Oil market sentiment appears to have improved significantly over the past month, particularly among hedge funds. That’s what analysts at Standard Chartered Bank, including the company’s commodities research head Paul Horsnell, said in a report sent to Rigzone late Tuesday by Horsnell, adding that their crude oil money-manager positioning index “has risen for three successive weeks”. “In the latest data it rose 15.0 week on week to a 24-week high of -2.1. Our positioning index for the ICE Brent contract is now positive; it rose 17.8 week on week to a 30-week high of +6.0,” the analysts added in the report. “It is perhaps too early to conclude that the mood shift will stick; however, we have noticed a distinct lessening of the reach of the once-dominant extremely bearish macroeconomic and oil balance consensus over the past month,” they went on to state. In the report, the Standard Chartered Bank analysts said the improvement in sentiment has accompanied a gradual trend higher in prices. “Front-month Brent has managed a run of nine consecutive intra-day highs (the longest such run since the start of the contract in 1988 is 12), reaching a 12-week high of $77.50 per barrel intra-day on 6 January before settling weakly at $76.30 per barrel that day and then climbing back above $77 per barrel in early trading on 7 January,” they analysts noted in the report. “The forward curve has steepened and shifted higher, with the first-to-second month Brent spread rising to $0.59 per barrel at settlement on 6 January. Further down the curve Brent for delivery five years out rose by $0.57 per barrel week on week to $68.13 per barrel,” they added. The Standard Chartered Bank analysts also stated in the report that volatility remains muted. “30-day realized, annualized Brent volatility stood at 18.5

Eni Plenitude SpA Società Benefit built about 400 megawatts (MW) of power generation capacity from renewable energy (RE) sources in Spain last year, growing its installed RE capacity in the country to almost 950 MW, parent company Eni SpA has reported. The total figure, which represents wind and solar, is more than double compared to Eni’s installed RE capacity in Spain in 2023, the Italian state-backed energy major said in an online statement. The Spanish additions in 2024 have increased Eni’s global installed RE capacity to four GW, a goal it outlined in its 2024–27 plan published March 14, 2024. The Caparacena solar project in Granada accounted for 150 MW of last year’s installations in Spain. The project comprises three photovoltaic plants with a capacity of nearly 50 MW each. The project has a 400-kilovolt (kv) substation enabling connection to the national transmission grid and another 200-kv substation and line shared with other operators, Eni said. Plenitude, the RE arm of Italian state-backed Eni, also completed plants with a combined capacity of nearly 250 MW in the Renopool solar park in Extremadura and the Guillena solar park in Andalusia. A further 820 MW is under construction in Spain, expected to be completed 2025 and 2026, Eni said. “During 2024 Plenitude has registered significant organic growth in Spain with the completion of several renewable projects realized also thanks to the good relationships we have developed locally”, said Mariangiola Mollicone, Eni head of renewables in Western Europe and managing director of Plenitude in Spain. “Spain is a strategic country for our company and we want to have a positive impact in the areas where we operate, not only economically, but also on the communities that host us”, Mollicone added. Early last year Plenitude agreed to join a partnership between BlueFloat Energy International SLU and

While the new year is intended to represent the opportunity for new beginnings, there is unfortunately no shaking the clouds over our domestic supply chain. There is symbolic relevance for the north-east of Scotland in GB Energy being headquartered in Aberdeen, but for the companies which make up tens of thousands of jobs in the region, the lack of economic certainty is dangling like the proverbial guillotine. At the top of the food chain, the oil and gas operators are hindered by the government’s Energy Profits Levy and the trickledown effect it has on the companies that are the lifeblood of the region’s economy could prove existential. Robert Gordon University estimate that up to 95,000 jobs are at stake across the country as we transition from fossil fuels to renewables. © Supplied by Craig InternationalCraig House, Craig International’s global head-quarters in Aberdeen. Let’s forget this tagline of Aberdeen as the UK’s oil and gas capital – it is the city leading the nation’s green revolution and is embracing change. But it is being badly let down by those in power. The government’s rhetoric touts commitments to net-zero emissions and a just transition for energy communities but, in practice, it has failed to deliver targeted support to facilitate this shift. Then there’s the National Insurance hike and you don’t need to go far before you’re talking to peers who recognise that employing someone abroad rather than in the UK can be a far more cost-effective option. Supply chain businesses in Aberdeen – and beyond, because let’s not forget the impending importance of Inverness and the Highlands – are uniquely vulnerable. They operate on razor-thin margins, serving as the backbone of both oil and gas projects and emerging renewable ventures. Uncertainty in policy has deterred investment in new oil and gas licences,

Aberdeen-based Rovtech will acquire the VALOR remotely operated vehicle (ROV) business from Seatronics in a “transformative” seven-figure deal. Rovtech said the “strategic acquisition” will enhance its position as a “global technology leader” in manufacturing robotics, tooling and harsh environment equipment. The company serves the nuclear energy and subsea sectors, with its ROVs designed to withstand radiation, extreme heat and deep ocean pressures. Rovtech said the addition of the VALOR (versatile and lightweight observation ROV) will boost its portfolio, with the technology offering industry leading capabilities at a “far lower weight and cost” compared to rivals. The deal will also double Rovtech’s workforce across its two sites in Aberdeen and Barrow-in-Furness from 10 to 20 employees. © Supplied by Rovtech/True NorthThe VALOR ROV. Image: Rovtech Rovtech chief executive John Polson said the VALOR ROV has provided a “step change in what has traditionally been the limitations of an observation class ROV”. “Its lightweight design, power, manoeuvrability, and unmatched ability to integrate several state-of-the-art sensors, make it an indispensable tool for modern subsea operations, and we are thrilled to integrate this business into Rovtech,” Polson said. “With this acquisition, we’re not just expanding our capabilities – we’re looking to set the standard for efficiency and innovation across the nuclear and subsea energy sectors.” Polson said Rovtech is now “well-positioned” as a provider of “some of the world’s most advanced and reliable ROVs on the market”. Rovtech and Ventex Formerly based in Cumbria, Rovtech was acquired by Aberdeen climate tech venture studio Ventex in October last year. Launched in Aberdeen last year, Ventex is focused on repurposing existing energy supply chain firms to support emerging renewables markets. Ventex managing partner Steve Gray said the acquisition of VALOR ROV will create a “new leader in robotics for subsea, nuclear and other harsh environments”. ©

Aberdeen-headquartered drilling services firm KCA Deutag has secured $513 million (£419m) in land and offshore drilling contracts. KCA Deutag said the deals include new contracts and extensions for projects across the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the UK. In land drilling, KCA said it has secured extensions in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Congo and Colombia as well as a new contract in Iraq. The total contracts are worth $497m (£406m), which KCA said amounts to over 35 rig years of additional work. Meanwhile in the offshore sector, KCA said it secured $16m (£13m) in contract extensions in the UK North Sea. KCA Deutag president of land Simon Drew said: ““These awards and achievements reflect our commitment to outstanding performance and show the trust our customers have in our ability to deliver safe and incident free drilling operations. © KCA DeutagA drilling rig topdrive motor manufactured by KCA Deutag subsidiary Bentec “We are proud of and grateful to all our country teams. These recent contract wins and extensions highlight their dedication to excellence and the delivery of safe and effective operations.” The drilling deals come after American competitor Helmerich & Payne (H&P) acquired KCA Deutag in July last year in a deal worth nearly $2 billion (£1.6bn). At the time, H&P said it plans to establish the Portlethen-based KCA as a “global leader in onshore drilling”. Drew said the merger with H&P will combine “the strengths of our people together with our geographical footprint, to create an organisation with an unrivalled global network, service capability and technology offering”. Despite the takeover, KCA is “expected to remain” at its headquarters the north-east of Scotland. KCA Deutag Formed in a merger between KCA Drilling and Deutag AG in 2001, KCA Deutag has a significant land drilling presence in the Middle East alongside operations

Greece’s Copelouzos Group is speeding up development of its €4.2 billion ($4.3 billion) power link with Egypt, looking to reach a final investment decision next year and its startup in 2030, the executive in charge of the project said. Known as Gregy, the proposed undersea transmission line has attracted “strong interest” from European banks for potential financing, Ioannis Karydas, chief executive officer for renewables, energy storage and interconnections, said in an interview in Athens.  Greece has seen increasing investments in energy infrastructure, from LNG terminals to pipeline links and power lines. That’s turning the Mediterranean nation into a gateway for imports into Europe as the continent seeks independence from Russian gas and plans to cut net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.  Gregy has entered the European Union’s list of energy projects of common and mutual interest, which makes it eligible for a grant for as much as 50 percent of the cost of construction. Greece’s power grid operator IPTO also said in November it would consider investing in it.   The link, which will consist of 4 cables stretching almost 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) across the eastern Mediterranean, aims to bring electricity from a 9.5 gigawatt portfolio of wind and solar projects that Copelouzos will develop in Egypt as a separate project, Karydas said. One third of the electricity will be for Greek industry, one third for transfers to Bulgaria, Italy and onward to other European countries, and another third for Greek production of fuels such as hydrogen and green methanol for ships, according to Karydas. The project has the potential to replace 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, he added.  The wind and solar parks in Egypt will require as much as €8 billion of investments, and Copelouzos aims for an international consortium of companies to develop