Papua New Guinea’s national petroleum and energy company Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited has finished its seismic program on its operated Kimu and Barikewa licenses. “On Wednesday, March 26, we shot the last hole on a seismic line in the Kimu license, and camp demobilization has begun. This is the culmination of a seismic program we have been undertaking in our two petroleum retention licenses”, Wapu Sonk, Kumul Petroleum’s managing director, said. “The purpose of this seismic work is to gather additional geological information on the petroleum resources already discovered in these two licenses, to increase the volumes of oil and gas reserves. The second objective is to identify and firm up siting of some delineation wells and exploration targets”. Sonk said the seismic campaign had been carried out by contractor OilMin Holdings and had taken approximately six months. He noted that seismic line cutting is a labor-intensive activity and the six seismic lines required the employment of 477 local people in remote areas of the Gulf and Western provinces. The company anticipates 6 months for analyzing and incorporating seismic data into its geological models. “Kumul Petroleum and OilMin have worked closely with locally impacted communities and although seismic work only requires company presence in an area for a relatively short time, assistance has been provided to local primary schools at Kaiam and Kumusi. Without community support this fieldwork would not have been possible”, Sonk said. Sonk said Kumul Petroleum is investing heavily to assess and develop its oil and gas licenses, aiming to create economically viable development plans. He highlighted Kumul Petroleum’s direct involvement in exploring and potentially commercializing previously deemed unviable gas resources in Papua New Guinea. To contact the author, email [email protected] What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone

Buru Energy Ltd. has executed a Strategic Development Agreement (SDA) with Clean Energy Fuels Australia Pty. Ltd. (CEFA) to co-develop the Rafael gas project. The project is located in the Canning Basin, some 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) east of Broome and approximately 85 kilometers (52.8 miles) south of Derby in the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley, Western Australia. Buru said in a media release the project is targeting the replacement of long-haul trucked or imported fuel used for power generation and mining in the northwest of Western Australia with a local source of trucked liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquids, supporting the development of new market opportunities in the region. “The agreement with CEFA is a watershed moment for Buru and the Rafael gas project. It marks a clear demonstration of the company’s gas strategy and transition from explorer to developer and long-term producer”, Buru CEO Thomas Nador said. “Rafael is the only confirmed source of conventional gas and liquids in onshore Western Australia north of the North West Shelf project. It is a unique opportunity to provide energy to a growing market that is not connected to a gas pipeline and currently faces challenges with high energy costs and security of supply”. “Our proven virtual pipeline or ‘trucked LNG’ model lowers long-term regional energy costs and emissions and provides a viable alternative to diesel for new and existing energy users”, Basil Lenzo, CEFA/Octa Group CEO and Director, said. Buru and CEFA will establish gas pricing arrangements for competitive LNG sales, ensuring economic returns and value sharing, Buru said. The two companies will also work together on condensate production and sales. Buru added that CEFA will finance and operate a small-scale LNG plant with a capacity of up to 300 tonnes per day on the Rafael 1 well pad, with a

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has called for policymakers to accelerate deployment of the UK hydrogen sector. In a new report, the body warned that the country’s hydrogen industry has been slower to develop than expected and outlined key recommendations to help boost its growth. Among its recommendations are prioritising the deployment of hydrogen into industries where it can make the biggest impact in decarbonising sectors, such as high-temperature manufacturing processes. In addition, OEUK said that the government should commit to realistic, deliverable deployment targets to attract investment and build confidence in the sector. The report also called for ensuring funding mechanisms for hydrogen business models, such as the proposed Gas Shipper Obligation, are fair and proportionate whilst balancing the need to preserve energy security, reduce energy costs and deliver net zero objectives. Finally, OEUK said that policies must recognise the critical importance of domestic gas production in delivering the scale of low carbon hydrogen supplies needed to create this new market. OEUK head of energy policy Enrique Cornejo said: “The UK has the people, projects, and potential to make hydrogen a cornerstone of our energy future – but without urgent action, that opportunity could slip through our fingers. “The UK has over 100 hydrogen projects in the pipeline, equating to more than 15GW of production capacity, but without clarity on key areas and policies, these projects will struggle to progress. “Hydrogen has a role to play as a decarbonisation solution and for those industries, there needs to be a scale up of the sector.  This isn’t only about hitting targets – it’s about securing jobs, investment, and a future for many of these sectors.” The UK hydrogen industry recently echoed some of OEUK’s calls, saying that the government needs to deliver “pragmatism” and policy certainty to help the sector reach

Just a few short days ago, the Department of Energy announced that the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions had fallen by 3.5% last year – due in large part to a new record for renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar, which now powers more than 50% of the UK’s electricity supply. Greenpeace UK policy director Doug Parr said it showed “the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change are working,” and called on the government to “rapidly make renewables the backbone of our energy system to lower our bills for good.” The UK’s expansion of renewable energy infrastructure and capacity has certainly proven valuable in recent months, as repeated disruptions have continued to impact the supply of fossil fuels from abroad, and skyrocketing energy prices have underscored the need for greater energy security and independence. However, as the country celebrates this new milestone on the journey to net zero, there are significant obstacles that still lie ahead – such as the lack of long-term financing and the challenges of renewable energy intermittency. However, the most significant complication threatening to undermine the UK’s energy transition is not related to the performance or cost of renewable energy, but rather to the availability of the materials that are needed to build and scale a clean energy system. Critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements are essential components of rapidly growing energy technologies – including wind turbines, electricity networks and electric vehicles – and securing a stable and reliable supply of these resources has proven to be an incredibly competitive process. Rare earth boom As of 2025, the rare earth metals market is projected to reach $8.15 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9%. The energy sector’s demand has been a key driver of this surge,

A de facto onshore wind ban was “not a rational decision,” a minister has said, as he described a “balance” between building new turbines and protecting national landscapes. Michael Shanks told the Commons that “even if we build the significant number of projects that are needed” to meet the government’s goal of becoming a clean energy superpower, “there will still be” countryside protections in place. He made the pledge as MPs debated proposals to have larger windfarm plans considered as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), where decision-making powers lie with ministers rather than local councils. MPs backed the plans – which would apply to windfarms with a capacity of more than 100MW – 307 votes to 100, majority 107. Conservative shadow energy minister Andrew Bowie said the ban on onshore wind was “absolutely rational” when Shanks told MPs: “The ban introduced by the party opposite was not a rational decision and we’re bringing that back into this process.” Conservative former minister and MP for North West Hampshire Kit Malthouse said “some of the frankly windiest places in the UK are often some of our most beautiful”. He asked Shanks “what provision he was making in these regulations for protected national landscapes,” such as the North Wessex Downs. Shanks replied: “There is a balance to be struck here where we need to build nationally important infrastructure and that does mean much more wind in England to match the significant amount of onshore wind that’s been built in Scotland for example over the past few years, including not far from my constituency. “But there’s a balance to be struck around protecting land as well, and even if we build the significant number of projects that are needed, there will still be protections for land in the cases that he raises and the

Commodity trader Gunvor Group posted a 42% drop in profit in 2024, as the energy-market volatility that drove mega earnings in previous years declined. Net profit fell to $729 million last year, while revenues grew due to higher volumes of physically traded crude and refined oil products, the trading house said in a statement on Tuesday. Though full-year earnings were the fourth best in Gunvor’s history, second-half profit was the lowest since 2020. After banking billions of dollars in windfall profits as markets whipsawed following Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, commodity trading giants are adapting to a new normal. Prices for gas and coal have declined from multi-year highs, while crude oil futures are trading in a tight range. In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Gunvor’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Torbjörn Törnqvist acknowledged that the firm had lost money on some oil trades. The CEO has overhauled Gunvor’s top leadership team in recent months. “Some areas have really performed well; some areas did not perform well. I’m open with that,” he said. On Tuesday, the trading house said it was also impacted by impairments last year, including one for its oil refinery in Rotterdam. Like its trading peers, Gunvor has been investing in assets to help stabilize long-term profits. That includes buying into a gas power station in Spain, a fuel distribution network in Pakistan and upstream natural gas production in the US. Gunvor said its equity was $6.5 billion at the end of the year. Billionaire Törnqvist owns 84.79% of the company, with the remaining shares held by employees. 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. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR