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The US set aside 23 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope to serve as an emergency oil supply a century ago. Now, President Joe Biden is moving to block oil and gas development across roughly half of it.

The initiative, set to be finalized within days, marks one of the most sweeping efforts yet by Biden to limit oil and gas exploration on federal lands. It comes as he seeks to boost land conservation and fight climate change — and is campaigning for a second term on promises to do more of it.

The changes wouldn’t affect ConocoPhillips’s controversial 600-million-barrel Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. But oil industry leaders say the plan is more expansive than initially anticipated and threatens to make it nearly impossible to build another megaproject in the region. 

That’s spooking oil companies with holdings in the National Petroleum Reserve, which — along with the rest of Alaska’s North Slope — was viewed as a major growth engine for the industry before the shale boom. Interest has surged again in recent years, fed by mammoth discoveries. Tapping the region’s reservoirs could yield decades of production.

Company executives and Alaska lawmakers have increasingly raised alarm over the plan, saying it could thwart oil and gas development across much of the reserve, even on existing leases. The opposition has united a broad spectrum of foes, from Alaska Natives to lower-48 oil producers.

Santos Ltd., which leases more than a million acres within the reserve and is developing the nearby Pikka Unit joint venture with Repsol SA, said in a filing with the Bureau of Land Management that the proposal would infringe on its holdings, with impacts “as extensive as whole projects being denied.” ConocoPhillips, which has 156 leases in the reserve, warned the regulation would violate its contracts and “drive investment away from the NPR-A.” And Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc., whose leases there span 1.1 million gross acres, said the measure could block it from building the infrastructure needed to access those tracts.

The proposed rule would effectively nationalize the company’s leases, Chief Executive Officer Bill Armstrong told White House officials in a March 21 meeting, according to people familiar with the discussion. A company spokesman declined to comment on the matter. 

Administration officials argue the changes are necessary to balance oil development with the protection of sensitive landscapes that provide habitat for polar bears, migratory birds and the 61,500-strong Teshekpuk caribou herd. “We must do everything within our control to meet the highest standards of care to protect this fragile ecosystem,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in announcing the measure last year. 

The regulation would limit future oil development in some 13 million acres (20,000 square miles) of designated “special areas” within the Indiana-sized reserve, including territory currently under lease. There’d be an outright prohibition on new leasing in 10.6 million acres. 

The proposal would create a formal program for expanding protected areas at least once every five years — while making it difficult to undo those designations. And it would raise the bar for future development elsewhere in the reserve.

The Interior Department said in a preamble the regulation wouldn’t affect existing leases. But the proposed rule text doesn’t offer similar, explicit assurance. Instead, it proposes to give the government broad authority to limit or bar access to existing leases, “regardless of any existing authorization.” Oil leasing and infrastructure development would be presumed not to be permitted unless specific information clearly demonstrates the work can be done with “no or minimal adverse effects” on the habitat.

Environmentalists and some Alaska Natives have widely praised Biden for setting aside territory for conservation. 

“These are resources that once they’re gone, they’re gone forever, and we can’t wait until they have disappeared to go and get them back,” said Rachael Hamby, policy director for the Center for Western Priorities. “We need to manage now to protect those resources and values for present and future generations.”

The Interior Department says the proposal would not have a significant effect on the nation’s energy supply. Still, the reserve could be a notable source of fuel, with the rock formations beneath it holding an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to a 2017 assessment by the US Geological Survey. Enthusiasm for the region picked up after recent discoveries in the Nanushuk field, and the state of Alaska expects crude production from the reserve to climb from 15,800 barrels per day in fiscal 2023 to 139,600 barrels per day in fiscal 2033. 

Opponents say the plan would shift the role of the reserve to conservation instead of oil development, contrary to congressional intent. “The current statute says that the primary purpose is to increase domestic oil supply as expeditiously as possible,” said Kara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. “But the rule takes a completely different premise.”

Big tech may be driving the stock market, but after a blow-out first quarter, big oil would like a word.

After finishing 2023 in the red as the broader market soared, energy stocks have started 2024 with a sharp rally that has them beating tech indexes this year. Specifically, the closely watched Energy Select Sector exchange-traded fund, or XLE, is up more than 13% since the start of January while the Nasdaq 100 Index has gained just 8.7%. Rising oil is helping, as West Texas Intermediate crude broke above $80 a barrel in mid-March for the first time since November and held there. 

“Most investors coming into 2024 weren’t expecting anything out of energy,” Roth analyst Leo Mariani said by phone. But the stocks “roared back like a lion with an awesome March.”

Energy led the the S&P 500’s 11 market sectors last month, rising more than 10% compared with the next closest group, utilities, at 6.3%, and the 3.1% gain in the broader index. Following that performance, energy investors are now looking to the April 3 OPEC oil-market monitoring meeting for clues on crude’s direction, which could add fuel the rally or cause it to stall.

“Right now, investor sentiment could go either way,” Pickering Energy Partners Chief Executive Officer Dan Pickering said. He likened energy’s first-quarter to the beginning of a binge-worthy TV show. “A number of people 1.5 episodes in, trying to commit to whether they binge this season — and Q2 may be the point where you say, I’m staying up all night.”

What OPEC Says

Some of that will depend on what OPEC+ members say this week, particularly if they signal plans to hold the line on previously announced voluntary cuts through the first half.

“I think at this point, the market is expecting OPEC to maintain restraint,” Hennessey Funds portfolio manager Ben Cook said by phone. He likened the OPEC meeting to a Federal Reserve decision, where the outcome may be expected, but the messaging is equally important.

Russia’s decision to cut production could push Brent crude to $100 a barrel this year, JPMorgan analysts led by Natasha Kaneva wrote. It’s currently trading in the high $80s and could reach the $90s by May, they wrote. 

Amid that bullishness, some investors are snapping up shares in mid-sized oil producers, which offer more torque to the rising commodity price. Diamondback Energy Inc., for example, is up 28% this year and climbed every day but two in March while posting 15-day winning streak, the longest for any S&P 500 stock this year.

“You’re going to see the most rapid pickup in earnings estimates will not be on the largest producers because they have lower costs,” said Cole Smead, president of Smead Capital Management. “It will be on the smaller producers.” Some of the stocks he’s buying are Apa Corp. and Ovintiv Inc., as well Canadian producers such as MEG Energy Corp. and Strathcona Resources Ltd.

Refining stocks have been hot for even longer than oil companies. The VanEck Oil Refiners ETF is up up over 15% in the last five months, outperforming integrated companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. as well as gains in crude.

Refining Bets

The refined products market has been tight, and capacity has only gotten more precious as Ukrainian military strikes knock out Russian facilities. That’s why some investors see the refining business as a way to play the rally in energy from here.

“We have spare capacity in crude, but refining capacity is what’s really being constrained by the Red Sea and by what’s happening with Russia,” said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group. “So the story behind the scenes is really in the products.”

To be sure, Wall Street widely expects energy stocks to post declining earnings this year, including an almost 27% drop in first-quarter profits thanks to lower year-over-year oil prices. That’s by far the worst expected performance of any S&P 500 sector, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.

However, some analysts are starting to flip those expectations. Morgan Stanley US equity strategist Mike Wilson, for instance, upgraded energy to overweight on a combination of rising oil prices, “inflecting earnings revisions, strong breadth and compelling valuations.” Energy valuations continue to trade at a historic discount to the S&P 500 and, with higher free cash flow yields, there is “a path to further outperformance,” he wrote in a note to clients on March 25.

Indeed, energy is also the cheapest sector in the market, which is helping draw new investors in, even as the rally remains somewhat lowkey so far. 

“There’s been a quiet rally in this sector that is catching a few people by surprise,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeremy McCrea said, adding that investors who were betting on an electric future are beginning to think that “maybe we’re going to be using oil and gas for a bit longer than expected.”

The county of Bucks in Pennsylvania has taken oil and gas giants to court for allegedly not just ignoring but also playing to their advantage industry first-hand knowledge about global warming.

Named as defendants in the suit filed this week before the county’s Court of Common Pleas are BP PLC, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., Phillips 66 Co., Shell PLC and industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Industry reaction to the suit highlighted it has existed to meet energy needs and that local courtrooms have no power to decide national climate policy.

The county government is accusing the respondents of deliberate concealment of scientific information and marketing using false information for decades.

The suit, which adds to similar court cases initiated by local governments across the United States against Big Oil, is seeking payments for damages and relief measures, such as abatement, to remedy the impacts of the companies’ fossil fuel activity.

“In recent years, we have experienced unprecedented weather events here in Bucks County that have repeatedly put residents and first responders in harm’s way, damaged public and private property and placed undue strain on our infrastructure”, Chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia said in a statement. “We’re already seeing the human and financial tolls of climate change beginning to mount, and if the oil companies’ own data is to be believed, the trend will continue”.

“This suit is our tool to recoup costs and fund public works projects like bolstering or replacing bridges, retrofitting county-owned buildings and commencing stormwater management projects, all of which will put us in the best possible position to weather what is certain to come”, Ellis-Marseglia added. 

A study published July 23, 2023, by advocacy group Center for Climate Integrity, Resilient Analytics and Scioto Analysis said Bucks needed to invest about $955 million in climate remedial measures, such as protecting infrastructure from rising sea levels, by 2040.

The suit says that since at least the 1950s the fossil fuel industry’s scientists “have consistently concluded that fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution that can have catastrophic consequences for the planet and its people”.

“The industry took these internal scientific findings seriously, investing heavily to protect its own assets and infrastructure from rising seas, stronger storms, and other climate change impacts.

“Rather than warn consumers and the public, fossil fuel companies and their surrogates mounted a disinformation campaign to discredit the scientific consensus on climate change, create doubt in the minds of consumers, the media, teachers, and the public about the climate change impacts of burning fossil fuels; and delay the energy economy’s transition to a lower-carbon future”.

API senior vice president and general counsel Ryan Meyers said in a statement to Rigzone, “The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry has achieved its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint”.

“This ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from important national conversations and an enormous waste of taxpayer resources”, said the statement from the API, which represents all segments of the U.S. oil and gas industry.

“Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide, not a patchwork of counties and courts”.

Meanwhile British company Shell said, “The Shell Group’s position on climate change has been a matter of public record for decades”.

“We agree that action is needed now on climate change, and we fully support the need for society to transition to a lower-carbon future. As we supply vital energy the world needs today, we continue to reduce our emissions and help customers reduce theirs”, Shell added, in a statement emailed to Rigzone.

“Addressing climate change requires a collaborative, society-wide approach. We do not believe the courtroom is the right venue to address climate change, but that smart policy from government and action from all sectors is the appropriate way to reach solutions and drive progress”.

Chevron counsel Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. similarly said, “Addressing climate change requires a coordinated international policy response, not meritless local litigation over lawful and essential energy production”.

“As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in dismissing a similar New York City lawsuit, ‘such a sprawling case is simply beyond the limits of state law’”, Boutrous told Rigzone.

ConocoPhillips and Britain’s BP said they could not comment on pending litigation, in reply to Rigzone requests. Phillips 66 also declined to comment.

Before Bucks, similar cases against the oil and gas industry for alleged climate fraud or damages had been filed by several city, county and state governments. According to the Center for Climate Integrity, such cases had been filed in Annapolis and the counties of Anne Arundel and Baltimore in Maryland; Boulder and San Miguel in Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago City, Illinois; Connecticut; Delaware; District of Columbia; Honolulu and Maui County in Hawai’i; the Makah Indian Tribe; Massachusetts; Minnesota; Multnomah County, Oregon; Hoboken, New Jersey, and the state itself; New York City; Rhode Island; San Juan and several municipalities in Puerto Rico; the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe; Vermont; several cities and counties in California and the state itself.   

In Pennsylvania, Bucks is the first county government to sue Big Oil to account for adverse climate change, according to the Bucks government.

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United States federal agencies have launched the Clean Energy Connector pilot, a tool connecting families to solar energy through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

The platform is a partnership between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

According to a statement by the DOE, Clean Energy Connector is a first-of-its-kind software, which can now be used by local LIHEAP program administrators in Illinois, Washington, D.C., and New Mexico to connect community solar subscriptions to as many as 40,000 households with low income.

“Renewable energy is by far the cheapest form of power and now, thanks to innovative solutions developed under the Biden-Harris Administration, more households across America can access the health and savings benefits that solar power provides”, said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE’s partnership with HHS will increase the deployment of community solar, helping thousands of families lower their energy bills and in turn reduce their energy burden, ensuring Americans across the nation are included as we transition to a clean energy economy”.

“LIHEAP keeps families and individuals safe and healthy by providing heating assistance in the winter and cooling assistance in the summer”, said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. “Connecting LIHEAP-eligible households with the benefits and bill-savings of community solar will also have a lasting impact and provide increased economic security for families”.

Following the announcement of the software’s development in 2022, this initiative will facilitate up to 40,000 eligible households under LIHEAP across two pilot states and Washington, D.C. to participate in community solar projects. Enrolled participants who successfully join the program may see significant savings on their electricity bills, aligning with the National Community Solar Partnership’s objective of achieving 20 percent household savings, equivalent to an annual amount of $370 per household.

In numerous states, solar energy is now more cost-effective than traditional utility bill rates, the DOE said. Community solar, which enables multiple customers to benefit from a shared solar energy system, offers an opportunity for individuals who are unable to install rooftop solar panels to reduce their utility expenses and access additional advantages.

“We can’t claim to be serious about a clean energy future until it’s an option for everyone, not just those with the extra resources available to invest in technologies like solar. This program will expand solar to families who will see the most benefit from lower energy bills and place an equitable focus on clean energy distribution, an essential part of a sustainable future that I’m grateful the Biden-Harris Administration is prioritizing”, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said.

Roughly 5.7 million households in the U.S. benefit from LIHEAP aid for heating expenses, the DOE said. LIHEAP offers support to eligible households for heating and cooling expenses, home weatherization, and energy-related home repairs. The shift to solar energy has the potential to help households nationwide reduce their electricity costs, it said. However, numerous American families encounter obstacles in accessing these benefits, such as subscription fees, the DOE said.

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Malaysia’s upstream sector is poised for further growth in 2024 as the government continues to promote offshore blocks for exploration.

That’s what analysts at BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said in a report sent to Rigzone recently, adding that the upstream oil and gas industry in Malaysia “remains vibrant and continues to attract investors or Petroleum Arrangement Contractors (PACs), as highlighted by their participation in Malaysia’s previous petroleum bidding rounds”.

The analysts stated in the report that, in 2023, Malaysia made “significant progress in the upstream oil and gas segment as Petronas and PACs recorded 21 exploration discoveries and two exploration-appraisal successes”.

“According to Petronas, all new discoveries could contribute over one billion barrels of oil equivalent of new resources for Malaysia in 2023,” the analysts added.

“Sixteen discoveries are located in the Balingian, West, and Central Luconia basins of Sarawak state, while three others are located in Sabah state,” they went on to state.

The analysts also noted in the report that the 2020 commercial settlement between Petronas and the Sarawak government over granting of a bigger share of oil and gas revenues produced in the state paved the way for an uptick in exploration activities in Sarawak state.

“According to data from the Malaysia Energy Commission, Sarawak holds more than 60 percent of Malaysia’s total natural gas reserves and 40 percent of total crude oil reserves,” the analysts highlighted.

“New discoveries certainly boosted Malaysia’s efforts to reverse declining oil and gas production and could support its liquified natural gas (LNG) production and exports,” they added.

Malaysia signed a total of nine production sharing contracts (PSCs) in the first quarter of 2024, BMI pointed out in the report.

Stranded High-CO2 Fields

BMI analysts outlined in the report that stranded high-CO2 gas fields are now being targeted for development to support Malaysia’s long-term natural gas production targets.

“Malaysia is home to a large number of high-CO2 gas fields, which remain undeveloped,” the analysts said.

“The BIGST Discovered Resource Opportunities (DRO) Cluster, awarded to JX Nippon and Petronas, consists of five undeveloped high-CO2 gas fields: Bujang, Inas, Guling, Sepat, and Tujoh,” they added.

The cluster is estimated to contain four trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, BMI highlighted.

“Petronas has reportedly improved fiscal terms to incentivize investments in such complex developments,” the analysts said in the report.

“The development of the BIGST DRO cluster could be accompanied by investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects,” they added.

“Petronas and JX Nippon have already signed a Heads of Agreement to develop the fields and a CCS project, which is slated to become the second CCS project in Malaysia after the first at the Kasawari field development,” they continued.

The analysts also noted in the report that there are other “significant” high-CO2 gas fields, “such as the K5 gas field, which has a CO2 content of 70 percent”.

“The K5 gas field discovered in 1970 is estimated to contain 21 trillion cubic feet of gas. Petronas allocated $1 billion for development of the offshore Sarawak field despite TotalEnergies having exited from the project in 2014,” they added.

The BMI analysts stated in the report that new oil and gas discoveries are essential to support Malaysia’s long-term energy security. They highlighted that the country has oil and gas production targets of two million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025 and beyond.

Malaysia Oil, Gas Output

According to the Energy Institute’s latest statistical review of world energy, Malaysia produced 82.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2022. This represented a 5.7 percent year on year increase and 2.0 percent of total natural gas production in 2022, the review showed. From 2012 to 2022, Malaysia’s natural gas production grew by an average of 1.8 percent annually.

Malaysia produced 502,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate in 2022, the review revealed. That figure marked a 1.7 percent year on year drop and 0.6 percent of global crude oil and condensate output in 2022, according to the review, which showed that, from 2012 to 2022, Malaysia’s crude oil and condensate production has dropped by an average of 1.7 percent annually. 

The U.S. was the country that produced the most natural gas (978.6 billion cubic meters) and crude oil and condensate (11.88 million barrels per day) in 2022, the EI’s review revealed.

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Subsea7 SA has secured a contract from Woodside Energy Group Ltd to provide installation services for the Trion development.

Trion, a greenfield development that would represent the first oil production from Mexico’s deepwater, is being developed by Woodside in a joint venture with Pemex. First oil production is targeted for 2028. The field is located approximately 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) south of the US-Mexico border and 111.8 miles (180 kilometers) away from the Mexican coastline.

Subsea7 said in a news release that the contract is “large”, which the company defines as being between $300 million and $500 million. Project management and engineering will begin immediately from the company’s offices in the USA and Mexico, while offshore activities are expected to take place between 2026 and 2027.

The project involves a wet tree subsea system connected to an infield floating production unit (FPU). Subsea7 said it will be responsible for the engineering, construction, and installation of the subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines, as well as the associated subsea architecture.

Craig Broussard, Vice President for Subsea7 Gulf of Mexico, said, “This award acknowledges our strong partnership with Woodside globally. With our experience in the Gulf of Mexico and proven track record, we can deliver innovative, reliable, fast-tracked solutions that create value for our clients. We are proud to be a part of Woodside and Pemex’s first deepwater development in Mexico”.

Woodside in February received social impact assessment approval from the Mexican Ministry of Energy. The assessment, which outlines how Woodside will manage the social impact of the project, was submitted in May 2023. The company received approval from Mexico’s regulator to proceed with the development plan for the Trion oil field in September 2023.

Contract Extension with BP

Earlier, Subsea7 was awarded a “sizeable” two-year extension of an existing frame agreement by BP plc for subsea construction, inspection, repair and maintenance services (IRM), across BP’s North Sea assets. The company defines a sizeable contract as being between $50 million and $150 million.

The extension is the agreement’s latest one since the original frame agreement began in 1998. Under the terms of the extension, Subsea7 will provide an IRM, survey and light construction vessel, complete with work class and observation class remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV), capable of performing inspection, survey, intervention, subsea construction and emergency response services. Project management and engineering work will continue to be managed from Subsea7’s office in Aberdeen.

Steve Wisely, Senior Vice President for Subsea7 UK & Global Inspection, Repair and Maintenance, said, “We are immensely proud of the safe and effective IRM services we have executed for bp for 25 years across its west of Shetland assets. Supporting BP in what is notably one of the harshest offshore environments, has significantly contributed to the expansive deepwater project delivery expertise that we offer across the globe”.

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Russia hit the Black Sea port of Odesa on Friday in a deadly missile attack, hours after Ukrainian drones targeted a small petrochemical plant near the Moscow region without causing serious damage, the latest in a series of attacks on Russia’s oil industry.

The strikes on the city in southern Ukraine killed 14 people and injured at least 46 on Friday morning, regional Governor Oleg Kiper said. Among those who died when a second missile hit were a rescue worker and a doctor who’d arrived to help people injured in an earlier explosion, he said.

In the past weeks, Russia has stepped up attacks on Odesa, a key port for grain and commodity exports, hitting it almost daily with drones or missiles. 

Ukraine has unleashed a flurry of attacks on Russia’s oil processing facilities this week, ahead of elections that will hand Vladimir Putin a fifth presidential term. Officials in Kyiv have said the intent is to damage a key industry that provides revenue for Russia’s war and to disrupt domestic fuel supplies.

Four Ukrainian drones were downed in the Dzerzhinsk district of Russia’s Kaluga region overnight, according to local governor Vladislav Shapsha. Russia’s air defense forces shot one of them, while the other three were downed by the electronic warfare system, he said. Kaluga borders the Moscow region to the southwest.

“Two of them fell on the territory of a plant, and one exploded above it, without causing serious damage to it,” the governor said in a Telegram post. “The facility continues to operate.” 

In an earlier post, he said there were no casualties. 

The Perviy Zavod facility, located in the Dzerzhinsk district of the Kaluga region, has an annual processing capacity of 1.2 million tons, or about 24,000 barrels a day, according to its website. There were no official statements on any damage at the facility, and the plant didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The drones were targeting a refinery in that region, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Two years after the invasion of Ukraine, many in Russia have reason to feel the wartime economy is working well — just as Putin is about to win a fifth term

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The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $425 million in funding to aid energy transition in current and former coal communities by supporting small and medium clean energy companies.

The funding, according to a media release by the DOE, is aimed at helping reduce industrial emissions and advance clean energy manufacturing essential to the U.S. energy supply chain.

“The program will strengthen America’s energy security, create good paying jobs, cut climate pollution, and help ensure that the communities that powered our nation for generations reap the economic benefits of the clean economy”, the DOE said. 

The Advanced Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program will provide support to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in coal communities that focus on producing and recycling clean energy products. The investment will be directed toward the decarbonization of these facilities.

The program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and is managed by the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC).

The $425 million earmarked this year adds to the first round of such investments in 2023, amounting to $275 million across seven selected projects in seven states. 

“All across America we’re seeing a manufacturing boom that is revitalizing communities while preserving and expanding the local workforce”, said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE is utilizing the historic investments in President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to expand economic opportunities to ensure former coal communities can take full advantage of the clean energy transition and continue their leading role in powering our nation”.

In this second round, the DOE said it will prioritize two investment themes or “areas of interest”. The first one is clean energy manufacturing and recycling and the second investment theme is industrial decarbonization.

“Applications for Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling should aim to establish, re-equip, or expand an existing manufacturing or recycling facility for the production or recycling of advanced energy”, the DOE said.

“Industrial Decarbonization, which is a new area of interest for the second round of the program, is focused on building or upgrading manufacturing facilities to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create low-carbon materials”, the DOE said. “Projects under this funding program, across either area of interest, must occur in communities where coal mines have closed since December 31, 1999, or coal-fired power plants have closed since December 31, 2009”.

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Suncor Energy Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fort McKay First Nation (FMFN) regarding a prospective oil sands lease development opportunity on Fort McKay reserve lands in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Under the MoU, Suncor aims to progress early stage technical and commercial feasibility assessments to determine the quality and quantity of economically recoverable mineable ore on Lease 174C, which is FMFN Reserve Land, according to a joint news release Thursday.

“We are honored to be working with Fort McKay First Nation. Through this partnership, Fort McKay First Nation has the opportunity to govern oil sands activity on their land and fully participate and benefit from responsible resource development”, Suncor Executive Vice President for Oil Sands Peter Zebedee said. “This potential opportunity, which has synergies with Suncor’s existing operations, could provide Suncor with bitumen supply optionality post 2040”.

“With this agreement, we are creating the conditions for sustainable prosperity, growth and health for our Nation for generations to come, while leading the way on protecting our land and water”, FMFN Chief Raymond Powder said. “We will bring our values of stewardship and care to this opportunity. In doing so, we are charting a new path for economic development on our lands”.

“Our people of Fort McKay First Nation have diligently worked hard for years as a collaborative and reliable partner. This has resulted in building the Nation for opportunities while securing future growth in our community. This is the true meaning of reconciliation. It puts in our hands the tools we need to bring prosperity and a sustainable future for our people”, Powder added.

According to the release, FMFN and Suncor are “committed to facilitating economic self-determination for Indigenous communities based on mutual trust and respect” and share the goal of “maximizing mutual prosperity while minimizing environmental impacts, including supporting Suncor’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions from its operations by 2050”.

Fort McKay First Nation has more than 900 band members of Dene and Cree heritage residing on the reserve and abroad. The community is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) north of Fort McMurray along the shores of the Athabasca River.

In addition to the Fort McKay community, FMFN has Reserves 174A at Gardiner (Moose) Lake and 174B at Namur (Buffalo) Lake, approximately 40.4 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Fort McKay. Moose Lake is the traditional home of what is now the Fort McKay First Nation people.

The Nation also manages a business portfolio of 18 entities. Business revenues are invested in infrastructure, programs, and services, and directly benefit both the community of Fort McKay and individual band members, according to the release.

FMFN in December 2023 announced a co-investment with ATB Private Equity to acquire a combined 51 percent interest in Apex Geoscience Ltd., a global geological consulting firm, which it called “a strategic move to enhance economic opportunities and strengthen FMFN’s presence in the geoscience sector”.

FMFN and ATB PE each acquired a 25.5 percent stake in Apex Geoscience for a joint 51 percent majority ownership of the company.

“This partnership is a significant step for Fort McKay First Nation as we continue to actively diversify our economic ventures. Teaming up with ATB Private Equity to acquire a majority stake in Apex Geoscience Ltd positions us for sustainable growth and opportunities in the geoscience sector”, FMFN Councilor Bobby Shott said.

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Europe is set to end the heating season with so much gas that the idea of storing more fuel in Ukraine to avoid a price crash is becoming attractive, despite the security risks of such a move.

The region is heading into March with storage facilities over 62% full — a record for the time of the year — according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. The continent is nearing the end of what has been an exceptionally mild winter, which has weighed on fuel needs and will lead to less injection capacity over the summer months.

“European storage is at risk of hitting tank tops before the beginning of the heating season,” analysts at Energy Aspects Ltd. wrote in a note this week. “As such, European traders must make use of floating and Ukrainian storage. Lower summer prices relative to the winter contract will support the economics of the use of both.”

Floating storage — the practice of keeping liquefied natural gas on vessels for longer before unloading — is typically used when traders anticipate being able to sell it at higher prices later or when regular underground facilities are full.

While front-month contracts rose on Friday, prices continue to hover near €25 per megawatt-hour, a level that many traders see as a floor after declining more than 20% since the start of the year. Contracts for delivery during summer have also fallen in recent weeks as the focus shifts to April, which marks the end of winter for the gas industry. 

Ukraine is offering traders outside of the country to book as much as 10 billion cubic meters of its natural gas storage capacity this year, according to state-run oil and gas firm NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy. The volume that can be earmarked for foreign companies comprises about a third of the nation’s total capacity and is on par with last year’s level.

Long one of the key links in gas trade with Europe, Ukraine has more storage capacity than any other country on the continent, west of Russia. Stored fuel almost dropped to zero following Russia’s invasion, but has bounced back since last year, with companies including Shell Plc and DXT Commodities using its facilities, Bloomberg previously reported. 

Meanwhile, most of Europe is set to see a continuation of mild weather in early March, helping to keep a lid on energy prices. From the UK to France and Germany, the region’s biggest markets will be warmer than usual during the first two weeks of the month, according to meteorologists surveyed by Bloomberg. 

Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, rose 1.8% to €25.31 a megawatt-hour at 10:04 a.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent contract also rose.