Domestic Oil and Gas News: Week of December 15th, 2025

Markets

• Gasoline: AAA national average sits around $2.91/gal (Dec 16). AAA Fuel Prices

• EIA cadence: Weekly Petroleum Status Report releases Wednesday after 10:30 a.m. ET (holiday weeks may shift). U.S. Energy Information Administration+1

Corporate & deals

• Appalachia M&A: Activist investor Kimmeridge made a $6B offer for gas driller Ascent Resources, per FT reporting relayed by Reuters. Reuters

Infrastructure & power

• Permian grid build-out: LandBridge and Samsung C&T Renewables lined up land options for 350 MW of battery storage projects in the Delaware Basin (Pecos & Loving counties), targeting late-decade operation. Midland Reporter-Telegram

Activity

• Rigs: Weekly Baker Hughes series remains the reference; latest reads update Friday (oil/gas breakdown posted on the public dashboard). (Use for basin deltas later this week.) Baker Hughes Rig Count+1

  • Most recent third-party read shows U.S. gas rigs ~127 as of Dec 12 (Baker Hughes source). YCharts

Policy & geopolitics (U.S. impact watch)

• Venezuela disruption risk: A new U.S. blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers raised concerns about lost Venezuelan barrels and knock-on price effects; markets are watching Gulf Coast sour balances. AP News+1

What to watch

• Wed (Dec 17): EIA Weekly Petroleum (stocks, runs, product output). U.S. Energy Information Administration

• Fri (Dec 19): Baker Hughes rig count for basin-level moves. Baker Hughes Rig Count