Seplat Energy PLC and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Co’s (NGIC) ANOH Gas Project, designed to produce up to 300 million standard cubic feet a day (MMscfd), has begun supplying the Indorama Petrochemical Plant. The Niger Delta project’s four wells had been on standby since November. Flows to Indorama have now begun following the completion of an 11-kilometer (6.84 miles) pipeline and clearance by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Lagos-based company said in a statement on its website. “Since first gas, wet gas production has been stabilizing, delivering 40-52 MMscfd of processed gas directly from the ANOH gas plant to the Indorama Petrochemical Plant”, Seplat said. “Condensate production has reached 2.0-2.5 kboepd and is expected to increase with gas production as the plant ramps up to design capacity. “In addition, preparations are underway to initiate sales of processed gas to the Nigeria LNG with an offtake agreement structured on an interruptible basis and will support the gas plant to further scale production towards full design capacity of 300 MMscfd. “Meanwhile, the construction of the OB3 pipeline export route by NGIC, originally designated as the primary channel for ANOH gas supply to the domestic market, has resumed and a revised completion date will be communicated in due course”. ANOH was developed by ANOH Gas Processing Co (AGPC), a joint venture equally owned by Seplat and NGIC. The integrated plant consists of two 150-MMscfd gas processing units, liquefied petroleum gas recovery units, condensate stabilization units, a 16-megawatt power plant and other supporting facilities, according to Seplat. It has been designed to operate with zero routine flares, the company said. “Across the unitized field of OML [Oil Mining Lease] 53 and OML 21, the ANOH gas plant unlocks an estimated 4.6 Tcf [trillion cubic feet] condensate-rich gas resource base”, Seplat said. “Seplat’s working interest 2P [proven and probable]

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has signed an agreement to acquire a 10 percent stake in the producing Baleine field offshore Côte d’Ivoire from operator Eni SpA, the companies said Thursday. “This transaction represents SOCAR’s entry to Africa’s vast oil and gas resources and aligns strategically with SOCAR’s global expansion vision”, SOCAR said in a statement on its website. Currently Italy’s state-controlled energy major Eni owns 47.2 percent stake in Baleine, to be reduced to 37.2 percent after the completion of the sale to SOCAR. Global energy trader Vitol Group owns 30 percent, acquired from Eni last year. Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire has 22.75 percent. “The transaction aligns with Eni’s strategy of optimizing its upstream portfolio by accelerating the monetization of exploration discoveries through the divestment of equity stakes, a model known as the dual exploration model”, Eni said separately. SOCAR noted, “Baleine is considered one of the largest oil and gas discoveries made in West Africa in recent years”. Baleine, developed in two phases, produces over 62,000 barrels a day of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, Eni said. It plans to raise the field’s daily capacity to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas under phase 3. Baleine in 2021 became the Ivory Coast’s first commercial hydrocarbon discovery since 2001 and is now the country’s “main offshore development”, according to Eni. The agreement with SOCAR, executed on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, the companies said. They did not disclose the price of the transaction. The agreement is part of a broader collaboration between the two that involves pursuing hydrocarbon exploration and production to secure fuel for Europe,

In an oil and gas report sent to Rigzone by the Macquarie team ahead of the release of this week’s U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly petroleum status report, Macquarie strategists revealed that they are forecasting that U.S. crude inventories will be up by 2.0 million barrels for the week ending January 16. “This follows a 3.4 million barrel build in the prior week, with the crude balance realizing somewhat tighter relative to our expectations, alongside a large gasoline build,” the strategists, including Macquarie energy strategist Walt Chancellor, said in the Macquarie report. “For the week ending 1/16, from refineries, we look for a meaningful reduction in crude runs (-0.4 million barrels per day); we see some potential for continued outperformance here as turnarounds have been slow to materialize,” the strategists added. “Among net imports, we model a moderate reduction, with exports (-0.1 million barrels per day) and imports (-0.5 million barrels per day) lower on a nominal basis,” they continued. The strategists warned in the report that timing of cargoes remains a source of potential volatility in the weekly crude balance, “as does timing of turnarounds”. “From implied domestic supply (prod.+adj.+transfers), we look for a modest nominal decrease (-0.2 MBD),” the strategists said in the report. “Rounding out the picture, we anticipate a larger increase (+0.8 million barrels) in SPR [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] stocks for the week ending 1/16,” they added. The Macquarie strategists went on to state in the report that, “among products”, they “again look for another healthy build led by gasoline (+5.0 million barrels), with distillate (+1.0 million barrels) and jet stocks (+0.9 million barrels) also modestly higher”. “We model implied demand for these three products at ~13.8 million barrels per day for the week ending January 16,” the Macquarie strategists noted. The EIA’s next weekly

Santos Ltd expects to produce 101-111 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) this year, compared to 87.7 MMboe in 2025, according to the Australian company’s quarterly report Thursday. In the last three months of 2025 Santos’ output totaled 22.3 MMboe, up five percent quarter-on-quarter. Full-year production was up one percent from 2024, the Adelaide-based natural gas-focused producer said. Santos said a project to unlock new gas for Darwin LNG in the Northern Territory through the Barossa field had been completed and that liquefied natural gas (LNG) production has restarted. “Following the end of the quarter, the first LNG cargo has been sold on a delivered ex-ship basis”, the quarterly report said. “The cargo is currently being loaded at Darwin LNG and will be delivered to the Sakai terminal in Japan”. In the Cooper basin on the Australian east coast, production recovered to pre-flood levels. “Drilling activity continued uninterrupted in 2025, with 104 wells drilled for the full year despite flood-related disruptions, supporting a near-term increase in production compared to the previous quarters”, Santos said. “Western Australia domestic gas production increased by approximately 19 percent compared to the prior quarter, following successful shutdowns in the third quarter at the Varanus Island and Macedon facilities, and implementation of the Varanus Island compression project phase 2, which developed around 24 MMboe of 2P [proven and probable] reserves”, it said. In Alaska in the United States, phase 1 of the Pikka oilfield development was 98 percent complete, on track to start production this quarter, Santos said. Managing director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher said, “The performance of the base business has been a real highlight in 2025 with strong production despite the impact of the biggest floods in the Cooper Basin since the 1970s”. “Once at full rates, Barossa LNG and Pikka phase 1 together

Russia said Ukrainian drones hit a Black Sea port late Wednesday, setting four fuel terminals on fire and killing two people.  The fire at the facility in Taman in the Krasnodar region was extinguished Thursday morning, local emergency authorities said on Telegram. A total of 208 personnel and 51 pieces of equipment were deployed, including units from Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry, the authorities said. According to preliminary information, two port employees were killed and several others were injured in the attack, Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said Wednesday. Taman port is located on a peninsula across the strait from Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The port handles oil, liquefied petroleum gas, grain, fertilizers and other cargo. It was last attacked in December, when port infrastructure and several vessels were damaged. Ukraine has been stepping up attacks on Russian assets at sea, including tankers and oil-field platforms. Russia has also been regularly striking Ukrainian energy and civilian targets, leaving thousands of people without power, water and heating amid freezing temperatures. It has also repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa. The two countries are fighting an increasingly intense energy war to gain meaningful advantage after months of little movement on the frontlines, and amid continuing peace talks. 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.

Turkey’s state energy company is in talks with Chevron Corp to jointly explore for oil and gas, according to a Turkish official familiar with the discussions. Turkish Petroleum Corp, known as TPAO, would work with Chevron on seismic studies and drilling, the official said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The potential accord is the latest move by Ankara to boost energy production and comes amid a broader warming of US-Turkey ties. It would follow a January agreement with Exxon Mobil Corp on joint exploration in the Black Sea and Mediterranean.  Turkey’s Energy Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. TPAO couldn’t be reached for comment.  “Chevron has a diverse exploration and production portfolio globally and continues to assess potential opportunities,” a spokesperson for Chevron told Bloomberg. “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on commercial matters.” It’s not clear which projects the companies could collaborate on. TPAO is already active in the Black Sea, Iraq, Russia and Somalia, and previously drilled in the eastern Mediterranean, where Chevron operates fields in Israeli and Cypriot waters.  Ankara has sought to cut its almost total dependency on imported oil and gas in recent years by increasing domestic production and expanding TPAO’s operations abroad. The firm has expanded its fleet of specialist vessels for offshore energy exploration and recently announced plans to raise as much as $4 billion in its debut Islamic debt sale. One of TPAO’s newest ships, called Cagri Bey, is expected to begin drilling work in Somalia in April or May, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told state-run broadcaster TRT Haber last week. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.