Talos Energy confirmed a discovery at its Daenerys prospect in the US Gulf of America's Walker Ridge, where drilling reached 33,228 feet and found oil in multiple sub-salt Miocene sands. The company estimates the field holds 100 million-300 million barrels of oil equivalent and plans to drill an appraisal well in 2026.

A new oil extraction workflow devised by Penn State researchers and tested in Texas' Eagle Ford Shale could boost crude recovery by up to 15% and enable long-term carbon dioxide storage in mature or abandoned shale wells. The technique fine-tunes variables like pressure, cycle count and injection duration to better dislodge hydrocarbons trapped in nanopores. "If a goal is to sequester CO2 for the long term, the injection cycles can adjust to push the gas deeper into underground formations and optimize the storage," said lead researcher Hamid Emami-Meybodi.

A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin has developed a new enhanced oil recovery process that alternates CO2 gas injections with a water-based formate solution synthesized from captured CO2. Modeling studies show the new carbon carrier method can improve oil recovery by up to 19.5% and carbon storage by up to 17.5% compared with current conventional, while also reducing the risk of CO2 leakage.

Researchers have used AI and detailed 3D models to uncover more than 86,000 previously unknown earthquakes beneath Yellowstone National Park that occurred between 2008 and 2022. The study, led by Bing Li of Western University, found that these earthquake swarms likely were triggered by fluid mechanics rather than typical seismic activity.

US oil and natural gas drilling activity was unchanged last week as a one-unit drop in gas-directed rigs offset a similar increase in oil-focused rigs, according to Baker Hughes. Texas and Wyoming each lost a rig, while Louisiana added two.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are in talks with oil companies to increase oil production in Kern County as upcoming refinery shutdowns raise the risk of fuel shortages and gasoline price spikes. Under debate is a proposed legislative package that could streamline environmental reviews for new wells, update offshore drilling standards, introduce new requirements for idle well management and phase out fracking.

Produced water management has become a priority for Permian Basin oil and natural gas companies, which are investing heavily in solutions such as recycling, desalination and beneficial reuse. Executives at the Produced Water Society's 10th Permian Basin Conference said the goal is to reduce reliance on freshwater for drilling operations, but progress depends on scaling technology, working together and winning regulatory support.

Hindustan Zinc, India's largest zinc producer, signaled interest in bidding for uranium blocks if the government opens the sector to private players. India's government is reportedly considering ending its longstanding monopoly over the nuclear sector by allowing private companies to mine, import and process uranium. "We will get into atomic minerals and especially uranium because the country needs it," said Hindustan CEO Arun Misra.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's new research vessel, David Packard, has completed its first scientific expedition, creating detailed maps of the Oregon seafloor, particularly the Rogue Canyon system in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The 17-day mission, using a state-of-the-art multibeam echosounder, aims to aid in predicting earthquakes and tsunamis, with MBARI collaborating with the US Geological Survey to enhance geohazard research and inform coastal risk management.

Stylolites, jagged seams in limestone, disrupt acoustic wave transmission, complicating seismic data interpretation essential for hydraulic fracturing and microseismic monitoring, researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have found. The research, which used X-ray tomography and mechanical testing, shows that stylolites scatter sound waves, especially coda waves, introducing noise and artifacts.