Author: omc_admin

For this special holiday edition of AI Playground, I asked ChatGPT and Anthropic’s powerful new Claude 4 chatbot for recommendations for my Tahitian trip. I’m on vacation with my wife and a group of friends to celebrate the birthday of one of our oldest friends, Theresa. We’re staying in Moorea for about seven days. There are four couples ranging in age between roughly 50 and 60 years old. I requested suggestions such as activities during the day and evenings, along with restaurant and bar recommendations. Finally, I asked what would be the best event and location to celebrate Theresa’s birthday.Then,…

Subsea services firm Ocean Installer has been awarded a fast-track engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract by Var Energi for further development of the Balder Phase VI project for the further development of the Balder area in the North Sea. This project is part of Var Energi’s hub development strategy in the Balder area, which is centered around the newly installed Jotun floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), Ocean Installer said in a news release. Ocean Installer said it will execute subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines (SURF) activities including the fabrication and installation of flexible flowlines and umbilicals.…

Turkey will require airlines and jet fuel suppliers to meet a 5% emissions reduction target by 2030 through the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Domestic refiners Tupras and Socar must begin SAF production; penalties will be imposed for non-compliance. The aviation sector must load at least 90% of required SAF in Turkey for international flights. Turkey is introducing mandatory sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) requirements for airlines and fuel suppliers to cut aviation emissions by 5% by 2030, according to its civil aviation authority. The initiative is designed to align with the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) emissions reduction…

Oil futures fell almost 1 per cent on Friday, pressured by expectations that OPEC+ producers will decide this weekend to raise output and an Iranian reaffirmation of its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.Brent crude futures were down 62 cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $68.18 a barrel by 1118 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 62 cents, or 0.93 per cent, to $66.38. Trade was thinned by the US Independence Day holiday.Both contracts are on track for a small weekly gain, with Brent trading about 0.6 per cent higher than last Friday’s close and WTI around 1.3 per cent…

Big Tech just won big in the battle over data and copyright. The implications for business, publishing, and the future of the web are profound.Two recent US court rulings, including one in favor of Anthropic’s use of millions of books for AI training, have nudged the legal consensus closer to this reality: All content published online is now fair game. Companies such as Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft may never have to pay for the text, images, or video they ingest to power their AI tools.This is a huge win for Big Tech and the new AI economy. But it…

$1.225B in climate finance approved—the largest single-meeting allocation in GCF’s history—supporting 17 new projects in vulnerable developing countries. Major accreditation reforms adopted to accelerate approval timelines, enhance transparency, and expand access for national and regional partners. Global expansion underway, with GCF inviting bids to host regional offices and strengthening staff regulations to support growth. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved a historic $1.225 billion in funding at its 42nd meeting, marking the largest amount ever allocated during a single session. The funds will support 17 new climate adaptation and mitigation projects across developing countries, expanding GCF’s global portfolio…

ADNOC Drilling Company said it was awarded a contract valued at up to $800 million by ADNOC Onshore for the provision of integrated hydraulic fracturing services for conventional and tight reservoirs. The five-year agreement is set to begin in the third quarter, ADNOC Drilling said in a news release. The contract’s scope of work supports ADNOC’s strategic goal to accelerate the development of conventional and tight reservoirs across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and includes the design, execution, and evaluation of multistage hydraulic fracturing treatments, which will be deployed across a wide range of assets in Abu Dhabi, according to…

Job Growth & Investment: Up to 45,000 new skilled jobs and £70 million in annual community funding projected by 2030 through the new onshore wind strategy. Policy Reset After 9-Year Stagnation: Over 40 new measures introduced to reverse the near-decade-long de facto ban on onshore wind in England. Clean Energy Push: Strategy aims to achieve 27–29 GW of onshore wind capacity by 2030, reducing reliance on global gas markets and supporting UK energy security. The UK government has launched its first-ever Onshore Wind Strategy, aiming to reverse nearly a decade of stagnation in the sector and deliver a major boost…

Venture Global Inc. has secured a contract with Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas) to supply the Malaysian national oil and gas company one million metric tons per annum (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its CP2 LNG project in Louisiana. The 20-year deal “builds upon Venture Global’s existing agreement with PETRONAS for 1 MTPA of LNG supply from Plaquemines LNG”, the Arlington, Virginia-based LNG developer said in a press release Thursday. “PETRONAS, a world-class partner in the LNG industry, joins other CP2 LNG customers in Europe, Asia and the rest of the world in a strategically important project to global energy…

The president-designate of this year’s climate summit in Brazil played down accusations from campaigners that the South American country’s plans to boost oil and gas production is in conflict with the drive to reach net zero.“We are thinking of a ‘net zero’ that incorporates some years continuing to use oil,” André Corrêa do Lago, president-designate for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday.The pledge for transitioning away from fossil fuels “allows considerable flexibility,” Corrêa do Lago told FT.The pledge was made at the COP28 summit in Dubai at the…