The DOE announced it will cancel funding for 24 projects approved by the Biden administration, and EOG Resources acquires Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 billion.
It was fun watching Swedish golfer Maja Stark win the U.S. Women’s Open championship over the weekend. Stark is the third Swede to win the title, despite strong challenges from American golfer Nelly Korda and others. I found it particularly interesting to hear Stark say that her confidence level was low just two weeks ago! It was her friends who lifted her spirits just before the tournament, giving her the boost she needed.
Now, let’s look at two pieces of energy news from the past week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
EOG Resources Acquires Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 Billion, Expanding Utica Play
Eak Sikgun/ Shutterstock.com
EOG Resources announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP) for $5.6 billion, including debt. EOG said the acquisition will create a third “foundational play” within the Utica Shale in Ohio. The deal also represents a counter-cyclic acquisition (A purchase when oil prices are low).
About the deal:
According to a press release, EOG will acquire EAP from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The all-cash acquisition will be funded by $2.1 billion in cash and $3.5 billion in debt. The deal is expected to close in H2 2025.
Goldman Sachs is EOG’s exclusive advisor and also “the sole provider” of fully committed financing.
EOG believes its technical know-how will enhance EAP’s portfolio value.
About EOG:
EOG has a market cap of $60.8 billion.
Its share price rose 2 percent upon the news of the acquisition, according to the WSJ.
In addition to assets in South Texas’ Eagle Ford Basin and North Texas’ Delaware Basin within the Permian, EOG also has positions in:
The Powder River Basin
The Dorado play
Trinidad
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, both of which EOG entered recently, tapping into unconventional potential in the Middle East
During its Q1 analyst call, EOG said that it would reduce its capital program by $200 million in 2025.
EOG recently acquired 30,000 net acres in a bolt-on acquisition in the Eagle Ford Basin.
Company background:
Encino Energy and CPPIB jointly established EOG in 2017. Its purpose was to acquire U.S. oil and gas assets.
According to CPPIB, the company has held a 98 percent stake in EAP alongside Encino Energy.
Encino Energy will also divest completely from EAP.
CPPIB has total assets worth $714 billion as of 31 March 2025. It has 22 million contributors and beneficiaries.
By the numbers:
Acreage: The acquisition will add 675,000 net acres of Utica position, bringing the company’s total acreage to 1,100,000 net acres.
The deal also adds 235,000 net acres to a combined 485,000 acres of contiguous position for the oil window play.
Resources and production: It will add more than 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent of undeveloped net resources. EOG will have more than 12 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources after the deal closes.
Pro-forma production for EOG in the Utica Shale play will be 275,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day—a sizeable increase from its previous 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Debt: EOG’s debt will grow from $4.7 billion in Q1 2025 to $7.7 billion after the deal.
🚨Trend alert: This acquisition represents three trends:
Companies growing beyond the Permian into other shale basins in the United States
Companies taking on an acquisition when oil prices are low
Companies adding gas to their portfolios via acquisition, in addition to oil
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DOE Cancels 24 New Energy Projects Worth $3.7 Billion
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On 30 May, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it is cancelling 24 projects awarded by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations from the Biden administration. Funding for these 24 projects ranges from $4–500 million. Among them are projects focused on CCUS and decarbonization led by ExxonMobil, Calpine, Technip Energies, and more.
The latest:
According to a DOE statement, these 24 projects “failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable, and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”
Funding for these projects had been awarded between 12 August 2024 and 14 January 2025.
These 24 projects spanned 14 different states, with the largest awards for Texas, California, and Louisiana.
Heidelberg Materials in Louisiana and the National Cement Company of California received the two largest awards—each worth $500 million—for cement decarbonization initiatives.
Technip Energies’ $200 million project at an unspecified Gulf Coast location
Calpine’s, Baytown CCS project in Texas worth $270 million
The Sutter Decarbonization Project in Yuba City, California also worth $270 million
According to The New York Times, “some of the 24 canceled awards would have gone to industrial companies that were aiming to reduce emissions from cement, iron, glass, and chemicals production.”
What’s next:
On 15 May, the DOE issued a Secretarial Memorandum, “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance,” to increase accountability and promote responsible stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright outlined the DOE’s policy for evaluating financial assistance on a case-by-case basis to identify any waste of taxpayer dollars.
The DOE is requesting additional information from 179 awards that totaled $15 billion in financial assistance.
What they’re saying:
“Over the past 110 days, the Energy Department has been hard at work reviewing the billions of dollars that were rushed out the door, particularly in the final days of the Biden administration,” said Wright.
“Many of these projects involve new ways to make cement or chemicals, and they’re things that China and other countries are already investing in,” said Evan Chapman, founder and senior director of policy at nonprofit Clean Tomorrow.
For a full list of these 24 cancelled projects, check here.
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