Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Argent LNG has hired GIS Engineering to handle marine, environmental and site engineering for its proposed Port Fourchon export terminal in Louisiana, according to World Oil. The plant is designed to produce 25 MMtpa.

The contracted studies feed Argent LNG's pre-filing application at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), forming the technical base for the project's environmental review, World Oil reported.

Argent LNG has already lodged 11 resource reports with FERC, according to World Oil. Those documents address water resources, wildlife, cultural resources, land use, air quality and project alternatives.

Jonathan Bass, chairman and CEO of Argent LNG, said each deliverable under the contract brings the company nearer to a complete FERC filing.

GIS Engineering is based in Galliano, Louisiana, per World Oil.

Shell expects Integrated Gas production of 610-650 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q2 2026, down from 909 kboe/d in Q1 2026, reflecting the impact of the Middle East conflict on Qatari volumes, according to a Shell second quarter update note published on GlobeNewswire.

LNG liquefaction volumes are expected to reach 7.4-7.8 million tonnes in the quarter, compared with 7.9 MT in the prior quarter, Shell said. Despite the lower output, Shell expects Trading and Optimisation within Integrated Gas to come in significantly higher than Q1 2026.

Downstream margins strengthened over the period. Shell's indicative refining margin is expected to be about USD 20/bbl, up from USD 17/bbl in Q1 2026. The indicative chemicals margin is expected to be around USD 240/tonne, up from USD 139/tonne in the prior quarter.

Shell cautioned that realised refining and chemicals margins are lower than the calculated indicative figures because of market dislocations, and have been adjusted accordingly.

The company also flagged a working capital movement of USD 1-6 billion for Q2 2026, reflecting the impact of what it described as unprecedented volatility in commodity prices. That compares with a working capital figure of negative USD 11.2 billion in Q1 2026.

Shell's second quarter 2026 results are scheduled to be published on July 30, 2026.

The U.S. average gasoline price fell 6.8 cents over the past week to $3.71 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. The national average was down 41.3 cents from a month ago but sat 62.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

GasBuddy is tracking 41 states with average gasoline prices below $4 per gallon. Indiana held the lowest average at $3.04, followed by Oklahoma and Texas, each at $3.26 per gallon.

At the top end, Hawaii averaged $5.42 per gallon, California $5.33, and Washington $4.98, according to GasBuddy.

Patrick De Haan attributed the limited pump price declines to continued Ukrainian attacks on Russian refinery infrastructure that have forced Russia to shift from fuel exporter to importer, tightening global supplies and putting upward pressure on crack spreads. That pressure explains why pump prices have not fallen as sharply as oil prices might suggest, according to De Haan.

Eni has awarded TechnipFMC a subsea contract for the Baleine Phase 3 development offshore Côte d'Ivoire, with the value placed between USD 75 million and USD 250 million under the contractor's own banding, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The scope covers engineering and fabrication of flexible flowlines and risers, tying wells in water depths near 1,200 metres back to a new floating production unit, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Phase 3 runs on a fast-track schedule and targets higher output from what TechnipFMC has called the largest hydrocarbon discovery offshore Côte d'Ivoire, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Jonathan Landes, President, Subsea for TechnipFMC, said the award extends the company's work with Eni and that it will supply a flexible pipe package geared to the fast-track timeline, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

A 15-year sales and purchase agreement between ADNOC and Japan's INPEX will deliver 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG, sourced mainly from the Ruwais LNG project in Abu Dhabi, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

With the INPEX contract added, long-term offtake for the 9.6 mtpa Ruwais LNG project has passed 90% of capacity, and nearly 23% is now tied to Japanese customers, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Ruwais LNG sits in Al Ruwais Industrial City and is due to begin commercial operations in 2028, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. Two liquefaction trains each hold a capacity of 4.8 mtpa.

ADNOC and XRG are aiming for 47 mtpa of combined marketable LNG by 2035, Nasser Al Muhairi said, describing Ruwais LNG as a supply source for customers in Asia and key markets.

ADNOC Gas said in November 2024 that it planned to buy ADNOC's 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG project at cost, put at around USD 5 billion, in 2028, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplied 131 billion cubic meters, or 45 percent, of the gas imported by European Union countries in 2025, according to a European Commission report published Monday.

LNG's share of annual EU gas imports rose by nine percentage points, a move the European Commission described in its gas market report as deepening the structural shift in the bloc's gas supply mix.

The United States was the largest single source of the EU's LNG, supplying 76 Bcm or 57.9 percent of those imports over the year, according to the report. Russia ranked second, accounting for 18 Bcm or 13.5 percent.

The EU held the world's top spot for LNG imports in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a 24 percent share of global imports, the Commission said.

Regasification capacity across the 27-member bloc rose eight percent to nearly 215 Bcm in 2025 compared with 2024, with additions in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Poland, according to the report.

Pipeline imports moved the other way. EU gas imports via pipeline fell eight percent year-on-year to 158 Bcm, the Commission said, with Norway remaining the top pipeline source at 86 Bcm or 54.4 percent.

In a separate electricity market report, the Commission said gas power generation rose 11 percent, or 37 terawatt hours, offsetting a five percent decline in coal generation. LNG's 131 Bcm equated to 4.63 trillion cubic feet of the year's imports.

Apache North Sea has named Well-Safe Solutions lead contractor on decommissioning of the Beryl Field, a mandate that lifts the two firms' combined workload past 260 wells, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The Beryl award is the second Apache has handed the contractor this year, coming after decommissioning work on the Forties Field, per Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Well-Safe Solutions has brought in Archer for platform-based drilling, wireline and coiled tubing, well services, and a Compact Workover Rig. NMC Energy takes a separate contract covering integration, commissioning and topside decommissioning.

Work on the Beryl Bravo platform wells is set to begin in the summer, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital, ahead of subsea well decommissioning scheduled to start in 2027.

North America's total rig count stayed flat at 770 week on week, according to Baker Hughes' latest count published on July 2. A gain of seven US rigs was offset by a drop of seven in Canada.

The result ended an eight-week run of additions, according to Rigzone, which reported that the Baker Hughes North America count had risen for eight consecutive weeks before this reading.

The United States holds 580 rigs and Canada holds 190 of the 770 total. The US figure comprises 445 oil rigs, 126 gas rigs, and nine miscellaneous rigs. Canada's 190 breaks down into 130 oil rigs, 58 gas rigs, and two miscellaneous rigs.

Across US states, Texas added three rigs and Oklahoma added two week on week, while Louisiana and New Mexico each added one and North Dakota dropped two. By basin, the Permian added three rigs and the Cana Woodford added one, while the Williston lost one over the same period.

Measured against year-ago levels, the North America count is up 80 rigs, according to Baker Hughes. The US has added 41 rigs and Canada has added 39 rigs year on year.

Arizona Public Service (APS) plans to convert two closed coal-fired units at its Cholla Power Plant to burn natural gas, according to Power Magazine.

The utility said this month that construction on the conversion would begin in 2028, Power Magazine reported.

The new units are designed to generate 380 MW of electricity and would come online the following year, according to Power Magazine.

Four farmers from Uganda have taken the operator of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to London's High Court, asking judges to apply Ugandan law against the project's UK-registered company and halt the line before it begins operating, according to Climate Home News.

Law firm Leigh Day brought the claim on the farmers' behalf, contending that EACOP Ltd's development and operation of the pipeline violates Ugandan protections for the right to a clean and healthy environment, Climate Home News reported.

TotalEnergies holds the majority stake in the 1,443-kilometre line, which developers say is about 80% complete, according to Climate Home News. The developers expect first crude exports as soon as October.

BankTrack puts peak throughput at 216,000 barrels of crude per day, with annual emissions topping 33 million tonnes. Across a 25-year operating life, value-chain emissions are estimated at roughly 379 million tonnes, Climate Home News reported.

The route passes through the Lake Victoria basin, which Climate Home News describes as a critical water source for around 40 million people.

The High Court action is not the first legal test of the project. Campaign groups took Uganda and Tanzania to the East African Court of Justice, but that case was thrown out on procedural grounds last November, Climate Home News reported.

Renaissance Energy said on Tuesday it made an oil discovery offshore Nigeria after drilling an exploration well in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 74, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Preliminary results showed about 1,000 feet (305 metres) of crude oil-bearing reservoirs across seven zones, according to the same report.

The find is Renaissance's first major success since it took over the asset last year, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

OML 74 is a large shallow-water block in the eastern Niger Delta that holds at least eight previously undeveloped discoveries.

Renaissance operates Nigeria's largest upstream joint venture, with 18 oil leases, two export terminals and a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the delta, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Renaissance Africa Energy Company announced an offshore oil discovery at the JK-004 exploration well in OML 74, according to World Oil.

The JK-004 well encountered approximately 1,000 ft of hydrocarbon-bearing intervals across seven reservoirs containing light oil, World Oil reported.

Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the discovery at the NOG Energy Week Conference & Exhibition 2026 and described it as an important milestone for the country's upstream sector.

Renaissance said the discovery confirmed high-quality reservoirs and supports its strategy to expand Nigeria's hydrocarbon resource base.

Iraq has raised production at three southern projects to full capacity as tankers began arriving to load export cargoes, according to World Oil, citing a person familiar with the operations.

The increase followed an order from state-run Basra Oil Co. to lift output at West Qurna 1, North Rumaila and Artawi, according to the person, who cited a July 3 notice to the fields' operators seen by Bloomberg.

Iraq had ordered some fields to cut production last month as the erratic reopening of the Strait of Hormuz hindered tanker loadings and storage tanks ran full, according to World Oil.

Output from the south had fallen to around 1.1 MMbpd at the end of June, less than half of Basra Oil's capacity, according to World Oil. Southern output stood at about 1.5 MMbpd in the middle of last month, according to Basra Oil director general Basim Abdul Kareem.

The swings in production have left Iraq behind some of its Gulf neighbors in returning supply to the market, according to World Oil. The United Arab Emirates has already restored its exports to prewar levels and Saudi Arabia is getting close, while Iraq lags behind.

Equinor ASA and its partners awarded contracts worth about NOK 6 billion, or USD 613.39 million, covering four tieback projects at varying development stages off the coast of Norway, Rigzone reported.

TWIN accounts for the largest share at NOK 4 billion and forms the third phase in the staged buildout of the Troll West gas cap, according to Rigzone.

TechnipFMC PLC takes the subsea production systems across all four projects and will lay rigid pipelines on the Troll field, Rigzone reported. OneSubsea, jointly held by SLB Ltd, Aker Solutions ASA and Subsea7 SA, supplies the TWIN production system and umbilicals for the full set of four.

Gunnar Nakken, Equinor senior vice president for projects and subsea on the Norwegian continental shelf, said the company sees roughly 75 subsea developments coming toward 2035.

Nakken said Equinor wants to "halve both costs and execution time" by simplifying processes and standardizing solutions with its partners and suppliers.