A flurry of oil projects from Brazil to Saudi Arabia are set to come online this year, providing the biggest infusion of new crude production in more than a decade.  Fresh oil field output is expected to total about 2.9 million barrels a day in 2025, up from about 800,000 barrels last year, according to data from Raymond James. That’s the most in data stretching back to 2015. Among the largest projects are the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan and Bacalhau in Brazil, as well as the Berri and Marjan expansions in Saudi Arabia. The projections for this year and next are subject to delays, and could change. Global oil forecasters have been projecting a supply overhang for 2025 as countries including Guyana and Brazil bring on new output and OPEC+ plans to start reviving idled output in April. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s trade policies have fanned concerns about reduced global energy demand. The US Energy Information Administration projects supply will exceed demand by 100,000 barrels a day this year, and the International Energy Agency sees a surplus of 600,000 barrels a day. While Raymond James didn’t provide full forecasts for production and consumption, the firm projects that supply will outstrip demand by 280,000 barrels a day toward the end of 2025.  “Investors have not fully grasped just how much new supply from projects is on deck in 2025,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy. MORE FROM THIS

The drive for net zero cannot be “in isolation from the hydrocarbon sector”, the head of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) will say today. Rain Newton-Smith is due to speak at the group’s annual lunch in Edinburgh, alongside First Minister John Swinney, where she will laud the oil and gas industry as “the bridge” to net zero. But the business boss will also lament government action which has hit the fossil fuels industry. The speech comes at a time when the idea of net zero is becoming unpopular with the Conservatives and a surging Reform UK – which has made opposing them a key plank of their offering to the public. “Despite the voices being raised against net zero, the fact is Scotland is sitting on a goldmine of green energy,” Newton-Smith is expected to say. “The numbers don’t lie. The opportunities are there. “Since 2022, Scotland’s net-zero sector has grown 20% and created 16,000 more jobs while average UK growth has near-flatlined. “So, let me be crystal clear. Business is behind net zero. Business is invested in our energy transition. And we’re behind the plans to go further. “But we can’t see net zero in isolation from the hydrocarbon sector. “Especially in Scotland. Oil and gas are still tens of thousands of jobs here. From the latest data it still makes up over 10% of Scotland’s GDP. “It will still be a part of the energy mix and the bridge to net zero, for some time yet. The infrastructure, the investment, the skills and knowledge of these industries will be mission critical for the transition. “But too often, they have been left out of the picture, hit by repeated tax changes and uncertainty. “On one hand, we need clear timelines and funding for net-zero commitments government has already

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has signed a deal to buy renewable power from Iberdrola SA to electrify the Japanese car maker’s Mexican operations in Celaya, Guanajuato, and El Salto, Jalisco. The electricity will come from Iberdrola Mexico’s wind farms. “Honda de México will use this power for its production in the country, where it has an installed capacity to manufacture up to 200,000 cars a year at its Guanajuato plant and more than 120,000 motorcycles at the one in Jalisco, in both cases for the local and export markets”, the Spanish power utility said in an online statement. “Supplying clean energy to Honda will prevent the annual release of 63,826 tonnes of CO2 [carbon dioxide] into the atmosphere, the equivalent of the carbon captured by more than a million trees over 10 years. “The agreement includes the acquisition of Guarantees of Origin, an instrument that makes it possible to certify the reduction of greenhouse gases by ensuring, with full traceability, that the electricity supply comes from clean sources”. Last week Iberdrola announced a long-term agreement to supply Air Liquide with clean power for the French company’s operations in Spain and Portugal. “It will allow Air Liquide to continue developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the supply of industrial gases and will enable its industrial and medical customers to meet their ambitions to reduce the carbon footprint associated with their final products”, Iberdrola said March 14. Air Liquide supplies gases to the industrial and healthcare sectors. Iberdrola has long-term contracts to supply power in several countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The electricity comes from offshore and onshore wind projects, as well as solar projects, according to the company. Other international firms that have committed to buying power from Iberdrola are ABInBev, Amazon, Apple, Bayer, Burger

IREM SpA’s Res Integra SRL has partnered with Ohmium International Inc. to construct a 4-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer in an industrial area of Siracusa, which Res Integra said is one of the biggest petrochemical sites in Europe. Newark, California-based electrolyzer developer Ohmium will supply a production system with a capacity of 700 metric tons a year. The PEM electrolyzer is planned to be shipped this year, Ohmium said in a press release. The plant, which will use solar power, will support efforts to decarbonize Sicily’s industry and transport, Ohmium said. “We sought advanced electrolyzer technology that was efficient, cost-effective, and quick to deliver”, commented Dario Niciforo, managing director of Res Integra. “We explored multiple options, but Ohmium’s hyper-modular, easily scalable solutions and expedient delivery timeline made the choice clear for us”. Ohmium said, “The modular units feature integrated advanced power electronics enabling rapid dynamic ramping, essential for pairing with intermittent renewable energy”. “Building on Ohmium’s success delivering similar projects in Central and Southern Europe, we knew we could meet Res Integra’s technical requirements, even on an accelerated timeline”, said Ohmium chief executive Arne Ballantine. The project “leads us towards the construction of green energy plants in line with the objectives of the European economic community”, said IREM chief executive Giovanni Musso. IREM is a design, construction, supply and maintenance contractor in the oil, gas, power and chemical sectors. The European Union aims to reach 10 million metric tons of hydrogen production capacity by 2030. Recently the European Commission completed a second auction under the European Hydrogen Bank, a financing platform to scale up the renewable hydrogen value chain in the EU and partner countries. The auction was oversubscribed by over four times with about 6.3 gigawatts (GW) of project proposals asking for over EUR 4.8 billion ($5.2 billion), the Commission said

Trading in the Petrofac’s shares will be temporarily suspended from 1 May 2025 after the company decided to defer publishing its audited annual results for 2024 as it pushes on with a planned restructuring. In accordance with its listing rules, share-trading will be halted until its full year 2024 results are published. In a stock market update, the company said it expects the effective date of the restructuring to fall after 30 April 2025, with the results to fall shortly after this. The announcement comes after a convening hearing for Petrofac’s financial restructuring, with the court approving the creditor class composition proposed in the restructuring plan and ordering a convening of creditor meetings. A sanction hearing will take place between 30 April and 2 May 2025, and the restructuring effective date is expected to occur shortly thereafter. Recent months have proven challenging for embattled Petrofac. It reported a net loss of $162 million for the first half of 2024 with net debt at $622 million. However, the company is also sitting on an $8bn order backlog with E&C accounting for the majority of value while asset solutions accounts for $2.3bn. In December last year, the company entered into a binding agreement with key financial creditors on the terms of a comprehensive financial restructuring plan. The restructure includes $325m in new funding and the conversion of around $772m in debt into equity. The company has been looking to restructure to deal with its debt-load and issues caused by legacy contracts to improve liquidity and secure bank guarantees to support current and future contracts. After overseeing the restructure Petrofac chairman René Médori is set to leave the position in 2025. Petrofac previously saw a temporary suspension of trading in its shares as it missed the deadline to deliver its full year report

KNOT Offshore Partners LP has reported revenues of $91.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, up from the previous quarter’s $76.3 million on higher charter revenues and insurance proceeds. The company said that the revenue growth, coupled with reduced vessel operating expenses due to the absence of one-off costs from the Dan Sabia redelivery, lifted its operating income to $34.7 million from $17.2 million for the third quarter. It saw increased charter activity and recorded no scheduled drydocking, which had impacted the Torill Knutsen and Ingrid Knutsen in the same period of the previous year, the company said. Net income landed at $23.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to a $3.8 million net loss for the prior quarter. A $28.6 million year-over-year increase in net income was attributed to the increased operating income and a significant reduction in finance expenses.   “We are pleased to report another strong performance in Q4 2024, marked by safe operation at 98.3 percent fleet utilization from scheduled operations, consistent revenue and operating income generation, and material progress in securing additional charter coverage for our fleet”, Derek Lowe, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, said. “Starting from the date of the Live Knutsen Acquisition and including those contracts signed since December 31, 2024, we have now secured over 94 percent of charter coverage for the remainder of 2025 and approximately 75 percent for 2026. Having executed several new contracts and extensions over the last year, we have established good momentum in a strengthening market and remain focused on strengthening and extending our fleetwide charter coverage”, Lowe said. Looking forward KNOT said the Brazilian shuttle tanker market remains strong, fueled by upcoming production growth, a constrained newbuild market, and the low-cost viability of projects. Meanwhile, the North Sea market, previously dampened