US energy security improved for a sixth consecutive year in 2017 and neared a modern-day best, the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute reported as it released its 2018 Index of US Energy Security Risk. In 2017, the most recent year of actual available data, the risk score fell to 77.5, the lowest score since 1995, and just a few points from the best-ever score of 75 in 1992, it said on Jan. 31.

Indian Oil Corp. has let contracts to Larsen & Toubro subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering to provide engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning on two units at IOC’s more than 300,000-b/d full-conversion refinery at Paradip in India’s state of Odisha on the country’s northeastern coast.

The government of Alberta is easing the production cut in effect since Jan. 1 to address historic price discounting due to pipeline congestion. Saying it is responding to “new storage data,” the province will allow production to increase to 3.63 million b/d in February and March from the January limit of 3.56 million b/d.

AGL Energy Ltd., Sydney, has ended the agreement to sell its natural gas assets in north Queensland to the Order Moranbah Holdings group that was originally announced in August 2017. Order Moranbah is a consortium of Chinese gas distribution company Shandong Order Gas Co. and Australian energy investment company Orient Energy Pty. Ltd.

ExxonMobil Corp. will streamline its upstream organization and centralize project delivery across the company to support its plans to double operating cash flow and earnings by 2025. Effective Apr. 1, three new upstream companies will be created: ExxonMobil Upstream Oil & Gas Co., ExxonMobil Upstream Business Development Co., and ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions Co.

India’s second round of bidding on licenses encompassing discovered small fields attracted 145 bids for 24 of the 25 blocks on offer. Vedanta Ltd. submitted the most bids by a single company, 21.

ConocoPhillips reported fourth-quarter 2018 earnings of $1.9 billion compared with fourth-quarter 2017 earnings of $1.6 billion. Excluding special items, fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings were $1.3 billion compared with fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of $500 million.

Driven by its large investment in Guyana, ExxonMobil Corp. is leader of the pack among the top oil and gas explorers of 2018, according to Rystad Energy’s annual exploration review. “ExxonMobil was exceptional, both in terms of discovered volumes and value creation from exploration,” said Espen Erlingsen, Rystad Energy head of upstream research.

Chevron Corp. subsidiary Chevron USA Inc. has signed a share purchase agreement with Petroleo Brasileiro SA subsidiary Petrobras America Inc. to acquire all outstanding shares and equity interests of Pasadena Refining System Inc., which includes the refinery in Pasadena, Tex., and PRSI Trading LLC for $350 million, excluding working capital.

ExxonMobil Corp. has let a contract to TechnipFMC PLC to provide detailed engineering, procurement, and construction for the operator’s recently approved project to expand refining capacity by more than 65% at its 366,000-b/d integrated refining complex in Beaumont, Tex.