SLB, the world’s largest oilfield-services provider, raised its dividend and posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates as activity in the Middle East and other key regions accelerated and its data-center business rapidly expanded. The worst may be behind the global oil market, Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch said in a statement, predicting a gradual ramp-up in drilling activity in major regions including OPEC countries after a supply glut sent crude prices tumbling last year. Deriving the bulk of its revenue from overseas markets, Houston-based SLB is often regarded as a bellwether for the global oil industry and its financial health. Shares rose by as much as 4.8% to $51.67, briefly hitting the highest price since April 2024 before paring gains. “As we move into 2026, we believe that the headwinds we experienced in key regions in 2025 are behind us,” Le Peuch said. “In particular, we expect rig activity in the Middle East to increase compared to today’s level, and our footprint in the region puts us in a strong position to benefit from this recovery.” The data-center business, which grew 121% from a year earlier, helped to shield the company from lower oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty, he added. SLB has also increased its focus on production and recovery services, which help drillers to boost efficiency and extract more crude at lower cost. SLB has been expanding into oilfield tech and other ancillary business lines to offset muted growth in traditional drilling and US shale activity.  SLB posted adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 78 cents a share, surpassing analysts’ estimates of 74 cents. The company increased its quarterly divided 3.5% to 29.5 cents a share. The company’s global footprint positions it to benefit from US government efforts to revive Venezuelan oil production, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Scott Levine wrote in

France’s navy boarded an oil tanker coming from Russia into the Mediterranean Sea, as part of a global crackdown on shadow fleet ships used to export sanctioned crude. The operation was carried out on the high seas, with the support of several of France’s allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X. The vessel – the Grinch – is subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag, he said.  The operation comes amid a step-up in pressure on the shadow fleet of aging tankers globally. The US has been seizing ships tied to Venezuela’s oil exports – one of which sought the shelter of the Russian flag – while European nations have long talked about tougher measures against aging ships sailing through their waters. “We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions,” Macron said. “The activities of the ‘shadow fleet’ contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine.” A judicial investigation has been opened and the vessel has been diverted, Macron said. UN rules allow checks to be carried out on ships suspected of carrying false flags, according to a statement from the country’s administration for maritime affairs in the Mediterranean. The French navy said the tanker, which came from Murmansk on Russia’s Arctic coast, was boarded in the Alboran Sea, south of Spain, and taken to a mooring. The tanker was loaded with cargo at the time, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. While not giving a destination, it was sailing in the direction of the Suez Canal, a common waypoint for tankers taking Russian barrels to Asia. It disappeared from the industry’s digital tracking system on Wednesday, not long after passing Gibraltar. The Equasis international shipping database does not provide contact details for the manager of the Grinch. A clampdown on the shadow

Natural gas prices for near-term delivery at regional trading hubs across the US jumped as the market braced for a historic winter storm that’s poised to send temperatures plummeting and boost demand for the heating fuel.  So-called cash prices for gas at the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana to be delivered over the weekend surged early Friday to $18.80 per million British thermal units, according to traders. That compares with $8.42 on Thursday. Spot prices at the SoCal Citygate hub in California traded as high as $8 per million Btu as gas volumes delivered via pipeline from the Permian Basin in West Texas to the West Coast have likely been reduced, traders said. That’s up from $4.42 on Thursday. This week’s surge has been driven by forecasts for below-normal temperatures across most of the country, threatening to boost gas consumption and drain inventories. The freeze — particularly in the southern gas-producing states — has raised concerns about water icing in pipelines, potentially disrupting output starting this weekend. US natural gas futures for February delivery, meanwhile, rose for a fourth straight day. They were up 6.3% to $5.362 per million Btu as of 9:22 a.m. in New York, heading for their biggest weekly gain in records going back to 1990. The shift in US weather forecasts came days after hedge funds turned more bearish on gas at the end of last week, leaving the market poised for a rally as traders rushed to close out those wagers. Gas prices briefly climbed above $5.50 per million Btu on Thursday, a level that a Citigroup Inc. analysis on Thursday showed would wipe out all shorts.  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

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by 3.6 million barrels from the week ending January 9 to the week ending January 16, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report. Crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 426.0 million barrels on January 16, 422.4 million barrels on January 9, and 411.7 million barrels on January 17, 2025, the EIA report, which was released on January 22 and included data for the week ending January 16, showed. Crude oil in the SPR stood at 414.5 million barrels on January 16, 413.7 million barrels on January 9, and 394.6 million barrels on January 17, 2025, the report revealed. Total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.722 billion barrels on January 16, the report highlighted. Total petroleum stocks were up 8.3 million barrels week on week and up 100.3 million barrels year on year, the report pointed out. “At 426.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about two percent below the five year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report. “Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 6.0 million barrels from last week and are about five percent above the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline and blending components inventories increased last week,” it added. “Distillate fuel inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels last week and are about one percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories decreased 2.1 million barrels from last week and are about 39 percent above the five year average for this

Glenfarne Group LLC said Thursday it had signed several preliminary agreements to source natural gas for and sell output from Alaska LNG, designed to also supply the domestic market, as well as conditionally awarded build contracts. Alaska LNG holds an Energy Department permit to export 20 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of LNG, or 2.55 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas equivalent according to Alaska LNG, to both FTA and non-FTA countries. The project secured the authorization November 2014 for the portion for countries with a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States and August 2020 for the non-FTA portion. On December 11, 2025 the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council announced the completion of permit renewal for the project, which would process gas from the North Slope for both the domestic and overseas markets, following a review of environmental opinions. On Thursday Glenfarne said it has executed “gas sales precedent agreements” with Exxon Mobil Corp and Hilcorp Energy Co for the supply of gas from phase 1 of Alaska LNG. The Houston, Texas-based developer did not disclose any prospective contract volume. Glenfarne has a previous gas sales precedent agreement with Pantheon Resources PLC. “These agreements, which include pricing, contract length and other fundamental commercial terms, are a monumental step in achieving the decades-long objective of bringing the benefits of Alaska’s incredible North Slope reserves to Alaskans and to global markets”, said Adam Prestidge, Glenfarne president for Alaska LNG. Thursday’s statement also said Glenfarne had signed a letter of intent with Alaskan utility ENSTAR Natural Gas Co for a 30-year supply of LNG from the project. The volume under negotiation was not disclosed. Earlier this month it announced a letter of intent with Donlin Gold LLC of Novagold Resources Inc for a power plant for the Donlin gold

A release posted on the website of the Office of the Texas Governor on Thursday announced that Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 134 counties “to ensure that every necessary resource is made available to Texans”. A letter of transmittal, which accompanied the release, noted that Abbott issued “a proclamation declaring a disaster due to severe winter weather in a number of Texas counties”. “I, Greg Abbott, Governor of the State of Texas, do hereby certify that severe winter weather poses an imminent threat of widespread and severe property damage, injury, and loss of life due to prolonged freezing temperatures, heavy snow, icy conditions, and freezing rain in several counties,” Abbott stated in the original proclamation, which was attached to the letter. In a statement sent to Rigzone late Thursday by the AccuWeather team, AccuWeather said “a massive winter storm is forecast to unleash extreme freezing rain, damaging ice and heavy snow impacts across much of the southern, central, and eastern United States beginning Friday, followed by repeated waves of bitter cold”.   “More than 200 million people could be affected, with impacts expected to cascade nationwide through widespread power outages, travel shutdowns, and business operations grinding to a halt,” the statement warned. In that AccuWeather statement, the company’s Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said, “this winter storm will shut it all down”. “This storm will have a variety of dangerous and life-threatening hazards. The combination of freezing rain, ice and heavy snow, followed by a deep freeze, increases the risk of widespread travel shutdowns, extended business and commerce disruptions, and interruptions to daily life,” he warned. The AccuWeather statement noted that significant to severe freezing rain and ice impacts are forecast to begin in Texas on Friday, then extend across the South into the Carolinas over the weekend. In a “winter weather outlook” notice to oil and gas and pipeline operators posted on its website on January 20, the Texas Railroad