WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced its annual funding opportunity of up to $400 million to advance the frontiers of scientific knowledge and lay the foundation for future technologies and innovation. The funding delivers on President Trump’s Executive Order Restoring Gold Standard Science by supporting rigorous, transparent, and mission-driven research across DOE’s Office of Science to strengthen America’s scientific and technological leadership. “Foundational research is where the breakthroughs that shape America’s future begin,” said DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. “Through this investment, we are empowering our nation’s researchers to pursue bold ideas, push the boundaries of discovery, and build the scientific foundations for tomorrow’s technologies—strengthening America’s global leadership in science and innovation.” The funding will support research across DOE’s Office of Science and its major programs to tackle some of the nation’s greatest scientific challenges and accelerate discoveries in areas critical to America’s future. Research will span Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Isotope R&D and Production. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), informally known as the “Open Call,” is issued annually at the beginning of each Fiscal Year (FY). It provides a vehicle for DOE’s Office of Science to solicit applications from institutions for research support in areas not covered by more specific, topical NOFOs issued by the office in FY 2027. More details about this Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here. DOE’s Office of Science is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences, funds research at hundreds of universities nationwide, and stewards 10 of DOE’s National Laboratories.

The company disclosed the transaction as part of an operational update following the recent closing of its acquisition of WildFire Energy. Chris Stavros, Magnolia chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said integration of the WildFire assets is progressing as planned as the company works to build a larger Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk position across South Texas. Production, capital outlook Third-quarter 2026 production is expected to average 116,000-118,000 boe/d (about 42% oil), reflecting the WildFire acquisition and the impact of the divested properties, Magnolia said. Drilling and completion (D&C) capital spending for the quarter is expected to total $155-165 million. For fourth-quarter 2026, the first full quarter reflecting the WildFire acquisition, production is forecast at 159,000-161,000 boe/d with oil accounting for 49-50% of volumes. D&C spending is expected to be about $235 million. For 2027, Magnolia expects both oil production and total production to grow 4-5% from a second-quarter 2026 pro forma base of about 78,000 bo/d and 158,000 boe/d, respectively, after accounting for volumes associated with the asset sale. The company currently estimates 2027 D&C capital spending of $900-950 million, including the impact of modest oilfield service cost inflation.

US Senate negotiators introduced bipartisan permitting legislation Sept. 30 that would accelerate federal reviews, sharply curtail the window for legal challenges to energy projects, and improve predictability for developers. The agreement is a breakthrough in the Senate, where lawmakers have struggled for years to advance permitting reform. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would impose a 150-day window for certain challenges to federal permitting decisions and provide greater certainty that permitted energy and infrastructure projects retain their approvals. It also would reform Clean Water Act reviews that can delay energy infrastructure, establishing more predictable environmental reviews. The changes could reduce regulatory and litigation uncertainty for interstate gas pipelines, which are often subject to both federal environmental reviews and state water-quality certifications. The four senators behind the deal—Mike Lee (R-Utah), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)—said the agreement also addresses high-profile electricity issues by expanding federal authority over transmission permitting and requiring data centers to pay associated transmission costs rather than shifting them to other electricity customers. The bill, released after months of negotiations, still faces hurdles. Senate negotiators reached an agreement on the legislative text, but Democrats also want assurances that wind and solar projects would benefit from the same streamlining and clarity from the Trump administration on what it means to return wind and solar permitting to “regular order,” issues that remain unresolved. The Senate would consider amendments before voting on the legislation. The target is a vote after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with Capito noting the permitting bill could be the first vote when the Senate returns. The House has passed its own permitting legislation, the SPEED Act. While both bills would streamline federal permitting and limit litigation, they take different approaches to reforming NEPA, and the Senate legislation addresses transmission

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) reported one fatality and one injury after a fire at its refinery in Karnataka, Mangalore, India, on Sept. 30. The incident began at about 12:20 p.m. local time when a high-pressure cold separator ruptured in the refinery’s delayed coker gas oil hydrotreater unit, or coker heavy gas oil hydrotreating unit, MRPL said in separate regulatory filings to BSE Ltd. The company isolated the affected unit’s battery limits and deployed emergency response and firefighting teams. MRPL said the fire was brought under control and completely extinguished by 2:47 p.m. local time. During subsequent combing and inspection operations following the fire’s full extinguishing, personnel found the body of one deceased individual at the affected plant. A second person sustained burn injuries and was receiving hospital treatment, the company said. MRPL issued its first update while firefighting operations were continuing. It said one minor injury had been reported at that stage and that the injured person was out of danger. The company did not provide details on the identities of those involved, the cause of the separator rupture, or the extent of damage to the unit. It also did not disclose whether the incident affected broader refinery operations or production. MRPL said further verified information would be released as it becomes available.

The share of exploration and production (E&P) companies planning to add to their capital spending in 2027 versus this year has grown to 22% from 10% in June, a new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey shows. Of the more than 80 E&P leaders in Texas, northern Louisiana, and southern New Mexico who responded to the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey earlier this month, a third said their oil production has increased over the past 3 months and only 1 in 8 said they’re pumping less oil. On the capex side, 46% said their spending this quarter was up from this year’s second quarter. Both of those data points were down slightly from the Fed’s June poll. What appears to be changing more substantially on the ground in the Permian basin, Eagle Ford, and other areas in the Dallas Fed’s footprint are expectations about 2027 spending. Only 5% of E&P leaders now expect they’ll trim capex next year while 73% said they’ll keep spending level. Three months ago, those figures were 10% and 81%, respectively. That means 22% of executives now think their capex will climb in 2027 compared to less than 10% 3 months ago. And it suggests that production in the region will climb from here as producers look to take advantage of consistently high prices for their products—even if they’ve retreated from their recent highs. Jon Costello, an analyst at HFI Research, said an industry response—with Texas firms in the vanguard—to higher prices similar to how it recovered starting in late 2016 would grow total US production more than 4% to about 14.4 million b/d.

US crude oil inventories for the week ended Sept. 25, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 900,000 bbl from the previous week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). At 427.3 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are 2% above the 5-year average for this time of year, the EIA report indicated. Gasoline output averaged 9.5 million b/d, and distillate production decreased to 5.0 million b/d. Propane-propylene inventories increased 1.8 million bbl, 20% above the 5-year average. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 7 million bbl for the week. Distillate inventories decreased 2.3 million barrels, 14% below the five-year average. US crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.3 million b/d for the week ended Sept. 25, which was 554,000 b/d less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 92.5% of capacity. Crude oil imports decreased 179,000 million b/d to 5.7 million b/d. The 4-week average of 6.4 million b/d is 4.8% above the year-ago level. Gasoline imports averaged 500,000 b/d; distillate imports averaged 153,000 b/d. Over the past four weeks, total product supplied averaged 20.8 million b/d, up 2.1% year over year. The 4-week average for gasoline product supplied increased 0.3% year over year to 8.7 million b/d, while the 4-week average for distillate product supplied increased 5.2% to 3.8 million b/d. The 4-week average for jet fuel product supplied increased 6.5% year over year.