MidOcean Energy LLC, a liquefied natural gas company founded by EIG, is in talks to join Argentina’s signature LNG venture, according to people familiar with the matter. The $20 billion project led by state-run YPF SA and Italy’s Eni SpA envisages construction of at least two floating liquefaction vessels with annual capacity for 12 million tons off Argentina’s Atlantic coast. YPF executives have ambitions to incorporate a third vessel. Talks are at an early stage and MidOcean may yet walk away from the project known as Argentina LNG, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Saudi Aramco is an investor in MidOcean. President Javier Milei met MidOcean executives in Buenos Aires this week, according to a statement from his office that didn’t provide details of the meeting. “We were pleased to meet with President Milei to discuss opportunities in Argentina’s energy sector as part of our regular assessment of business development opportunities globally, and we look forward to continued engagement,” EIG said in an email, without providing further comment on the talks.  YPF declined to comment. Eni didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. MidOcean holds stakes in gas-export plants in Australia, Peru and Canada, and has been looking to expand its portfolio. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s overseas investment arm, XRG, agreed in November to join as an equity partner in Argentina LNG but hasn’t yet inked a binding deal. Argentina LNG is a key part of efforts to turn Argentina’s booming Vaca Muerta shale patch into a significant global provider of oil and gas. The exports could, in turn, drive a generational shift to stabilize the country’s crisis-prone economy. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo expects TotalEnergies SE’s $20 billion liquefied natural gas project to restart as early as this month, reviving a potentially key revenue source for the cash-strapped government. There are already signs of construction preparation at the project that shut in 2021 after insurgent attacks near the site, Chapo said in an interview in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. He played down the risk that Islamic State-linked militants will halt construction again. The Mozambique LNG project promised to transform one of the world’s poorest economies and bring in billions of dollars in revenue to the state, some of which it earmarked to pay down debt. Repeated setbacks caused by security concerns have pushed out first exports to 2029, just as a wave of supply from Qatar and the US is forecast to hit the global market. A restart would be welcome news for Mozambique’s economy that’s also struggling to recover from post-election unrest. “If everything goes well, we may be able to resume effectively in late January or early February,” said Chapo, who was sworn in as the nation’s leader a year ago. “We are pleased with the way work is progressing.” Total, the operator of Mozambique LNG with a 26.5% stake, previously said it wants the government to approve $4.5 billion in additional costs incurred during the almost five-year freeze before fully relaunching the project. The sides have agreed to allow the development to proceed while the approval process is under way, said Chapo. He was unable to give a timeline for Mozambique’s audit of costs because of the complexity of the process. Total, in a response to a request for comment, referred to remarks by Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné in December that the company is mobilizing workers and contractors at the development. Chapo said he has an “excellent” relationship with

In an EBW Analytics Group report sent to Rigzone by the EBW team on Thursday, Eli Rubin, an energy analyst at the company, highlighted that the February natural gas contract “collapsed” yesterday. Rubin outlined in the report that the February natural gas contract fell to $3.068 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday “on (i) chances for a dissipating Alaska ridge opening milder February risks and (ii) a Webber Research report that Golden Pass LNG Trains 2-3 may be delayed until 2027”. “Weakness was compounded by volatility: yesterday’s $3.120 close is within 1.1 cents of Friday’s low,” Rubin added. In the report, Rubin pointed out that daily LNG demand “dropped to a two month low” yesterday, “mitigating weather driven Henry Hub spot price upside to clear at $3.12 per MMBtu”. He also noted that “LNG could jump 3.5 billion cubic feet per day – adding to a 12.4 billion cubic foot per day increase in weather-driven demand into Tuesday”. Rubin went on to outline in the report that “consensus projections” for the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) next weekly natural gas storage report – which is scheduled to be released later today and will include data for the week ending January 9 – “are for an 87-91 billion cubic foot draw”. “The bigger story is likely to be rising physical market strength into a cold Martin Luther King holiday weekend,” Rubin added. “Healthy storage surpluses suggest NYMEX futures may try to continue to look past near term cold, however,” he continued. The EBW report highlighted that the February natural gas contract closed at $3.120 per MMBtu on Wednesday. It outlined that this marked a 29.9 cent, or 8.7 percent, decrease from Tuesday’s close. In Thursday’s report, EBW predicted a “mixed signals” trend for the NYMEX front-month natural gas contract

Chile’s National Petroleum Company (ENAP) has signed an agreement with Oxiquim allowing ENAP to transfer and store fuels at Oxiquim’s terminal in the municipality of Coronel, Región del Biobío. The agreement allows ENAP to use the Escuadrón Maritime Terminal starting this quarter, ENAP said in a press release. Oxiquim general manager Cecilia Pardo, in comments about the deal, noted of “limited infrastructure available for fuel storage and difficulty in executing new projects”.  Escuadrón is one of three terminals operated by Oxiquim for bulk liquid raw materials and chemicals, fuels and liquefied petroleum gas in Chile, Oxiquim says on its website. The other two are the Mejillones and Quintero terminals. “The agreement is consistent with ENAP’s recent announcement to consolidate its logistics business as a key pillar of the company, incorporating strategic partners and high service standards”, ENAP said. “This is based on the fact that ENAP has logistics assets exceeding $3 billion and that its operations span from Arica to Punta Arenas”. ENAP general manager Julio Friedmann said, “[S]ome of the main areas of work in the immediate term are to generate greater storage capacity and to develop future partnerships with third parties, always for the purpose of strengthening fuel supply throughout the territory”. Last year ENAP consolidated its logistics assets under a “Corporate Logistics Management” and announced an investment plan of $540 million over the next five years for its logistics business. “Among the main areas of focus of this new management are operational excellence, efficiency and profitability of the logistics chain, and the adaptation of infrastructure to meet current and future needs”, ENAP said in an online statement September 5, 2025. “Currently, ENAP manages logistics assets valued at over $3 billion, including a large land fleet, 11 ships, 830 kilometers [515.74 miles] of pipelines, three million cubic meters [105.94 million

Petrofac on Wednesday called on certain creditors to sign a “voluntary arrangement” regarding their claims, to allow the British energy engineering company to proceed with a recent agreement to sell its Asset Solutions business to CB&I. Petrofac said in an online statement it has scheduled a meeting of Petrofac Facilities Management Ltd’s creditors on January 30 for a vote on “a proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) related to the sale”. “The CVA is intended to compromise certain creditor claims to enable the completion of the sale”, the statement said. “Trade creditors, employees and certain other parties are not affected by the CVA. “Operations will continue as normal during the CVA process and Asset Solutions will continue to serve its customers and work with suppliers as usual”. Petrofac did not disclose the terms of the voluntary arrangement. “The agreed sale of Asset Solutions to CB&I is a strong outcome for the business and for around 3,000 colleagues who are expected to move across on completion”, said John Pearson, chief operating officer for Petrofac’s Asset Solutions business. “After more than two years of restructuring, this CVA is the final step to deliver that outcome, and we are asking creditors to support it so the sale can complete”. Petrofac and CB&I, a maker of storage facilities, tanks and terminals, announced their agreement December 24, 2025. “The consideration for the sale has been agreed on a debt-free cash-free basis”, Petrofac said then. “The ultimate net proceeds from the transaction will depend on the quantum of various deductions which will only be confirmed closer to completion. However, the administrators of the company expect the net proceeds to be in the range of $45m to $55m”. “The net proceeds will be distributed to the secured creditors in accordance with the intercreditor agreement entered into between the company and the secured creditors on 26

Oil prices retreated after a five-session rebound as concerns about the geopolitical situation in the Middle East abated to some extent. That’s what Daniel Takieddine, Co-founder and CEO of Sky Links Capital Group, said in a market analysis sent to Rigzone today, adding that “the announcement that the U.S. administration has put its latest move in the area on hold tempered immediate fears of supply disruption in an important oil producing region”. Takieddine warned, however, that geopolitical risk has not disappeared. “Tensions across major producing regions remain elevated, and developments in Eastern Europe and Latin America continue to inject uncertainty into energy supply chains,” he said in the analysis. “In parallel, U.S. crude inventory data showed a strong increase in stockpiles, reinforcing the perception that physical inventory remains plentiful and that recent gains were running ahead of underlying demand conditions,” he added. Looking ahead, Takieddine stated in the analysis that any renewed escalation in the Middle East or other producing regions would quickly push crude prices back to the upside. “However, over the long term, the concerns over an oversupplied market remain a weight on prices and could pull oil toward new lows if geopolitical risks abate more consistently,” he said. In a market comment sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Naeem Aslam, Chief Analyst at Zaye Capital Markets, noted that “crude oil prices remain volatile as markets continuously reprice the geopolitical risk premium against underlying supply-demand fundamentals”. “The latest price swings have largely been driven by shifting Middle East dynamics, including troop movements, Iran-related tension, and broader security posturing, which lifted risk premium earlier, while recent signs of de-escalation have triggered a pullback,” Aslam said in the comment. “Meanwhile, recent economic data reinforced resilient consumption and steady housing activity, supporting the view that demand remains intact but not overheating enough to