Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Thursday April 16, 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 were little changed on Thursday, reversing earlier declines, on scepticism that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle East producing region.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 14 cents to $91.43 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled little changed on Wednesday but traded in a wide range.
Brent crude futures were down 26 cents to $94.67 a barrel at 0611 GMT.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has resulted in the largest-ever disruption of global oil and gas supplies due to Iran’s interruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
“While there are hopes for de-escalation, many investors remain sceptical, given that U.S.-Iran talks have repeatedly broken down even after appearing to make progress,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
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Top Stories
Bloomberg – April 15, 2026
Texas Sees Power Demand Quadrupling by 2032 on Data Center Boom*
Related: In compliance with new Public Utility Commission of Texas requirements established by the Texas Legislature, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. Wednesday filed a preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast for the years 2026–2032 — the forecast will be discussed at the PUCT Open Meeting on April 17, 2026 — the current forecast projects approximately 367,790 MW of demand in the ERCOT Region by 2032 — see the press release
The Texas grid operator warned power demand may quadruple from recent record levels by 2032 to feed booming data-center expansion and population growth, an increase that would require the equivalent of almost 300 new nuclear reactors. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said peak demand may reach 367,790 megawatts in six years, a vast increase from the all-time peak of 85,508 megawatts reached in August 2023. Data centers will account for more than 60% of the projected increase, according to an Ercot presentation released Wednesday.
While Texas is facing “exceptional growth” across sectors, Ercot Chief Executive Officer Pablo Vegas said “we believe this forecast to be higher than expected future growth.” Ercot’s latest forecast demonstrates how grid operators, utilities and regulators are struggling to figure out how to cope with a rush of data-center proposals. Some observers expressed skepticism about the Ercot forecast.
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Oil Price – April 14, 2026
The Rare Earth Trap: How China Outmaneuvered the Entire Western Defense Industry
In 1992, China’s political leader Deng Xiaoping made a comparison that should’ve set off alarms across the West: “There is oil in the Middle East; there is rare earth in China.” Instead, for the next 30 years, Western governments largely treated rare earth processing as low-value work — something they could hand off to whoever would do it cheapest. But then REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) came along with partners and started building domestic processing capability while most of the industry was still looking the other way.
Beijing saw the value in rare earths early and treated it as a long-term weapon, which is why China now controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing. That covers not just mining, but the refining and metal-making that turn raw rock into parts for everything from fighter jets to wind turbines. It spent 30 years building that position deliberately, with state-backed financing, predatory pricing, and export controls designed to prevent anyone else from catching up.
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The Guardian – April 15, 2026
$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds
The world’s top 100 oil and gas companies banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran, according to exclusive analysis for the Guardian. Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil are among the biggest beneficiaries of the bonanza, meaning key opponents of climate action continue to prosper.
The conflict pushed the price of oil to an average of $100 (£74) a barrel in March, leading to estimated windfall war profits for the month of $23bn for the companies. Oil and gas supplies will take months to return to pre-war levels and the companies will make $234bn by the end of the year if the oil price continues to average $100. The analysis uses data from a leading intelligence provider, Rystad Energy, analysed by Global Witness.
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Fortune/Yahoo! News – April 15, 2026
U.S. utilities and power generators are hiking their spending plans to record levels at the same time as consumer utility bills have surged to new highs—and it’s no coincidence. Investor-owned utility companies increased their capital spending plans by more than 27% to at least $1.4 trillion through 2030—up from $1.1 trillion a year ago—and that’s not even counting privately held companies, according to a new report released Tuesday from the nonprofit PowerLines.
The AI power boom and the wave of construction for data centers is the leading cause of new spending growth nationwide, but it’s a convergence of spending causes that have triggered utility bills to spike about 40% since 2021—“with no signs of slowing down”—PowerLines said.
The Latest TERse Tips
Pentagon Approaches Automakers, Manufacturers to Boost Weapons Production — senior defense officials have talks with GM, Ford and others about shifting some capacity — The Wall Street Journal*
Saudi Arabia pressures Trump to scale back war on Iran — Mohammed bin Salman wants the US president to lift quarantine of Iranian ports, say diplomats — The Telegraph
US sends thousands more troops to Mideast as Trump seeks to squeeze Iran — MSN
Iran war damaged as much as $58 billion of energy infrastructure, Rystad estimates — CNBC
The Bureau of Land Management today opened a 30-day public comment period to receive public input on plans to include 32 oil and gas parcels totaling 21,181 acres in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas in an August 2026 sale — the comment period ends May 15, 2026 — see the press release
After 12 years of being called NRG Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is reverting to its original name: Reliant Stadium — the change was approved Wednesday by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation — according to NRG, a recent survey revealed that 90% of their Houston-based customers supported the return of the stadium’s original name — Houston Chronicle*
“The Strait of Hormuz is not as important to global energy as it was just a few weeks ago. Here’s why. Over the past few years, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have very smartly built back-up pipelines. Those pipelines – a whopping 7 million barrels per day capacity in Saudi and about 1.5 million per day flowing across the UAE – have cut the flow of shipborne oil out of the Hormuz by half.” — CNBC’s “Power Insider”
Oil & Gas Texas
Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 15, 2026
New report says new Permian oil intervals keep coming*
Already home to vast crude oil and natural gas reserves, the Permian Basin may have an even longer runway than originally thought, according to a new report from Enverus Intelligence Research, a subsidiary of Enverus. EIR’s report, Permian Basin Play Fundamentals: The Intervals Keep Coming, estimates the region holds around 55,000 economically viable drilling locations with oil prices below $50 a barrel. This represents 10% year-over-year growth, driven primarily by high-quality resource expansion and continued cost reductions. This inventory is nearly double the combined total of the other major North American plays referenced in the report.
The report takes into account the impact of surging oil prices amid the Iran conflict, Stephen Sagriff, the report’s author and EIR’s director of oil and gas research, told the Reporter-Telegram in an email. The report also highlighted the continued importance of resource delineation. EIR estimates total undeveloped inventory approaches 100,000 locations when geologically viable resource is included. Those GV additions increase location count by 42% and oil resource by 29%. EIR also noted that about 5.8 billion barrels, or more than 60% of this incremental resource, is concentrated in emerging deep zones, including the Barnett-Woodford and Wolfcamp D.
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Rigzone – April 15, 2026
Texas Petroleum Theft Task Force Holds Meeting
Earlier this month, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) revealed that the organization’s petroleum theft task force held its second quarterly meeting. In a statement posted on its website, the RRC said members of its state taskforce on petroleum theft (STOPTheft) gathered in Midland, Texas, on April 2 “to continue their work addressing the challenges of petroleum theft in Texas”.
“Led by RRC Chairman Jim Wright, the session opened with a brief overview of the task force’s duties, subcommittees and timeline goals for delivering their first report to the Legislature in December,” the statement said, noting that this report will assess theft impacts, long-term economic effects, and ways to improve coordination between law enforcement.
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The Wall Street Journal – April 15, 2026
Hormuz Blockage Helped U.S. Oil-Export Hub Hit Records*
War with Iran helped drive shipments through the Port of Corpus Christi in south Texas, the country’s oil-export hub, to a record during the first quarter. With roughly 20% of the world’s supply of oil and liquefied natural gas, or LNG, blocked from the market, Japan, South Korea and other countries that depend on Persian Gulf exports are looking elsewhere, and President Trump has encouraged them to fill up in the U.S. The Port of Corpus Christi’s first-quarter volumes suggest they already are.
In addition to a quarterly record, the port handled an all-time high tonnage in March, up more than 10% from a year earlier and almost 20% greater than February’s volumes, before fighting erupted in the Persian Gulf. Much of what moves through the port are fuel exports. Crude oil volumes in March were up 2.1% from a year ago, exceeding 2.4 million barrels a day. Refined products such as gasoline and diesel rose more than 11% and LNG cargos jumped nearly 37% from March 2025. “The dramatically higher shipment levels seen since the start of the conflict in Iran are a testament to our customers’ ability to maximize their operations and quickly respond to changing market conditions,” said Port of Corpus Christi Chief Executive Kent Britton.
Energy Now – April 15, 2026
Oil-Gear Maker NOV Cuts Earnings Guidance as Iran War Hikes Costs and Snarls Deliveries
NOV Inc., one of the biggest US makers of oilfield gear, slashed its earnings guidance for the first quarter as the war in the Middle East raises costs and snarls equipment deliveries. Safety and logistical problems from the conflict dented revenue by about $54 million and adjusted earnings by around $32 million, Chief Executive Officer Jose Bayardo said in a statement Wednesday.
The company now expects to report adjusted earnings of $177 million for the first quarter, down from its previous forecast of about $200 million to $225 million. … NOV is the latest oilfield services firm after SLB to publicly warn that the ongoing conflict has pushed earnings below earlier guidance. The revised outlooks underscore the sector’s growing exposure to geopolitical disruptions that have curtailed energy supply and left the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war, effectively shut.
KXAS – April 15, 2026
Analyst: Texas gas could reach $4.50 this summer as Gulf oil traffic stalls
Texas gas prices could approach $4.50 a gallon this summer if the situation in the Middle East continues for another three to five weeks, according to an industry analyst. Matt Smith, an oil market analyst with Kpler, said drivers in Texas could see prices over $4 by the July and August road trip season. In other parts of the country, he said, gas could reach $5 a gallon. Smith said the disruption near the Strait of Hormuz is already affecting global fuel markets. Kpler’s ship tracking platform shows large clusters of tankers sitting near the strait, including full vessels loaded with oil that cannot move.
He said the first major effect is already showing up as rising gas prices. Smith said Europe and Asia could begin seeing gas lines in the next few weeks because of shortages. Jet fuel is also becoming a growing concern, especially in Europe and on the U.S. West Coast. Smith said Europe gets much of its jet fuel from the Middle East. He said the West Coast also depends heavily on jet fuel tied to Asian markets that cannot get oil from the Middle East to produce it right now.
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Reuters – April 15, 2026
Permian-focused EagleRock plans rare US oil and gas IPO, sources say
EagleRock, a company that collects royalties and fees from oil and gas production on the land it controls in the Permian Basin, is exploring a U.S. initial public offering that could value it at up to $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The Houston-based firm has hired Goldman Sachs on the potential rare U.S. oil and gas listing, four of the sources said, with two adding it could come as soon as the second quarter.
The listing plan comes as crude prices have soared due to the conflict in the Middle East. The turmoil has triggered one of the greatest-ever global energy shocks and boosted the appeal of U.S. assets, which have continued to move oil and gas unencumbered by the war. EagleRock owns and controls land in the Delaware and Midland portions of the Permian, the heart of the U.S. shale industry in Texas and New Mexico, as well as infrastructure to handle water used in the hydraulic fracturing process, according to its website. By holding surface rights, it collects royalties from energy companies operating on its land, allowing EagleRock to earn revenue without producing.
Oil & Gas National & International
S&P Global Platts – April 15, 2026
US LNG drops to lowest price since Middle East war began
US LNG prices fell to their lowest levels since the Feb. 28 start of the US-Israel war with Iran, tracking softer delivered prices in Europe and Asia as buyers take a more cautious approach to spot purchases. The Platts Gulf Coast Marker for US FOB cargoes loading 30-60 days forward was assessed at $12.76/MMBtu on April 15, down 56 cents/MMBtu, or 4.2%, day on day. This marked the lowest assessed level since Feb. 27, when the GCM was assessed at $9.25/MMBtu, prior to the start of the conflict.
Throughout the trading day, market sources reported lower day-on-day tradeable values, with an offer for US LNG cargoes loading in June below Platts GCM assessment. An Atlantic Basin trader said the offer level appeared to reflect a seller seeking to attract buying interest. US LNG prices have followed declines in delivered prices across key demand centers as market participants digest signs that Tehran and Washington may resume diplomatic negotiations.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 15, 2026
US report details gasoline blends as EPA expands summer fuel options*
The Energy Information Administration has released a report detailing what is in the gasoline dispensed at the pump. There is conventional gasoline, the standard blend used across most of the U.S., and reformulated gasoline, which is required by the Clean Air Act in areas with high smog. Reformulated gasoline burns cleaner, is typically more expensive and makes up 25% of U.S. gasoline sales. To meet federal air quality standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators require different formulations depending on air quality and location, which affect performance, cost and emissions. In addition, warmer summer months require a different gasoline formulation than cooler winter months.
Specific formulations vary by region and season. Key differences between formulations include octane rating, volatility — commonly measured as Reid vapor pressure, or RVP — and emissions. This year, because gasoline and crude prices have climbed significantly, the EPA has issued a temporary emergency fuel waiver to allow nationwide sales of E15, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, and to remove all federal impediments to selling E10, gasoline blended with 10% ethanol, across the country. The agency is relaxing federal enforcement of summer RVP standards to help mitigate gasoline prices.
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Oil Price – April 15, 2026
U.S. Is Most Resilient to the Energy Shock, Until It Isn’t
The seven-week-long war in Iran has shown that the regions are not equally hurt by the worst oil and gas disruption in history. Asian countries, which are most dependent on oil and LNG flows from the Middle East, are already grappling with fuel shortages, airlines are raising fares and grounding flights, and refiners bid for every non-Middle Eastern barrel in a fierce competition to procure crude.
That’s true for most of Asia, but not for China. Beijing has been amassing crude into commercial and strategic storage over the past year—at low oil prices and at even lower prices for Iranian and Russian supply. … Such high U.S. exports and a protracted conflict could reduce inventories in the key U.S. Gulf Coast regional market to critically low levels by the end of June, even after accounting for the approved releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Amrita Sen, co-founder and director of market intelligence at Energy Aspects, wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times this week.
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ABC News – April 14, 2026
Iran war triggered ‘most severe oil supply shock in history,’ the International Energy Agency says
The Iran war set off the “most severe oil supply shock in history,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report on Tuesday, warning that high prices would slash demand for crude, the primary lifeblood of the global economy. In March, oil prices notched their largest one-month gain ever, the IEA said.
The IEA — a Paris-based group made up of 32 member nations, including the U.S. — warned of a widespread bout of “demand destruction” in the report. Under such a scenario, high prices would make oil unaffordable for many buyers, forcing them to find alternatives or forgo energy use altogether.
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Reuters – April 15, 2026
Goldman Sachs flags two‑way risks to their 2026 oil price outlook*
Goldman Sachs on Tuesday flagged both upside and downside risks to its average 2026 crude forecasts for Brent/WTI at $83/78 per barrel, citing growing uncertainty around Middle East developments and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Reduced flows through Hormuz pose the biggest upside risk to Goldman’s price forecasts, with estimated oil flows through the strait still at 10% of normal or 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), they said.
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The United States Navy on Monday had begun a blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, posing further upside risk to prices as Iran-associated tankers have been accounting for most recent flows through the strait.
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Meanwhile, cuts to oil production in the Middle East were lower than Goldman’s mid-March estimates, skewing prices to the downside.
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The bank estimates 8 million bpd of average crude production shut-ins in the Persian Gulf in March, roughly in line with OPEC Secondary Sources but lower than IEA estimates of 10 million bpd.
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The announcement of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and rising prospects of a near-term peace deal have added further downward pressure on prices by easing the geopolitical risk premium.
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The Wall Street Journal – April 15, 2026
The Cost of War: How Economists Predict the Economy Will Fare*
The war in Iran has economists downshifting their outlook for the rest of the year, with the consensus in The Wall Street Journal’s latest quarterly survey pointing to higher inflation, slower near-term growth and weaker job creation. The following charts break down economists’ forecasts for key indicators and show how the panel’s 2025 consensus compares with actual outcomes. The latest survey, conducted April 3-9, reflects average forecasts from 68 economists. Not all respondents answered every question.
One of the key headwinds economists expect this year is higher oil prices that threaten to persist even after the war ends. Economists placed the probability of a recession in the next 12 months at 33%, up from 27% in the January survey. However, they acknowledged that persistently high oil prices could push that likelihood above 50%. Some forecasts indicate it would take West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil-price benchmark, rising to $125 a barrel or more and staying there for a year or longer, while others said prices above $100 a barrel for eight to 10 weeks would be enough.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Utility Dive – April 15, 2026
Utility investment plans jump 21%, further threatening affordability: PowerLines
Investor-owned utilities have boosted their 5-year capital expenditure plans by about 21% in order to meet rising electricity demand, threatening to exacerbate an energy affordability crisis that is worrying almost three-quarters of Americans, according to a report from PowerLines, an energy consumer nonprofit. The group reviewed 51 recent utility quarterly earnings calls and found IOUs plan to spend $1.4 trillion through 2030, up from the $1.1 trillion that was laid out in capex plans last year. The growing total “could become a major driver of future rate increase requests,” PowerLines warned.
The Southeast “is a particular hot spot of proposed capital spending,” PowerLines Executive Director Charles Hua told journalists in a Tuesday discussion of the report. Utility capex plans in the South total $572 billion, more than double any other region, the report found.
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KTXS – April 14, 2026
‘I might want to move out’: New $7 billion Texas data center sparks mixed reactions
Following the approval of a 10-year tax abatement by Nolan County commissioners, residents are now assessing what could become one of the most significant economic transformations in the county’s history. The decision clears the way for a $7 billion data center project, which is expected to inject millions into the local economy through more than $3 million in annual payments and upwards of $2 million in yearly charitable funding. The project, led by Crusoe Energy Systems, arrives amid a broader surge in large-scale data center facilities across Texas.
The news has sparked a plethora of reactions from local residents and business owners, ranging from anticipation to apprehension. Sweetwater resident Christine Illig views the 200-megawatt data center as a pivotal step in the right direction.
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Governing – April 15, 2026
A First-of-Its-Kind State Ban Targets Energy-Hungry Data Centers
The Maine Senate took a final vote on April 14, 2026, to enact first-of-its-kind legislation banning large data centers in the state until November 2027. The bill, LD 307, puts a moratorium on data centers with power needs of 20 megawatts or more, stymying proposed developments in several parts of the state, including in the rural mill town of Jay in Western Maine and at the former Loring Air Force Base in rural Limestone, Maine, near the Canadian border.
The bill would also create a council to study future electric load projections on New England’s grid and identify strategies to protect Mainers from paying higher electricity rates, among other issues related to data center development and policy.
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April 15, 2026
Utility companies disconnected U.S. households from electricity more than 13.4 million times in 2024, according to a landmark report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Corporate utilities shelled out billions to shareholders and top executives the same year. The report, released Tuesday, is the first state-by-state dataset disclosing how often utilities have shut off electricity and gas to households who are unable to make payments. The highest average utility disconnections are primarily concentrated in the South, with Texas and Florida recording the most household shutoffs.
“This federal data is the most sobering portrait we have of the country’s brutal energy affordability crisis,” said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s energy justice program. “It’s inexcusable for utility executives and shareholders to make record profits while families suffer climate extremes and get punished for being poor. We’re grateful to Congress and the Energy Information Administration for establishing the first-ever study of how many millions of people are having their power shut off because they can’t afford to pay. The only sure way out of this mess is to replace the price-gauging of fossil fuel utilities with affordable, renewable community energy.”
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CBS News – April 14, 2026
Data centers could spur a utility spending spree, report finds. Here’s the impact.
U.S. utility companies are planning to invest $1.4 trillion over the next five years to update the nation’s ailing power grid as the data center boom intensifies the need for electricity. That’s according to a new report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan nonprofit consumer education organization PowerLines, which analyzed capital spending plans from 51 investor-owned utilities. A majority of those companies, which serve 250 million U.S. customers, cited data centers as a top driver of capital expenditures in their earnings reports.
Developers are rushing to build power-hungry data centers across the country as tech companies look to expand capacity for artificial intelligence computing. The boom has sparked local opposition from communities that fear rising electricity demand will result in higher utility bills. U.S. data centers consumed more than 4% of the country’s total electricity in 2023, according to the MIT Energy Initiative. That could rise to 9% by 2030, the research group projects.
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Inside Climate News – April 7, 2026
The Global Energy Supply in a Decade ‘Is Not a World We’re Going to Recognize’
The United States’ war on Iran could fundamentally alter how countries consume and generate energy and hamper international progress in combating climate change, a panel of energy experts said today. Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan natural resources and environment think tank, sponsored the panel in conjunction with its new report, “Global Energy Outlook 2026: How the World Lost the Goal of 1.5°C.”
“We may not have a functional Strait of Hormuz coming out of this situation,” said Sarah Ladislaw, one of the panelists and founding director of the New Energy Industrial Strategy Center in Washington, D.C. “And that’s not a small issue.”
Regulatory
Associated Press/KXAN – April 15, 2026
As energy costs rise, some states back off ambitious climate goals
Seven years ago, New York lawmakers set ambitious goals for slashing greenhouse gas emissions with clarion calls about saving the future. Now, with slow progress made and political realities shifting, Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking a delay, saying she wants to save consumers money.
Times have “ radically changed,” Hochul said, since 2019, when the state set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. She’s proposed giving the state years more to comply, saying pursuing that goal now by imposing planned fees on polluters would lead to crushing energy prices.