Equinor Sees the Light – Cuts Renewable Investment, Expands O&G
We’ve been pretty hard on Equinor since 2018 when Statoil changed its name to Equinor, apparently ashamed of being associated with the term oil (see Statoil Gets a New Name Starting Today – Equinor). Equinor, which is based in and owned by Norway, is the largest supplier of energy to Europe. Equinor’s activities span 36 countries, including the U.S., and it ranks among the world’s top oil and gas companies in terms of production, revenue, and influence in the energy sector. Equinor lost its way for the past six years, thinking it would transition itself (a tranny oil company!) into a renewable energy company. As other big European companies like Shell and BP have discovered, oil drillers don’t make money in renewables. Equinor has finally seen the same light and is significantly scaling back its investments in renewable programs. Instead, it is growing the money it spends to drill for oil and gas. Read More “Equinor Sees the Light – Cuts Renewable Investment, Expands O&G”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Major increase in net outflows of gas from the northeast, as warmer weather cuts demand; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Judge dismisses New Jersey’s NGO-funded climate lawsuit in fiery opinion; Why oil and gas companies want state oversight for carbon dioxide injection; New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration gives up on new offshore wind; NATIONAL: Five things to know about AI’s thirst for energy; Energy industry wants DOE to eliminate seven-year export deadline; EIA natural gas storage draw of -174 Bcf exceeds analyst expectations; INTERNATIONAL: European natural gas prices surge to 16-month high amid cold snap; JP Morgan says global oil demand ‘surged’ to over 101MM bpd in January; Europe’s latest energy squabble – England versus Norway. 
Two weeks ago, MDN brought you the news about a mind-blowing announcement from the White House that OpenAI (ChatGPT), SoftBank, and Oracle have pledged to spend $500 billion (with a “b”) to build new data centers to support artificial intelligence (see 
Yesterday, Rising Phoenix Capital, an investment firm specializing in oil and gas royalty acquisitions, announced the launch of the La Plata Peak Income Fund, a $20 million royalty fund. Rising Phoenix is looking for investors to buy into the fund. Once the company hits its target (maybe before), it will go on the hunt for mineral rights and royalty rights to buy from individuals and companies. Rising Phoenix’s royalty division has previously done a number of deals in the Marcellus/Utica (
The oil and gas business is still a great place to get a job. A high-paying job. However, knowing what kinds of companies to contact and what kinds of jobs are available at those companies can be a challenge. Rigzone President Chad Norville recently highlighted some of the latest U.S. oil and gas hiring trends his organization has noticed. He says larger producers are taking a “wait and see” approach to new hiring right now, but medium and smaller producers are fast-tracking new projects and actively hiring. So perhaps focus your search on the medium and smaller producers. 
The chickens are coming home to roost for Venture Global, an LNG export company that uses loopholes and excuses to avoid selling LNG cargoes to the companies that signed contracts to buy those cargoes. The company recently launched an initial public offering (IPO), hoping to raise $2.3 billion (see 
As we reported yesterday, Chris Wright, now-former CEO of Liberty Energy (big fracking company), was confirmed on Monday to be the new Secretary of Energy (see 
Energy Sec. Chris Wright’s opening day directive (yesterday) to employees at the DOE got a fair bit of media attention (see today’s companion post). A day earlier, Lee Zeldin, the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, issued a similar directive to EPA employees. Zeldin announced the agency’s “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” to achieve the agency’s mission while energizing the greatness of the American economy. The plan includes five pillars that will guide the EPA’s work over the first 100 days and beyond. The mainstream media has been completely silent on Zeldin’s plan. No coverage that we could find. 
We suppose we shouldn’t be shocked, but we are. Reuters is exclusively reporting that Canadian pension fund CPP Investments, the majority owner of Encino Acquisition Partners (aka Encino Energy), is considering either a sale of the company or possibly an initial public offering (IPO) that values the company at roughly $7 billion. Encino’s claim to fame is that after taking over Chesapeake Energy’s Ohio Utica assets in 2018, it cracked the code on how to coax crude oil (condensate) out of the low-pressure Utica shale (see 
Donald Trump threatened and was prepared to implement a 25% tariff on both Mexico and Canada, including a 10% tariff (tax) on incoming oil and natural gas (and other energy) from Canada (see 
According to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights, U.S. natural gas output stands near an all-time high as a period of strong demand and improved prices enable a production resurgence. Output averaged 106 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) over the latest weekend. In the Marcellus/Utica, production over the last seven days has come in at nearly 36 Bcf/d, up about 1.7 Bcf/d, or 5%, compared with the prior week. Single-day volumes at 36.3 Bcf over each of the last several days mark highs not recorded since winter 2023-2024. 
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his 2025-26 Budget Address to the General Assembly and the people of Pennsylvania. He presented a bloated, whopping $51.47 billion budget for 2025-2026, a 7.5-percent increase over the current fiscal year. The budget proposed flops in many ways (like legalizing pot), but none more so than his doubling down on failed energy proposals, including support for a Marcellus-killing carbon tax. Dems never learn. 
The environmental left is panicked that it may be losing one of its bluest strongholds—the State of Maryland—with the introduction of a new bill by state Democrats (!) that would make it easier to build new natural gas-fired power plants. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, along with other Maryland Democrats, held a presser on Monday in the state capitol of Annapolis. Without revealing the actual language, the pair unveiled a new plan (bill) to reduce energy costs “while furthering the state’s clean energy ambitions” by building more “dispatchable” power. The enviro-left rightly assumes dispatchable means building gas-fired power plants.