Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Monday May 11, 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 jumped Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the conflict with Iran was “not over,” raising fears that tensions in the Middle East could escalate again and further threatening energy supplies.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, rejected Iran’s counteroffer to end the war with the U.S. and Israel. “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called “Representatives.” I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with June delivery advanced 3.08% to $95.42 per barrel, while the international benchmark Brent crude futures with July delivery rose 3.16% to $104.49 per barrel.
“There’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran,” Netanyahu said on Sunday in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that is set to air Sunday night. “There is still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled, there’s still proxies that Iran supports, there are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce … there’s work to be done.”
Asked how the U.S. and Israel would remove the nuclear material, Netanyahu replied: “You go in, and you take it out.”
Top Stories
MSN – May 9, 2026
Western Midstream to buy Brazos Delaware for $1.6 billion
Western Midstream Partners LP has agreed to acquire Brazos Delaware II LLC in a deal valued at about $1.6 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Western will pay about $800 million in cash and issue about $800 million in WES common units at closing. The transaction is expected to close late second quarter.
Brazos is one of the largest privately held gathering and processing platforms in the Texas Delaware Basin, with natural gas and crude oil assets spanning Reeves, Ward, Pecos, Winkler, Culberson and Loving counties. Brazos’s assets include about 900 miles of pipeline, 460 million cubic feet per day of nameplate natural gas processing capacity at the Comanche processing complex and about 470,000 dedicated acres under long-term, fixed-fee contracts with a weighted average remaining contract life of more than nine years.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – May 9, 2026
Viper Energy buying Riverbend interests for $522 million*
Viper Energy Inc. has announced a significant expansion of its Permian royalty assets. The company and indirect wholly owned subsidiary Viper Energy Partners have agreed to acquire all equity interests in Riverbend Oil & Gas IX, L.L.C., which owns certain mineral and royalty interests, from Riverbend Oil & Gas IX (AIV), L.L.C. and ROG IX, L.L.C. for $522 million, including $337 million in cash and approximately 3.7 million shares of Viper’s Class A common stock.
The acquisition includes:
- 3,064 net royalty acres, roughly evenly split between the Midland and Delaware basins; approximately 75% overlaps with Viper’s existing acreage position.
- Midland Basin primary operators include ExxonMobil and Diamondback; Delaware Basin primary operators include ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum and Permian Resources.
- Expected average production over the next 12 months of approximately 2,000 barrels of oil per day or about 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
- Expected to add approximately 1,000 barrels of oil per day to the midpoint of Viper’s standalone full-year 2026 production guidance range of 64,500 to 66,500 barrels of oil per day.
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Texas Tribune – May 8, 2026
In parched Texas, a state fund to boost water projects falls almost $3 billion short of demand
As Texas struggles to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, a state fund had $1.28 billion available this year to support projects that could deliver water even in a severe drought. Unfortunately, 23 worthy projects requested a total of $4.2 billion, prompting the state to deny 13 of them — the first time the SWIFT fund had to say no to an applicant in its 11-year history. It was lamentable timing for a state plagued by a brutal drought and aging water infrastructure.
“We have more demand than we actually have the capacity to fulfill this year,” said Marvin Cole-Chaney, director of program administration and reporting for the Texas Water Development Board, which administers SWIFT, the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas. One of the denied projects is a desalination plant with the potential to create 100 million gallons of drinking water a day along the Coastal Bend in South Texas — an area including Corpus Christi, which is in the grips of a devastating drought.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – May 9, 2026
EPA offers clarification on flaring phase-out deadline*
Oil and gas operators were watching their calendars closely recently, as the May 7, 2026, deadline to halt routine flaring from new oil wells neared. Aware of concern and confusion surrounding the deadline, the Environmental Protection Agency issued new guidance clarifying the matter. It stems from the 2024 Clean Air Act rules for oil and natural gas, commonly known as OOOOb/c, which phased out routine flaring. In the guidance, the agency clarified that current federal regulations allow oil and natural gas producers to continue routine flaring of associated gas at new oil wells in limited circumstances after the phaseout deadline. Producers in both the Permian Basin and Williston Basin said scenarios outside their control could require flaring past that deadline.
“We applaud and appreciate the work of the Environmental Protection Agency to provide guidance on existing rules that come into effect this month,” Ben Shepperd, president, Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. “This guidance provides much-needed clarity to operators who have struggled with a set of very complex and sometimes conflicting regulations. We appreciate Administrator Zeldin and Assistant Administrator Szabo for understanding the need for this guidance and providing it. Like all things, the details matter, and our members will continue to protect human health and safety while also ensuring we continue to produce the vital natural resources from the Permian Basin, which is America’s oilfield,” he wrote.
The Latest TERse Tips
The national average price of regular gasoline hit $4.558 per gallon Thursday, the highest level since summer of 2022, according to AAA
Devon Energy and Coterra Energy completed their previously announced all-stock merger on 7 May 2026, creating a large-cap shale operator anchored by a position in the Delaware Basin, with the combined company operaing under the Devon Energy name and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DVN. It is headquartered in Houston, with a continued presence in Oklahoma City — Drilling Contractor
Corpus Christi is preparing to ease key water-use restrictions even as the city continues operating under a declared drought response plan, raising questions about how officials are balancing conservation demands with everyday water needs — Houston Chronicle*
08 May 2026: Fitch Ratings has affirmed NRG Energy, Inc.’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating at ‘BB+’ — the Rating Outlook is Stable — Fitch
ProPetro Holding Corp. has announced that its PROPWR business unit has entered into a strategic framework agreement with Caterpillar Inc. to purchase up to 2.1 gigawatts of power generation assets to support the growing energy demands of data center, oil and gas and industrial customers — see the press release
Chubb Ltd. units ended a suit against a Texas wastewater disposal company seeking to avoid defense costs for litigation alleging escaped wastewater damaged underground oil and gas formations — NGL Water Solutions Permian LLC didn’t file an answer to the insurers’ complaint, nor did the wastewater disposal company file a motion for summary judgment, the Chubb carriers said in a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas — the underlying suit alleged NGL injected more than 100 million barrels of wastewater into four saltwater disposal wells in Loving County, Texas — Bloomberg*
Texas electricity regulators are moving forward with plans to overhaul how the state divvies up the cost of building poles and power lines as a wave of data centers heads for the Lone Star State — staff at the state Public Utility Commission outlined changes Thursday that would require certain large power users — mostly data centers — to pay a minimum amount in transmission and distribution costs — PUC officials also proposed changing the incentive structure for large industrial power customers to lower their power usage during peak demand times — E&E News By Politico
The Iranian ambassador announced a “hybrid” mechanism for financing the gas pipeline from Russia — Institute for Energy and Finance Foundation
‘Landman’ creator grew up in Andrews, a tiny West Texas town — MSN
Oil & Gas Texas
Oil Price – May 8, 2026
US Oil Drillers Continue to Add Rigs
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 548, down 30 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 2 to 410 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 57 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1. Gas rigs now sit at 129, which is 21 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed at 9.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during week ending May 1. US crude oil production averaged 13.573 million bpd during the reporting period—289,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending May 1 by 5 to 174 crews.
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The Wall Street Journal – May 9, 2026
Saudi Aramco Profit Jumps Despite War Disrupting Shipping Routes*
Saudi Arabia’s national oil company said its quarterly profit rose 25% as it increased exports via a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, after war in the Middle East disrupted shipping through the vital waterway. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., which is known as Aramco and is the world’s top oil exporter, posted a net profit of $32.5 billion for the three months ending March 31, up from $26 billion in the same period last year. Oil prices have soared since Iran effectively closed Hormuz after the start of the war with the U.S. and its allies in the region on Feb. 28. Around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the waterway each day before the war. To partially offset the disruption to its traditional export route, Aramco is rerouting more of its crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu via its East-West pipeline.
The East-West pipeline reached its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels a day during the quarter, proving itself to be a “critical supply artery,” Aramco President Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser said. While higher oil prices are expected to offer an earnings tailwind to Aramco and other oil producers, the extent to which these companies are able to benefit ultimately depends on the reopening of the strait. The East-West pipeline can’t replace all the crude flows carried by tanker ships, but its use is helping prevent an even worse crisis from unfolding. The East-West pipeline network is also tied to domestic refining hubs in the region. Close to 2 million barrels a day of the pipeline’s capacity feeds refineries on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which supply both Saudi domestic markets and international buyers of refined fuels.
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S&P Global Platts – May 8, 2026
Q&A: US-based Liberty Bay FLNG plans floating LNG project in Mexico or Argentina
Houston-based Liberty Bay FLNG is finalizing plans for a 1.4 million metric ton/year floating LNG project in either Mexico or Argentina, aiming for startup in late 2029 or early 2030 as the developer looks to avoid delays and cost overruns experienced by a similar offshore project, according to CEO Deepak Bawa. Bawa is a former managing director of New Fortress Energy, who worked on the company’s Altamira LNG export terminal in northern Mexico, another 1.4 million mt/year project that came online in 2024. Setbacks that delayed Altamira LNG contributed to New Fortress’ financial difficulties before the company entered a restructuring agreement with creditors earlier this year.
But Bawa told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, that the proposed Liberty Bay facility would benefit from the lessons learned from the Altamira LNG project. “It’s not a first-of-a-kind thing, and that makes it way stronger,” Bawa said in a recent interview. “We are just trying to be practical and start with one small project, which has already been done before.”
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WWL – May 8, 2026
‘The house shook’: Residents recall loud explosion, fire at Chalmette Refinery
State leaders say they are closely monitoring conditions following an explosion and fire at the Chalmette Refinery earlier Friday, as residents in the surrounding area described hearing a loud noise and seeing smoke from the facility. The incident happened around 1 p.m. Several residents living nearby said they felt their homes shake. …
The Chalmette Refinery is owned by New Jersey-based PBF Energy. The facility was built in 1915 and produces approximately 189,000 barrels of crude oil per day. According to St. Bernard Parish officials, PBF Energy reported that the fire was quickly contained and that air monitoring did not indicate toxic chemicals impacting local air quality. The company has not said whether the incident will affect refinery production. Environmental health advocates note that industrial incidents can raise concerns among nearby communities. “There are certain chemicals associated with gasoline production that are monitored because of potential health risks, including benzene,” said Anne Rolfes of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental health and justice organization.
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Reuters – May 8, 2026
Diamondback bets on wider WTI-Brent gap amid US export ban concerns*
U.S. producer Diamondback Energy bought options to sell the price difference between U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude and globally traded Brent crude at around minus $42 a barrel in coming months, according to the company’s quarterly filing, a bet that could pay off if the United States banned oil exports. The unusual hedge signals how oil companies are looking for ways to insure their revenue, and the costs associated with it as the Iran war has caused massive whiplashes in prices that could rapidly change the financial fate of producers.
Oil companies place hedges – the industry’s version of income insurance – to limit the risk of falling oil prices and secure revenues. Diamondback’s hedge, which bets on the difference in the value of two major benchmark prices, is rare among producers. Diamondback, the top Permian Basin-only producer, bought put options for nearly $70 million to sell the spread in price between WTI and Brent for up to 255,000 barrels per day at minus $41.67 a barrel in the second quarter of 2026, and for up to 290,000 barrels per day at minus $42.76 in the third quarter.
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Energy Now – May 8, 2026
Freeport LNG Plant in Texas Expected to Reduce Output for Maintenance in Coming Days, Sources Say
U.S. LNG exporter Freeport LNG is expected to reduce output in the coming days due to unplanned maintenance at the Texas plant, twomarket sources said. The work at the third largest LNG export facility in the U.S. could last through May and have prompted the company to cancel three previously scheduled cargoes, the sources added.
Those shipments were due to go to portfolio players that typically buy from various sources and act as middlemen to optimize arbitrage opportunities, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unplanned outage comes at a time when global LNG prices have been elevated, with the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran taking about 20% of supply offline.
Oil & Gas National & International
MarketWatch – May 8, 2026
Enbridge 1Q Profit Falls on Derivative Losses, Softer Operating Results
Enbridge’s first-quarter profit fell as noncash losses on derivative hedging instruments and softer operating performance weighed on results. The pipeline and energy transportation company posted a decline in net income on Friday to 1.67 billion Canadian dollars ($1.22 billion), or C$0.77 a share, down from C$2.26 billion, or C$1.04 a share, in the prior-year period.
The decline was largely due to a noncash, unrealized loss on derivative instruments used to hedge foreign exchange, interest rate, and commodity-price risks, it said, as well as weaker operating performance. Adjusted earnings, which excludes one-off costs and exceptional items, came to C$0.98 a share, topping forecasts of C$0.95 a share, according to FactSet. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell slightly to C$5.81 billion from C$5.83 billion, missing forecasts of a rise to C$5.72 billion.
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Washington Post – May 9, 2026
Iran war is crushing Asia’s farmers, threatening global food supply*
The standoff between President Donald Trump and Iran that has brought shipping to a virtual halt in the Persian Gulf has set off supply chain shocks that are upending lives thousands of miles away in Asia, raising costs for farmers at the start of key planting seasons that will sharply reduce crop yields in the second half of the year and beyond, according to government officials, economists and farming groups. Addressing world leaders in Rome on Thursday, Dongyu Qu, the director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said the war had created not only a geopolitical crisis but “a disruption at the core of the global agrifood system.”
Iran’s destruction of gas infrastructure in the Gulf and the dueling U.S.-Iran efforts to choke the Strait of Hormuz have prevented crucial supplies of fuel and its derivatives like urea — a potent source of nitrogen that enhances harvests — from leaving the Middle East. Because fuel infrastructure takes years to build, there is no ready replacement for these supplies. In effect, 30 percent of the world’s urea has been “wiped out,” said Pranshi Goyal, senior analyst at the market intelligence firm CRU Group. China, a major fertilizer producer, has restricted exports to ensure its farmers have enough. Russia, another big manufacturer, is seeing demand soar, potentially boosting its economy and aiding its war in Ukraine. On what is known as the spot market, urea prices are up 40 percent since February.
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The Wall Street Journal – May 10, 2026
Higher Gas Prices Are Seeping Into the Produce Aisle*
Stefanie Katzman’s celery is starting to feel the pinch of $5.66-a-gallon diesel. Her food-distribution company buys fresh stalks from farmers in California and trucks them nearly 3,000 miles to a maze of chilled warehouses in New York City’s Bronx borough. That journey costs $11,000—46% more than it did last year. Workers at the three-million-square-foot New York market, the largest food-distribution center in the country, unload the celery and drive it into the city, paying for even more diesel along the way. By the time the celery sleeve arrives at the corner store, it is around 40 cents pricier than it would be otherwise.
The Hunts Point Produce Market, perched on a peninsula jutting into the East River, has morphed into a battleground in the food industry’s scramble to react to the past year’s economic challenges: tariffs, stretched consumers, abnormal weather and, now, climbing costs to get their lettuce and lemons from point A to point B triggered by the surge in diesel prices. The rise in fuel prices affects “every part of the supply chain, because fuel is used everywhere,” said Katzman, chief executive of a distributor that operates out of the market. “That’s where you really feel a change.” Vendors at the market are watching their profit margins dwindle and weighing just how much they can raise prices, aware that many of their customers are also struggling to get by. Some are choosing to pass their costs along, resigned to the fact that they have little choice.
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The Conversation – May 4, 2026
Oil refineries are catching fire in war or by accident. How does this worsen the energy crunch?
But while the spate of accidental refinery fires around the world only affect a small percentage of global output, they amplify the impact of the bigger supply shocks flowing from the Iran war. This year’s unprecedented energy crunch has exposed deep structural weaknesses in how the global oil system operates – and how easily it can be disrupted. Refineries have become targets in war, while poor maintenance or accidents point to systemic stresses.
This year, oil refineries have become targets in two wars. Refineries and energy infrastructure have been targeted in previous conflicts. But advances in drone technology and intelligence have made attacks cheaper and more effective. It’s now possible to hit specific distillation columns or fuel storage tanks within a refinery. The Russia-Ukraine war is now well into its fourth year. Ukraine has relied heavily on drones for defence and, increasingly, attack. Successive drone strikes on Russia’s Black Sea Tuapse refinery have done significant damage. Earlier strikes hit refineries in Perm and Orsk.
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Energy Now – April 30, 2026
Australia Is Struggling to Meet Asia’s Rising LNG Needs, Chevron Says
Australia’s liquefied natural gas exporters are missing out on meeting rising Asian demand because of a lack of capacity that’s partially down to an uncertain investment environment, according to Chevron Australia Corp. Demand for Australian LNG, particularly from Japanese buyers, is outstripping operational supply limits, said Chevron Australia’s Managing Director Balaji Krishnamurthy.
“The first question from buyers always is, can you do more? And right now, we are facility constrained,” he said in an interview at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia’s Climate and Energy Summit in Melbourne. “If we are able to sell more, people would absolutely like to buy it,” he said.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Yahoo! News – May 9, 2026
CPS Energy pilot could help data centers connect more quickly to Texas grid
The rapidly increasing pressure to provide electricity for data centers and other high-demand users could be eased by a CPS Energy pilot program that encourages energy-hungry customers to bring their own generation. The program – and others under consideration by the statewide electric grid operator – is a response to demand that’s projected to increase nearly 400% across Texas by the end of the decade as the state attracts more of the computing power needed for artificial intelligence and other aspects of today’s digital world.
“We’ve been anticipating that we may need some new tools to help customers’ desire, as well as things that are being contemplated at the state level,” said Elaina Ball, CPS Energy’s chief strategy officer. “This pilot is one of the solutions that we’ve been pursuing.” The effort by San Antonio’s city-owned utility is a microcosm of trends in the energy sector, she said, which have state grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas also grappling with sharp growth in both commercial and residential demand.
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Politico – May 7, 2026
The data center clean energy debate gets granular
What does 24/7 clean energy really mean? The artificial intelligence boom is putting that question to the test. Tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have set 2030 goals to offset their energy consumption, hour-by-hour, with carbon-free power. But as Bloomberg reported this week, Microsoft is considering delaying or abandoning its hourly pledge, while sticking to annual offset goals.
That technical change could mean a lot in terms of planet-warming emissions. The potential switch demonstrates the clean energy challenge as companies rush to build power-hungry data centers connected to a grid still reliant on fossil fuels. The boom has led to the U.S. leading the world in planned natural gas projects, which could increase the country’s gas capacity by 50 percent, according to the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor.
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NPR – May 8, 2026
AEP expects to double total power needed by 2030, largely due to data centers in Ohio and Texas
American Electric Power’s President and CEO Bill Fehrman expects the total amount of power the company will generate nationwide by 2030 will nearly double what AEP already uses, and that will largely be driven by more data centers in Ohio and Texas. Fehrman made the remarks during AEP’s earnings call for the first quarter of 2026 on Tuesday. The announcement comes as data centers and rising utility bills spark grassroots backlash in Ohio and around the country.
According to Fehrman, AEP will generate 63 gigawatts nationally by 2030, or enough to power tens of millions of homes. The company currently generates only 32 gigawatts of power across 11 states. Fehrman added that 90% of that new power will come from data centers with much of the remaining 10% coming mostly from other industrial growth.
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Area Development – May 8, 2026
SEG Solar Expands Houston, Texas, Manufacturing Operations
Solar module manufacturer SEG Solar plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas. The more than $200 million project is expected to create up to 800 jobs. The investment will include the construction of a 500,000-square-foot facility which will produce up to four gigawatts of solar modules annually. Operations are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026..
“This new facility marks an important milestone for SEG,” said Timothy Johnson, Vice President of Operations for SEG Solar. “It will further strengthen our U.S. manufacturing capabilities while supporting ongoing technology innovation. The plant is designed with the flexibility to integrate next-generation technologies as the industry evolves.”.
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San Antonio Report – May 9, 2026
Done right, data centers can help keep San Antonio’s power bills in check:
As anyone who lost power during Winter Storm Uri or watched a neighbor’s home threatened by wildfire smoke drifting in from a drought-dried Hill Country knows, Texas must harden, upgrade and modernize its grid to meet basic safety and reliability standards. These investments are not optional. And they carry real risk of raising electricity bills for households and small businesses in a city where rate pressure is already a live political issue.
The debate in San Antonio right now centers on a startling set of numbers. The roughly two dozen data centers operating in far western Bexar County already consume around 324 megawatts of power. By the end of 2028, an influx of new centers could add another 2,700 megawatts of demand, and by 2033, that figure could top 3,300 megawatts. To meet that growth, CPS Energy expects to spend approximately $1.3 billion on transmission projects over the next five years, adding roughly one gigawatt of load-serving capacity.
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RFD TV – May 2, 2026
Clean Power Installations Hit Record Levels in 2025
U.S. clean power developers posted a record year in 2025, even as policy setbacks and investor uncertainty began to build. A report from the American Clean Power Association said utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage additions topped 50 gigawatts for the year, the first time annual deployment has cleared that mark. The fourth quarter alone accounted for 18.6 gigawatts of new capacity. The report said that was enough to push the annual total to 50,344 megawatts, up 3 percent from 2024, and to power more than 6.9 million homes.
Storage was one of the strongest segments. Installations ran 41 percent above the previous record year, and the storage development pipeline continued to expand, indicating that demand remains strong despite policy questions ahead. The longer-term pipeline still grew to 187,514 megawatts, but the pace slowed. The report said power purchase agreement announcements fell 27 percent from a year earlier, raising concern about weaker project deployment in the 2028 to 2030 window.
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Bloomberg – May 1, 2026
Iran War Revives a Decade-Old African Gas-Pipeline Dream*
Some pipe dreams can come true after all. When Morocco in 2016 came up with the idea of a 4,300-mile (6,900-kilometer) conduit to transfer natural gas from West Africa to the Mediterranean, few thought it feasible. In the decade since, however, the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline has become a real proposition. A dozen countries have signed on, while energy discoveries in the waters off Senegal and Mauritania have added impetus. The estimated $25 billion project took another step forward this month.
A Moroccan state-controlled firm said it’ll begin looking at raising some of the funds. Other nations are expected to join a pact later this year to establish a company that would structure financing and development. With the Iran war in its third month and Europe seeking alternative energy supplies from outside the Middle East, the pipeline looks like a concept whose time has come. Comprising several segments both offshore and onshore, it will link gas deposits in Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritania with 10 African nations. From Morocco it will connect to the existing Gas Maghreb Europe pipeline to Spain.
The plan envisages combined total capacity of 30 billion cubic meters, although Nigeria’s gas deposits will need massive investment to reach that level. For now, the piece from Senegal onward may be the most immediately doable. The Moroccan firm ONHYM says the first gas from there could arrive in 2031. It may not be all plain sailing. Morocco is mired in a long-running feud with Algeria, which proposes a rival pipeline across the Sahara. Mauritania, key to the Moroccan project, will need to avoid angering either of its powerful neighbors. Also, a recent footballing dispute has strained ties between Morocco and Senegal and Dakar has yet to show it’s as enthused by the plan as Rabat. But at least the region is waking up to the possibilities.
Regulatory
May 10, 2026
An Ethanol Extortion Play: The Wall Street Journal*
House Republicans got their act together last month to pass a five-year farm bill, though the ethanol lobby exacted a high price. Lo, the House is set to hold a stand-alone vote this week on legislation that would benefit the ethanol industry at the expense of consumers and small refiners. Consider it political compensation for the damage caused by President Trump’s tariff blitz.
The $390 billion farm bill reauthorizes existing farm programs and $66 billion in subsidies that Republicans stuffed into last year’s tax bill. That payoff was intended to alleviate pain for farmers who have lost access to foreign markets, especially China, as a result of retaliation in response to Mr. Trump’s tariffs. But the ethanol lobby and its friends in Congress weren’t satisfied. They threatened to hold the farm bill hostage to obtain a long-sought change in law that would also permit the year-round sale of E15 fuel (which consists of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline) and limit waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard—aka ethanol mandate—for small refiners.
Most gasoline contains 10% ethanol as an octane booster. But the Renewable Fuel Standard requires ethanol and other so-called advanced biofuels to be blended in increasing quantities into the nation’s fuel supply. The Trump Environmental Protection Agency recently raised these quotas, which it estimated would entail $20 billion a year in compliance costs. These costs are passed along to drivers at the pump. One problem is that ethanol blends greater than 10% can increase smog during warm weather, which is why the EPA restricts its sale during the summer. Higher ethanol blends can also corrode gasoline pumps, storage tanks and other infrastructure unless retailers and distributors make upgrades. Some have, but most haven’t.