Networking Analyst

Strengthen your team: industry training & leadership programs this fall. The Energy Workforce & Technology Council is geared up for an exciting fall season with a lineup of events designed to foster innovation, collaboration, and professional growth within the energy sector. Here's a sneak peek at what's in store for the upcoming months: Conferences. 2026 State of Energy Services Conference Sponsored by Diamondback Energy What will define the next year for the energy services sector? As market conditions evolve, customer priorities shift, and new opportunities emerge, today's business decisions will shape tomorrow's success. The decisions made today will shape business performance well into 2027. Join the Energy Workforce & Technology Council on October 1 in Midland for the State of Energy Services Conference, an executive forum designed to provide senior leaders with the market intelligence and industry perspective needed to plan for the year ahead. October 1, 2026 | Midland, TX International opportunities. Energy Trade Mission - AOG 2026 | Neuquén Edition The Argentina Texas Chamber of Commerce (ATCC) invites business leaders, investors, technology companies, and energy professionals to participate in the Energy Trade Mission - AOG 2026, an exclusive executive mission connecting the United States and Argentina through the opportunities created by Vaca Muerta and the region's rapidly expanding energy ecosystem. The mission will take place alongside Argentina Oil & Gas Expo Patagonia 2026 (AOG), the country's premier oil and gas exhibition. October 18-22, 2026 | Neuquen Training programs. Oil & Gas 101 Oil and Gas 101 gives an overview of the exploration, drilling, and production phases of oil and natural gas wells, as well as presentations on related subjects, including economics and refining. Frontline Leadership Program The Frontline Leadership Program is a two-day experiential program designed to provide practical insights and skills to equip front-line leaders in early-stage management positions. Participants will learn about their leadership styles and how to be situationally agile. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People course equips learners with foundational human skills like emotional intelligence, proactive problem solving, and self-leadership. Tailored for today's evolving workplace, the 7 Habits unleash profound growth at every level. This 2-day course, facilitated by Franklin Covey, is an in-person event.

Conduit Power advances West Texas generation as oilfield electrification accelerates. Conduit Power is advancing a major distributed-generation program in West Texas through financial agreements with Diamondback Energy and Granite Ridge Resources. The development connects abundant Permian Basin natural gas with rising electricity demand, supporting the region's transition toward more electrified, automated and reliable oil and gas operations. The project calls for Conduit to build, own and operate 200 MW of natural-gas-fired generation across ERCOT's West Load Zone. The portfolio is expected to include twenty 10-MW facilities connected at distribution-level substations. Conduit will operate the plants and dispatch their output into ERCOT's day-ahead and real-time markets through its Qualified Scheduling Entity. Diamondback and Granite Ridge will make fixed capacity payments in exchange for preferred participation in the proceeds from electricity and ancillary-service sales. Initial facilities were scheduled to enter commercial operation in phases beginning in 2026. Permit transfers identify four West Texas facilities. Texas air-permit records provide a clearer view of the physical development supporting Conduit's strategy. Conduit Edge, LLC transferred four completed New Source Review permits to Conduit Bravo I LLC: * Lamesa Facility: Dawson County, near Lamesa * Jackrabbit Facility: Reeves County, near Pecos * Verhalen Facility: Reeves County, near Balmorhea * Cheyanne East Facility: Winkler County, near Kermit The transfers were received by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality between August 28 and September 4, 2026, and completed on September 9. All four facilities are within TCEQ's Midland region. Conduit Edge appears to have served as the original development and permitting entity, while Conduit Bravo I is becoming the project-level owner and environmental permit holder. Because both entities are affiliated with Conduit Power, the transaction appears to be an internal project assignment rather than a sale to an unrelated power producer. The Jackrabbit permit illustrates the planned equipment. It authorizes three 4.5-MW Jenbacher J624 natural-gas engines, giving the facility 13.5 MW of nameplate capacity. The engines are authorized to provide non-emergency electricity to oil and gas operations and the electrical grid. Lamesa's operating permit similarly identifies three natural-gas generating units. Public records do not explicitly connect these four facilities to the Diamondback-Granite Ridge agreement. However, their ownership, timing, technology and West Texas locations strongly align with Conduit's announced EDGE development strategy. Building the power layer for oilfield electrification. The Conduit portfolio aligns with the oil and gas industry's transition from diesel-powered equipment toward electric drilling, completions and production systems. Electrification is increasing power demand across the Permian Basin as operators deploy: * Electric and dual-fuel drilling rigs * Electric hydraulic-fracturing fleets * Electrically driven compressors * Artificial-lift motors and variable-frequency drives * Produced-water gathering and recycling systems * Electrified processing and production facilities * Automation, communications and remote monitoring * Battery-supported microgrids and field power systems Electric equipment can reduce diesel consumption, onsite fuel deliveries, emissions, noise and engine maintenance. It can also improve operating consistency and support centralized automation. However, operators cannot capture these benefits without dependable power. That remains a challenge in West Texas, where grid congestion, limited transmission infrastructure and lengthy utility-interconnection schedules can delay development. Distributed natural-gas generation provides capacity closer to the load and can be installed more quickly than major transmission projects. The Conduit EDGE facilities are primarily designed to sell electricity into ERCOT rather than directly power individual Diamondback or Granite Ridge wells. Their electrification impact is therefore regional: they add dispatchable generation within the same counties and power zones where oilfield electricity demand is growing. Conduit's broader platform can also support direct behind-the-meter applications. Locally generated electricity could power artificial lift, compression, water handling, drilling, completion and processing equipment when utility service is unavailable, delayed or unreliable. Supporting the U.S. Safe Barrel. The developments strengthen the position of the United States - and particularly the Permian Basin - as a Safe Barrel of oil. A Safe Barrel depends on more than geology and drilling inventory. It requires dependable infrastructure, secure energy supply, predictable operating costs and the ability to maintain production during periods of market or grid stress. Conduit's distributed-generation model supports these requirements by: * Adding reliable generating capacity near producing areas * Reducing exposure to grid interruptions * Supporting continued electrification of field equipment * Providing another outlet for associated natural gas * Helping operators capture additional value from regional gas production * Supporting faster deployment than large transmission projects * Increasing ERCOT's supply of dispatchable electricity The model can improve domestic production economics without requiring a large new drilling cycle. Instead, it strengthens the infrastructure surrounding existing and future wells, helping operators maintain uptime, manage costs and produce more reliably from established U.S. assets. OFS opportunity. The permit transfers indicate that Conduit's development is progressing from commercial planning toward facility construction, commissioning and operations. Four identifiable facilities - and potentially twenty sites across the full portfolio - create repeatable opportunities for oilfield, electrical and power-generation suppliers. Priority equipment and services include: * Natural-gas engines, generators and replacement parts * Fuel-gas gathering, metering, compression and conditioning * Switchgear, transformers and substation equipment * Selective catalytic reduction and emissions controls * SCADA, PLC systems and remote-performance monitoring * Battery-storage and microgrid controls * Civil construction, foundations and electrical installation * Stack testing and environmental-compliance services * Cooling systems, filtration, lubricants and engine maintenance The project also creates downstream opportunities for companies supplying electric drilling rigs, electric-frac fleets, artificial-lift drives, electric compression, water-system pumps and production automation. More regional generating capacity expands the addressable market for equipment that depends on reliable electricity. The strongest sales strategy is to pursue Conduit Power as the central engineering and procurement account while tracking Conduit Bravo I as the facility-level owner. Suppliers capable of supporting standardized equipment across multiple sites may be positioned for portfolio-wide master service, maintenance or procurement agreements. Conduit is effectively building part of the power layer beneath an increasingly electrified Permian Basin. By linking natural gas, distributed generation and oilfield electricity demand, the project supports more reliable domestic production, strengthens the U.S. Safe Barrel and creates opportunities for OFS companies across both power generation and electric field equipment.

EU moves to give dominant companies more flexibility under antitrust rules. By CPI | September 3, 2026 The European Union is preparing to give dominant companies greater scope to defend business practices that might otherwise breach competition rules when those practices strengthen economic resilience or advance other public-policy objectives, according to Bloomberg. The European Commission outlined the approach as part of a revision of its guidance governing how the bloc applies antitrust rules to companies with substantial market power, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 3. Under the proposed framework, companies accused of abusing a dominant position - including through practices such as excessive pricing - could seek to justify their conduct by demonstrating that it supports broader objectives. According to Bloomberg, those considerations may include public health, product safety and improved capacity to withstand disruptions to supply chains. Please add Competition Policy International to your preferred sources list so its news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! The changes come as European policymakers increasingly focus on the bloc's ability to cope with external economic pressures and supply shortages. The updated guidance would also allow companies to argue that conduct that would ordinarily raise competition concerns produces efficiencies that contribute to EU policy priorities, including sustainability, Bloomberg reported. EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said the revised guidelines are intended to make the boundaries of European competition law clearer for businesses. The guidelines "provide clarity and predictability on the limits of the law for companies operating in Europe," Ribera said in a statement cited by Bloomberg. The initiative represents another adjustment to the EU's competition framework as policymakers seek to balance traditional antitrust enforcement with concerns over Europe's industrial strength and economic security. According to Bloomberg, EU regulators had already revised their approach to mergers earlier this year, reducing some obstacles to combinations that could create larger European companies capable of competing more effectively with major US and Chinese rivals. Taken together, the changes signal a broader effort by Brussels to consider resilience, scale and strategic policy objectives alongside competition concerns when determining how its rules should apply to European businesses. US shale producers must face oil price-fixing claims, judge rules. By CPI | September 3, 2026 Major U.S. shale producers including Pioneer Natural Resources, Diamondback Energy, Occidental Petroleum and Continental Resources must face allegations that they coordinated production restraints to push up oil and fuel prices, after a federal judge rejected most of the industry's bid to dismiss sprawling antitrust litigation. U.S. District Judge Matthew L. Garcia in New Mexico ruled Aug. 31 that consumers, businesses and local governments had alleged enough facts at this stage to support an inference that shale producers agreed to restrict domestic output. Law360 reported Sept. 2 that Garcia preserved the core of the consolidated proposed class action while dismissing only a limited number of state-law claims. The ruling doesn't determine that the companies participated in an unlawful conspiracy, but allows most of the case to proceed. The plaintiffs accuse eight domestic shale producers and two executives of participating in an agreement to restrain U.S. production and artificially increase prices for crude oil and refined products including gasoline, diesel and home-heating oil, according to Garcia's opinion. The producer defendants include Permian Resources Corp., Expand Energy Corp., Continental Resources Inc., Diamondback Energy Inc., EOG Resources Inc., Hess Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield and Hess CEO John Hess were also named. The consolidated complaint asserts 54 claims and seeks certification of a nationwide class of end purchasers for injunctive relief under the Sherman Act, along with damages under various state laws. Please add Competition Policy International to your preferred sources list so its news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! According to allegations summarized by the court, hydraulic fracturing helped fuel a surge in U.S. oil production during the shale revolution. The plaintiffs contend producers later moved away from aggressive production growth and coordinated restraints on output. Garcia concluded that the complaint, viewed as a whole, plausibly alleges a domestic agreement aimed at limiting U.S. production and raising prices. He cited allegations involving market conditions, production decisions, communications and public statements in finding that the conspiracy claims could proceed. The defendants had challenged the case on several grounds, including whether the plaintiffs adequately alleged an antitrust conspiracy and whether disputes touching on OPEC and global petroleum markets could properly be decided by a federal court. Garcia rejected arguments for dismissal under the political-question and act-of-state doctrines, emphasizing that the central allegation concerns an agreement among domestic defendants rather than an agreement involving OPEC members or foreign governments. The producers did prevail on some issues. Several state-law claims were dismissed or restricted, and Expand Energy secured dismissal of the Sherman Act claim against it. Garcia otherwise denied individual dismissal motions from Continental, Diamondback, EOG, Permian Resources and Occidental, while Hess's effort to dismiss the claims for failure to state a claim was also rejected. Personal-jurisdiction questions involving Hess, John Hess and Pioneer remain unresolved. Garcia ordered limited discovery on those issues.