Plans for a £900m sub-sea cable factory in Tyneside have been announced, with hopes the investment could generate at least 1,500 jobs. LS Eco Advanced Cables (LSEAC) has launched a five-week public consultation on its proposals to develop the cable facility, which will dramatically alter the local landscape with a 200-metre tall tower – more than twice the height of Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower. The public consultation is taking place before the company submits its final planning application to South Tyneside Council later this year. The factory will manufacture high-voltage cables designed to transport energy generated by offshore wind to UK shores. LSEAC says total investment is expected to be around £923m. LSEAC hopes to create 500 direct jobs through the new facility, as well as supporting a further 1,000 in the wider supply chain. The Port of Tyne will work with LSEAC, the North East Combined Authority (NECA), and local schools and colleges to provide training in the skills needed in order to ensure those roles are secured by local people. North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, who leads NECA said: “We are leading the way to bring this incredible new facility to our region, and with it thousands of new jobs. LS Eco Advanced Cables will truly establish North East England as the home of the green energy revolution while also supporting the nation’s drive for energy security.” Regarding the scale and stature of the plant compared to the local landscape, Ms McGuinness says it will be “a new industrial icon – a symbol of our ambition on a global scale to compare with the Swan Hunter cranes that once overlooked the Tyne.” A new industrial icon Swan Hunter built ships on the banks of the Tyne between 1880 and 2006, although most of its construction operations had ceased in

An analysis piece sent to Rigzone by the S&P Global team on Monday stated that U.S. crude oil production is now expected to decline next year. “Slowing global oil demand amid extreme uncertainty about the future of U.S. trade and a coming supply surplus are expected to hobble U.S. oil production growth later this year and could lead to an annual decline in output in 2026, according to a new analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights,” the analysis piece – by Jim Burkhard, Vice President and Global Head of Crude Oil Research, Ian Stewart, Associate Director, and the S&P Global Commodity Insights Crude Oil Markets team – stated. The piece noted that the latest update to the S&P Global Commodity Insights Global Crude Oil Markets Short-term Outlook now expects global oil demand growth to average 750,000 barrels per day in 2025. The analysis piece highlighted that this was a downward revision of 500,000 barrels per day from the prior outlook. “The new demand outlook represents a significant shift in momentum following strong oil demand growth in the first quarter of the year when demand grew by an estimated 1.75 million barrels per day year over year,” the piece stated. “In contrast, demand growth for the remaining quarters of [the] year is now expected to average 420,000 barrels per day,” it added. “As a result of the declining demand outlook and expected supply surplus (likely widened by recent OPEC+ decisions to accelerate the pace of production increases), U.S. crude oil production is now expected to decline in 2026 – the first year-on-year decline in U.S. production in roughly a decade, excluding the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic,” it went on to state. The analysis piece noted that total U.S production for 2025 is expected to average 13.46 million barrels per day before falling

Commodity trader Gunvor Group has made another significant oil deal in Gabon, its second since the country sought more control of national assets following a coup d’etat in 2023. State-owned Gabon Oil Company financed $220 million of a $300 million deal for Tullow Oil Plc’s assets in the country through an underwritten prepayment facility from Gunvor’s Middle East subsidiary, Tullow said in a filing Tuesday. Gunvor last year provided around $800 million to help Gabon finance another nationalization deal, the acquisition of Carlyle Group’s Assala Energy. A spokesperson for Gunvor declined to comment on the deal. Coming out of the most profitable period in their histories, trading firms are funneling cash into asset deals and prepayments to lock in more lucrative oil supply contracts as more competition from national oil companies and hedge funds lowers trading margins in oil markets. The Tullow assets are set to produce around 10,000 barrels of oil a day this year, the company said, adding that it will use the funds to reduce its debt profile. The company has been setting up deals to sell assets and bring down debt ahead of $1.39 billion in maturities next year.  ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR Bloomberg

Woodside Energy Group Ltd. has inked a non-binding collaboration deal with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) including for the Saudi oil giant’s potential offtake from and ownership in Louisiana LNG. The planned cooperation also eyes lower-carbon ammonia, among other global opportunities, the Australian oil and gas explorer and producer said in an online statement Wednesday. “This collaboration aligns with Woodside’s strategic vision to build a diverse and resilient global portfolio”, Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said. “It leverages our growing relationship with one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, to explore new opportunities which deliver value for both parties. “It is also another demonstration of the ongoing interest Louisiana LNG is generating among high-quality potential investors, following our recent agreement with Stonepeak to acquire a 40 percent interest in the project’s infrastructure holding company”. The deal was signed in Riyadh at the Saudi-United States Investment Forum, attended by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump. On April 29 Woodside announced a positive final investment decision (FID) on the project, which it acquired as Driftwood LNG when it took over Tellurian Inc. for $1.2 billion last year. “The forecast total capital expenditure for the LNG project, pipeline and management reserve is $17.5 billion (100 percent)”, Woodside said. New York City-based Stonepeak Partners LP will gradually contribute $5.7 billion in exchange for a 40 percent interest, under an agreement announced earlier in April. Louisiana LNG has an Energy Department permit to export a cumulative 1.42 trillion cubic feet a year of natural gas equivalent, or 27.6 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) according to Woodside, to FTA and non-FTA countries. The FID is for phase 1, which will build three liquefaction trains with a collective capacity of 16.5 MMtpa.

ETZ Ltd has selected TÜV SÜD to operate its flagship Green Hydrogen Test and Demonstration Facilities (GHTDF) in Aberdeen. In addition, ETZ Ltd has also awarded consultancy Stantec, which has recently established a presence in Aberdeen, with a six-figure contract to provide an engineering design for the project. The GHTDF will offer testing, verification and certification of key components for green hydrogen production at scale, including electrolysers, valves and flow meters, to ensure their safety and long-term reliability. The facility, which is expected to be up and running in 2027, will be based at ETZ Ltd’s hydrogen campus in the south of Aberdeen, part of the company’s Energy Transition Zone project, which will be based on 75-100 acres of land around Aberdeen’s new £420 million south harbour. ETZ Ltd director for hydrogen and CCUS Martin McCormack said: “This facility will be a nationally significant asset for the UK, working as an exemplar for the testing, verification and certification of key industry hydrogen technologies. “In TÜV SÜD we have found the right partner to help deliver this test and demonstration centre, ably supported by Stantec’s deep technical expertise. As we seek to drive forward the hydrogen economy in the region, this is a prime opportunity for the wider hydrogen sector to support the development of this key infrastructure.” Driving hydrogen Ahead of its expected start date, ETZ Ltd, a private sector not-for-profit company backed by industrialist Sir Ian Wood, aims to attract private and public sector funding for the GHTDF. The company noted that industry support will be vital to realising the GHTDF project and ultimately the full benefits of GHTDF to the hydrogen economy. ETZ Ltd is looking to take a final investment decision on the facility later this year and start construction in 2026. In addition, to providing an

The UK’s £8.3 billion energy firm has announced plans to allocate £4 million to support community-owned energy projects in Scotland. The joint fund with the Scottish Government will give communities chance to apply for from the scheme. The funding pot targets local clean energy projects – from community-led onshore wind, to solar on rooftops and hydropower in rivers – generating profits which could be reinvested into community projects or take money off people’s bills, a statement from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said. GB Energy said the investment is part of its £8m community energy generation growth fund, with the remaining funding coming from the Scottish Government. The community fund was announced when the body announced its first major investment, allocating £180m to support rooftop solar for around 200 schools in England, alongside a further £100m for nearly 200 NHS sites. It also said £9.3m funding would be allocated to devolved governments to use for renewable energy schemes on either public sector buildings or new community projects, including £4.85m for Scotland, £2.88m for Wales and £1.62m for Northern Ireland. Minister for Energy Michael Shanks, who is expected to deliver a speech via video at the All Energy conference in Glasgow, said: “This is our clean energy superpower mission in action – putting communities in the driving seat of energy generation and making sure people profit. “Great British Energy wants to kickstart a community energy revolution, empowering our towns and villages to become mini energy producers and reinvest profits back into the local community.”