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Energy
Wind developers move to challenge lease suspensions
Multiple energy developers have announced legal action against the Trump administration's suspension of leases for their United States wind projects. Norwegian energy group Equinor confirmed last Friday it had filed an injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Danish wind power developer, Ørsted, announced it was also taking legal action again the Trump administration after its U.S. based project Revolution was similarly suspended, saying that the suspension of the lease “violates applicable law”. Three other leases for similar large scale, offshore wind projects were suspended at the same time by the Department of the Interior, 10 days ago. The Revolution project is worth $5 billion and was underway off the coast of Rhode Island, before Ørsted's lease was suspended by the White House, citing national security risks. In a statement, Equinor said that it viewed the suspensions to be “unlawful and threatens the progress of ongoing work with significant implications for the project.” “The preliminary injunction filing is necessary to allow the project to continue as planned during this critical period of execution and avoid additional commercial and financing impacts that are likely to occu
Energy
Trump halts major US offshore wind projects
The Trump administration has halted Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the largest offshore wind project in the United States, along with four other projects under construction off the East Coast, dealing a significant blow to the United States wind industry. Shares in Dominion Energy, the utility developing the Virginia-based project, closed 3.7% lower following the announcement. The administration also paused leases for Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Sunrise Wind near Long Island and New England, and Empire Wind 1 south of Long Island. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the leases were paused due to national security concerns raised by the Pentagon. Shares of Denmark’s Orsted, which is developing the Revolution and Sunrise projects, slumped 12.7%, while U.S.-listed shares of Norway’s Equinor, the developer of Empire Wind 1, fell about 1%. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is a 176-turbine project expected to supply power to more than 600,000 homes, according to Dominion. The project was scheduled for completion next year. Dominion said the development is critical to U.S. national security and to meeting Virginia’s rapidly rising energy demand. Northern Virginia is the world’s la
Energy
Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill departs for BP
In a major leadership shake-up for the global energy sector, Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) has announced the resignation of its CEO and MD Meg O’Neill, departing the Australian energy giant to take the helm as the new CEO of London-based oil and gas supermajor BP. Woodside chair Richard Goyder congratulated Ms O’Neill on her appointment as BP CEO and thanked her for her significant contributions to Woodside. The board has appointed exec VP and COO Liz Westcott as acting CEO as an executive search gets underway. “The Board’s appointment of Meg as CEO in 2021 set the foundation for Woodside’s transformational growth over recent years. This strong business performance has been translated into approximately $11 billion in dividends paid to shareholders since 2022, and a growth trajectory which is expected to deliver significant value," Mr Goyder said. “Meg leaves Woodside in a strong position, having led the company through the merger with BHP Petroleum, final investment decision on the Scarborough Energy Project, startup of the Sangomar Project, final investment decision for the Louisiana LNG Project, the Beaumont New Ammonia acquisition, introduction of a number of high quality partners in those projects and continued high
Energy
Shell may buy Gulf of Mexico producer LLOG
Shell is reportedly in advanced talks to buy Gulf of Mexico oil producer LLOG Exploration Offshore for over US$3 billion, as it seeks to further strengthen its portfolio in the region. While a deal is not yet guaranteed, according to Reuters, an agreement could be finalised by the end of the year. Louisiana-based LLOG began exploring a potential sale in October. Production at Shell’s Gulf assets has surged in recent months. Last quarter, the company reported “strong operational performance driven by record production in Brazil and 20-year highs in the Gulf of America [Gulf of Mexico]”. LLOG produces about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and acquired around 236,000 acres in the deepwater Gulf area last year. Shell also plans to sell a 20% stake in its Gato do Mato oilfield cluster in Brazil, Bloomberg reportedly separately today. Gato do Mato is set to begin production in 2029, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. Shell acquired TotalEnergies’ stake in Gato do Mato earlier in 2025 through an asset swap, and reportedly aims to raise funds for the cluster’s development while remaining as operator. Shell’s (LSE: SHEL) share price closed at UK£2,734.50, down from its previous close at £2,750.00. It
Energy
NextEra building gas-powered data centre with Exxon
NextEra Energy is working with Exxon Mobil to build a natural gas-powered data centre for a big tech customer, it said as it mints deals with Meta and Google. NextEra said today that it had reached around 2.5 gigawatts in clean energy contracts with Meta, and will develop three new data centre campuses with Google Cloud. Its oil-powered data centre will be pitched to hyperscalers, the companies training artificial intelligence models with large data centres. The project “combines Exxon’s carbon capture and sequestration expertise with [NextEra subsidiary] Energy Resources’ development expertise to pursue construction on an initial 1.2-GW plant,” NextEra CEO John Ketchum said in a presentation to investors. “As one of America's largest energy infrastructure builders, NextEra Energy Resources is powering America's technology growth with new energy infrastructure,” said NextEra Energy Resources CEO Brian Bolster. “The company has actively engaged with hyperscalers to support their data centre operations and further drive America's leadership.” The data centre would be marketed to a potential hyperscaler customer in the first quarter of 2026. The companies have secured 2,500 acres of buildable land for the facility. It

Energy
Exxon may buy Lukoil's stake in Iraqi oilfield
Exxon Mobil is reportedly seeking to buy Russian oil major Lukoil’s majority stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield, as Lukoil divests from its international assets amid Western sanctions. Exxon has discussed a potential purchase with Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Reuters reported. West Qurna 2 represents about 0.5% of global oil supply, and is Lukoil’s largest international asset. Iraq’s government previously said it would invite a select group of U.S. oil companies to negotiate a purchase of Lukoil’s 75% stake in West Qurna 2. Chevron has also been interested in purchasing Lukoil’s assets, per Bloomberg. The United States imposed sanctions on Lukoil in October due to Russia’s reluctance to negotiate an end to its invasion of Ukraine. “Given President [Vladimir] Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the time. Lukoil dissolved the board of its international business following the U.S. sanctions, and said it would divest from these assets. The company has been granted a sanctions waiver by the U.S. until 13 December as it struggles to find a buyer, however. Swiss-based Gunvor wi
Energy
Lukoil Finnish subsidiary shuts stations amid sanctions
Finnish petrol station company Teboil will shut down its self-service stations, following United States sanctions on its parent company Lukoil. Teboil has 525 locations in Finland, including petrol stations and diesel terminals. Its fuel reserves have been depleting, as oil deliveries were suspended after the U.S. announced sanctions on Lukoil last month. “Cash sales ended at all consumer ATMs on the last day of October,” wrote Teboil. “Stations will close in phases once fuel stocks are sold out.” The company told Finnish news agency STT that the closures would only apply to self-service stations. Teboil previously said on Monday that Lukoil would likely sell the company. Lukoil has been divesting from its foreign assets, having also reportedly declared force majeure at its West Qurna-2 oil field in Iraq. It said today that it is “taking all necessary steps to complete the sale” of its assets in Bulgaria, which are currently being administered by the country’s government. Switzerland-based Gunvor bid to acquire Lukoil’s foreign assets last month, but withdrew after the U.S. said it would not offer Gunvor a license. The sanctions were announced on 22 October, with the U.S. citing the Russian government’s refusa
Energy
Trump administration loans Constellation Energy US$1bn
The Trump administration said it loaned Constellation Energy Corp US$1 billion (A$1.54 billion) to restart the Crane Clean Energy Centre nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. The plant, previously known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, is expected to start generating power again by 2027. Three Mile Island Unit 1 closed in 2019 as nuclear struggled to compete against cheap natural gas and later restarted under the name Constellation in 2024 through a power purchase agreement with Microsoft. The loan is likely to cover most of the project’s estimated cost of US$1.6 billion. The first advance is expected in the first quarter of 2026, according to Greg Beard, senior advisor to the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office. “This type of energy is important because it’s large, stable, affordable base load power,” Beard told reporters. Constellation said the loan will help lower the cost of financing and leverage private investment to restore power to the grid. The loan comes as U.S. power demand is rising for the first time in two decades, on technology like artificial intelligence. Nuclear power is becoming a viable option for companies with uninterrupted power needs and climate pledges. However, critics argue that the U.S
Energy
US govt may take major nuclear stake under Trump
The United States government could become a majority shareholder in nuclear plants, under a US$80 billion plan from the Trump administration. A deal signed last week between the Commerce Department and the owners of Westinghouse nuclear plants, Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management, could see a transformation into an independent, publicly traded company where the government is a major shareholder. Cameco is one of the largest uranium miners globally, while Brookfield is one of the leading investors in energy generation. Under the new deal, the U.S. government is granted a participation interest in Westinghouse and could utilise Department of Energy loans to finance projects. It can require a first public offering on or before January 2029, if Westinghouse's value rises to $30 billion or above, which could see the government becoming an 8% shareholder in the company. During a Q3 earnings call yesterday, Cameco's COO Grant Isaac said there was a definite consideration for flipping Westinghouse as an independent company in 2029. “We’re going to keep all options on the table…this partnership agreement does not force us to leave Westinghouse in 2029,” Isaac said. "The partnership provides for the U.S. Government t