Algeria signs oil and gas deal worth $5.4 billion with Saudi firm Midad Energy
Sonatrach, the state-owned energy firm of Algeria, announced on Monday that it had signed a $5.4 billion contract with Midad Energy from Saudi Arabia for oil and natural gas exploration and production in Algeria's Illizi Basin. The contract for production sharing is 30 years long with the option of an extra 10 years. It also includes a 7-year exploration phase. Midad Energy North Africa is fully funding the investment, which includes $288 million for exploration. Illizi South is located about 100 km south of In Amenas in Algeria, close to the Libyan border.
Algeria aims to reduce budget deficit by 35% in 2026, despite spending record
Algeria's budget bill shows that it plans to reduce the deficit to $40 billion or 12.4% GDP by 2026. This is despite adopting a record spending plan to support economic growth and boost household incomes. The 2026 budget package is expected to be approved by the parliament and seen and will project total expenditures exceeding $135 billion. This is up from $128 in 2025 and $112 in 2024. The government anticipates that despite the increased spending the deficit will shrink to $62 billion by 2025 due to the anticipated growth of non-hydrocarbons sectors like agriculture…
Novak, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, says that Russia has gradually increased its oil production.
The Interfax news agency reported that Alexander Novak, Deputy Premier, said on Wednesday that Russia had been steadily increasing its oil production, and was close to meeting last month the output quota set by the OPEC+ oil producing group. The Russian energy sector has suffered a serious setback in the last two months as a result of dozens of drone attacks by Ukraine on its oil and natural gas infrastructure. These attacks primarily targeted oil refineries. Due to the attacks and disruptions to logistics, there are shortages in some regions of certain popular types of fuel.
Bloomberg News reports that Exxon Mobil will cut 2,000 jobs as part of a restructuring.
Bloomberg News reported that Exxon Mobil, a U.S. energy giant, will lay off 2,000 employees globally as part a long-term reorganization plan. This is the latest in a series of job losses this year within the oil and gas sector. The report cited a memo sent by CEO Darren Woods, which stated that the reductions represented between 3% and 4% of global staff. After purchasing Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion in 2024, the shale gas producer has been streamlining operations. The company announced in November of last year that it would be cutting nearly 400 jobs in Texas.
Russia downgrades gas exports, production outlook
Russia's forecasts for 2025 gas and oil exports have been lowered, while projections on oil exports have increased. The fallout of its conflict with Ukraine as well as its strained relations with the West continue to impact the energy sector. While Russia's economy is still thriving despite the sanctions, signs of stress are appearing in several industries. Gazprom, the state-owned gas exporter, suffered losses of nearly $7 billion in 2023. This was its first loss since 1999 due to a breakup with the European Union. Russian gas is now only 18% of European imports.
TotalEnergies awarded a $5.3 billion contract by the French government for offshore wind
TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday that it had won a contract worth 4.5 billion euros ($5.30billion) from the French Government to build and develop a 1.5 gigawatt offshore wind farm in a consortium. According to a press release, the French energy giant expects to take a final decision on investment in early 2029. Power production will begin in 2033. Total has said that the project will cost 4.5 billion Euros, and the tariff is set at 66 euros per Megawatt-hour by the government.
JERA in Talks to Buy $1.7b of US Natural Gas Assets
Japan's top power generator JERA is in advanced talks to buy natural gas production assets in the U.S. for around $1.7 billion, people familiar with the matter said, the latest example of the Asian nation investing in America's energy sector.JERA emerged as the top bidder for the assets owned by GEP Haynesville II, a joint venture between Blackstone-backed GeoSouthern Energy and pipeline operator Williams Companies, after banks solicited offers in recent weeks, the people said…
Andy Home, recycling pioneer, races to close rare earths scrap gaps
This question is more urgent now than ever after China restricted its exports in the first half of this year. The move sent shockwaves throughout Western manufacturing chains. The race to create domestic mine-to magnet supply chains is accelerating, especially in the United States. Here, the Department of Defense has taken a direct stake, MP Materials, the operator of the only rare earths mining facility in the country, and guaranteed a minimum price for the products. Old laptops, powertools and smartphones are all part of the solution.
Andy Home, recycling pioneers racing to close rare earths scrap gaps
This question is more urgent now than ever after China restricted its exports in the first half of this year. The move sent shockwaves throughout Western manufacturing chains. The race to create domestic mine-to magnet supply chains is accelerating, especially in the United States. Here, the Department of Defense has taken a direct stake, MP Materials, the operator of the only rare earths mining facility in the country, and guaranteed a minimum price for the products. Old laptops, powertools and smartphones are all part of the solution.
Taiwan's offshore projects will move into deeper waters and require more state support
Industry officials and analysts say that Taiwan's attempt to boost its offshore wind market will require a huge amount of government support to help prospective suppliers achieve their capacity goals, as projects are moved to deeper, more technically challenging waters. The island's densely-populated population, which was long dependent on coal power, has quadrupled the wind power capacity from 1 gigawatt to 4 GW, up from less than 1 before the COVID-19 epidemic. It aims to have 60% of its power derived from renewable sources by 2050.
Strathcona Energy, Canada, sweetens MEG Energy's bid to top Cenovus
Strathcona Resources, a Canadian oil and natural gas company, increased its bid for MEG Energy Monday in an attempt to surpass Cenovus Energy. MEG's Christina Lake project is one of Canada's most prized assets in the energy sector. Its long reserve life, its low operating costs, and the significant growth potential it offers make it one the last large-scale oil patch expansion opportunities. MEG's Board has approved Cenovus offer to combine Christina Lake with Cenovus adjacent assets.
Investors await growth data; consumer and energy sectors drag Australian share prices lower
The Australian share market ended Tuesday with a lower closing price, due to thin trading. This was mainly caused by the consumer and energy sector, where heavyweight constituents were traded ex-dividend. Local traders also remained on the sidelines, waiting for economic growth figures that are expected later this week. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3% to 8,900.6, its third consecutive session in red. The 0.5% drop on Monday followed a strong August. Woolworths, the supermarket chain, fell 3.1%. Consumer stocks dropped 1.7%.
US and Russian officials discussed the latest Ukraine peace talks alongside energy deals
Five sources familiar with these talks claim that U.S. officials and Russian government officials discussed energy deals in parallel to negotiations to achieve peace in Ukraine this month. They said that these deals were presented as incentives for Washington to relax sanctions against Russia and to encourage the Kremlin into peace in Ukraine. Due to sanctions imposed after the Ukraine invasion in February 2022, Russia is no longer able to attract international investment into its energy sector or make major deals.
Suriname's Staatsolie will launch an offer for offshore oil fields in November
Suriname's state-owned oil company Staatsolie announced on Tuesday that it will offer an "open door" in November for the exploration and evaluation of offshore areas. The small South American country is seeking partners and funding for an oil and natural gas boom, which they hope to achieve. The country is expecting to start offshore oil and natural gas production by 2028, following a successful investment decision for the flagship 12 billion dollar Gran Morgu project, between TotalEnergies, APA Corp, and Staatsolie.
US and Russian officials discussed the latest Ukraine peace talks alongside energy deals
Five sources familiar with these talks claim that U.S. officials and Russian government officials discussed energy deals in parallel to negotiations to achieve peace in Ukraine this month. They said that these deals were presented as incentives for the Kremlin, to encourage it to accept peace in Ukraine and Washington to ease sanctions against Russia. Due to sanctions imposed after the Ukraine invasion in February 2022, Russia is no longer able to attract major international investments in its energy sector or sign large deals.
Norway's DNO restarts oil production from Kurdistan after drone attacks
DNO, a Norwegian company, has resumed oil production in its Tawke, and Peshkabir, fields, in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdistan region. Production was halted in this area last month because of drone attacks. Last month, officials from the energy sector said that repeated drone attacks on oilfields around the region reduced crude production, including other companies', by between 140,000 and 150,000 barrels a day. DNO reported that no one was injured but surface processing equipment and an oil tank at Tawke, were damaged.
Maguire: US gas-heavy pipeline to fuel tensions with LNG exporters
U.S. energy firms are building the largest gas-fired generation capacity in the world, cementing the position of the United States as the world's biggest natural gas consumer and the gas-fired producer. The growing dependence on natural gas in the domestic power sector will also exacerbate tensions between the rapidly expanding LNG export sector and the domestic power industry, as the latter is relying on cheap natural gas and abundant supplies to expand. The increasing competition between power companies and LNG exporters for U.S.
Maguire: US gas-heavy pipeline to fuel tensions with LNG exporters
U.S. energy firms are building the largest gas-fired generation capacity in the world, cementing the position of the United States as the world's biggest natural gas consumer and the gas-fired producer. The growing dependence on natural gas in the domestic power sector will also exacerbate tensions between the rapidly expanding LNG export sector and the domestic power industry, as the latter is relying on cheap natural gas and abundant supplies to expand. The increasing competition between power companies and LNG exporters for U.S.
FTSE 100 closes at record high as financial and defence stocks surge
The FTSE 100 closed at a record high in Britain on Thursday. Gains in the financial and defence sectors fueled this, as investors assessed important economic data. The blue-chip index rose for the fourth day in a row, gaining 0.1%. The midcap index fell 0.2%. Investors have responded positively to UK GDP second-quarter figures. These showed that the growth rate slowed down less than expected, despite U.S. tariffs on trade and a weaker job market. The UK benchmark was resilient despite Wall Street's retreat following unexpectedly high U.S.
Maguire: US clean energy capacity grows slower, but wider by 2025
This year, the pace of adding new solar, wind, and battery capacity in the U.S. has slowed down nationally and in some key states, which is hurting sentiment for clean energy. Climate trackers should take heart in the fact that growth has continued outside of Texas and California. According to data collected by the energy data platform Cleanview by mid-2025, combined installations of solar and wind power systems, as well as battery storage, are expected to increase by 7% by 2025 compared to the previous year.