Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Thursday March 26, 2026
Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall
Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Oil prices rose Thursday after Iran signaled it had no intention of holding direct talks with the United States, even as a U.S. proposal to end the war is under review by senior officials in Tehran, according to remarks from the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister.
West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 1.65% to $91.97 per barrel.
International benchmark Brent crude futures added 1.78% to $104.04 per barrel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media on Wednesday that exchanges between the two countries through mediators do not mean “negotiations with the U.S.,” Reuters reported.
Iranian state media reported that Tehran would reject a U.S. ceasefire offer and had instead laid out its own conditions for ending the conflict.′
The latest comments came as Washington and Tehran continued to offer differing accounts of the status of talks.
Trump said Tuesday the U.S. and Iran are “in negotiations right now” and suggested Tehran is eager to make a deal, even as the Islamic Republic has denied any direct talks. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he had backed off from earlier threats to strike Iranian energy infrastructure “based on the fact we’re negotiating.”
Top Stories
CBC – March 25, 2026
Canada is pitching its energy ambitions in Texas — can the oil and gas industry be convinced?
In Texas this week for a global energy conference, the federal natural resources minister is proclaiming “Canada is back” and ready to bolster its energy sector and grow exports. The message by Tim Hodgson comes at a time when the world is confronting an energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, which is raising fears of a spike in inflation and a possible global recession.
Though industry executives welcomed Hodgson’s enthusiasm at the CERAWeek conference in Houston and the overall direction of the government under Prime Minister Mark Carney, they still say they want to see considerable action before they’ll be convinced the federal government is serious — both about becoming an energy superpower and changing the country’s reputation as being reluctant to expand energy supply and exports, especially oil and natural gas.
__________________________________
OK Energy Today – March 25, 2026
Federal Lawmakers Push to Connect Texas Power Grid to Nation
Another effort is underway in Congress to force Texas to join the nation’s major electric grids, targeting the state’s largely independent system operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Three members of Congress recently reintroduced the Connect the Grid Act, which would require ERCOT to connect to other U.S. power grids. While the bill does not specify which grid, it could involve the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which manages electricity transmission across Oklahoma and more than a dozen other states.
Democrats in Washington introduced the measure, including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They argue that connecting ERCOT to a broader grid would improve electric grid reliability, reduce power outages, and lower electricity costs during extreme weather events.
__________________________________
The Hill – Marc 25, 2026
Chevron threatening to leave California
Chevron said it is threatening to close its oil refineries in California due to overregulation, which the oil company said is contributing to price spikes amid the war in Iran. Due to California’s taxes, emissions rules and other regulations, which hit gas costs harder than in many other states, the price per gallon is well over the national average. Tehran’s decision to effectively shut off the Strait of Hormuz has left millions of barrels of crude oil stationary, hurting economies in Asian countries, which heavily rely on oil from the Middle East.
In turn, Chevron, which imports fuel from China, South Korea and Singapore, is facing the brunt of the blockade. Amid the energy crisis, Beijing has banned fuel exports. Andy Walz, who heads Chevron’s oil refining efforts, said leaders in California should be worried about the possibility of a fuel deficit in the Golden State.
__________________________________
Bloomberg – March 25, 2026
Trump Team Examines What Oil as High as $200 a Barrel Would Mean*
Trump administration officials are examining what a potential spike in oil prices as high as $200 a barrel would mean for the economy, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign senior officials are studying the possible fallout from extreme scenarios for the Iran war. Modeling of how damaging a bigger jump in oil prices could be to growth prospects is part of regular assessment done during times of strain and is not a prediction, according to the people, who asked not to be identified commenting on matters that aren’t public. The effort is aimed at making sure the administration is prepared for all contingencies, including a prolonged conflict, they said.
Even before the war began, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed concern that the conflict would boost oil prices and damage economic growth, the people said. Senior Treasury officials have communicated worries to the White House about swings in oil and gasoline prices for several weeks, some of the people said. White House spokesman Kush Desai called that account “false,” saying, “While the administration is always evaluating various pricing scenarios and economic impacts, officials are not examining the possibility of oil reaching $200 per barrel and Secretary Bessent has not been ‘worried’ about the short term disruptions from Operation Epic Fury.” Bessent, he said, has repeatedly “conveyed both his and the administration’s continued confidence in the long-term trajectory of the American economy and global energy markets.”
__________________________________
NBC News – March 25, 2026
At least 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity halted, Reuters calculations show
At least 40% of Russia‘s oil export capacity is at a halt following Ukrainian drone attacks, a disputed attack on a major pipeline and the seizure of tankers, according to Reuters calculations based on market data. The shutdown is the most severe oil supply disruption in the modern history of Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, and has hit Moscow just as oil prices exceeded $100 a barrel due to the Iran war.
Russia’s oil output is one of the main sources of revenue for the national budget and is central to the $2.6 trillion economy. Ukraine intensified drone attacks on Russia‘s oil and fuel export infrastructure this month, hitting all three of Russia‘s major western oil export ports, including Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea. According to Reuters calculations, about 40% of Russia‘s crude oil export capabilities — or around 2 million barrels per day, were shut as of Wednesday after the most recent attack.
__________________________________
X – March 25, 2026
Qatar’s Real Problem Isn’t the War. It’s the Machines: Veron Wickamasinghe
__________________________________
Houston Chronicle – March 25, 2026
AccuWeather’s 2026 hurricane season forecast is out. Here’s what it means for Texas.*
With hurricane season a little more than two months away, weather media outlet AccuWeather calls for a slightly less active 2026 season than last year, but Texas and the Gulf Coast remain at risk. AccuWeather is forecasting 11 to 16 named storms, including 4 to 8 hurricanes. Of those, one to three are expected to become major hurricanes, Category 3 or stronger with winds of at least 111 mph. Three to six storms could directly impact the United States, including one to three along the Gulf Coast, putting Texas and neighboring states at risk.
Rapid intensification remains a key concern, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, where storms can strengthen quickly before landfall, sometimes within a day. That kind of last-minute strengthening has become an increasing concern for local emergency managers along the Texas coast. … Accuweather expects a near-normal hurricane season, but the Atlantic basin has experienced multiple hyperactive seasons in recent years, driven in part by shifting global weather patterns that influence storm activity. A key factor shaping this year’s outlook is the potential development of El Niño, a climate pattern tied to warming waters in the eastern Pacific along the equator. El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of a temperature cycle in the tropical Pacific, driven by shifting trade winds near the equator. La Niña, which helped bring Texas a warmer and drier winter, is now fading. El Niño is likely to emerge by late summer.
The Latest TERse Tips
Trump Tells Aides He Wants Speedy End to Iran War — President has said he wants to wrap up the conflict in the coming weeks — The Wall Street Journal*
Galveston County residents to weigh in on proposed desalination plant in Texas City — KUHF (NPR)
Platts updates California and Texas battery storage energy systems’ regional capacities — S&P Global Platts
Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched the first assessed daily price for Brazil’s natural gas spot market — see the press release
As drought continues, Austin Energy says it’s using more than a dozen 360-degree cameras and artificial intelligence technology to detect smoke along it’s assets, so it can quickly flag its partners at Austin Fire and get crews to a potential fire — KXAN
How Americans Are Navigating Higher Energy Costs on Every Front — borrowed Costco memberships, fewer nights out and skipped road trips. ‘You better watch your account to the penny — The Wall Street Journal*
State documents give a clear picture of a crude oil pipeline leak near Spur 136 in Port Neches reported March 9th showing how much oil spilled, where it went, and how crews contained it — RRC records show about 100 barrels of crude oil, roughly 4,200 gallons, released from a pipeline operated by TotalEnergies Gas Pipeline USA — the spill was first reported by Shell Pipeline — KBMT
Lake Dallas explosion victim sues Atmos Energy over alleged gas leak, says her home had no gas appliances — Fox4
Madrid-headquartered renewable energy developer Zelestra has secured a $600 million green financing credit facility from Société Générale and HSBC to support the construction and delivery of two utility-scale solar projects currently under active development in northeast Texas — the 253 MWdc Echols Grove Solar Project in Lamar County and the 188 MWdc Cedar Range Solar Project in Hopkins County — Construction Review
Japan’s largest power provider has proposed a new gas plant on Oahu to help transition the Hawaiian island away from oil-based power, despite concerns from environmentalists who say liquid natural gas is too expensive and unreliable — E&E News By Politico*
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., says he supports economic opportunity but also wants careful environmental planning and public accountability for any big industrial project — Rio Grande Guardian
Oil & Gas Texas
Reuters – March 25, 2026
Exxon says its team is in Venezuela evaluating oil opportunities*
Exxon Mobil has a team in Venezuela this week evaluating the country’s oil and gas resources and infrastructure, upstream head Dan Ammann said Wednesday at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. In January, Exxon CEO Darren Woods called Venezuela “uninvestable” without durable protections for new investment, comments that landed him in hot water with U.S. President Donald Trump. The top U.S. oil producer exited Venezuela in 2007 after its assets were expropriated.
“What we’re looking to assess is the state of the resource that’s there, but more importantly, what’s the state of the infrastructure on the ground?” Ammann said. There are short-term actions that can be taken to incrementally increase oil production, he said, but fully rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry would likely take a long time and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
__________________________________
Oil Price – March 25, 2026
Valero Prepares to Restart Massive Texas Refinery After Explosion
Related: No evidence Valero Texas refinery blast caused by intentional act, sheriff’s office — Reuters*
Valero Energy is set to restart later this week its major oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, after an explosion and a fire forced a shutdown earlier this week, sources with knowledge of the refinery’s operations told Reuters on Wednesday. Valero on Tuesday shut down its Port Arthur refinery after an explosion late on Monday set a diesel processing unit on fire.
The refinery capable of processing 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude is one of the largest in the United States and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The refinery’s diesel hydrotreater, where the explosion occurred, has a capacity of 47,000 barrels per day. All personnel were accounted for after the explosion early this week, with no injuries reported. However, authorities issued a shelter-in-place order immediately following the blast, which was felt as far as 11 miles from the refinery on the Texas border with Louisiana.
__________________________________
Pipeline & Gas Journal – March 25, 2026
Energy Transfer’s 17.7-Mile Gas Pipeline for AI Data Center in New Mexico Under FERC Review
Energy Transfer’s Transwestern Pipeline Company has filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build a 17.7-mile natural gas pipeline in New Mexico designed to supply fuel to a large-scale AI data center development. According to the company’s Jan. 29 prior notice filing, the proposed Green Chile Project would include a 24-inch-diameter pipeline and associated facilities in Doña Ana County, capable of transporting up to 400,000 dekatherms per day.
The pipeline would connect to the El Paso Natural Gas (EPNG) system and deliver gas to Green Chile Ventures, the sole shipper on the line, which plans to use the supply to fuel natural gas-fired turbines supporting an AI data center campus.
__________________________________
KXAS – March 25, 2026
Fed survey finds Texas oil and gas activity rebounds, uncertainty remains high
Oil and gas activity across Texas and the broader region is picking up again, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. However, industry leaders say uncertainty remains. The increase reflects a broad improvement across the sector, particularly among oilfield services firms, survey officials said during a briefing on Wednesday.
The survey says the business activity index, the agency’s broadest measure of energy conditions for firms, rose 27 points to 21 in the first quarter, signaling a return to growth after months of contraction in 2025. “Activity rose for the first time in almost a year,” said Michael Plante, an assistant vice president at the Dallas Fed, in a statement. “The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, however, has generated substantial uncertainty for firms about the near-term outlook.”
__________________________________
Reuters – March 25, 2026
US shale firms unlikely to drill at $100 a barrel unless high prices last longer, executives say*
Oil prices above $100 a barrel would not trigger a meaningful production increase in the U.S. unless they stay elevated for more than a quarter, shale executives said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, troubling news for consumers slammed by the energy crisis during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. … ConocoPhillips is not currently considering increasing production, said Nick Olds, executive vice president of the company’s U.S. onshore lower 48 operations, adding that ConocoPhillips would need to see sustained higher prices.
Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel along its coast, has stopped the passage of 20% of the world’s oil, triggering global price increases of around 50%. Still, many U.S. operators have locked in drilling plans and budgets for the year, and prices for future months will need to rise for companies to update those, executives said. Even then, they said, it would take at least half a year to get the barrels out of the ground. “The cycle from the time you begin to when you make a decision that you’re going to add rigs to then ultimately drilling and producing and getting to market, that can be a year-long process, even in the U.S., which is a short-cycle market. Nine months would be the very best-case scenario,” said Steve Gassen, SLB’s executive vice president of geographies, on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference.
__________________________________
Bloomberg – March 25, 2026
Oil Theft Is Burning a Billion-Dollar Hole in the West Texas Economy*
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office sits along Interstate 20 in West Texas, a stretch of dusty plains and sunbaked highways that could almost be the setting for a Mad Max movie. It’s sparse—oil wells outnumber people—but that doesn’t mean it’s quiet for Sheriff Randy Cozart. At least once a week, someone calls to say their oil field has been robbed: trailers missing, copper wire yanked and, most of all, crude stolen. In total, some 500 barrels’ worth of oil go missing in Martin County every week, Cozart estimates. At last year’s average of $65 a barrel, that’s an annual loss of roughly $1.7 million. At today’s war-heightened prices, it would be far more.
A similar scene is playing out in dozens of other counties across the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, the world’s most prolific shale oil patch. Law enforcement officials, legislators, trade groups and energy producers say people are stealing more crude than ever, often laundering it into local supply chains or driving it to Mexico to offload it. “Where there’s money, there’s crime,” says Cozart, who, like many in the region, once worked in the oil industry himself. “And there’s lots of money in oil right now.”
More than 40% of oil executives surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas this past fall said their operations had been affected by theft during the previous year, with several dozen petroleum-product arrests now made annually, up from perhaps a single arrest per year a decade ago, Texas Department of Public Safety records show. Some estimate annual oil theft in Texas at around $1 billion. Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, an industry advocacy group based in Austin, calculates it’s more than double that—and that $2 billion figure doesn’t cover thefts in the New Mexico portion of the Permian, a smaller but rapidly expanding corner of the basin. As the situation worsens, state lawmakers, regulators and even the FBI have taken notice.
__________________________________
San Antonio Express-News – March 24, 2026
Looming water crisis sparks clash between two South Texas cities
Related: How Corpus Christi’s water crisis became a warning for all of Texas — KBTX
Corpus Christi has responded to inflammatory allegations from officials in Three Rivers, who blame the Coastal Bend’s largest city for a hastening of its water crisis that could leave Three Rivers without access to water a year earlier than anticipated. On Monday, March 23, the city of Three Rivers issued a public notice announcing that it would “soon” be unable to draw water from Choke Canyon Reservoir, which serves as the primary fresh water source for the tiny town of about 1,800 people.
Three Rivers directly attributed the impending water crisis — which comes as the entire Coastal Bend grapples with worsening water scarcity fueled by years of drought — on alleged incompetence by Corpus Christi. Three Rivers claims that as recently as January, Corpus Christi made “inaccurate” projections about the water supply that wrongly led them to believe they would have continued access to Choke Canyon water through next spring.
__________________________________
Houston Chronicle – March 25, 2026
Chevron plans to buy oil from Houston-based Sable Offshore. Here’s why*
Chevron plans to buy oil from Sable Offshore, a Houston company whose pipeline and platform offshore Santa Barbara have been caught in a power struggle between the Trump administration and environmentalists and regulators in California. Chevron said the decision to buy from the embattled Sable was the result of a severe supply shortage stemming from the war in Iran and California’s tough restrictions on oil production. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz cutting off the shipping route for 20% of the world’s petroleum trade, companies in Asia that typically supply Chevron’s California refineries with crude are now unable to do so, Chevron said.
“California just doesn’t have enough fuel and it doesn’t have enough product over the next few months,” said Ross Allen, a Chevron spokesman. News of Chevron’s interest in Sable’s production follows a wartime intervention earlier this month from the Trump administration that directed Sable to restart production — in spite of California’s regulatory proceedings. Energy Sec. Chris Wright issued the order under emergency powers provided under the Defense Production Act.
__________________________________
Houston Chronicle – March 25, 2026
Authorities struggle to contain multiple oil spills on Mexico’s Gulf Coast*
For almost all of March, the Mexican government has been unable to determine the source of multiple oil spills that continue to affect beaches in Tabasco and Veracruz. According to multiple reports, the spills have affected nearly 40 communities in those Gulf Coast states and contaminated plant and animal life, including mangrove trees, fish, dolphins, sea turtles and manatees. The Mexican news outlet El Pais reported March 13 that fishermen in the Gulf began noticing oil in their nets on March 2, and that more than 140 miles of coastline had since been contaminated. The publication criticized Mexican authorities for what it called a lack of transparency in the days after the spill, noting that Veracruz Gov. Rocío Nahle had initially attributed the oil on her state’s beaches to a “natural seep.”
That same day, Mexico’s state-controlled oil company, Pemex, denied any responsibility for the spills but said it was working with multiple government agencies to coordinate cleanup efforts through the Veracruz Unified Command Center. Technical staffers from Mexico’s Agency for Safety, Energy, and the Environment had not detected any leaks during their inspection of terminals and other energy infrastructure along the coast, the company added. “According to the oceanic models currently being analyzed, it appears that the oil is flowing from the sea toward the coast,” Pemex said in a news release, adding that beach cleanup brigades had been activated across the region.
Oil & Gas National & International
CNBC – March 25, 2026
Trump administration waives gasoline regulations to address surging fuel prices
The Trump administration on Wednesday temporarily waived regulations on the types of gasoline that are sold during the summer in an effort to ease surging fuel prices during the Iran war. The Environmental Protection Agency lifted restrictions on the sale of E15 gas, a fuel blended with 15% ethanol. The sale of E15 is restricted in about half the U.S. from June through September due to regulations designed to reduce air pollution.
The EPA said it also issued a waiver to remove all federal impediments to selling E10 gas, which is blended with 10% ethanol. E10 is widely available throughout the year. The agency is suspending federal enforcement of certain state fuel requirements as well, allowing the production and distribution of gasoline with 9% to 15% ethanol content.
__________________________________
S&P Global Platts – March 25, 2026
WPC 2026: Iran war prompts nations, companies to reconsider supply chain strategies: panel
Global supply shocks caused by the war in Iran have prompted producers and governments to bolster the resilience of their supply chains, with restricted flows of ethylene, methanol, and other petrochemical feedstocks wreaking havoc on global derivatives pricing, S&P Global Energy CERA panelists said at the WPC on March 25. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has reduced crude oil flows out of the Persian Gulf from an estimated 21 million b/d to 2 million b/d, said Jim Burkhard, Global Head of Crude Oil Market Research for S&P Global Energy CERA, widening the spread between regional benchmarks.
Should the war persist, western benchmarks like Dated Brent or WTI will “gravitate more toward Asia” and Dubai pricing due to extreme supply pressures, Burkhard said, whereas an end to the conflict would cause Middle East benchmarks to “drift down” closer to those in the Atlantic Basin.
__________________________________
Bloomberg – March 25, 2026
Russian Baltic Port Halts Crude Loading as Drones Cause Fire*
Russia’s Ust-Luga port on the Baltic Sea has halted crude loadings as Ukraine carried out the most intense air strike on its foe in more than a year, setting some of the port facilities on fire. Authorities paused oil loading operations Wednesday morning due to the strikes, two people familiar with the situation said, asking not to be named because they’re not authorized to comment. Ukraine’s General Staff said in a Telegram statement that drones hit Novatek PJSC’s oil-product facilities at the port, setting ablaze storage tanks and loading equipment.
The fire at the port was being contained, local governor Alexander Drozdenko said in a Telegram statement early Wednesday, without specifying which facility was affected. Novatek did not immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for a comment. Ust-Luga is a key Russian oil-export outlet, shipping some 450,000 barrels of crude per day last month. Novatek’s facilities there process stable gas condensate into a range of oil products for export, such as naphtha, jet fuel and gasoil. The port also contains a crude terminal operated by Transneft PJSC and terminals for shipping coal, fertilizers and general cargoes.
__________________________________
Bloomberg – March 25, 2026
Trump Is Winning the Oil-Price Jawboning Battle: Javier Blas*
Give credit where it’s due. Despite all the setbacks, Donald Trump is right that the US-Israeli war in Iran war hasn’t triggered the oil price super-spike many feared — at least not yet. “I thought it would be worse, much worse,” the American president said last week, and it’s hard to disagree. Trump, wearing his social media poster-in-chief hat, is a key reason why crude isn’t much higher. Call it the art of oil-market jawboning. The White House is, so far, winning the fight over the oil market’s narrative — periodically raising the prospect of an end to the conflict even as the bombing carries on unabated. Three and a half weeks into the war, prices remain well within historical ranges, and far away from the thresholds associated with a full-blown “energy crisis.” But verbal volleys don’t keep refineries running, no matter how well timed. Jawboning will soon lose its potency in a longer war.
Since the US attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran has tried to impose an intolerable economic cost on Trump by shutting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transit point for crude oil, and attacking energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf. The US has responded by tapping its own Strategic Petroleum Reserve and easing oil sanctions on Russia and Iran. But the most successful tool has been Trump’s interventions via his own Truth Social website. It helps, of course, that the president has a history of flip-flopping. If markets believe that “Trump always chickens out,” it’s because he has done so many times before. TACO is a lesson Wall Street learned the hard way in 2025 when he regularly announced punitive trade tariffs, only to backtrack later.
__________________________________
Bloomberg – March 24, 2026
Shell Boss Warns Europe Is Next After Asia Suffers Fuel Squeeze*
Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said that Europe will soon begin to experience the same kind of disruption to fuel supplies that Asia has faced due to the war in Iran in recent weeks. Sawan said the effects of the conflict continue to ripple out across global fuel markets, first in South Asia, then Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, and increasingly in Europe as April approaches.
“We are trying to work with governments to just alert them to the various levers they will need to pull, including on the demand side, including what they need to do around storage,” he said Tuesday at CERAWeek by S&P Global. Sawan also said the UK company may decide on whether to invest in one or two Venezuelan natural gas projects by the year-end.
__________________________________
The Wall Street Journal – March 25, 2026
The World’s Energy Safety Net Is Buckling*
For decades, liquefied natural gas acted as the global economy’s reliable escape valve during energy crises, keeping factories humming and homes warm. Now, LNG has become the battlefield itself. The war in Iran has fractured every node of the regional LNG supply chain. Iranian strikes on Qatar, one of the world’s top LNG producers, have damaged its Ras Laffan facility, knocking out some 17% of its capacity for up to five years, and delayed the country’s massive expansion plans. On Tuesday, QatarEnergy declared force majeure on some of its LNG supply contracts, including customers in China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium.
Meanwhile, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries around a fifth of global LNG, is paralyzed. Buyer confidence in Gulf supply has also been undermined. Even if the Trump administration and Iran agree to end the war soon, the consequences for the LNG market will be long-lasting—and even more profound than for oil, experts say. Unlike crude, the world has no major strategic gas reserve to tap in an emergency. While some Middle Eastern oil can bypass the Strait of Hormuz through overland pipelines, Qatari LNG lacks alternative exits. Liquefaction facilities, meanwhile, are highly specialized engineering megaprojects that take years to construct and significantly longer to repair than conventional oil fields.
“Even if the war ends overnight, it will take the gas market much longer to return to normal than oil,” said Adi Imsirovic, a former energy-trading executive and lecturer at the University of Oxford. “A lot of the slack in the system used to be picked up by LNG, so the knock-on effects are massive.” The LNG crunch threatens wealthy nations with a prolonged wave of energy-driven inflation, while simultaneously forcing fragile emerging economies to ration fuel and shutter factory floors. It also jeopardizes global crop yields—gas is a vital fertilizer feedstock—and could cripple semiconductor production by slashing helium supply, a natural gas byproduct.
__________________________________
Politico – March 24, 2026
The Russian oil tanker playing chicken with Trump over Cuba
The Anatoly Kolodkin is steaming toward the Caribbean. The Russian oil tanker’s official destination, according to one of its public broadcasts: “Atlantis, USA.” More probably, it’s the Cuban port of Matanzas. Ferrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil across the Atlantic, the tanker is flying a Russian flag. A Russian warship escorted it through the English Channel, where it was tracked by the Royal Navy for 48 hours, only to turn back as soon as the tanker was clear.
While the Kremlin declined to confirm reports of Russian oil heading to Cuba, it also has made little effort to conceal its hand. That’s because the tanker was never really about Cuba at all, people close to the White House, former ambassadors and Russia observers told POLITICO. It’s a message, they said — a negotiating chit, a provocation designed to force a disproportionate American response while Washington is consumed elsewhere.
__________________________________
Politico – March 25, 2026
Iran standoff puts Taiwan chips at risk
Taiwan is scrambling to prevent its semiconductor sector from becoming a casualty of the Iran war. Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off Taiwan from Qatari exporters, which provide more than one-third of its total liquefied natural gas. Taiwan’s grid relies on LNG for up to 40 percent of its power generation, and its overdependence on Qatar makes it even more vulnerable to Persian Gulf supply shocks. Any major supply chain shifts could squeeze some of Taiwan’s largest industrial sectors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — which produces around 90 percent of the world’s most advanced chips — consumes around nine percent of the island’s total electricity output. Those chips are used for everything from missile targeting systems to smartphones and medical diagnostic equipment.
And Taiwan’s semiconductor sector contributes to around 20 percent of the island’s total annual gross domestic product and has become the linchpin of its economy. Prolonged paralysis of the strait may force Taipei to choose between rationing power to consumers and public services or reducing electricity to its valuable industrial sector, including TSMC. Power cuts “could ripple directly into global chip supply chains that underpin everything from AI servers to autos,” CRAIG SINGLETON, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told NatSec Daily. Delayed chip deliveries would also have knock-on impacts globally, including potential pauses in production for both civilian and military manufacturers, as well as shortages of the products that semiconductors are an essential component of.
__________________________________
Alaska Beacon – March 25, 2026
Alaska Senate pushes for increase in oil tax revenue, amid war-driven oil boom
The Alaska Senate approved a measure to boost state taxes on oil and gas production on Wednesday. Lawmakers tacked it on to what would have been a routine renewal of a state oil royalty agreement. Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, sponsored the amendment to House Bill 194, saying it would close a corporate income tax loophole and potentially capture more than $100 million in new state revenues each year — at a time when Alaska is in dire need of revenue to pay for state services.
“Can we afford this loophole while we close schools? Can we afford this tax subsidy while we slash the permanent fund dividend? Can we afford this tax subsidy while our infrastructure languishes, while we struggle to recruit and retain state troopers and firefighters and maintenance crews?” Dunbar said. “The answer is no.” The provision would impose the state’s corporate tax rate on oil and gas companies doing business in the state, at a maximum rate of 9.4% for companies whose net profits are more than $5 million per year.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Argus Media – March 25, 2026
Texas power sector seeks ‘real’ load behind AI hype
Texas’ power industry is scrambling to determine how much electricity data center growth will actually require, warning that without credible forecasts the state risks wasting billions of dollars on unnecessary infrastructure and saddling customers with sharply higher bills. “I don’t think there’s a lot of confidence in the numbers that are out there now,” Thomas Gleeson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), told a panel at CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, Texas, Wednesday.
“When you don’t know what is real, you really don’t know how to build the infrastructure for it,” he said Texas grid operator ERCOT has forecasted up to 250GW of peak demand by 2030, but industry officials on the panel said those figures are widely understood to be inflated by speculative interconnection requests that obscure the amount of load that will materialize. Developers and utilities described queues crowded with “ghost” applications from land speculators seeking free options on power, making it difficult for system planners to separate genuine demand from noise.
__________________________________
KLBK – March 25, 2026
South Plains data centers could be the first test of new utility regulations
The $3.5 billion dollar data center expansion in Dickens County may be one of the first tests of the Texas Legislature’s new regulations on large load electricity use. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 6 in 2025, which requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas to create new rules for entities that demand 75 megawatts or more of electricity “in a manner designed to support business development” while minimizing the risk for grid failure.
In January, ERCOT approved the Galaxy facility in Dickens County to use up to 1.6 gigawatts or 1,600 megawatts– of electricity. “I would be shocked if half of these companies wanting power would get that kind of allocation,” said State Senator Charles Perry. “But most of these companies, they’re going to have a gigawatt back on the meter, meaning on-site.”
__________________________________
KUT (NPR Austin) – March 25, 2026
Austin Energy quadruples shutoffs for nonpayment as the city gets hotter
As Austin keeps getting hotter, Austin Energy shutoffs for nonpayment have increased by more than four-fold over the last four years. Data from the publicly owned utility shows shutoffs skyrocketed from 7,777 in 2022 to more than 35,000 last year. But the increase in shutoffs comes as the utility has made big strides helping struggling customers pay their bills. Part of the reason that the number of shutoffs are increasing is because it’s more expensive to get energy to customers, so bills are going up.
For years, the utility has been operating at a loss. It hasn’t had adequate operating revenue since 2019. Then, the pandemic hit and Austin Energy lowered rates and paused shutoffs and offered deferred payments to help struggling residents. Natural gas prices spiked in 2022, putting the utility further in the hole. On top of that, costs for things like transformers — those big, trash can-looking things on power lines that help wire electricity from the grid into your home — have gone up.
__________________________________
Latitude Media – March 25, 2026
Google, Fermi executives debate off-grid data centers
Fermi CEO Toby Neugebauer, during a panel at CERAWeek in Houston, argued that only gas and nuclear can provide enough power at scale for AI computing. He added that building an off-grid site shields residential customers from the costs at a time when affordability is a major concern for Americans — and a major focus at the conference. Google’s global head of data center energy Amanda Peterson disagreed, touting the hyperscaler’s recent deal with Xcel Energy to power a data center with a mix of wind, solar, and long-duration battery storage. She warned, in stark contrast, that islanded data centers could actually lead to “unintended consequences” including higher costs for ratepayers.
“When you’re building islands, you have to overbuild the system for the same amount of reliability,” she said. “That’s a lot of investment in gas that is used just a few hours a year and otherwise is sitting idle. That generation could be fed back into the grid at a cost completely paid for by data centers. That’s a missed opportunity.”
__________________________________
KPRC – March 25, 2026
Texas power grid faces surge in demand — what it could mean for your electricity bill
Texas energy leaders say the state’s electric market is in a strong position, but major decisions ahead could affect both reliability and what people pay each month. At a recent panel during CERAWeek in Houston titled “Powering Texas,” Thomas Gleeson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, spoke about the state of the grid. “I think the state of the energy industry of electricity in Texas is really healthy,” Gleeson said. “We have a lot of really important policy debates going on right now.”
Rapid growth in data centers, population increases, and industrial expansion are driving the state’s rising energy demand. Cully Cavness, president and COO of Crusoe Energy, said Texas has become a key destination for large-scale energy projects. “Texas has quickly become the number one state in which we do business, in large part because of the dynamics about [the] ERCOT market system that is flexible,” Cavness adds. “It is relatively smoother here than many other states.”
__________________________________
Austin American-Statesman – March 25, 2026
EV maker Rivian expects Austin to be a ‘really large market’*
Rivian Automotive Inc. is gearing up to launch its new R2 electric SUV — and betting Austin will be a major market for it. The R2 is a five-seat, midsize electric SUV the California electric vehicle maker is positioning as a mass market vehicle aiming to compete with Tesla Inc. Rivan was the headline sponsor of this month’s South by Southwest Conference and Festival where it showcased the vehicle, underscoring a major push to expand its customer base.
Company executives say Austin is key to that strategy. Denise Cherry, Rivian’s vice president of marketing, called the city a “priority market” as the automaker looks to deepen its footprint in Texas. “We anticipate Austin being a really large market for us, and we want as much coverage here in this market as possible, so we continue to explore coverage across the larger Austin metro,” Cherry said.
Regulatory
Associated Press – March 25, 2026
Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez push bill to impose AI data center moratorium
Two high-profile progressive lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would pause new data centers in the United States until national safeguards are in place to protect workers and consumers and ensure the technologies don’t harm the environment. The legislation by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is unlikely to advance in either the House or Senate, but it shows the deep concerns many progressives share about the growing impact of data centers and artificial intelligence.
Communities across the country have seen a backlash against data centers over fears about rising electricity prices and concerns about pollution and water consumption. Opposition to rising power prices was also a key factor in Democratic wins last year in elections in states including Georgia, Virginia and New Jersey.