in a newly designated area in waters off the coast of Florida. It does not offer leases off the Atlantic coast of Florida. The plan is likely to spark disputes in Congress, as it includes long-off-limit areas offshore the West Coast and new leases in areas in the Gulf and Arctic Ocean. The US has not held a federal lease sale in the Arctic since 2008 and in the Pacific since 1984. Industry lauded

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TotalEnergies to become operator of block offshore Nigeria

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SM Energy, Civitas set $1-billion post-merger divestiture target

The leaders of SM Energy Co. and Civitas Resources Inc. plan to sell at least $1 billion worth of assets in the year after joining forces. Following up on the merger announcement from earlier this month—under which SM Energy will pay about $2.7 billion in stock for Civitas to create a company with operations in four US basins—executives also added details about where they expect to generate cost savings by combining the two Denver-based companies.  In setting the $1-billion divestiture target, Herb Vogel, SM Energy’s chief executive officer, Beth McDonald—now president and chief operating officer of SM and tabbed to be the combined company’s leader come spring—and others pointed to a recent “robust” market for oil-and-gas deals. Among the transactions they cite as benchmarks are ConocoPhillips’ $1.3-billion sale of assets in the Anadarko basin, the $2.3-billion sale by Canada’s Baytex of its US foothold in the Eagle Ford, and Civitas’ own $435 million divestiture of Denver-Julesburg basin assets its leaders considered non-core. Based on the valuations of those deals, the $1 billion being eyed by the SM-Civitas team suggests the company will look to sell about 30,000 boe/d of production. The combined company’s output in the third quarter would have been 550,000 boe/d. On the synergies front, executives broke down their previously announced target of $200-$300 million annually into the following buckets: Drilling and completion as well as operational: $100-150 million, which amounts to about 2.5% of the companies’ combined spending. Administrative: $70-95 million from streamlining corporate teams and integrating offices and technology systems. Cost of capital: $30-55 million from paying down and/or refinancing debt. Set to join McDonald in the C-suite once the deal is completed, which is expected early next year, are the following SM veterans: Wade Pursell, SM’s chief financial officer since September 2008. Blake McKenna, who today oversees

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North American weekly rig count rises as counts in Canada, US both increase

North American drilling activity posted an increase for the week ended Nov. 21, with 749 total rotary rigs working in the US and Canada this week, Baker Hughes officials reported Friday. Oil drove the gain in Canada, with 128 rigs drilling for oil this week, 4 more than the previous week. Three additional rigs were gas-directed this week, increasing the count to 67 from the prior week. Canada’s total rig count of 195 is 6 fewer than this time last year. The US rig count is up 5 from the previous week to 554 rigs working. The count is down 29 from the same period in 2024. The number of rigs drilling on land increased by 6 units to 533 rigs working. That count is down 35 from the same period a year ago. One fewer rig was drilling in inland waters, leaving 2 working. The offshore rig count is unchanged at 19. In the US, gas-directed rigs increased by 2 to 127, up 28 from the same time last year. The number of oil-directed rigs also increased by 2, with a total of 419 rigs working this week. That number is 60 fewer than the 479 rigs drilling for oil in the US and its waters this time last year. Wyoming gained 3 rigs to end the week with 15 working. New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania each added a rig to end the week with respective counts of 106, 42, and 18. Louisiana, North Dakota, and Alaska each dropped a rig to end the week with 43, 27, and 9 rigs running, respectively.  

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Vista expands Vaca Muerta base with $4.5-billion plan to reach 180,000 boe/d by 2028

Vista Energy plans to invest more than $4.5 billion in Vaca Muerta operations in Argentina between 2026 and 2028 with a goal to increase production by 60% to 180,000 boe/d by 2028 and up to 200,000 boe/d by 2030. In third-quarter 2025, Vista averaged 126,000 boe/d, including 110,000 b/d of oil. The 74% year-on-year increase was driven by growth in the operated blocks Bajada del Palo Oeste, Bajada del Palo Este, and Aguada Federal, together with a 50% stake in La Amarga Chica. Combined, these assets total 1,473 wells in inventory, with 335 currently producing, across 228,000 net acres under concession through 2054. The investment plan is supported by existing infrastructure: 144,000 b/d of evacuation capacity secured through contracts on Oldelval Duplicar, Vaca Muerta Norte, and Vaca Muerta Sur pipelines, and 178,000 b/d of crude treatment capacity, including 75,000 b/d at La Amarga Chica. In the third quarter, Vista spent $350.8 million. Of that, $216 million was spent on drilling and completions of nine wells drilled and sixteen completed in Vaca Muerta (typical lateral of 2,800 m, 47 stages); $105.4 million in La Amarga Chica (non-operated); $13.6 million in surface infrastructure; and $15.8 million in geoscience and IT studies. Vista expects annual free cash flow between 2026 and 2028 of $1.5 billion, assuming Brent oil prices of $65-70/bbl—enough to self-finance its capital program. Export revenues of $8 billion are expected over the next 3 years. During a presentation in Neuquén, Vista’s chief executive officer, Miguel Galuccio, said the company’s next phase is built on a more stable macroeconomic environment and renewed access to international capital markets. “Stabilizing the economy and gaining access to capital markets is the best thing the country could have done for Vaca Muerta,” he said. There is still room to improve regulatory and fiscal components that

Read More »

Expand sees value in keeping natural gas pipeline stake

Expand Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, is in “no rush” to sell its stake in the New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) pipeline that entered service last month, the company’s chief operating officer told an investment bank conference on Nov. 20. The 255-mile NG3 project was developed by Momentum Sustainable Ventures LLC and was placed into service Oct. 1 after starting commissioning work in late August. It is moving natural gas from the Haynesville basin to the Gulf Coast, ending in Gillis, La., and has a capacity of 1.7-bcfd. Expand—then still Chesapeake Energy before its merger with Southwestern Energy—signed onto the project in late 2022 and has a stake that executives valued at $317 million as of Sept. 30. Asked at the Stephens Annual Investment Conference being held in Nashville if Expand might look to cash in on that commitment now that the NG3 pipeline is up and running, Josh Viets said “that option is there” but also made it clear he and other executives see upside to their investment. “If somebody showed up at the door with something that we just couldn’t pass up, we’re going to listen,” Viets said. “But financially, the balance sheet is in a great spot and we feel no pressure to look at an opportunity to monetize that right now. We love the investment. We think there’s a ton of value with it and we only expect that value to increase over time.”

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Trump administration unveils major offshore leasing expansion

The US Interior Department announced plans Nov. 20 to dramatically expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters, including offshore Florida and California, where drilling is opposed by most state officials and lawmakers.  The plan, announced by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM), envisions up to 34 lease sales covering some 1.27 billion acres through 2031, and broadens the number of lease sales outlined in the Biden administration’s 5-year plan that was to run through 2029. That plan was the smallest in decades, offering just three lease sales, all in the Gulf. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a press release. “By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.” The plan envisions six lease sales along the southern, central, and northern California coasts from 2027 to 2029. It includes a 2030 sale in the North Arctic, an area north of Alaska near the North Pole that the US has laid claim to, as well as sales offshore Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, and Chukchi Sea.  It also proposes seven Gulf of Mexico sales, including two in a newly designated area in waters off the coast of Florida. It does not offer leases off the Atlantic coast of Florida. The plan is likely to spark disputes in Congress, as it includes long-off-limit areas offshore the West Coast and new leases in areas in the Gulf and Arctic Ocean. The US has not held a federal lease sale in the Arctic since 2008 and in the Pacific since 1984. Industry lauded

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TotalEnergies to become operator of block offshore Nigeria

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EIA: Alaska oil output to grow 13% in 2025

After decades of steady decline, Alaska’s oil output is set for a significant rebound. EIA projects a 13% increase—about 55,000 b/d—in 2026, marking the state’s largest year-over-year growth since the 1980s. The turnaround is led by two major developments on the North Slope. ConocoPhillips’ Nuna project, which began producing in December 2024, has shown steady growth. The field produced 7,000 b/d in August 2025 and is expected to reach 20,000 b/d at its peak, helping offset declines in legacy fields. A larger boost is expected from Pikka Phase 1, jointly owned by Santos and Repsol. The project is scheduled to begin production in first-quarter 2026 and reach peak production of 80,000 b/d by mid-2026, nearly 20% of total Alaska oil production in 2025. EIA noted that wells from these new projects outperform most existing wells in the state. Recent production records from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission show that new wells produce about 480 boe/d, whereas 78% of Alaskan wells produced less than 400 boe/d in 2023. The agency said its upgraded 2026 outlook reflects Santos’s accelerated ramp-up to peak production for the Pikka Phase 1 project and recent well tests demonstrating high productivity.

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Continental Resources to enter Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale as operator

Continental Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, is marking its first operational role outside the US with an agreement to acquire a 90% operating stake in the Los Toldos II Oeste block in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta. The privately held company has started the regulatory process to register its local subsidiary, Continental Resources Argentina SAU, as part of its entry into Argentina. The deal, made with Pluspetrol, was disclosed through a filing with Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV) and local media. Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén (GyP), the provincial energy company, would hold the remaining 10%.  The block was previously operated by Pluspetrol, which had acquired Los Toldos through its deal to acquire ExxonMobil’s Argentine assets.  While financial terms were not disclosed, Pluspetrol confirmed that the transaction remains subject to customary conditions precedent, including regulatory approval from the province of Neuquén, which oversees upstream concession rights. Continental’s arrival comes as President Javier Milei’s administration seeks to attract US operators to accelerate unconventional development. Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo praised the deal, calling it “a concrete signal of confidence” in the country’s macroeconomic stabilization efforts and its strategy to scale up Vaca Muerta. High-potential, early-stage block Los Toldos II Oeste lies within Vaca Muerta’s liquids-rich fairway in the northwestern sector of the basin. The block spans 77.7 sq km and sits in an oil window with attractive thickness, pressure, and rock quality, though still far from the industrial development levels of core blocks. To date, the block has seen only three wells drilled, underscoring its early-stage nature and contrasting with mature areas such as Loma Campana (YPF–Chevron) and Bajada del Palo (Vista), where activity follows full factory-drilling models. Analysts expect Continental Resources to deploy elements of its US playbook: extended-reach horizontals. high-intensity frac designs. pad drilling. sequential development strategies aimed at lowering costs and stabilizing productivity

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ExxonMobil takes 40% share in Enterprise Products’ Bahia NGL pipeline, plans expansion

ExxonMobil Corp. will acquire from Enterprise Products Partners LP, Houston, a 40% undivided joint interest (UJI) in Enterprise’s Bahia natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline with investment aimed at increasing throughput by 400,000 b/d.   ExxonMobil will contribute its proportionate share of Bahia project costs to date, or about $650 million, according to an SEC filing.   The 550-mile Bahia pipeline, which has started commissioning activities and will begin commercial operations immediately thereafter, will have an initial capacity to transport 600,000 b/d of NGLs from the Midland and Delaware basins of West Texas to Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu fractionation complex, Enterprise said in a release Nov. 20. The companies’ plan to increase Bahia’s capacity to 1 million b/d includes adding incremental pumping capacity and constructing a 92-mile extension to ExxonMobil’s Cowboy natural gas processing plant in Eddy County, NM. ExxonMobil will own a 70% UJI in this extension. The extension will also connect to multiple Enterprise-owned processing plants in the Delaware basin. The expansion and extension are expected to be completed in fourth-quarter 2027. ExxonMobil’s interest will be referred to as the Cowboy Connector. Enterprise will operate the combined system. Growing Permian basin production ExxonMobil, in a separate statement Nov. 20, said the investment will help connect its growing production in the Permian basin to US Gulf Coast refining and chemical plants and enable access to export logistics to serve markets around the world. In its third-quarter report released late last month, ExxonMobil said it set a Permian production record of nearly 1.7 MMboe/d, while expanding its use of low-cost refinery coke as a proppant that penetrates deeper into fracs, improving well recoveries by up to 20%. Noting the growth in Permian output, A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner, pointed to the increasing ratio of natural gas and NGL production

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88 Energy acquires Alaska North Slope leases

Captivate Energy Alaska Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of 88 Energy Ltd., was the successful bidder for acreage east and west of Project Leonis in Alaska’s North Slope Areawide 2025W Oil and Gas Lease Sale. Fourteen new leases cover about 34,560 acres across South Prudhoe and Kad River East, the comapny said in a release Nov. 20. In South Prudhoe, seven leases cover Ivishak structural closures immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay Unit. The Ivishak formation offers high-quality, clean sandstone reservoir across the entire prospective area, with predicted 20% porosity, 50-100 mD permeability, and high charge potential across the newly acquired acreage.   3D seismic data, regional well control, and petrophysical analysis has delineated a suite of low-risk Ivishak formation prospects to be the first drill-ready targets for future exploration and appraisal. Further technical work, including seismic reprocessing, will be undertaken in 2026 to refine volumetrics and support prospective resource certification ahead of future farm-out and drilling decisions. Farm-out and planning are underway to drill a multi-zone exploration well targeting the Ivishak reservoir and shallower Canning and USB reservoirs. In Kad River East, seven leases east of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) exist in an under-explored region. A 3D seismic survey is scheduled for licensing and reprocessing in 2026. This data, combined with historical well data showing an active multi-reservoir petroleum system across the area, will help identify multiple targets. An early dual-hub development concept for the South Prudhoe and Leonis area will evaluate a low capital expenditure tie-back to Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River Units or a direct hot-tap connection into TAPS.

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TotalEnergies to become operator of block offshore Nigeria

@import url(‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:[email protected]&display=swap’); a { color: var(–color-primary-main); } .ebm-page__main h1, .ebm-page__main h2, .ebm-page__main h3, .ebm-page__main h4, .ebm-page__main h5, .ebm-page__main h6 { font-family: Inter; } body { line-height: 150%; letter-spacing: 0.025em; font-family: Inter; } button, .ebm-button-wrapper { font-family: Inter; } .label-style { text-transform: uppercase; color: var(–color-grey); font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.75rem; } .caption-style { font-size: 0.75rem; opacity: .6; } #onetrust-pc-sdk [id*=btn-handler], #onetrust-pc-sdk [class*=btn-handler] { background-color: #c19a06 !important; border-color: #c19a06 !important; } #onetrust-policy a, #onetrust-pc-sdk a, #ot-pc-content a { color: #c19a06 !important; } #onetrust-consent-sdk #onetrust-pc-sdk .ot-active-menu { border-color: #c19a06 !important; } #onetrust-consent-sdk #onetrust-accept-btn-handler, #onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-reject-all-handler, #onetrust-consent-sdk #onetrust-pc-btn-handler.cookie-setting-link { background-color: #c19a06 !important; border-color: #c19a06 !important; } #onetrust-consent-sdk .onetrust-pc-btn-handler { color: #c19a06 !important; border-color: #c19a06 !important; } TotalEnergies SE and Conoil have signed agreements to exchange interests in certain leases offshore Nigeria. TotalEnergies SE will acquire 50% operating interest in block OPL257 from Conoil, and Conoil will acquire 40% participating interest in block OML136 from TotalEnergies. With the deal, TotalEnergies increases its stake in OPL257 to 90% from 40%. Conoil will retain 10% interest in the block. OPL 257 lies 150 km offshore Nigeria and covers an area of about 370 sq km. This block is adjacent to PPL261, where TotalEnergies discovered in 2005 Egina South oil field, which extends into OPL257. Drilling of an Engina South appraisal well is planned in 2026 on the OPL257 side. The field is expected to be developed as a tie-back to the Egina FPSO about 30 km away. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

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Trump administration unveils major offshore leasing expansion

The US Interior Department announced plans Nov. 20 to dramatically expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters, including offshore Florida and California, where drilling is opposed by most state officials and lawmakers.  The plan, announced by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM), envisions up to 34 lease sales covering some 1.27 billion acres through 2031, and broadens the number of lease sales outlined in the Biden administration’s 5-year plan that was to run through 2029. That plan was the smallest in decades, offering just three lease sales, all in the Gulf. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a press release. “By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.” The plan envisions six lease sales along the southern, central, and northern California coasts from 2027 to 2029. It includes a 2030 sale in the North Arctic, an area north of Alaska near the North Pole that the US has laid claim to, as well as sales offshore Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, and Chukchi Sea.  It also proposes seven Gulf of Mexico sales, including two in a newly designated area in waters off the coast of Florida. It does not offer leases off the Atlantic coast of Florida. The plan is likely to spark disputes in Congress, as it includes long-off-limit areas offshore the West Coast and new leases in areas in the Gulf and Arctic Ocean. The US has not held a federal lease sale in the Arctic since 2008 and in the Pacific since 1984. Industry lauded

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LG rolls out new AI services to help consumers with daily tasks

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More LG kicked off the AI bandwagon today with a new set of AI services to help consumers in their daily tasks at home, in the car and in the office. The aim of LG’s CES 2025 press event was to show how AI will work in a day of someone’s life, with the goal of redefining the concept of space, said William Joowan Cho, CEO of LG Electronics at the event. The presentation showed LG is fully focused on bringing AI into just about all of its products and services. Cho referred to LG’s AI efforts as “affectionate intelligence,” and he said it stands out from other strategies with its human-centered focus. The strategy focuses on three things: connected devices, capable AI agents and integrated services. One of things the company announced was a strategic partnership with Microsoft on AI innovation, where the companies pledged to join forces to shape the future of AI-powered spaces. One of the outcomes is that Microsoft’s Xbox Ultimate Game Pass will appear via Xbox Cloud on LG’s TVs, helping LG catch up with Samsung in offering cloud gaming natively on its TVs. LG Electronics will bring the Xbox App to select LG smart TVs. That means players with LG Smart TVs will be able to explore the Gaming Portal for direct access to hundreds of games in the Game Pass Ultimate catalog, including popular titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and upcoming releases like Avowed (launching February 18, 2025). Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to play games directly from the Xbox app on select LG Smart TVs through cloud gaming. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a compatible Bluetooth-enabled

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Big tech must stop passing the cost of its spiking energy needs onto the public

Julianne Malveaux is an MIT-educated economist, author, educator and political commentator who has written extensively about the critical relationship between public policy, corporate accountability and social equity.  The rapid expansion of data centers across the U.S. is not only reshaping the digital economy but also threatening to overwhelm our energy infrastructure. These data centers aren’t just heavy on processing power — they’re heavy on our shared energy infrastructure. For Americans, this could mean serious sticker shock when it comes to their energy bills. Across the country, many households are already feeling the pinch as utilities ramp up investments in costly new infrastructure to power these data centers. With costs almost certain to rise as more data centers come online, state policymakers and energy companies must act now to protect consumers. We need new policies that ensure the cost of these projects is carried by the wealthy big tech companies that profit from them, not by regular energy consumers such as family households and small businesses. According to an analysis from consulting firm Bain & Co., data centers could require more than $2 trillion in new energy resources globally, with U.S. demand alone potentially outpacing supply in the next few years. This unprecedented growth is fueled by the expansion of generative AI, cloud computing and other tech innovations that require massive computing power. Bain’s analysis warns that, to meet this energy demand, U.S. utilities may need to boost annual generation capacity by as much as 26% by 2028 — a staggering jump compared to the 5% yearly increases of the past two decades. This poses a threat to energy affordability and reliability for millions of Americans. Bain’s research estimates that capital investments required to meet data center needs could incrementally raise consumer bills by 1% each year through 2032. That increase may

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Final 45V hydrogen tax credit guidance draws mixed response

Dive Brief: The final rule for the 45V clean hydrogen production tax credit, which the U.S. Treasury Department released Friday morning, drew mixed responses from industry leaders and environmentalists. Clean hydrogen development within the U.S. ground to a halt following the release of the initial guidance in December 2023, leading industry participants to call for revisions that would enable more projects to qualify for the tax credit. While the final rule makes “significant improvements” to Treasury’s initial proposal, the guidelines remain “extremely complex,” according to the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. FCHEA President and CEO Frank Wolak and other industry leaders said they look forward to working with the Trump administration to refine the rule. Dive Insight: Friday’s release closed what Wolak described as a “long chapter” for the hydrogen industry. But industry reaction to the final rule was decidedly mixed, and it remains to be seen whether the rule — which could be overturned as soon as Trump assumes office — will remain unchanged. “The final 45V rule falls short,” Marty Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute, said in a statement. “While the rule provides some of the additional flexibility we sought, … we believe that it still will leave billions of dollars of announced projects in limbo. The incoming Administration will have an opportunity to improve the 45V rules to ensure the industry will attract the investments necessary to scale the hydrogen economy and help the U.S. lead the world in clean manufacturing.” But others in the industry felt the rule would be sufficient for ending hydrogen’s year-long malaise. “With this added clarity, many projects that have been delayed may move forward, which can help unlock billions of dollars in investments across the country,” Kim Hedegaard, CEO of Topsoe’s Power-to-X, said in a statement. Topsoe

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Texas, Utah, Last Energy challenge NRC’s ‘overburdensome’ microreactor regulations

Dive Brief: A 69-year-old Nuclear Regulatory Commission rule underpinning U.S. nuclear reactor licensing exceeds the agency’s statutory authority and creates an unreasonable burden for microreactor developers, the states of Texas and Utah and advanced nuclear technology company Last Energy said in a lawsuit filed Dec. 30 in federal court in Texas. The plaintiffs asked the Eastern District of Texas court to exempt Last Energy’s 20-MW reactor design and research reactors located in the plaintiff states from the NRC’s definition of nuclear “utilization facilities,” which subjects all U.S. commercial and research reactors to strict regulatory scrutiny, and order the NRC to develop a more flexible definition for use in future licensing proceedings. Regardless of its merits, the lawsuit underscores the need for “continued discussion around proportional regulatory requirements … that align with the hazards of the reactor and correspond to a safety case,” said Patrick White, research director at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance. Dive Insight: Only three commercial nuclear reactors have been built in the United States in the past 28 years, and none are presently under construction, according to a World Nuclear Association tracker cited in the lawsuit. “Building a new commercial reactor of any size in the United States has become virtually impossible,” the plaintiffs said. “The root cause is not lack of demand or technology — but rather the [NRC], which, despite its name, does not really regulate new nuclear reactor construction so much as ensure that it almost never happens.” More than a dozen advanced nuclear technology developers have engaged the NRC in pre-application activities, which the agency says help standardize the content of advanced reactor applications and expedite NRC review. Last Energy is not among them.  The pre-application process can itself stretch for years and must be followed by a formal application that can take two

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Qualcomm unveils AI chips for PCs, cars, smart homes and enterprises

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Qualcomm unveiled AI technologies and collaborations for PCs, cars, smart homes and enterprises at CES 2025. At the big tech trade show in Las Vegas, Qualcomm Technologies showed how it’s using AI capabilities in its chips to drive the transformation of user experiences across diverse device categories, including PCs, automobiles, smart homes and into enterprises. The company unveiled the Snapdragon X platform, the fourth platform in its high-performance PC portfolio, the Snapdragon X Series, bringing industry-leading performance, multi-day battery life, and AI leadership to more of the Windows ecosystem. Qualcomm has talked about how its processors are making headway grabbing share from the x86-based AMD and Intel rivals through better efficiency. Qualcomm’s neural processing unit gets about 45 TOPS, a key benchmark for AI PCs. The Snapdragon X family of AI PC processors. Additionally, Qualcomm Technologies showcased continued traction of the Snapdragon X Series, with over 60 designs in production or development and more than 100 expected by 2026. Snapdragon for vehicles Qualcomm demoed chips that are expanding its automotive collaborations. It is working with Alpine, Amazon, Leapmotor, Mobis, Royal Enfield, and Sony Honda Mobility, who look to Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions to drive AI-powered in-cabin and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Qualcomm also announced continued traction for its Snapdragon Elite-tier platforms for automotive, highlighting its work with Desay, Garmin, and Panasonic for Snapdragon Cockpit Elite. Throughout the show, Qualcomm will highlight its holistic approach to improving comfort and focusing on safety with demonstrations on the potential of the convergence of AI, multimodal contextual awareness, and cloudbased services. Attendees will also get a first glimpse of the new Snapdragon Ride Platform with integrated automated driving software stack and system definition jointly

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Oil, Gas Execs Reveal Where They Expect WTI Oil Price to Land in the Future

Executives from oil and gas firms have revealed where they expect the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price to be at various points in the future as part of the fourth quarter Dallas Fed Energy Survey, which was released recently. The average response executives from 131 oil and gas firms gave when asked what they expect the WTI crude oil price to be at the end of 2025 was $71.13 per barrel, the survey showed. The low forecast came in at $53 per barrel, the high forecast was $100 per barrel, and the spot price during the survey was $70.66 per barrel, the survey pointed out. This question was not asked in the previous Dallas Fed Energy Survey, which was released in the third quarter. That survey asked participants what they expect the WTI crude oil price to be at the end of 2024. Executives from 134 oil and gas firms answered this question, offering an average response of $72.66 per barrel, that survey showed. The latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey also asked participants where they expect WTI prices to be in six months, one year, two years, and five years. Executives from 124 oil and gas firms answered this question and gave a mean response of $69 per barrel for the six month mark, $71 per barrel for the year mark, $74 per barrel for the two year mark, and $80 per barrel for the five year mark, the survey showed. Executives from 119 oil and gas firms answered this question in the third quarter Dallas Fed Energy Survey and gave a mean response of $73 per barrel for the six month mark, $76 per barrel for the year mark, $81 per barrel for the two year mark, and $87 per barrel for the five year mark, that

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We’re learning more about what vitamin D does to our bodies

It has started to get really wintry here in London over the last few days. The mornings are frosty, the wind is biting, and it’s already dark by the time I pick my kids up from school. The darkness in particular has got me thinking about vitamin D, a.k.a. the sunshine vitamin. At a checkup a few years ago, a doctor told me I was deficient in vitamin D. But he wouldn’t write me a prescription for supplements, simply because, as he put it, everyone in the UK is deficient. Putting the entire population on vitamin D supplements would be too expensive for the country’s national health service, he told me. But supplementation—whether covered by a health-care provider or not—can be important. As those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere spend fewer of our waking hours in sunlight, let’s consider the importance of vitamin D. Yes, it is important for bone health. But recent research is also uncovering surprising new insights into how the vitamin might influence other parts of our bodies, including our immune systems and heart health.
Vitamin D was discovered just over 100 years ago, when health professionals were looking for ways to treat what was then called “the English disease.” Today, we know that rickets, a weakening of bones in children, is caused by vitamin D deficiency. And vitamin D is best known for its importance in bone health. That’s because it helps our bodies absorb calcium. Our bones are continually being broken down and rebuilt, and they need calcium for that rebuilding process. Without enough calcium, bones can become weak and brittle. (Depressingly, rickets is still a global health issue, which is why there is global consensus that infants should receive a vitamin D supplement at least until they are one year old.)
In the decades since then, scientists have learned that vitamin D has effects beyond our bones. There’s some evidence to suggest, for example, that being deficient in vitamin D puts people at risk of high blood pressure. Daily or weekly supplements can help those individuals lower their blood pressure. A vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to a greater risk of “cardiovascular events” like heart attacks, although it’s not clear whether supplements can reduce this risk; the evidence is pretty mixed. Vitamin D appears to influence our immune health, too. Studies have found a link between low vitamin D levels and incidence of the common cold, for example. And other research has shown that vitamin D supplements can influence the way our genes make proteins that play important roles in the way our immune systems work. We don’t yet know exactly how these relationships work, however. And, unfortunately, a recent study that assessed the results of 37 clinical trials found that overall, vitamin D supplements aren’t likely to stop you from getting an “acute respiratory infection.” Other studies have linked vitamin D levels to mental health, pregnancy outcomes, and even how long people survive after a cancer diagnosis. It’s tantalizing to imagine that a cheap supplement could benefit so many aspects of our health. But, as you might have gathered if you’ve got this far, we’re not quite there yet. The evidence on the effects of vitamin D supplementation for those various conditions is mixed at best. In fairness to researchers, it can be difficult to run a randomized clinical trial for vitamin D supplements. That’s because most of us get the bulk of our vitamin D from sunlight. Our skin converts UVB rays into a form of the vitamin that our bodies can use. We get it in our diets, too, but not much. (The main sources are oily fish, egg yolks, mushrooms, and some fortified cereals and milk alternatives.) The standard way to measure a person’s vitamin D status is to look at blood levels of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D), which is formed when the liver metabolizes vitamin D. But not everyone can agree on what the “ideal” level is.

Even if everyone did agree on a figure, it isn’t obvious how much vitamin D a person would need to consume to reach this target, or how much sunlight exposure it would take. One complicating factor is that people respond to UV rays in different ways—a lot of that can depend on how much melanin is in your skin. Similarly, if you’re sitting down to a meal of oily fish and mushrooms and washing it down with a glass of fortified milk, it’s hard to know how much more you might need. There is more consensus on the definition of vitamin D deficiency, though. (It’s a blood level below 30 nanomoles per liter, in case you were wondering.) And until we know more about what vitamin D is doing in our bodies, our focus should be on avoiding that. For me, that means topping up with a supplement. The UK government advises everyone in the country to take a 10-microgram vitamin D supplement over autumn and winter. That advice doesn’t factor in my age, my blood levels, or the amount of melanin in my skin. But it’s all I’ve got for now.

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Designing digital resilience in the agentic AI era

In partnership withCisco Digital resilience—the ability to prevent, withstand, and recover from digital disruptions—has long been a strategic priority for enterprises. With the rise of agentic AI, the urgency for robust resilience is greater than ever. Agentic AI represents a new generation of autonomous systems capable of proactive planning, reasoning, and executing tasks with minimal human intervention. As these systems shift from experimental pilots to core elements of business operations, they offer new opportunities but also introduce new challenges when it comes to ensuring digital resilience. That’s because the autonomy, speed, and scale at which agentic AI operates can amplify the impact of even minor data inconsistencies, fragmentation, or security gaps. While global investment in AI is projected to reach $1.5 trillion in 2025, fewer than half of business leaders are confident in their organization’s ability to maintain service continuity, security, and cost control during unexpected events. This lack of confidence, coupled with the profound complexity introduced by agentic AI’s autonomous decision-making and interaction with critical infrastructure, requires a reimagining of digital resilience. Organizations are turning to the concept of a data fabric—an integrated architecture that connects and governs information across all business layers. By breaking down silos and enabling real-time access to enterprise-wide data, a data fabric can empower both human teams and agentic AI systems to sense risks, prevent problems before they occur, recover quickly when they do, and sustain operations.
Machine data: A cornerstone of agentic AI and digital resilience Earlier AI models relied heavily on human-generated data such as text, audio, and video, but agentic AI demands deep insight into an organization’s machine data: the logs, metrics, and other telemetry generated by devices, servers, systems, and applications. To put agentic AI to use in driving digital resilience, it must have seamless, real-time access to this data flow. Without comprehensive integration of machine data, organizations risk limiting AI capabilities, missing critical anomalies, or introducing errors. As Kamal Hathi, senior vice president and general manager of Splunk, a Cisco company, emphasizes, agentic AI systems rely on machine data to understand context, simulate outcomes, and adapt continuously. This makes machine data oversight a cornerstone of digital resilience.
“We often describe machine data as the heartbeat of the modern enterprise,” says Hathi. “Agentic AI systems are powered by this vital pulse, requiring real-time access to information. It’s essential that these intelligent agents operate directly on the intricate flow of machine data and that AI itself is trained using the very same data stream.”  Few organizations are currently achieving the level of machine data integration required to fully enable agentic systems. This not only narrows the scope of possible use cases for agentic AI, but, worse, it can also result in data anomalies and errors in outputs or actions. Natural language processing (NLP) models designed prior to the development of generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) were plagued by linguistic ambiguities, biases, and inconsistencies. Similar misfires could occur with agentic AI if organizations rush ahead without providing models with a foundational fluency in machine data.  For many companies, keeping up with the dizzying pace at which AI is progressing has been a major challenge. “In some ways, the speed of this innovation is starting to hurt us, because it creates risks we’re not ready for,” says Hathi. “The trouble is that with agentic AI’s evolution, relying on traditional LLMs trained on human text, audio, video, or print data doesn’t work when you need your system to be secure, resilient, and always available.” Designing a data fabric for resilience To address these shortcomings and build digital resilience, technology leaders should pivot to what Hathi describes as a data fabric design, better suited to the demands of agentic AI. This involves weaving together fragmented assets from across security, IT, business operations, and the network to create an integrated architecture that connects disparate data sources, breaks down silos, and enables real-time analysis and risk management.  “Once you have a single view, you can do all these things that are autonomous and agentic,” says Hathi. “You have far fewer blind spots. Decision-making goes much faster. And the unknown is no longer a source of fear because you have a holistic system that’s able to absorb these shocks and disruption without losing continuity,” he adds. To create this unified system, data teams must first break down departmental silos in how data is shared, says Hathi. Then, they must implement a federated data architecture—a decentralized system where autonomous data sources work together as a single unit without physically merging—to create a unified data source while maintaining governance and security. And finally, teams must upgrade data platforms to ensure this newly unified view is actionable for agentic AI.  During this transition, teams may face technical limitations if they rely on traditional platforms modeled on structured data—that is, mostly quantitative information such as customer records or financial transactions that can be organized in a predefined format (often in tables) that is easy to query. Instead, companies need a platform that can also manage streams of unstructured data such as system logs, security events, and application traces, which lack uniformity and are often qualitative rather than quantitative. Analyzing, organizing, and extracting insights from these kinds of data requires more advanced methods enabled by AI. Harnessing AI as a collaborator AI itself can be a powerful tool in creating the data fabric that enables AI systems. AI-powered tools can, for example, quickly identify relationships between disparate data—both structured and unstructured—automatically merging them into one source of truth. They can detect and correct errors and employ NLP to tag and categorize data to make it easier to find and use. 

Agentic AI systems can also be used to augment human capabilities in detecting and deciphering anomalies in an enterprise’s unstructured data streams. These are often beyond human capacity to spot or interpret at speed, leading to missed threats or delays. But agentic AI systems, designed to perceive, reason, and act autonomously, can plug the gap, delivering higher levels of digital resilience to an enterprise. “Digital resilience is about more than withstanding disruptions,” says Hathi. “It’s about evolving and growing over time. AI agents can work with massive amounts of data and continuously learn from humans who provide safety and oversight. This is a true self-optimizing system.” Humans in the loop Despite its potential, agentic AI should be positioned as assistive intelligence. Without proper oversight, AI agents could introduce application failures or security risks. Clearly defined guardrails and maintaining humans in the loop is “key to trustworthy and practical use of AI,” Hathi says. “AI can enhance human decision-making, but ultimately, humans are in the driver’s seat.” This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. This includes the writing of surveys and collection of data for surveys. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review.

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The Download: what’s next for electricity, and living in the conspiracy age

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Three things to know about the future of electricity The International Energy Agency recently released the latest version of the World Energy Outlook, the annual report that takes stock of the current state of global energy and looks toward the future. It contains some interesting insights and a few surprising figures about electricity, grids, and the state of climate change. Let’s dig into some numbers. —Casey Crownhart
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
How to survive in the new age of conspiracies Everything is a conspiracy theory now. Our latest series “The New Conspiracy Age” delves into how conspiracies have gripped the White House, turning fringe ideas into dangerous policy, and how generative AI is altering the fabric of truth.If you’re interested in hearing more about how to survive in this strange new age, join our features editor Amanda Silverman and executive editor Niall Firth today at 1pm ET for an subscriber-exclusive Roundtable conversation. They’ll be joined by conspiracy expert Mike Rothschild, who’s written a fascinating piece for us about what it’s like to find yourself at the heart of a conspiracy theory. Register now to join us! The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Donald Trump is poised to ban AI state lawsThe US President is considering signing an order to give the federal government unilateral power over regulating AI. (The Verge)+ It would give the Justice Department power to sue dissenting states. (WP $)+ Critics claim the draft undermines trust in the US’s ability to make AI safe. (Wired $)+ It’s not just America—the EU fumbled its attempts to rein in AI, too. (FT $)2 The CDC is making false claims about a link between vaccines and autismDespite previously spending decades fighting misinformation connecting them. (WP $)+ The National Institutes of Health is parroting RFK Jr’s messaging, too. (The Atlantic $)3 China is going all-in on autonomous vehiclesWhich is bad news for its millions of delivery drivers. (FT $)+ It’s also throwing its full weight behind its native EV industry. (Rest of World) 5 Major music labels have inked a deal with an AI streaming serviceKlay users will be able to remodel songs from the likes of Universal using AI. (Bloomberg $)+ What happens next is anyone’s guess. (Billboard $)+ AI is coming for music, too. (MIT Technology Review) 5 How quantum sensors could overhaul GPS navigationCurrent GPS is vulnerable to spoofing and jamming. But what comes next? (WSJ $)+ Inside the race to find GPS alternatives. (MIT Technology Review)

6 There’s a divide inside the community of people in relationships with chatbots Some users assert their love interests are real—to the concern of others. (NY Mag $)+ It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot. (MIT Technology Review) 7 There’s still hope for a functional cure to HIVEven in the face of crippling funding cuts. (Knowable Magazine)+ Breakthrough drug lenacapavir is being rolled out in parts of Africa. (NPR)+ This annual shot might protect against HIV infections. (MIT Technology Review) 8 Is it possible to reverse years of AI brainrot?A new wave of memes is fighting the good fight. (Wired $)+ How to fix the internet. (MIT Technology Review) 9 Tourists fell for an AI-generated Christmas market outside Buckingham Palace 🎄If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. (The Guardian)+ It’s unclear who is behind the pictures, which spread on Instagram. (BBC) 10 Here’s what people return to AmazonA whole lot of polyester clothing, by the sounds of it. (NYT $) Quote of the day “I think we’re in an LLM bubble, and I think the LLM bubble might be bursting next year.”
—Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clem Delangue has a slightly different take on the reports we’re in an AI bubble, TechCrunch reports.
One more thing Inside a new quest to save the “doomsday glacier”The Thwaites glacier is a fortress larger than Florida, a wall of ice that reaches nearly 4,000 feet above the bedrock of West Antarctica, guarding the low-lying ice sheet behind it.But a strong, warm ocean current is weakening its foundations and accelerating its slide into the sea. Scientists fear the waters could topple the walls in the coming decades, kick-starting a runaway process that would crack up the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, marking the start of a global climate disaster. As a result, they are eager to understand just how likely such a collapse is, when it could happen, and if we have the power to stop it. Read the full story. —James Temple We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.) + As Christmas approaches, micro-gifting might be a fun new tradition to try out.+ I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—movies are too long these days.+ If you’re feeling a bit existential this morning, these books are a great starting point for finding a sense of purpose.+ This is a fun list of the internet’s weird and wonderful obsessive lists.

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Three things to know about the future of electricity

One of the dominant storylines I’ve been following through 2025 is electricity—where and how demand is going up, how much it costs, and how this all intersects with that topic everyone is talking about: AI. Last week, the International Energy Agency released the latest version of the World Energy Outlook, the annual report that takes stock of the current state of global energy and looks toward the future. It contains some interesting insights and a few surprising figures about electricity, grids, and the state of climate change. So let’s dig into some numbers, shall we? We’re in the age of electricity Energy demand in general is going up around the world as populations increase and economies grow. But electricity is the star of the show, with demand projected to grow by 40% in the next 10 years. China has accounted for the bulk of electricity growth for the past 10 years, and that’s going to continue. But emerging economies outside China will be a much bigger piece of the pie going forward. And while advanced economies, including the US and Europe, have seen flat demand in the past decade, the rise of AI and data centers will cause demand to climb there as well.
Air-conditioning is a major source of rising demand. Growing economies will give more people access to air-conditioning; income-driven AC growth will add about 330 gigawatts to global peak demand by 2035. Rising temperatures will tack on another 170 GW in that time. Together, that’s an increase of over 10% from 2024 levels.   AI is a local story This year, AI has been the story that none of us can get away from. One number that jumped out at me from this report: In 2025, investment in data centers is expected to top $580 billion. That’s more than the $540 billion spent on the global oil supply. 
It’s no wonder, then, that the energy demands of AI are in the spotlight. One key takeaway is that these demands are vastly different in different parts of the world. Data centers still make up less than 10% of the projected increase in total electricity demand between now and 2035. It’s not nothing, but it’s far outweighed by sectors like industry and appliances, including air conditioners. Even electric vehicles will add more demand to the grid than data centers. But AI will be the factor for the grid in some parts of the world. In the US, data centers will account for half the growth in total electricity demand between now and 2030. And as we’ve covered in this newsletter before, data centers present a unique challenge, because they tend to be clustered together, so the demand tends to be concentrated around specific communities and on specific grids. Half the data center capacity that’s in the pipeline is close to large cities. Look out for a coal crossover As we ask more from our grid, the key factor that’s going to determine what all this means for climate change is what’s supplying the electricity we’re using. As it stands, the world’s grids still primarily run on fossil fuels, so every bit of electricity growth comes with planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions attached. That’s slowly changing, though. Together, solar and wind were the leading source of electricity in the first half of this year, overtaking coal for the first time. Coal use could peak and begin to fall by the end of this decade. Nuclear could play a role in replacing fossil fuels: After two decades of stagnation, the global nuclear fleet could increase by a third in the next 10 years. Solar is set to continue its meteoric rise, too. Of all the electricity demand growth we’re expecting in the next decade, 80% is in places with high-quality solar irradiation—meaning they’re good spots for solar power. Ultimately, there are a lot of ways in which the world is moving in the right direction on energy. But we’re far from moving fast enough. Global emissions are, once again, going to hit a record high this year. To limit warming and prevent the worst effects of climate change, we need to remake our energy system, including electricity, and we need to do it faster.  This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.

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Scaling innovation in manufacturing with AI

In partnership withMicrosoft and NVIDIA Manufacturing is getting a major system upgrade. As AI amplifies existing technologies—like digital twins, the cloud, edge computing, and the industrial internet of things (IIoT)—it is enabling factory operations teams to shift from reactive, isolated problem-solving to proactive, systemwide optimization. Digital twins—physically accurate virtual representations of a piece of equipment, a production line, a process, or even an entire factory—allow workers to test, optimize, and contextualize complex, real-world environments. Manufacturers are using digital twins to simulate factory environments with pinpoint detail. “AI-powered digital twins mark a major evolution in the future of manufacturing, enabling real-time visualization of the entire production line, not just individual machines,” says Indranil Sircar, global chief technology officer for the manufacturing and mobility industry at Microsoft. “This is allowing manufacturers to move beyond isolated monitoring toward much wider insights.” A digital twin of a bottling line, for example, can integrate one-dimensional shop-floor telemetry, two-dimensional enterprise data, and three-dimensional immersive modeling into a single operational view of the entire production line to improve efficiency and reduce costly downtime. Many high-speed industries face downtime rates as high as 40%, estimates Jon Sobel, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sight Machine, an industrial AI company that partners with Microsoft and NVIDIA to transform complex data into actionable insights. By tracking micro-stops and quality metrics via digital twins, companies can target improvements and adjustments with greater precision, saving millions in once-lost productivity without disrupting ongoing operations.
AI offers the next opportunity. Sircar estimates that up to 50% of manufacturers are currently deploying AI in production. This is up from 35% of manufacturers surveyed in a 2024 MIT Technology Review Insights report who said they have begun to put AI use cases into production. Larger manufacturers with more than $10 billion in revenue were significantly ahead, with 77% already deploying AI use cases, according to the report. “Manufacturing has a lot of data and is a perfect use case for AI,” says Sobel. “An industry that has been seen by some as lagging when it comes to digital technology and AI may be in the best position to lead. It’s very unexpected.” Download the report. This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. This includes the writing of surveys and collection of data for surveys. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review.

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The Download: de-censoring DeepSeek, and Gemini 3

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Quantum physicists have shrunk and “de-censored” DeepSeek R1 The news: A group of quantum physicists at Spanish firm Multiverse Computing claims to have created a version of the powerful reasoning AI model DeepSeek R1 that strips out the censorship built into the original by its Chinese creators.  Why it matters: In China, AI companies are subject to rules and regulations meant to ensure that content output aligns with laws and “socialist values.” As a result, companies build in layers of censorship when training the AI systems. When asked questions that are deemed “politically sensitive,” the models often refuse to answer or provide talking points straight from state propaganda.
How they did it: Multiverse Computing specializes in quantum-inspired AI techniques, which it used to create DeepSeek R1 Slim, a model that is 55% smaller but performs almost as well as the original model. It allowed them to identify and remove Chinese censorship so that the model answered sensitive questions in much the same way as Western models. Read the full story. —Caiwei Chen
Google’s new Gemini 3 “vibe-codes” responses and comes with its own agent Google today unveiled Gemini 3, a major upgrade to its flagship multimodal model. The firm says the new model is better at reasoning, has more fluid multimodal capabilities (the ability to work across voice, text or images), and will work like an agent.Gemini Agent is an experimental feature designed to handle multi-step tasks directly inside the app. The agent can connect to services such as Google Calendar, Gmail, and Reminders. Once granted access, it can execute tasks like organizing an inbox or managing schedules. Read the full story. —Caiwei Chen MIT Technology Review Narrated: Why climate researchers are taking the temperature of mountain snow The Sierra’s frozen reservoir provides about a third of California’s water and most of what comes out of the faucets, shower heads, and sprinklers in the towns and cities of northwestern Nevada. The need for better snowpack temperature data has become increasingly critical for predicting when the water will flow down the mountains, as climate change fuels hotter weather, melts snow faster, and drives rapid swings between very wet and very dry periods.

A new generation of tools, techniques, and models promises to improve water forecasts, and help California and other states manage in the face of increasingly severe droughts and flooding. However, observers fear that any such advances could be undercut by the Trump administration’s cutbacks across federal agencies. This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Yesterday’s Cloudflare outage was not triggered by a hackAn error in its bot management system was to blame. (The Verge)+ ChatGPT, X and Uber were among the services that dropped. (WP $)+ It’s another example of the dangers of having a handful of infrastructure providers. (WSJ $)+ Today’s web is incredibly fragile. (Bloomberg $) 2 Donald Trump has called for a federal AI regulatory standardInstead of allowing each state to make its own laws. (Axios)+ He claims the current approach risks slowing down AI progress. (Bloomberg $) 3 Meta has won the antitrust case that threatened to spin off InstagramIt’s one of the most high-profile cases in recent years. (FT $)+ A judge ruled that Meta doesn’t hold a social media monopoly. (BBC)
4 The Three Mile Island nuclear plant is making a comebackIt’s the lucky recipient of a $1 billion federal loan to kickstart the facility. (WP $)+ Why Microsoft made a deal to help restart Three Mile Island. (MIT Technology Review)5 Roblox will block children from speaking to adult strangers The gaming platform is facing fresh lawsuits alleging it is failing to protect young users from online predators. (The Guardian)+ But we don’t know much about how accurate its age verification is. (CNN)+ All users will have to submit a selfie or an ID to use chat features. (Engadget) 6 Boston Dynamics’ robot dog is becoming a widespread policing toolIt’s deployed by dozens of US and Canadian bomb squads and SWAT teams. (Bloomberg $)
7 A tribally-owned network of EV chargers is nearing completionIt’s part of Standing Rock reservation’s big push for clean energy. (NYT $) 8 Resist the temptation to use AI to cheat at conversationsIt makes it much more difficult to forge a connection. (The Atlantic $) 9 Amazon wants San Francisco residents to ride its robotaxis for freeIt’s squaring up against Alphabet’s Waymo in the city for the first time. (CNBC)+ But its cars look very different to traditional vehicles. (LA Times $)+ Zoox is operating around 50 robotaxis across SF and Las Vegas. (The Verge) 10 TikTok’s new setting allows you to filter out AI-generated clipsFarewell, sweet slop. (TechCrunch)+ How do AI models generate videos? (MIT Technology Review) Quote of the day
“The rapids of social media rush along so fast that the Court has never even stepped into the same case twice.” —Judge James Boasberg, who rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s claim that Meta had created an illegal social media monopoly, acknowledges the law’s failure to keep up with technology, Politico reports. One more thing
Namibia wants to build the world’s first hydrogen economyFactories have used fossil fuels to process iron ore for three centuries, and the climate has paid a heavy price: According to the International Energy Agency, the steel industry today accounts for 8% of carbon dioxide emissions.But it turns out there is a less carbon-­intensive alternative: using hydrogen. Unlike coal or natural gas, which release carbon dioxide as a by-product, this process releases water. And if the hydrogen itself is “green,” the climate impact of the entire process will be minimal. HyIron, which has a site in the Namib desert, is one of a handful of companies around the world that are betting green hydrogen can help the $1.8 trillion steel industry clean up its act. The question now is whether Namibia’s government, its trading partners, and hydrogen innovators can work together to build the industry in a way that satisfies the world’s appetite for cleaner fuels—and also helps improve lives at home. Read the full story. —Jonathan W. Rosen We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.+ This art installation in Paris revolves around porcelain bowls clanging against each other in a pool of water—it’s oddly hypnotic.+ Feeling burnt out? Get down to your local sauna for a quick reset.+ New York’s subway system is something else.+ Your dog has ancient origins. No, really!

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SM Energy, Civitas set $1-billion post-merger divestiture target

The leaders of SM Energy Co. and Civitas Resources Inc. plan to sell at least $1 billion worth of assets in the year after joining forces. Following up on the merger announcement from earlier this month—under which SM Energy will pay about $2.7 billion in stock for Civitas to create a company with operations in four US basins—executives also added details about where they expect to generate cost savings by combining the two Denver-based companies.  In setting the $1-billion divestiture target, Herb Vogel, SM Energy’s chief executive officer, Beth McDonald—now president and chief operating officer of SM and tabbed to be the combined company’s leader come spring—and others pointed to a recent “robust” market for oil-and-gas deals. Among the transactions they cite as benchmarks are ConocoPhillips’ $1.3-billion sale of assets in the Anadarko basin, the $2.3-billion sale by Canada’s Baytex of its US foothold in the Eagle Ford, and Civitas’ own $435 million divestiture of Denver-Julesburg basin assets its leaders considered non-core. Based on the valuations of those deals, the $1 billion being eyed by the SM-Civitas team suggests the company will look to sell about 30,000 boe/d of production. The combined company’s output in the third quarter would have been 550,000 boe/d. On the synergies front, executives broke down their previously announced target of $200-$300 million annually into the following buckets: Drilling and completion as well as operational: $100-150 million, which amounts to about 2.5% of the companies’ combined spending. Administrative: $70-95 million from streamlining corporate teams and integrating offices and technology systems. Cost of capital: $30-55 million from paying down and/or refinancing debt. Set to join McDonald in the C-suite once the deal is completed, which is expected early next year, are the following SM veterans: Wade Pursell, SM’s chief financial officer since September 2008. Blake McKenna, who today oversees

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North American weekly rig count rises as counts in Canada, US both increase

North American drilling activity posted an increase for the week ended Nov. 21, with 749 total rotary rigs working in the US and Canada this week, Baker Hughes officials reported Friday. Oil drove the gain in Canada, with 128 rigs drilling for oil this week, 4 more than the previous week. Three additional rigs were gas-directed this week, increasing the count to 67 from the prior week. Canada’s total rig count of 195 is 6 fewer than this time last year. The US rig count is up 5 from the previous week to 554 rigs working. The count is down 29 from the same period in 2024. The number of rigs drilling on land increased by 6 units to 533 rigs working. That count is down 35 from the same period a year ago. One fewer rig was drilling in inland waters, leaving 2 working. The offshore rig count is unchanged at 19. In the US, gas-directed rigs increased by 2 to 127, up 28 from the same time last year. The number of oil-directed rigs also increased by 2, with a total of 419 rigs working this week. That number is 60 fewer than the 479 rigs drilling for oil in the US and its waters this time last year. Wyoming gained 3 rigs to end the week with 15 working. New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania each added a rig to end the week with respective counts of 106, 42, and 18. Louisiana, North Dakota, and Alaska each dropped a rig to end the week with 43, 27, and 9 rigs running, respectively.  

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Vista expands Vaca Muerta base with $4.5-billion plan to reach 180,000 boe/d by 2028

Vista Energy plans to invest more than $4.5 billion in Vaca Muerta operations in Argentina between 2026 and 2028 with a goal to increase production by 60% to 180,000 boe/d by 2028 and up to 200,000 boe/d by 2030. In third-quarter 2025, Vista averaged 126,000 boe/d, including 110,000 b/d of oil. The 74% year-on-year increase was driven by growth in the operated blocks Bajada del Palo Oeste, Bajada del Palo Este, and Aguada Federal, together with a 50% stake in La Amarga Chica. Combined, these assets total 1,473 wells in inventory, with 335 currently producing, across 228,000 net acres under concession through 2054. The investment plan is supported by existing infrastructure: 144,000 b/d of evacuation capacity secured through contracts on Oldelval Duplicar, Vaca Muerta Norte, and Vaca Muerta Sur pipelines, and 178,000 b/d of crude treatment capacity, including 75,000 b/d at La Amarga Chica. In the third quarter, Vista spent $350.8 million. Of that, $216 million was spent on drilling and completions of nine wells drilled and sixteen completed in Vaca Muerta (typical lateral of 2,800 m, 47 stages); $105.4 million in La Amarga Chica (non-operated); $13.6 million in surface infrastructure; and $15.8 million in geoscience and IT studies. Vista expects annual free cash flow between 2026 and 2028 of $1.5 billion, assuming Brent oil prices of $65-70/bbl—enough to self-finance its capital program. Export revenues of $8 billion are expected over the next 3 years. During a presentation in Neuquén, Vista’s chief executive officer, Miguel Galuccio, said the company’s next phase is built on a more stable macroeconomic environment and renewed access to international capital markets. “Stabilizing the economy and gaining access to capital markets is the best thing the country could have done for Vaca Muerta,” he said. There is still room to improve regulatory and fiscal components that

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Expand sees value in keeping natural gas pipeline stake

Expand Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, is in “no rush” to sell its stake in the New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) pipeline that entered service last month, the company’s chief operating officer told an investment bank conference on Nov. 20. The 255-mile NG3 project was developed by Momentum Sustainable Ventures LLC and was placed into service Oct. 1 after starting commissioning work in late August. It is moving natural gas from the Haynesville basin to the Gulf Coast, ending in Gillis, La., and has a capacity of 1.7-bcfd. Expand—then still Chesapeake Energy before its merger with Southwestern Energy—signed onto the project in late 2022 and has a stake that executives valued at $317 million as of Sept. 30. Asked at the Stephens Annual Investment Conference being held in Nashville if Expand might look to cash in on that commitment now that the NG3 pipeline is up and running, Josh Viets said “that option is there” but also made it clear he and other executives see upside to their investment. “If somebody showed up at the door with something that we just couldn’t pass up, we’re going to listen,” Viets said. “But financially, the balance sheet is in a great spot and we feel no pressure to look at an opportunity to monetize that right now. We love the investment. We think there’s a ton of value with it and we only expect that value to increase over time.”

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Trump administration unveils major offshore leasing expansion

The US Interior Department announced plans Nov. 20 to dramatically expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters, including offshore Florida and California, where drilling is opposed by most state officials and lawmakers.  The plan, announced by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM), envisions up to 34 lease sales covering some 1.27 billion acres through 2031, and broadens the number of lease sales outlined in the Biden administration’s 5-year plan that was to run through 2029. That plan was the smallest in decades, offering just three lease sales, all in the Gulf. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a press release. “By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.” The plan envisions six lease sales along the southern, central, and northern California coasts from 2027 to 2029. It includes a 2030 sale in the North Arctic, an area north of Alaska near the North Pole that the US has laid claim to, as well as sales offshore Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, and Chukchi Sea.  It also proposes seven Gulf of Mexico sales, including two in a newly designated area in waters off the coast of Florida. It does not offer leases off the Atlantic coast of Florida. The plan is likely to spark disputes in Congress, as it includes long-off-limit areas offshore the West Coast and new leases in areas in the Gulf and Arctic Ocean. The US has not held a federal lease sale in the Arctic since 2008 and in the Pacific since 1984. Industry lauded

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TotalEnergies to become operator of block offshore Nigeria

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