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The Lebanese government has signed an agreement with an international consortium for exploration in Block 8 offshore Lebanon

The consortium, consisting of operator TotalEnergies (35%) with its partners Eni (35%) and QatarEnergy (30%), have signed an agreement with the Lebanese government to enter Block 8 exploration permit offshore Lebanon. Block 8 is located about 70 km off the southern coast of Lebanon in water depths of approximately 1,700-2,100 m. 

TotalEnergies and Eni were several years ago involved in a consortium with Russia’s Novotek to explore in two blocks in the Mediterranean sea, but this was unsuccessful, with the maritime border dispute with Israel (now resolved) impeding progress in one of the blocks. Qatar Energy partnered with TotalEnergies and Eni in early 2023 to explore blocks 4 and 9, marking its first exploration venture in Lebanon. However, exploration in Block 9 has not been successful.

The first step in the consortium’s work on Block 8 will be the acquisition of a 1,200 sq. km 3D seismic survey, in order to further assess the area's exploration potential.

“Although the drilling of the well Qana 31/1 on Block 9 did not give positive results, we remain committed to pursue our exploration activities in Lebanon. We will now focus our efforts on Block 8, together with our partners Eni and QatarEnergy and in close cooperation with Lebanese authorities,” said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of QatarEnergy, said, “We are pleased to secure this exploration block, which allows us to support the development of Lebanon’s upstream oil and gas sector reflecting and reaffirming the State of Qatar’s ongoing commitment towards a brighter future for Lebanon and its people.”

Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy and Water, in cooperation with the Petroleum Administration, is reported to be working on reforms to modernise licensing procedures, in advance of the launch of a fourth licensing round. The government is keen to encourage further international exploration and development to revive the country’s oil and gas sector and aid the recovery of the country’s ailing economy. Lebanon recently signed an agreement with Egypt for the supply of Egyptian gas to ease its chronic power shortages, and also signed a maritime gas zone agreement with Cyprus, opening the way for further exploration and development and the unlocking of Lebanon’s undoubted offshore potential.

The gas and LNG markets face potential oversupply thanks to record FID and demand uncertainty, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, which identifies five key global gas and LNG themes for 2026:

LNG FID momentum to moderate despite continued project progress

2025 was a record year for final investment decisions, with nine projects totaling 72 mmtpa moving ahead. Three smaller floating LNG projects, two in Argentina and one in Mozambique, advanced, with CP2

Phase 2, Delfin FLNG 1 and Cheniere's Sabine Pass Stage 5 "probable" FID for 2026, supported by strong contracting and cost advantages.

However, with 225 mmtpa of LNG supply currently under construction, the expectation is for lower LNG prices and rising EPC costs. Several projects face delays from inflated construction costs, supply chain constraints and evolving financing conditions. Competition for customers between pre-FID projects and post-FID players is likely to increase. FIDs for well positioned projects, including LNG Canda and

Qatar’s North Field West, may slip into 2027. The outlook for FIDs is expected to moderate in 2026.

Prediction: 4-5 projects take FID in 2026

Asian LNG demand expected to rebound after sharp 2025 contraction

Asian LNG demand contracted by more than 12 Mt year-on-year (4.5%), with China declining by 11 Mt due to a mild winter, high LNG prices and US trade tariffs.

Supply growth of nearly 30 Mt is likely to drive spot prices below oil price parity, encouraging more spot procurement from emerging markets.

China will be the market to watch. Gas demand should grow by 5% on infrastructure projects and real estate recovery. With stable domestic production and flat pipeline imports, LNG will fill the gap, increasing by around 6 Mt but still below 2024 import levels. New gas-fired power stations and regasification capacity will contribute to increased demand across Taiwan, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Weather remains a wild card.

Firmer Asian demand will prove increasingly critical to absorb the wave of new LNG supply.

Prediction: Asian LNG demand to increase by 14 Mt (+5%) in 2026

Russia-Ukraine peace deal could reshape European gas and global LNG balances

The prospect of a US-brokered peace deal in Ukraine fuelled sharp gas price swings in 2025. Should a peace agreement be announced, the most likely market impact would be the lifting of sanctions on Arctic LNG-2 and Portovaya, which could add up to 10 mmtpa to a global LNG market already poised to increase by close to 30 Mt in 2026.

The EU agreed to phase out Russian LNG by 2027 and pipeline gas by 2028. Russian supply under short-term contracts is expected to end from April 2026 for LNG and June 2026 for pipeline flows. The immediate 2026 market impact would be limited, though the EU's resolve may be tested if the ban becomes a peace settlement bargaining point.

Prediction: The EU moves ahead with ban on Russian imports

Henry Hub to trade above US$4/mmbtu as US gas market tightens structurally

Colder than average temperatures briefly drove Henry Hub futures as high as $5.50/mmbtu in December 2025. The US gas market is becoming structurally tighter. LNG exports have increased 17% compared to the same period last year.

LNG export capacity expansion will require incremental feedgas of 2.7 bcfd, with data centres and other sectors adding 3.4 bcfd total in 2026, equivalent to 3%.

As usual, weather dynamics will be key for where prices settle in the winter. Beyond that, the pace and magnitude of price correction will depend on how quickly suppliers respond to tightening fundamentals.

Higher Henry Hub prices longer term will be necessary to promote growth.

Prediction: Henry Hub will average US$4/mmbtu in 2026

EU Methane Regulation and CSDDD face industry criticism over compliance challenges

The EU Methane Regulation (MER) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) have faced strong criticism from the gas and LNG industries in 2025, especially from major global exporters.

Companies support MER objectives but say compliance difficulties are delaying new contracts and risk disrupting imports as Europe ends Russian reliance.

The CSDDD has already been scaled back by EU officials. Yet critics point out that the EU is imposing obligations on companies outside its jurisdiction, a major sticking point. The US and Qatar warned that the rules could threaten their ability to supply LNG to the bloc.

Prediction: The EU is likely to proceed with both regulations, but further watering down and additional practical compliance measures should be expected

"The gas and LNG industry is navigating a complex transition as abundant new supply meets questions about demand growth and regulatory risks," said Massimo Di Odoardo, vice president, Gas and LNG Research. "The structural tightening of the US gas market, combined with Europe's push to end Russian imports while implementing stricter methane rules, creates both opportunity and risk. How Asia responds to lower prices will be critical to absorbing the supply wave ahead."

As the Uganda National Oil Company aims to build a crude refinery, it has reached out to a unit of global commodities trader, Vitol, for a US$2bn loan to support the project alongside construction and infrastructure developments

According to Henry Musasizi, Uganda's junior finance minister, this seven-year tenor loan from Vitol Bahrain EC (VBA) comes with an interest rate of 4.92%. The minister worked on advancing the approval process for the credit line and the loan, which involved significant lawmakers, who sanctioned the development with a majority verdict.

Musasizi said that Vitol's support "presents an opportunity to access non-traditional financing to implement. ..projects and support the government in developing national infrastructure."  

Vitol Bahrain EC has a long-standing presence in Uganda's downstream sector, functioning as the sole supplier of refined petroleum products to UNOC, before the state-owned company sells it to retailers across the country.

Alongside the refinery, the loan amount will also be covering road construction, a petroleum products storage terminal and extension of a petroleum pipeline from western Kenya to Uganda's capital Kampala.

Previously, the UNOC also concluded a deal with the UAE-based Alpha MBM Investments, whereby a domestic refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day is in the pipeline. The agreement accords 60% stake on the refinery to the UAE firm while UNOC retains 40%.

Uganda is looking to begin commercial oil generation starting next year from fields in its west.

Pipeline and isolation specialist STATS Group has launched the SureTap Plug, a dual seal completion plug engineered to maintain Double Block and Bleed (DBB) isolation in hot tapping and line stopping

STATS’ innovative approach fundamentally changes completion plug design by introducing true double block and bleed capability to the final stage of hot tapping operations and addresses long-standing completion safety concerns, while improving operational efficiency across the entire hot tapping workflow.

The new technology addresses a vulnerability at the final stage of hot tapping operations, where conventional completion plugs rely on a single O-ring seal that cannot be tested or verified under modern DBB safety criteria before temporary valves are removed.

While operators routinely establish fully tested DBB isolation during hot tapping and line stopping, that protection is typically not available at completion of the hot tap fitting. The inability to confirm seal integrity under modern DBB safety criteria or independently validate plug positioning has led to serious safety incidents in the pipeline industry.

The SureTap Plug is designed to eliminate this risk by introducing true DBB capability at completion. The plug features two independent compression seals with a testable intermediate annulus, allowing operators to verify both seal integrity and validate/correct plug positioning before removing temporary valves.

The hydraulically actuated plug incorporates multiple mechanical fail-safes. Sealing performance is significantly improved over conventional O-ring designs due to the seal profile and increased surface contact area, providing reliable isolation even on imperfect fitting flange inner diameters damaged during hot tapping operations.

The SureTap Plug is available in size range: 6" to 56", covering the majority of hot tapping applications. It meets IMCA double block and bleed requirements for subsea diver safety and is suitable for use on hydrocarbons, hydrogen and high-pressure liquid CO₂ piping systems.

In addition to enhanced safety, the SureTap Plug offers practical operational benefits including a reduced diameter design which allows flow around the plug during deployment, eliminating the need for bypass check valves.

Seals are protected during insertion and can pass through standard valve bores, while an optional dedicated hydraulic launcher allows hot tap machines to be demobilised earlier, reducing equipment hire time and costs.

With a minimum 25-year design life, the SureTap Plug is also suitable for permanent abandonment applications on aging assets.

Angus Bowie, STATS Group chief technology officer, said, “Operators invest in robust double block and bleed isolation during hot tapping and line stopping, only to accept a single, unverifiable barrier at completion. This contradiction has persisted because no alternative existed - until now.

“This verification eliminates the manual error causing mis-alignment or issues from external locking mechanisms guesswork that has plagued completion procedures for decades. Operators can now confirm, with tested certainty, that their pressure barrier is secure before exposing personnel to risk.”

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The fossil-fuel sector offers the largest and most cost-effective opportunity for rapid methane abatement, according to the newly released Global Methane Status Report, launched on the sidelines of COP30 in Belém

Produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the Global Methane Status Report assesses progress and remaining gaps in efforts to cut methane - a potent greenhouse gas responsible for nearly a third of current warming.

The report shows that although methane emissions are still rising, projected 2030 emissions under current legislation are already lower than earlier forecasts due to a mix of national policies, sectoral regulations, and market shifts. However, the report warns that only full-scale implementation of proven and available control measures will close the gap to the Global Methane Pledge’s target of a 30% cut from 2020 levels by 2030.

Urging decisive methane action to deliver the Global Methane Pledge, ministers attending the Global Methane Pledge Ministerial stressed that the policies, technologies, and partnerships needed to meet the target are available, but require rapid scale-up across the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors. Ministers also called for increased transparency from countries on ambition and action to track progress.

Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Co-Convener of the Global Methane Pledge, said, “This report is a crucial assessment of our progress and a key indicator of the work that’s required to meet the Global Methane Pledge goal. In just four years, we have made improvements, but we must continue to drive faster, deeper methane cuts. Every tonne reduced brings us closer to cleaner air, more resilient communities, and a thriving global economy. It is important for all countries that have agreed to the Global Methane Pledge to continue to work closely together to drive momentum on methane mitigation, turning ambition into tangible benefits for the planet.”

The fossil-fuel sector is the second largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions, responsible for approximately one third of the global total. Under current legislation, emissions from the sector are expected to rise by 8% in 2050 compared to 2020. This sector presents the single greatest potential for rapid, cost-effective methane abatement, according to the report. These reductions could be achieved through readily available technologies and practices, often at low cost.

Since the launch of the GMP, methane abatement policies in the oil and gas sector have become more innovative and widespread, while voluntary initiatives such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 now cover up to 45% of global oil and gas production.

The rate of policy development and country participation, however, still fall short of what is needed to achieve the 2030 targets. Implementation and enforcement must also be strengthened.

The recent adoption of novel approaches, such as the European Union import standard, offers the potential to use the market to mitigate methane in oil and gas sector more rapidly at the global scale.

Bridging the methane policy gap in the fossil fuel sector calls for strong implementation of existing policies, continuous capacity building, increased ambition from additional producing countries, ramped up technical support and innovative financial mechanisms to facilitate mitigation in developing countries.

Key measures recommended include:

• enhancing monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems across all fossil fuel operations
• expanding the use of direct measurement protocols and corroborated satellite data which could improve the accuracy and transparency of inventories
• expanding leak detection and repair (LDAR) programmes in oil and gas, which not only help reduce leaks but also enhance data quality for inventories and enhance workplace safety and asset integrity;
• ensuring proper sealing techniques during well closure, given methane emissions from abandoned wells can continue for decades after activities cease;
• strengthening enforcement mechanisms with the establishment of clear accountability structures, penalties for non-compliance and independent oversight;
• facilitating access to finance and capacity building;
• harnessing import standards as market leverage, creating a clear incentive for producing countries to adopt stronger mitigation practices; and
• leveraging international and bilateral frameworks for capacity and alignment.