London, July 22, 2025 (Oilandgaspress) –-Declining oil prices have contributed to U.S. producers slowing their drilling and completion activity this year. As a result, The EIA forecasts U.S. crude oil production will decline from an all-time high of just over 13.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in the second quarter of 2025 (2Q25) to less than 13.3 million b/d by 4Q26. On an annual basis, they now forecast crude oil production will average 13.4 million b/d in both 2025 and 2026.
Next year’s WPC Energy Congress taking place in April in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will continue to promote the role of women in the energy sector, with a number of events focusing on the issue. A Women in Industry breakfast will be hosted by a keynote speaker and there will be sessions on gender as part of both the Strategic programme and Technical programme of the main conference. Gender will also form one of four keys strands in the ‘social responsibility’ stand in the exhibition area. The organisers of the Congress see promoting the role of women as vital to improving the productivity of the sector, following a number of studies on the topic. The Diversity Wins report by McKinsey shows that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability compared to those in the bottom quartile.
The Gender 3000 Report by Credit Suisse found that companies with at least one woman on the board had an average higher return on equity of 2 percentage points compared to companies with no female board members.. Read More
Shell, Aker BP, and Enbridge exit SBTi advisory group over a draft standard banning new oil and gas projects. Shell and other major energy players have withdrawn from a high-profile effort to establish a global “net zero” emissions benchmark, after draft proposals effectively demanded an end to new oil and gas developments, according to documents seen by the Financial Times.
The companies exited the expert advisory group convened by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a widely followed climate standard-setter whose approval is sought by global corporations ranging from Apple to AstraZeneca. Their departures reflect mounting tensions between the fossil fuel industry and evolving climate disclosure and accountability frameworks.
A Standoff Over New Oil and Gas Projects
The draft standard at the heart of the dispute would have prohibited companies from pursuing new oil and gas fields after submitting a climate plan to the SBTi, or after 2027—whichever came first. It also called for a sharp decline in fossil fuel production, escalating concerns in the oil and gas industry that the standard would impose an unworkable path toward net zero targets.
Shell, which has participated intermittently in the SBTi process since 2019, confirmed that it withdrew after concluding the draft “did not reflect the industry view in any substantive way.” The company maintained its commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 but argued that any credible standard must offer companies “sufficient flexibility” and reflect what it called a “realistic” societal pathway.
Aker BP said its ability to influence the emerging standard had proven “limited,” while emphasizing that its departure was “in no way” a sign of diminished climate ambition. Enbridge declined to comment, according to the Financial Times.
UK Government support to reduce cost of EVs by up to £3,750 The government has announced a new Electric Car Grant to further accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, focusing on reducing the cost of lower priced vehicles.
Drivers could get a discount of between £1,500 and £3,750 on cars priced at or under £37,000.
The discount is available for drivers looking to lease an EV, or pay for their car through salary sacrifice.
It’s available on new cars ordered from 16th July, and will be applied when we know which cars are eligible. We don’t yet know all of the details on which cars will be eligible but we’ll keep this page updated when we do.
Whether the car is eligible, and the level of discount, will depend on the sustainability of the car’s production. This takes into account the energy used to assemble the car and manufacture the battery. The government hasn’t yet shared the specific criteria. The Electric Car Grant comes alongside the government’s renewed commitment to the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate which will phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The government is also investing £63m in EV charging points, giving peace of mind for those who don’t have a driveway, or travel longer than average distances and rely on public charging.
Making it cheaper and easier to switch
We’re thrilled that the government continues to support the transition to electric driving. Everything we do at Octopus EV helps drivers make the switch to electric by making it cheaper and easier to do so, including;
Cheaper cars: With over 80 models priced at or under £37,000, the Electric Car Grant will make electric driving even more accessible.
Simple EV packages from Octopus: By getting your car, charger and home energy all in one place, it couldn’t be easier to make the switch.
Discounted green home energy: Charge for as little as 2p per mile with cheaper, greener home energy from Octopus Energy. Our drivers get an exclusive home energy rate at 6p per kWh with Intelligent Octopus Go – EV Saver.
Public charging made simple: Octopus Electroverse gives you one-tap access to hundreds of thousands of chargers across the UK & Europe.
We’re now offering our salary sacrifice customers the chance to save up to 40% on public charging through salary sacrifice, making charging on the road much more affordable.
TotalEnergies Expands Investments in Sustainable Forestry Operations TotalEnergies signed an agreement with NativState, an Arkansas-based forest carbon project developer, to conserve forests from land conversion and heavy timber harvesting.
The transaction includes 13 Improved Forest Management (IFM) projects located in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, U.S.A, covering 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) owned by more than 280 private family forest landowners. The carbon program managed by NativState offers landowners a sustainable income alternative to this region’s common practice of heavy timber harvesting while restoring forest health and improving carbon stocks.
This investment will support sustainable forest practices, such as identifying and preserving high conservation value forests, implementing best management practices for streamside management zones, improving forest species diversity, and conserving wildlife corridors. It will also generate social benefits to small landowners such as forestry management education and technical support, as well as financial benefits by giving them access to voluntary carbon markets.
All carbon credits generated by the project will be certified by the ACR, an internationally recognized carbon crediting program, and will be acquired by TotalEnergies. After prioritizing emission avoidance and reduction, the Company will use these credits from 2030 onwards to voluntarily offset part of its remaining direct Scope 1 & 2 emissions.
Dolphin Drilling AS private placement successful Reference is made to previous stock exchange announcements made by Dolphin Drilling AS regarding the private placement of 29,764,440,000 new shares in the Company raising gross proceeds of NOK 297,644,400, equal to approx. USD 29 million (the “Private Placement”) and Refinancing (as defined below).
The share capital increase relating to the Private Placement was today registered with the Norwegian Registry of Business Enterprises. With the successful completion of the Private Placement and the Refinancing, the Company has raised approximately USD 29 million in new cash equity, USD 6.5 million in increased indebtedness under an existing credit facility and USD 21.5 million under a new senior secured notes facility, plus reduced its scheduled debt amortisations by approximately USD 20 million. In addition, the Company has repaid the USD 15 million shareholder loan, which included significant restrictions for the Company with respect to both financial and operational flexibility (collectively, the “Refinancing”). Combined, the Refinancing has cleaned up the Company’s balance sheet and reduced short term indebtedness.
Dolphin Drilling chairman, Ronny Bjørnådal, commented: “We would like to thank all stakeholders involved in making the Refinancing possible. The Refinancing represents a voluntary restructuring of the Company’s liabilities, including raising new indebtedness and new equity which was successfully concluded in a short window, despite challenging capital market conditions.
He further added; “Dolphin Drilling´s primary focus going forward is to secure a contract for the Borgland Dolphin, execute on a significant cost cutting initiatives, and continue with the collection efforts relating to the USD 105 million arbitration award in Nigeria, in relation to which the Federal High Court in Lagos on 14 July 2025 granted leave to take enforcement action.
90% of new renewable energy capacity is now cheaper than fossil fuels, study shows . Almost all new power capacity built around the world came from renewables, and almost every continent on Earth added more renewables capacity than fossil fuels last year.
Nearly three-quarters of the growth in electricity generated worldwide was from wind, solar and other green sources, according to the UN’s multiagency report, called Seizing the Moment of Opportunity.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it shows “how far we have come in the decade since the Paris Agreement sparked a clean energy revolution.”
Around $2 trillion (€1.7 trillion) went into clean energy last year – $800 billion (€685 billion) more than fossil fuels and up over 70 per cent in 10 years.
New data released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Tuesday shows that wind, solar and new hydropower were three of the cheapest electricity sources last year.
Solar is now 41 per cent cheaper than fossil fuels. Not long ago, it was four times the cost. Offshore wind is now also 53 per cent cheaper and is the most affordable source of new renewable energy.
General Motors reported second-quarter 2025 revenue of $47.1 billion, – net income attributable to stockholders of $1.9 billion, and EBIT-adjusted of $3.0 billion. GM’s full-year financial guidance is unchanged.
General Motors Co. also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on the company’s outstanding common stock of $0.15 per share, payable Sept. 18, 2025, to holders of the Company’s common stock at the close of trading on Sept. 5, 2025.
General Motors Q2 2025 Letter to Shareholders We reported another quarter of earnings that highlight the appeal of GM’s vehicles, customer loyalty to our brands, the growing value of technologies like OnStar and Super Cruise, as well as the creativity and resiliency of our global team. I’m grateful for everyone’s contributions – our employees, our dealers, and our suppliers.
In the United States, we continue to lead the industry in full-size trucks and SUVs, and the 10 all-new or redesigned crossover SUVs we have introduced like the Chevrolet Trax, Buick Envista, and GMC Acadia took huge leaps forward in design and technology, resulting in record demand and revenue growth, while reduced complexity contributed to stronger profitability.
We are also growing in EVs because people love the design, performance, range, and value we deliver across our strategic portfolio, from the affordable Equinox EV to the handcrafted Cadillac CELESTIQ. Five years ago, the EV market essentially had one player. Today, there are 30, and Chevrolet became the #2 EV brand in the second quarter, while Cadillac became the #5 EV brand overall and the luxury EV leader.
In China, the performance of our new energy vehicles has been especially strong, and in the second quarter, we reported our second consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth. We gained the most share among foreign OEMs, and we reported positive equity income.
In addition to our strong underlying operating performance, we are positioning the business for a profitable, long-term future as we adapt to new trade and tax policies, and a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
For example, in June we announced $4 billion of new investment in our U.S. assembly plants to add 300,000 units of capacity for high margin light-duty pickups, full-size SUVs and crossovers. This will help us satisfy unmet customer demand, greatly reduce our tariff exposure, and capture upside opportunities as we launch new models. The capacity begins coming online in just 18 months, after which we project building more than 2 million vehicles in the U.S. each year as we scale.
Despite slower EV industry growth, we believe the long-term future is profitable electric vehicle production, and this continues to be our north star. As we adjust to changing demand, we will prioritize our customers, brands, and a flexible manufacturing footprint, and leverage our domestic battery investments and other profit-improvement plans.
Overall, GM is well positioned to succeed in an ICE market that now has a longer runway.
We will continue to drive improved overall profitability and focus on EV profitability improvement to generate ongoing strong free cash flow. In addition, we will continue to drive American innovation in batteries, autonomous technology and software.
I believe everything we’re doing strategically and proactively, along with closer alignment of emissions rules with consumer demand, will further differentiate us from our competitors, increase our resilience, and help us emerge from this transition period even stronger and more profitable than before.
Thank you for your continued confidence in General Motors.- Mary Barra
bp has appointed Albert Manifold as the new Chair of the company BP p.l.c. (“bp”) today announces that it has appointed Albert Manifold to succeed Helge Lund as chair of the company. He will join the company’s board on 1 September as non-executive director and chair-elect, and will take over as chair on 1 October. At that point, Helge Lund will step down as chair and as a director of the bp board.
Albert was the Chief Executive Officer of CRH plc (“CRH”) from January 2014 until December 2024. Under his leadership CRH strategically reshaped its portfolio and delivered superior growth and performance. He has a strong track record of strategic leadership and operational delivery with a focus on cost efficiency, disciplined capital allocation and cash flow generation.
He is also a non-executive director at LyondellBasell, a global chemicals producer, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and a non-executive director at Mercury Engineering, a leading privately-owned engineering consultancy.
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OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole , victor@oilandgaspress
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