EIA: US oil and gas rig counts slow despite record production
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Monday that drilling activity in the U.S. has declined even though production is at record levels. The EIA reported that the number of active drilling rigs has decreased from 750 in December 2020 to 517 by October 2025. This is due to operators' response to lower natural gas and oil prices, and improved drilling efficiency. According to the report, since December 2022 oil-directed drilling rigs fell 33%, to 397. Gas-directed drilling rigs dropped 23%, to 120, in October 2025. EIA reported that despite fewer rigs production continues to increase.
Kazakh Energy Minister: Government not talking to Lukoil on buying local assets
Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov stated on Monday that the Kazakh government has not held talks with Russian oil giant Lukoil regarding buying its Kazakh assets. The Russian state media reported earlier that the KazMunayGas head, who is the state-owned oil company of Kazakhstan, had said the company was in discussions about Lukoil’s assets in Kazakhstan. The Russian oil group has stakes in Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak oilfields and Tengiz oilfields. It also holds stakes in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which transports the majority of Kazakhstan’s oil to Novorossiysk, a Russian port for export.
Energy Transition' Future: Fractured, Bumpy and Long
As COP30 kicks off its second week in Brazil, much has changed since the landmark Paris climate agreement was penned 10 years ago.The spirit of cooperation that once reigned has been shattered by economic rivalries and a stark divergence in climate policies among the world’s biggest polluters.The landmark UN COP21 climate agreement signed in Paris on December 12, 2015 saw 195 nations commit to setting binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels. The ambition has in recent years been strengthened to 1.5 degrees.Ten years on…
EUROPE GAS-European gas prices increase as cold weather increases demand
Dutch and British gas prices rose on Monday as the cold weather drives up demand for gas heating and also triggers more withdrawals from gas storage facilities. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was up 0.64 Euro at 31.64 euros/MWh, or $10.76/mmBtu at 0849 GMT. This is the highest intraday value in 10 days. The British day-ahead price of gas was 1.25 pence more expensive at 82 pence a therm. Meanwhile, the front-month contract rose by 0.26 pence and now stands at 82.90 pence p/therm. "Our outlook is bullish today mainly because of the spike in demand for residential property driven by the recent cold spell," said LSEG Analyst YuriyOnyshkiv.
ConocoPhillips finds gas off Australia
ConocoPhillips, the oil giant, announced on Monday that it had discovered gas off of the coasts of southeast Australia. The company began its first exploration drilling in November. Two targets located off the coasts of Victoria were identified by wireline logs. The work will continue for another two weeks, before the second exploration well is drilled to confirm that there are large gas reserves in Australia's east-coast market. Jan-Arne Johannsen, the country president of the company, said that the discovery was encouraging, and it was the first to be made in the area in four years. The U.S. firm shares the Otway Basin Permit with 3D Energi, a junior Australian company.
Ukraine imports US LNG from Greece to meet winter needs
The Ukraine will import U.S. liquefied gas from Greece for its winter requirements from December to March of next year. This was announced by Greek and Ukrainian officials on Sunday, during the visit to Athens of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukraine will import natural gas through a pipeline running across the Balkan Peninsula to ensure critical supplies following Russian attacks on energy infrastructures and gas production plants. In a joint press release, Greek gas company DEPA said that the agreement would be effective from December. Zelenskiy said that deliveries will begin in January, alongside Greek Prime Minister KyriakosMitsotakis.
Zelenskiy: Ukraine and Greece agree on gas imports
The President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Sunday that Ukraine would receive gas imports to cover its winter requirements from Greece. He also pledged to secure almost 2 billion euros in order to counter Russian attacks on the domestic production. He said that he had already reached an agreement with Greece regarding gas supplies to Ukraine. This will provide another route for gas imports during the winter. Zelenskiy made his statement ahead of his Sunday visit to Greece, where he will then travel to France and Spain. In the fourth year, Russia's…
Wall St hedge funds reduced megacaps in the third quarter
According to the most recent quarterly disclosures, Wall Street's biggest hedge funds have reduced their exposure to certain Magnificent Seven companies, such as Nvidia and Alphabet, and placed new bets on sectors like application software, ecommerce, and payments. The following are some key positions changes made by the funds. Bridgewater Associates outperformed its peers in the first nine-month period of the year, and it slashed the stakes in Nvidia to nearly two thirds, or 2.5 million shares, as well as Alphabet to more than half, or 2.65 million.
Kimmeridge, an activist investor, takes a stake in US energy company Devon
Kimmeridge Energy Management, an activist investment firm, has acquired a stake in Devon Energy of the United States. This was revealed by a stock exchange filing on Friday. Kimmeridge held 5.66 million Devon shares at the end of September according to the filing. According to calculations, this would equate an approximately 0.9% share in Devon. It is also the 14th largest shareholder of Devon according to data provider LSEG. Devon shares dropped 1% during the first 30 minutes of Friday's trading amid a wider market sell-off. The company now has a value of approximately $22 billion.
Norway loses an appeal over oilfield development
The Norwegian Court of Appeal ruled against the government and in favor of environmentalists on Friday, confirming the lower court's ruling that the approval by the Energy Ministry of three offshore oil-and-gas fields was invalid. The court said that production from the oilfields affected would not stop, but the government could correct any deficiencies in the original approvals. Greenpeace Norway, Young Friends of the Earth Norway, and other environmental groups will file a lawsuit in 2023 regarding the approval of Equinor’s Breidablikk field and Aker BP’s Tyrving and Yggdrasil.
Slovakia imports two-thirds its gas from non-Russian suppliers this year
Denisa Sakova, Minister of Economy, said that Slovakia's dominant importer of gas, SPP, has only received 33% this year, from Russia. The rest is from other suppliers. Slovakia rearranged its gas supplies after Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas in the first month of this year. However, it was keen to continue receiving Russian Gazprom gas through its contract with Turkstream and Hungary. The lower Russian volumes are a dramatic drop from 2024 when Russian gas was the majority of SPP’s supply. Sakova, a reporter, said that the Russian gas volumes are limited by the capacity of a pipeline that runs through Hungary and is fully booked.
Russia's Lukoil talks to potential foreign buyers about its assets
Lukoil, Russia's second largest oil producer, said it was in talks on Friday with potential buyers for its foreign assets after sanctions were imposed by the UK and US last month and a deal made with Gunvor Trading House collapsed. The specific deal would be announced once the final agreements had been reached and all regulatory approvals obtained. The company wants to maintain the operation of assets even after they are sold and transferred to new owners. It will also save jobs and avoid disruptions to energy supply and work in the countries where it is present. Last month, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury announced a new program. In Ukraine.
Saudi Aramco will sign US LNG contracts during the crown prince's Washington visit, sources say
Saudi Aramco will sign two U.S. LNG supply agreements with Woodside Energy & Commonwealth LNG next week when Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in Washington, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Saudi Aramco wants to be a major player in liquefied gas, particularly in the United States where the LNG capacity will almost double within the next four-years. It has signed agreements with other U.S. companies, such as NextDecade Rio Grande LNG. Aramco's CEO and President Amin Nasser told analysts on a conference call in August that the company aims to produce 20 million tonnes of LNG per year (mtpa), with 4.5 millions tons already in production.
Germany reduces plans for new gas-powered generation as part of the decarbonisation compromise
Germany has reduced the amount of gas fired power capacity that it plans to develop, to about 10 gigawatts. This is half of what was planned at the beginning of the year. The goal is to strike a balanced between decarbonisation, and supporting intermittent renewables. Friedrich Merz, the conservative Chancellor and his Social Democrat coalition partner reached a decision late Thursday night. It was a compromise that sought to satisfy both those who wanted a faster energy transition and others who were concerned about industry's ability to function without reliable supplies of low-cost energy.
EUROPE GAS - European prices rise from 18-month lows as cold weather looms
The Dutch and British gas price rose on Friday morning from a low of 18 months, which was reached a day before. This is because temperatures are expected to drop sharply in the coming week, increasing demand for energy, which should lead to a rise in gas storage withdrawals. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was up 0.17 euros at 30.65 Euro per megawatt hour at TTF hub, or $10.46/mmBtu at 0919 GMT. The Dutch day-ahead contracts was up by 0.81 euros at 30.70 Euro/MWh. Both contracts reached their lowest levels since May 2024 on Thursday as a plentiful supply of liquefied gas and mild weather recently offset low storage levels.
Profits at Vallourec rise as expected due to higher sales prices
French steel tube maker Vallourec announced a 12.3% increase in its core profit for the third quarter on Friday. This was within its own range of guidance, and was aided in part by higher prices as well as a slight rise in volume. The company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) increased to 210 millions euros (245 million dollars) during the period July-September, which is right in the middle the range of 195-225 million euros it provided in its second quarter results. The group stated that the increase was primarily due to higher sales volumes and prices for Tubes and the positive impact of cost-saving initiatives.
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. ALSTOM: French rail maker Alstom has raised its organic sales forecast for 2025 to over 5%, up from 3%-5% in the past. This is due to strong demand for Alstom's trains and signalling system. COFINIMMO: Belgian property investment company Cofinimmo has acquired three development assets in Finland. These include a nursing and care facility under construction, and two disabled care assets. The total budget for these projects was approximately 10 million Euros, and the average gross rental yield was approximately 7%.
China's power generation in October was the highest ever for a month.
Data from the Statistics Bureau showed that China's electricity generation in October was at its highest level in almost three decades. The power generation in October was 800.2 billion Kilowatt-hours, up 7.9% on a year ago and the highest since 1998. The increase in electricity demand resulted in a 7.3% rise in the thermal power production, or fossil fuelled power, at 513.8 billions kWh. This was the highest output of thermal power for October since the 1990s. China's thermal energy output is mainly coal, with a little natural gas. Thermal generation, however, was down from 517.6 billion kWh in Septembre and down 0.4% over the entire first 10 months of this year.
China's crude oil throughput in October rises by 6.4% on an annual basis
China's crude throughput increased 6.4% on an annual basis in October as refiners increased throughput to improve margins. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, data released on Friday showed that the world's second largest oil consumer processed approximately 14.94 million barrels of crude per day in October. The daily rate decreased by 2.1% compared to September's 15,26 million bpd. This was the highest level recorded since September 2023. According to data, the crude oil throughput between January and October was 614.24 metric tons or 14.75 millions bpd. This is 4% higher than the same period in the previous year.
Siemens Energy will pay dividends for 2025 and raises the mid-term outlook
Siemens Energy announced on Thursday it will pay its first dividend for four years, and has also raised its outlook mid-term due to strong demand in gas turbines and transmission technology. Christian Bruch, CEO of the company's wind-turbine division, said that the success "was hard-earned" and not a result of chance. He was referring to the years of cost cutting and restructuring in response to a quality crisis. Siemens Energy has recommended a dividend payout of 0.70 euros per share ($0.82) for the fiscal period that ended in September. This is the highest payout since Siemens Energy was spun off in 2020 from its former parent Siemens AG.