Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels

Schneider Electric SE agreed to acquire U.S.-based engineering software developer PTC Inc. for $22.6 billion, or €20.1 billion, paying $205 per share in an all-cash deal. The transaction was among a string of major deals reported across sectors this week. Viatris said it will acquire all outstanding shares of Pacira BioSciences for $36.50 per share in cash, an aggregate equity value of $1.65 billion, while CD&R and McKesson agreed to acquire Option Care Health for $32.05 per share, valuing it at approximately $5.8 billion including debt, sending its shares up 34% in early trading Tuesday. Energy Transfer agreed to acquire Vaquero Midstream in a $2.625 billion deal consisting of $1.95 billion in cash and about 33.3 million newly issued Energy Transfer common units, and Cenovus Energy agreed to acquire Athabasca Oil in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about C$5.7 billion, a 14% premium to Athabasca's 20-day volume-weighted average trading price. Canadian utilities Emera and Canadian Utilities agreed to an all-stock merger worth C$14.3 billion, or US$10 billion, creating a combined company with a C$72 billion enterprise value and a regulated rate base of C$45 billion serving roughly 6 million customers. Separately, TKO LLC proposed to acquire Service Properties Trust's entire hospitality portfolio for $2.0 billion, and CCC Intelligent Solutions soared 13% in after-hours trading on a report that GTCR and Elliott Investment Management are in advanced discussions to purchase the car-insurance software firm.

Venture Global has signed a new long-term LNG sales deal with ConocoPhillips while drawing a cut to its Q3 adjusted EBITDA estimate from RBC Capital Markets. The Sales and Purchase Agreement commits ConocoPhillips to buy 1.0 million tonnes per annum of LNG from 2030 for 20 years. RBC Capital Markets reduced its Q3 adjusted EBITDA estimate for Venture Global, citing basis differential headwinds, while maintaining a positive view on the stock. Venture Global shares trade at US$13.16, having pulled back around 14% on a 1 month share price basis after an 87% year to date share price return, with a 1 year total shareholder return of about 40%. The most followed narrative pegs fair value at about $16.67 per share, implying the stock is 21% undervalued, though that view could fray if Calcasieu Pass arbitration outcomes absorb more cash than expected or if LNG pricing weakens faster than analysts currently model.

Venture Global signed a 20 year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement with ConocoPhillips, securing long term offtake volumes. The contract covers LNG supply from Venture Global's portfolio, linking a US exporter with a major integrated energy producer, and no pricing or volume details were disclosed in the announcement, keeping commercial terms confidential between the two parties. The deal includes a 1.0 MTPA, 20 year LNG offtake with ConocoPhillips, reinforcing the part of the Venture Global story that leans on long term SPAs to tame cash flow swings and pointing to a portfolio style book of contracted volumes similar to what players like Cheniere or Shell have used to underpin their LNG positions. Venture Global operates LNG production, shipping and regasification assets across the US and Europe, so a long-term offtake like this fits directly into its role as a large-scale supplier in the global gas trade for integrated energy companies and utilities. The same announcement also brushes up against flagged risks around leverage and earnings quality, since adding another long dated commitment can help support future project financing, yet analysts already point to debt coverage and non cash earnings as pressure points.

BKV Corporation announced that a wholly owned subsidiary signed an equipment supply contract with a Tier 1 supplier for approximately 1,200 megawatts of natural gas-fired power generation equipment for a prospective Texas project. The deal is backed by a cost-reimbursement backstop agreement with an investment-grade hyperscaler covering about 90% of payments through March 31, 2027. The hyperscaler, expected to be the long-term offtaker, materially reduces BKV's early project funding exposure while allowing the company to exit the contract by March 31, 2027 if no final offtake deal is reached. The arrangement reinforces BKV's integrated gas, power and carbon capture model in ERCOT, where data center demand is in focus, and highlights the near-term catalyst of signing firm PPAs. BKV's narrative projects $1.6 billion revenue and $144.1 million earnings by 2029, requiring 18.1% yearly revenue growth and a $153.7 million earnings decrease from $297.8 million today.

The first commercial natural gas deliveries from Australia's Beetaloo Basin began flowing to the Northern Territory in September, a milestone for Tamboran Resources and Daly Waters Energy after years of roadblocks. Tamboran and Daly Waters announced the first natural gas sales ever from the basin, with five wells now ramping up production to 40 million cubic feet of gas per day, and plans to grow to 100 million in 2028 once a gas-processing expansion is complete. Bryan Sheffield, the Texas oil CEO who founded Formentera Partners and Daly Waters Energy, said the milestone shows the basin can deliver but it still must prove it can become economic over the long term. Sheffield's capital influx was critical, as was recruiting American oilfield services players with shale expertise: Helmerich & Payne, Baker Hughes, and Liberty Energy, the company cofounded by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, all took ownership stakes in Tamboran, while Beetaloo Energy recently contracted with Halliburton. Tamboran admits it needs a larger partner to keep scaling, and a new auditor's report still flags its financial viability as a going concern. The timing matters for Australia, which could face natural gas shortfalls in the coming years, with Qatar largely offline because of the Iran war and more of Australia's offshore gas fields drying up.

Analysts have lifted the implied fair value of New Era Energy & Digital to about US$11.67 from US$10.50, roughly an 11% increase, as Wall Street weighs progress at the company's Texas Critical Data Centers against sector and regulatory risk. Roth Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a US$10 price target, saying the share price does not fully capture potential commercialization of Texas Critical Data Centers Phases I and II. Northland raised its target to US$12 from US$10 with an Outperform rating, citing progress on the Phase 1 PPA, strong major tenant interest, and management guidance around capacity delivery in 2H27, while B. Riley lifted its target to US$13 from US$10 and kept a Buy rating. B. Riley also noted that the digital mining and HPC peer group has fallen 34% since June 22, compared with 6.2% for the Russell 2000, reflecting regulatory uncertainty, higher yields, and slower leasing activity. The updated model raised the revenue growth assumption to 626.36% from 344.38%, lifted the profit margin forecast to 20.24% from 17.82%, cut the future P/E multiple to 26.88x from 75.20x, and adjusted the discount rate to 7.236% from 7.108%.

Chevron is shutting multiple offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and evacuating non-essential personnel as Hurricane Isaias approaches the region. The company said the shut-ins affect offshore oil and gas output, though it did not disclose the exact production volumes involved. The disruption is expected to weigh on revenue and cash flow for the period, partly offset by any refining or trading benefits from oil at more than US$105 per barrel. Chevron has not indicated any change to its full-year volume or CapEx targets, and the next quarterly report and management commentary will be the clearest signal of the storm's impact, including any quantified production effect, updated 2026 output guidance and hurricane-related repair or insurance costs.

Gran Tierra Energy stockholders approved the sale of the company's Colombian and Ecuadorian businesses to Maurel & Prom for approximately $1.33B. Gran Tierra expects to receive about $315M in net cash proceeds from the deal, including $250M at closing and $65M payable 364 days later. The transaction still requires regulatory approvals in Colombia and Ecuador, with closing targeted for December 31, 2026. Gran Tierra expects to be debt-free after the sale and plans to use part of the proceeds for a share repurchase, subject to completion of the sale and board approval. GTE stock traded about 3% higher at roughly $10.90 in the after-hours session.

Phillips 66 closed at $278.18, down 1.21% on the day even as the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, the Dow rose 0.83% and the Nasdaq added 0.64%. The oil refiner's shares have gained 8.93% over the past month, outpacing the 2.1% gain in the Oils-Energy sector and the 1.34% rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Investors are focused on the company's upcoming earnings report, set for October 28, 2026, with analysts predicting earnings per share of $10.41, a 313.1% increase from the year-ago quarter, on quarterly revenue of $34.31 billion, down 1.92% year over year. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates call for earnings of $29.01 per share and revenue of $157.49 billion, changes of +350.47% and +15.33% respectively from last year. The consensus EPS projection has moved 18.66% higher over the past 30 days, and Phillips 66 currently carries a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), with a Forward P/E ratio of 9.71 versus an industry average of 8.86.

Moody's Ratings has revised its outlook on Crescent Energy Co to positive from stable while affirming the company's Ba3 Corporate Family Rating, a move that followed immediately on Crescent's $3.85 billion all-cash acquisition of Eagle Ford Basin assets from Devon Energy Corporation. To finance the purchase, Crescent secured a $2 billion bridge facility commitment alongside a $1 billion primary equity offering. Moody's Vice President Jonathan Teitel said the positive outlook reflects both the enhanced operational scale in the Eagle Ford and expectations that robust, hedge-supported free cash flow will enable substantial debt reduction over the next 12 to 18 months. The Devon transaction positions Crescent to expand production to approximately 400 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, pushing its operating footprint well past similarly rated exploration and production peers, though Moody's cautioned the acquisition appears fully valued and materially increases near-term debt loads, interrupting the company's recent deleveraging momentum. Crescent has locked in substantial commodity hedges for 2027 at higher crude prices, and Moody's expects the Houston-based producer to refinance its temporary bridge commitments with long-term capital, preserving a liquidity profile that currently includes SGL-1 top-tier liquidity and $2 billion in committed credit facility availability. Upgrades over the next year to 18 months will hinge on executing post-acquisition debt reduction, maintaining conservative financial policies, and sustaining retained cash flow relative to total debt above 50%.

ClearBridge Investments' Dividend Strategy added Kinder Morgan, Inc. to its portfolio during the third quarter of 2026, citing the energy infrastructure company's sizable dividend yield, good balance sheet, contracted and recurring revenues and solid growth outlook tied to surging natural gas demand for LNG exports and power. The addition was disclosed in the firm's third-quarter 2026 commentary for its Dividend Strategy, which reported modest gains in the quarter but underperformed the S&P 500, which rose 2.3%, due to mixed stock selection and stock-specific headwinds. Kinder Morgan closed at $32.25 on October 08, 2026, with a $70.86 billion market capitalization, a 17.32% year-to-date gain and a 52-week range of $25.60 to $34.81. According to the firm's database, 60 hedge fund portfolios held Kinder Morgan at the end of the second quarter, compared to 62 in the previous quarter.

Shell said Friday it agreed to acquire a 30% non-operated interest in the Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, while Equinor will retain a 70% interest and remain the operator; financial terms were not disclosed. Shell said the transaction provides an attractive entry point, expected returns above its hurdle rate, and exposure to an established resource base with potential longer-term growth. Bay du Nord is a phased subsea development tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, with planned gross production capacity of 160K-175K boe/day and first oil anticipated in 2031, and it is currently finalizing the front-end engineering and design. Equinor said the deal supports the continued maturation of Bay du Nord towards an investment decision currently targeted for early 2027.

Shell plc has partially restarted operations at its Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar, marking an initial recovery step after the Iran war damaged the plant in March 2026. The restart will let Shell build limited inventories of finished products, though shipments remain dependent on regional security and safe maritime routes, and repairs to Train 2, one of the facility's two processing units, are still underway with completion expected in the first quarter of 2027. Pearl GTL, based in Ras Laffan Industrial City, has a capacity of 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and converts North Field natural gas into gasoil, kerosene, base oils, naphtha and normal paraffins. Separately, QatarEnergy has begun returning Pearl-GTL naphtha cargoes to the market, issuing a spot tender offering as much as 50,000 metric tons of naphtha across four grades on a free-on-board basis from Ras Laffan, and Haldia Petrochemicals in India received 50,000 metric tons of naphtha for the current quarter. QatarEnergy's previous naphtha tender, which also included Pearl-GTL material, was awarded at a discount of $150 to Middle East benchmark quotations on a free-on-board basis, a figure that relates to the earlier tender and not the latest offering. The partial restart does not mean the facility has returned to normal production, and the pace of further recovery will depend on the repair schedule, operating conditions and the ability to transport products to customers.

Eni has completed the installation of the Douglas CCS platform in Liverpool Bay, advancing the carbon dioxide transportation and storage network that underpins the HyNet industrial decarbonization cluster in the United Kingdom. The platform, delivered in less than 18 months from contract award under an accelerated engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning program, is the world's first purpose-built offshore platform dedicated to CCS for industrial decarbonization. It will receive CO2 captured from industrial sites across North West England and North Wales and distribute it through repurposed offshore pipelines to depleted natural gas reservoirs for permanent storage. The wider Liverpool Bay CCS network is approximately 50% complete, with around 60% of total project expenditure directed toward U.K.-based supply chains, supporting more than 2,000 construction jobs and an estimated 200 to 300 long-term roles over the project's more than 25 years of operations. The project forms part of Eni CCUS Holding's broader portfolio of CCS initiatives, the joint venture between Eni and Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock.

Devon Energy is expected to post earnings of $1.20 per share for the current quarter, a change of +15.4% from the year-ago quarter, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate up +5.7% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $5.35 points to a change of +36.5% from the prior year and has risen +2.1% over the last 30 days, while the next fiscal year's estimate of $5.28 indicates a change of -1.3% and has moved +4.8% over the past month. The consensus sales estimate of $7.3 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +68.5%, with $25.96 billion and $28.03 billion expected for the current and next fiscal years, changes of +51% and +8% respectively. Devon Energy reported revenues of $7.42 billion in the last reported quarter, a year-over-year change of +73.1%, with EPS of $1.57 versus $0.84 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.3 billion by +17.76% on revenue and by +20.77% on EPS. The recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Devon Energy, and the stock carries a Zacks Value Style Score of B, indicating it is trading at a discount to its peers.

Shell Canada Energy, an affiliate of Shell plc, has reached an agreement with Equinor to acquire a 30% non-operated interest in the Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Equinor will retain a 70% interest and remain as the operator of the project. The concept is a phased subsea development tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, with gross production capacity planned to be 160-175 kboe/d and first oil anticipated in 2031. The project remains pre-FID, and any future investment decision will be subject to Shell's investment criteria and will need to compete for capital within its portfolio. Shell said the transaction provides an attractive entry point with expected returns above its hurdle rate and exposure to an established resource base with potential longer-term growth.

Oil companies announced four separate transactions in four trading days as Brent crude held above $100 a barrel, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration now expecting Brent to average $96.32 a barrel in 2026 and $83.74 in 2027, up from $91.01 and $73.74 a month ago in its October Short-Term Energy Outlook. The EIA said Brent averaged $114 a barrel in September, $23 higher than in August, and touched a daily high of $131 on September 15 after attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline temporarily halted flows on a route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, and it assumes Middle East oil flows stay constrained through the fourth quarter with shut-ins averaging 4.5 million barrels per day. Cenovus Energy agreed on October 5 to acquire Athabasca Oil Corporation for C$12.00 per Athabasca share, payable in cash, Cenovus shares or a combination, for an implied enterprise value of C$5.7 billion, adding about 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and expected to generate about $85 million a year in synergies. Energy Transfer agreed on October 6 to acquire Vaquero Midstream for about $2.6 billion, made up of $1.95 billion in cash and about 33.3 million newly issued Energy Transfer common units, adding roughly 300 miles of pipeline in Texas and the Caymus Processing Complex with about 675 million cubic feet per day of capacity. Chevron subsidiaries signed definitive agreements on October 6 with Hess Midstream to extend Bakken midstream terms, expecting to cut Bakken unit midstream costs by about 50%, divest its Hess Midstream interests and transfer DJ Basin crude oil midstream assets for $200 million in cash, and fully deconsolidate Hess Midstream including about $3.7 billion of its debt. Crescent Energy agreed on October 8 to acquire Devon Energy's Eagle Ford assets for an estimated net purchase price of about $3.85 billion after adjustments, adding about 68,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of net production and more than 600 Tier 1 net locations, and launched a $1 billion offering of Class A common stock the same day. Shell issued its third quarter 2026 update note on October 7, pointing to an indicative refining margin of $42 a barrel, up from $24 in the second quarter, with Integrated Gas production expected at 740,000 to 780,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and third quarter results scheduled for October 29.

Cmb.Tech NV declared an interim dividend of $0.64 per share. The dividend is payable Oct. 22 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 16, with the ex-dividend date also set for Oct. 16. The declaration follows the company's special general meeting results.

Devon Energy has agreed to sell its Eagle Ford shale acreage to Crescent Energy for US$4.2b in cash, reshaping its portfolio around higher-return, longer-duration assets. The roughly 90,000 net acres are described as non-core, and management aims to lower its corporate breakeven, with net proceeds earmarked for faster share repurchases and debt reduction. Closing is expected around year end 2026, and investors will watch for any updated capital return framework. The deal headlines a morning in which US stocks are set for a softer open as inflation expectations push higher again, with median US inflation expectations for the year ahead at 3.9% for September 2026, the highest since May 2023, and Fed minutes showing most officials see a likely need for another 25 bps hike to a range of 3.75% to 4% by year end. Mortgage applications are down 4.2% and the average 30 year fixed rate sits around 7.49%, keeping pressure on borrowing costs for households and companies. Elsewhere, Vertiv reported quarterly sales up 24% and lifted its annual forecasts on AI data center demand, while CoreWeave faces a tougher backdrop for data center IPOs after an expected postponement of Nvidia backed Firmus Grid's Australian listing.

Krungsri Securities estimates that progress on a 1,200-megawatt gas-fired power plant project in the United States, for which key equipment procurement has already been signed, could add roughly 1.2 baht per share of upside to BANPU's target price. The research team sees a high likelihood that negotiations for a power purchase agreement, or PPA, with a hyperscaler customer will succeed. It currently maintains a buy recommendation and a 2027 target price of 17 baht per share. The research team expects BANPU to continue its turnaround through 2026 to 2028, with average earnings growth of 68% CAGR from its gas and power plant businesses in the United States, supporting margins through selling prices amid growing data center demand and expanding LNG export capacity. It also sees upside risk from M&A of gas sources and expansion of power generation capacity in the United States. BANPU shares today traded at 14.90 baht, down 0.10 baht, or 0.67%, with trading value of 166.83 million baht.

Krungsri Securities has maintained its buy rating on Banpu Public Company Limited, or BANPU, with a 2027 target price of 17 baht, after BKV Corporation, its subsidiary engaged in natural gas, power generation, and carbon capture and storage technology, made progress on a natural gas-fired power plant project in the United States. BKV has signed contracts to procure key equipment for a 1,200-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Texas, comprising gas turbines, steam turbines, and heat recovery steam generators, along with related equipment, with a total value of approximately 800 million US dollars, in order to reduce the risk of constraints in procuring critical equipment if negotiations for a power purchase agreement, or PPA, with Hyperscaler customers reach a conclusion and the project decides to proceed with construction. Such customers have agreed to terms supporting part of the costs under a Backstop Agreement if the investment process has not reached a conclusion by March 2027, and the ordered equipment is expected to begin gradual delivery from September 2028 onward. Krungsri assesses that if the PPA negotiations reach a conclusion within the first quarter of 2027, it would be a positive factor, and it preliminarily expects the project could create upside to the target price at a level similar to the Temple III project, or approximately 1.20 baht per share. Krungsri also maintains its view that BANPU is in a period of continued recovery in 2026-2028, with average net profit expected to grow approximately 68% per year, driven by three core businesses, especially the natural gas business in the United States, which benefits from tight supply conditions, as well as recurring income from the mining and power plant businesses, and additional growth opportunities from data centers.

Several brokers estimate the third-quarter 2026 net profit of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited, or PTTEP, in a range of 17,700 to 20,700 million baht, an increase of 39 to 63% year on year, driven by higher gas selling prices following the retroactive adjustment of PSC contracts, even though profit slowed from the previous quarter due to losses on oil price hedging and maintenance shutdowns at gas separation plants. Land and Houses Securities expects net profit of 20,700 million baht, down 24% from the previous quarter but up 63% year on year, and expects normal profit of 23,200 million baht, while maintaining a buy recommendation and viewing a dividend yield of about 6% as still attractive. InnovestX Securities expects net profit of 18,600 million baht, up 47% year on year, normal profit of 21,100 million baht, and gives the highest target price in the group at 185 baht with an OUTPERFORM recommendation, estimating a dividend yield of about 7%. Bualuang Securities expects core profit of 23,236 million baht, up 91% year on year and 7% above its previous estimate, on higher gas selling prices after the retroactive PSC contract adjustment for Block A18, and expects net profit of 20,698 million baht, up 63% year on year. Bualuang also said the average Dubai oil price stood at 93 US dollars per barrel in the third quarter of 2026 after touching 105 US dollars per barrel in the second quarter, and that supply-side risks may keep oil prices elevated through the fourth quarter of 2026.

Analysts at five securities firms have issued research on PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited, or PTTEP, assessing that net profit for the third quarter of 2569 remains strong compared with the same period last year, although it has softened from the previous quarter. Trinity Securities expects third-quarter net profit of about 19 billion baht, up 51% from the same period last year but down 29% from the previous quarter. Yuanta Securities (Thailand) also expects profit of about 19 billion baht. Land and Houses Securities expects net profit of about 20.7 billion baht, down 24% from the previous quarter but up 63% from the same period last year, and excluding hedging losses, normal profit would be about 23.2 billion baht, up as much as 91% from the same period last year. KGI Securities (Thailand) expects net profit of about 20.2 billion baht, up 59% from the same period last year but down 26% from the previous quarter. Krungsri Securities estimates net profit of about 19.6 billion baht, up 54% from the same period last year but down 28% from the previous quarter. The main pressure came from lower sales volumes after maintenance shutdowns at production fields in the Gulf of Thailand, Malaysia and Algeria, which brought volumes to about 523 to 525 KBOED, as well as hedging losses of about 2.5 billion baht. Meanwhile, natural gas selling prices rose to about 6.5 US dollars per million BTU, supported by retroactive price adjustments under production sharing contracts for the MTJDA A18-01, Yadana and Zawtika projects. For the fourth quarter of 2569, all houses see profit recovering on sales volumes returning to about 550 KBOED after the maintenance period. Trinity maintains a buy rating with a target price of 163 baht. Yuanta upgraded its recommendation to buy with a target price of 170 baht. Land and Houses maintains a buy rating with a target price of 164 baht. KGI maintains a neutral rating with a target price of 156 baht. Krungsri maintains a buy rating and raised its target price to 179 baht from 175 baht.

TotalEnergies has agreed a 15 year digital drilling and engineering contract with SLB covering global upstream projects, while separately taking final investment decision on full field development of the Absheron gas and condensate field in Azerbaijan. The SLB agreement introduces integrated digital well planning tools intended to centralise data and support drilling decisions across TotalEnergies' portfolio. The Absheron project is designed around automation and lower emission infrastructure to support regional gas supply and energy transition goals, with a targeted 2029 start up and four subsea wells plus an onshore plant to be delivered. Investors are told to watch project updates between now and that start up, including capex guidance and disclosures on how widely the SLB DrillPlan system is used across the wider upstream portfolio. The article frames both moves as reinforcing TotalEnergies' existing push into gas and power and its focus on digitalisation, rather than as a rewrite of the investment narrative.

CNOOC released its 2026 A-share interim dividend distribution implementation announcement on October 9, with a cash dividend of RMB 0.81324 per share, including tax. The record date is October 15, 2026, and the ex-dividend and ex-rights date is October 16, 2026. CNOOC is a constituent stock of the Dividend Quality Index and the Dividend Low Volatility Index. The Dividend Quality Index selects 50 listed company securities with continuous cash dividends, relatively high dividend payout ratios, and strong profitability as index constituents. The ChinaAMC Dividend Quality ETF is the only ETF tracking this index. The Dividend Low Volatility Index selects 50 securities with good liquidity, continuous dividends, moderate dividend payout ratios, positive growth in dividends per share, and high dividend yields with low volatility as index constituents, weighted by dividend yield.

Analysts at Krungsri Securities Public Company Limited stated that BKV Corporation, a subsidiary of BANPU, has signed an equipment procurement contract for the construction of a 1,200 megawatt gas-fired power plant in Texas, covering gas turbines, steam turbines, boilers and other equipment, worth approximately 800 million dollars. The purpose of this purchase is to hedge against the risk of being unable to secure key equipment should the power purchase agreement negotiations conclude and construction need to proceed. Meanwhile, a hyperscaler customer currently negotiating a PPA with BKV has agreed to guarantee 90% of the payment obligations of 200 million dollars should the investment negotiations fail to reach a conclusion by March 2027. This 1,200 megawatt gas-fired power plant project is separate from Temple III, which has a capacity of 768 to 1,200 megawatts, increasing the upside from power plant expansion. The project has not yet been included in estimates, and clarity on the PPA is awaited during the first quarter of 2027. Preliminary assessment puts the upside, comparable to the Temple III project, at approximately 1.2 baht per share, representing an IRR of 9%. Therefore, the Buy recommendation is maintained with a target price of 17 baht. The company is viewed as attractive given the trend of continued turnaround during 2026 to 2028, with net profit recovering by an average of 68% per year, supported by all three core businesses, led by the gas business, which benefits from the United States entering a cycle of gas oversupply that pushes average selling prices up by 31%, as well as recurring income from the coal business and power plants, where margins continue to grow over the long term thanks to lower energy costs and growing data center demand.

Kinder Morgan said Thursday it lifted the force majeure on its Tennessee Gas Pipeline after repairs restored natural gas shipments to Mexico that had been interrupted earlier in the week. Tennessee Gas resolved problems identified on October 5 that forced the company to isolate and shut some sections of pipe, including the Rio Bravo and Cenagas delivery meters, and the company declared force majeure the following day. Mexico is the largest buyer of U.S. pipeline gas, with about 75% of the country's gas coming from Texas, and American pipeline exports to Mexico have surged to about 8 Bcf/day from about 1 Bcf/day in 2010, according to BloombergNEF data. Mexico lacks large-scale underground storage comparable to the U.S., leaving its power sector heavily dependent on continuous pipeline deliveries from the north, and in the event of outages Mexico has only about three days of gas supplies in reserves, according to Cuitlahuac Garcia, director of Mexican pipeline operator Cenagas.

Gevo shares jumped 5.8% in the afternoon session after the renewable fuels producer announced the completed sale and delivery of 10,000 carbon dioxide removal credits through ClimeFi to a corporate buyer. The credits were generated at the company's North Dakota facility, and the transaction supports Gevo's aim to achieve more than $30 million in annual revenue from its carbon business through existing operations. Carbon dioxide removal credits allow corporate purchasers to address greenhouse gas emissions by funding the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. After the initial pop, the shares cooled down to $1.37, up 5% from the previous close. Gevo is down 33.7% since the beginning of the year and is trading 50.8% below its 52-week high of $2.78.

Shell said Thursday it has partially restarted its Pearl gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar, six months after the facility was damaged during attacks on oil and gas infrastructure during the Iran war. The restart will let Shell build a limited amount of product inventory in storage, though the ability to ship product remains subject to the regional security situation. Traders in the market said QatarEnergy issued a spot tender offering up to 50K metric tons of four grades of naphtha, including Pearl GTL, on a free-on-board basis from the Ras Laffan port inside the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters. Shell's wholly-owned Pearl GTL, fed from Qatar's North gas field, suffered damage to one of its two processing plants in the March attack, and the company expects repairs to be completed in Q1 2027; at full capacity, Pearl can produce 140K boe/day. The first LNG train under QatarEnergy's North Field East expansion project reportedly will be ready to start operation next month, which would provide a path for Qatar to restore some lost production.

Shell has raised its third quarter 2026 production guidance for its integrated gas and upstream operations. The upgrade comes after a period of strong share price momentum, with a 90-day share price return of 19.96% and a year-to-date gain of 32.20% at a latest share price of £36.48. Bulls argue the guidance upgrade and record refining margins justify the share price surge, while bears point to falling revenue and net income growth. The most followed narrative pegs Shell's fair value at £39.27, a 7.1% undervaluation relative to the latest close, with 211 investors backing that view. The narrative could crack if chemicals margins remain weak or if heavy buybacks start to strain flexibility when conditions become less supportive.

Equinor and its partners have discovered an estimated 3.3 million to 10.3 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent in gas at Norway's Gullfaks South field, using an exploration sidetrack drilled during work on a production well. The find, announced on October 8, contains an estimated 0.5 million to 1.6 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent and lies about 190 kilometers northwest of Bergen. The Askeladden rig drilled the exploration well, formally designated 34/10-D-4 BH, within the Gullfaks production license, where Equinor's partners are Petoro and OMV. Gunnar Egge, Equinor's vice president for the Gullfaks field, said discoveries of this size could be made through cost-effective exploration wells and described the resources as profitable barrels that can help maintain activity and production on the Gullfaks field. Equinor did not disclose a development cost, production start date or expected output rate in the announcement.

Shell plc's third-quarter 2026 outlook points to stronger activity across its Integrated Gas business, with production expected to reach 740,000-780,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 631,000 boe/d in the second quarter. LNG liquefaction volumes, however, are forecast at 7.2-7.6 million tonnes, slightly below the 7.7 million tonnes reported in the second quarter, and the outlook includes the effect of the acquisition of ARC Resources, which was completed on Sept. 2, 2026. Upstream production is expected at 1.74-1.84 million boe/d versus 1.82 million boe/d in the second quarter, alongside about $300 million in exploration well write-offs. In Chemicals and Products, the indicative refining margin is expected to rise sharply to $42 per barrel from $24 per barrel in the prior quarter, while the indicative chemicals margin is projected to decline to $208 per tonne from $270 per tonne and refinery utilization is expected at 93%-97% compared with 102%. Shell also agreed last month to acquire a 30% interest in BP's Conifer prospect in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and a 50% stake in the Tupinamba exploration block in Brazil's Santos Basin.