May 18, 2026 - Oil & Gas 360

Phillips 66 deepens Permian-to-Gulf integration with Zeus and Coastal Bend expansion

May 18, 2026

(Oil & Gas 360) – Phillips 66’s May 18, 2026, announcement of the Zeus Gas Plant and a third Coastal Bend Fractionator represents a continuation, not a departure, of the company’s multi-year push to vertically integrate its midstream footprint from Permian wellhead to Gulf Coast markets. The release is strategically consistent with prior capital allocation signals, recent operating results, and

How a NextEra–Dominion deal gets done: What antitrust actually looks at, and what history says happens after

May 18, 2026

(Oil & Gas 360) By Greg Barnett – The proposed combination of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy is the kind of transaction that immediately triggers a visceral reaction. The scale is enormous, the assets are critical to national infrastructure, and the timing coincides with a surge in electricity demand tied to artificial intelligence and data centers. The instinctive question is whether

Energy Market Assessment: Freedom of When/What/How to work has us heading to more prosperity

May 18, 2026

(Oil & Gas 360) – Freedom Of When/What/How To Work Has Us Heading To More Prosperity, With Profitable, Yet Affordable, Oil & Nat. Gas Prices Driving & Providing. Decision makers able to Do have today’s current month, closing crude oil futures price down at $101.02, down $11.93 from its April 7, $112.95 high. The Strait of Hormuz closing, with Operation Epic

U.S. upstream mergers hit $38B as M&A rebounds

May 18, 2026

(Oil Price) – Dealmaking in the U.S. shale patch jumped to a two-year high in the first quarter as M&A activity rebounded from a slump. U.S. upstream mergers hit $38 billion in Q1 2026, marking the highest quarterly total in two years despite a sharp slowdown in March due to a spike in volatility tied to the Middle East conflict. According

ConocoPhillips signs gas supply agreement for Alaska LNG project

May 18, 2026

(World Oil) – Glenfarne Group and ConocoPhillips Alaska have signed a gas sales precedent agreement supporting Phase One development of the Alaska LNG project, adding another long-term North Slope supply commitment to the proposed pipeline system. Under the 30-year agreement, ConocoPhillips will supply North Slope natural gas volumes for the first phase of the Alaska LNG project, which includes construction of a 739-mile, 42-in.

IEA chief warns commercial oil inventories are depleting rapidly, only weeks left

May 18, 2026

(BOE Report) – Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said on Monday that commercial oil inventories were depleting rapidly with only a few weeks worth left due to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Birol, who is participating in the Group of Seven finance leaders meeting in Paris, told reporters that

Oil prices climb more than 3% on fears of new US-Iran combat

May 18, 2026

(Investing) – “This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,” the ministry said. Among deals the market was looking for from the U.S.-China summit, Trump said China wants to buy oil from the United States. Trump also said he could lift sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil. “Market focus is back on the deadlock and

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