MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Jul 18, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Cameron LNG marks 1,000th cargo milestone; NATIONAL: USA crude oil stocks drop week on week; EPA announces next phase of organizational improvements; The Big Beautiful Bill is a big win for American energy; Chevron moves forward with megadeal for Hess after winning Exxon arbitration; BP sells US onshore wind assets to LS Power; New budget law boosts carbon sequestration, enhanced oil recovery; Meta (Facebook) going all in on data centers; The solution to America’s energy security lives in Canada; INTERNATIONAL: Oil rises on tight supply signals; Will all oil and gas companies have to adopt GenAI?; Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide rose in 2024; Canadian OFS group says relief from counter-tariffs on U.S. sand ‘fantastic news’; Trump’s tariff pressure pushes Asia toward American liquefied natural gas.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS
Cameron LNG marks 1,000th cargo milestone
Cameron LNG
Cameron LNG announced the successful export of its 1,000th cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on July 17, 2025, from its facility near Hackberry, Louisiana, along the Calcasieu Ship Channel, marking a significant milestone just six years after its first commissioning cargo on May 31, 2019. The 1,000th cargo was loaded onto the Maran Gas Kimolos, highlighting the skill, determination, and commitment of the Cameron LNG team, as stated by President Art Klein, who emphasized the company’s core values of safety and results-based success. Martin Hupka, president of LNG at Sempra Infrastructure and chairman of the Cameron LNG Board, congratulated the team for achieving this milestone in such a short timeframe, reflecting their expertise and dedication. Cameron LNG is jointly owned by affiliates of Sempra Infrastructure, TotalEnergies, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Japan LNG Investment LLC, a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK). [MDN: Some of the molecules that Cameron liquefies come from the Marcellus/Utica. So, we celebrate this milestone!]
NATIONAL
USA crude oil stocks drop week on week
Rigzone/Andreas Exarheas
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 3.9 million barrel decrease in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) from July 4 to July 11, 2025, dropping from 426.0 million to 422.2 million barrels, which is about eight percent below the five-year average. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve slightly decreased from 403.0 million to 402.7 million barrels. Total petroleum stocks, including crude oil and various fuels, rose by 9.0 million barrels week-on-week to 1.658 billion barrels but were down 11.2 million barrels year-on-year. Motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels, distillate fuel by 4.2 million barrels, and propane/propylene by 4.5 million barrels, though distillate stocks remain 21 percent below the five-year average. Refinery inputs dropped to 16.8 million barrels per day, operating at 93.9 percent capacity, with gasoline and distillate production also declining. Crude oil imports rose, while total products supplied over four weeks fell 1.1 percent year-on-year. [MDN: The news of a 3.9 million barrel drop in U.S. crude oil inventories is significant for energy markets due to its potential to influence oil prices, reflect economic activity, and inform policy and investment decisions. It’s particularly relevant for traders, analysts, and policymakers monitoring supply tightness and global energy dynamics.]
EPA announces next phase of organizational improvements
Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under Administrator Lee Zeldin, announced a new phase of organizational improvements on July 17, 2025, to enhance its ability to fulfill statutory obligations and deliver clean air, water, and land while modernizing mission support. The restructuring affects the Office of Mission Support, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and Office of Land and Emergency Management. These changes aim to improve efficiency in managing facilities, acquisitions, grants, human capital, IT, and information management, while enhancing communication with Congress and other oversight bodies. The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance will realign to address pollution effectively, ensuring compliance and economic prosperity. The Office of Land and Emergency Management will be better equipped to prevent contamination, clean up land, and respond to emergencies, reinforcing EPA’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and community outcomes. [MDN: In other words, another round of layoffs to get rid of the leftist deadweight that exists inside the EPA. Can’t happen soon enough for us!]
The Big Beautiful Bill is a big win for American energy
Institute for Energy Research/Thomas J. Pyle
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) marks a significant shift in U.S. energy policy by setting a 2027 deadline for wind and solar projects to qualify for production and investment tax credits, acknowledging that these intermittent energy sources cannot meet the growing demands of AI and electrification without distorting markets and raising costs. Despite a last-minute Senate loophole allowing projects with 5% funding committed within 12 months a four-year safe harbor, the bill curbs the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) costly subsidies, which failed to lower electricity prices as promised, with retail prices rising faster than inflation since 2022. The OBBBA also eliminates the $7,500 new and $4,000 used electric vehicle tax credits, repeals the IRA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and removes barriers to natural gas, oil, and coal production, promoting reliable energy and reducing grid strain. This legislation, championed by congressional Republicans, aims to restore market competition, lower energy costs, and enhance national security. [MDN: The OBBBA wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but it’s far superior to what we’ve had, and it takes many of the teeth out of Biden’s IRA Green New Deal.]
Chevron moves forward with megadeal for Hess after winning Exxon arbitration
Wall Street Journal
An arbitration panel from the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris has cleared Chevron to proceed with its $53 billion acquisition of Hess, rejecting Exxon Mobil’s claim to a right-of-first-refusal on Hess’s 30% stake in Guyana’s lucrative Stabroek offshore oil block. The ruling resolves a heated dispute between Chevron and Exxon, two major oil companies descended from Standard Oil, over one of the world’s most valuable oil projects, which Exxon operates with a 45% stake alongside China’s Cnooc (25%). The decision allows Chevron to move quickly to finalize the deal, initially struck in October 2023, boosting Hess shares by 8% and Chevron’s by 4% in premarket trading. Exxon, despite disagreeing with the ruling, respects the arbitration outcome and expects to maintain its operations in Guyana, which aim to produce 1.2 million barrels daily by 2027. The acquisition strengthens Chevron’s portfolio, critical for future production growth, while Exxon continues its strong financial performance. [MDN: The last vestiges of Hess will now be gone. It sold off its retail gas station subsidiary years ago, and now, the oil drilling company (with major assets in the Bakken shale play) will be absorbed into Chevron.]
BP sells US onshore wind assets to LS Power
Rigzone/Jov Onsat
BP PLC has agreed to sell its U.S. onshore wind business, BP Wind Energy North America Inc., to LS Power Development LLC, aligning with its goal of achieving $3-4 billion in asset sales in 2025 as part of a broader $20 billion divestment target by 2027. The transaction includes 10 grid-connected wind projects with a net capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, comprising five wholly owned projects in Kansas, Indiana, and South Dakota, and five 50%-owned projects in Hawaii, Colorado, Indiana, Idaho, and Pennsylvania. These projects, capable of generating up to 1.7 gigawatts gross, will be managed under LS Power’s Clearlight Energy, expanding its renewable portfolio to 4.3 gigawatts. The deal, expected to close by year-end pending regulatory approvals, includes the transfer of employees to LS Power, though the price was not disclosed. This move supports BP’s strategy to rationalize its low-carbon portfolio while LS Power aims to enhance U.S. energy infrastructure. [MDN: Can Euro weenies actually learn? It would seem so! BP is smart to dump loser wind power assets. LS Power is not so smart for buying it.]
New budget law boosts carbon sequestration, enhanced oil recovery
RBN Energy/Jason Lindquist
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, by President Trump, significantly alters clean-energy tax credits, scaling back many while bolstering the carbon-capture industry through enhancements to the 45Q tax credit. The legislation equalizes credit rates for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS), including enhanced oil recovery (EOR), at $17 per metric ton ($36 for direct air capture), with a fivefold increase to $85 ($180 for DAC) if prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are met. This parity aims to spur carbon-capture projects, particularly in the Permian Basin, where over 5,000 miles of CO2 pipelines support EOR, benefiting crude oil and blue hydrogen production. Despite criticism for potentially undermining decarbonization by boosting oil production, the changes are expected to drive investment in carbon-capture infrastructure, leveraging existing pipeline networks owned by companies like ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Kinder Morgan. [MDN: Contrary to the media narrative, OBBBA didn’t kill carbon capture sentence us all to a dying/frying planet. We wish OBBBA had killed carbon capture, quite frankly.]
Meta (Facebook) going all in on data centers
RBN Energy
Meta is aggressively expanding its AI compute infrastructure, planning massive data centers like the 1-GW Prometheus facility in Ohio, set for 2026, and the potential 5-GW Hyperion project in Louisiana, dwarfing typical nuclear reactors. These “titan clusters” are driving unprecedented power demands, with natural gas emerging as a key energy source due to its reliability and cost-effectiveness. Meta is backing Prometheus with two 200-MW gas plants and Hyperion with 1.5 GW of new gas generation, despite also procuring solar power to meet clean energy goals. Renewables alone can’t match AI’s surging energy needs, positioning gas as a critical bridge. A single 1,000-MW data center could consume 157 MMcf/d of gas, and with data center growth potentially adding 3–6 Bcf/d to U.S. gas demand by 2030, gas producers and power developers face a significant opportunity to fuel the AI boom if they can scale rapidly. [MDN: Data centers are a big deal for M-U molecules.]
The solution to America’s energy security lives in Canada
RealClearEnergy/Michael Yurkovich
President Trump has a critical opportunity to bolster America’s economic and national security by forging a Strategic Minerals Alliance with Canada, a resource-rich ally with vast reserves of lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements essential for technologies like F-35 jets and electric vehicle batteries. With China controlling 90% of global rare earth processing and weaponizing these resources, and global supply chains exposed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reliance on hostile nations threatens U.S. independence. Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney, aligning with Trump’s dealmaking approach, offers a pragmatic partnership for mutual benefit: guaranteed U.S. access to Canadian minerals in exchange for infrastructure investment and long-term purchase agreements. This alliance could extend to energy, defense manufacturing, and technology, reducing dependence on China and unstable suppliers while creating jobs and strengthening North American industrial resilience. Trump’s leadership could secure this historic partnership, countering Beijing’s leverage and ensuring America’s economic future. [MDN: We are all for better deals with Canada, but we think it’s a mistake to look to Canada for critical minerals needed for our own energy security. Canada is not reliable and can turn on us, as we’ve seen.]
INTERNATIONAL
Oil rises on tight supply signals
Bloomberg
Oil prices rose as West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.7% to settle above $67 a barrel, ending a three-day decline, driven by signs of tighter near-term supplies and stronger US demand signals. Positive US economic data boosted equity markets, a bullish sign for commodities, alleviating concerns about weakening oil demand. US crude inventories dropped last week, and Iraq faced a production loss of about 200,000 barrels per day due to drone attacks in Kurdistan. Chevron reported nearing a production plateau in the largest US oil field. Despite global inventory buildups, US stocks remain low, shifting market focus to supply risks, according to Goldman Sachs’ Daan Struyven. However, Iraq’s approval to resume Kurdish oil exports of at least 230,000 barrels daily limited the rally. The market’s backwardation structure, with premiums for near-term delivery, and low US distillate stockpiles since 1996 further underscored supply concerns. [MDN: Bloomberg always uses headlines that make you think something dramatic has happened, when, in fact, there are ever-so-slight movements in the price up or down. In this case, WTI for August delivery gained 1.7% to settle at $67.54 a barrel in New York. Brent for September settlement climbed 1.5% to $69.52 a barrel. Still in the perfect $60s.]
Will all oil and gas companies have to adopt GenAI?
Rigzone/Andreas Exarheas
Toni Fadnes, Chief Transformation Officer of Pions (formerly eDrilling), told Rigzone that oil and gas companies in competitive environments will need to adopt generative AI (GenAI) to improve efficiency and reduce emissions, though national oil companies with government backing may face less pressure to do so. He predicted this adoption will occur sooner than expected due to the rapid pace of the AI revolution, noting that AI can already save 40-70 percent of a drilling engineer’s time. Pions, a Norway-based company, is advancing AI-powered solutions, including Ida, an AI drilling engineer, Nora, a well design engineer, and Marie, a data management engineer. Recently, Pions announced an upgraded Ida with enhanced reasoning and task management capabilities and began external testing of its AI-powered Engineering SME. Aker BP, a major European independent oil company, has joined Pions’ AI initiatives, reflecting growing industry interest in AI solutions. [MDN: We say AI is taking the world by storm, including the O&G industry. It’s here to stay, and it’s growing rapidly. It “feels” to us like AI is as big a deal as was the internet when it came around.]
Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide rose in 2024
Institute for Energy Research
In 2024, global carbon dioxide emissions rose by 1.1%, driven primarily by a 1.8% increase in the Asia-Pacific region, despite reductions of 0.6% in North America and 1.0% in Europe, according to the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy. The Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 65% of the global energy demand increase, saw significant coal production growth in India (7%) and Indonesia (8%), while China’s emissions rose by 1.2% and India’s by 4.1%, representing 31.5% and 8.3% of global emissions, respectively. U.S. emissions fell by 0.8%, comprising 13.0% of the world’s total. Global energy demand grew by 2%, with electricity demand rising faster at 4%, fueled by increased electrification and AI. Fossil fuels maintained an 86.6% share of the energy mix, unchanged from 2023, as renewable energy growth failed to displace them, highlighting inefficiencies in solar and wind power compared to fossil and nuclear energy. [MDN: CO2 emissions are not the horror painted by the left. Even if (somehow) it is a problem (it’s not), for every percentage point we lower CO2 emissions here at home, it goes up in Asia in India and China. You think you can make those countries lower their emissions? Think again. We are self-limiting ourselves with CO2 nonsense while the Indians and Chinese are laughing at us. Wake up!]
Canadian OFS group says relief from counter-tariffs on U.S. sand ‘fantastic news’
The Canadian Press/Lauren Krugel
Canadian oil and gas drillers have been granted relief from counter-tariffs on silica and quartz sand imported from the U.S., a critical component used in hydraulic fracturing to extract resources from shale formations. The exemption, announced in the Canada Gazette, applies to sand imported before October 16 and alleviates an estimated $275 million in annual costs for the industry, which relies heavily on about six million tonnes of sand from Wisconsin due to specific quality requirements. Enserva, an oilfield services group, welcomed the decision, noting the industry’s tight budgets and inability to quickly shift to Canadian sand sources due to regulatory hurdles. The government’s decision followed nearly 7,000 public submissions, with some stakeholders highlighting challenges in sourcing alternatives due to certification, specifications, or supply constraints. The remission is part of broader tariff exemptions for goods critical to Canadian industries, including manufacturing and public health, to mitigate economic harm. [MDN: Yet more evidence that Trump’s tariff “war” is working. We are forcing Canada, who has screwed us for YEARS, to back down and allow our goods and services in with low or no tariffs.]
Trump’s tariff pressure pushes Asia toward American liquefied natural gas
Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat/Associated Press
Asian countries, including Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and India, are negotiating to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to address trade deficits and avoid higher tariffs under the Trump administration’s pressure. Vietnam signed a deal to develop an LNG import hub, while Japan’s JERA committed to purchasing 5.5 million metric tons annually from 2030. South Korea and Thailand are exploring a $44 billion Alaska LNG project, and India considers scrapping import taxes on U.S. energy. However, experts warn that long-term LNG contracts could undermine Asia’s climate goals and energy security by locking countries into fossil fuel infrastructure, delaying renewable energy adoption. LNG’s high costs, “take-or-pay” clauses, and competition from cheaper renewables and coal raise economic concerns. Geopolitical risks and market volatility further complicate reliance on U.S. LNG, with analysts suggesting that expanding renewables could better meet energy demands while reducing emissions. [MDN: Good! Tariffs are working. We love it!]