Valero Energy Corp. plans to acquire a former LyondellBasell Industries NV Houston refinery and restart 165,000 b/d of light sweet crude oil processing by yearend 2027. Valero Refining-Texas LP has agreed to acquire the shuttered full-conversion refinery from LyondellBasell for $320.5 million. The transaction includes about 700 acres on the Houston Ship Channel adjacent to the Valero Houston Refinery, 13.5 million bbl of storage capacity, and logistics infrastructure including marine docks, rail-loading facilities, and truck racks. The acquisition will help address intermediate feedstock shortages across Valero’s US Gulf Coast refining system, reducing reliance on third-party purchases while creating opportunities to integrate refining and logistics operations, the company said in an Oct. 30 presentation. Incremental FCC and hydrocracker feed production would reduce external feedstock sourcing, while excess hydrotreating capacity could be used to upgrade intermediates from other Valero US Gulf Coast refineries, the company said. By yearend 2027, Valero expects to restart light sweet crude oil processing and said the site could support future investment in heavy sour crude processing, according to chairman, chief executive officer, and president Lane Riggs. The company did not provide financial details or a timetable for potential heavy sour crude processing projects. LyondellBasell announced plans in April 2022 to cease operation of subsidiary Houston Refining LP’s 268,000-b/d refinery as part of its exit from the crude oil refining business. Following delays, the refinery was shuttered in March 2025. Over the years, LyondellBasell evaluated options for the site, including a potential plan to transition the refinery into a hydrogen production site. Ultimately, the company said, it determined selling the asset “offered the most compelling opportunity” to advance the company’s priorities. Closing of the transaction is expected by yearend, subject to customary closing conditions.

How can biomass power new possibilities for energy innovation and the products we use every day?  Today is National Bioenergy Day, an annual opportunity to recognize the role biomass and innovative technologies can play in strengthening the U.S. bioeconomy. Bioenergy is a form of energy produced from alternative feedstocks called biomass. These resources, which include agricultural and forestry residues, purpose-grown crops, algae, and waste materials, can be converted into chemicals, fertilizers, alternative fuels, and other materials to support farmers, ranchers, and consumers while also lowering prices through increased supply. The United States has an abundant supply of biomass. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO) Billion-Ton Report establishes America’s potential to produce more than 1 billion tons of biomass annually, highlighting the scale of resources available to support a growing bioeconomy and energy security and dominance.  In celebration of National Bioenergy Day, AFFO is highlighting recent investments, research accomplishments, and resources that demonstrate the possibilities of biomass and the innovative technologies that transform these resources into valuable products. Exploring Bioenergy in Action What does that transformation look like? Explore AFFO resources that cover the basics of bioenergy and offer a closer look at how researchers are advancing technologies across the bioenergy supply chain.  Watch the Bioenergy 101 video to learn how biomass is broken down and refined through various methods, including combustion, gasification, and fermentation, to advance technology development and innovation across the entire biomass-to-bioenergy supply chain.  Take a look inside the Idaho National Laboratory’s Biomass Feedstock National User Facility, which offers technology and expertise to help the U.S. bioenergy industry overcome challenges associated with the scale-up and integration of biomass preprocessing facilities. Investing in Emerging Chemical Technologies  These efforts are part of a broader push to move promising technologies from research to commercial application. AFFO recently announced the Accelerating Scale-up

WASHINGTON–The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced contract awards for an exchange of more than 40 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), including volumes offered through previous solicitations. Today’s awards are part of DOE’s execution of President Trump’s 172-million-barrel release, which contributes to a coordinated 400-million-barrel action by International Energy Agency (IEA) member nations’ strategic reserves.  “DOE’s latest awards of more than 40 million barrels complete our commitment to release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” said DOE Under Secretary Kyle Haustveit. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we have secured the return of more than 216 million barrels to the Reserve beginning early next year—including 44 million additional premium barrels—with a value of more than $4 billion, at no additional cost to hardworking American taxpayers. By securing the return of more than we released, we are strengthening America’s energy security and ensuring the Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains ready for the future.” Crude oil under the awarded contracts will be supplied from the SPR’s Big Hill and Bryan Mound storage sites. DOE will coordinate with awardees, pipelines, terminals, and refining partners to support the safe and efficient movement of crude oil.  These awards reinforce the Trump Administration’s commitment to energy security, long-term SPR readiness, and responsible stewardship of this critical national energy security asset.  For more information on the SPR, please visit DOE’s website. 

QatarEnergy has agreed to purchase up to 3 million tonnes/year (tpy) of LNG from Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project under a 20-year contract, further expanding its US LNG portfolio as the export project advances toward first production. The agreement follows QatarEnergy’s recently signed LNG purchase deals with Cheniere and supports the company’s strategy of growing and diversifying its global LNG supply portfolio.  His Excellency Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and president and chief executive officer of QatarEnergy, said the additional volumes make QatarEnergy “the largest buyer of LNG from the US” and strengthen the company’s ability to meet growing global LNG demand. Under the terms of the agreement, deliveries will be on an FOB basis and are expected to begin in 2030.  Woodside chief executive officer Meg O’Neill said the agreement, coupled with Woodside’s 2025 LNG supply agreement with Germany’s Uniper, help establish the project’s long-term customer base and provide revenue certainty for a portion of Louisiana LNG’s planned production. Louisiana LNG project update Louisiana LNG is under construction near Lake Charles, La., in Calcasieu Parish. The foundation project includes three trains with a combined capacity of 16.5 million tpy and is targeting first LNG in 2029. In its third-quarter report released Oct. 21, Woodside said the project is 32% complete and remains on budget. Train 1 is 41% complete with structural steel and above-ground piping installation progressed. Trains 2 and 3 were 27% and 22% complete respectively at the end of the quarter, with above-ground piping installation started for Train 2 and first concrete foundation poured for Train 3. Woodside said ongoing disruptions in the Middle East continue to affect structural steel supply, but the company is mitigating the impact through alternative logistics routes and fabrication sources.

Shell plc reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $10.81 billion, up from $9.84 billion in the second quarter and nearly double the $5.43 billion reported a year earlier, as record refining margins and stronger Integrated Gas results more than offset lower upstream earnings. Income attributable to shareholders reached $12.06 billion, compared with $10.82 billion in the previous quarter. Higher refining margins, improved realized LNG prices, and increased gas production supported the results despite continued disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies. These gains were partly offset by weaker crude and oil products trading, lower realized liquids prices, and higher exploration well write-offs. Cash flow from operations reached $21.04 billion, compared with $21.43 billion in the previous quarter, while free cash flow was $16.32 billion, down from $17.52 billion. Net debt declined to $39.73 billion from $41.75 billion at end-June, reducing gearing to 16.6%. Chief executive officer Wael Sawan credited strong operational performance for the results amid continued disruptions to global energy markets. Shell announced a new $5-billion share buyback program and maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.3906/share. The company lowered its full-year 2026 cash capital expenditure guidance to $23-25 billion from $24-26 billion. Segment results Chemicals & Products adjusted earnings climbed to $3.86 billion from $2.88 billion in the second quarter, driven by record refining margins. Shell’s global indicative refining margin surged to $42/bbl from $24/bbl, while refinery utilization averaged 96%, down from 102%. Processing intake declined to 1.21 million b/d from 1.27 million b/d. Integrated Gas adjusted earnings increased to $3.04 billion from $2.69 billion, supported by higher realized prices and increased production. Production rose to 772,000 boe/d from 631,000 boe/d, mainly reflecting the completion of the ARC Resources acquisition in September. LNG liquefaction volumes declined to 7.4 million tonnes from 7.7 million tonnes due to planned maintenance, while LNG

Expand Energy Corp., Spring, Tex., pulled back on some production during the third quarter, including by dropping a rig in Northeast Appalachia and a completion crew in the Haynesville, because of weaker prices for natural gas. Executives on Oct. 28 told analysts and investors that they’re prepared to curtail more work late this year and into 2027. “As we’ve come into the fourth quarter, we’ve ended up reducing some of our activity,” chief operating officer Josh Viets said on a conference call following the release of Expand’s third-quarter results. “That activity reduction, moving from around 12 rigs down to 10, is in direct acknowledgement that the market is weakening.” Viets was responding to a question from JPMorgan analyst Arun Jayaram, who neatly summed up the factors contributing to soft natural gas prices even though demand growth has been solid. The environment next year could be affected by Super El Niño weather patterns, more supply being transported out of the Permian basin and several LNG infrastructure owners being “a little bit more levered to the back end of the year.” Viets agreed with that assessment of the supply-demand picture for the coming quarters and later said Expand is prepared to revisit the strategy it employed 2 years ago, when it built up its inventory of drilled but uncompleted wells while waiting for prices to climb. “We pushed out about nine turn-in-lines out of Q3,” he added. “We are waiting on those still to think about the optimal time to bring them online.”