North America added six rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest North America rotary rig count, which was published on January 23. The total U.S. rig count rose by one week on week and the total Canada rig count increased by five during the same period, pushing the total North America rig count up to 775, comprising 544 rigs from the U.S. and 231 rigs from Canada, the count outlined. Of the total U.S. rig count of 544, 526 rigs are categorized as land rigs, 15 are categorized as offshore rigs, and three are categorized as inland water rigs. The total U.S. rig count is made up of 411 oil rigs, 122 gas rigs, and 11 miscellaneous rigs, according to Baker Hughes’ count, which revealed that the U.S. total comprises 476 horizontal rigs, 55 directional rigs, and 13 vertical rigs. Week on week, the U.S. land rig count rose by two, its offshore rig count dropped by one, and its inland water rig count remained unchanged, Baker Hughes highlighted. The U.S. oil rig count rose by one week on week, while its gas and miscellaneous rig counts remained unchanged week on week, the count showed. The U.S. horizontal and vertical rig counts each increased by one week on week, and the country’s directional rig count dropped by one during the same period, the count revealed. A major state variances subcategory included in the rig count showed that, week on week, Louisiana dropped two rigs, Utah dropped one rig, Colorado added two rigs, and Wyoming and Texas each added one rig. A major basin variances subcategory included in the rig count showed that, week on week, the DJ-Niobrara basin added two rigs. Canada’s total rig count of 231 is made up of 158 oil rigs and 73 gas rigs,

Santos Ltd and its partners have shipped the first cargo from the Darwin LNG life extension project in Australia’s Northern Territory. The inaugural volume will be delivered to the Sakai terminal in Japan on an ex-ship basis, the Adelaide-based natural gas-focused producer said in an online statement Tuesday. The life extension project, or the Barossa Gas Project, involves the development of the Barossa field as a new source for the liquefaction plant in Darwin, which began producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) 2006 and has an LNG capacity of about 3.7 million metric tons a year, according to Santos. Darwin LNG’s previous source field, Timor-Leste’s Bayu-Undan, stopped exporting gas to the facility late 2023 due to depletion, though Santos said 2024 Bayu-Undan would continue sending gas to the Northern Territory until the end of that year. In its quarterly report July 16, 2025 Santos confirmed Bayu-Undan ceased production May 2025. The life extension project started up approximately six months earlier than planned and within budget, said Santos, which announced a final investment decision (FID) on the Barossa Gas Project March 30, 2021. The FID announcement pegged costs at $3.6 billion, making Barossa LNG the biggest investment in Australia’s oil and gas sector then, according to Santos. According to a Santos update June 18, 2025 investment in the project reached $3.95 billion. The early startup “is an outstanding achievement for a project of this scale and complexity in the global offshore upstream sector”, said Santos managing director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher. Gallagher noted Barossa LNG had “navigated through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory approvals, legal challenges and supply chain disruptions during the construction phase”. Japanese power utility JERA Co Inc, one of the partners, said separately on Tuesday about the restart of Darwin LNG, “As energy demand continues to

Canada and India will pledge to expand trade in oil and gas as the countries reboot their relationship after a diplomatic chill.  Ottawa will commit to ship more crude oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas to India, while New Delhi will send more refined petroleum products to Canada, following a meeting between Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson and Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, according to a joint statement seen by Bloomberg News.  The ministers will meet at India Energy Week in Goa on Tuesday, using the event to relaunch a “ministerial energy dialogue.” The mechanism, once the main channel for energy cooperation between the two countries, fell dormant amid an explosive dispute over the killing of a Canadian Sikh activist.  The renewed push marks one of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s major efforts to diversify Canada’s export markets at a time of escalating trade tensions with the US. It also reflects his government’s shift toward pragmatic, economy-first diplomacy with major Asian partners. Hodgson and Puri will also commit to facilitating greater reciprocal investment in each other’s energy sectors and to exploring collaboration in areas including hydrogen, biofuels, battery storage, critical minerals, electricity systems and the use of artificial intelligence in the energy industry, according to the statement. The relaunch of the dialogue signals that both governments see untapped potential – and strategic value – in tightening an energy relationship that had been left to drift.  Carney is expected to visit India in the coming weeks as part of the reset. He and Prime Minister Narendra Modi restarted talks in November toward a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. Two-way goods trade between Canada and India hit C$13.3 billion ($9.7 billion) in 2024, and Ottawa sees far more room to grow – especially in energy. India accounts for just 1 percent of Canada’s

Secretary Wright issues an emergency order to stabilize New York’s grid, save lives, and lower costs following Winter Storm Fern WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued an emergency order to mitigate blackouts in New York and the surrounding area following Winter Storm Fern. Issued pursuant to Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the order authorizes New York ISO (NYISO) to run specified resources located within the New York region, regardless of limits established by environmental permits or state law. The order will help NYISO respond to extreme temperatures and storm damage across New York and reduce costs for Americans due to the winter storm. “Winter Storm Fern continues to bring extreme cold and dangerous conditions across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure power in the New York region is non-negotiable. The previous administration’s energy subtraction policies weakened the grid, leaving Americans more vulnerable during events like Winter Storm Fern. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are reversing those failures and using every available tool to keep the lights on and Americans safe following this storm.” On day one, President Trump declared a national energy emergency after the Biden administration’s energy subtraction agenda left behind a grid increasingly vulnerable to blackouts. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), “Winter electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in recent years,” while the premature forced closure of reliable generation such as coal and natural gas plants leaves American families vulnerable to power outages. The NERC 2025 – 2026 Winter Reliability Assessment further warns that areas across the continental United States have an elevated risk of blackouts during extreme weather conditions. Power outages cost the American people $44 billion per year, according to data from DOE’s National Laboratories. This order

Secretary Wright issues two emergency orders to stabilize the grid in the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas to save lives and lower costs after Winter Storm Fern. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued two emergency orders authorizing the deployment of backup generation resources to mitigate blackouts in the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas following Winter Storm Fern. Issued pursuant to Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the orders authorize PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM) and Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC and Duke Energy Progress (collectively, Duke Energy), respectively, to deploy backup generation resources at data centers and other major facilities. Today’s action follows a letter Secretary Wright sent Thursday to grid operators asking them to be prepared to use backup generation if needed to mitigate the risk of blackouts from the storm. DOE estimates more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide. The order will help PJM and Duke respond to extreme temperatures and storm damage across the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas and reduce costs for Americans in the days following the storm. These actions mark the second set of emergency orders issued to PJM and Duke during Winter Storm Fern, following earlier orders to run specified resources located within the PJM and Duke regions, regardless of limits established by environmental permits or state law. “The Trump administration is committed to unleashing all available power generation needed to keep Americans safe during Winter Storm Fern,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Wright. “Unfortunately, the last administration had the nation on track to lose significant amounts of baseload power, but we are doing everything in our power to reverse those reckless decisions. The Trump administration will continue taking action to ensure that the 35 GW of untapped backup generation that exists across the country can be deployed as needed during Winter Storm Fern and

Ukraine said it hit a small oil refinery in southern Russia, the third attack this month on its foe’s fuel-producing industry.  Explosions were recorded at the territory of the Slavyansk facility after Ukrainian drones struck it overnight and hit “elements of a primary crude processing unit”, the General Staff in Kyiv said in a Telegram statement. The scale of damage of the facility, which is involved in supplying Russian military forces, is being clarified, it added. Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify the claim. Slavyansk ECO, the operator of the refinery, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.  The refinery is in the Krasnodar region, near Ukraine. Kyiv and Moscow continue to trade strikes on energy infrastructure even as Ukrainian, Russian and US delegations held talks last week aiming at ending the Kremlin’s war on its neighbor that’s about to enter a fifth year.   Ukraine has reduced the intensity of attacks on Russian refineries so far this year with the three targeted in January comparing with 11 of them in December. Kyiv has also gone after ports and tankers handling Moscow’s oil. At the same time Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine’s power sector, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without heating, water and electricity amid freezing temperatures.  Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and other cities are rushing to restore power after huge Russian air-strikes over the weekend caused widespread outages, even as peace talks were underway in the United Arab Emirates. The Slavyansk refinery processed an average 467,000 tons of crude a month in the first half of 2025, according to its financial report. That equates to almost 115,000 barrels a day based on the 7.33 barrels-per-ton conversion rate.  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