Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday March 31, 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 reversed course to drop in early Asia trading as traders assess President Donald Trump’s statements on ending the war in Iran.
Trump told his aides that he was willing to end U.S. operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained shut, as forcing Tehran to reopen the oil chokepoint could extend the conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday stateside.
The West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery reversed gains, dropping 0.72% to $102.14 a barrel as of 10:31 p.m. ET. May futures for Brent crude also pulled back, declining 1% to $111.55 a barrel.
“President’s appetite for a large-scale and extensive sort of saturation bombing of Iran is pretty low,” Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday, describing Trump’s recent threats as an attempt to “retract and conclude a deal.”
Top Stories
Reuters – March 30, 2026
Giant oil tanker off Dubai hit by Iranian strike after Trump’s latest threats*
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday, as President Donald Trump warned the U.S. would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz. The strike on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28
The month-long conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin. Crude oil prices briefly spiked anew after the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2 million barrels of oil worth more than $200 million at current prices. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship’s owner, said the attack happened early on Tuesday, causing a fire and hull damage, but there were no reported injuries.
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CNN – March 30, 2026
Kuwaiti tanker full of oil attacked as Trump again threatens to blow up Iran’s energy sources
Dubai authorities said Tuesday they had successfully put out the fire onboard a Kuwaiti crude carrier the Kuwaitis said was struck by an Iranian drone. The Dubai government said no injuries were reported and that all 24 crew members were safe.
Earlier, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said the very large crude carrier “Al-Salmi” had been attacked by Iranian forces while anchored off Dubai, according to state news agency KUNA. The tanker was fully loaded, the KPC said, warning of the possibility of an oil spill, according to KUNA.
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The Wall Street Journal – March 30, 2026
Trump Tells Aides He’s Willing to End War Without Reopening Hormuz*
President Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, administration officials said, likely extending Tehran’s firm grip on the waterway and leaving a complex operation to reopen it for a later date. In recent days, Trump and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the chokepoint would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks. He decided that the U.S. should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade. If that fails, Washington would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait, the officials said.
There are also military options the president could decide on, but they are not his immediate priority, they said. Over the past month, Trump has expressed various opinions in public on how to handle the strait, part of a larger pattern of giving conflicting goals and objectives of the war overall. He has at times threatened to bomb civilian energy infrastructure if the waterway isn’t reopened by a certain date. On other occasions, he has played down the importance of the strait to the U.S. and said its closure is a problem for other nations to solve. The longer the strait remains closed, the more it will roil the global economy and boost gas prices. Multiple countries, including U.S. allies, are reeling from the downturn in energy supply that once flowed freely through the chokepoint. Industries that rely on items such as fertilizer to grow food or helium to make computer chips are suffering from shortages.
Without a swift return to safe passages, Tehran will continue to threaten world trade until the U.S. and its partners either negotiate a deal or forcibly end the crisis, analysts say. Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert and vice president at the Brookings Institution in Washington, called ending military operations before the strait is open “unbelievably irresponsible.” The U.S. and Israel started the war together and can’t walk away from the fallout, Maloney said. “Energy markets are inherently global, and there is no possibility of insulating the U.S. from the economic damage that is already occurring and will become exponentially worse if the closure of the strait continues.”
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S&P Global Platts – Marc 30, 2026
CERAWEEK: In the case for clean resources, ‘energy security’ tops ‘energy transition’
Clean hydrogen and ammonia backers are making the case that alternative fuels can lower nations’ reliance on imports of fuel from the Middle East, as public and private climate goals fall by the wayside. Green and blue hydrogen are still touted as lower-emission substitutes to conventional “gray” hydrogen — used in fertilizer production and refining — and fossil fuels. But the corporate climate case has largely been supplanted by the case for diversification, industry participants said at the CERAWeek by S&P Global Energy conference in Houston.
“Four or five years ago, it was a climate-driven conversation,” Rik Sneep, senior vice president at Spain-headquartered integrated energy and chemicals company MOEVE, said during a March 25 panel. “I think it’s now more of a security-driven conversation. But in the end, the target is the same.” The war with Iran has added to the sense of urgency.
The Latest TERse Tips
Sable Offshore Corp. on Monday announced that on March 29, Sable initiated oil sales — the Santa Ynez Pipeline System was filled from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station at a rate in excess of 50,000 barrels of oil per day — see the press release
Russia welcomes arrival of oil tanker in Cuba after Trump softens approach to U.S. blockade — CNBC
The San Antonio Express-News Texas Data Center Tracker: See where data centers are planned or operating near you is here
The Houston Chronicle’s map of zombie wells is here
Oil & Gas Texas
Reuters – March 30, 2026
Exxon and QatarEnergy’s joint venture Golden Pass produces first LNG at new Texas facility*
Golden Pass LNG, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil, has produced its first liquefied natural gas at its new facility in Texas, the company said on Monday, a major step toward bringing one of the largest U.S. export projects online. The plant is expected to export its first cargo in the second quarter, Exxon said on Monday.
Global gas supplies have been squeezed as the war in the Middle East disrupted output in Qatar, one of the world’s biggest LNG suppliers. Once fully operational, Golden Pass will be able to produce 18 million metric tons per annum. “Golden Pass LNG will strengthen U.S. energy production and reinforce the nation’s role as a reliable supplier to global markets, enhancing energy security and helping meet worldwide demand,” Exxon said.
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Politico – March 30, 2026
Interior disburses $460M in energy revenues to Gulf states*
Four Gulf Coast states, along with their counties and parishes, will share a record $460.9 million in energy revenue for fiscal 2025, the Interior Department said Friday. The disbursement is the first for the region after President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which boosted the annual revenue cap for states to $485 million from $375 million. The money comes from royalty revenues that companies pay the federal government for oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.
“By returning offshore revenues to the Gulf region, we are supporting the infrastructure, restoration work and local economies that make continued production possible,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. The disbursement was made to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Louisiana and nearly 20 parishes pulled in the lion’s share of the disbursement, making up roughly 44 percent of the total $460 million. Texas and its counties came in second, at more than $124 million, followed by Mississippi and Alabama.
Grist – March 26, 2026
In Texas, Corpus Christi’s water crisis may be a glimpse into the future
When Thiago Campos bought the Mr. Fancy Pants Carwash business in Corpus Christi, Texas three years ago, he wasn’t thinking about drought. He was familiar with varnishes and waxes, and enjoyed figuring out which kind of soap would best remove local dirt.
“I’m a chemical engineer, Campos said. “I felt like the carwash matched my skill set.” But Mr. Fancy Pants, with its two locations, could soon face an existential crisis. Last week, Corpus Christi’s city manager announced that it may enter a water emergency as soon as May. The city’s two main reservoirs — Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi — are just 8.4 percent full, while the backup reservoir, 100 miles away, is 55 percent full. Without drastic cuts, the water supply for the more than 500,00 residents of the Corpus Christi area could run dry by early next year.
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Texas Observer – March 24, 2026
Climate Activists Confront Iran War Profiteering at Big Oil Confab in Houston
Inside the luxe conference venue at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Monday, oil and gas industry elites wrung their collective hands about the global oil price shock set off by the Iran war. Outside, hundreds of colorfully dressed climate justice activists from across the Gulf South marched and demonstrated to call out those profiting from the war inside.
At S&P Global’s premier energy industry confab on Monday, United States energy secretary and former fracking executive Chris Wright characterized fallout from the war, including ongoing disruptions of tanker shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as a “short-term disruption to end a multi-decadal problem” and encouraged oil and gas leaders to ramp up domestic extraction.
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The Houston Chronicle – March 30, 2026
CERAWeek was in town last week, joined by climate activists who showed up to protest. The reality, however, is that climate activism is in retreat. The so-called “energy transition” is potholed by an unprecedented number of solar bankruptcies, electric-vehicle retreats, and corporate pullbacks from wind, hydrogen, and carbon-capture projects. A roadmap to phase out fossil fuels was defeated at the last United Nations conference on climate change, in line with a recent prediction by the International Energy Agency that oil demand will increase for decades. Texas, for its part, produced a record two billion barrels last year.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even recently reversed its earlier decision that carbon dioxide and other manmade greenhouse gases are a danger to health and human welfare. Plenty of Democrats are also rethinking their climate policies. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is moving to weaken the state’s climate regulations. Even the radical Sunrise Movement seems to have pivoted to pro-Palestinian activism over climate concerns. Yes, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other warming gases are rising. But this is hardly the “existential threat of our time,” as President Joe Biden once put it. Rather, this is an opportunity for optimism.
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Dallas Morning News – March 30, 2026
Why Texas wants to explore annexing part of New Mexico*
Texas lawmakers plan to study the possibility of annexing a chunk of its western neighbor. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows this month directed a state legislative committee to explore the legal and economic implications of adding one or more New Mexico counties to the Lone Star State. Online, the plan was quickly dubbed “New MeX-it.” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham dismissed the idea, which she called a “ridiculous proposal.” “We have every intention of keeping the great state of New Mexico fully intact,” the Democratic governor told the Albuquerque Journal.
New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martinez, also a Democrat, was a bit more blunt. “Over my dead body,” he said in a video posted to Facebook. Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News this “conversation is ultimately about culture, opportunity, and the right to choose a path that reflects the shared values of the Permian and Delaware basins.” The Legislature will meet in 2027. “Southeast New Mexico deserves a real voice in its own future, not one dictated by Santa Fe,” Burrows said. “It’s a conservative, energy-rich region with a fierce independent streak, and West Texas has shown what’s possible when you respect oil and gas, protect property rights and trust local communities.”
Oil & Gas National & International
The Wall Street Journal – March 30, 2026
Powell Says Fed Can Look Past Oil Shock, but Warns Patience Has Limits*
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday the central bank is inclined to hold rates steady and look past the energy shock from the war in Iran but cautioned that it might not be able to sit on the sidelines if rising prices shift the public’s expectations about inflation over time. Powell, speaking to students at Harvard University, laid out the textbook case for patience: Energy disruptions tend to be short-lived, and monetary policy works too slowly to counteract them in real time. He added a critical caveat, however, by noting how five years of above-target inflation made it harder to assume the public would simply shrug off another round of rising prices.
“You can have a series of these supply shocks and that can lead the public generally—businesses, price setters, households—to start expecting higher inflation over time. Why wouldn’t they?” Powell said. The dilemma for the Fed is that an energy shock can simultaneously push prices higher and drag down economic growth by squeezing household budgets and raising costs for businesses. That leaves policymakers weighing whether to give priority to fighting inflation or cushioning the economy, well aware that the standard tools for solving one problem may make the other worse.
Powell tiptoed away from saying how the Fed would answer that riddle. “We will eventually maybe face the question of what to do here. We’re not really facing it yet because we don’t know what the economic effects will be,” he said. Prices for Treasurys had rallied before Powell spoke, with investors unwinding earlier bets that higher energy costs might lead the Fed’s next move to be a rate hike. Bond yields fall when prices rise. Nothing in Powell’s remarks reversed that move.
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Financial Times/MSN – March 28, 2026
European jet fuel supplies under threat as Iran war halts flows
A drop in shipments of jet fuel from the Middle East is prompting warnings of a looming supply crunch for Europe’s aviation industry as the Iran war chokes off cargoes. European imports of jet fuel are expected to fall to about 420,000 barrels a day this week, down roughly 40 per cent from last week and the lowest level for March since 2022, according to energy data provider Vortexa.
The decline follows the near shutdown of flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global fuel shipments that accounted for roughly 40 per cent of Europe’s jet fuel supply before the war. “Fuel supplies are a major concern,” said one airline industry insider, adding that while supplies had remained “relatively stable over the past 10 days”, carriers were in “daily monitoring mode”. A senior jet fuel manager said European markets could begin to face physical shortages within weeks.
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Kuwait Times – March 26, 2026
Europe scales back climate goals to ease energy shock
The European Union may be forced to scale back its flagship climate policies and geopolitical aims as the Iran war drives up energy prices – with lasting consequences for the bloc’s energy strategy. The energy crunch sparked by the conflict, now in its fourth week, has rattled Europe, which is heavily dependent on imported oil and gas.
Around 8 percent of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) comes from the Middle East through the all-important Strait of Hormuz, which remains mostly blocked. European benchmark gas prices have jumped more than 60 percent since the conflict began, to above 50 euros per megawatt hour. That is still far below the eye-watering peak of nearly 300 euros per MWh seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when pipeline gas supplies collapsed.
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CNBC – March 25, 2026
Oil giants raise the alarm over energy shortages as Iran war drags on
A trio of European energy CEOs has sounded a warning over energy supplies, amid the ongoing conflict in Iran and restricted access through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Amid volatile trade, crude prices have surged around 40% in recent weeks, at one point approaching $120 a barrel as investors raised concerns over a potential lack of supply.
Those concerns have been felt particularly in Asian countries so far, with the Philippines announcing an energy emergency, while South Korea says it is preparing for “worst-case scenarios.” Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has asked the International Energy Agency to consider an additional release from global crude stockpiles, with the global energy watchdog having already coordinated the release of 400 million barrels of oil amongst member countries.
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The Telegraph (UK) – March 19, 2026
This is an energy emergency: entire countries may run out of oil: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Related: How we’re just four months from Armageddon if Iran’s oil war doesn’t end: Bread riots. Starvation. Flights and cars banned — The Daily Mail (UK)
It is hard to decide which is the bigger disaster: the unfolding car crash in the global gas market or the mounting danger that entire countries will run out of oil. The benchmark TTF contract for gas in Europe was €29 (£25) per megawatt-hour (MWh) in mid-February. Bank of America says it could reach €500 this winter if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for 10 weeks, as it may well do.
That would blow through the record high seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amount to a full-blown economic emergency for Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea and South Asia. The picture is dramatically worse after Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field, adding upstream gas and oil infrastructure to the menu of targets on both sides of the Gulf. Iran’s missile retaliation on Qatar’s Ras Laffan has inflicted serious damage to the giant complex, which alone produces a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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The Guardian – March 24, 2026
In the days after the US and Israel first bombed Iran, financial markets bet the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East would be short-lived. “There are risks from higher oil prices longer term. But this is a tail risk,” one US-based fund manager said after the airstrike killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “History has shown time and time again that geopolitical flare-ups like this tend to be short-lived. This one should prove to be no exception.’’
Goldman Sachs told clients it expected temporary disruption. “Oil prices to decline throughout the year. But risks are skewed to the upside,” its analysts wrote. UniCredit suggested crude would be capped at about $80 a barrel. “Given its struggle for survival, the Iranian regime has an incentive to keep its response measured”.
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Clean Technica – March 22, 2026
The April Oil Crisis Most Don’t Know Is Coming: Jennifer Sensiba
…[W]e need to explore the things that can easily go wrong and make things even worse. For one, human psychology is going to pour gasoline on this fire. The moment the general public realizes the ocean is empty in April and shortages are real, panic buying will trigger. It will be the Colonial Pipeline hack on steroids. People will hoard fuel, and the local pumps will physically run dry in a matter of hours.
If diesel prices are bad enough, there will be challenges getting more fuel into the tanks that feed the pumps because independent drivers might not be able to afford to drive. This will hit small towns harder than bigger cities. But the geopolitical picture is even darker. We are talking about the potential destruction of 20 percent of the global oil supply.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
The Energy Mag – March 30, 2026
Google Backs $5B Texas Data Center for Anthropic, Deepening AI Infrastructure Push
Google is reportedly preparing to provide financial backing for a multibillion-dollar data center campus in Texas tied to its expanding relationship with Anthropic, underscoring how hyperscalers are increasingly stepping in as quasi-infrastructure financiers to secure AI capacity. The project, developed by Nexus Data Centers, could exceed $5 billion in its initial phase, with Google expected to offer construction financing alongside a broader syndicate of banks competing to arrange debt by mid-year, the FT reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The involvement of Alphabet is expected to lower borrowing costs, reflecting the growing role of investment-grade tech balance sheets in underwriting power-intensive infrastructure. The Texas campus spans roughly 2,800 acres and is already under construction with early-stage debt from asset manager Eagle Point. It is expected to deliver about 500 megawatts of capacity by late 2026, with long-term expansion potential reaching 7.7 gigawatts—placing it among the largest planned AI data center developments globally.
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San Antonio Express-News – March 30, 2026
CPS Energy board approves record budget that includes a $50M deficit*
After delaying the vote a month, CPS Energy board members approved a record-breaking $2.8 billion budget that includes a $50 million deficit. The budget originally was scheduled to be voted on in February, but Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones asked for the postponed vote after members of the city-owned utility’s board said they needed more time to review the document they’d just received. This time around, CPS officials had revamped the budget presentation. Instead of presenting the capital and operating budgets separately, the new presentation combined them. It showed that the utility’s projected revenue of $5.21 billion will cover 99% of the expected $5.26 billion in expenditures, leaving a gap of $50 million.
The $2.8 billion budget doesn’t include the utility’s yearly payment to the city or its fuel-related expenses and revenue. For this fiscal year, it expects such expenses and revenue to be $2.4 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively. “There are many ways that you could go forward” to fill that $50 million gap, Chief Financial Officer Cory Kuchinsky said Monday. “That is for a future discussion that I think we will be more prepared to have once we get through most of our summer months, and we see ultimately how that revenue picture will manifest.”
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San Antonio Express-News – March 30, 2026
CPS Energy’s proposed budget is necessary investment for San Antonio’s future: Brad Beldon*
Investment is the lifeblood of any growing enterprise. Whether directed toward infrastructure, technology or talent, the strategic investment of capital is what separates enterprises that are resilient and endure from those that fade and fail. Businesses that invest for the future are positioned to adapt to change and lead. A business that fails to reinvest may appear healthy in the short term, but it is quietly eroding its foundation.
Aging infrastructure and the inability to hire or retain high-quality employees become liabilities. What’s true in the private sector is also true of public utilities such as CPS Energy. A utility that invests in the future is better positioned to deal with technological and regulatory changes in the energy sector, better able to serve its customers, and better prepared to deal with the challenges of extreme weather and cybersecurity threats. This is what CPS Energy is hoping to do with its proposed fiscal year 2027 budget of $2.87 billion.
San Antonio remains one of the fastest-growing big cities in the United States. People want to live here because of our high quality of life and affordable homeownership. Businesses want to relocate here because of our large, highly skilled talent pool and business-friendly environment. According to the U.S. census, Bexar County had a population of 2.1 million in 2024, with some projections showing as many as 1.2 million additional residents by 2050. As the former CEO of one of the largest roofing companies in San Antonio, I have witnessed this growth firsthand. Residential growth leads to commercial growth. Roofs on homes lead to roofs on businesses.
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KXXV – March 30, 2026
Grimes County residents brace for fight with possible data center at Gibbons Creek
I recently reported on a proposed data center between Iola and Bedias. But as it turns out, that is not the only one in development. Millennium Power wants to put a data center at the site of the former Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station, and the possibility has some neighbors worried.
“They need to stand up for us. They need to be out there having public forums, bringing us in,” Jennifer Rymer said. “Locals are really concerned about the electric grid. We already know that that’s under strain,” Julie Hernandez said. Hernandez is with Grimes County Citizens for Responsible Development.
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Utility Dive – March 27, 226
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Laura Swett opened the commission’s February meeting with a direct plea: she asked PJM to fix itself so that FERC wouldn’t have to intervene. She implored the troubled Mid-Atlantic grid operator to quickly file a proposal to fix the market’s mess. The chair’s urgency is warranted. PJM is facing a crisis of its own design, and the solution is hiding in plain sight: in the regulated utility states thriving in many parts of the country.
The numbers tell a stark story. In 2024, PJM’s capacity auction prices skyrocketed from $28.92/MW-day to $269.92/MWd — a nearly-tenfold increase that translated to customer rate hikes across the region. The next year, prices jumped another 22%, increasing to $329.17/MWd. Most recently, the December 2025 capacity auction price increased yet again, hitting $333.44 and reaching the market’s imposed, but temporary price cap. Despite this, the auction fell 6.6 GW short of PJM’s reliability requirements — equivalent to powering all residential customers in Maryland for a year.
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KFOX – March 27, 2026
El Paso Electric seeks to increase rates in New Mexico; about $1 a day hike
El Paso Electric is looking to increase rates in New Mexico. On Friday, officials with EP Electric announced they had filed a general rate case with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission seeking to recover the $400 million the utility said it has invested in its infrastructure. EP Electric’s Vice President of Customer and Regulatory Solutions, James A. Schichtl, said that if approved, the increase would be done in two phases.
The first phase will bring an increase of about 50 cents per day, then the second phase will add another 50 cents, bringing the total increase to about $1 per day. Regarding when these hikes could kick in, EP Electric said first the commission has to approve it, adding that it is a lengthy process that typically takes about a year, and then there’s also a point that CEO Kelly Tomblin brought up, saying that in her experience, it is rare when a commission approves the rate increase as is.
Regulatory
JD Supra – March 17, 2026
FERC Moves to Streamline Hydropower Environmental Reviews: Pillsbury Winthrop
- On February 19, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued two orders intended to streamline environmental reviews for certain actions related to hydropower facilities.
- In its first order, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to streamline its review under NEPA for terminations of hydropower licenses.
- In its second order, FERC adopted five existing Tennessee Valley Authority Categorical Exclusions from NEPA review for various construction and maintenance activities ancillary to hydropower facilities.