🛢️ Daily Oil & Gas Briefing
Thursday, January 29, 2026
🎧 Listen to Today's Briefing
📋 O&G Companies in Today's Brief
- ExxonMobil
- Chevron
- ConocoPhillips
- Lukoil
- Carlyle Group
- BP
- Shell
- Enbridge
- Occidental
- Kinder Morgan
- BYD
- PDVSA
🚨 BREAKING: Carlyle to Acquire Lukoil's $22B International Assets
- Carlyle Group has agreed to purchase most of Lukoil's international assets, valued at approximately $22 billion by analysts (Reuters)
- Russia's second-largest oil producer forced to divest under U.S. sanctions imposed three months ago
- Deal includes Lukoil International GmbH, the holding company for foreign assets
- Assets include stakes in Kazakhstan's Karachaganak and Tengiz fields, plus 12.5% of Caspian Pipeline Consortium (OilPrice)
- Transaction pending OFAC and other regulatory approvals; excludes Kazakhstan holdings
- Iraq's West Qurna 2 field being negotiated separately with Chevron
🔥 Natural Gas Markets — Historic Price Spike
Henry Hub Smashes All-Time Records
- Henry Hub spot prices surged to all-time high of $30.565/MMBtu on Monday — unprecedented in market history (Natural Gas Intelligence)
- U.S. natural gas futures jumped more than 119% over five days through Jan. 26 — largest increase since 1990 (TradingView)
- Home heating prices soaring to highest levels since 2022 across the nation (Yahoo)
- EIA had forecast mild winter with $3.38/MMBtu average for Q1 — now projecting ~$3.70/MMBtu
- Another blast of arctic cold forecast to spread southward, risking further disruptions
Unusual Move: U.S. LNG Plants Import Cargoes
- BP and Shell imported LNG into the U.S. from Trinidad during the freeze — highly unusual for the world's largest LNG exporter (Reuters)
- Cargoes sent to Elba Island (Georgia) and Cove Point (Maryland) — both normally export terminals
- Elba Island stopped pulling U.S. grid gas over the weekend as storm raged
- Kinder Morgan's Elba Island expecting Paris Knutsen arrival with Trinidad cargo today
- "With prices over $100/MMBtu it made sense to bring in cargoes" — Poten & Partners analyst
- Jones Act prevents U.S.-to-U.S. LNG transfers, forcing international sourcing
🌍 International Developments
Chevron Negotiates Iraq's West Qurna 2
- Chevron pushing Iraq for improved profit-sharing terms before taking over West Qurna 2 from Lukoil (OilPrice)
- Iraq nationalized the giant field after U.S. sanctions forced Lukoil exit
- Field accounts for ~0.5% of global oil supply and nearly 10% of Iraq's output
- Lukoil has until February 28 to divest its 75% stake under sanctions regime (FirstPost)
- Any agreement requires Iraqi cabinet approval; negotiations ongoing
Venezuela Sanctions Relief Advancing
- U.S. to issue general license lifting some sanctions on Venezuelan oil industry following Maduro's removal (Reuters)
- Washington facilitating $2 billion oil supply deal between Caracas and U.S.
- Trump demanding Venezuela supply 50 million barrels of crude to United States (OilPrice)
- Venezuela's acting president says U.S. has started unblocking frozen sanctioned funds
- Citgo bought Venezuelan oil for first time since 2019
🔬 Technology & Low-Carbon Initiatives
ExxonMobil Expands Carbon Capture in Louisiana
- ExxonMobil plans to start up three more CCS projects in Louisiana in 2026 (Black Chronicle)
- Louisiana's CCS leadership has attracted $76 billion in potential new investments as of 2025
- Projects include data centers, steel manufacturers, and LNG producers — representing ~17,000 new jobs
- Low Carbon Solutions supporting modernization of Louisiana's manufacturing and O&G industries
ExxonMobil-BYD Expand Hybrid EV Partnership
- ExxonMobil and China's BYD signed new strategic MoU on January 26 to expand hybrid EV R&D (TradingView)
- Partnership focuses on joint R&D, technical collaboration, and supply-chain support for plug-in hybrids
- Builds on existing long-term relationship between the companies (Gasgoo)
- Strategic move broadens ExxonMobil's non-oil partnerships and EV exposure
- Deal attracting political attention amid U.S.-China trade tensions
⚠️ Safety & Operations — Alaska
ConocoPhillips Alaska Drilling Proceeds Despite Rig Accident
- ConocoPhillips executives called destruction of Doyon Rig 26 ("The Beast") a "sad day" but say impact will be minimal (Alaska's News Source)
- Federal judge ruled ConocoPhillips Alaska can proceed with winter drilling program in National Petroleum Reserve (Anchorage Daily News)
- Company identified Doyon 142 as substitute rig; 4 new wells planned this winter unaffected (Alaska Public)
- "Our exploration work plan for this winter is going to be on track" — ConocoPhillips spokesperson
- No material change expected to long-term production forecasts
- Willow project expansion and exploration continues near Nuiqsut
ConocoPhillips Extends Libya Concessions
- ConocoPhillips, TotalEnergies, and Libya's NOC extended Waha concessions to 2050 (Rigzone)
- New fiscal terms to increase production from current 370,000 boe/day
🏛️ Regulatory & Policy
Forest Service Updates Oil & Gas Leasing Rule
- USDA Forest Service finalized revisions to federal oil and gas leasing regulations for National Forest System lands (DailyFly)
- Rule (36 CFR 228 Subpart E) clarifies requirements and streamlines compliance monitoring (Federal Register)
- Part of Trump's National Energy Emergency executive orders to "unleash American energy"
- Aims to eliminate "outdated and burdensome processes" per Interior Secretary Burgum
EU Exempts U.S. Gas from Russian Ban Checks
- European Union will exempt U.S. and Qatari gas from extra compliance checks under upcoming Russian gas ban (Reuters)
- Draft European Commission document signals continued strong EU demand for U.S. LNG
📊 Market & Corporate Notes
Enbridge: Safe Dividend Stock Pick for 2026
- Enbridge highlighted as top high-yield dividend pick for 2026 (Forbes)
- Pipeline network moves 20% of U.S. natural gas and 30% of North American crude production
- Decades of consecutive dividend raises with manageable payout ratio (AOL)
- Stock has returned 1,700% to shareholders since 2001 (dividend-adjusted)
Occidental Earnings Preview
- Occidental Petroleum Q4 2025 earnings scheduled for February 18, 2026 (Ad-hoc News)
- Zacks Research downgraded OXY to "Strong Sell" with lowered 2026-2027 EPS estimates
- Strategic shift facing key test with upcoming results