ExxonMobil and SOCAR have moved from study agreements to a 50/50 production-sharing contract for unconventional oil and gas in Azerbaijan’s Middle Kura Basin.

The deal, exchanged on September 26, 2026, at the Second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in the presence of President Ilham Aliyev, makes ExxonMobil the operator and still needs parliamentary ratification. It is the first time a U.S. supermajor has taken operatorship of an onshore unconventional program in Azerbaijan. The country has spent three decades built […]

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U.S. Fuel Crisis Status, Next Steps and Impact to Consumers

In this episode of Energy Newsbeat, host Stu Turley and energy industry expert Rey Trevino tackle the perfect storm facing America’s energy sector. With diesel prices hitting record highs, critical refineries offline, and geopolitical tensions threatening global oil supplies, the hosts dissect nine major energy stories that reveal how decades of regulatory missteps and policy […]

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Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) on September 16 to operate and develop the Ayacucho 2 Block in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt, marking the Oklahoma independent’s first move into the country and adding another U.S. operator to a rapidly expanding slate of post-sanctions oil deals.

The MOU is not a final development contract. Continental and PDVSA said they intend to convert it into a long-term Contrato de Participación Productiva (CPP) in the coming weeks. Once that agreement is signed, Continental would operate the block with a 100% working interest. The announcement was made in Houston during the G20 energy ministers […]

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Why Alaska Matters, Energy Independence, Critical Minerals, and National Security

Bernadette Wilson, Alaska Republican for Governor, stops by the Energy News Beat Podcast. Alaska is not a remote afterthought. It is one of the United States’ most strategically important resource bases for energy security, defense-critical minerals, and food supply. For two decades, its oil output declined as legacy North Slope fields matured and new projects […]

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