Plains All American Pipeline LP and Plains GP Holdings have appointed Dean Liollio to serve as executive vice-president and chief operating officer effective Oct. 2, 2026. Liollio will succeed Chris Chandler, who is resigning from Plains to pursue other interests, the company said in a release Sept. 29. Chandler joined Plains in 2018 after previously serving in leadership roles at Phillips 66. Liollio previously served as senior vice-president, special projects, prior to his appointment as executive vice-president and COO. Prior, the served as president of Plains Midstream Canada from 2020 until 2024, as president of PAA Natural Gas Storage from 2008 until 2020 and as president of Plains Gas Solutions from 2016 until 2020. Prior to joining Plains in 2008, Liollio held a number of executive roles including serving as president, ceief executive officer and director of EnergySouth Inc. and as president and COO of Centerpoint’s natural gas distribution operations across a five-state area.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an exchange of up to 40 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), continuing DOE’s execution of the 172-million-barrel release previously announced by President Trump  in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA) member nations’ overall 400-million-barrel commitment. “With today’s actions, the United States continues to lead the coordinated efforts to stabilize oil markets for the benefit of Americans and people around the world,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. “While the United States and Japan are delivering on their commitments, several European member countries have released only a fraction of the crude oil and petroleum products they pledged. We urge every member country to fulfill its commitments. Thanks to President Trump, these exchanges will also ensure America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve continues to be refilled, while saving taxpayers more than $3 billion.” Thanks to President Trump, DOE has advanced a series of large-scale SPR exchange solicitations at record speed. These actions have moved critical crude oil supplies into the market to address short-term supply disruptions and bolster energy security for the United States and its allies. The crude oil will originate from the SPR’s Big Hill and Bryan Mound sites. This action builds on the Department’s five previous solicitations that collectively awarded more than 133 million barrels across four completed exchanges. DOE’s earlier exchanges demonstrated the SPR’s ability to rapidly deliver crude under emergency authorities while achieving a 25 percent premium in returned barrels—expanding the reserve and saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Deliveries under awarded exchanges are scheduled for November and December 2026. Under DOE’s exchange authority, participating companies will return the 40 million borrowed barrels with additional premium barrels, ensuring immediate market supply while increasing the SPR’s long-term inventory at no cost to taxpayers. Bids for this solicitation are due no later than 11:00 A.M. Central Time on

Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (ReconAfrica) will sidetrack the Kavango West 1X well in Namibia, investigate a petroleum system in Angola, and reprocess seismic offshore Gabon. In Namibia, flow test samples from the Huttenberg and Elandshoek formations in the Kavango West 1X (KW1X) well in PEL 73 indicate that the natural gas collected in the samples are thermogenic with liquid potential and have maturities ranging from late oil to early gas. A horizontal well sidetrack will be drilled at KW1X in accordance with the continuing exploration of the Damara Fold Belt. The objectives of this horizontal well flow test are to determine deliverability of the well bore, liquid yield from the gas stream, and formation pressure response. ReconAfrica said required equipment has been procured and is on site or in transit. Rig maintenance is complete, and all permits have been filed with appropriate regulatory bodies for ongoing operations. With the Jarvie-1 rig having already resumed operations, work in the vertical well bore has begun with the removal of the casing, followed by the setting of the whipstock at about 2,500 m before horizontal drilling begins. Pending approvals and equipment arrival, horizontal drilling will take place in October and is scheduled to take about a month. The current design targets a horizontal wellbore of up to 1,000 m to optimally intersect natural fractures across the Kavango structure. The well will be completed open hole, without casing or cement, to maximize flow rate from the fractures and identified porosity zones. ReconAfrica said flow testing will occur immediately following completion of the well, which will be tested before acid washing.  In Angola, preliminary results from the soil-sampling program conducted on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) acreage during May and June suggests there is a working petroleum system that is thermogenic with liquid content potential, like

Canadian oil sands production is expected to rise for a 25th consecutive year in 2026, reaching a record 3.5 million b/d as operators continue to optimize existing installations, according to S&P Global Energy. The forecast represents an increase of about 100,000 b/d, or 3%, from 2025. S&P Global expects production to reach about 3.9 million b/d by the early 2030s before broadly plateauing under its current outlook. Oil sands production has expanded steadily over the past quarter century. Annual output stood at about 300,000 b/d in 2001 and has increased every year since then except in 2020, when production was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the anticipated 2026 growth is set to come from optimization of existing operations rather than major new projects. Much of Canada’s current oil sands capacity was built between 2009-18, while construction of large, new installations has been limited in recent years. S&P Global said, however, that the potential for renewed interest in capacity additions through new construction is creating additional upside to the longer-term outlook. “The Canadian oil sands has proven to be a resilient source of supply despite periods of low oil prices, regional price volatility and uncertainty over future Canadian energy and climate policy,” said Kevin Birn, chief Canadian oil markets analyst at S&P Global Energy. “The question today is not whether the oil sands will continue to grow, but rather how much additional growth could come should new projects once again come forward.” Factors contributing to that outlook include announced plans for expanded pipeline export capacity, greater clarity, reduction, and extension of carbon pricing through 2040, commitments to accelerate reviews of projects considered to be in the national interest, and potential changes to fiscal terms for new oil sands projects. S&P Global also said Canadian energy production is increasingly being

In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, downstream editor and lead reporter Robert Brelsford concludes the conversation on process safety management with Joe Barnes, principal of Barnes’ Engineering Consultants and a veteran oil and gas operations, maintenance, reliability, and major-projects leader with more than 30 years of industry experience. Barnes outlines five priorities for senior leaders and plant managers: maintaining strong operating procedures and management-of-change practices; routinely auditing lockout/tagout procedures; providing effective operator and supervisor training; and preventing deferred maintenance, particularly on critical equipment. He also emphasizes the importance of leadership visibility in the field, encouraging executives and plant managers to regularly engage with operating personnel and understand the condition of equipment and processes firsthand. During the conversation, Robert and Joe examine the tension between profitability, market pressures, and the investments required to operate safely. Barnes explains why strong financial performance should support investment in equipment, maintenance, training, and people rather than encourage short-term decisions that could increase risk. He also discusses how management should evaluate efficiency measures, staffing changes, maintenance deferrals, turnaround modifications, and capital reductions while keeping process and personal safety central to decision-making. The two consider how facilities can demonstrate that process safety systems are working in practice through dedicated internal audits, periodic third-party reviews, corrective-action follow-through, and the use of real-world incident scenarios in operator training. Barnes explains how investigation findings can be converted into case-based exercises that help workers recognize hazards, assess risks, and develop the right responses before returning to the field. He also recommends reviewing procedures, emergency-response plans, and process hazards periodically to help ensure they remain current and effective. Robert and Joe further explore how leaders can create an environment in which employees and contractors feel comfortable reporting weak signals, near misses, and other bad news. Barnes

US shale oil producers are finding it increasingly difficult to replace reserves even as operating efficiency improves, while natural gas resources remain comparatively abundant, Kimmeridge, an alternative asset manager focused on the energy sector, said in a new report. In the report titled “Shale’s Golden Years, Part II: The Cost of Aging,” Kimmeridge said cumulative oil reserve replacement since 2019 has averaged about 95%, compared with 126% for natural gas. Well-level data show a similar split, with oil recovery per foot generally declining over the past decade while gas productivity has remained broadly flat to improving. The deterioration comes despite majort cost and efficiency gains. Since 2018, SG&A expense per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) has fallen about 48%, interest expense 46%, and exploration expense 71%. Operators also have drilled longer laterals and increased drilling speeds. Even so, Kimmeridge’s 3-year, value-weighted recycle ratio for the US E&P sector fell to 167% in 2025 from 184% in 2019, despite higher revenue per boe. Oil-weighted producers generated a 164% recycle ratio in 2025 versus 186% in 2019, while gas-weighted producers improved to 179% from 165%. Reserve additions at oil-focused companies also are becoming gassier. Oil represented 41% of their reserve additions in 2025, compared with about 50% of current production. Kimmeridge said the conventional 6 Mcf-to-1 boe conversion can obscure that shift by giving lower-value gas the same energy-equivalent replacement credit as oil. Kimmeridge said weaker oil reserve replacement could reduce the responsiveness of US shale supply to higher prices over time, providing structural support for WTI and strengthening the case for renewed oil exploration. Natural gas faces the opposite backdrop. Efficient gas reserve replacement and rising associated-gas output point to continued supply abundance, potentially weighing on Henry Hub and increasing the value of LNG-linked sales, transportation, and other downstream exposure.