Monday, 13 July 2026

Santos Ltd has secured a state contract running 10 years to deliver 200 petajoules of domestic natural gas into South Australia, with deliveries starting in 2030, according to Rigzone.

The deal carries an annual volume of 20 PJ, which Santos put at roughly 30 percent of what it currently produces from the Cooper Basin, according to Rigzone.

Santos will draw that supply from its Moomba Central Area fields development, according to Rigzone. The company reached a final investment decision on March 9 to advance the Moomba Central Optimization (MCO) project, according to Rigzone. Santos and partner Beach Energy Ltd target completion in 2029.

Under the project, Santos is committing AUD 357 million (USD 247.79 million), and Beach Energy has said separately its portion runs to about AUD 250 million, according to Rigzone. The upgrade swaps out seven aging gas-fired compressor stations for a single electric one.

Santos projects the MCO will trim unit production cost by as much as AUD 3 per barrel of oil equivalent and lower its share of spending by AUD 600 million across the life of the fields, according to Rigzone.

Santos Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher said the agreement will support the South Australian Strategic Gas Reserve.

XRG bought a further 7.6% equity interest in Trains 4 and 5 of the Rio Grande LNG project, purchasing the holding from an acquisition vehicle tied to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of BlackRock, according to World Oil.

The deal extends an earlier XRG position, an indirect 11.7% stake in Phase 1 covering Trains 1 through 3, World Oil reported. With the latest purchase, XRG now holds interests spanning all five trains at the site.

NextDecade operates the plant at the Port of Brownsville, where roughly 30 MMtpa of liquefaction capacity is under construction, according to World Oil.

Trains 4 and 5 will contribute about 12 MMtpa of production capacity, backed by long-term LNG sales agreements with investment-grade customers, according to NextDecade.

First gas is expected in the second half of 2026, with LNG production set to start in the first half of 2027, World Oil reported.

The transaction cleared all required regulatory approvals, including a sign-off from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), according to World Oil.

Mohamed Al Aryani, president of XRG's International Gas business, said closing the deal advances the company's global gas strategy.

Seven OPEC+ members will lift combined oil output by 188,000 bpd in August, extending a phased return of barrels held back under earlier voluntary cuts, according to World Oil.

The agreement came out of a Saturday virtual session bringing together Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, World Oil reported. Each has run extra voluntary output curbs since 2023.

The added supply is part of the ongoing unwinding of the voluntary reductions first set out in April 2023, per World Oil.

The group tied the pace of further hikes to market conditions, saying increases could be sped up, held or unwound as needed.

The seven producers agreed to adhere to the OPEC+ Declaration of Cooperation and said they would make up in full for any barrels pumped above their targets since January 2024, according to World Oil.

Their next meeting falls on Aug. 2.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co PJSC (ADNOC) has set a company goal of marketing 47 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2035, launching a single sales platform to reach it, according to Rigzone.

The new entity folds the marketing arms of ADNOC Gas PLC and XRG PJSC, the company's international investment arm, together with the trading desk of ADNOC Trading Ltd, Rigzone reported. It is based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) financial center. Rashid Al Mazrouei was named LNG chief marketing and origination officer.

The United Arab Emirates, through ADNOC, plans to more than double its LNG production capacity by 2028, with the under-construction Ruwais LNG plant rated at 9.6 MMtpa, Rigzone reported.

XRG closed the purchase of an extra 7.6 percent stake in the Rio Grande LNG project at Brownsville, Texas, backing the plant's fourth and fifth liquefaction trains. NextDecade Corp approved those two trains last year, lifting the project's under-construction capacity by about 12 MMtpa to roughly 30 MMtpa, according to Rigzone.

ADNOC L&S now runs an LNG fleet of 20 tankers, 14 of them modern two-stroke carriers, Rigzone reported.

Seven OPEC+ countries agreed to raise oil output by 188,000 barrels per day in August 2026, drawing down the additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023, according to Rigzone.

Saudi Arabia and Russia each carry the largest share of the increase, adding 62,000 bpd apiece, Rigzone reported. Iraq contributes a further 26,000 bpd, Kuwait 16,000 bpd, Kazakhstan 10,000 bpd, Algeria 6,000 bpd, and Oman 5,000 bpd.

The raise lifts August's required production to 10.416 million bpd for Saudi Arabia and 9.887 million bpd for Russia, according to Rigzone.

The seven participating countries are next scheduled to meet on August 2, Rigzone reported.

Samer Hasn of XS.com said the oil market may be shifting from supply scarcity to oversupply as major exporters accelerate production with the Strait of Hormuz open.

A new well at Ghana's Jubilee field is adding about 20,000 barrels of oil per day to gross output after starting up in mid-June, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. The J76 well, third in Kosmos Energy's 2026 campaign, reached first oil two weeks behind schedule.

Jubilee's gross output averaged roughly 72,000 bopd through the second quarter and left the period running above 85,000 bopd, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Kosmos has finished the next well, J77, and anticipates production imminently. Once online, the company expects gross Jubilee output to climb to around 90,000 bopd.

Citing results from the 2026 Ghana campaign, in particular J76, chairman and chief executive Andrew G. Inglis said the wells point to Jubilee's potential, backed by modern seismic and reservoir modelling.

Off the coast of Mauritania and Senegal, the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project shipped nine cargoes during the quarter, at the top of guidance, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Net debt closed the quarter near USD 2.56 billion, a drop of more than USD 400 million against year-end 2025, which Kosmos attributed to debt reduction efforts and free cash flow. The company said it stays on course to cut net debt by roughly 20% year-on-year through the end of 2026.

Kosmos also closed the sale of its Ceiba and Okume assets in Equatorial Guinea to Panoro Energy on June 16.

Kosmos Energy cut its net debt to about $2.56 billion by the close of the second quarter, down by more than $400 million since year-end 2025, according to a GlobeNewswire operational update.

The J76 well in Ghana started up in mid-June, running two weeks behind the original schedule, and added roughly 20,000 barrels of oil per day to gross output, the update said.

Jubilee averaged about 72,000 bopd through the quarter and exited above 85,000 bopd. Bringing the J77 well online is expected to push gross Jubilee production toward 90,000 bopd.

The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project spanning Mauritania and Senegal shipped nine LNG cargos during the quarter, hitting the top of guidance.

Kosmos closed the sale of its Ceiba and Okume assets in Equatorial Guinea to Panoro Energy on June 16, 2026, which stripped roughly 1,000 bopd from second-quarter production guidance.

The company aims to reduce net debt by around 20% year-on-year by the end of 2026, and reported quarter-end liquidity above $500 million. Chief executive Andrew G. Inglis said the priorities are growing production, lowering costs and paying down debt.

Parex Resources reported Q2 2026 average production of 54,090 boe/d, according to its GlobeNewswire release.

The company closed its acquisition of Frontera E&P on June 1, 2026, which added over 37,000 boe/d of cash-generating, low decline production to its June volumes.

Parex exited the second quarter at approximately 83,000 boe/d. The company reiterated its H2 2026 average production guidance of 82,000 to 91,000 boe/d. It also reiterated FY 2026 average production guidance of 63,000 to 67,000 boe/d.

At LLA-111, three wells are producing over 5,000 bbl/d of medium crude oil, with egress capacity constraining production, according to Parex.

Parex plans to release its Q2 2026 financial and operating results on Friday, July 31, 2026.

Parex describes itself as the largest independent oil and gas company in Colombia, focusing on sustainable, conventional production.

Aker BP's Hugin B platform topside sailed from Aker Solutions' Verdal yard on July 6 toward the Yggdrasil area, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The shipment was the last in a run of four steel jackets and two topsides built for the Valhall PWP-Fenris and Yggdrasil developments, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. That sequence opened in June 2024 when the Fenris jacket and pre-drilling module shipped out.

Aker BP split construction across two alliances. Aker BP, ABB and Aker Solutions form the Fixed Facilities Alliance handling the Valhall PWP and Fenris platforms. A separate grouping of Aker BP, Aker Solutions and Siemens Energy is delivering Hugin A and B for Yggdrasil.

Work on the portfolio ran to close to 3,500 man-years at the Verdal yard, and more than 130 apprentices have taken part since 2022, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, said the alliance structure had been central to keeping the projects on track and would help make marginal fields economic.

Ukraine struck three Russian refineries, including the country's largest, in the latest attack on energy assets that is deepening a nationwide gasoline shortage, according to Rigzone.

The Omsk refinery is Russia's largest, with capacity of about 22 million tons a year, or roughly 440,000 barrels a day, Rigzone reported. Based on preliminary information, one of the plant's primary oil-processing units with capacity of 8.4 million tons per year was damaged.

The distance from Ukraine's border to the Siberian refinery is over 2,500 kilometers, about 1,600 miles, according to Ukraine's General Staff.

Ukraine's General Staff also reported strikes on the Yanos oil refinery in the Yaroslavl region and on Novatek's Ust-Luga plant on Russia's Baltic coast.

Vitaly Khotsenko, governor of the Omsk region, confirmed the strike on the refinery and said there were no casualties.

The government in Moscow has banned most exports of gasoline and jet fuel and has considered a short-term ban on foreign sales of diesel, Rigzone reported.

Urals crude fetched an average of $41.66 a barrel at Russia's western ports over the first three days of July, according to Argus Media data.

That reading trails the $59 a barrel that underpins Russia's 2026 budget for the grade. Urals had cleared that benchmark in every month since March, with June settling at $60.92 a barrel as Hormuz shipping traffic recovered following an interim deal between Washington and Tehran to reopen the waterway, Argus reported.

Urals traded at a $27.35 discount to Dated Brent on Friday, Argus said. That gap tightens to $8.55 a barrel once the cargoes arrive in India, the data show.

Russia's fiscal gap reached 6 trillion rubles ($77 billion) over the first five months of the year, equal to 2.6% of GDP and roughly 60% above the target set for all of 2026.

Oil and gas revenue covers about a fifth of the federal budget. Higher earnings earlier had let the country restart contributions to its rainy-day fund for the first time in almost a year and postpone cuts to non-priority spending.

Saudi Arabia lowered its main crude oil price for buyers in Asia after shipments through the Strait of Hormuz restarted and OPEC+ agreed to lift production, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Asian buyers told Bloomberg that even with the reduction, Saudi barrels still cost more than crude from other producers in the region. Bloomberg said that gap could force deeper cuts if a global glut takes hold, with China yet to restart large-scale purchases.

One analyst read the move as a marker of "Hormuz's messy normalization" rather than a price war, and said the sharper pricing could "reinvigorate Chinese interest".

A global energy consultant played down the glut concern, telling Semafor Net Zero that full supply will not return before 2027.