Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Wednesday May 13, 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 fell on Wednesday, snapping a three-day rally as investors awaited developments around the fragile Middle East ceasefire and braced for a high-stakes summit in China between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.
West Texas Intermediate futures fell $1.41, or 1.4%, to $100.77.
Both benchmarks have largely hovered around or above the $100 per barrel mark since the U.S. and Israel began attacks on Iran at the end of February and Tehran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.
“Concerns over supply disruptions and uncertainty surrounding the Middle East are keeping oil prices well supported, even as traders struggle to establish a clear direction,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
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Top Stories
Reuters – May 13, 2026
BP buys 40% stake in Uzbekistan oil and gas blocks*
BP said on Wednesday it has acquired a 40% participating interest in a production sharing agreement (PSA) covering six oil and gas exploration blocks in Uzbekistan’s Ustyurt region, as it refocuses on traditional energy. BP pulled out of exploration in the region in 2021 as it pursued a green push under then-CEO Bernard Looney, who had pledged to cut oil and gas output by 40% by 2030. However, the company is now pivoting back to fossil fuels.
“We believe Uzbekistan has significant resource potential and see this as an opportunity to support the exploration and development of the country’s oil and gas resources,” Gio Cristofoli, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye said on Wednesday. BP purchased a 40% interest in total from existing partners SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz, which now hold 30% each. SOCAR remains as the operator of the blocks, including the Boyterak, Terengquduq, Birqori, Kharoy, Qoraqalpoq and Qulboy.
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KXAN – May 12, 2026
Texas eyes limits on utility bill transfers as Austin sends millions to city budget
Should a portion of your utility bill go to your city? For decades, Austin Water has given a percentage of what it makes off your water bill to the city’s general fund. It’s a common practice across the nation. But now, amid growing infrastructure needs, the state is exploring making a change.
At the Texas Senate on Monday, members of the Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee took a closer look at this policy across the state. Lawmakers did not focus on any one city during the hearing. Officials testified that delaying infrastructure work can lead to system failures and sharp cost increases when projects are put off. “Our perspective is that utility revenues should be used primarily for utility purposes, and the transfer should be transparent, justified and appropriately structured,” Perry Fowler with the Texas Water Infrastructure Network said. According to the City of Austin’s 2025–2026 budget, around $50 million in Austin Water revenue was transferred to the city in 2025.
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KRIV – May 12, 2026
Saudi Aramco CEO warns oil markets may not recover until 2027 due to Strait of Hormuz disruptions
The CEO of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company is warning that the energy sector will take time to recover from the Iran war’s impact on supply as oil output was slashed due to the ongoing disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on an earnings call Monday that the global energy market has lost about 1 billion barrels of oil supply during the crisis, though efforts to reroute shipments to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz and releases from countries’ strategic petroleum reserves have eased some of the supply issues.
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Capital & Main – May 11, 2026
Inside the Texas Water Crisis Pitting Residents Against Industry
May Mendoza is in need of water. But despite the fact that her restaurant, Perrin’s on the Water, is literally on the waters of the Texas Gulf Coast, drinking water is in increasingly short supply. On a sunny Wednesday in late April, she taped up signs in the bathrooms and on the front and back doors, alerting guests to the effects of Corpus Christi’s rapidly accelerating water shortage.
“We’re just going to bottled water in a couple days,” Mendoza told a couple as they found a seat at her New Orleans-style restaurant. Corpus Christi’s city leaders have called for declaring a “Level 1” water emergency at the end of the summer, cutting the amount of water residents, small businesses and big industry can use by 25%. And Mendoza isn’t one to wait for an emergency to hit her. So she’s preparing. “No more free water,” she said. “We’re trying to get ahead of it.”
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The Wall Street Journal – May 12, 2026
Prices at the Pump Are Wiping Out Wage Gains*
For the first time in three years, inflation is outstripping growth in Americans’ paychecks. Blame the gas pump. Americans are currently paying about $4.50 a gallon for regular gasoline, according to AAA, up more than 50% since the initial U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Pay increases aren’t keeping up. April marked the first time inflation topped year-over-year growth in average hourly earnings since April 2023, according to the Labor Department. Year-over-year changes offer a broader picture than more volatile month-to-month measures, which have also recently shown Americans’ pay raises aren’t measuring up to the rising cost of living.
Americans are dealing with a math problem. While hourly wages rose a seasonally adjusted 3.6% on the year through April, the pace has mostly slowed over the past four years as hiring cooled from a postpandemic hot streak. Meanwhile, inflation was 3.8% year over year, pushed up by surging fuel costs. After seasonal adjustment and rounding, the Labor Department said this leads to a 0.3% decline in inflation-adjusted hourly wages, also known as real hourly earnings.
The disappearing pay raises might help explain why consumer sentiment is at a record-low level. Also, when inflation erodes households’ spending power, “that makes people a little more hesitant about buying things, which can lead to a ripple effect through the rest of the economy,” said Alfredo Romero, chair of economics at North Carolina A&T State University. On a weekly basis, the drop in earnings was less severe as workers put in slightly longer hours in April. Weekly earnings were down 0.2% on the year for all private-sector workers and up 0.1% for production and nonsupervisory employees, who tend to be the rank-and-file workforce.
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The Latest TERse Tips
The U.S. military is considering officially renaming the war with Iran “Operation Sledgehammer” if the current ceasefire collapses and President Donald Trump decides to re-start major combat operations, according to two U.S. officials — NBC News
President Trump invited the CEOs of Exxon, Boeing and others to join him on his current trip to China
Texas Stock Exchange signs lease at high-profile Uptown Dallas tower — Dallas Morning News*
The city of Alpine has declared stage four critical water shortage conditions after one of its main pumps went into failure — KOSA
Corpus Christi moves toward mandatory 25% cut in water use if emergency is declared — final approval of the curtailment plan is expected at a future City Council meeting. Experts predict that, without significant rainfall, a water emergency could arrive by September — Texas Tribune
Crude oil loaded from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is heading to Türkiye, the first shipment of U.S. emergency reserve oil to the Mediterranean country, ship tracking data showed — Daily Sabah
The Supreme Court of North Dakota has directed a trial court to enter a narrow anti-suit injunction against Greenpeace International, barring it from proceeding with its action against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands — Texas Law Book*
Waymo recalls entire U.S. robotaxi fleet after vehicle swept away in San Antonio flood — the company is recalling nearly 3,800 robotaxis after an unoccupied vehicle entered floodwaters on a San Antonio road and was washed into a creek — San Antonio Express-News*
Amplify Energy Corp. announced Monday updates to its operating and financial results for the first quarter of 2026 and reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance — Amplify Energy
After an extended public comment period, Henderson County commissioners have approved a resolution calling for stronger safeguards and greater state involvement in how and where large-scale data centers can be built — KSST
Oil & Gas Texas
Texas Tribune – May 12, 2026
Candidates for U.S. Senate seat in Texas join call to suspend federal gas tax
In a case of unexpected political bedfellows, James Talarico on Monday aligned himself with President Donald Trump over their calls to suspend the federal gas tax — and took a dig at U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for his previous opposition to the measure. Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has advocated for temporarily lifting the federal gas and diesel tax to help combat soaring fuel prices since the U.S.-Israel war in Iran began in February. On Monday, Trump said he would move to suspend the 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax, which primarily funds federal highway and mass transit programs.
“I applaud President Trump’s support for a federal gas tax suspension,” Talarico said in a statement. “Lowering prices at the pump should be a bipartisan commitment. I urge Senator Cornyn to drop his opposition to suspending the gas tax. He should join President Trump and me in supporting this critical tax relief for Texans.”
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KLTV – May 12, 2026
Republican Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French said he is running to push back on what he calls growing regulation and cultural decline. French, a conservative activist and businessman, said he does not view himself as a career politician and entered the race out of frustration with elected Republicans he believes have drifted from campaign promises.
“Republicans my entire life have told us that we should only focus on fiscal issues and avoid all of the social issues, and the left has just taken ground on every social issue that I can think of,” French told “East Texas Now.” A fourth-generation oilman, French argued the commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, should “rightsize” environmental rules adopted last year, saying one page of regulations expanded to 75 pages and could burden smaller operators, especially in East Texas.
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Washington Examiner – May 11, 2026
Texas firm looking to explore oil in rural Georgia*
A Texas-based oil and gas company is seeking permission to drill exploratory wells in southwest Georgia, reviving the possibility of oil production in a state where commercial extraction has never taken hold. Pilot Exploration, a Texas firm specializing in what the industry calls “frontier basins,” which are areas with little prior drilling activity, has applied to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for permits to drill two exploratory wells in rural Quitman County near the Alabama border.
The proposed site would sit in one of Georgia’s least populated counties with fewer than 3,000 residents, according to the state’s Department of Community Affairs. The project would mark the first oil and gas exploration wells in the state since 2014 if approved and could reopen a long-running debate over whether the Peach State holds untapped fossil fuel reserves beneath its red clay and farmland. Pilot Exploration filed permit applications in March for wells it calls “Georgia On My Mind Wells #1 and #2,” with plans to drill roughly 8,000 feet, more than a mile and a half underground, to determine whether recoverable oil or gas deposits exist. The company argues that earlier geological assessments are outdated and that advances in drilling and imaging technology could uncover resources missed in past surveys.
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Rigzone – May 12, 2026
USA Oil, Gas Workforce Hits Lowest Level Since 2022
The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry has hit its lowest level since 2022, data on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website shows. According to preliminary figures included in the data, the number of employees in the sector stood at 115,200 in April 2026. The last time the figure was this low was in August 2022, the data showed.
The number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry stood at 115,900 in March 2026, 116,200 in February 2026, and 115,500 in January 2026, according to the latest data. The March figures were also preliminary, the data highlighted. Previous data had the number of employees in the sector at 116,100 in March and 116,300 in February.
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World Oil – May 6, 2026
Texas regulator highlights record oil exports, rising production amid Iran disruption
Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian praised new reports highlighting Texas’ growing role in global energy markets as instability in the Middle East continues to pressure oil and gas supplies. The comments follow a record first quarter for the Port of Corpus Christi, one of the nation’s largest crude export hubs, and recent announcements from Diamondback Energy that it is increasing exports and expanding drilling activity in response to Iran-related supply disruptions.
“The conflict in Iran is a clear reminder of the world’s reliance on Texas oil and gas,” Christian said. “When America and our allies need stability, Texas energy is answering the call.” Christian said the state’s response reflects years of investment in drilling capacity and export infrastructure that now position Texas to respond quickly to shifting global market conditions.
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Popular Science – May 7, 2026
The world’s largest explosion lab is ready for big booms. And yes, it’s in Texas.
Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes its controlled detonations. Texas A&M University recently revealed what they say is the world’s largest controlled explosion lab, where researchers can fill a nearly 500-foot metal tube with gas and ignite it in the name of science. They are calling it The Detonation Research Test Facility (DRTF). By precisely measuring what it takes to turn a simple flame into a massive, deadly detonation, researchers hope to make discoveries that could better prepare engineers to prevent gas leaks, and potentially inform ways to build explosion-resistant infrastructure. And all of that will require lots and lots of yeehaw inducing bangs.
Located in Southeast Central Texas, the detonation tunnel is about six feet in diameter and stretches nearly the length of two football fields. Its metal exterior consists of three-quarter-inch steel walls and is covered in earth to muffle the sound—or try to, at least. Inside, the tube holds various sensors that can measure the explosion as it intensifies. By containing all the power within the facility, researchers can study explosions strong enough to level entire buildings. The shockwaves that form in the tunnel can apparently reach speeds of Mach 5—or roughly 3,800 miles per hour.
Oil & Gas National & International
KSAT – May 12, 2026
How much money could drivers save if Congress approves a federal gas tax suspension?
President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to suspend the federal gas tax as fuel prices rise during the ongoing war with Iran. The proposal would still require approval from Congress before taking effect. If approved, drivers could temporarily save 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, according to Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst for Gas Buddy. The federal tax is separate from state gas taxes, which are often higher.
“Even those few dollars, to some people it makes all the difference,” driver Madison Eubanks said. Eubanks said high fuel prices are already taking a toll on her finances. “Paying more than $5 a gallon is a lot,” she said. “I’m spending at least $100 every time I fill up.”
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Dallas Morning News – May 12, 2026
Related: Suspending the federal gas tax could bring down prices at the pump. But the move may not provide consumers with meaningful relief, experts say, and it could deplete a key federal fund for highway construction and maintenance — CNBC
Critics also say that if you lower the price of gasoline, people are more likely to increase their driving. This could raise demand during a time of lower supply, which in turn could raise prices and limit consumers’ savings from the tax suspension. It’s also possible that instead of consumers reaping the savings from a tax suspension, the oil industry could benefit. Because the tax is collected at the refinery — before it gets to the consumer — there’s no guarantee that the oil company will pass the full benefits of a tax suspension on to consumers.
Each state levies its own taxes on gasoline and diesel, and some also add sales taxes. In recent weeks, a few states, including Indiana and Georgia, have suspended their state gasoline and diesel taxes; others are considering it. Several states enacted suspensions in 2022. In many cases, the state taxes are larger than the federal tax. This means the benefits of a suspension to consumers would be bigger — but the drawbacks would be, too. “A state-level gas tax holiday would have a larger effect on gas prices than a federal tax holiday almost everywhere,” Hugh Daigle, a University of Texas at Austin petroleum and geosystems engineering professor, told us in 2022.
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Bloomberg – May 12, 2026
How Long Can the US Be the Oil Supplier of Last Resort?: Javier Blas*
Can the US sustain [this] level of net exports forever? No — the American shale revolution is extraordinary, but not miraculous. The question, however, isn’t whether the nation can keep up with no end in sight; instead, it’s whether it can do it for long enough to keep oil prices from exploding before it reaches a deal with Iran. Looked through that lens, the US has the ammunition, thanks to its emergency stockpile, to sustain its outsized oil exports for several more weeks, perhaps even a couple of months. The export boom is a key reason why oil prices have tumbled, particularly in the physical market (the portion of the market where real barrels, not swaps or futures, change hands). The collapse in Chinese oil imports has also helped, as have other well-known levers, like the use of bypass pipelines around the Strait of Hormuz.
The US, with its 2.6-million-barrel net export hike, is the biggest driver in an overall surge from the American continent. Others are contributing, too, and when combined, their extra exports do add quite a bit: Canada (400,000 barrels per day); Venezuela, Guyana, Colombia and Argentina (200,000 each); and Brazil (100,000). Together, the Americas are exporting, on a net basis, almost 4 million barrels a day more than they did around this time in 2025. That equates to one-quarter of the shortfall created by the closure of Hormuz.
For the US, the key is the willingness of President Donald Trump to squeeze the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as never before — harder than President Joe Biden did in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. In March, Washington agreed to loan 172 million barrels from the SPR as part of a coordinated release of the emergency stockpiles with other industrialized nations.
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The Wall Street Journal – May 12, 2026
Despite the War, Energy Stocks Are Cheap*
The world is in the middle of a historic oil crisis, yet the biggest bargains on Wall Street can be found in U.S. energy stocks. After the latest round of oil-producer earnings, analysts have raised their profit expectations for the sector. They now expect the energy stocks in the S&P 500 to generate 58% more earnings per share in 2026 than they did before the Iran war began, according to FactSet. Yet energy stocks, just like the rest of the market, have been reacting to every headline suggesting a potential breakthrough in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The price of the energy basket in the S&P 500 is just 2% higher than where it was before the war, when oil futures were close to $70 a barrel and the world had a supply glut. Today, oil prices are closer to $100 a barrel and the world has lost roughly a billion barrels of oil supply.
As a result, the sector that most directly benefits from the Strait of Hormuz closure has undergone the biggest earnings-multiple contraction since the start of the war. For investors lacking exposure to energy, this may be a good time to buy the dip. True, the sector was trading at high multiples before the conflict began. Even so, the selloff in energy equities puts the group at less than 14 times forward earnings, making it 36% cheaper than the overall index. That is steeper than its 29% discount on average over the past decade. Energy companies’ latest earnings commentary should have been a bullish sign for the stocks. Despite the surge in oil prices, oil majors and U.S. shale producers aren’t deviating much from their existing spending plans. This means there isn’t going to be a flood of oil supply to damp prices.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Axios – May 12, 2026
CPS Energy eyes more natural gas as demand soars
CPS Energy is looking to rely more on natural gas and solar power, but less on wind, as San Antonio’s electricity needs surge past what the utility forecast just three years ago. Without changes, capacity will begin to fall short of demand by the early part of the next decade, which could mean higher costs for consumers — though CPS officials say they are working to prevent that.
CPS Energy partners with Israeli construction company on San Antonio solar farm*
CPS Energy is partnering with one of Israel’s biggest construction companies to build an 867-acre solar farm on the South Side. The solar project, El Patrimonio, is a collaboration between CPS Energy, Israeli company Ashtrom Renewable Energy and San Diego-based Solv Energy. The 150-megawatt solar project, which began construction in 2025, will be the city-owned utility’s third-largest solar farm.
“CPS Energy is the number one buyer of solar energy in Texas,” said Frank Almaraz, the utility’s chief operating officer. “The partnership with Ashtrom helps maintain our leadership position.” Ashtrom Renewable will begin operating the farm next year under a 20-year power purchase agreement with CPS Energy, selling the utility 70% of the energy it generates. The project will generate enough energy to power about 37,000 homes, with the remaining 30% of generation to be sold on the Texas open electricity market. The utility estimates it will reduce carbon emissions by about 193 tons annually.
Texas county pauses data center construction in rural areas for a year
A rural Texas county on Tuesday approved a one-year pause on the construction of new data centers in unincorporated areas, citing public safety and public health concerns. The 3-2 vote by county commissioners in Hill County, roughly 55 miles south of Fort Worth, appears to be the first by a Texas county to issue a moratorium on the rapidly expanding industry.
Residents and local officials had aired concerns about how a proposed 300-acre development by the Dallas-based developer, Provident Data Centers in north Hillsboro could impact the quality of life in the rural county through noise pollution and consuming large amounts of water and electricity.
ESG Today – May 12, 2026
Google announced that it has signed a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with renewable energy developer and independent power producer Linea Energy for the production of 500 MW of energy from a new solar project in Texas, aimed at supporting the company’s data center operations in the state. The announcement marks the latest in a series of large-scale clean energy purchases by Google, including a 1 GW solar PPA signed in February with TotalEnergies in Texas, and a 1.2 GW deal with Clearway in January, to provide power to data centers in Missouri, Texas, and West Virginia.
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Politico – May 12, 2026
Trump signs hydropower licensing bill*
President Donald Trump signed legislation on Monday to extend construction deadlines for hydropower projects, a continued sign of the renewable energy source’s popularity with Republicans and Democrats alike. Lawmakers and prominent industry groups have said S. 1020, the “Build More Hydro” bill, could benefit more than three dozen hydropower projects in 15 states.
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Canary Media – May 12, 2026
Can the US harness old oil and gas wells to produce geothermal energy?
As states seek out much-needed supplies of clean, reliable energy, some are looking to an unconventional source: abandoned oil and gas wells harnessed for geothermal heat. Millions of inactive wells are littered across the United States, the relics of earlier eras of fossil fuel production. A large number of the sites have no official owner, and many are still polluting groundwater and leaking heat-trapping methane. The country has barely scratched the surface in dealing with this problem.
Policymakers in both Republican- and Democratic-led states are exploring whether these sites could instead be converted into new wells for producing geothermal energy. The holes are already drilled in the ground, after all. And regions with widespread oil and gas development have rich subsurface data that geothermal
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Utility Dive – May 12, 2026
Constellation Energy enters 5 GW of nuclear, gas, battery capacity in PJM queue
Constellation Energy has 5 GW of projects — nuclear uprates, gas-fired generation and battery storage — in the PJM Interconnection’s generation queue, company officials said Monday during an earnings conference call. However, the world’s largest independent power producer said potential data center customers are waiting to see how PJM’s pending rules for colocating load and a proposed reliability backstop auction process shake out, according to Joseph Dominguez, Constellation president and CEO.
“Some customers have been willing to continue advancing project discussions and agreement negotiations while others have chosen to pause and wait for regulatory clarity,” Dominguez said. Constellation, based in Baltimore, is also waiting to see what projects it wants to advance in PJM, according to Dominguez.
Regulatory
JD Supra – May 4, 2026
Texas Appellate Court Vacates Jury Award of $15,800,000 In Royalty Dispute: Houston Harbaugh PC
Let’s assume you own a 175 acre farm in Tioga County. In 2020, you negotiated a new oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling (the “2020 Lease”). During the negotiations you told the landman that the standard royalty clause in XYZ’s pre-printed lease form, which stipulates a 15% royalty “at the wellhead”, was unacceptable. You negotiated an addendum clause which says your royalty of 15% “shall never bear, either directly or indirectly, any cost or expense to dehydrate, compress, gather, process or transport” the raw gas.
Several years later, you receive your first royalty statement from XYZ Drilling. You are shocked, angry and confused. The royalty statement depicts significant deductions for dehydration, compression and gathering. You call XYZ Drilling and tell them there must be a mistake as the 2020 Lease addendum prohibits all deductions. They say there is no mistake – the pre-printed royalty clause still mandates a valuation point at the wellhead. Given that language, XYZ Drilling asserts that the downstream costs (i.e. dehydration, compression and gathering) can be deducted from the sales price to arrive at a so-called wellhead value. How is this possible?