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Trump taps oil services head as US energy secretary

  • Market: Crude oil, Emissions, Natural gas, Oil products
  • 17/11/24

President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate oil services company Liberty Energy's chief executive Chris Wright to lead the US Department of Energy (DOE), giving him oversight over LNG export facilities and a vast portfolio of federally-backed energy projects.

Wright also will serve on Trump's planned Council of National Energy, which will oversee policies across the federal government affecting energy production, permitting, transportation and regulation. Trump said he wants Wright to work alongside North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, who Trump has nominated as US interior secretary, to oversee "the path to US ENERGY DOMINANCE" by cutting regulations and supporting investments from the private sector.

"As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new 'Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,'" Trump said.

Liberty Energy, which was founded in 2011, focuses on hydraulic fracturing services and earned $1.2bn last year. Wright has downplayed the urgency for the world to address climate change or transition away from fossil fuels. He has criticized the use of phrases like "climate crisis" and "carbon pollution", which he says are impeding projects that could alleviate energy poverty.

Those terms "are not only deceptive, they are in fact destructive deceptions," Wright said in a video he posted last year on YouTube. "Destructive because they drive centrist politicians and regulators to oppose life-critical infrastructure, like building pipelines and natural gas export terminals."

If confirmed by the US Senate, Wright would be responsible for deciding how to resolve a "pause" on US LNG export licensing that President Joe Biden put in place in January. DOE has been studying whether allowing more gas exports would exacerbate climate change or hurt consumers by increasing domestic natural gas prices.

The vast majority of DOE's budget goes to maintaining the US stockpile of nuclear weapons and cleaning up contaminated nuclear sites. DOE also manages the four facilities that make up the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently holds 387.8mn bl of crude, and oversees 17 national laboratories that are spread across the US.

In the last four years, the US Congress substantially increased DOE's role in energy. DOE is currently managing billions of dollars in funds provided by the 2021 infrastructure law, such as an $8bn initiative meant to support "hydrogen hubs" and a $2.5bn carbon capture demonstration program. The Inflation Reduction Act expanded DOE authority to issue loans for clean energy projects by about $100bn.


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14/05/25

German road firms issued €10.5mn tender-rigging fines

German road firms issued €10.5mn tender-rigging fines

London, 14 May (Argus) — German competition authorities have found seven companies guilty of co-ordinating tenders and contracts with order values usually of between €40,000 and €200,000. The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) imposed fines totalling €10.5mn ($11.8mn) on seven road repair companies for customer and tender collusion, it announced on 13 May. The companies involved are AS Asphaltstrassensanierung, bausion Strassenbau-Produkte, Bitunovia, Gerhard Herbers, alles fur den Bau, Mainka Strassenunterhaltung, and Muritzer Oberflechentechnik (Mot). The companies AS, bausion, Herbers and Bitunova were found to have divided various clients from the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt among themselves across 2018 and 2019. In 2016-19, the companies bausion, Liesen, Mainka and Mot were discovered to have regularly co-ordinated on tenders from public contracting authorities in Brandenburg and, in 2016 and 2017, Saxony-Anhalt, and the companies Liesen and Mot also co-ordinated tenders in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The violations affected a large number of tenders and contracts from public contracting authorities such as municipalities and state road construction authorities. The orders included road repair measures including surface treatment, patching of road surfaces, crack repair or the supply of bitumen emulsion or chippings. In addition to breaking antitrust law, the bid agreements are also punishable under Section 298 of the Criminal Code. The findings came to a head when the German Federal Cartel Office carried out a search operation in August 2019 together with the Dusseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Police Office. When setting the fine, it was taken into account that Bitunovia had co-operated with the federal office within the framework of the leniency programme. All proceedings were concluded by way of amicable settlement and the fine notices are final. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Mauritania weaves GTA project into industrial strategy


14/05/25
News
14/05/25

Mauritania weaves GTA project into industrial strategy

Paris, 14 May (Argus) — Offshore gas production could help to meet Mauritania's power demand by 2030 while also supporting mining activity, particularly of iron ore, energy minister Mohammed Ould Khaled told the Invest in African Energy forum today. BP last month loaded the first LNG shipment from its 2.7mn t/yr Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) joint venture in Mauritanian and Senegalese waters. GTA is export-oriented, but Mauritania could still tap the project for power, Khaled said, although he added that infrastructure would need to be built to facilitate this. A tender to build a power plant fired by GTA gas will be launched in the next couple of weeks, he said. Mauritania wants to become a regional power hub within 20 years, Khaled said, and hopes to see construction of a power link "to the north" — in the direction of Western Sahara/Morocco. The Mauritanian power grid is already connected to Senegal and Mali, he said. Future power generation projects will be funded by the private sector and incentivised through tax breaks, Khaled said, with 550MW set to become available to the domestic market through private-sector projects over the next couple of years. Mauritania is also looking for partners to develop the 50 trillion-60 trillion ft³ Bir Allah gas field for export and domestic markets. The area lies 50km north of GTA and exclusively in Mauritanian waters, according to Khaled, with two wells already having been sunk. Bir Allah is "three times bigger than GTA", he said. BP and Kosmos Energy signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement for the site in late 2022 , with BP saying gas from the field will be used to expand GTA to 10mn t/yr. It is unclear whether BP or Kosmos Energy are still partners in the Bir Allah development project. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Opec downgrades non-Opec+ supply growth forecasts


14/05/25
News
14/05/25

Opec downgrades non-Opec+ supply growth forecasts

London, 14 May (Argus) — Opec has downgraded its 2025 and 2026 non-Opec+ liquids supply growth forecasts for a second month in a row, mainly driven by lower output expectations from the US. In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), published today, Opec revised down by 100,000 b/d its non-Opec supply growth forecasts for 2025 and 2026 to 810,000 b/d and 800,000 b/d, respectively. This follows identical downgrades of 100,000 b/d for each year in Opec's previous report . While Opec did not give a reason for its supply revisions, the recent decline in oil prices is likely to have played a role. Production growth in the US, particularly in the shale patch, is highly sensitive to price movements, for example. US shale producer Diamondback Energy chief executive Travis Stice earlier this month said US onshore crude production had likely peaked as drilling activity slowed in response to lower oil prices. Opec sees US supply growing by 330,000 b/d in 2025 and 280,000 b/d in 2026, compared with 450,000 b/d and 460,000 b/d in its March MOMR. Lower non-Opec+ supply expectations may have played a role in the decision by some Opec+ members to accelerate their planned supply increases for May and June. Opec kept its global oil demand growth forecasts unchanged for this year and next at 1.3mn b/d and 1.28mn b/d, respectively. These forecasts remain bullish compared to those of the IEA and US' EIA. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — fell by 106,000 b/d to 40.92mn b/d in April, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . Opec puts the call on Opec+ crude at 42.6mn b/d in 2025 and 42.9mn b/d in 2026. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Sierra Leone plans upstream licensing round in 2025


14/05/25
News
14/05/25

Sierra Leone plans upstream licensing round in 2025

Lagos, 14 May (Argus) — Sierra Leone will launch an upstream licensing round by October, as part of efforts to start producing crude within two to three years. The west African country is "on the cusp of producing", according to upstream regulator PDSL's director general Foday Mansaray, with the government putting measures in place to make offshore investments attractive. "Once all the de-risking of the basin happens, we'll be in a position to launch a licensing round," Mansaray said at the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris. Sierra Leone's most recent licensing round, held in 2023, resulted in six blocks awarded to FA Oil, which is part of a Nigerian conglomerate that owns a non-operated stake in Nigeria's Agbami oil block. PDSL has approached BP and Chevron, separately, in the past five months to gauge their interest in negotiating for oil blocks directly, offering a 10pc royalty rate, 25pc company income tax rate, a petroleum tax that applies only when realised crude prices are above $60/bl and several other fiscal terms. But Sierra Leonean acreage is lightly explored, with only eight wells drilled since exploratory work started in the 1980s. A spate of exploration activity between 2003–13 resulted in the Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Savannah discoveries, but none proceeded to commercial development. "We are hoping this time next year that we can announce Sierra Leone will be drilling its first well since 2012," Mansaray said. PDSL previously told Argus it has 140,000km² of offshore open acreage available with 50,000km² of that categorised as "best prospective" and 15,000km² as "highly prospective". The country is likely to offer 55,000km² in this year's licensing round. By Adebiyi Olusolape and George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Aramco eyes stake in Australia's Louisiana LNG project


14/05/25
News
14/05/25

Aramco eyes stake in Australia's Louisiana LNG project

Sydney, 14 May (Argus) — Australian independent Woodside and Saudi state-owned oil firm Aramco have entered into an agreement for Aramco to possibly buy a stake in Woodside's 16.5mn t/yr Louisiana LNG project and to explore other opportunities, including lower-carbon ammonia. As part of the non-binding agreement, Aramco could buy an equity interest in and LNG offtake from its Louisiana LNG project, Woodside said without disclosing further details. This comes after Woodside reached a final investment decision on the project in late April. Woodside and Aramco signed the agreement in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia at the Saudi-US investment forum , which was attended by Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and US president Donald Trump. The collaboration shows Woodside's Louisiana project is generating interest among "high-quality potential investors," Woodside's CEO Meg O'Neill said, after selling 40pc of the project's infrastructure to US-based investment firm Stonepeak in early April. The agreement will also help the firm build a more diverse portfolio, as it branches into chemical production, O'Neill said. The firm's wholly-owned Beaumont New Ammonia project in Texas is expected to produce first ammonia in the second half of this year, and lower-carbon ammonia by the second half of next year. By Grace Dudley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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