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Equinor invests in lithium, ExxonMobil names new board member, and more top Houston energy transition news

OTC’s emerging leaders and a big deal closed at the conference are among this week's top stories. Photo via LinkedIn

Editor'snote: From a deal closing at the Offshore Technology Conference to ExxonMobil's new board member, these are the top headlines that resonated with EnergyCapital readers on social media and daily newsletter this week.


ExxonMobil adds energy transition leader, investor to board

Maria Jelescu Dreyfus is CEO and founder of Ardinall Investment Management, which is an investment firm that works in “sustainable investing and resilient infrastructure.” Photo via ExxonMobil

An energy transition expert and investor has joined Houston-headquartered ExxonMobil Corp.’s board of directors.

Maria Jelescu Dreyfus is CEO and founder of Ardinall Investment Management, which is an investment firm that works in “sustainable investing and resilient infrastructure.”

She previously spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs as a portfolio manager and managing director in the Goldman Sachs Investment Partners Group that focused on energy, industrials, transportation and infrastructure investments across the capital structure. Click here to continue reading.

Equinor makes big investment into lithium projects in Arkansas, East Texas

Standard Lithium retaining operatorship, while Equinor will support through its core competencies, like subsurface and project execution capabilities. Photo via Equinor.com

A Norwegian international energy company has entered into a deal to take a 45-percent share in two lithium project companies in Southwest Arkansas and East Texas.

Equinor, which has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, has reached an agreement with Vancouver, Canada-based Standard Lithium Ltd. to make the acquisition. Standard Lithium retaining operatorship, while Equinor will support through its core competencies, like subsurface and project execution capabilities.

“Sustainably produced lithium can be an enabler in the energy transition, and we believe it can become an attractive business. This investment is an option with limited upfront financial commitment. We can utilise core technologies from oil and gas in a complementary partnership to mature these projects towards a possible final investment decision,” says Morten Halleraker, senior vice president for New Business and Investments in Technology, Digital and Innovation at Equinor. Click here to continue reading.

Greentown accelerator in partnership with Shell wraps up with startup milestones met

The cohort was selected from over 100 applications, and experts from Shell worked to support the cohort as they navigated the program. Photo via Greentown Labs

After six months of incubating with Shell through Greentown Labs, the 2023 Greentown Go Make startup cohort has completed with its recent showcase.

The six participating startups — Caravel Bio, Circularise, Corumat, Lydian, Maple Materials, and Universal Matter — were originally announced in October. The cohort was selected from over 100 applications, and experts from Shell worked to support the cohort as they navigated the program. Click here to continue reading.

OTC names Houston professionals to 2024 class of emerging leaders

OTC’s annual Emerging Leaders program recognizes professionals with less than 10 years of experience in the offshore energy sector. Photo via LinkedIn

Nine people with ties to the Houston area have been named emerging leaders in the energy industry by the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC).

OTC’s annual Emerging Leaders program recognizes professionals with less than 10 years of experience in the offshore energy sector.

“This year's recipients embody the essence of what it means to be a young professional,” Alex Martinez, chair of the OTC board, says. Click here to continue reading.

Houston company teams up with offshore partner to level up decarbonization innovation

ABS and Seatrium signed a three-year Technology Collaboration Agreement at OTC. Photo courtesy of ABS

Two companies have teamed up on decarbonization efforts and made their relationship official at Houston's Offshore Technology Conference last week.

ABS and Seatrium signed a three-year Technology Collaboration Agreement at OTC, which expands on "their long running partnership on cutting-edge marine and technology projects," per a news release.

The agreement is entitled “Accelerating Decarbonization and Energy Transition,” and covers collaboration on technologies that fall under four broad themes: decarbonization, electrification, new energies and digital transformation. Click here to continue reading.

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A View From HETI

Houstonians can expect rain and potential electricity outages this week. The region recently experienced devastation from Hurricane Beryl. Photo via Getty Images

Update: Space City Weather reported Monday morning that the storm has turned, and Houston is likely to see minimal effects.

A tropical system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico was expected to strengthen this week into a tropical storm and dump heavy rains onto Mexico and Texas before reaching the U.S. as a potential hurricane, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

The system, about 340 miles (545 kilometers) south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, had maximum 50 mph wind speeds (85 kilometers per hour) on Sunday and was forecast to drift slowly northwestward. Forecasters said it was too early to pinpoint the exact track of the storm and its potential impacts but warned that the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines could see damaging winds and storm surges beginning Tuesday evening.

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy released a statement about its preparation for potential severe weather in the Greater Houston area, as well as in Louisiana and Mississippi. The company reported having 2,000 frontline workers and over 600 vegetation management personnel actively conducting pre-storm activities — with about 700 additional vegetation management personnel and 5,000 additional frontline workers if needed for response.

"While our weather experts work to determine the path, intensity and timing of the tropical activity, we remain vigilant and are fully focused on executing on our storm preparation plan. We are in the process of mobilizing all of our available resources and mutual assistance resources from other utility companies so we will be prepared to safely and quickly restore power to our customers should this tropical system impact our area," Darin Carroll, senior vice president of electric business, says in the release.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put state emergency responders on increased readiness and warned of the potential of flash flooding and heavy rains.

“Texas will continue to closely monitor weather conditions to protect the well-being of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.

Donald Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana, said during a weather briefing Saturday night that parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana should expect a “whole lot” of rain in the middle and later part of this week.

The tropical disturbance comes after an unusually quiet August and early September in the current Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. The season was set to peak on Tuesday, Jones said.

So far, there have been five named storms this hurricane season, including Hurricane Beryl, which knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses in Texas — mostly in the Houston area — in July. Experts had predicted one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record.

The next named storm would be called Francine.

In a report issued last week, researchers at Colorado State University cited several reasons for the lull in activity during the current hurricane season, including extremely warm upper level temperatures resulting in stabilization of the atmosphere and too much easterly wind shear in the eastern Atlantic.

“We still do anticipate an above-normal season overall, however, given that large-scale conditions appear to become more favorable around the middle of September,” according to the report.

Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updated its outlook but still predicted a highly active Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters tweaked the number of expected named storms from 17 to 25 to 17 to 24.

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