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.

Oil edged higher as traders assessed US President Donald Trump’s statement that the US had reached a “framework” for a deal on Greenland. West Texas Intermediate rose less than 1% to settle below $61 a barrel, following equities and the dollar higher. Trump said he would refrain from previously threatened tariffs on European nations opposing his effort to take possession of Greenland. The US’s renewed push to acquire the sovereign Danish territory threatened to trigger a trade war that could curb economic growth and bring down oil prices. Markets also digested renewed concerns over military action in Iran, adding to a geopolitical risk premium that further supported prices. Trump is still pressing aides on “decisive” military options in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Reaction in the oil markets has appeared relatively muted, said Frank Monkam, head of macro trading at Buffalo Bayou Commodities. “The price action today is basically range trade with an upside bias where dips are being bought until we get clarity on Iran, which has taken a backseat to Greenland/Davos talks for now,” Monkam said. Helping add a floor to the market, the IEA increased its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026, slightly trimming a projected supply glut that has weighed on prices. The projections, however, still leave oil markets facing a significant excess. Stockpiles are on track to swell by 3.7 million barrels a day this year, according to the IEA’s latest assessment, though the agency has cautioned that the actual overhang may not reach these levels in practice. The excess supply has cushioned against uncertainties in Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela, the agency added. In Kazakhstan, the operator of the Tengiz oilfield has declared force majeure on crude deliveries into the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, adding a hurdle that has offered some

Russia said Ukrainian drones targeted the Afipsky refinery in the Krasnodar region overnight, in the latest attack on the nation’s energy infrastructure. Debris of the unmanned aerial vehicle fell on the territory of the facility and caused a fire, which “was quickly extinguished,” regional emergencies authorities said in a Telegram post. “There were no casualties or damage to infrastructure.” Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify the claim. ForteInvest, which operates the Afipsky refinery, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the potential impact on processing rates.  Ukraine and Russia have been trading attacks on energy infrastructure as Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor is about to enter a fifth year, with Kyiv and Moscow remaining at an impasse over a proposed peace plan. While Kyiv has reduced the intensity of attacks on Russian refineries and oil export facilities so far this month compared with the end of last year, Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukraine’s power sector, leaving millions of people without heating and water amid freezing temperatures. The Afipsky refinery has a processing capacity of as much as 9.1 million tons of crude oil annually, or some 180,000 barrels per day. The facility, which has been a target for repeated Ukrainian attacks, was last hit in December.  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.

In its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on January 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that total U.S. crude oil production will drop in 2026 and 2027. According to this STEO, the EIA sees U.S. crude oil output, including lease condensate, averaging 13.59 million barrels per day in 2026 and 13.25 million barrels per day in 2027. This production averaged 13.61 million barrels per day in 2025, the STEO showed. The STEO projected that Lower 48 States production, excluding the Gulf of America, will come in at 11.11 million barrels per day in 2026 and 10.87 million barrels per day in 2027. In the report, Federal Gulf of America production is forecast to average 2.00 million barrels per day in 2026 and 1.89 million barrels per day in 2027 and Alaska output is projected to come in at 0.47 million barrels per day in 2026 and 0.50 million barrels per day in 2027. In 2025, Lower 48 States production averaged 11.28 million barrels per day, Federal Gulf of America production came in at 1.91 million barrels per day, and Alaska output averaged 0.42 million barrels per day, the STEO showed. A quarterly breakdown included in the EIA’s latest STEO projected that U.S. crude oil production will come in at 13.73 million barrels per day in the first quarter of this year, 13.65 million barrels per day in the second quarter, 13.47 million barrels per day in the third quarter, 13.50 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter, 13.43 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2027, 13.31 million barrels per day in the second quarter, and 13.13 million barrels per day across the third and fourth quarter of next year. “We forecast U.S. crude oil production will remain close to the

Western Midstream Partners LP (WES) announced Tuesday it has amended its natural gas gathering and processing contracts in the Delaware Basin with Occidental Petroleum Corp and expanded its partnership with ConocoPhillips in the same basin. The new agreements with ConocoPhillips and Occidental advance WES’ transition to fixed-fee arrangements in the maturing basin, The Woodlands, Texas-based company said in a statement on its website. The previous agreement with Occidental already provided for a transition to a fixed-fee structure; the new agreement speeds up that transition, according to WES. Houston, Texas-based oil, gas and chemicals producer Occidental agreed to reduce its ownership in WES from about 42 percent to around 40 percent under the renegotiated gathering and processing contracts, “further positioning WES as a standalone midstream enterprise”, WES said. “Following this amendment, approximately nine percent of WES’ total revenue will remain subject to cost-of-service rates, with approximately one percent of total revenue subject to cost-of-service rates expiring in the late 2020s”, WES said. “The remaining cost-of-service rate provisions extend into the mid-to-late 2030s and include provisions to convert to fixed-fee structures at that time. “All significant fixed-fee contracts with Occidental, including the contracts being amended, are effective through the mid-to-late 2030s”. The new gas gathering contract provides “volumetric protection via substantial minimum volume commitments (MVCs) through the original cost-of-service term, and from that point forward, the existing acreage dedication and fixed-fee structure continues through the duration of the contract”, WES added. The new gas processing contract “continues to provide volumetric protection via MVCs through 2035”, WES said. As part of the renegotiated contracts, Occidental will surrender to WES 15.3 million common units currently owned by Occidental. The volume represents around $610 million of limited partnership interests, according to WES. “This transfer was structured on terms intended to represent a value-neutral exchange for the economic concessions reflected in

U.S. natural gas prices are rising today due to a combination of weather risk, production softness, and positioning, rather than any single structural shift. That’s what Ole R. Hvalbye, a commodities analyst at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB), told Rigzone in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “First, the weather premium has kicked in hard,” Hvalbye said. “Forecasts now show temperatures in the Lower-48 turning well below normal from around January 23 and extending into early February, particularly across the eastern half of the United States,” he added. “That directly lifts heating demand expectations at a time of year when the market is already sensitive(!). As a result, Henry Hub has surged from … [around] $3 per MMBtu [million British thermal units] last week to nearly $5 per MMBtu intraday today!” he noted. “Second, supply has tightened at the margin. Lower-48 dry gas production has dipped to around 110.5 Bcfpd [billion cubic feet per day], down from over 112 Bcfpd earlier this week, partly reflecting cold-weather disruptions,” Hvalbye continued. “At the same time, LNG feedgas demand remains elevated at just over 18 Bcfpd, even though flows at Sabine Pass eased slightly today, partly offset by higher intake at Elba Island,” he stated. “Third, positioning and short covering are amplifying the move,” Hvalbye highlighted. The SEB commodities analyst told Rigzone that trading volumes in Henry Hub futures hit a record high earlier this week and added that today’s rally has been pushed by hedge funds covering short positions built up during the recent sell-off. “That adds momentum once prices start moving,” he pointed out. Looking at the demand side, Hvalbye told Rigzone that U.S. gas consumption “has eased back toward ~108 Bcfpd from very high cold-weather levels earlier this week” but added that “that hasn’t been enough to offset the weather risk