Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Friday February 27, 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
Top Stories
Oil Price – February 26, 2026
$5 Billion Pipeline Deal Could Be Coming to the Gulf Coast
Texas-based EnCap Flatrock Midstream is considering a sale of gas pipeline operator Momentum Midstream in a deal that could fetch $5 billion. According to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources, the venture capital firm is currently talking with financial advisers to find a buyer. The sources noted that talks are in their early stages and EnCap Flatrock Midstream may eventually decide against a sale.
If it does sell Momentum Midstream, however, it would make one of the largest deals in the oil and gas pipeline space, after the Brookfield Infrastructure Partners acquisition of Colonial Enterprises for $9 billion. Momentum Midstream operates a network of 4,000 miles of pipelines with a system capacity of 6 billion cu ft of natural gas daily. The company reports some 4 billion cu ft in minimum volume commitments and 20 billion cu ft in daily connectivity via 91 interconnections. Momentum services 10 LNG-producing facilities and 26 power plants.
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Pipeline & Gas Journal – February 26, 2026
Diversified Strikes $245 Million Deal for East Texas Gas Assets
Diversified Energy Company has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire high-working interest natural gas properties and related facilities in East Texas from Sheridan Production for $245 million. The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, will be funded through existing liquidity under Diversified’s senior secured bank facility, subject to customary closing conditions.
The assets are contiguous with Diversified’s existing East Texas footprint and are expected to add approximately 62 million cubic feet equivalent per day of estimated 2026 net production. The properties carry an estimated 397 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved developed producing (PDP) reserves with a PV-10 value of approximately $310 million.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 26, 2026
Rare-Earth Miner MP Materials to Invest More Than $1.25 Billion in New Texas Factory*
MP Materials plans to invest more than $1.25 billion in its upcoming large-scale rare-earth magnet manufacturing campus in Northlake, Texas, fulfilling a key component of its partnership with the U.S. Defense Department. The new campus, dubbed “10X”, builds on its existing manufacturing capacity in North Texas, adding to its current facility in Fort Worth, the U.S.’s largest rare-earths miner said Thursday. MP Materials expects to create more than 1,500 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs at the site, and engineering and equipment procurement is underway. The facility is expected to come online in 2028.
Once operational, the factory is set to contribute to the company’s total production capacity of around 10,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets per year, advancing the U.S.’s ability to produce these components locally, said MP Materials. This comes after the miner struck a deal for the Defense Department to take a 15% stake in the company in July last year. The deal called for MP Materials build a new factory to make rare-earth magnets at a scale that vastly exceeds current U.S. magnet production, aiming to undercut China’s rare-earth dominance. Rare-earth magnets, which are needed in industrial products such as automobiles, wind turbines, jet fighters and missile systems, have been at the center of the recent U.S.-China trade war. Beijing began limiting rare-earth exports after President Trump imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods in April last year. The two countries reached a trade truce in June, but the threat of a future cutoff of supplies remain.
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The Hill – February 26, 2026
Reconciliation bill subsidizes fossil fuels by $3.5B each year, Democratic report finds
Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act subsidizes fossil fuels by an average of $3.5 billion each year, according to a new report from Senate Budget Committee Democrats. An analysis that was first shared with The Hill tabulated both official and unofficial estimates of the impacts of the bill’s pro-fossil fuel policies and averaged them over a 10-year period.
The report only looks at provisions that specifically help the fossil fuel industry and does not include general corporate tax cuts that are likely to bolster those firms as well as others. It points to industry savings from tax breaks, fee reductions for producing fuels on public lands and in public waters and funding for the industry, among other policies. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) argued that the measure, which President Trump signed into law in July, prioritizes corporations, including fossil fuel companies, over everyday Americans.
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Dallas Morning News – February 26, 2026
Texas says Vanguard settles collusion suit for $29.5 Million*
Texas said Vanguard Group Inc. agreed to pay a total of $29.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a dozen states that accused the asset manager of colluding to manipulate the energy market and reduce coal output. As part of the deal, Vanguard also will “avoid imposing ESG goals over its customers’ profitability,” according to a statement by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Office. A court filing Thursday showed Vanguard was dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Vanguard said in a statement that the decision to settle “allows us to put this distraction behind us and focus on what matters — giving our investors the best chance for investment success.” The states had also sued BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp., and that litigation remains ongoing. The suit is one of the most high-profile cases against the beleaguered environmental, social and governance investment strategy.
Paxton sued the asset managers in 2024, claiming they coordinated to pressure coal companies to reduce their production under the guise of pursuing environmental and social investing goals. The firms have been a frequent target of Republican leaders for their voting and investment policies, so much so that they have retreated from ESG in the U.S. State Street, in a statement, said the “lawsuit remains baseless and without merit. This settlement does not change that.”
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The Latest TERse Tips
U.S. and Iran wrap up ‘most intense’ nuclear talks with no deal, more negotiations ahead — CNBC
Pakistan Declares ‘Open War’ With Afghanistan After Cross-Border Attacks — Patience has run out’ over Taliban attacks, Pakistan defense minister says — The Wall Street Journal*
Valero said flares were released at its 255,000-bpd Houston refinery in Texas due to a blackout it suffered Wednesday, with emissions lasting 18 hours — Quantum Commodity Intelligence*
Venezuela-backed US refiner Citgo is working to restart the fluid catalytic cracking unit at the Corpus Christi refinery in Texas after maintenance
Oilman David Arrington has been seeking to drill on the Midland College campus since 2019, and on Monday, the school’s board of trustees will once again consider his offer — Midland Reporter-Telegram*
Federal regulators gave the go-ahead Wednesday for Williams Cos. to launch construction of a major gas pipeline in the Southeast, nearly a month after approving the project — in a brief letter, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Williams’ Feb. 18 request to begin building the Southeast Supply Enhancement project. The undertaking involves laying roughly 55 miles of 42-inch diameter pipe in Virginia and North Carolina, as well as new compressor units — E&E News By Politico*
Tetra Technologies announces 4Q and full-year results — see the press release
An Oklahoma federal magistrate transferred a lawsuit alleging that APA Corp. underpaid oil and gas royalties to a Texas federal court, ruling that because the underlying leases and alleged royalty underpayments occurred in Texas, and the majority of evidence is located there, the case belongs in the Southern District of Texas — Law 360
Vistra 4Q report features GAAP full-year 2025 Net Income of $944 million, including an unrealized loss from hedges expected to settle in future years of $808 million, and Cash Flow from Operations of $4,070 million — see the press release
Big Oil Is Urging Trump to Stop Battle on Offshore Wind — the president’s assault on wind farms is stalling a legislative push to speed permitting for energy projects — The Wall Street Journal
U.S. Power-Plant Pollution Rose Sharply in 2025 — rising emissions coincide with Trump administration’s push for coal use and the rollback of Biden-era climate regulations — The Wall Street Journal
Cheniere Energy, Inc. announced Thursday that its subsidiary, Cheniere Marketing International LLP, has entered into a long-term liquefied natural gas sale and purchase agreement with CPC Corporation, Taiwan — see the press release
Crescent Energy pulled an additional $355.3 million worth of oily Eagle Ford royalties into its minerals portfolio, putting its total holdings into a new unit, Crescent Royalties — Hart Energy* — see Crescent’s 4Q earnings call
Permian Resources, master of Delaware Basin dealmaking, has the balance sheet strength of $3 billion for more M&A — Hart Energy*
Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc, said Tuesday it has sold its 200-MWh Fort Duncan battery storage facility in Maverick County, Texas to Hunt Energy Network LLC — Renewables Now
Independent power producer Bimergen Energy Corporation on Tuesday announced that its Redbird project, a 100 MW / 400 MWh battery energy storage system located in Texas, has been formally approved for participation under its Joint Development Agreement and that the Company has selected Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc.’s Z3™ zinc-based battery technology for the project — see the press release
Constellation Energy Corporation Tuesday reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025 — see the press release
U.S. military forces boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker in the Indo-Pacific Command (IndoPaCom) region on Tuesday which was tracked from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean — The Hill
Oil & Gas Texas
Houston Chronicle – February 26, 2026
Texas’s most dangerous statewide candidate in the midterm election wants to oversee one of the least understood state agencies and has a powerful and secretive Republican billionaire bankrolling him. Bo French, known for intolerance and antisemitism, seeks election to the three-member Railroad Commission of Texas, which has nothing to do with railroads and everything to do with oil and gas. The scion of two prominent Fort Worth families, French promises to “cut the stranglehold on oil and gas operators so that Texans can thrive.” Because according to French, Texas Republicans are still oppressing their biggest donors and making the state inhospitable to the fossil fuel industry after 32 years in power. I’m not sure which is more shameful, French’s craven politicking or unrepentant bigotry.
French’s father Bob French made over $100 million drilling for oil and gas and was a major donor to the University of Texas, and his mother Marcia Fuller French was a trustee at Texas Christian University. Bo French used his family fortune to enter politics and lost two races for the Texas Legislature. While serving as the Tarrant County Republican chairman, French got into trouble last year when he posted a poll on Twitter, now known as X. He asked Texans to vote on the “bigger threat to America:” Jews or Muslims? That was too much even for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party. Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas. I am calling for the immediate resignation and replacement of @BoFrenchTX as @tarrantgop chairman,” Patrick posted.
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San Antonio Express-News – February 26, 2026
Valero Energy hit with lawsuits over refinery explosion that left 1 man dead, 4 others injured*
Five lawsuits have been filed against San Antonio’s Valero Energy Corp. over an Oklahoma refinery explosion and fire that left one worker dead and four others injured. The family of Jesse Biscamp has filed a wrongful death suit over the Feb. 9 incident at Valero’s Ardmore refinery. He died two days after the fire. The suit filed in Houston names Valero Energy, Valero Refining-Texas LP and his employer, Deer Park-based UPS Industrial Services LLC, as defendants.
Three of the injured workers filed their suits in state District Court in San Antonio. The refinery is about 100 miles north of Dallas and employs about 270 people. Those four suits each seek more than $1 million in damages. It couldn’t immediately be determined where the fifth lawsuit was filed. Valero issued an emailed statement Thursday. “Valero is providing the medical coverage for the injured workers and is working cooperatively with regulators to determine the cause of the fire,” it said. “We do not comment on pending litigation.”
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 26, 2026
Viper Energy grows to $18 billion after deals, eyes S&P 500 listing*
Viper Energy helped pioneer the mineral and royalty ownership market, becoming the first such company to go public in the U.S. in 2014. Viper was founded in 2013 and went public a year later, according to Chief Executive Officer Kaes Van’t Hof, attending a Midland Wildcat Committee reception honoring the company. At the time, he said it was a new business model, explaining that Viper was founded because “minerals and royalty ownership is all free cash flow and no capital expenditures and should trade at higher multiples than exploration and production companies.”
Beginning with a $2 billion valuation, the subsidiary of Diamondback Energy is now capitalized at $18 billion. Last year, the company made two $4 billion acquisitions. One was the dropdown acquisition of Endeavor minerals following Diamondback’s purchase of Endeavor Energy Resources. Another was the $4.1 billion acquisition of Sitio Royalty, which Van’t Hof said doubled Viper’s size.
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Maritime Executive – February 25, 2026
An American Energy Company is Preparing to Drill for Oil in Greenland
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the annexation of Greenland on national security grounds, noting the increased activity of other powers in the region. Greenland’s rich deposits of rare earth elements also come up in the heated debate over the island’s ownership. Often overlooked in the debate, however, is the potential presence of a vast repository of onshore oil – and current, active efforts by an American company to drill for it. …
After a period of quiet preparation, the current license holders are preparing for an exploration campaign in the area. The license is currently 100-percent owned by 80 Mile, a firm based in London. Texas-based company March GL stands to accumulate a 70 percent stake in the development of the license area once drilling commences. … For its part, March GL is on track to sell itself to a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, and will soon become the publicly-listed “Greenland Energy Company” – to be helmed by March GL CEO Robert Price, a longtime oil executive and serial entrepreneur. Under this management structure, the project is moving forward. Halliburton has been hired to handle logistics. Petroleum engineering will be handled by IPT, and Stampede Drilling has been hired for drilling services.
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Bloomberg – February 26, 2026
Scott Bessent Tosses Out an Economic Valentine to Texas (blog)*
The world’s eighth-largest economy earned a Valentine from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the other day. He was in Dallas hours after the US Supreme Court struck down his boss’s signature tariff regime. And right about the same time that President Donald Trump was blasting the justices’ decision, Bessent was gushing about Texas. “Texas is what a diversified economy looks like,” Bessent said in a speech at the Old Parkland complex to the Economic Club of Dallas, citing advanced manufacturing, technology and finance. He added: “In many respects, Texas embodies what this administration is working to build nationally.”
Bessent’s remarks landed at the intersection of policy and politics in this midterm year. While job growth slowed in 2025, Texas boasts a swelling population, wins in corporate relocations, a resurgent energy industry and a data-center boom. GDP growth ranks No. 5 among the states since 2022, made all the more impressive by Texas’ size (it’s behind only California in state GDP, and would rank ahead of Canada and Russia, among others, if it were an independent country.)
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CPR News – February 25, 2026
Chevron-subsidiary Noble Energy faces $1.53 million penalty for Weld County oil blowout
State regulators have proposed fining the Chevron-subsidiary Noble Energy $1.53 million for its role in a massive oil spill last April in Weld County. By far the largest spill in Colorado since at least 2015, a well operated by the company spewed more than a million gallons of oil, natural gas, polluted water and chemicals for nearly four days in rural Galeton, Colorado. A misty plume also contaminated crops, homes and an elementary school about a mile away.
The proposed penalties announced Monday came after the Energy and Carbon Management Commission accused the company of violating six oil and gas regulations during a June 2025 hearing. Those include rules related to pollution, water quality standards and operating equipment safely. Some of those violations carried fines as high as $15,000 a day. The largest penalty came for Noble’s failure to submit soil testing results to regulators within seven days.
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Simply Wall Street – February 22, 3036
Energy Transfer Shifts From LNG To Data Center Fueled Gas Growth
For a company known primarily for long haul pipelines and export oriented projects, NYSE:ET is now putting more emphasis on serving U.S. data centers and power hungry infrastructure. The new Oracle agreement links its extensive natural gas network directly to a large scale tech customer, supported by sizeable, multi year volume commitments. At the same time, pausing the Lake Charles LNG project indicates a shift in capital priorities toward domestic buildout.
For you as an investor, the key point is that this change in focus may alter Energy Transfer’s earnings mix over time toward contracted, infrastructure based cash flows tied to data center demand. As you review the details, it can be helpful to compare pipeline expansion plans, contract terms, and capital spending with the paused LNG export option.
Oil & Gas National & International
Bloomberg – February 26, 2026
BP Goes Big on Shale Oil Drilling as Many Rivals Flatline Output*
BP Plc is aggressively expanding shale drilling, bucking the conservative approach of many rivals, as the UK oil giant seeks to reverse years of anemic output. The company’s BPX Energy unit plans to increase production from shale fields by 8% this year, BPX Chief Executive Officer Kyle Koontz said during an interview in Houston. Shale output equivalent to 500,000 barrels a day would make up roughly 20% of the parent company’s current worldwide production. By the end of the decade, Koontz’s goal is to raise that to 650,000 a day. The plan is part of BP’s grander ambitions of reversing a plunge in production, profits and shareholder value from an ill-starred 2020 pivot to renewables and low-carbon alternatives.
The contrarian move also comes as marquee shale outfits such as Diamondback Energy Inc. and EOG Resources Inc. rein in production growth, taking a wait-and-see approach amid widespread warnings of an impending worldwide crude glut that would tank prices. Koontz, a University of Oklahoma-trained petroleum engineer who cut this teeth at shale pioneer Tom Ward’s SandRidge Energy Inc., aims to squeeze more crude from US shale fields while lowering operating costs, a move that will free up more cash for the parent company’s far-flung international pursuits. “We’re also going to spend $800 million in less capital” on the way to the 2030 target, Koontz said. “The reason that’s exciting for BP is that allows them to sanction other growth projects; they can redeploy that capital to other growth.”
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S&P Global Platts – February 26, 2026
US EPA to finalize biofuel mandate, refinery exemptions by end-March
The US Environmental Protection Agency has submitted the long-delayed proposal for biofuel volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, to the US Office of Management and Budget for approval, said US EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Aaron Szabo on Feb. 25 during a trade conference in Orlando. The EPA sets annual Renewable fuel Volume Obligations, or RVOs, under the RFS, which determines blending obligations and compliance deadlines for biofuel producers and refiners in 2026 and 2027.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard Set 2 final rule is going to OMB today and we will be finalizing the rule by the end of March,” Szabo said at the National Ethanol Conference, organized in Orlando. For 2026-2027, the EPA’s “Set 2” rules proposed higher RVOs compared to previous years, particularly increasing biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel categories.
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MSN – February 26, 2026
Oil sales under US-Venezuela deal expected to reach $2 billion by end of February, US says
Sales under a flagship oil supply agreement between Venezuela and the U.S. are expected to reach $2 billion by the end of this month, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told reporters in Texas on Thursday. The U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil exports shortly after U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in early January, with proceeds going to a U.S.-supervised fund in Qatar.
Since then, trading houses Vitol and Trafigura have been marketing and trading the lion’s share of the OPEC country’s oil under the pact, while partners of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, particularly Chevron, are boosting output and shipments. Earlier in February, Wright projected that oil sales from the country would reach $5 billion within a few months. The export increase is already returning Venezuela’s crude and fuel to markets that had not seen it arriving for months or years.
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Bloomberg – February 26, 2026
A Supreme Court Shield for Big Oil Would Come at Your Expense: Mark Gongloff*
When we talk about someone wanting to both eat their cake and still have it, we’re using a logical impossibility to highlight the cake-haver’s delusional mental state. When it comes to the fossil-fuel industry’s cake and its treatment by President Donald Trump’s administration and possibly the Supreme Court, almost anything is literally possible, logic be damned. Earlier this week, at the urging of Trump’s Justice Department, the Supreme Court agreed to consider an appeal by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Suncor Energy Inc. to throw out a lawsuit brought by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, that seeks to recoup climate-change damage from the oil giants. It’s not clear whether the high court will ultimately take the case because it also asked the two sides to present arguments on whether the case is truly ready to be heard. Those are expected in the fall.
But the mere fact that the Supreme Court, which has passed on many similar cases before, has finally turned its gaze in Boulder’s direction is not reassuring to Boulder nor to the many other local and state governments taking legal action to help pay for the environmental chaos caused by global heating. The Supreme Court’s attention creates the very real possibility that conservative justices will find a way to give fossil-fuel companies a legal defense against all such actions. Complicating matters is the fact that Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency has also declared that, contrary to its previous stance (not to mention earlier Supreme Court rulings and congressional declarations), it no longer considers greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant needing regulation under the Clean Air Act of 1963.
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February 20, 2026
Newsom’s Climate Policy Backfires: The Wall Street Journal*
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week took a victory lap in London after signing a climate deal with the United Kingdom. California, he said, “is the best place in America to invest in a clean economy because we set clear goals and we deliver.” Yes, behold how Mr. Newsom’s climate policies are delivering higher energy costs, fewer jobs, and even more CO2 emissions. Phillips 66 announced this month it is laying off 277 workers at its Los Angeles refinery as it winds down operations there. Valero Energy plans to shut down a Northern California refinery this spring, which will cost hundreds of more jobs. All told, California has lost roughly a quarter of its refinery capacity since Mr. Newsom became Governor in 2019.
Refiners say the state’s burdensome regulations—e.g., its cap-and-trade program, low-carbon fuel standard and threatened tax on “excessive” gross margins—make it uneconomic to operate older facilities. As a result of refinery closures, California is having to import more gasoline at higher cost from abroad, including—get this—from the Bahamas off the East Coast. California’s refined fuel imports have increased by more than 30% compared to late 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration. The top sources are Canada, South Korea, Japan, India and the Bahamas. Why doesn’t California get its gasoline from the energy-rich U.S. Gulf Coast? Because the state lacks pipelines to the region and the 1920 Jones Act requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on American-built, -owned and -operated vessels.
There are few Jones Act-compliant oil tankers in the world. However, some Gulf Coast shippers have devised a nifty Jones Act work-around that involves a circuitous route through the Bahamas. The ironic upshot of the state’s anti-fossil fuel regulations is higher CO2 emissions from all that transport to get the oil to California. In case Mr. Newsom doesn’t know, most oil tankers run on petroleum-based fuels.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
KTXS – February 25, 2026
A $3 Trillion AI boom is set to make Texas the largest data center market on Earth
Texas is projected to become the largest data center market on Earth, driven by an AI-powered infrastructure boom that is expected to funnel roughly $3 trillion into the global sector, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook anticipates global capacity will nearly double over the next decade to meet surging AI workloads. The firm’s North America Data Center Report — Year-End 2025 shows Texas capturing a significant portion of new construction, cementing its role as the world’s leading data center hub by 2030.
While analysts highlight the economic opportunities, residents across West Texas have mixed feelings about this rapid expansion. Abilene resident David Washington shared his perspective on the changes sweeping through the region. “West Texas is trying to grow. Maybe this will help. More people are coming to Texas from different states. I came here from California,” Washington said. “I think we need to just let it happen. People need the jobs. I think this will be great.”
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KLTV – February 26, 2026
ERCOT workshops how to support power requests from data centers
Texas is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s top destinations for AI data centers, bitcoin mining operations, and other power-hungry facilities. But there’s a critical problem: the state’s power grid may not be able to keep up with the explosive growth. Massive data centers are sprouting up across Texas—sprawling buildings designed to power AI tools like ChatGPT and Grok. Bitcoin mining operations are expanding rapidly alongside them. All of these facilities share one critical need: enormous amounts of electricity. The numbers are staggering:
-2026: Requests to connect to the Texas grid from “large load” projects could reach 33,000 megawatts.
-By 2030: That number is projected to explode to more than 200,000 megawatts.
ERCOT is currently fielding requests totaling more than 200 gigawatts. That’s equivalent to powering 140 million homes—far exceeding current capacity. To put this in perspective: one gigawatt of power can keep the lights on for 700,000 homes.
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Investing – February 26, 2026
New Era Energy signs LOI to acquire 54 acres in Texas
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. announced Thursday it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire approximately 54 acres of land adjacent to its Texas Critical Data Centers campus in Ector County, Texas. The acquisition emerged from ongoing lease negotiations with a hyperscale tenant and partners, according to a company press release. The additional acreage would expand the company’s TCDC campus to 438 acres, which is planned to scale to more than 1 gigawatt over time.
New Era has begun site advancement activities including land clearing, removal of abandoned pipeline infrastructure, relocation of active lines, and subsurface soil sampling to support civil engineering design.The expansion comes as the company trades at a market capitalization of $262 million, though InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is currently overvalued relative to its Fair Value. Shares have surged over 900% in the past six months, reflecting strong investor interest in AI infrastructure plays.
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Reuters – February 26, 2026
NextEra Energy to sell $2 billion of equity units to fund energy projects*
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The Hill – February 26, 2026
Power plant pollution rose last year, green group analysis finds
U.S. power plant pollution rose last year, according to a green group’s analysis of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data. Emissions of sulfur dioxide increased by 18 percent in 2025, according to an analysis of the EPA data by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
The group found that plants’ nitrogen oxide emissions increased 7 percent and their carbon dioxide emissions increased by 4 percent. Both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can harm people’s respiratory systems. The analysis found that at the dozens of coal plants that President Trump exempted from strict Biden-era standards for Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS), sulfur dioxide emissions increased by 24 percent.
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Utility Dive – February 25, 226
Constellation Energy sees surging power, capacity prices in 2025
Wholesale electricity and capacity prices surged last year in key power markets, according to Constellation Energy, a major independent power producer. Average day-ahead electricity prices in the PJM West region, for example, jumped 49%, to $50.19/MWh; prices in the ComEd region surged 44%, to $36.62/MWh, Constellation said in its annual report, filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market grew 22% last year, to $32.94/MWh, while prices in New England jumped 64%, to $68.56/MWh, according to the report. Fuel prices, generating resources in a region, weather, competition, emerging technologies, as well as macroeconomic and regulatory factors all can affect electricity prices, Constellation said.
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The Hill – February 25, 2026
Trump to announce electricity ‘rate payer protection pledges’ from Big Tech
President Trump, during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, is expected to announce agreements with Big Tech aimed at mitigating data centers’ impact on rising electricity prices. A White House official confirmed to The Hill that Trump is expected to unveil “rate payer protection pledges” under which companies would pay increased electricity costs in areas where new data centers are built.
It’s expected to be one of several economic announcements that Trump makes during the highly anticipated speech. “The President will proudly tout his Administration’s many record-breaking accomplishments, and also lay out an ambitious agenda to continue bringing the American Dream back for working people,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a written statement.
Regulatory
The Hill – February 26, 2026
EPA firing 22 environmental justice staffers, union says
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved to fire 22 more of its staffers, a union representing agency employees said Thursday. Justin Chen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, which represents EPA staff, said that the agency issued reduction in force (RIF) notices to 22 people who work on “environmental justice,” meaning they tackle pollution in overburdened or underserved communities.
“AFGE Council 238 is outraged by the EPA’s decision to issue RIF notices to 22 environmental justice employees whose work ensures that communities disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards receive the protections they are entitled to,” Chen said in a written statement.
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Texas Public Radio (NPR) – February 26, 2026
Secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules are made public
The Department of Energy has made public a set of new rules that slash environmental and security requirements for experimental nuclear reactors. Last month, NPR reported on the existence of the rules, which were quietly rewritten to accelerate development of a new generation of nuclear reactor designs.
The rule changes came about after President Trump signed an executive order calling for three or more of the experimental reactors to come online by July 4 of this year — an incredibly tight deadline in the world of nuclear power. The order led to the creation of a new Reactor Pilot Program at the Department of Energy.
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Politico – February 26, 2026
House approves bill to undo IRA energy efficiency programs*
The House approved legislation Wednesday that would repeal energy efficiency programs from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ 2022 landmark climate law. The “Homeowner Energy Freedom Act,” H.R. 4758 from Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas), would scrap efforts to help low- and middle-income households make home improvements that save energy. “These green energy regulations fail to lower utility costs and increase overall costs of new homes,” Goldman said during floor debate. “This bill restores Americans’ freedom to make their own choices in their own homes.”
The bill passed 210-199 with only Republican support. One Democrat, Don Davis of North Carolina, voted present. House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and other bill critics framed their argument from the affordability lens. They say energy efficiency rollbacks hurt Americans’ bottom line. “Last night, the president finally admitted that the people — the American public — are concerned about price increases,” Pallone said about President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. “If you care about affordability, why would you repeal a rebate program that helps Americans with their electricity bills?”
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Thursday February 26, 2026
Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall
Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Top Stories
Bloomberg – February 25, 2026
Slowing US Shale Growth Has Fracking Companies Finding New Markets Abroad*
US fracking companies are increasingly sending their idle equipment overseas, finding new markets abroad as growth slows in the shale fields of Texas, New Mexico and elsewhere. Over the past two years, hundreds of pumps the size of 18-wheelers have been sent to Argentina by providers including Halliburton Co. and Calfrac Well Services Ltd., and to Australia by Liberty Energy Inc. and Halliburton, according to estimates from analytics firm Primary Vision. The shipments also include sand towers, water tanks, industrial blenders and miles of hoses used to inject fluid and sand into rock layers more than a mile underground. Investments in new pumps and fracturing equipment have also been made by companies like Tenaris SA to support the growing Vaca Muerta region of Argentina.
All this equipment amounts to nearly one-fifth of the fracking power deployed in the Permian Basin as recently as last year, and more could follow. Halliburton, the world’s largest fracking service provider, has said it sees incentives to move equipment abroad as its international business expands. Sending underused diesel-powered fleets abroad could help oil-field service companies recover after years of squeezed profits and pressure from customers to lower costs. There is a downside, however, for the oil and gas producers that hire Halliburton and the others to frack their wells: less equipment in the US is apt to drive up costs when and if companies start ramping up production again.
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The Guardian (UK) – February 25, 2026
Judge orders Greenpeace to pay $345m over Dakota Access pipeline protest
A North Dakota judge has said he will order Greenpeace to pay damages expected to total $345m in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline from nearly a decade ago, a figure the environmental group contends it cannot pay. In court papers filed Tuesday, Judge James Gion said he would sign an order requiring several Greenpeace entities to pay the judgment to pipeline company Energy Transfer. He set that amount at $345m last year in a decision that reduced a jury’s damages by about half, but his latest filing did not specify a final amount.
The long-awaited order is expected to launch an appeal process in the North Dakota supreme court from both sides. Last year, a nine-person jury found Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc liable for defamation and other claims brought by Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.
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Politico – February 25, 2026
Feds strip protections from lesser prairie chicken, launch ESA study*
The Fish and Wildlife Service removed lesser prairie chickens from the list of protected species Wednesday, announcing the start of a new effort to determine the status of the high-profile, ground-hugging bird. Bending to litigation brought by ranchers, the oil and gas industry and several red states, the federal agency dropped the lesser prairie chicken’s northern distinct population from the roster of threatened species. The bird’s southern distinct population is losing its designation as endangered.
But the dual delistings do not mean the end of the long-running debate over the bird that inhabits some energy-rich regions. Instead, the wrangling can begin anew as FWS reconsiders the 2022 ESA listing decisions struck down by a Texas judge last August. “We are particularly interested in information that has become available since, or was not considered in, the 2022 final listing rule,” FWS stated. The lesser prairie chicken is currently found in southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. It requires large intact blocks of prairie habitat to flourish. It has also commanded considerable attention for a great many years.
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Bloomberg – February 25, 2026
Iran Ramps Up Oil Tanker Loading as US Builds Military Force*
Iran has been loading oil onto tankers at a rapid pace in recent days, a potential sign of the Persian Gulf state’s preparations in case of an attack by the US. Exports from Kharg Island from Feb. 15 to 20 were at nearly 20.1 million barrels, data from Kpler show. That’s almost three times the amount loaded over the same dates in January and the equivalent of more than 3 million barrels a day, far beyond Tehran’s usual daily rate. The increase comes as the US amasses the largest fighting force in the Middle East since the second Gulf War in 2003. Last year, shortly before American air strikes, Iran rushed to get its oil out of its ports by shipping large volumes onto tankers and sending as much as it could to Kharg Island. A similar pattern was also observed in 2024 during a period of elevated tension.
Oil production and exports are a key pillar of support for Iran’s economy, and the race to load barrels onto vessels would allow Tehran to unlock as much production as possible before any potential disruption. Those barrels, mostly exported from Kharg Island, would need to transit the Strait of Hormuz and largely on tankers that do their best to avoid detection. Satellite data offer a glimpse on the level of activity at the island. It’s unclear what will happen to the ships that have loaded this time around, but it’s possible they will disperse widely if the US does eventually attack, according to Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, which specializes in analysis of satellite imagery. Iran has been loading “as much oil as possible” lately, he said Wednesday, adding that tankers “will definitely disperse away from the island in case of a new round of air strikes.”
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The Hill – February 25, 2026
Data centers’ air pollution associated with lung issues: Report
Emissions from data centers can cause breathing issues and premature deaths for those living nearby, according to a new report. The report was compiled by Community & Environmental Defense Services (CEDS) founder and president Richard Klein, who has been working in development-related concerns for 40 years. Klein found that a single data center could pose negative health risks for people living at least 0.6 miles away, sometimes further.
Klein said risks increase when a home is near multiple data centers. A growing number of Americans in the central U.S. live near one or more data centers or will in the near future. Data centers are massive buildings that store computing equipment and support IT servers, data storage and networks.
The Latest TERse Tips
Trump builds case for war with Iran ahead of pivotal talks — The Hill
White House Says Iran Is Close to Weapons-Grade Nuclear Material. Experts Say No. — Iran’s uranium-enrichment program has stalled, say experts, despite U.S. war preparations — The Wall Street Journal*
Iran nears deal to buy supersonic anti-ship missiles from China — Reuters*
Kerry Knorpp has passed away at 72 — he was a celebrated lobbyist representing land and mineral owners before the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Legislature and a friend of Texas Energy Report — see the obituary
Drought nears six years in Midland-Odessa; conservation urged — the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest map shows portions of Midland County are in severe drought while Ector County is in moderate drought. Statewide, the map shows the total area of the state impacted by drought is up about 0.1 percentage point. Twenty-five percent of the state is abnormally dry and could slip into drought in the coming weeks — Midland Reporter-Telegram*
The Woodlands’ Excelerate Energy Inc. on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $9.1 million — see the press release
Archrock, Inc. on Wednesday reported results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025 — see the press release
The RRC assessed more than $1.27 million in enforcement fines against oil and gas operators and related businesses during its latest open meeting, reinforcing compliance requirements across the state’s energy sector.– World Oil
Fermi Inc which operates as Fermi America in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, Wednesday announced that the TCEQ has granted final approval of the nation’s second largest Clean Air Permit for 6 gigawatts of clean natural gas-based power generation at its landmark 11 GW Project Matador campus — see the press release
China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains is not as absolute as it may appear — China accounted for 78% of global refined output of the battery metal in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. But it lacks significant domestic mining capacity, leaving it highly dependent on imports of raw materials, and that vulnerability has been exposed by the export controls imposed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest source of cobalt intermediate products for Chinese processors, writes Andy Home for Reuters
E.ON earnings rose as it expanded and upgraded energy infrastructure across Europe, with the electric utility company betting on growing demand as it raises its investment plan — the Germany-based electric utility company said adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for 2025 rose 9% to 9.85 billion euros ($11.60 billion). This compares with 9.785 billion euros analysts had expected according to a consensus compiled by the company — The Wall Street Journal*
Oil & Gas Texas
Bloomberg – February 25, 2026
Resurrection of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Threatens to Reignite Controversy*
One of the most controversial US energy projects, long thought to be dead and buried, might be coming back to life. The Keystone XL pipeline, a totemic project to bring more Canadian crude to the US Gulf Coast, was canceled by President Joe Biden on his first day in office. Yet five years later, there are signs of revival. Bridger Pipeline, a private US company, filed an application last month with Montana regulators to build a 550,000-barrel-a-day conduit to move Canadian crude through the state into Wyoming. The new project would start near the spot where Keystone XL was supposed to cross into Canada and follow much of the originally planned route.
Meanwhile, north of the border, South Bow Corp., the company spun off from Keystone XL developer TC Energy Corp., is considering how to use existing infrastructure to boost exports to the US. Neither company is saying so, but this looks like a quiet revival of Keystone XL, in spirit if not in name. If that turns out to be the case, it would be significant for at least two reasons. First, a resurrection of Keystone XL, even in reduced form and under a different name, would be a win for President Donald Trump, who has called for the project to resume.
Trump isn’t the only leader seeking to pivot from his predecessor’s energy legacy. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pushed to build more pipelines and raised the prospect of a Keystone XL comeback during a meeting at the White House last year. Building more capacity could be politically beneficial for both leaders. Second, even a partial revival of Keystone XL could make it a lightning rod for protests once again, especially as Biden cited climate goals as he revoked the project’s permit back in 2021.
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Rigzone – February 25, 2026
EOG Resources Inc on Tuesday reported $701 million in net profit and $1.22 billion in adjusted net profit for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, both down sequentially and year-on-year on lower oil and gas price realizations in the United States. Earnings per share adjusted for extraordinary or nonrecurring items landed at $2.27, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.2. Dividend per share remains at $1.02.
The Houston, Texas-based oil and gas explorer and producer, operating mainly in the U.S. with a smaller footprint in Trinidad and Bahrain, logged an average production of 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboepd), up from 1.3 MMboepd in the prior three-month period and 1.1 MMboepd in Q4 2024. Crude oil and condensate output in Q4 2025 was 546,100 bpd, up quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. Natural gas production stood at 3.07 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfpd), up quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. Natural gas liquids production averaged 342,100 bpd, also up quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.
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E&E News By Politico – February 25, 2026
PHMSA wants to issue permit to Sable Offshore to restart Calif. pipeline*
Federal regulators want to issue a special permit to allow a Texas company to restart a coastal pipeline network in California that failed in 2015 and resulted in one of the worst oil spills in state history. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Monday posted a notice proposing granting Sable Offshore a special permit to restart two segments of the Santa Ynez pipeline system, which transports oil drilled offshore through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties.
The proposed waiver is a win for Sable, which has turned to the federal government for support in restarting its pipeline since hitting significant opposition among state and local California officials. Sable needs a special permit to operate its pipeline due to a consent decree imposed after the 2015 oil spill, before Sable purchased it.
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Transport Topics – February 25, 2026
Fracking Companies Turn to Global Buyers for Idle Equipment
U.S. fracking companies are increasingly sending their idle equipment overseas, finding new markets abroad as growth slows in the shale fields of Texas, New Mexico and elsewhere. Over the past two years, hundreds of pumps the size of 18-wheelers have been sent to Argentina by providers including Halliburton Co., Calfrac Well Services Ltd. and Tenaris SA, and to Australia by Liberty Energy Inc. and Halliburton, according to estimates from analytics firm Primary Vision. The shipments also include sand towers, water tanks, industrial blenders and miles of hoses used to inject fluid and sand into rock layers more than a mile underground.
Halliburton ranks No. 8 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America. Calfrac ranks No. 85. All this equipment amounts to nearly one-fifth of the fracking power deployed in the Permian Basin as recently as last year, and more could follow. Halliburton, the world’s largest fracking service provider, has said it sees incentives to move equipment abroad as its international business expands. Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. also sees an opening in Argentina for its diesel equipment as it transitions its U.S. fleet to run on natural gas, CEO Andy Hendricks said.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 25, 226
Viper Energy grows to $18 billion after deals, eyes S&P 500 listing*
Viper Energy helped pioneer the mineral and royalty ownership market, becoming the first such company to go public in the U.S. in 2014. Viper was founded in 2013 and went public a year later, according to Chief Executive Officer Kaes Van’t Hof, attending a Midland Wildcat Committee reception honoring the company. At the time, he said it was a new business model, explaining that Viper was founded because “minerals and royalty ownership is all free cash flow and no capital expenditures and should trade at higher multiples than exploration and production companies.”
Beginning with a $2 billion valuation, the subsidiary of Diamondback Energy is now capitalized at $18 billion. Last year, the company made two $4 billion acquisitions. One was the dropdown acquisition of Endeavor minerals following Diamondback’s purchase of Endeavor Energy Resources. Another was the $4.1 billion acquisition of Sitio Royalty, which Van’t Hof said doubled Viper’s size.
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The New York Times – February 25, 2026
Abu Dhabi’s State Oil Company Looks Beyond Oil*
Until Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber was tapped to overhaul Abu Dhabi’s national energy company, it had been content to rake in the cash from large, low-cost oil fields. His mandate was to modernize the company, known as ADNOC, to make sure it could continue to sustain the economy and geopolitical ambitions of the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Al Jaber, who was appointed in 2016 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, then the crown prince, has helped put ADNOC on the map as a global deal maker, establishing the Emirates as a brasher rival to Saudi Arabia in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The oil giant has also given the Emirates the money and muscle to intervene in countries like Sudan and Yemen, raising tensions with neighbors like the Saudis.
“He’s totally transformed the company and the way that the oil sector is managed,” said Ben Cahill, a director at the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis at the University of Texas. Now ADNOC, which was founded in 1971, is pushing beyond oil, a risky phase for the company. It aims for international acquisitions, especially in natural gas, where it aspires to be in the top five suppliers globally, and chemicals, renewables and other sectors.
Mr. Al Jaber said ADNOC was open to participating in the development of natural gas resources in Venezuela, where the United States is trying to drum up investment after forcibly removing the South American country’s president and taking control of its energy industry. Through ADNOC’s acquisition arm, XRG, which Mr. Al Jaber set up in late 2024, the company is buying into a U.S. liquefied natural gas plant called Rio Grande LNG. XRG also has stakes in gas properties in countries including Azerbaijan, Egypt and Mozambique.
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Reuters – February 25, 2026
Argentina shale oil resource could be ‘another Permian,’ US producer Continental says*
Oil & Gas National & International
Reuters – February 25, 2026
OPEC+ to consider 137,000 bpd oil output increase for April, sources say*
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Reuters – February 25, 2026
US to allow resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, Treasury says*
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E&E News By Politico – Febuary 24, 2026
New York pushes FERC to dismiss Constitution pipeline petition*
New York is ramping up its opposition to the Constitution pipeline project, urging federal regulators to dismiss Williams Cos.’ petition for a reissued certificate. The state’s request comes amid a dispute over the proposed 125-mile natural gas pipeline — which Williams canceled in 2020 before reviving it last year — and whether the developer needs to submit a new application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct and operate the project.
The pipeline, which is designed to run from Pennsylvania to New York, would also help supply New England with natural gas. New York said in a Friday filing that FERC must order the dismissal of Williams’ petition now, rather than requiring a state agency and others to “engage in yet another round of wasteful administrative review over Constitution’s Petition.” Environmental groups said last month that FERC “lacks the legal authority to ‘reissue’ any vacated and lapsed” Natural Gas Act certificate, while Williams has said FERC doesn’t require parties to reapply for certificate authority. FERC approved Constitution in late 2014.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
CNBC – February 25, 2026
Big Tech companies to meet Trump at White House to sign pledge on data center power costs
The major technology companies will meet President Donald Trump at the White House next week to sign a pledge that they will supply their own power for artificial intelligence data centers. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle and OpenAI will sign the agreement at the March 4 meeting, a White House official confirmed to CNBC Wednesday.
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RTO Insider – February 25, 2026
FERC Declines to Suggest Interregional Transmission Requirements*
FERC staff didn’t recommend mandatory minimum interregional transfer requirements, despite an NERC study that highlighted that 35,000 MW of additional capacity would improve grid reliability. The report focused on examining regional load, generation, and existing capabilities rather than establishing specific, binding minimums. NERC’s study, mandated by the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, emphasized that increased transfer capability is necessary for grid reliability, particularly during extreme weather events.
Instead of setting mandatory standards, the FERC report indicates that simply adding transfer lines is not sufficient without ensuring adequate, available generation in neighboring regions. Clean energy advocates criticized the decision to not set actionable, mandatory minimums, arguing it undermines efforts to improve reliability amidst rising energy demand.
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San Antonio Express-News – February 25, 2026
CPS Energy’s board delays vote on record $2.87B budget, wants more time to review it*
The vote on a record-breaking CPS Energy budget was postponed after some board members said they needed more time to review last-minute material. Not only is the proposed budget for the current fiscal year increasing about 15% to $2.87 billion, it also includes a rate hike that hasn’t been approved yet. Normally, if the city-owned utility is proposing a rate increase, it goes to the board and City Council to get it approved before coming back with the proposed budget. But CEO and President Rudy Garza said the utility hasn’t gone to council yet, partially because San Antonio had a new City Council that “needed to get their feet on the ground.”
“The difference in this year, because we delayed our consideration of it, is we’re approving a budget generally that includes a rate increase before the rate increase actually happens,” Garza said at the Monday afternoon board meeting. “Traditionally, that’s not the way it works.” CPS hasn’t even conducted a cost of service study that is supposed to be done before it requests a rate increase. Chief Strategy Officer Elaina Ball said the utility is in the process of selecting a provider to conduct the study within the next two to three months.
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KERA (NPR) – February 25, 2026
Texas on track to lead nation in energy storage, report finds
Texas is on track to lead the country in energy storage capacity as the state sees rapid growth in the number of battery storage facilities. That’s according to arecent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“Texas has the fastest-growing battery storage market in the country,” said Daniel Giese, the solar association’s state affairs director for Texas. These battery facilities capture electricity and release it to the power grid when energy demand spikes or supply is low. The state is on track to surpass California for the most energy storage capacity in the U.S., the report found.
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Utility Dive – February 25, 2026
NRG has ‘zero interest’ in speculative new capacity build: CEO
NRG Energy is making it a priority to meet the demand driven by data centers, and aiming to serve that growth with a bring-your-own-power framework, but is committed to avoiding the mistakes of the early-aughts gas bubble, said CEO, President and Chairman Larry Coben in a Tuesday earnings call.
“Your contracts will be mainly driven by capacity payments, but I still have only about a 10-to-15 year contract for an asset that has a 40-year useful life,” said Angie Storozynski, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Seaport Research Partners on the call, referring to NRG’s planned buildout of gas generation to meet large load demand.
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KFOX – February 25, 2026
El Paso residents report natural gas bills nearly doubling, citing surprising fees
El Paso residents said they were caught off guard after opening their latest gas bills, which were far higher than what they had been paying in recent months, with some customers reporting totals that nearly doubled. Several customers said they did not receive notice of a new increase.
After looking more closely at their statements, some said they noticed specific charges that appeared to jump sharply.Karla Urias Couder said one line item stood out. “There’s a particular charge, a delivery charge. The delivery charge all of a sudden jumped up from $1 or $2, $3 to a $28 charge. And somehow the customer charge jumped up to $35,” Couder said. “We noticed this month that the gas bill was ridiculously expensive. It went from between $50 and $60 to almost double that price at $132.”
Regulatory
The Hill – February 25, 2026
Senators press Trump BLM nominee over past support for public land sales
Senators on Wednesday pressed President Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over his past statements in favor of selling some of the nation’s public lands. In response to concerns raised primarily but not exclusively by Democrats, former Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) said the Trump administration does not plan to hold mass sales of public lands.
“I don’t visualize selling large swaths of land,” Pearce said in response to questions from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “I do not believe that we’re going to go out and wholesale land from the federal government,” Pearce added. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) also brought up the issue.
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The New York Times – February 25, 2026
Don’t Look Now, but the Green Transition Is Still Happening: David Wallace-Wells*
In January, a total of seven gas-powered cars were sold in all of Norway. This year, Pakistan expects that parts of the country will get more electricity from decentralized rooftop solar than from its entire electricity grid during parts of the day. In the United States, where we often tell ourselves we are in the grips of climate backlash and fossil fuel retrenchment, Texas has been setting new solar records through frigid February, around 90 percent of all new power capacity installed anywhere in the nation last year was green, and the share of renewables is expected to be even higher next year. The new “breakout star” of the battery world is the notorious petrostate Saudi Arabia, the countries with the biggest growth in solar power are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia’s breakneck pursuit of clean energy too cheap to meter is so far along that electricity prices in some regions have fallen by a third in a single year. Parts of the country have announced that they will be giving away electricity for free for three hours a day. That isn’t an accident. It’s a state promise, which Australians can expect to take to the bank going forward.
These days, it sometimes seems as if the whole world is retreating on climate and green energy, with the fever of alarm giving way to what’s been called a new energy realism. Part of this is simply the return of President Trump, who still calls global warming a hoax, who took a wrench to President Joe Biden’s landmark climate bill, who promised oil and gas executives he would do their bidding in exchange for sufficient campaign contributions, who justified the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, partly by citing the country’s oil reserves, and who just announced that the federal government has entirely revoked its longstanding commitment to treating carbon emissions as a harmful pollutant and global warming as a serious problem.
The repeal of the endangerment finding is an outrage: a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil declaration of indifference to an ever-intensifying crisis. But it isn’t just Trump: Liberal politicians who used to routinely invoke the existential stakes of climate change have moved on, too, now preferring to talk about energy affordability. And it isn’t just America, either. In Europe, imports of natural gas are expected to reach record highs this year, and China, which has become the global face of green energy over the last half decade, has been building more coal plants than at any point since before the Paris agreement. World leaders mostly skipped the last big climate conference, as they did the one before it. Few countries anywhere in the world are passing new climate policies into law anymore. After a period of growing concern and accelerating momentum, the project of greening the world’s energy systems certainly feels as if it has been thrown into reverse.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Wednesday February 25, 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
Top Stories
Bloomberg – Febuary 24, 2026
Chevron Edges Rivals in Bid to Take Over Lukoil’s Iraq Oil Field*
Chevron Corp. emerged as the front-runner to take control of Iraq’s second-largest oil complex from Russian producer Lukoil PJSC after signing a deal to engage in exclusive talks over the giant field. The US oil giant signed preliminary agreements to negotiate terms and exchange confidential data with state-owned Basra Oil Co. over the West Qurna 2 field, Chevron said in a statement. The arrangement is dependent upon approvals from the US Treasury and the Iraqi government. Chevron will have exclusive negotiation rights for 12 months, Iraq’s cabinet said in a separate statement.
“Competitive economic terms that incentivize investment which balances the needs of Chevron shareholders and the people of Iraq will be essential to the upcoming negotiations,” the company said. The fate of Lukoil’s 75% stake in West Qurna 2 has been in focus since late last year when the Russian producer was sanctioned by the US, effectively forcing it to sell its vast array of international assets. The 480,000 barrels-a-day Iraqi field had also drawn interest from Exxon Mobil Corp. and others. Lukoil agreed to sell most of its international portfolio to private equity firm Carlyle Group in January, though that deal was non-binding and non-exclusive.
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Oil Price – February 24, 2026
Diamondback Says Oil Glut Fears Are Fading as Demand Holds Strong
The risk of global oil oversupply is diminishing thanks to demand resilience, Diamondback Energy said in a letter to shareholders authored by the company’s chief executive ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 financial report, due out later today. “The wave of oversupply that has been widely telegraphed for the better part of the last two years continues to get pushed to the right – at some point the market will slowly begin to find reasons to be less bearish as demand is strong and the global economy is growing,” Kaes Van’t Hof wrote.
The top executive noted, however, that the balance between supply and demand in oil was still rather unfavorable for the industry, referring to the macro environment as “yellow-light” scenario.
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E&E News By Politico – February 24, 2026
Regulators rely on fossil fuel industry data. How often is it wrong?
Federal and state regulators have long relied on oil and gas operators to self-report data covering almost everything they do, but some high-profile missteps and fraud have shaken that framework. Operators are supposed to provide details around emissions data, the amount of crude spilled in an accident, well pressure test results and how much gas is coming out of a well, among other things. Regulators then review the data and conduct field inspections to verify a company’s report.
The major problem, analysts and environmental groups say, is that governments often lack the staff and resources to properly vet data — making it difficult for agencies to track how accurate the data and reports they receive are. “Generally, every state is overwhelmed by the work, and because of that, there’s little opportunity to systematically audit the industry’s self-reported data,” said Adam Peltz, a director and senior attorney in the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Program. “There’s an unknown but huge number of mistakes and errors and problems that slip through the cracks.”
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The New York Times – February 19, 2026
With ‘Tremendous’ Deals at Stake, Trump Is Bringing Russia in From the Cold*
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States and much of the West all but severed economic ties to Moscow. But since President Trump took office more than a year ago, he has described a “tremendous opportunity” for deals with Russia if the war ends, and the Kremlin has dangled possible investments in front of the famously transactional leader. Now a Texas investor with ties to the Trump family is testing the possibility of making deals with Russian companies, even as the fighting in Ukraine rages on. The investor, Gentry Beach, said that he quietly signed an agreement with one of Russia’s biggest energy companies last fall to develop natural gas in Alaska.
Mr. Beach’s deal, which he insisted was motivated by business interests and not politics, shows how Mr. Trump is starting to bring Russia back into the Western economic fold, even as few signs point to President Vladimir V. Putin being ready to stop his assault on Ukraine and U.S. sanctions against Russia remain in place. It also shows how the Kremlin’s messaging about what it says are immense business opportunities in Russia — an aide to Mr. Putin this week put their value at an improbable $14 trillion — is starting to resonate in the United States. “Trump is a transactional president,” Mr. Beach said in an interview. “I don’t think people would have felt as comfortable working with Russian companies during the Biden administration as they do during the Trump administration.”
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S&P Global Platts – February 24, 2026
FACTBOX: Oil markets brace for potential US strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure
- Crude prices are still at six-month highs, with Brent rallying by about $11/barrel year to date, reflecting higher geopolitical uncertainty.
- Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Dated Brent at $72.77/b on Feb. 23, up roughly $4/b from the beginning of the month.
- A potential 1 million b/d supply disruption — which corresponds to half of Iran’s crude exports — for 12 months would boost the fair value of oil by $8, according to Goldman analysts.
- The spread between same-month cash Brent and cash Dubai remains in positive territory, showing weaker demand for sour crude relative to weak crude. Platts assessed the spread at $1.13/b on Feb. 24.
- The UAE set the May Dubai crude OSP at a 5 cents/b premium to the average May Oman futures settlement, up from a 30 cents/b discount for April.
- The April Brent-Dubai exchange of futures for swaps was pegged at $2.01/b Feb. 24, up 17 cents/b over the same period.
- If Iran sanctions were removed, Goldman estimates that Brent would average $56-$60/b in Q4 2026/2027, with a “gradual” 500,000-b/d rise in Iran crude production and a gradual 100-million-barrel decline in Iran crude at sea from about 160 million barrels currently.
The Latest TERse Tips
Range Resources came out with quarterly earnings of $0.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.68 per share — see the Zacks recap
ERCOT staff have promised more clarity on the link between the initial batch study process for large loads and the subsequent studies and existing planning structure during an upcoming workshop — RTO Insider
Several offtake agreements for the long-proposed Lake Charles LNG export facility have been canceled after developer Energy Transfer LP suspended development of the project late last year, according to a disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — Natural Gas Intelligence*
Murphy Oil Corp’s first two wells in a three-well exploration campaign offshore Côte d’Ivoire have turned up dry — Caracal-1X, the second well, “will be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole”, the Houston-based oil and gas explorer and producer said in a brief statement Monday. Drilling reached a total depth of 8,534 feet — Rigzone
Dale Petroskey Joins Cenergistic as CEO Amid Texas Water and Energy Concerns — D Magazine
US solar and storage developer OCI Energy and its Israel-based peer Arava Power have closed construction financing with ING Capital for the 347-MWdc Project SunRoper solar plant in Texas, the companies said on Monday — Renewables Now
US solar and energy storage platform Heritage Energy Holdings has secured USD 28.5 million in senior debt financing to back the deployment of additional distributed generation and storage capacity across Texas — Renewables Now
El Paso Electric wants to build a large, high-voltage, multimillion-dollar electric transmission line in far East El Paso — the 345-kilovolt power line, the largest voltage line used in the EPE system, would cover from 10 to 19 miles, depending on which line route is approved by Texas regulators, said David Meza, EPE’s manager of grid strategy, according to El Paso Times
Oil & Gas Texas
WTAQ – February 23, 2026
US Supreme Court to hear Exxon bid for compensation from Cuba
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider on Monday the scope of a law that lets American companies seek compensation for property seized by Cuba in cases involving ExxonMobil and cruise operators being argued at a time when President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up pressure on the Cuban government.
The court will hear back-to-back arguments in two cases involving a 1996 U.S. law called the Helms-Burton Act, which permitted lawsuits in U.S. courts against anyone who “traffics” in property confiscated by Cuba’s communist government after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. In one of the cases, Exxon is seeking more than $1 billion in compensation from Cuban state-owned entities for the energy major’s oil and gas assets seized by Cuba’s government in 1960.
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Reuters – February 24, 2026
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World Oil – February 24, 2026
Exxon leverages Guyana growth in global race for new oil resources
ExxonMobil Corp. is betting the economic boom unleashed by its giant discovery in Guyana will give the company an edge when negotiating fiscal terms with other nations looking to develop their own oil and gas reserves. The U.S. supermajor says the breakneck production growth in the South American country shows Exxon can build oil projects faster and more efficiently than its competitors. It’s a “unique value proposition” that will ultimately make more money for countries — and Exxon, Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said in an interview.
“We’re going to bring something unique to you that has great value to you, and then we expect to be compensated for that,” Woods said. “That’s the proposition that we’re making to basically all the resource owners and our customers.”
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Nasdaq – February 22, 2026
Pertamina, Halliburton Sign MOU To Advance Well Construction And Stimulation Tech In Indonesia
PT Pertamina (Persero), Indonesia’s state-owned integrated energy company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Halliburton (HAL) to accelerate the deployment of advanced well construction and stimulation technologies across the country.
Under the agreement, Pertamina and Halliburton will evaluate opportunities for multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, acid stimulation, and advanced cementing services. The collaboration also explores the potential application of closed-loop automation and artificial intelligence to enhance drilling and fracturing performance in selected onshore fields.
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Denver Post – February 24, 2026
Chevron-owned Noble Energy could face $1.53M penalty for well blowout*
The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission is proposing a $1.53 million penalty against Chevron subsidiary Noble Energy for a blowout of a fracking well that sprayed pollutants over homes and a school in Weld County. The ECMC board, which regulates oil and gas, will hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. March 18 via Zoom to consider the enforcement action. Monday’s announcement follows a monthslong investigation into the incident at the Bishop well site April 6, 2025, near Galeton, which is 22 miles northeast of Greeley.
The ECMC said the blowout happened when well a barrier failed and there was a loss of control over the pressure in the wellbore. Thousands of barrels of crude oil, natural gas and fracking water, which contains chemicals and other substances, spewed from the well pad, officials said.
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Argus Media – February 24, 2026
ET Fuels secures bunkering buyer for Texas e-methanol
Irish project developer ET Fuels signed a binding long-term offtake agreement to supply e-methanol “at a fixed price” to UK-based shipping company RFOcean from 2030. The supply will come from ET Fuels’ most advanced project in the US, the Rattlesnake Gap plant in Texas that will produce 120,000 t/yr of e-methanol.
Neither company disclosed the amount involved, but ET Fuels said it will “still have volumes to sell for any other early movers.” The agreement with RFOcean has given ET Fuels “a clear path” to raise the financing it needs to move forward with Rattlesnake Gap, chief executive Lara Naqushbandi told Argus.
Oil & Gas National & International
Politico – February 24, 2026
EPA climate rollback could thwart Big Oil’s next Supreme Court fight*
The Trump administration’s decision to repeal a linchpin of climate policy could throw a wrench into an upcoming Supreme Court showdown over the oil and gas industry’s bid to quash climate lawsuits filed by local governments from coast to coast. At the heart of the fossil fuel industry’s argument is the idea that climate change is a federal issue and that local governments therefore cannot sue in state court to force companies like Suncor and Exxon Mobil to foot the bill for the effects of a warming planet. At the same time, however, EPA has walked back a decades-old scientific conclusion, known as the endangerment finding, that served as the foundation for federal climate regulations.
“It’s sort of a very big question,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, which tracks climate lawsuits. “To what extent does the revocation of the endangerment finding weaken [the oil industry’s] preemption argument?”
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The Wall Street Journal – February 24, 2026
Iranian Oil Loadings Soar as Regional Risks Intensify Ahead of U.S. Talks*
Iran’s crude loadings have surged to multiyear highs this month as geopolitical risks build ahead of a third round of nuclear talks with Washington. Loadings of Iranian crude and condensate to shipping vessels jumped to nearly 27 million barrels last week, or about 3.78 million barrels a day—almost three times the recent weekly average of roughly 10 million barrels—according to data provider Kpler. So far this month, loadings have climbed to about 2.3 million barrels a day, up 50% from the prior three-month average of 1.54 million barrels a day. If sustained, the pace would mark Iran’s strongest monthly loading rate since 2018, before nuclear-related sanctions were reimposed.
The surge has coincided with a sharp increase in satellite-navigation interference near Iran’s Assaluyeh petrochemical hub, distorting vessel-tracking signals and complicating monitoring efforts, analysts at Kpler said. While most of the loadings were conducted “dark,” the data provider said it verified the activity using satellite imagery. The Trump administration continues negotiating with Iran on a deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, with a new round of talks set to take place on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland. Tensions, however, remain elevated. The U.S. has deployed its largest concentration of air power in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq war, while Iran has warned it would retaliate forcefully against any American strike, raising concerns over potential disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz—a vital artery for about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas flows. Meanwhile, more Iranian barrels are accumulating offshore.
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Grist – Febuary 24, 2026
The Supreme Court hears a Line 5 oil pipeline case with high stakes for treaty rights
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today about a narrow procedural issue that could determine whether Michigan or federal courts ultimately decide the fate of a 73-year-old oil pipeline that many tribal nations say threatens their waters, treaty rights, and ways of life.
The case, Enbridge v. Nessel, centers on Line 5, a 645-mile oil pipeline that starts in Superior, Wisconsin, snakes through Michigan, and concludes in Ontario, Canada. More than half a million barrels of oil and natural gas flow through it daily. The pipeline has leaked more than 30 times inland, spilling over a million gallons of oil collectively. All 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan have called for it to be shut down.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Oil Price -February 24, 2026
Renewables Top 25% of U.S. Power as Coal’s Grip Collapses
In 2025, the share of renewables in U.S. electricity generation has surpassed 25 percent. Over the course of the past 20 years, their share has continuously risen from just 8.6 percent in 2007. At the same time, as Statista’s Kathraina Buchholz details in the infographic below, coal in electricity generation fell from a share of 49 percent to just 16.4 percent last year.
While Trump administration’s policies regarding renewable energy and greenhouse gases have yet to show their full effect, experts believe that the sector’s strong growth as well as efficiency and cost improvements will cause it to expand further – albeit slower – despite some government funding losses and the end of emission limits. In 2022, more electricity was generated from renewable sources in the U.S. for the first time over the course of one year than from coal.
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Teslarati – February 24, 2026
Tesla Megapack Megafactory in Texas advances with major property sale
Tesla’s planned Megapack factory in Brookshire, Texas has taken a significant step forward, as two massive industrial buildings fully leased to the company were sold to an institutional investor. In a press release, Stream Realty Partners announced the sale of Buildings 9 and 10 at the Empire West industrial park, which total 1,655,523 square feet. The properties are 100% leased to Tesla under a long-term agreement and were acquired by BGO on behalf of an institutional investor.
The two facilities, located at 100 Empire Boulevard in Brookshire, Texas, will serve as Tesla’s new Megafactory dedicated to manufacturing Megapack battery systems. According to local filings previously reported, Tesla plans to invest nearly $200 million into the site. The investment includes approximately $44 million in facility upgrades such as electrical, utility, and HVAC improvements, along with roughly $150 million in manufacturing equipment.
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KTXS – February 24, 2026
Oncor proposes 765-kV West Texas transmission line as landowners raise concerns
A proposed high-voltage transmission line could soon cut across parts of West Texas. Oncor Electric Delivery Company proposed the ‘Dinosaur–Longshore 765-kilovolt Transmission Line Project’ as part of a broader effort to upgrade the area’s current outdated power grid.
The project would include over 200 miles of transmission lines that would run through areas of West Texas, with the final route still pending approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas. The plan also incorporates steel lattice towers carrying 765-kilovolt lines, a higher voltage than what is currently common across much of Texas
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KAUZ – February 24, 2026
Google announces new “clean energy” data center agreement with Wilbarger County
A new air-cooled data center will be making its way to Wilbarger County in a “power-first” initiative between Google and AES that aims to eliminate operational water use. The data center will be built near newly developed “clean power plants” by AES Corporation and will rely on its own power capacity in order to reduce the need for new infrastructure. Water consumption will be limited to critical campus operations such as kitchens.
According to Google, this “co-location” approach will ease demand on the Texas power grid and promote cost-effective transmission buildout. The organization stated that it planned to replenish more water than it consumes and to collaborate with groups like Texan by Nature and Texas Water Trade to improve watershed health across the state.
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Texas Tribune – February 24, 2026
Used electric vehicle batteries find new life bolstering the Texas grid
In the midday hours, prices plummet. An excess of energy produced across Texas, largely due to the state’s solar and wind fleet, signals it’s a good time to buy. It’s then that 500 batteries, which once fueled General Motors’ electric vehicles, charge up. The batteries, now in their second careers, are kept in staggered steel mesh containers, powered by electricity sent across miles and miles of transmission lines until it reaches a site just east of San Antonio.
Then, as renewable energy production across the state dips as night rolls into morning and Texas begins to draw more energy from dispatchable fossil fuels, these retired EV batteries can sell power back to the state’s electric grid when the price fits.
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AOL – February 24, 2026
NRG Energy Doubles Generation Capacity and Targets 14% EPS Growth Through 2030
NRG reported Q4 2025 earnings before the open this morning, posting a strong full-year performance headlined by a 21% jump in adjusted EPS. The stock was trading at $176.52 heading into the report, up nearly 69% over the past year. The headline numbers were solid, but the real story here is the transformation underway at NRG.
The Texas segment was the standout, with Adjusted EBITDA rising $295 million year over year through improved margins and supply cost optimization. Vivint Smart Home also contributed meaningfully, with Adjusted EBITDA up $81 million YoY on record new customer additions and strong retention. Full-year Adjusted EBITDA came in at $4.087 billion, up $298 million from the prior year. $2.21 billion in free cash flow before growth gives NRG flexibility heading into a heavy investment cycle.
Regulatory
Politico – February 24, 2026
Wright briefing House lawmakers on Venezuelan oil*
Energy Secretary Chris Wright was scheduled to brief House lawmakers Monday afternoon on the administration’s involvement in Venezuelan oil production and sales. Wright was on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Energy and Commerce Committee from both parties, a panel aide said. The briefing follows the Energy secretary’s trip to Venezuela earlier this month. The United States has controlled Venezuelan oil sales since the Trump administration took military action in the country at the beginning of the year.
Wright and other administration officials have insisted that such control is temporary. The administration has also moved to issue new licenses to U.S. oil companies wanting to invest in Venezuela. Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee had their own classified briefing with Wright earlier this month before the secretary left for South America. “We assume that not everything that we ought to know about can be discussed publicly. I want to find out what it is that we don’t know,” Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in an interview at the time.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday February 24, 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
Top Stories
E&E News By Politico – February 23, 2026
State of the Union: Republicans eager for Trump to talk energy
Republicans on Capitol Hill are expecting President Donald Trump to emphasize his administration’s bold approach to energy policy during his State of the Union address this week. GOP lawmakers said they hope the president talks about American energy dominance, gasoline prices and permitting — all issues Democrats are hammering the administration on. “I’d love to see him tout U.S. production,” said Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), chair of the Republican Study Committee. “We think there’s a big story to be told there.”
Pfluger, whose district sits atop the Permian Basin, added “we have a lot more to do” to increase domestic energy production. “The shale revolution tells us … that these wells decline pretty quickly, so they have to continue to drill.” But amid increasing electricity demand and prices, Democrats say Trump and Congress should focus less on simply more drilling and mining and more on renewable energy production. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response.
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Austin American-Statesman – February 23, 2026
Dozens of rural Texans rally at Capitol against data center development*
Rural residents gathered at the Texas Capitol on Monday afternoon to protest the growth of data centers, even as Texas is poised to surpass Virginia as the world’s largest data center market by 2030. The dozens of protesters, many of whom came by bus from Hood County, called on Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session focused on data centers. Texas has seen a rapid influx of data center development, with new research finding that the Lone Star State has 6.5 gigawatts of data center capacity currently under construction — equivalent to one-fifth of the U.S. data center capacity added to its pipeline last year. One gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes on average.
“We are here today to implore Gov. Abbott to take a sober look at the data center and power plant explosion in Texas and its devastating and irreversible impacts they will have,” said Brian Crawford, a Hood County resident and member of the Protect the Paluxy Valley activist organization. Data centers are large facilities that provide critical infrastructure to support digital activity and the growth of artificial intelligence. The facilities, seen as vital for national security and the future of technology, require massive amounts of power and water to run.
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Bloomberg – February 23, 2026
Texas Jurors Reach Verdict in First Business Court Jury Trial*
A Texas jury returned a verdict in the first ever jury trial in the state’s business court, siding with the plaintiff in a dispute over a billion-dollar crude oil delivery project. Reaching the verdict late on Feb. 20, 10 of the 12 jurors answered yes to every question in declaring Ted Powers a one-fifth owner of the venture. Powers, squaring off in court against three members of the Berry family, will now ask Judge Sofia Adrogué to enter an order for declaratory and injunctive relief.
“We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict,” Powers’ lawyer, Roland Garcia of Greenberg Traurig, said Monday. “The bottom line is people should honor their contracts. I said it at the beginning of the case and I said it at the end: a deal is a deal.” The trial came 17 months after the state opened the specialized court in September 2024 to attract businesses with promises of fast, predictable rulings. Texas lawmakers opted to give parties the option to have a jury decide a case, something that isn’t available in Delaware’s Chancery Court where such disputes are tried to judges. Powers, the jury determined, showed the Berry defendants executed a valid contract that gave him ownership and management rights. The jury calculated Powers’ attorney’s fees at $2.4 million, though it’s up to the judge on whether to award that amount.
The Latest TERse Tips
Eldridge Capital Management on Monday announced the closing of a $350 million lease facility with ProPetro Energy Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of ProPetro Holding Corp. — the facility will provide PROPWR, the power generation solutions division of ProPetro, with access to growth capital for the acquisition of new power generation equipment for its robust and growing commercial pipeline across oilfield, industrial, and datacenter sectors — see the press release
Fitch Ratings has placed Caturus Energy, LLC’s ‘B-‘ Long-Term Issuer Default Rating, ‘BB-‘ with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR1’ secured issue rating and ‘B-‘/’RR4’ unsecured issue rating on Rating Watch Positive — Fitch
Compression services company Axip Energy Services, LP and certain of its affiliates Monday announced that they have filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to facilitate a sale process for the Company’s assets and business operations. The Company intends to continue operating its business in the ordinary course throughout the Chapter 11 sale process — see the press release
A 3.1-magnitude earthquake was reported in Karnes County early Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey — KSAT
Entergy Texas has issued a Request for Proposals for a new dispatchable generation resource as part of its ongoing, long-term resource planning efforts to serve continued customer and industrial growth across Southeast Texas — see the press release
Clearway Energy Group and Clearway Energy, Inc. have announced that the Pine Forest Energy Center in Hopkins County, Texas, is now operational — Solarquarter
Update: Enbridge Inc is approving two renewable energy projects — 152-MW Easter onshore wind project near Amarillo, Texas, worth USD 400 million. It has a long-term power purchase agreement with Meta Platforms Inc for its generation — Renewables Now
Oil & Gas Texas
Energy Now – February 23, 2026
US Natgas Prices at Waha Hub in Texas in Negative Territory for Record 12th Day
U.S. spot natural gas prices for Monday at the Waha Hub in the Permian Shale in West Texas closed in negative territory for a record 12th time in a row as pipeline constraints trap gas in the nation’s biggest oil-producing basin, forcing some energy firms to pay others to take gas associated with their oil production.
Analysts have long said negative prices were a sure sign the Permian region, which spans West Texas and eastern New Mexico, needs more gas pipes. More pipes are on the way later this year, but just not soon enough to handle all the gas currently coming out of the ground in the basin. Permian gas production has hit record highs every year since 2013, rising to an average of 27.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 – enough to supply about a quarter of U.S. demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected Permian production will rise to 29.0 bcfd in 2026 and 29.6 bcfd in 2027.
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Reuters – February 23, 2026
Diamondback misses profit estimates as weaker oil prices weigh*
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KUHF – February 23, 2026
Report finds 2024 fatal Deer Park hydrogen sulfide release caused by labeling, protocol issues
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) found that refinery operators failed to clearly label equipment and follow written procedures, leading to a fatal hydrogen sulfide release in Deer Park nearly two years ago. The board released its final report Monday about the Oct. 10, 2024, fatal incident at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery.
Two contractors were killed, and 13 additional workers were taken to nearby hospitals to be evaluated for exposure to toxic hydrogen sulfide. The incident started after two contract workers for Repcon, Inc. opened the wrong flange on mislabeled piping. More than 27,000 pounds of the toxic gas were released, and Deer Park and Pasadena issued shelter-in-place orders during the incident.
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Yenisafak (Turkey) – February 20, 2026
Trump confirms 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil en route to Houston
President Donald Trump revealed Thursday that 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil are currently being transported to Houston, Texas, aboard “extremely large ships.” Speaking at an event in Georgia, Trump said: “You’ve heard about Venezuela, and we’re helping them very much with their oil. They got a lot of oil… We took 50 million barrels of oil. It’s right now floating very nicely and in extremely large ships to Houston.”
Trump also commended Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, stating: “The president’s doing an excellent job, getting along great.” The remarks signal a significant thaw in US-Venezuela relations following months of heightened tensions.
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Reuters – Februry 23, 2026
ONEOK quarterly profit falls as pipeline divestiture impacts gas segment earnings*
Bloomberg – February 23, 2026
Trump’s Land Bureau Pick Is Key for ‘Drill Baby Drill’ Agenda
Former New Mexico Rep. Stevan Pearce’s energy interests and industry experience will make him a central figure in expanding oil and gas development on federal lands if he’s confirmed as Bureau of Land Management director, industry representatives say. But Pearce’s ownership in shares of oil and gas wells in New Mexico and his legacy in Congress of opposing federal lands protections, among other issues, prompted 81 conservation groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity to urge the Senate to oppose Pearce’s nomination. His confirmation hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
If confirmed, Pearce would oversee the BLM’s 245 million acres of federal land, mostly in the West, in addition to all federally-owned onshore oil and gas reserves. He’ll manage the federal oil, gas, and coal leasing programs, 263 Congressionally-designated wilderness areas and 31 national monuments, including Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
Pearce, a Republican, can be expected to ensure oil and gas, and agricultural and ranching interests are represented and maintained on federal lands, said Ben Sheppard, president of the Texas-based Permian Basin Petroleum Association. “He’s obviously a pro-oil and gas guy,” Sheppard said. “He’s going to bring a balanced perspective to the office of the BLM.”
Oil & Gas National & International
Politico – February 23, 2026
Interior barraged with lawsuits over Alaska oil plans*
Environmentalists and an Alaskan Native group sued the Interior Department last week over its efforts to expand oil and gas production on Alaska’s North Slope, posing another court challenge as the Trump administration seeks to hold an auction in the coming weeks. The coalition filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska asking to invalidate Interior’s management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska — and any future lease sales.
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Houston Chronicle – February 23, 2026
Supreme Court agrees to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits*
The Supreme Court said Monday that it will hear from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change. The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder, Colorado, one of multiple lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.
Governments around the country have sought damages totaling billions of dollars, arguing it’s necessary to help pay for rebuilding after wildfires, rising sea levels and severe storms worsened by climate change. The lawsuits come amid a wave of legal actions in California, Hawaii and New Jersey and worldwide seeking to leverage action through the courts.
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Oil Price – February 23, 2026
Goldman Sachs Hikes Year-End Oil Price Forecast by $6 Per Barrel
Even if it maintains the view of global oversupply this year, Goldman Sachs has raised its oil price forecast for the fourth quarter by $6 per barrel as inventories in advanced economies remain low. The Wall Street bank lifted its Q4 2026 price estimate by $6 to $60 per barrel Brent Crude and made the same upward revision of its WTI Crude price outlook, to $56 per barrel at year-end, on the back of lower-than-expected stocks in the OECD countries, according to a Sunday note cited by Reuters.
Early on Monday in Asian trade, the U.S. benchmark WTI Crude was trading 1% lower at $65 per barrel, and Brent Crude was down 1% at $71 a barrel amid uncertainties over the U.S. trade policies after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s so-called retaliatory tariffs.
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Marcellus Drilling News – February 23, 2026
TETCO Pipe Gets OK to Elevate, Replace 5.3 Miles in Greene County
The Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline (TETCO), operated by Enbridge, is a major 8,580-mile interstate natural gas system connecting Gulf Coast/Texas supplies to the Northeast US. Originally designed for northbound flow, it now heavily supports bidirectional, southbound, and regional supply, including Marcellus/Utica gas.
A short 5.3-mile section of TETCO (actually four separate pipelines that make up TETCO) running through Greene County, PA, needs a fix to protect it from coal mining activities set to begin directly underneath the pipeline in that area.
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Politico – February 22, 2026
Analysts say Canada’s oil sands poised for megamerger after busy 2025*
Canada’s oil patch is ripe for a megamerger, analysts say, after a bumper year for deals has left relatively few smaller targets available. The value of deals executed or pending as of Dec. 31 totaled $37.8 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The value of those transactions exceeded that of any year since 2017, when international oil majors including Shell and ConocoPhillips began selling oil sands assets to local companies, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Since then, a wave of consolidation in the Canadian energy patch has put control in the hands of an increasingly smaller group of companies. Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil’s Imperial Oil account for roughly 85 percent of Alberta’s oil sands production. Any major deals would follow a series of massive transactions in the US shale patch in recent years, driven by efforts to improve efficiency in shale plays where drilling has become costlier and margins thinner. Exxon Mobil bought Pioneer Natural Resources in 2024 and Chevron’s purchase last year of Hess included significant shale assets.
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Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Politico – February 23, 2026
House Science Committee takes on data center permitting*
As congressional lawmakers grapple with the regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence, one House panel is turning its attention to permitting reform for data centers. The House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the permitting processes associated with data centers and their energy sources. That’s something largely in the hands of states and localities. Committee Republicans say the hearing will examine how “lengthy timelines, expanding compliance requirements, and approval uncertainty” hamper data center construction and hinder American competition with China.
“Artificial intelligence will define the next era of economic and national security leadership, but it cannot advance without reliable, abundant energy,” said Science, Space and Technology Chair Brian Babin (R-Texas) in a statement. “I look forward to this hearing and to assessing whether our permitting system is enabling or impeding the infrastructure needed to power America’s AI future,” he added. The hearing comes as the full Science, Space and Technology committee appears to be gearing up to legislate on artificial intelligence and data centers.
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electrek – February 23, 2026
Texas is about to overtake California in battery storage
A new report finds Texas is set to overtake California in battery storage as US installs hit a record 57.6 GWh in 2025, up 30% year-over-year. According to the US Energy Storage Market Outlook Q1 2026 from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, installations are now four times higher than totals from just three years ago.
The US had a total of 137 GWh of utility-scale storage installed as of 2025, plus 19 GWh of commercial and industrial systems and 9 GWh of residential storage. Analysts expect the growth streak to continue. More than 600 GWh of energy storage is projected to be deployed nationwide by 2030, even as the Trump administration targets clean energy industries.
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Texas Tribune – February 23, 2026
Xcel will replace high-risk power poles after attorney general sues over 2024 wildfires
A Texas district court ordered Xcel, an electric utility with more than 200,000 customers in Texas, on Monday to replace poles within wildfire-prone areas it has identified as damaged, following an agreement between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the utility.
In a news release, Paxton called the development a first step toward holding Xcel accountable for the 2024 wildfires that scorched through a million acres of the Texas Panhandle, killing scores of cattle and at least three people. Shortly after the devastation began, Xcel admitted the pole that sparked the fire was theirs.
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Politico – February 23, 2026
EPA dropped climate rules for cars and trucks. What about planes?*
President Donald Trump’s drive to shred the endangerment finding, the 2009 legal underpinning of EPA’s climate rules for cars and trucks, is putting a question on the aerospace industry’s radar: what the repeal might mean for similar rule for airplanes. EPA recently carried out Trump’s Day One order to repeal the finding that had girded decades of regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from road vehicles — and that Trump called “a disastrous Obama-era policy.” But his administration is pointedly not going after a second greenhouse gas endangerment finding issued by former President Barack Obama — one that applies to aircraft.
Repealing that finding would have serious repercussions for Boeing and other domestic fabricators. Aerospace manufacturers under international law must have federal greenhouse gas standards in place in order to be certified by U.S. authorities to sell planes to the rest of the world and to fly and land them at foreign airports.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 23, 2026
Clean Energy Manufacturers Set to Muddle Through Fresh Tariff Turmoil*
Manufacturers of solar, wind and batteries technologies are battling a fresh bout of uncertainty after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs regime. Investors, however, appear to be tentatively welcoming the ruling. On Friday, the Supreme Court said that by using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or Ieepa, to impose global tariffs without clear authorization from Congress, Trump had overstepped his mark and acted illegally.
In a swift response to the legal setback, Trump proposed new global tariff measures, raising a global tariff that will replace many of the duties ruled illegal to 15% from 10%. For manufacturers of green products, the legislative whiplash that came with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is once again endangering investment and raising costs, according to analysts and experts.
“This kind of environment for clean tech manufacturing is not good,” said Chris Aylett, research fellow at think tank Chatham House, focusing on environment and society. “If you have this extra uncertainty around tariffs it’s just an extra thing added to it.” Subsidy cuts, court cases and restrictions on imports have meant that most manufacturers of devices such as wind turbines and batteries are already taking a hit from the administration, and tariffs were only making the issue worse, Aylett said. “Anyone making big investment decisions or if you are importing from abroad then you would likely hold fire,” he added.
Regulatory
Austin American-Statesman – February 22, 2026
Texas can’t afford Trump’s rollback on climate change: Colin Leyden, Environmental Defense Fund*
After the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority and obligation under the Clean Air Act to regulate climate-altering pollution like carbon dioxide and methane, the EPA gathered mountains of evidence of the threats posed to people’s health and safety. The 2009 endangerment finding made it clear why the agency needed to limit this pollution. Repealing the finding now is not only unlawful, it’s unwise. It will make life more dangerous and more expensive when Texans can least afford either.
Electricity prices could get worse, too. Since the cold, hard lessons of Winter Storm Uri, Texas has strengthened our infrastructure to keep power flowing to our homes and diversified our grid. In the last three years, no state has added more clean energy — which doesn’t contribute to the problem of climate change — than Texas. But the repeal comes as the Trump administration is also busy handing out millions of taxpayer dollars to help keep expensive, unreliable coal plants afloat while blocking faster, cheaper sources of energy that have helped our prices stay low, even as they’ve spiked in other states by double digits and our population — and demand — has grown.
And extreme weather is only going to get more extreme. That will push the cost of insurance even higher — if it’s available at all in some of the most disaster-prone parts of the state. (At the same time, the Trump administration has openly discussed dismantling FEMA and leaving states to shoulder disaster recovery on their own.) Texas homeowners insurance premiums have increased about 20% in each of the past two years. How are working families going to be able to afford to stay in an increasingly risky place to live?
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Monday February 23, 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 about 1% on Monday as the U.S. and Iran prepared for a third round of nuclear talks, easing fears of an escalating conflict, while President Donald Trump‘s fresh tariff hikes created uncertainty for global growth and fuel demand.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $65.75 a barrel, down 75 cents, or 1.10%.
Brent crude futures slid 76 cents, or 1.06%, to $71 a barrel by 0354 GMT.
Top Stories
Freight Waves – February 22, 2026
Cartel boss killing jolts US-Mexico freight corridors
The confirmed killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — better known as “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — triggered widespread cartel retaliation across Mexico on Sunday, disrupting key highways, rattling port operations and raising concerns about near-term impacts to cross-border freight flows with the U.S. Mexican authorities confirmed Oseguera was killed during a federal military operation in Jalisco. Within hours, road blockades, vehicle burnings and armed clashes were reported across multiple states, including Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima and Guanajuato.
Guadalajara’s airport saw panic among travelers, and flights at Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo were canceled amid security concerns. Reports described “narco-blockades” using burning vehicles to shut down critical roadways.
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The Hill – February 20, 2026
Trump loosens restrictions on toxic pollution, including mercury and lead, from coal plants
The Trump administration on Friday loosened restrictions on toxic power plant pollution, including releases of neurotoxins mercury and lead. On Friday, it revoked portions of Biden-era standards that tightened restrictions on how much mercury, lead and arsenic these plants can release.
The move is one in a series of steps from the Trump administration to reduce environmental standards in order to bolster fossil fuels. The Biden-era standards in question, which President Trump is rescinding, would have upped mercury controls by 70 percent for a subset of power plants that use a type of coal known as lignite. The Trump rule, which would reinstate 2012 standards, would have these plants operating under looser mercury limits than other coal plants. The Biden-era standards also would have sought to reduce emissions from all coal plants of lead, nickel and arsenic by 67 percent.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 21, 2026
U.S. Energy Development Corp. to deploy up to $1 billion in 2026, focus on Permian Basin*
Assets acquired in the largest transaction in U.S. Energy Development Corp.’s history are being leveraged in the company’s capital expenditures for 2026. The company has announced plans to deploy up to $1 billion this year, following a $1 billion deployment in 2025. The bulk of those funds will be focused on high-quality upstream assets in the Permian Basin. Jake Plunk, senior vice president, acquisitions and divestitures, noted that last year’s $390 million acquisition of about 20,000 acres in Reeves and Ward counties “was a great place for us to plant our flag and have a focus.”
Speaking with the Reporter-Telegram, he said the company will be drilling on that acreage as well as acreage from smaller transactions. He estimated 22 wells are planned in that program which will grow as USEDC works with other operators. In deploying that $1 billion, the company will look to expand its inventory in the Permian Basin and apply selective, stress-tested analysis, prioritizing capital discipline, free cash flow visibility, and operational control where appropriate. Plunk estimated 25% to 30% will be spent on operated assets, another 30% on strategic partnership with partners who will drill 25 to 30 wells, and the remainder in what he called the wellbore market, participating in non-operated ventures.
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Bloomberg – February 20, 2026
ConocoPhillips Considers Selling Permian Assets Worth $2 Billion*
ConocoPhillips is exploring a sale of some of its Permian Basin assets as part of a broader streamlining of its portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter. The assets, picked up over the years through deals with Concho Resources Inc. and Shell Plc, are expected to fetch about $2 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. The properties lie in what’s known as the Delaware Basin, a fast-growing swath of the largest and most productive oil field in the US — the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.
ConocoPhillips is working with advisers to seek a buyer, with interest expected from strategic as well as private equity suitors, the people said. Deliberations are at an early stage and the Houston-based company may decide not to sell, they added. A representative for ConocoPhillips declined to comment. With oil and gas businesses stretching from Alaska to Australia, ConocoPhillips is trimming its portfolio after initially identifying about $2 billion in asset sales as a result of its $17 billion deal for Marathon Oil Corp. in 2024. The company announced in August that it was doubling the divestiture target to $5 billion.
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Reuters – February 20, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday decision to strike down trade tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump last year may ease costs for some oil producers and drillers, but experts and analysts told Reuters that broader energy flows would likely remain unchanged for now. The court’s ruling could reduce the cost of building LNG plants and other large-scale energy infrastructure that rely on modules and other parts manufactured in foreign countries hit by tariffs. Venture Global, for example, builds its LNG plants piecemeal in Italy before importing the components into the U.S. for final assembly. Trump’s tariffs raised costs for U.S. crude producers and service companies up the value chain, hitting imported equipment and materials. Many absorbed the additional costs; others tried to pass them on to customers.
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Politico – February 20, 2026
EQT expects $1B windfall on storm-driven gas price rally*
EQT stands to pocket $1 billion in February alone as the natural gas producer reaps the benefits of its fortuitous position ahead of one of the steepest price rallies in the history of the U.S. gas market last month. The second-largest U.S. gas producer by volume entered 2026 almost entirely unhedged, giving the company a major advantage during a record rally when a historic winter freeze boosted demand for the heating fuel and knocked out production.
As weather forecasts suddenly changed in late January ahead of the storm, EQT agreed to sell 98 percent of its expected gas production for February delivery at more than $7 per million British thermal units, more than double the prices seen about two weeks earlier. Thanks to those sales, the Pittsburgh-based company expects to notch its best month of free cash flow in the company’s 138-year history in February, Chief Executive Officer Toby Rice said in an interview with Bloomberg.
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The Latest TERse Tips
Trump Boosts New Global Tariff to 15% After Supreme Court Setback — the rate, up from the 10% level the president announced a day earlier, is on temporary duties that will replace many of the levies ruled illegal by the high court — The Wall Street Journal*
A new Texas miracle? New York report declares Texas the new leader in finance jobs — Houston Chronicle*
Oil States International Inc. on Friday reported a loss of $117.2 million in its fourth quarter — Houston Chronicle*
On February 18, 2026, Exxon Mobil announced that director Jeffrey W. Ubben will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting scheduled for May 27, 2026, for reasons the company said are unrelated to Exxon Mobil — The Globe and Mail
Oil and gas wells Cantium LLC bought from Chevron USA Inc. are worth far less than a Louisiana parish’s assessments of their fair market value for personal property tax purposes, a state tribunal ruled — the Louisiana Tax Commission was right to reduce the 2022 valuation to $87.9 million from the assessor’s figure of $164.5 million, the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals ruled in the first of two opinions released Thursday. In the other, the board increased the commission’s 2021 valuation by $4.05 million to account for Cantium’s purchase of five new wells, resulting in a value of $57.3 million — Bloomberg*
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday announced sweeping changes to commercial trucking regulations, including a new requirement that all commercial driver’s license exams be administered exclusively in English — Fox News
US renewables developer DESRI has signed a preferred equity investment in the 235-MWac Duffy battery energy storage system project in Texas, providing capital support for the two-hour duration system, the company said on Wednesday — Renewables Now
NRG has officially taken over the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City, putting New York City’s largest fossil-fuel power complex under Texas control after a deal that closed at the end of January — Hoodline
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Oil & Gas Texas
Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 21, 2026
Texas nears permits to reuse produced water, Sen. Perry says*
State Sen. Charles Perry has led the charge towards turning produced water into a new source of water for industry and municipalities alike. He reflected on that effort and the progress made during a luncheon speech at the recent Produced Water Society conference in Houston. “There were no surprises,” he told the Reporter-Telegram. “I knew on the front end we could clean the water. I had no doubt — we just hadn’t done it before. We’ve funded the science and checked all the boxes.”
He sponsored legislation creating the Texas Produced Water Consortium, hosted by Texas Tech University. Oil and gas producers are a significant part of the effort because the 26 million barrels of water produced daily alongside oil and natural gas has created significant challenges, he noted. “We’re still injecting water, but we’re running out of pore space. If we can’t move the water, we can’t drill wells,” he explained. Operators say the Permian Basin has as much as 100 years of oil and gas to produce and that managing water is a critical piece of perpetuating that output, he said. The objection has been that it costs too much to clean the water compared to disposal. “My point is, when we run out of pore space, how much is too much?”
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KHOU – February 20, 2026
Houston-based company signs 20-year agreement with world’s largest oil company
Kimmeridge-backed Caturus has signed a liquefied natural gas offtake agreement with the world’s largest oil company. Caturus will sell 1 million tonnes per year of LNG from Commonwealth LNG’s site in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, to Aramco Trading Americas LLC, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, for 20 years. The deal will become fully effective upon certain conditions, including Commonwealth LNG reaching a final investment decision.
“We’re pleased to welcome Aramco Trading among an expanding group of prominent international customers who have entered into offtake contracts from the Commonwealth LNG facility,” Caturus CEO David Lawler said in a news release. “This agreement highlights the strong international demand for U.S. LNG and underscores how our longstanding relationships and capabilities position Caturus to serve global markets.”
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Houston Chronicle – February 22, 2026
Oil-and-gas leader bemoans Texas’ massive energy industry gains*
February hasn’t been kind to Oklahoma’s energy sector, as two major Sooner State companies announced their intentions to head south to Texas. Now, the president of an Oklahoma natural gas trade association is speaking out about the state’s recent losses to the Lone Star State. “Despite clutch-your-pearls comments from elected locals and business development officials who really should know better, Oklahoma will remain a highly specialized oil and natural gas economy after Devon Energy and Expand Energy move their headquarters to Houston,” wrote Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma President Brook A. Simmons in a Feb. 17 letter to the Oklahoma Legislature. “In all likelihood, the industry will remain the primary drive of Oklahoma’s economy for the rest of our lifetimes, but this cannot be taken for granted as it has been.”
Simmons continued that Oklahoma has been served “a wake-up call” with the pending moves of Devon and Expand to Houston. On Feb. 2, Devon Energy of Oklahoma City, Okla., announced a $58 billion merger with Coterra Energy that would result in a new headquarters in Houston. About one week later, Expand Energy of Oklahoma City announced it would move its headquarters south to the Houston suburb of Spring by mid-2026.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 21, 2026
Analysts: Delaware Basin draws more Permian drilling, supercharging gas growth*
Two primary drivers are prompting Permian Basin operators to increase their focus to the Delaware Basin. The first factor, according to East Daley Analytics, is the hunt for new oil resources. Analysts note the Delaware has historically been less explored than the Midland Basin, for several reasons.
One reason is federal lands in New Mexico are included in parts of the Delaware Basin, creating more permitting challenges. A second reason is benches in the Delaware tend to have higher gas content than in the Midland, a drawback when producers are targeting liquids. Moreover, East Daley analysts point out, much of the gas in the Delaware contains high sulfur and carbon dioxide content, requiring additional treating to make it suitable for use in residue pipelines. Even so, operators are increasing their activity in the Delaware. According to East Daley, rig counts in the Delaware accounted for nearly 58% of total Permian Basin activity in 2025, up from a 51% share of rigs in 2021 and 45% 10 years ago.
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The New York Times – February 20, 2026
A New U.S. Blockade Is Strangling Cuba*
Some humanitarian aid is still arriving in the country, including from the United States. The U.S. government said this month it would send $6 million in aid to Cuba, including prepackaged food, via the Catholic Church. Still, the U.S. embargo on Cuba has deeply complicated life for its residents for more than six decades, and now the blockade of oil tankers is plunging the island into one of its darkest moments.
Jorge Piñón, a former oil executive who runs a team at the University of Texas at Austin tracking Cuba’s oil, said the team estimates that the country’s fuel reserves could be depleted by mid-March, triggering social unrest that could threaten the government. Nearly all of Cuba’s energy runs on oil and oil products. And Cuba appears to have few lifelines left.
Its once dominant supplier, Venezuela, is now effectively controlled by the United States. Russia recently promised to send oil but its ships are nowhere to be seen. And other oil-exporting countries friendly to Cuba are staying away, Mr. Piñón said, including Brazil, Angola and Algeria. “All of these countries have their own problems,” he said. “Why antagonize the White House?” After Washington took control of Venezuela’s oil, Mexico was left as Cuba’s primary provider. But after Mr. Trump threatened tariffs, it halted its shipments. Mexico is economically dependent on the United States and locked in negotiations with Washington over an expiring trade deal.
Oil & Gas National & International
CNBC – February 22, 2026
The world’s largest energy lender has a new head: Here’s how it could shape U.S. policy
Former Apollo executive and longtime New Yorker Gregory Beard says he wouldn’t have left the private sector for just any job. But opportunity came knocking in the form of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who tapped Beard to run the Office of Energy Dominance Financing.
Previously known as the Loan Programs Office and part of the Energy Department, the EDF is the largest energy lender in the world, with some $289 billion in loan authority currently. Beard first joined the EDF as a senior advisor in April 2025 from bitcoin miner Stronghold Digital Mining, before officially taking over as director on Jan. 29.
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Yahoo! News – February 20, 2026
Repsol Plans to Triple Venezuela Output After Securing U.S. Approval
Spanish energy company Repsol plans to sharply expand its oil production in Venezuela after receiving authorization from the U.S. Treasury to operate in the country. Chief executive Josu Jon Imaz told investors that the company expects gross oil production in Venezuela to rise by more than 50% over the next 12 months, with ambitions to triple output within three years. Repsol produced 71,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Venezuela last year, up from 67,000 barrels the previous year.
The permit from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control allows Repsol to resume direct participation in Venezuela’s oil sector, alongside companies including BP, Chevron, Eni, and Shell. Imaz said the company is preparing to restart operations and is open to exploring additional oil and gas opportunities in the country.
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E&E News By Politico – February 20, 2026
Developers offer construction plans for overlapping Southeast pipelines*
Developers of two pipeline projects itching to supply Southeast markets with natural gas are working to get construction underway as soon as next month, according to filings this week. The projects, proposed separately by Williams Cos. and Mountain Valley Pipeline, involve laying new pipe in the same stretches of southern Virginia and North Carolina. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has signed off on both pipelines — and this week, Williams asked for permission to move ahead with construction, while Mountain Valley Pipeline filed a construction timeline.
The projects initially raised concerns about redundancy, with Williams saying its project could be modified to handle all planned volumes of natural gas. But FERC has said both developers demonstrated need, as electricity demand across the U.S. is anticipated to increase. FERC Chair Laura Swett has emphasized the need for oil and gas, calling pipelines the “backbone” of America at Energy Dialogues’ North American Gas Forum in December.
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Reuters – February 23, 2026
US LNG export surge and soft China demand meet record European imports*
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
San Antonio Express-News – February 22, 2026
Data center boom across San Antonio reaches billions in projects
Data centers continue to crop up across the Westside of San Antonio and Bexar County, facing increased concern from residents and local officials alike. With the latest nearly half-billion-dollar addition to a data center hub on the Far Westside, projects filed on the Bexar-Medina county line have surpassed the $1 billion mark. Though, there’s even more infrastructure inside the city limits.
Vantage Data Centers has been a big driver behind these behemoth buildings moving in near growing residential areas. In the latest, the company – which boasts 41 campuses across five continents and 26 markets – is breaking its infrastructure investment record in Bexar County with a whopping $448 million, 174,000-squer foot campus on Omicron Drive.
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Quartz – February 20, 2026
Texas could soon become the world’s biggest data center market
Texas has spent a century perfecting one specialty: turning raw energy into an export. Now, it is trying to export something newer and somewhat stranger: compute, packaged as vast, windowless buildings that behave like industrial plants, just with fewer smokestacks and more servers. A new report from JLL says Texas, treated as a single market, could overtake Northern Virginia and become the world’s largest data center market by 2030. JLL counts more than 35 gigawatts of capacity under construction in North America, with 64% of that build landing in “frontier markets” outside the classic hubs.
“Frontier markets” are where developers can still find three things at once. Power. Land. A clear path to permits. Texas checks those boxes, and JLL points to the state’s energy resources, land availability, and operating environment as the ingredients. Texas alone has 6.5 GW under construction, which is why the state keeps popping up as the punchline to “the cloud” finally admitting it needs land.
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KVIA – February 20, 2026
Public Utility Commission of Texas approves lesser El Paso Electric rate increase
In an open meeting Friday morning the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved a rate increase requested by El Paso Electric (EPE). El Paso Electric first requested an average residential rate increase of about 23-percent or $22.39 a month back in January of 2025.
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E&E News By Politico – February 20, 2026
EPA says haze program shouldn’t force power plant closures*
A long-standing EPA program aimed at cleaning up haze-forming air pollution in national parks shouldn’t be used to shutter power plants that are a leading source of clouded vistas, according to agency air chief Aaron Szabo. Since 2019, Szabo wrote in a newly released memo urging state regulators to consider electric grid reliability when assembling long-term haze reduction plans, “EPA has seen significant increases in electricity demand and strain” on grid reliability. Consequently, the agency “does not support states encouraging or forcing an electric generating facility to close in order to comply with the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) regional haze requirements,” he continued.
While nonbinding, the guidance continues the Trump administration’s push to shield the power industry from the haze program’s goal of returning unclouded natural visibility to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and more than 150 other national parks and wilderness areas by 2064. Under President Donald Trump, EPA is fighting several lawsuits that contest a policy change adopted last year at the prompting of a West Virginia power producer that weakened the yardstick for deciding whether states are making adequate progress to that target. Seemingly undeterred, the agency last month rejected Colorado’s latest haze reduction plan, in part because it sought to lock in the “unconsented source closure” of a coal-fired generating unit.
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Associated Press – February 20, 2026
PacifiCorp to pay $575M to resolve federal government’s claims over wildfires in Oregon, California
PacifiCorp has agreed to pay $575 million to resolve the federal government’s claims for damages stemming from six wildfires in Oregon and California in 2020 and 2022, federal officials announced Friday, in the utility’s latest multimillion-dollar payout related to the deadly blazes.
The settlement resolves the federal government’s claims that PacifiCorp’s electrical lines negligently started four fires in Oregon in 2020 and two fires in California in 2020 and 2022, the Justice Department said. The money will help restore some of the 290,000 acres (117,359 hectares) of public land that burned. It will also help repay the government for the cost of fighting the fires, which the department said was “critical because the U.S. Forest Service now spends more than half of its budget on wildfire suppression annually.”
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The Conversation/Yahoo! News – February 22, 2026
For years, people fishing along the banks of the White River that winds through Indianapolis were met by ominous signs warning about eating the fish they catch. One of those risks was mercury poisoning.
Mercury is a neurotoxic metal that can cause irreparable harm to human health – especially the brain development of young children. It is tied to lower IQ and results in decreased earning potential, as well as higher health costs. Lost productivity from mercury alone was calculated in 2005 to reach almost US$9 billion per year. One way mercury gets into fish is with the gases that rise up the smokestacks of nearby coal-burning power plants.
Regulatory
Austin American-Statesman – February 22, 2026
Texas can’t afford Trump’s rollback on climate change: Colin Leyden, Environmental Defense Fund*
After the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority and obligation under the Clean Air Act to regulate climate-altering pollution like carbon dioxide and methane, the EPA gathered mountains of evidence of the threats posed to people’s health and safety. The 2009 endangerment finding made it clear why the agency needed to limit this pollution. Repealing the finding now is not only unlawful, it’s unwise. It will make life more dangerous and more expensive when Texans can least afford either.
Electricity prices could get worse, too. Since the cold, hard lessons of Winter Storm Uri, Texas has strengthened our infrastructure to keep power flowing to our homes and diversified our grid. In the last three years, no state has added more clean energy — which doesn’t contribute to the problem of climate change — than Texas. But the repeal comes as the Trump administration is also busy handing out millions of taxpayer dollars to help keep expensive, unreliable coal plants afloat while blocking faster, cheaper sources of energy that have helped our prices stay low, even as they’ve spiked in other states by double digits and our population — and demand — has grown.
And extreme weather is only going to get more extreme. That will push the cost of insurance even higher — if it’s available at all in some of the most disaster-prone parts of the state. (At the same time, the Trump administration has openly discussed dismantling FEMA and leaving states to shoulder disaster recovery on their own.) Texas homeowners insurance premiums have increased about 20% in each of the past two years. How are working families going to be able to afford to stay in an increasingly risky place to live?
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Friday February 20, 2026
Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall
Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Oil prices rose on Friday, headed for their first weekly gain in three, on growing concerns a conflict may erupt between the U.S. and Iran, after Washington said Tehran will suffer if it does not agree a deal on its nuclear activity in a matter of days.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 31 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.74 as of 0437 GMT.
Brent crude futures rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $71.91.
Prices settled at a six-month high on Thursday after U.S. President Trump said “really bad things” would happen if Iran does not come to an agreement regarding a nuclear programme it has said is peaceful but that the U.S. believes is militaristic. Trump set a deadline of 10 to 15 days.
Iran, meanwhile, has planned a joint naval exercise with Russia, a local news agency reported, days after temporarily closing the Strait of Hormuz for military drills.
Top Stories
Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 19, 2026
Researcher: Without shale, oil would be $150-$200 a barrel*
Permian Basin residents, whether directly tied to the oil and gas industry or not, know the impact of the shale revolution. But what would the world look like if the revolution had not happened? Where would American families be? That was the question asked by Anne Bradbury, president and chief executive officer of the American Exploration & Production Council.
She posed the question to Rob West, founder of Thunder Said Energy and known for his data-driven analysis of global energy markets in her Longer Laterals podcast. Thomas noted that 15% of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is energy costs, and half of that 15% is direct energy spending such as at the gasoline pump or heating homes. About 1% of the CPI is airfares, and energy costs like jet fuel comprise 20% of those fares. Another 30% of CPI is retail spending, of which 2% goes on energy bills, he said.
“All the CPI basket, line by line” has energy components, he said. Inflation rates have been 0.7% lower year-over-year each of the last 10 years because of shale, he said. Without shale, oil prices would range between $150 and $200 a barrel and natural gas prices would be in excess of $10 per Mcf. The shale revolution saved consumers $800 billion annually through lower energy prices.
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Reuters – February 18, 2026
Booming LNG exports may get dragged into US cost-of-living debate: Gavin Maguire*
That total sharply exceeds the roughly 4,000 BCF of gas consumed by residences and the 3,000 BCF consumed by commercial sites during that period, and means LNG exporters are now the third-largest U.S. gas consumer behind industry and power firms. The U.S. LNG export tally was 25% higher than in the same period of 2024, and accompanied a 61% rise in the benchmark U.S. natural gas price – the Henry Hub spot price – last year.
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The Guardian (UK) – February 19, 2026
Like many of us who are mindful of our plastic consumption, Beth Gardiner would take her own bags to the supermarket and be annoyed whenever she forgot to do so. Out without her refillable bottle, she would avoid buying bottled water. “Here I am, in my own little life, worrying about that and trying to use less plastic,” she says. Then she read an article in this newspaper, just over eight years ago, and discovered that fossil fuel companies had ploughed more than $180bn (£130bn) into plastic plants in the US since 2010. “It was a kick in the teeth,” says Gardiner. “You’re telling me that while I am beating myself up because I forgot to bring my water bottle, all these huge oil companies are pouring billions …” She looks appalled. “It was just such a shock.” …
Her research took her to Reserve, Louisiana, in the Lower Mississippi River, where she met Robert Taylor, an activist in his 80s who has spent much of his life living by an enormous plastics plant. “He is surrounded by illness, by all kinds of cancers. He only found out in 2016, as a result of federal action, that the levels of toxic gases had gone through the roof in his area, an overwhelmingly Black neighbourhood. He told me about all the illness in his family – affecting his wife and his daughter, his neighbours and his cousins. It was haunting. When we talk about plastic, we tend to think about the ways we experience it in our own lives, and we’re not as aware of the production and the impact it has on the people who live beside it.”
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S&P Global Platts – February 19, 2026
13 states sue Trump administration over hydrogen hub, clean energy cuts
California, Washington and 11 other US states sued the Trump administration Feb. 18 over the termination of billions of dollars in clean energy grants, alleging the move violated the US Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine. Thirteen attorneys general filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging the US Department of Energy’s termination of $7.56 billion in awards last year. The plaintiffs argued the funding cuts are unconstitutional because Congress had specifically authorized the programs.
The lawsuit also challenges a May 2025 DOE memorandum requiring previously funded projects to undergo a “review” process, calling the memo “a pretext” for eliminating clean energy funding. “Its true purpose was to give the administration thin bureaucratic cover to eliminate congressionally established energy and infrastructure programs and rescind their funding, for no other reason than a fundamental disagreement with the programs’ policy underpinnings,” the document said.
The Latest TERse Tips
Trump to decide whether to attack Iran in next 10 days — oil prices rise — CNBC
Targa Resources Corp. Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Provides Outlook for Record 2026 — see the press release
Chevron names new leaders for supply and trading, production and strategy — CSP Daily News
Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘A+’ rating to the following bonds issued by the Lower Colorado River Authority, TX on behalf of the Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corp — Fitch
Austin Energy energizes new Kramer Substation, adding capacity to growing North Austin — see the press release
Forum Energy Technologies Inc. on Thursday reported earnings of $2.1 million in its fourth quarter — Associated Press/San Antonio Express-News*
Clean energy developer Lydian announced it has secured $689 million in financing, aimed at supporting its solar and battery energy storage projects in Texas, Utah and New Mexico — ESG Today
EQT Corp. CEO Toby Rice said Wednesday that Winter Storm Fern was a “stark reminder” of how important natural gas infrastructure is to the country’s energy system and called on policymakers to ensure additional pipelines can be built — Natural Gas Intelligence*
From Texas oil fields to the octagon: Shiner’s Zach Reese ready for big UFC moment in Houston — Houston Chronicle*
Oil & Gas Texas
Center Square – February 19, 2026
Haynesville forecast to lead U.S. shale growth in next two years
Domestic natural gas production is expected to increase by an average of 4.0 billion cubic feet per day, or 3.4%, in the next two years to 122.3 billion cubic feet per day, with more than two-thirds of the additional output produced in the Haynesville shale region of northwest Louisiana and northeast Texas. Through the end of 2027, higher gas production will be driven primarily by rising demand for fuels to power data centers across the U.S. and by liquefied natural gas exports shipped from terminals in Louisiana and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s updated February forecast.
The department projects natural gas production in the Hayneville shale region will grow 1.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2026 to reach an average of 15.6 billion cubic feet per day, an increase of 8.3% in the year. In 2027, Haynesville natural gas output is expected to jump another 1.6 billion cubic feet per day, or by 10.3%, to 17.1 billion cubic feet a day.
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Rigzone – February 19, 2026
Brazos Starts Up New Gas Processing Plant in Midland Basin
Brazos Midstream said Wednesday it had commissioned its biggest cryogenic plant, designed to process up to 300 million cubic feet a day (MMcfd) of natural gas in the Midland sector of the Permian Basin. Sundance II follows the startup of the 200-MMcfd Sundance I in 2024. The Sundance complex in Martin County, Texas “provides critical processing capacity in the core of the Midland Basin and positions the company for continued growth in the region”, Brazos said in a press release.
“The company’s Midland Basin footprint now extends across Ector, Glasscock, Howard, Midland, Martin, Reagan and Upton counties”, Fort Worth, Texas-based Brazos said.
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Reuters – February 19, 2026
Golden Pass moves closer to producing first LNG with increased natural gas flows into facility*
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World Oil – February 19, 2026
Texas producers gain access to new electricity procurement platform through TIPRO partnership
The Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) has launched a new electricity procurement initiative aimed at helping oil and gas operators manage rising power demand and costs across Texas. The TIPRO Power Texas program, developed in partnership with Arise Energy, provides member companies with access to competitive electricity sourcing options through a digital procurement platform that connects users with multiple power suppliers. The offering is designed to support operators as electrification of oil and gas operations and broader industrial growth drive higher power consumption across the state.
Electricity demand in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market has grown rapidly in recent years and is expected to continue rising through the end of the decade. Increased use of electric-powered equipment in upstream operations, along with expanding infrastructure and population growth, is contributing to higher power requirements for producers and service companies.
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OK Energy Today – February 19, 2026
OK Petroleum Alliance blames legislature for loss of Expand Energy and Devon Energy HQs
Hey Oklahoma legislature……wake up! It’s the strong message delivered to the leaders of the state House and state Senate from Brook Simmons, president of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma. He fired off a letter this week explaining that the decisions by Devon Energy and Expand Energy to move their headquarters to Houston, Texas and the impact on the state’s oil and natural gas industry were overblown and it is not in decline.
“To borrow from Mark Twain: Reports of the oil and natural gas industry’s Oklahoma demise are greatly exaggerated! Despite clutch-your-pearls comments from elected locals and business development officials who really should know better, Oklahoma will remain a highly specialized oil and natural gas economy after Devon Energy and Expand Energy move their headquarters to Houston,” wrote Simmons.
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Capital & Main – February 17, 2026
The Clear Horizons & Emissions Codification Act died on the New Mexico Senate floor when seven Democratic senators joined all of the minority Republican caucus to kill it. While several Democrats spoke in favor of the bill, also known as SB18, not one person spoke against it — a hint that the vote was decided before the Feb. 11 hearing began. When Sen. William Sharer (R-San Juan), the minority floor leader, voted, you could hear the sing-song in his “No!”
After the vote tally was read — 19-23 — bill sponsor Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) quietly said, “Thank you to the body for the discussion,” though there had been no real discussion. In a later interview, Stewart said Republicans didn’t fight the bill that day because “they didn’t need to. They could just wait for the seven Democrats that voted with them.” But there was plenty to discuss. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham exhorted the Legislature to “put it in law! Put it in law! Put it in law!” during her state of the state address that kicked off the ongoing legislative session.
Oil & Gas National & International
Reuters – February 19, 2026
Oil companies jostle for projects to boost Venezuelan output quickly; a real grind awaits*
In September, a rig used to drill wells in shallow waters completed the long trip from China to Venezuela’s oil-producing region of Lake Maracaibo. The passage of the big old rig named Alula just inches below the bridge connecting Maracaibo city with the oilfields of the lake’s eastern coast stirred excitement among residents and workers: they had not seen any new drilling equipment arrive for years due to U.S. sanctions. The rig hit an oil pipeline as it passed through the lake and over the metallic spaghetti of 20,000 kilometers of pipes beneath the waters. Crude leaked for months before repairs could be made and the rig installed at the polluted lake late last year. The crude production increase has been small since then.
The story of the Alula is a cautionary tale for the foreign energy companies such as U.S. oil major Chevron that are looking to quickly expand in Venezuela and take on the short-term projects needed to boost the country’s oil output. Each step forward often brings a new host of challenges. Other foreign companies with a toehold in the country include Spain’s Repsol, Italy’s ENI, France’s Maurel&Prom and China National Petroleum Corp.
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S&P Global Platts – February 19, 2026
Venezuelan crude exports rebound as sanctions push trade to compliant fleet: Teekay Tankers
Venezuelan crude exports are expected to return to a typical run rate of 800,000 b/d, as the country shifts away from dark fleet tankers following a US naval blockade that has boosted demand for compliant vessels in the region and supported spot rates, executives at Teekay Tankers said Feb. 19.
“Just looking at where it’s tracking in February, we’re already back up to about 700,000 b/d of exports,” Christian Waldegrave, director of research and commercial performance, said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call. “And it’s all going on non-sanctioned ships primarily to the U.S. South Caribbean region, but we’ve also seen two or three cargoes to Europe. And we know that India is starting to buy some barrels as well,” he added.
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S&P Global Platts – February 18, 2026
Glencore sees oil and gas trading volumes jump to six-year high in 2025
Glencore grew its oil and natural gas trading volumes to their highest since the coronavirus pandemic in 2025, but struggled to offset losses linked to falling prices, the company said Feb. 18, observing lasting challenges navigating a softer market environment.
The Switzerland-headquartered commodities trader achieved a total oil and gas trading result of 4.2 million barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2026, it said in its full-year earnings report, up 11% from the previous year. Volumes were split roughly evenly between crude oil, the company’s most-traded energy product, and oil and gas products, which grew at a faster annual rate of 13%.
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California Globe – February 5, 2026
Can California’s Oil Industry Survive?: Edwin Ring
Even confirmed skeptics should be impressed at the rapid improvement in the price and performance of EVs. A new 2026 Nissan Leaf sells for just under $30,000, and can charge in 30 minutes. That’s still not competitive with affordable gasoline powered vehicles, but the gap is closing fast. But while we may be sanguine about the technology catching up, there is the so-called installed base that isn’t going anywhere soon. Of the 35 million registered vehicles in California, only 2.5 million are EVs, and virtually all of the state’s more than 100,000 heavy commercial trucks are diesel powered.
Meanwhile, the dismantling of California’s oil industry proceeds at a pace far exceeding the capacity of an EV infrastructure to match. Last year on December 15, the San Pablo pipeline shut down. It was the only pipeline connecting the inland oil fields in central and southern California to refineries in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
News Wise – February 19, 2026
New Study Reveals Significant Detection Gaps for Urban Natural Gas Leaks
The complexities of urban environments—like variable winds off of tall buildings or surfaces—significantly impair the ability to detect natural gas leaks from underground pipelines, a new study shows. SMU researchers found that detection probability can be reduced by 16 percentage points for methane gas leaks from main pipelines and by as much as 38 percentage points for service line leaks in urban areas, compared to rural settings.
Main lines are the larger, high-pressure pipelines under streets that carry gas to neighborhoods, acting like a main artery, while service lines are smaller ones connecting the main line to an individual customer’s meter, delivering lower-pressure gas directly to a home or business.
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MSN – February 19, 2026
Siemens Energy expansion brings more jobs to Texas energy sector
More high-tech manufacturing jobs are coming to Texas. Siemens Energy is investing more than $23 million in its operations in Houston. Matt Neal, president of Siemens Energy North America, said the expansion will create opportunities at their gas-turbine and generator-repair facilities.
“We have some of the latest technology and digitalization and the utilization of AI that we implement on the factory floor,” he said. “It is really a high-tech career. We’re building training centers across the U.S. to help bring folks up to speed.” The Houston operation maintains generators nationwide and trains teams that service compression equipment. They currently employ 1,600 people. Siemens said 1,500 new highly skilled positions will be created across the United States, but hasn’t specified how many of those jobs will be in the Lone Star State.
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Canary Media – February 19, 2026
How solar and batteries help keep lights on during Texas winter storms
Texas has quietly built one of the largest renewable energy and battery storage fleets in the world. According to capacity data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state has added roughly 31 gigawatts of solar capacity and 17 GW of battery energy storage — enough to power millions of homes. Over the same period, the legislature mandated weatherization of power plants and natural gas infrastructure, ERCOT improved its operational procedures, and new market mechanisms were introduced to better coordinate solar and storage.
The results speak for themselves. Since Uri, the Texas grid has faced three major winter storms that each set new all-time winter peak demand records. In every case, the grid held. No rolling blackouts. No load shedding. No emergency curtailments. Demand kept climbing, and the grid kept delivering.
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MSN – February 19, 2026
Silicon Valley is building a shadow power grid for data centers across the US
The GW Ranch project approved on 8,000 windswept acres of West Texas will look like many of the other data centers that have sprung up across the country to support Silicon Valley’s ambitions for artificial intelligence. Dozens of airplane-hangar-size warehouses packed with computing hardware will consume more power than all of Chicago. But it’s missing one standard feature: The mammoth project, recently green-lit by state environmental regulators, won’t need new power lines to deliver the electricity that it guzzles.
GW Ranch will be walled off from the power grid and generate its own electricity from natural gas and solar plants installed on site. GW Ranch is set to become part of a shadow power grid emerging across the country with potentially far-reaching consequences for the U.S. electricity system and environment.
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Politico – February 19, 2026
EPA eyes more ‘alternative fuel’ options under clean school bus program*
EPA wants to fund more school buses that run on forms of natural gas, biofuels or hydrogen with the $2 billion remaining in the clean school bus program created by the bipartisan infrastructure law. The potential funding shift comes after years of complaints from Republicans, who alleged the program is wasteful because electric school buses — which were the Biden administration’s focus for spending under the law — cost more than buses that run on fossil fuels.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created a $5 billion program to fund the purchase of clean school buses. The law specified that half of the money must be used for zero-emission buses, while the other half could be used for either zero-emission or alternative fuel buses, including liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane or biofuels. The Biden administration went through three funding rounds totaling $3 billion. That money funded the purchase of 8,500 buses. About 90 percent of those were battery electric, with most of the remainder being propane and at least one bus running on compressed natural gas.
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Politico – February 19, 2026
Trump admin appeals wind power courtroom loss*
The Trump administration is appealing a judge’s decision that found the White House’s effort to halt permits for wind projects across the country illegal. The appeal marks the administration’s latest action to block wind energy development in the U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly derided the renewable energy source as unreliable and has said that no turbines would be built under his administration.
The Justice Department this week filed a notice of appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging that district court ruling. Trump signed an executive order on Day 1 of his second term that effectively froze leasing, permitting and approvals for wind projects — both onshore and offshore — pending a wider review. The attorneys general of more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia and led by New York, challenged actions under that order, which they said violated the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws.
Regulatory
Politico – February 19, 2026
Blue states tee up fight over water permitting rule*
Democratic states are preparing to challenge a Trump administration plan that would limit their oversight of water pollution from major energy projects. The administration’s proposal to prevent states from blocking or imposing environmental conditions on pipelines, dams and other infrastructure violates the Clean Water Act and runs afoul of Supreme Court precedent, attorneys general from 16 blue states and Washington said Tuesday.
The states called on EPA to abandon its draft rule curtailing states’ role in energy permitting and signaled they will sue if it is finalized. Under the first Trump administration, the agency issued a similar policy, prompting a lawsuit from a similar group of states “EPA’s last attempt to accomplish this in 2020 was a failure,” the states said in a comment letter to EPA, signed by Washington state Attorney General Nicholas Brown, New York Attorney General Letitia James and others. “EPA now backtracks and repeats its most significant mistakes.”
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Thursday February 19, 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
Top Stories
BOE Report – February 18, 2026
Pipeline operator Kinetik prepares sale process, FT reports
Kinetik Holdings, a pipeline operator in the Delaware Basin, is considering a sale following an approach from Western Midstream Partners, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The development comes as energy-intensive data centers and rising liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports drive U.S. gas consumption higher, prompting producers to pull more fuel from the ground.
Texas-based Kinetik, which has a market value of $7.20 billion according to LSEG data, began preparing a sale process to gauge interest from strategic and infrastructure buyers after Occidental Petroleum backed Western Midstream approached the company in recent weeks, the newspaper said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The companies involved did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
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KXAS – February 18, 2026
Energy company looks to run natural gas pipeline under the Mississippi River
Related Note: Energy Transfer LP is considering all options for the future of its Lake Charles LNG terminal in Louisiana, including a pivot away from LNG entirely, according to management — Natural Gas Intelligence*
A national energy transmission company is seeking approval to build a pipeline to carry natural gas under the Mississippi River to a proposed new plant. In early October, Enable Mississippi River Transmission LLC (MRT) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct a 9.5-mile, 20-inch natural gas pipeline under the Mississippi River as part of Ameren’s proposed Big Hollow Energy Center project in southern Jefferson County.
Energy Transfer is a large Dallas-based energy transportation company, moving fuel across 44 states for industrial, utility and commercial customers. MRT, an Energy Transfer subsidiary, operates a 1,675-mile pipeline system that carries natural gas from supply sources throughout the southern U.S. to customers in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The proposed pipeline lateral would connect with MRT’s main pipeline in Monroe County, Illinois, and run under the river to the Big Hollow plant now under construction.
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The Conversation – February 18, 2026
How deregulation made electricity more expensive, not cheaper
American families are feeling the pinch of rising electricity prices. In the past five years alone, the generation portion of the standard service residential electric bill in Columbus, Ohio, has increased by 110%. This is one data point in a national trend. Energy affordability is quickly shaping up to be a key election issue at all levels of American politics. And more than half of U.S. adults surveyed in January 2026 reported being very concerned about the price of electricity.
Experts in the energy industry are fiercely conflicted on what, or who, is to blame. People have sought to blame geopolitical events like the war in Ukraine, dramatic changes in U.S. energy policies, power grid operators, regulators and artificial intelligence and data centers. But new research from The Ohio State University’s Energy Markets and Policy Group, where I serve as principal investigator, provides new insights about another factor you were probably not thinking about – middlemen introduced by deregulation.
The Latest TERse Tips
“Any moves by the U.S. to destroy Iranian oil infrastructure appear unlikely because of the Trump administration’s focus on bringing energy prices down, says strategist” — MarketWatch
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any new US strike on Iran would carry dangerous consequences, urging diplomacy to ensure Tehran’s nuclear program remains peaceful — TRT World
Tighter US sanctions, which have pushed Russian oil prices down to $40 a barrel and below, have led to a wave of bankruptcies among small companies in Russia’s main oil producing regions — Yahoo! News
Devon Energy Corp.reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings per share of 82 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents by 1.2%, with fourth-quarter earnings were down 29.3% year over year — Zacks/Yahoo! News
Berkshire Hathaway increases its position in Chevron — Morningstar
Family of man who died from electrocution settles with CPS Energy, cement supplier — San Antonio Express-News*
The Lower Colorado River Authority is conducting studies to determine if a site northwest of Eagle Lake in Colorado County would be suitable for a new, larger water reservoir — LCRA already owns the 2,000-acre site, which could add over 13 billion gallons to the Central Texas water supply amid growing water needs — Community Impact
The San Marcos City Council voted 5-2 early Wednesday to deny a request for a land use change that would have cleared the way for a data center southwest of downtown — KUT (NPR Austin)
Texas Pacific Land Corporation on Wednesday announced its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 — see the press release
ONE Gas, Inc. on Wednesday announced its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results, which include diluted earnings per share of $1.42 and $4.37, respectively — see the press release
ExxonMobil says it “is now transporting and storing captured CO2 from the New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) project in Louisiana, marking milestones in both our CCS business and in Louisiana’s global competitiveness” — see the press release
Oil & Gas Texas
Rigzone – February 18, 2026
Texas Based E&P Firm to Deploy Up To $1B in 2026
Texas based U.S. Energy Development Corporation has announced a plan to deploy up to $1 billion in 2026. In a release sent to Rigzone this week, the company said it will build on its momentum from 2025 to expand its portfolio of upstream assets across the lower 48, “capitalizing on a dynamic energy market while maintaining a focus on developing high-quality projects with trusted partners”.
USEDC revealed in its release that, in 2026, the company will “focus the bulk of its capital expanding its high-quality inventory in the Permian Basin”. … USEDC said its 2026 capital deployment plans “reflect the firm’s continued discipline in balancing market conditions and opportunity with financial diligence”.
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February 18, 2026
Brazos Midstream (“Brazos”) Wednesday announced that it has commissioned Sundance II, a 300 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/d”) cryogenic natural gas processing facility and the largest cryogenic plant constructed by the Company to date. Together with Sundance I, a 200 MMcf/d facility that began operations in mid-2024, the Sundance processing complex provides critical processing capacity in the core of the Midland Basin and positions the Company for continued growth in the region.
Brazos also announced that it has initiated construction on a new processing complex located in Glasscock County, Texas, which initially includes Cassidy I, a 300 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing facility. With completion expected by year-end 2026, Cassidy I will increase Brazos’ total natural gas processing capacity in the Midland Basin to 800 MMcf/d. In anticipation of additional processing demand driven by producer customers’ drilling programs, Brazos has secured grid power and other related infrastructure to execute on timely and capital efficient expansion opportunities at the Cassidy processing complex.
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World Oil – February 18, 2026
SM Energy to sell some Texas assets for $950 million
SM Energy has entered into an agreement to sell certain South Texas assets to Caturus Energy (formerly Kimmeridge Texas Gas) for $950 million in cash, advancing the company’s effort to streamline its portfolio and reduce debt. The transaction includes approximately 61,000 net acres and about 260 producing wells in SM Energy’s southern Maverick basin position in Webb County, Texas, along with associated facilities. The assets are expected to produce between 37,000 and 39,000 boed in 2026, with an estimated production mix of 45% liquids, including 9% oil.
SM Energy said the properties are projected to generate roughly $160 million in asset-level cash flow during 2026, excluding corporate costs. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the associated net proved reserves totaled approximately 168 MMboe.
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E&E News By Politico – February 18, 2026
Big Tech meets Big Oil: Self-driving trucks roar into the Permian Basin
The Permian Basin is home to America’s most productive oil field, but soon the region could earn another distinction — as a testing ground for self-driving trucks. At least two companies in the Permian Basin are using automated vehicles to transport oil-field supplies to sites across West Texas. Both operations are still in their infancy, but advocates say it speaks to a budding new collaboration between Big Tech and Big Oil.
“The era of superhuman logistics has arrived,” declared Chris Urmson, the CEO of Aurora Innovation, an automated truck company, in an analyst call last week. Aurora inked a deal last year with Detmar Logistics, which provides sand to major fossil fuel developers. Sand is used by fracking companies to coax oil and gas from the ground, and — thanks to Aurora’s self-driving trucks — Detmar Logistics now can haul sand 20 hours a day between the Texas cities of Midland and Monahans.
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Rio Grande Guardian – February 18, 2026
Oil & Gas Results, Not Rhetoric, Drive Progress in Texas
As Texas enters 2026 amid global volatility, persistent inflation pressures, and renewed political debate over how we power our economy, one fact remains clear: progress in Texas is driven by results, not rhetoric. After more than 20 years in public service and over a decade representing Texas’ oil and natural gas industry, I can tell you that talk does not grow jobs, stabilize energy markets, or keep the lights on and houses warm during times of uncertainty. Performance does. Investment does. Innovation does.
And once again, Texas oil and natural gas have proven to be the power behind Texas’ progress. According to TXOGA’s 2025 Energy & Economic Impact Report, despite lower oil prices and ongoing market headwinds in 2025, the industry remains a stabilizing force for the Texas economy – supporting millions of high-paying jobs, strengthening energy security at home and abroad, and generating historic revenues for schools, roads, first responders, and essential public services across the state.
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Politico – February 18, 2026
Green groups sue DOE over license for Louisiana gas terminal*
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Department of Energy’s export authorization for a major gas export terminal in Louisiana. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice said in a statement that the lawsuit is based on DOE’s “insubstantial analysis” of how exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) affect U.S. energy prices — and a “failure to consider” life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions.
NRDC is co-counsel with Earthjustice representing the Sierra Club, the groups said. The filing was made in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. By approving Venture Global’s CP2 LNG export project, DOE is “adding to the glut of exports that will drive up consumer prices and lock in decades more of fossil fuel reliance around the globe,” said Nathan Matthews, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, in a statement. “This is a clear example of an energy project that is not in the public interest.”
Oil & Gas National & International
The Wall Street Journal – February 18, 2026
Iran Is Getting Ready for War With the U.S.*
Iran’s leaders want to reach a nuclear deal with the U.S., but they are also rushing to prepare for war in case talks between the countries fail. Tehran is deploying its forces, dispersing decision-making authority, fortifying its nuclear sites and expanding its crackdown on domestic dissent. The moves reflect its leaders’ belief that the survival of the regime itself is at stake. Domestically, the Islamic Republic is more vulnerable than it has been in decades. Its leaders are facing widespread popular discontent over the worsening economic picture and the mass killing of protesters last month. Meanwhile, the U.S. has deployed two aircraft carriers and a host of other warships and jet fighters to the region in preparation for a possible attack.
“Iran is facing its worst military threat since 1988,” when the eight-year war with Iraq ended, said Farzan Sabet, an analyst on Iran and Middle East security at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland. “Iran is preparing for strikes by putting its security and political leadership on high alert to prevent decapitation and to protect its nuclear facilities.” Iranian officials have presented some concessions in pursuit of a nuclear deal, but Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday the offers have fallen short of the red lines set by the U.S., which wants Iran deprived of the ability to make a nuclear weapon. While Iran’s foreign minister publicly said the talks had made progress, the government now fears that the gap between what Tehran is willing to offer and what Washington is willing to accept may be unbridgeable, an Iranian official said.
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Bloomberg – February 17, 2026
US Renews Threat to Withdraw From IEA Over Climate Advocacy*
The US renewed threats to quit the International Energy Agency unless the organization scales back climate advocacy and focuses on energy security. “We’re definitely not satisfied,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday, ahead of an IEA ministerial meeting opening Wednesday. The agency must complete reforms “for the US to remain a long-term member,” he said. The Paris-based agency, which was established in response to the 1970s oil crisis, has faced criticism in recent years for the publication of long-term scenarios which factor in more active government policies to shift away from fossil fuels. Republican lawmakers last year sought to cut US funding and denounced the agency for politicizing its projections.
The IEA didn’t immediately comment on the US official’s remarks, though confirmed Executive Director Fatih Birol and Wright met Tuesday to discuss energy issues, including a clean cooking fuel initiative. A flagship report published in November tempered the IEA’s scenarios on an imminent peak in oil demand, and reintroduced a “Current Policies Scenario” after a five-year hiatus, which bases the analysis on existing conditions. The decision reflected rising political and economic uncertainty and wasn’t the result of US pressure, Birol said at the time. Birol deserves credit for that shift, but must continue to drive reforms to refocus the IEA, Wright said at a Tuesday event hosted by the French Institute of International Relations.
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Bloomberg – February 18, 2026
Japan-Built Gas Plant Touted by Trump Would Be US’s Largest*
A massive, natural gas facility that US President Donald Trump said Japan plans to build in Ohio would be the largest in the US, with capacity to power millions of homes. Japan is expected to invest $33 billion in the project, which will be led by SoftBank Group Corp. subsidiary SB Energy, according to a US Commerce Department fact sheet outlining the plan. The site near Portsmouth, Ohio, will likely have capacity of 9.2 gigawatts, a White House official said.
That’s akin to about nine traditional reactors and at full capacity could generate enough power to supply about 7.4 million homes on the largest US grid, which is operated by PJM Interconnection LLC. If built, the Ohio plant would be bigger than a 7.65-gigawatt gas project Pacifico Energy Group plans in Texas and also be one of the largest in the world — Dubai Electricity and Water Authority says its Jebel Ali facility is the biggest gas generator, at almost 9.55 gigawatts. It’s unclear when the Ohio venture — dubbed the Portsmouth Powered Land Project by the White House official — would come online or how developers plan to fast-track developments that often face years of supply-chain bottlenecks and permitting hurdles before connecting to the regional grid.
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Bloomberg – February 18, 2026
The Ships That Move Global Trade Are Going Electric: David Fickling*
In Jules Verne’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Captain Nemo’s futuristic submarine, the Nautilus, is battery-powered. Electric shipping has remained science fiction ever since. That might be about to change, though. The Ning Yuan Dian Kun, an electric container ship capable of carrying 740 20-foot-equivalent units or TEUs,1was delivered earlier this month. Its 10 containerized batteries hold as much charge as 380 Tesla Model 3s, and can either be swapped at port or charged from shore-based cables.
If you follow the shipping industry, 740 TEUs might seem pretty paltry. The size record is currently held by the MSC Irina, launched in 2023 and carrying 24,346 units, almost 33 times as many as the Ning Yuan Dian Kun. Until batteries compete on that scale, they can be safely ignored. Well, not quite. While mega-container ships are the workhorses of global trade, essential for connecting major ports such as Shanghai, Rotterdam, Long Beach, and Singapore, they’re not for every harbor. Their sheer size excludes them from the thousands of smaller docks that still take container deliveries. Much of the work of the biggest freight hubs comes not from unloading metal boxes to roads and railways, but sorting them onto smaller feeder vessels for delivery to lesser ports.
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Reuters – February 17, 2026
Asia gobbles up crude oil, but geopolitics is shifting supplier mix: Clyde Russell*
The strong February imports come on the heels of robust arrivals of 27.48 million bpd in December and 26.22 million bpd in January, according to Kpler data. Much of the elevated appetite for crude comes from China and India, the world’s biggest and third-largest buyers, respectively. However, the data is also showing that the recent geopolitical disruptions are starting to influence flows of crude into the region. India provides a case in point, with February imports expected to reach 5.40 million bpd, up from 5.18 million bpd in January.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Data Center Knowledge – February 17, 2026
NRC Intervention Tests the Data Center Case for SMRs in Texas
The promise of carbon-free nuclear power for data centers encountered a regulatory test this month, when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) allowed formal opposition to a Texas small modular reactor (SMR) project on financial-qualification grounds.
The ASLB’s decision to permit intervention against Dow and X-energy’s proposed four-reactor facility in Calhoun County, Texas, marks a critical moment for the nuclear industry, which has attracted billions in commitments from tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta. The ruling raises questions about whether SMRs can meet their ambitious timelines and cost projections at the scale data centers require.
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Oil Price – February 15, 2026
Sam Altman and Bill Gates Bet Big on Limitless Clean Energy
The runaway energy demands of the artificial intelligence boom are pushing a new wave of innovative next-gen energy ambitions. Big Tech is pouring money into fast-tracking the development of futuristic energy alternatives like enhanced geothermal and nuclear fusion in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the energy monster the sector is creating.
Large language models are already consuming about 1.5 percent of the world’s energy, according to figures from the International Energy Agency. And as AI models become more advanced, they will only become more energy intensive. The sector is expected to double its energy needs by the end of this decade, at which point AI alone will rival the energy use of the entire nation of Japan.
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Oil Price – February 18, 2026
Why Coal May Outlast Natural Gas in the Electricity Market
Here is the question: what happens when renewables are acknowledged as the superior technology for electric power generation? Basically, we see a process of displacement (one commodity producer, renewables, displacing another, fossil fuels), and that leads us to the issue of minimum viable scale in connection with this postulated energy transition.
Basically, minimum viable scale means the minimum throughput needed to keep the system running and economically viable. Imagine a toll road that charges fees to all vehicles to pay for maintenance and upkeep. If traffic on the road declines significantly, revenues are impaired, maintenance funds are lacking, dysfunction sets in, and eventual collapse or abandonment is likely. Notice, this is very similar to an older concept called the “death spiral” where a continuously shrinking number of utility customers are responsible for ever-increasing expenses. As lower-cost renewables continue to displace fossil fuels in power generation, a similar dynamic could affect the fossil fuel industry infrastructure. In fact, in the US, we have two distinct fossil fuel infrastructures: railcars plus mines for coal, and drilling rigs plus pipelines for gas.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 18, 2026
Rising Demand for Nuclear Power Pressures Uranium Supply*
The surge in demand for data centers and nuclear power to keep them running is stressing the global uranium supply, raising concerns about a potential shortage of fuel for reactors. World uranium production has been lower than demand for several decades, and utilities are making up the difference mostly by drawing on stockpiles. “Nuclear demand is rising and there needs to be, ultimately, more uranium purchased,” said Jacob White, ETF products director at global asset management firm Sprott, which runs the world’s biggest physical uranium trust.
The U.S. has the world’s largest fleet of nuclear reactors, followed by China and France, and China is leading the way in new plants under construction, according to the World Nuclear Association. There are enough uranium resources globally to cover projected growth in nuclear power, but large quantities of investment are needed in exploration and production to meet future reactor requirements, the association said in its 2025 World Nuclear Fuel Report.
Regulatory
S&P Global Platts – February 18, 2026
US energy sector faces uncertainty after EPA upends landmark climate rule
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the US government’s ability under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles will also affect power companies and the oil and gas industry, but legal experts disagree on how.
The 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding issued for mobile sources also provides the legally required finding that the US Environmental Protection Agency has relied on to regulate GHG emissions from other industrial sources, including the power sector and, for methane emissions, the oil and natural gas sector, according to David Hayes, professor at Stanford University’s School of Sustainability. Hayes served as a special climate policy assistant to former President Joe Biden. The EPA on Feb. 12 issued a final rule repealing that 2009 finding.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 18, 2026
EPA May Correct a Supreme Court Error: Chris Horner
The Environmental Protection Agency has rescinded a 2009 finding that greenhouse gas emissions, specifically from motor vehicles, endanger public health and welfare. That claim spawned federal regulations extending into much of the economy. Environmental groups have announced that they will challenge the reversal in court, where they are almost certain to prevail at first. But the EPA’s ambitious approach will encourage the Supreme Court to reconsider its own mistake that opened the regulatory floodgates. At issue is the high court’s ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007). That 5-4 opinion held that the Clean Air Act covers greenhouse gases as pollutants, requiring the EPA to regulate their emissions if it finds that they are dangerous. In 2009 the Obama administration issued that finding. Myriad rules followed.
One of these rules, the Clean Power Plan, regulated electric utilities’ greenhouse-gas emissions in a way that would force coal-fired plants to close. The Supreme Court rejected that rule in West Virginia v. EPA (2022) on grounds that agency actions of such “economic and political significance” require “clear congressional authorization.” It held there is no evidence that Congress gave the EPA the power of “deciding how Americans get their energy.”
That didn’t address the endangerment finding, and President Biden’s regulators were undeterred, promptly resuming the plant-closure approach with a replacement rule. The current EPA has proposed repealing that, too. And so it will go on, barring reversal of Massachusetts: Endangerment findings will return and perpetuate a cycle of regulatory rescission and reimposition, whether driven by the next Democratic administration or by order of the lower courts.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 18, 2026
Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Repeal of Climate Finding*
A coalition of climate and health organizations sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday in an effort to combat its repeal of a landmark climate finding. The suit follows the EPA’s move last week to rescind the Obama-era “endangerment finding,” the legal foundation for federal greenhouse gas emissions regulation that classifies six gases as a threat to public health and welfare. The decision will nix rules requiring companies to report and measure vehicle emissions, plus cut credit provisions and reporting obligations across industries.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, was brought by climate and health groups including the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, the American Lung Association, Friends of the Earth and the Environmental Defense Fund. The EPA said that “unlike our predecessors, the Trump EPA is committed to following the law exactly as it is written and as Congress intended—not as others might wish it to be.”
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Wednesday February 18, 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
Top Stories
Reuters – February 17, 2026
Trump says Japan to invest in energy, industrial projects in Ohio, Texas and Georgia
President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday announced three projects valued at $36 billion to be financed by Japan, including an oil export facility in Texas, an industrial diamonds plant in Georgia and a natural gas power plant in Ohio. The projects are the first investments under Japan’s $550 billion U.S. investment pledge as part of a trade deal that cut Trump’s tariffs on Japanese imports to 15%, Trump said on Truth Social. He gave few details about the projects. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement that the Portsmouth, Ohio power plant, valued at $33 billion, would be the largest natural gas-fired generating facility in history with a capacity of 9.2 gigawatts….
Texas Tribune – February 17, 2026
Momentum is building to meet electricity demand in Texas with small nuclear reactors
Less than three years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced the creation of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, Texas has become one of the main testing grounds in the United States for small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), a technology long discussed but with few real-world examples to show for it. Officials and companies are betting that small nuclear reactors could help provide needed power to the Texas grid while bringing investment and jobs — even as serious questions remain about cost, timelines and whether the technology can deliver on its promises.
The Bureau of Business Research at the University of Texas at Austin estimated that average demand on the grid could nearly triple by 2050, driven by data centers, electric vehicles and the electrification of the Permian Basin oil fields.
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The Guardian (UK) – February 15, 2026
Progressive Texas organizers hail shock win as far-right Republicans left reeling
Chris Tackett started tracking extremism in Texas politics about a decade ago, whenever his schedule as a Little League coach and school board member would allow. At the time, he lived in Granbury, 40 minutes west of Fort Worth. He had noticed that a local member of the state legislature, Mike Lang, had become a vocal advocate for using public money for private schools – despite the fact that Lang campaigned as a supporter of public education.
With a little research, Tackett found that Lang had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the Wilks brothers and Tim Dunn, billionaire mega-donors whose deep pockets and Christian nationalist views have consumed the Texas GOP. Tackett published his findings on social media, and soon enough, people started asking him to create pie charts of their representatives’ campaign funds. These charts evolved into the organisation See It. Name It. Fight It.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 18, 2026
The Fossil Fuel Tycoon Teaming Up With the Rockefellers to Fight Energy Poverty*
Toby Rice made his fortune unlocking a gusher of natural gas in Appalachia. He has a bold new ambition: bringing energy to millions of people in impoverished nations. Rice, the chief executive officer of EQT, one of the largest natural-gas producers in the U.S., is a co-founder of Energy Corps, a nonprofit that aims to help developing nations such as Ghana, Zambia and Burundi build out their energy infrastructure and prosper.
Unlike other philanthropic initiatives that emphasize renewables to energize impoverished societies, Energy Corps sees a role for a broader spectrum of solutions—from fossil fuels to solar panels and nuclear plants. Notably, this approach has been endorsed by the Rockefeller Foundation, one of the richest and oldest foundations in the U.S., in the form of a $200,000 grant. Toby and Aileen Rice have personally contributed $3 million to Energy Corps and plan to boost their giving over time. The initiative hopes to raise $10 million this year from energy companies, family offices and private individuals.
From his perch at Pittsburgh-based EQT, a company with market capitalization of $36 billion, Toby Rice has preached the benefits of selling more American natural gas across the globe to reduce emissions and strengthen the security of the U.S. and its allies. Now he is wading into a debate: Should impoverished societies be encouraged to rely on polluting fossil fuels to improve their fortunes, or leapfrog to intermittent renewables?In an interview, Rice said developing nations have benefited little from the trillions of dollars spent to combat climate change. Building energy access in a pragmatic way would boost prosperity and protect those nations from the effects of global warming, he said.
The Latest TERse Tips
Just in 4 am Wednesday: Iran, Russia to conduct joint drills in the Sea of Oman — Straits Times
“Iran fires missiles, Khamenei threatens to sink US warship amid nuclear talks — as talks began, local media announced that Iran had fired live missiles towards the Strait of Hormuz,” according to the South China Morning Post — As US President Donald Trump builds a massive force in the Persian Gulf to put pressure on Iran, a subtle symbolic move by China, having far-reaching strategic implications, has triggered speculation over a potential Chinese decision arm Tehran with cutting-edge stealth aircraft, writes the Eurasian Times — and there are rumors that China has supplied long-range hypersonic missiles to Iran, as news organizations like CNBC announced Tuesday that Iran partially closed the Stait, citing national security concerns
Tuesday was the first day of early voting in Texas’ crucial political midterm election primaries:
Add Pennsylvania businessman Jeff Yass to the list of “right wing billionaires” like West Texas’ Tim Dunn and the Wilks brothers who are now routinely identified by Texas news media (and now New York Magazine) as big money contributors in Texas politics, according to the Houston Chronicle editorial, “Maybe Gov. Greg Abbott’s saving us from worse. It’s really no contest in the GOP primary”
In a Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Q&A, Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico (who is now searching for name recognition and has just gotten an inadvertent boost by CBS TV) claims he has “led the fight against billionaire mega-donors like Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who are spending their fortunes trying to privatize our public schools and force their Christian Nationalist agenda on the people of Texas.”
Texas oil billionaire in New York Magazine: “At this point, [incumbent Senator John] Cornyn will have to rely on the vast fundraising efforts his friends in the Senate have undertaken on his behalf. It’s given him a major financial advantage over [opponent Ken] Paxton, who has struggled to raise big money in part because far-right oil billionaire Tim Dunn, Paxton’s sugar daddy in past campaigns, is refusing to bankroll the attorney general’s effort to leave Texas for Washington. Cornyn will likely need a strong primary showing to survive a runoff in which the more ideologically inclined voters (very much Paxton’s base) should dominate turnout. Without a late boost from Trump, the incumbent is heavily emphasizing an electability argument against his scandal-plagued and extremist opponent.”
Former Texas governor and energy secretary Rick Perry says he’s sticking with incumbent John Cornyn for Senate candidate — Dallas Morning News*
Governor Abbott Increases Readiness Level Of Texas State Emergency Operations Center Ahead Of Critical Wildfire Danger, the second increase in four days — see the press release
Oil & Gas Texas
Zacks/Nasdaq – February 17, 2026
Energy Transfer Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
Energy Transfer reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of 25 cents per unit, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents by 26.5%. The bottom line also decreased 13.8% from the year-ago figure of 29 cents. Full-year 2025 adjusted earnings were $1.21 per share, down 5.5% from the previous year’s reported figure of $1.28.
Revenues of $25.32 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $26.02 billion by 2.7%. Total revenues rose 29.6% from the year-ago figure of $19.54 billion. Full-year 2025 revenues totaled $85.54 billion, up 3.5% from the previous year’s level of $82.67 billion.
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Inside Climate News – February 17, 2026
Texas Alleges ‘Habitual Non-Compliance’ of Wastewater Rules at Dow Chemical Complex
The Texas Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon against Dow Chemical Co., North America’s largest chemical manufacturer, describing hundreds of water pollution violations from its industrial complex on the rural Gulf Coast in Seadrift. While the state’s 46-page lawsuit followed a 60-day notice of intent to sue filed in December by a local environmental activist, the lawsuit could actually shield Dow and two other companies by superseding litigation by the citizen group seeking tougher cleanup provisions under the Clean Water Act.
The state’s lawsuit said Dow, its subsidiary Union Carbide and the Brazilian petrochemical manufacturer Braskem “have been in habitual non-compliance” with pollution permits at their chemical manufacturing complex in Seadrift, 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
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Reuters – February 17, 2026
Exxon committed to move fast on Guyana gas projects, but needs demand sources, executive says
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E&E News By Politico – February 17, 2026
FERC commissioner to Trump admin: ‘Send me more LNG projects’*
Nearly halfway into his two-month stint as chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last year, Commissioner David Rosner told the National Energy Dominance Council he wanted more liquefied natural gas projects to review, according to one of the council’s leaders. “When Commissioner Rosner was chairman for an interim period, right before Labor Day he called and said, ‘I want you to tell industry to send me more LNG projects. I cleared the last certificate off my desk,’” Peter Lake, senior director for power at the council, said last week.
Lake — who spoke at an event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank — said much of the United States has hurt its economic outlook with “poor power grid policy.” Lake, a former chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, said Rosner told him last year, “I need more work. Send me more work. The comments from Lake come as FERC faces criticism over its high approval rate for gas projects and as the dominance council has positioned itself as a one-stop shop for energy projects. At the same event on Thursday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said “if you have not talked to [the dominance council], you need to.” Burgum chairs the council.
Maritime Executive – February 17, 2026
Study: A Fire Tornado Could be Used to Clean Up Oil Spills
When the worst large-scale oil spills happen, responders turn to methods that have tradeoffs. Dispersants make the visual problem go away, causing the slick to break up and disappear into the water column before reaching shore, but have environmental effects. Burn-offs – intentional or accidental – reduce the volume of concentrated oil pools on water, but they also generate toxic smoke. A new study by a team at Texas A&M suggests that oil burn-offs can be carried out far more efficiently if the burning pool is subjected to a vortex of swirling air, known to wildland firefighters as a “fire whirl” or “fire tornado.”
For first responders in wildland firefighting, the fire whirl evokes risk: the burning tornadoes can increase spread rate in a forest fire or move erratically, potentially overrunning fire teams. But that extra intensity might also be an asset, if it could be harnessed. A team led by by Dr. Elaine Oran and Dr. Qingsheng Wang of Texas A&M and Dr. Michael Gollner of UC Berkeley set out to determine whether a fire whirl could do a better job at burning off crude oil, and they found success.
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New Orleans Times Picayune – February 17, 2026
Louisiana pipeline blast leads to probe by federal regulators. LNG firm facing scrutiny.*
Federal regulators have opened an investigation into the explosion of a nearly 50-year-old Gulf pipeline that has been out of service for 14 years and directed the owner to suspend operations, repair the damage and determine the fire’s cause along the southwest Louisiana coast earlier this month.
The pipeline owned by Delfin LNG blew open about 11:14 a.m. Feb. 3 in a natural gas explosion, creating a 50- to 80-foot-wide blaze with a blast crater near the shore in Cameron Parish, the federal regulators said in a new order. The explosion launched about 5 feet of shattered pipe into the air and injured one worker.
Oil & Gas National & International
The Wall Street Journal – February 17, 2026
Resilient U.S. Oil Production Is a Boon to Trump. How Long Will It Last?*
Perched in the control room of a Chevron rig, an operator steered a drilling bit thousands of feet under the arid surface of the Permian Basin. As he did so, he received real-time directions from a specialist in Houston, some 477 miles away. Remote monitoring and other feats of technology that have become mainstream are among the clues that help explain why U.S. oil production has—thus far—defied predictions that it would decline in conjunction with the lowest crude prices since the pandemic.
As U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel in recent months, the industry shed rigs by the dozens and laid off crews that frack wells. Yet, the country’s wells last year gushed a record 13.6 million barrels of crude on average each day—100,000 barrels more than the Energy Information Administration, the federal forecaster, had anticipated before President Trump’s inauguration. The disconnect between slackening activity and the increasing yield has mystified even oil chieftains.
“I’ve been wrong,” said Kaes Van’t Hof, chief executive of Permian producer Diamondback Energy. “I thought we’d be down by now.” Executives credit the outperformance in part to companies’ engineering prowess and the changing makeup of the industry. Oil giants now have a bigger share of crude production in their hands and are largely impervious to price swings, ensuring a steady output. Among other field enhancements, these companies now routinely drill wells that extend over 4 miles and allow them to collect more crude at a lower cost.
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Associated Press/Yahoo! News – February 17, 2026
Lawsuits challenge renewed push for oil drilling in Alaska petroleum reserve and upcoming lease sale
Conservation organizations and an Iñupiat group filed legal challenges Tuesday to the Trump administration’s renewed push for oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and an upcoming lease sale that they say improperly makes available ecologically sensitive lands that have been long protected.
At least two lawsuits challenging the March 18 lease sale were filed. One, in federal court in Alaska, was brought by Earthjustice on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth. Another, in federal court in the District of Columbia, was filed by The Wilderness Society and Grandmothers Growing Goodness, a group seeking to draw attention to the impacts of oil and gas development on Iñupiat communities.
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Oil Price – February 17, 2026
Argentina’s Shale Boom Is Rewriting South America’s Energy Map
The massive unconventional oil boom underway in Argentina continues to gain momentum. During late 2024, Argentina, which is South America’s second largest economy after Brazil, overtook Colombia to become the continent’s fourth largest oil producer. The surge in petroleum revenues, coupled with President Javier Mieli’s economic reforms, is a boon for one of the world’s most unstable and crisis-riven economies. There are signs of strong production growth ahead with shale oil and gas output expanding at a solid clip.
Government data shows that for December 2025, Argentina pumped a record of 861,380 barrels of crude oil per day. This was 2% greater than a month earlier and an impressive 14% higher year over year. As the chart illustrates, that solid number is nearly double the 494,721 barrels per day lifted for the same period a decade ago.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
KTRK – February 17, 2026
Governor Abbott announces $617 million investment by NRG in northeast Houston’s Greens Bayou plant
NRG Energy will erect a new natural gas facility at its Greens Bayou plant in northeast Houston, Governor Abbott said on Tuesday. Abbott said the new 455-megawatt plant is a $617 million investment by NRG in Harris County and will add power to Texas’ energy infrastructure.
“Smart investments like these will power and sustain an even brighter future in Texas for generations to come,” Abbott said. According to Abbott, the project is a result of 2024’s Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program. Officials said the initiative was launched to attract large, capital-intensive economic development projects that bring new capital investment and create new jobs in Texas communities.
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Inside Climate News – February 17, 2026
Retired EV Batteries Scored a New Gig: Bolstering Texas’ Grid
In the midday hours, prices plummet. An excess of energy produced across Texas, largely due to the state’s solar and wind fleet, signals it’s a good time to buy. It’s then that 500 batteries, which once fueled General Motors’ electric vehicles, charge up. The batteries, now in their second careers, are kept in staggered steel mesh containers, powered by electricity sent across miles and miles of transmission lines until it reaches a site just east of San Antonio.
Then, as renewable energy production across the state dips as night rolls into morning and Texas begins to draw more energy from dispatchable fossil fuels, these retired EV batteries can sell power back to the state’s electric grid when the price fits.
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El Paso Times – February 17, 2026
El Paso fights gas bill hike, secures electric rate savings for residents
El Paso is making moves to keep utility prices as low as possible. The El Paso City Council on Monday, Feb. 16, authorized the city attorney to file a motion for rehearing with the Railroad Commission of Texas after it approved the Texas Gas Service’s proposed increase in early February. Under the company’s proposal, small residential gas bills would increase by 10%, or $3.64 per month, and large residential bills would increase by 19%, or $11.30 per month.
“The City of El Paso has a responsibility to stand up for our residents and ensure utility rate decisions are equitable and justified,” Mayor Renard Johnson said in a news release. “We will continue to use every available avenue to protect our community from unnecessary financial impacts.” The motion approved Monday authorizes the city attorney to file all documents and take all necessary actions to secure a rehearing.
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Energy Storage News – February 17, 2026
Base Power partners with El Paso Electric, Sonnen launches ‘battery-only’ Texas VPP program
Residential energy storage startup Base Power and utility El Paso Electric Company (EPE) have announced a new residential distributed energy resource (DER) pilot programme in Texas, US. The DER programme will use residential battery systems to help reduce strain on the electric grid during times of high electricity demand.
Base Power deploys a fleet of networked residential battery systems that act as a virtual power plant (VPP) in EPE’s Texas service region. The batteries will be installed at qualifying residential customer homes and integrated into EPE’s system to provide reliable grid services during peak demand periods, while also maintaining backup power for customers during outages.
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KDFA – February 17, 2026
Xcel Energy restores power to about 11,700 customers as part of Public Safety Power Shutoffs earlier
Xcel Energy started restoring power following a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) and weather-related outages that affected around enacted a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) around 5 p.m. today. Wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour, and extremely low humidity levels created critical wildfire risks across the region, especially in the Texas Panhandle prompting the shutoffs.
As of 5 p.m., about 16,500 customers were without power, including 14,277 affected by the PSPS and another 2,223 impacted by weather-related outages.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 17, 2026
How Jet Engines Are Powering Data Centers*
In the battle for AI dominance, every engine of the economy is getting recruited into the fight—including jet engines. Jet engine leasing and repair company FTAI Aviation plans to start selling a modified version of the engine used in the Boeing 737 to power data centers this year. Its shares are up roughly 42% since it announced the power turbine business, which Jefferies estimates could add $750 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization a year. That represents about 52% of the Ebitda that analysts polled by FactSet expected FTAI to bring in this year before it announced the power business.
Others pursuing this conversion include private equity-backed ProEnergy, which sells natural gas turbines that are adapted from the same engine that powers the Boeing 747. Aircraft startup Boom Supersonic in December said that it will start selling a modified version of its engine as a natural gas power turbine. AI data center startup Crusoe is its first customer and is expected to get its turbines in 2027. Jet engines are a natural fit. Power equipment giants GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries already sell power turbines—known as aeroderivatives—that are modeled after these very jet engines. Aircraft engine companies such as GE Aerospace , Howmet Aerospace and Woodward also sell land-based aeroderivative turbines or components.
Regulatory
KUHF (NPR) – February 17, 2026
Houston-area environmental advocates condemn EPA rollback of greenhouse gas regulations
Local environmental advocates are raising concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback of a 2009 “endangerment finding” that classified greenhouse gases as a public health threat. The endangerment finding allowed the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. “It’s a cornerstone regulation for federal climate protections,” said Dr. Inyang Uwak, the Research and Policy Director at Air Alliance Houston.
Uwak said scientific research has confirmed that greenhouse gas emissions can create negative health impacts. She added that revoking the endangerment finding could have far-reaching consequences in major cities like Houston with lots of traffic, where cars emit greenhouse gases. “I think it’s a disservice to public health,” she said. “It’s a disservice to American workers.” Air Alliance Houston Executive Director Jen Hadayia also condemned the rollback.
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Houston Chronicle – February 17, 2026
Texas law enforcement must join fight against radioactive waste: Sarah Stogner*
Toxic chemicals are endangering the lives of people across Texas. New horror stories pop up all the time. “Whistleblower Says Radioactive Fracking Waste Site Melted His Jaw. Now There’s an Elementary School There,” reads a headline in an alternative weekly called The Barbed Wire. Days ago, the Houston Chronicle published an interactive map showing 500 potential zombie wells — the kind that can suddenly turn into geysers, gushing poison 100 feet into the air.
“Pressure-driven wastewater from the oil industry, injected into disposal wells, is straining decades-old cement well plugs — often proving more than they can handle,” the paper explained. New data “reveal the highest injection amounts around at-risk wells are in Guadalupe and Caldwell counties, east of Austin and San Antonio.” The Express-News has reported on “a string of catastrophic incidents with old oil wells in the Permian Basin” and how a “zombie well apocalypse is coming” for the region while “Texas regulators are not keeping up.” Meanwhile, a WFAA headline read, “ ‘This is Chernobyl’: Texas ranchers say ‘forever chemicals’ in waste-based fertilizers ruined their land.”
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday February 17, 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
West Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.51 a barrel, up 62 cents, or 0.99%, but the move included all of Monday’s price action as the contract did not have settlement that day due to the U.S. Presidents Day holiday.
Brent crude futures were down 0.47%, or 32 cents, at $68.33 a barrel by 0430 GMT, following a 1.33% gain on Monday.
Top Stories
February 15, 2026
Shell Names the Risks and Discounts Them to Zero: Art Berman (blog)
Shell describes the world we live in, models a different one, and doesn’t seem to notice the mismatch. Its 2026 Energy Security Scenarios lays out the constraints of our planetary predicament with unusual clarity. It starts from a premise I agree with: the world is changing fast enough that business-as-usual modeling is no longer useful. Geopolitical and social tensions, a fragmenting world order, and growing uncertainty about growth, trade, and supply chains complicate energy supply and demand. Add AI-driven electricity demand, climate disruption, and the legitimate aspirations of billions in the developing world, and complexity only intensifies.
Then the report pivots. From that realistic starting point, Shell’s modeled outcomes read like technological wish-fulfillment: sustained global GDP growth above 3% per year, electricity becoming the dominant form of energy by mid-century, EVs as the default car, and commercial nuclear fusion in barely more than a decade.
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Bloomberg – February 16, 2026
Gasoline-Starved California Is Turning to Fuel From the Bahamas
US supplies of gasoline are being shipped out of the country to travel thousands of miles via the Bahamas before finally ending up in California, a state battling shrinking fuelmaking capacity and high pump prices. Shipments on the circuitous route are increasing. California imported more gasoline in November than ever before, with more than 40% coming from the Bahamas. The lengthy journey adds another layer of cost to California’s already expensive gasoline market. Yet the phenomenon isn’t likely to disappear soon, thanks to a combination of disappearing oil refineries, a lack of interstate pipelines and a loophole in a 106-year-old maritime law.
California has among the strictest environmental regulations in the US, making it costly for energy companies to operate in, though a wave of upcoming refinery closures is prompting officials and regulators to soften their stance. On average, the closures could raise the cost of gasoline for consumers by between 5 and 15 cents a gallon, said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis. After Phillips 66 shuttered its Los Angeles refinery in October, gasoline imports climbed in 2025 to the highest level since at least 2016, Vortexa data show.
With Valero Energy Corp. set to close a Northern California refinery this spring, and no fuel pipelines connecting the US Gulf’s oil-producing powerhouse to the West Coast, the nation’s most populous state will likely depend on imports to bridge the gap. Under the Jones Act, any goods shipped between US ports must travel on US-built, owned and operated vessels. Those tankers are in short supply and expensive to charter. There are about 55 Jones Act-compliant oil tankers worldwide, compared with more than 7,000 oil tankers globally.
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KOAT – February 16, 2026
New Mexico weighs energy future as demand grows
Electricity demand is growing across the country and here in New Mexico. In the southeast, particularly the Permian Basin in Lea and Eddy counties, Xcel Energy says the region has seen a surge in electricity demand in recent years. Jarred Cooley, Xcel Energy’s Senior Director of Strategic Planning, said the growth is being driven by oil and gas activity, increased electrification in the field, and community growth. By electrification, Cooley means more oil and gas sites are plugging into the electric grid, using electricity to run equipment that used to be powered on-site.
“If it’s smaller loads, then we’re able to roll that into our typical build-outs, whether it’s building new distribution facilities to the locations or, in some cases, building new transmission,” Cooley said. But he said the biggest challenge is speed. The company said its working through regulatory processes and has generation and transmission projects in progress, while also trying to balance reliability and affordability as demand rises.
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S&P Global Platts – February 16, 2026
US plans new port fees on foreign ships, prompting shipping industry worries
The US has announced a new proposal to impose port fees on foreign ships as part of its shipbuilding revival project, prompting renewed concerns among shipowners about inflation and market distortions. On Feb. 13, the White House unveiled “America’s Maritime Action Plan” that includes a “universal infrastructure or security fee” on commercial ships built in foreign countries, which will be contributed to “Maritime Security Trust Fund” to support US shipbuilding and other maritime projects.
Without detailing the fee structure, the White House stated this proposal could involve a fee of 1 cent per kilogram on foreign-built ships, yielding roughly $66 billion in revenue over 10 years, or a fee of 25 cents per kilogram, yielding close to $1.5 trillion.
The Latest TERse Tips
China increased its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2025 and is likely to deepen cooperation with Moscow further this year, Western officials said, casting doubt on efforts by European leaders to improve relations with Beijing — Bloomberg*
Opposition to rural data centers growing strong — Texas Energy Report is told more than 80 people showed up for a townhall meeting in Boling, near Bay City in Matagorda County to discuss a planned data center nearby, and criticism of the plan was overwhelming, especially regarding proposed water usage and grid drain
Chubb Ltd. units sued a Texas wastewater disposal company, seeking to avoid paying for litigation alleging escaped wastewater damaged underground oil and gas formations — pollution exclusions bar coverage under the insurance policies issued to NGL Water Solutions Permian LLC, the insurers said in a complaint filed Feb. 13 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, and that the wastewater escaped from permitted areas, affecting nearby oil and gas formations — Bloomberg*
Detroit Automakers Take $50 Billion Hit as EV Bubble Bursts — companies are taking big losses and making moves to reduce electric-vehicle capacity amid regulatory changes and cooling demand — The Wall Street Journal*
Xcel Energy shared a notice with customers in the Panhandle for potential power shutoffs amid elevated wildfire risks this upcoming week — similar warnings were made in New Mexico and Colorado — KDLR
Last year, in an unanimous vote, Utah became the first state in the nation to pass a law allowing residents to plug small solar systems straight into a wall socket — these systems, which retail for around $2,000, produce enough electricity to power a laptop or small refrigerator — The New York Times*
Oil & Gas Texas
World Oil – February 16, 2026
Buccaneer reports production gains from East Texas oil recovery pilot
Buccaneer Energy has completed a pilot program testing organic oil recovery (OOR) technology at its Pine Mills field in East Texas, reporting improved production and reduced water cut in the treated area. The pilot was conducted in the northern section of the field within the Battery 3 area and involved treatment of one water injector and two producing wells. Following the treatment, average production in the pilot area increased from approximately 15 bpd in early January to about 30 bpd during the post-treatment period, with output continuing at similar levels.
The OOR process involves injecting a nutrient mixture into the reservoir to stimulate naturally occurring microorganisms. These microbes alter interfacial properties within the reservoir, reducing the bond between oil and rock and improving the mobility of residual oil in mature waterflood systems. Buccaneer reported that one treated well experienced a significant reduction in water cut after treatment.
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Houston Chronicle – February 16, 2026
Oil and gas companies add more pipelines to Montgomery County. Here’s what to know.*
Montgomery County is experiencing a rise in pipeline construction, contributing to the more than 483,000 miles of lines that traverse Texas. Most of the pipelines are buried and transport oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and refined products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel according to the Texas Railroad Commission. The pipelines range in diameter from 3 inches to 42 inches. While most pipeline projects have minimal impact on residents, Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said tracking each project is important, especially after last year’s controversy over the Blackfin Pipeline.
In October, officials with Blackfin faced backlash from residents and business owners and scrapped a plan to build the compressor station off Interstate 45 near Grand Central Park a day before the Conroe City Council was to discuss rescinding permits issued for the station. “(Pipeline) projects will need to be closely monitored as details become available,” Keough said. “Counties do not have direct regulatory authority over pipelines, as they are permitted and regulated by the State of Texas through the Railroad Commission.”
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Nasdaq – February 16, 2026
Chevron Secures Leases To Explore Four Blocks Offshore Greece
Chevron Corporation (CVX), through its four Dutch subsidiaries, together with HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings S.A. (ELPE.AT), a Greek petroleum refiner, has inked lease deals with the Hellenic Republic to explore four blocks offshore Greece. Under the terms, the consortium will complete 2D and 3D seismic exploration works in phase one of the leases to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the areas.
The blocks are located south of Crete and within the Peloponnese.
The awarded consortium, in which Chevron holds a 70% operating interest and HELLENiQ a 30% interest, was selected after a tender by the Greek government.
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Reuters – February 16, 2026
Australian court fines Exxon’s local petrol brand $11.3 million for misleading claims*
Federal Court of Australia has fined Mobil Oil Australia A$16 million ($11.3 million) over misleading claims about fuel sold at petrol stations in parts of Queensland, the country’s competition regulator said on Tuesday. Mobil Oil Australia supplies petroleum, diesel and other fuel products to retailers in Australia and is owned by oil and gas major Exxon Mobil
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Bloomberg – February 15, 2026
Mexico’s Cuba Obsession Puts Its President in a Bind With Trump*
Claudia Sheinbaum’s decision to halt oil shipments to Cuba is testing her standing within Mexico’s ruling party just over a year into her presidency, even as it staves off confrontation with Donald Trump. Mexico’s political left has seen Cuba as a source of inspiration ever since Fidel Castro and Che Guevara hatched the 1959 revolution in the nation’s capital. A trip to the island, not far from the Yucatan Peninsula, has since been a rite of passage for thousands of young Mexicans seeking to strengthen their ideological credentials.
The relationship between Cuba and Mexico, however, goes beyond youthful romanticism or political idealism. Havana’s clash with Washington after Castro took power helped form key pillars of Mexico’s foreign policy, including non-intervention, self-determination and pacifism. Which is why Sheinbaum is doing everything she can to avoid shunning the island entirely. Though it’s becoming a minority, the leftist wing of the governing Morena Party that supports Cuba and other socialist nations like Venezuela remains powerful, according to Viridiana Rios, a political analyst and columnist. “They are an important faction, no doubt,” she said in an interview. “They have a share of the presidential communication office, they have Mexico City, they have positions in Congress at the federal level.”
Oil & Gas National & International
Yahoo! News – February 15, 2026
A Huge Bet on Supertankers Reverberates Through the Oil Market
A niche but crucial part of the oil market is being rocked by a huge bet from a South Korean tycoon who has amassed a large share of the tanker market — with help from one of the industry’s wealthiest men. Over the past month or two, the Sinokor group has quickly moved to buy or charter a significant number of ships and now controls roughly 120 very-large crude carriers, according to estimates from several senior industry executives. Some market veterans said the huge position amassed by the company, overseen by shipowner Ga-Hyun Chung, is unprecedented in their experience.
But the Seoul-based shipping firm isn’t acting alone. At least two large ship owners that have recently negotiated vessel sales with Sinokor found that the final buyer was in fact an entity linked to Gianluigi Aponte, the founder of a sprawling shipping empire that includes Mediterranean Shipping Co. It’s not clear what the relationship between the two companies is, or how many of the other Sinokor deals have involved MSC.
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Business and Industry Connection – February 16, 2026
Enbridge says proposed Western Canada pipeline project too risky
Enbridge will not take on the development risk of building a proposed new oil pipeline from Alberta to Canada’s West Coast, CEO Gregory Ebel said Friday, noting the long timelines and shifting political landscape. Enbridge was selected by Alberta’s provincial government to provide technical and regulatory expertise related to a potential new pipeline, but Ebel said the uncertainty around the project made it difficult to justify committing significant capital.
“I don’t think investors or the infrastructure companies should be taking on all that risk of development in jurisdictions that have historically created challenges,” Ebel said on Enbridge’s earnings comference call, according to Bloomberg, adding the company does not need to pursue such opportunities given its existing slate of projects.
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CBS News – February 16, 2026
U.S. military boards another oil tanker after tracking it from Caribbean
U.S. military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said Sunday.
Venezuela had faced U.S. sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. President Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December to pressure then-President Nicolás Maduro before Maduro was apprehended in January during an American military operation.
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Inside Climate News – February 5, 2026
Looking Ahead to When Gas Stations Vanish
Sooner than you think, your city may be down to its last gas station, or, in large cities, the last few gas stations. They likely will be owned or heavily subsidized by the government because few businesses can be profitable selling a product whose demand is no longer growing. When will this happen? In regions with high penetration of electric vehicles, such as parts of California, it could be as soon as the mid-2030s.
I’m describing a near future in which electric transportation is becoming the market leader, but gasoline still has a share, albeit a declining one. Researchers have been saying for years that leaders need to plan ahead to reduce the harm that will follow when fossil fuel supply chains are hit by resource shortages, price spikes and business failures tied to falling demand. My main question, especially in this era of “drill, baby, drill,” is whether enough people are paying attention.
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SFGate – February 7, 2026
How America’s largest urban oil field ended up in a major California city
Although the pumpjack shots in [the movie] “L.A. Confidential” suggest a deserted oil field, some location likely far outside a city center, the real-life Inglewood Oil Field used in the film is flanked by several densely populated residential communities deep within the Westside [Los Angeles]. Sure, pumpjacks can be found elsewhere throughout LA, including farther down near Long Beach and hiding inside some fake city buildings, but at 1,000 acres (all just a stone’s throw from LAX), Inglewood Oil Field still holds the distinction of being the largest urban outpost of its kind in the United States.
In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills meant to curb the oil and gas industry’s hold on California; one bill stipulated that the many wells that aren’t actively producing oil must be plugged by the end of the decade. The Inglewood Oil Field isn’t producing much these days — less than 15 barrels daily, according to the Los Angeles Times — meaning that under this new legislation, it’s set to cease operations by 2030.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Associated Press/KXAN – February 14, 2026
As electricity costs rise, everyone wants data centers to pick up their tab. But how?
As outrage spreads over energy-hungry data centers, politicians from President Donald Trump to local lawmakers have found rare bipartisan agreement over insisting that tech companies — and not regular people — must foot the bill for the exorbitant amount of electricity required for artificial intelligence. But that might be where the agreement ends.
The price of powering data centers has become deeply intertwined with concerns over the cost of living, a dominant issue in the upcoming midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and governors’ offices. Some efforts to address the challenge may be coming too late, with energy costs on the rise. And even though tech giants are pledging to pay their “fair share,” there’s little consensus on what that means.
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Utility Dive – February 11, 2026
Growing demand will be met mainly by solar: EIA
Increases in electricity use are becoming more geographically broad, and new demand will be met mainly by increased solar generation, the Energy Information Administration said in its latest short-term energy outlook released Tuesday.
Increasing economic activity and data center development in Texas and the mid-Atlantic are largely driving are largely being driven by increasing economic activity and data center development in Texas and the mid-Atlantic, the agency said, but this month EIA increased its outlook for electricity consumption “in both the Central and Midwest regions because of raised expectations for data center expansion in those areas.”
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Cool Down – February 15, 2026
Chinese automaker unveils breakthrough tech that could revolutionize EVs: ‘Intensive’
Chinese automaker Dongfeng has developed a 350 watt-hour per kilogram solid-state battery that could change the future of electric vehicles. According to Interesting Engineering, the automaker created a test fleet of EVs with these batteries. It will evaluate them under “intensive winter calibration programs” in the Mohe region near China’s northern border.
The tests will examine the battery’s performance, stability, and durability in sub-zero conditions. Interesting Engineering said that the company will also monitor the EV’s driving range and charging performance. Efficiency, battery system integration, and structural safety are among the top priorities in the tests.
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Utility Dive – February 13, 2026
Transmission drives Exelon’s capital spending plan to $41.3B
Exelon expects transmission investments will be a key driver for its capital spending in the coming years, company officials said during a fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday. At the same time, Exelon continues to seek a pathway for deregulated utilities to help supply new generation in the PJM Interconnection, Calvin Butler, Exelon president and CEO, said.
“We firmly believe it’s going to require an all-of-the-above strategy that includes utility-generated, demand side and merchant solutions,” he said. More than than 70% of the increase in Exelon’s capital expenditure plan is driven by transmission, according to Jeanne Jones, Exelon’s chief financial officer.
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Utility Dive – February 13, 2026
What if the government decided the best way to protect a town downriver from a failing dam was to slap duct tape over all the cracks? Bad idea, right? Unfortunately, that’s what legislation passed by House of Representatives would do to America’s grid. The “Power Plant Reliability Act” would give regional transmission organizations and state regulators power to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to delay planned power plant retirements for up to five years.
Most planned retirements are old coal-fired power plants. These retirement determinations are heavily litigated, planned over a decade or more under state regulatory supervision, and underpinned by utility analysis showing the grid would be cheaper, cleaner and more reliable without them.
Regulatory
Grist – February 10, 2026
The United States Sacrificed $35 Billion in Clean Energy Projects Last Year
For more than a decade, the clean energy economy has been on a steep growth trajectory. Companies have poured billions of dollars into battery manufacturing, solar and wind generation, and electric vehicle plants in the U.S., as solar costs fell sharply and EV sales surged. That momentum is set to continue surging in much of the world — but in the United States, it’s starting to stall.
According to a new report from the clean energy think tank E2, new investment in clean energy projects last year was dwarfed by a cascade of cancellations for projects already in progress. For every dollar announced in new clean energy projects, companies canceled, closed, or downsized roughly three dollars’ worth. In total, at least roughly $35 billion in projects were abandoned last year, compared to just $3.4 billion in cancellations in 2023 and 2024 combined.
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Associated Press/PBS – February 13, 2026
Trump calls climate change threat to public health ‘a scam’ but scientific findings show otherwise
The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that climate change is a danger to public health, an idea that President Donald Trump called “a scam.” But repeated scientific studies say it’s a documented and quantifiable harm. Again and again, research has found increasing disease and deaths — thousands every year — in a warming world. The Environmental Protection Agency finding in 2009, under the Obama administration, has been the legal underpinning of nearly all regulations fighting global warming.
“It boggles the mind that the administration is rescinding the endangerment finding; it’s akin to insisting that the world is flat or denying that gravity is a thing,” said Dr. Howard Frumkin, a physician and professor emeritus of public health at the University of Washington. Thousands of scientific studies have looked at climate change and its effects on human health in the past five years and they predominantly show climate change is increasingly dangerous to people.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Monday February 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
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Top Stories
Morningstar – February 13, 2026
The energy sector has outperformed the broader market as U.S. oil prices have climbed over 9% year to date The energy sector has outpaced all other sectors of the S&P 500 so far in 2026. The energy sector has been the best-performing sector in the S&P 500 this year – and it’s not just because risks to global oil flows, tied to Venezuela and Iran, have boosted crude prices by more than 9%. Higher oil prices have been a major tailwind for the energy sector, said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital. But more significantly, “investors are rotating toward sectors with hard-to-replace essential assets.”
That’s “reinforcing the strategic value of energy infrastructure and domestic resource security,” Thummel said. ‘Investors are rotating toward sectors with hard-to-replace essential assets.’Rob Thummel, Tortoise Capital So far this year, the S&P 500’s energy sector XX:SP500.10 has climbed by nearly 21% as of Thursday – outperforming other sectors in the S&P 500 SPX, including materials XX:SP500.15 and consumer staples XX:SP500.30. It has marked its second-best start to a year at this point since 2022, based on data going back to 1989, according to FactSet data.
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The Dispatch – February 12, 2026
Perspectives on ‘Peak Population’
Some economists have suggested that the 21st century might see slower economic growth than previously anticipated. For instance, Charles I. Jones of Stanford University argues that a world with fewer people would have fewer innovative ideas and fewer opportunities to invest in growth, contributing to a “long list of headwinds [that] confront future economic growth, suggesting that growth in the next several decades could be slower than in the past half century.”
Similarly, Matthew G. Burgess and his colleagues foresee challenges facing future global economic growth, but even so, predict increasing overall global wealth. “Despite these potential challenges, we note that the world envisioned … is nonetheless substantially richer than the world today—with many regions reaching affluence greater than today’s affluence in high-income regions, and with lower-income regions having the most rapid increases in affluence,” they wrote in a 2023 article for Nature Communications Earth & Environment. While there has been much discussion of the implications of artificial intelligence and computing demands for future energy demand, several more prosaic technologies are all but certain to drive increasing future energy demand.
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Politico – February 13, 2026
Trump’s ‘energy dominance’ council in search of projects to champion*
The National Energy Dominance Council is helping individual projects get built — but wind and solar energy need not apply. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Thursday that the council is prioritizing helping projects related to critical minerals, power supply, oil and gas development, and power and gas lines. That portfolio does not include renewable energy, which the Trump administration has targeted for funding cuts and permit repeals. “If you have not talked to [the dominance council], you need to,” Burgum, the council chair, told potential developers during a speech Thursday at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Burgum and six staffers on the council spoke at the think tank’s event to mark the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump creating the council, an advisory body within the White House that aims to increase energy production and speed up permitting. The event came as the Trump administration champions a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska — including an 800-mile pipeline — and tries to destroy the offshore wind industry.
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CNBC – February 15, 2026
President Donald Trump’s trade and manufacturing adviser, Peter Navarro, said on Sunday that the White House may force data center builders to absorb their costs as voters continue to sour on the economy and utility prices soar. “All of these data center builders, Meta on down, need to pay for all, all of the costs,” Navarro said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They need to pay, not only pay for the electricity that they’re using on the grid, but they have to pay for the resiliency that they’re affecting as well. They need to pay for the water. So there’s activity, action here going forward, where we force them to internalize the cost.”
The Latest TERse Tips
Expand Energy’s ouster of CEO Nick Dell’Osso set off alarm bells in the gas market earlier this week, but analysts said the move was likely tied to the company’s plans to relocate its headquarters from Oklahoma City to the Houston area rather than professional performance or strategic differences — Energy Intelligence*
Video: Chevron exec reveals concerns over California’s energy polices: ‘I’m quite worried’ — Fox News
One of the five people who were hospitalized following a fire at an Ardmore oil refinery has died — Jesse Biscamp was airlifted to a hospital in Plano, Texas, after a fire at the Valero Ardmore Refinery that also injured four others — KWES
The new novel, “Dark Texas,” envisions what would have happened if the grid failed in the 2021 winter storm — Texas Standard
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is opening an office in Houston as it pushes deeper into energy M&A and infrastructure work — Pulse 2.0
The Center for American Progress assets that Declining Global Demand for Oil and Gas Benefits Americans, and U.S. Policy Can Accelerate It
Oil & Gas Texas
Oil Price – February 13, 2026
U.S. Rig Count Holds Steady as Oil Drilling Slips and Gas Activity Climbs
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, keeping the total rig count in the US at 551 this week, down 37 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs fell by 3 5o 409 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 72 below this same time last year.
The number of gas rigs rose by 3, reaching 133, which is 32 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 9. The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose this week, by 498,000 bpd in the week ending February 6, to 13.713 million bpd on average, 149,000 bpd under the all-time high.
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Reuters – February 13, 2026
US refiner Valero to import up to 6.5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude in March, sources say
Energy Now – February 14, 2026
Exxon Mobil Can Sue California Attorney General for Defamation Over Recycling, Judge Rules
A federal judge on Friday rejected California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s bid to dismiss Exxon Mobil’s lawsuit accusing him of defamation in criticizing the oil giant’s advanced plastics recycling initiatives. U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale rejected Bonta’s claim he was immune from being sued because he criticized Exxon in his official capacity as attorney general, and in the “heartland” of his employment duties.
The Beaumont, Texas-based judge also said whether Bonta criticized Exxon in good faith was a question of fact to be determined later. Truncale dismissed related claims against the environmental groups Sierra Club, Baykeeper, Heal the Bay and the Surfrider Foundation, saying he lacked jurisdiction. Bonta’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither Exxon nor its lawyers immediately responded to similar requests.
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Houston Chronicle – February 15, 2026
The Permian Basin used to be enough for Texas oil companies. Now they’re looking elsewhere.*
When the shale revolution kicked off in 2009, beautiful black crude gushed in Texas, attracting the attention of wildcatters the world over. The drilling opportunities were so prolific that it sucked the air out of the room for most international shale plays at the time. But now, the relationship between U.S. crude producers and domestic oil fields may be coming to a crossroads. Companies that once exclusively operated in the U.S. are beginning to turn their heads abroad in favor of foreign oil plays in South America, Africa and the Middle East, as concerns deepen over the availability of resources in domestic oil fields such as the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale.
Harold Hamm, the billionaire wildcatter who helped usher in the shale revolution, announced last month that his company Continental Resources would stop drilling in the Bakken of North Dakota for the first time in decades. The announcement came less than two weeks after the company announced plans to double down in the Vaca Muerta shale play in Argentina. EOG Resources, another early champion of the shale revolution, has explored drilling opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago, and more recently, the Middle East. It also has landed agreements in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, likely worth billions of dollars.
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Fort Worth Star Telegram – February 15, 2026
Star-Telegram endorsement: Real-world experience for Texas’ oil regulating agency*
Republican voters have a wealth of choices in their primary for railroad commissioner. It’s a perfect time for a dose of recent real-world experience in the oil and gas industry, which the misnamed agency regulates, and for someone with an eye on reform. Several candidates qualify, but we think Hawk Dunlap would make the best commissioner. Dunlap, 55, is a well-control specialist with three decades of domestic and international experience. In name and mien, Dunlap, who lives in Monahans, could be straight from a casting call for a roughneck part in a movie. But he’s sounding the alarm about a threat not getting enough attention: the huge increase in fracking wastewater returned to the ground. …
Another candidate who clearly has knowledge to improve the commission is Katherine Culbert. The 51-year-old process safety engineer shares concerns about abandoned wells and water injection. And she has seen enough of the commission’s work to know it needs an infusion of transparency and willingness to stand up to the industry.
Oil & Gas National & International
S&P Global Platts – February 13, 2026
US eases sanctions, allows oil firms to negotiate Venezuela contracts
The Trump administration conditionally removed longstanding prohibitions on oil and gas contract negotiations and operations in Venezuela, the latest steps in the US push to incentivize a revival of foreign investment in the South American country’s struggling fossil fuel sector.
On Feb. 13, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control simultaneously published General License 49 and General License 50. General License 49, “Authorizing Negotiations of and Entry Into Contingent Contracts for Certain Investment in Venezuela,” allows companies to enter into negotiations and contingent contracts for new investment in Venezuela’s oil sector — including in early exploratory deals and potential joint ventures with state-owned oil company PDVSA — provided the contracts are separately approved through OFAC before being signed, do not involve sanctioned vessels or persons, and do not include “a person located” in Russia, Iran, China, North Korea or Cuba.
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CNBC – February 13, 2026
Venezuela oil revenue will no longer be deposited in an account in Qatar, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News in an interview this week. “An account was set up in Qatar, controlled by the U.S. government the whole time, to land that money in and then send the money from there down to Venezuela,” Wright told NBC News on Thursday.
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Reuters – February 14, 2026
Enbridge beats profit estimates, sanctions new projects to meet power demand*
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Bloomberg – February 13, 2026
Enbridge unfazed by prospect of more Venezuelan oil headed to Gulf Coast
Executives with crude shipper Enbridge Inc. say increased Venezuelan crude exports would not undermine its plans to send more Alberta oilsands barrels to Texas refineries. “The U.S. Gulf Coast is the world’s best heavy refining market and Canadian crude is a meat-and-potato part of the diet there,” Colin Gruending, president for liquids pipelines, told analysts on a conference call Friday.
Refineries along the Gulf of Mexico were initially built to handle the heavy crude produced in Venezuela. But as volumes from the South American country dropped amid economic and political strife and U.S. sanctions, barrels from Canada with a similar chemical makeup have been filling the gap. However, less than one tenth of Canadian exports to the U.S. are bound for the Gulf Coast, with the lion’s share headed to the Midwest.
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Inside Climate News – February 13, 2026
In the conflict-riven northern corner of Mozambique, a huge gas export terminal is moving ahead with the backing of the United States government. Mozambique LNG would be one of the largest fossil fuel projects in Africa, with the capacity to export up to 43 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year at full capacity. The U.S. Export-Import Bank initially approved a $4.7 billion loan for the project in 2019, during the first Trump administration, when the development was led by Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum.
Since then, however, Anadarko sold its stake to France-based TotalEnergies, an Islamist insurgency forced a four-year halt to construction and security forces were accused of committing war crimes against civilians. The United States also became the world’s leading LNG exporter, setting up Mozambique LNG as a potential competitor to American projects.
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Bloomberg – February15, 2026
The Oil Market Is Trading on Bearish Vibes — for Now: Javier Blas*
When the oil trading community descended on London for its annual International Energy Week jamboree last week, the bears outnumbered the bulls, probably by three-to-one. They fought about supply. They argued about demand. But, above all, they clashed to control the market’s narrative. Eventually, the bears prevailed — just. In commodity markets, vibe often matters more than spreadsheets. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, who shaped Saudi-speak for decades as a senior aide to several of the kingdom’s oil ministers, wrote in his memoirs that at times of crisis or uncertainty, “sentiment overshadows fundamentals.” We’re in one of those unsettled periods, with few traders having a strong conviction about how many barrels of crude the world will produce by mid-year. Get a potential war or a peace negotiation wrong in the calculus, and wave goodbye to a year’s worth of P&L.
For two years, the bears have had the microphone, shouting the obvious: Oil supply is running well ahead of demand, and thus global inventories are increasing, albeit from a low level. Last year, global stocks increased by about 477 million barrels, equal to 1.3 million barrels a day, thanks to higher production from the likes of the US, Brazil and the OPEC+ cartel, according to the International Energy Agency. The problem isn’t annual demand growth, which remains healthy at close to 1 million barrels a day, but too much output.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Inside Climate News – February 15, 2026
Texas to Study ‘Batch Zero’ of Data Centers by Late Summer
A month after the state’s grid operator said it would pull together data centers and other large load projects that have been waiting to connect to the grid into a group called “batch zero,” that process is still at least four months away. Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) officials said this week that they plan to present the updated evaluation process to their board of directors in June that will outline which projects will move forward as a first group in the interconnection queue.
With project developers growing increasingly impatient and pushing for a timeline, Jeff Billo, ERCOT’s vice president of interconnection and grid analysis, said that if ERCOT can spell out new admission criteria for projects to be considered in batch zero by June, the agency could begin studying the interconnection needs of the group by late summer.
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San Antonio Express-News – February 15, 2026
CPS Energy is ramping up community solar, seeking proposals to spark struggling program
CPS Energy is looking to inject some energy in its struggling community solar program. The San Antonio utility has issued a request for proposals seeking up to 50 megawatts of solar energy for the program — nearly five times as much power what’s now available. “Community solar allows us to bring more renewable energy online while maintaining affordability and reliability for our customers,” said Jonathan Tijerina, CPS’ vice president of corporate development. But the community solar program, created to provide alternatives for investing in solar, has yet to gain traction.
The program offered two different initiatives. Those who weren’t able to put in their own solar systems — such as renters — instead could buy solar panels that would be installed either at a solar facility east of Adkins or on carport rooftops. Participating customers earn credits on their electric bills for the power generated by the panels. The other initiative, Solar Host SA, allowed homeowners and commercial property owners to rent out space on their rooftops in exchange for credits on their monthly electric bills. Both initiatives are closed to new participants.
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NPR – February 13, 2026
It’s been five years since catastrophic Texas blackouts. How much has changed?
Sade Hogue was five months pregnant with her second daughter when her home lost power during a deadly 2021 winter storm that left millions of Texans without power or heat for days. Hogue and her family went to stay with relatives who still had electricity. Then, a few days later, they also lost power.
“Not only are you worried about you, but you’re worried about the unborn child because you don’t know what the effects of this freeze is doing to the child as well,” Hogue said. Five years after that winter storm which led to at least 246 deaths statewide and hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, Texans such as Hogue still get worried and still scramble to prepare whenever frigid weather is approaching.
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Houston Chronicle – February 13, 2026
Could the Texas grid fail in another extreme freeze? Here’s what’s changed, five years later.*
Before a recent winter storm swept through Houston in January, Jesus Contreras made sure he and his wife were prepared for “the absolute worst.” They didn’t want to be caught off guard as the whole state was five years ago, when Texas’ power grid shockingly gave out for days amid freezing temperatures. Hundreds of people died, and Contreras, a Houston-area paramedic, witnessed the suffering firsthand. So when weather forecasters started talking about an impending freeze last month, Contreras stocked up on nearly a week’s worth of supplies. He filled up the bathtub in case the water stopped flowing again. “Every time we have even a whiff of a cold freeze coming, we over-prepare,” Contreras said.
Meanwhile, grid experts like Alison Silverstein, an independent consultant, get ready for their phones to ring off the hook. Every winter for the last few years, they’ve explained to the many reporters who call that weather conditions won’t be nearly as severe as Winter Storm Uri, the Weather Channel’s name for the 2021 freeze, so the power grid will be fine. Each year, those prognoses hold, and the power stays on. But even industry insiders acknowledge that this is partly due to luck. Texas hasn’t yet experienced the hardest test: If we saw another Winter Storm Uri, would the grid fail again? “Probably not,” Silverstein responded recently, pausing between her words.
“It wouldn’t crater as deep. It wouldn’t crater as long. And we have more tools to make it less likely that the grid would fall apart,” she said.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 15, 2026
U.S. Military Airlifts Mini Nuclear Reactor in First-Ever Flight*
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah—The U.S. military airlifted a miniature nuclear reactor for the first time, part of President Trump’s push to deploy nuclear power across the United States. Three C-17 transport planes flew components of the Valar Atomics Ward 250 unfueled nuclear reactor from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Sunday. Valar Atomics officials handed out black caps emblazoned with the words “Make Nuclear Great Again.” Pentagon and Energy Department officials, reporters and industry representatives sat alongside the reactor module, encased in plexiglass, during the hourlong flight.
Proponents of the technology say the new systems can deliver megawatts of power safely and cheaply, eliminating fuel supply vulnerabilities and providing reliable, scalable energy to remote locations. But some critics say the Trump administration’s fast tracking of the untested reactor designs, built by private companies, could pose safety issues. Trump has pledged to get at least three advanced nuclear reactors “critical”—running all of its nuclear systems—on U.S. soil by July 4. “Energy is not just an economic issue, although it is that, it is a national security issue as well,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “America cannot project freedom if we lack reliable deployable power at home and in the field.”
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Energy Storage – February 12, 2026
Tesla set to launch vehicle-to-grid program in the US*
Tesla is set to officially launch its first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programme in the US soon. The Powershare Grid Support Program, announced by Tesla Energy, will enable Cybertruck owners in select Texas markets to earn money by sending power back to the electrical grid during high-demand events.
The programme represents Tesla’s first implementation of true V2G capability, transforming the Cybertruck from just a transportation vehicle into a distributed energy asset. Starting in areas served by CenterPoint Energy and Oncor, the initiative allows participating owners to support grid stability while receiving credits on their energy bills.
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New Mexico Political Report – February 13, 2026
Should New Mexico buy PNM? Lawmaker says yes
A state senator has a different idea for the future of New Mexico’s largest electric utility: Have the state buy it. Sen. Harold Pope introduced Senate Memorial 9 Friday asking the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) to pause Blackstone Infrastructure’s proposed $11.5 billion purchase of TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). Pope said the pause would give state leaders time to study buying a controlling stake instead of approving the private equity deal. …
According to PNM spokesperson Eric Chavez, the company quickly dismissed the idea of a state buyout. “We believe the proposed long-term financial investment by Blackstone Infrastructure is the most effective way to make the investments necessary to provide PNM’s customers with reliable, affordable, clean energy,” Chavez said.
Regulatory
Politico – February 13, 2026
Republicans revive quest to repeal Superfund oil tax*
Republicans in both chambers have reintroduced legislation to eliminate a key “polluter pays” industry tax used to fund EPA cleanups at the nation’s most contaminated sites. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Ohio Rep. Mike Carey are sponsoring the “Pay Less at the Pump Act,” which would repeal the excise tax on crude oil and imported petroleum just three years after it was reinstated. “Cheaper energy translates into cheaper goods for Americans at every level of the supply chain, allowing families to keep more of their hard-earned cash,” Carey said in a news release.
For the first 15 years of the Superfund program’s existence, hazardous waste cleanups were funded in part by three industry taxes: petroleum, chemicals and large corporations. Former President Joe Biden’s landmark infrastructure and climate laws reinstated the chemical and oil taxes in 2021 and 2022, nearly three decades after the taxes expired in 1995. Texas Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Beth Van Duyne last year reintroduced legislation, S. 615 and H.R. 640, respectively, to repeal the chemical taxes. But even as Congress gutted Biden-era spending laws, the taxes survived.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Friday February 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 slipped on Friday and were on track for a second weekly decline on receding concerns of a U.S.-Iran conflict that could affect supply.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $62.72 after falling 2.8%.
Brent crude oil futures were down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $67.46 a barrel at 0448 GMT after falling 2.7% in the previous session.
Prices gained earlier this week on concerns the U.S. could attack key Middle Eastern producer Iran over its nuclear programme but comments on Thursday from U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. could make a deal with Iran over the next month drove prices lower in the previous session.
Top Stories
CNBC – February 12, 2026
The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a landmark scientific finding that serves as the legal foundation for federal regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions, in a devastating blow to efforts to combat climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding, established under President Barack Obama in 2009, classified carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare.
It underpins Clean Air Act emissions standards and rules for cars and light trucks, power plants, and oil and gas industry facilities. “This is about as big as it gets,” President Donald Trump said at the White House with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “Under the process just completed by the EPA, we are officially terminating the so-called endangerment finding.”
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Texas Tribune – February 12, 2026
In a contest to regulate Texas’s oil and gas industry, one Republican wants to talk DEI and China
The Republican primary election for a seat on the Texas governing board that regulates the oil and gas industry has oscillated from how the agency should bolster its regulatory force to a proposed crackdown on Islamic and Chinese influence in the state’s oil fields. Four Republicans want to unseat Jim Wright, the incumbent who is at the end of his six-year term as one of three commissioners for the Texas Railroad Commission.
Most have argued that the agency must tighten the reins on the oil and gas industry. But one candidate thinks the agency has allowed diversity efforts and foreign influence to go unchecked, saying China is acquiring Texas land and expanding its influence on the state.
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Fox News – February 12, 2026
Inside Chevron’s flagship refinery tapping into Venezuelan crude after Maduro’s capture (+ video)
Chevron’s flagship Gulf Coast refinery is processing its first Venezuelan oil shipment since the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas last month, turning heavy, tar-like crude into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for American consumers. “We’ve been [in Venezuela] for a long time, and it looks like things are starting to go better for both the Venezuelan people and I would say for the American people too, because what’s going to happen is the more that oil that flows to a place like Pascagoula or some of the other refineries here, it drives down the cost,” Andy Walz, President of Downstream, Midstream & Chemicals at Chevron, told FOX Business in an exclusive interview Thursday.
“That oil is going to be cheaper, it’s closer, and it’s going to help these refineries run the way they were designed, so I think it’s a really good thing.” Walz’s comments were among the first public acknowledgments by Chevron of processing Venezuelan crude in U.S. refineries under the company’s renewed sanctioned operations. FOX Business was granted exclusive access inside Chevron’s facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi on Thursday, where correspondent Lauren Simonetti reported near distillation units processing Venezuelan oil that arrived weeks ago.
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S&P Global Platts – February 12, 2026
TotalEnergies targets AI-driven growth with premium power deals for data centers
TotalEnergies is securing a roughly 10% premium on some renewable power sales by bundling electricity with land, grid access and battery storage for data center development, company executives said Feb. 11, as artificial intelligence-driven demand continues to reshape corporate power markets. The integrated model — which goes beyond traditional power purchase agreements — enables TotalEnergies to sell power at above-average rates while accelerating the build-out of its renewables pipeline, according to Stephane Michel, president of the company’s gas, renewables and power segment.
Michel cited a recently agreed 1-GW solar PPA with Google in Texas that includes options to co-locate a 1.5-GW data center — with TotalEnergies offering land and a grid connection — as well as battery storage installation.
The Latest TERse Tips
Any US-Iran war would threaten energy security and could lead to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, warns the secretary of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday — Iran International — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration earlier this week advised U.S.-flagged commercial vessels to stay as far from Iran’s territorial waters as possible and to verbally decline Iranian forces permission to board if asked, according to the guidance
Politico implies attempts to sue fossil fuel companies billions of dollars to account for climate-fueled damage to states, such as wildfires and floods, are being adopted by Democrats at several governmental levels, while one Republican is vowing to fight back
Russia’s Volgograd oil refinery suspended oil processing on Wednesday after a Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire at the plant — Oil Price — another Russian refinery near the Arctic Circle was hit Thursday morning, according to some reports
Southbound natural gas flows out of the Haynesville Shale topped 5 Bcf/d in late 2025 after two new pipelines entered service, boosting Gulf Coast supply while Permian Basin takeaway additions remain months away — Natural Gas Intelligence*
Crypto Industry Targets Al Green, a Texas Democrat Who Voiced Concerns — a crypto-backed super PAC plans to spend $1.5 million against Mr. Green, a member of the House Financial Services Committee who has expressed concerns about cryptocurrency — The New York Times*
One Austin company has developed a private AI platform that can run from a phone rather than relying on large data centers — “We try to get it on device, running in an environment that’s sustainable,” said Tyler Mauer, co-founder of webAI — the company develops AI models that target specific domains like health care and military operations — Spectrum News
Soluna Holdings, Inc. has received approval from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to begin energizing its Project Kati 1, an 83 MW wind-powered data center campus in South Texas — Investing
The Texas power grid gets poor marks in a report card by consulting firm Grid Strategies and non-profit advocacy group Americans for a Clean Energy Grid — Axios
A Texas oil field worker has been detained in one of Mexico’s most dangerous prisons for nine months after crossing the border in an “honest accident” while his family pleads for his safe return — AOL
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits Venezuela to assess oil industry overhaul — Associated Press/KXAN
Entergy Corporation reported fourth quarter 2025 earnings per share of 51 cents on an as-reported and an adjusted (non-GAAP) basis, and for the full year, the company reported 2025 earnings per share of $3.91 on an as-reported and an adjusted basis — see the press release
Five workers were hospitalized after fire on Monday at Valero’s Ardmore OK refinery — the fire was put out quickly — KTEN
Canada eyes boosting fines for industrial emissions — Prime Minister Mark Carney is turning to factories and power plants to cut emissions, after scrapping a consumer carbon tax last year — Politico*
Oil & Gas Texas
Reuters/Fidelity – February 11, 2026
SM Energy is seeking buyers for Eagle Ford natural gas assets, sources say
SM Energy ( SM ) has launched the sales process for some of its natural gas-producing assets in the Eagle Ford shale basin of South Texas as it looks to trim debt following its near $13 billion merger with Civitas, three sources familiar with the matter said. SM Energy ( SM ) closed the merger last month and took on around $5 billion of Civitas net debt as part of the all-stock deal.
*The company earlier announced plans to raise at least $1 billion from divestitures within the first year of the deal completion to cut debt and shore up its balance sheet. SM Energy has not previously disclosed which assets it planned to part with. The Eagle Ford assets that SM Energy is marketing would likely fetch more than $500 million, one of the sources said.
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Bloomberg – February 12, 2026
Venezuela Plans to Grant More Oil Blocks to Chevron, Repsol*
Venezuela plans to grant more oil-production land to Chevron Corp. and Spain’s Repsol SA as the Trump administration pushes for private companies to rebuild the nation’s energy sector, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Officials in Caracas are poised to award the exploration and production blocks as soon as this week, the people said. Giving US and European companies more access to Venezuela’s oil-rich territory is a key piece of US President Donald Trump’s push to revive the nation’s dilapidated energy sector while eroding China and Russia’s local influence.
On Thursday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright toured a project operated by Chevron in Venezuela’s Orinoco oil belt and told reporters that the opportunity for cooperation between the US and the South American nation is immense following the capture of former Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Wright said the US would release additional licenses “soon,” with companies like Chevron seeing benefits from an increase of as much as a 30% in production in the next 18 to 24 months. “Chevron is being enabled to massively grow their business here. They’re the largest producer in Venezuela today, and they’re going to be able to both expand the reserves they have and expand their operations,” Wright said.
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MSN – February 12, 2026
TotalEnergies announces 40% stake sale in two exploration licenses in Nigeria to Chevron
TotalEnergies has agreed to sell a 40% stake in two offshore exploration licenses in Nigeria to Chevron, with the aim to enhance collaboration between the French and US energy giants, the company said on Monday. After the sale, TotalEnergies will continue to operate the site with a 40% stake, sharing responsibilities with Chevron and South Atlantic Petroleum. The transaction with Chevron will be completed once standard conditions are met, including obtaining regulatory approvals, it said.
This new joint venture highlights TotalEnergies’ worldwide offshore exploration partnership with Chevron, after acquiring a 25% working interest in a portfolio of exploration leases offshore the US in June, which includes 40 blocks operated by Chevron. “After launching our joint venture in US offshore exploration in June, we’re delighted to now expand our collaboration to Nigeria to unlock new resources in the West Delta basin,” said Nicola Mavilla, Senior Vice-President Exploration at TotalEnergies. “This new joint venture aims at derisking and developing new opportunities in Nigeria, in line with the objectives of the country.”
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Louisiana Illuminator – February 11, 2026
Louisiana bets big on ‘blue ammonia.’ Communities along Cancer Alley brace for the cost.
From her home in Donaldsonville, less than three miles from the world’s largest ammonia plant, Ashley Gaignard says the air itself carries a chemical edge. The odor, she said, is sharp and lingering. Years ago, when her son attended an elementary school about a mile from the massive CF Industries ammonia production facility, he would begin wheezing during recess, she recalled. His breathing problems eased only after he transferred to a school several miles farther away.
“I’m not against progress,” Gaignard said. “We are against development that poisons and displaces and disregards human life.” Now, along Louisiana’s Mississippi River corridor, fertilizer giant CF Industries and other companies are placing multibillion-dollar bets on “blue ammonia” — a product made from fossil fuels but with extra technology to capture planet-warming gases and pipe them underground for storage.
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ProPublica – February 12, 2026
Salty, Oily Drinking Water Left Sores in Their Mouths. Oklahoma Refused to Find Out Why.
In the summer of 2022, months after Tammy Boarman and her husband, Chris, moved into their newly built “forever home” 30 miles from Oklahoma City, the plants in their yard began to turn yellow. The shrubs wilted, though Tammy watered them often. And the couple began to notice a salty taste in their drinking water. The water came from a private well, drilled the year before, and they hoped that the bad taste would fade with time and with the help of a water softener.
But the problem grew worse. Their ice maker expelled large clumps of wet salt, which, when rubbed, dissolved into an oily, foul-smelling substance. The couple knew that some oil and gas extraction took place nearby. Down dirt roads and behind stands of oak trees in their neighborhood, pump jacks nodded up and down, pulling up oil. This is a common sight in Oklahoma. Several studies estimate that about half the state’s residents live within a mile of oil and gas wells.
Oil & Gas National & International
Reuters – February 12, 2026
US-led oil sales from Venezuela to bring in $5 billion in months, energy chief Wright tells NBC News
Oil sales from Venezuela controlled by the U.S. have totaled over $1 billion since the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January and in the next few months will bring in another $5 billion, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told NBC News on Thursday. Much of the oil is being refined in U.S. refineries, and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has handed over proceeds from the sales to Venezuela’s interim government, he added.
“Sales today are over a billion dollars, and in fact, we have sort of short-term agreements over the next few months that will bring in another $5 billion,” Wright said in the interview on his second day of a visit to Venezuela. Wright toured facilities in the Orinoco heavy crude belt with officials from U.S. oil company Chevron on Thursday, having met with Interim President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez a day earlier. He is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the country since the U.S. capture and removal of Maduro six weeks ago.
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Reuters – February 12, 2026
Global shipping industry sticks with green investments, despite carbon price delay*
The shipping industry’s biggest players are shrugging off Trump administration opposition to a global carbon price and are forging ahead with billions of dollars in emissions-reducing investments, according to company officials and a Reuters analysis of data. Europe, Brazil and a host of other nations are pushing the sector, which is responsible for nearly 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, to go green. But, in October, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the world’s two largest oil producers, successfully spearheaded efforts to postpone by one year a decision on the International Maritime Organization’s proposal of a $380-per-metric-ton levy.
Some analysts and industry observers initially warned that the absence of such a global framework added complexity to companies’ planning and could cause some to pause their green investments. But in interviews with 15 shipping companies, ports, bunker suppliers and marine technology companies, 10 told Reuters that regional regulations, long investment lead times, and expectations of a continuing trend towards decarbonisation all argued in favor of staying the course.
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S&P Global Platts – February 12, 2026
IEA sees narrower oil surplus after January production slump
The International Energy Agency has revised down the magnitude of the global oil supply glut it foresees in the first quarter of 2026 after weather-related outages and sanctions pressure slashed output in January, it said Feb. 12. In the latest edition of its closely-watched monthly oil market report, the IEA said that the world’s oil producers pumped 1.2 million barrels per day less supply in January, observing what it called an “exceptional plunge” that should recover in the coming months.
The surprise contraction was driven by extreme winter weather that shut in over 1 million b/d of North American production, coupled with prolonged disruptions at Kazakhstan’s key CPC export terminal, the IEA said.
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E&E News By Politico – February 11, 2026
Alaska gas pipeline project work could start in April*
Developers of a major liquefied natural gas project in Alaska are aiming to begin initial pipeline-related work as soon as mid-April, according to a new filing with federal regulators. Early activity on the Alaska LNG project would include building 20 construction camps, 46 sites to store pipes and around 100 construction bridge crossings, the implementation plan showed.
Glenfarne Group is the lead developer of the Alaska LNG project, with the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. involved as a minority owner. The 119-page filing last week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission offers new insight into the pipeline’s construction timeline, which Glenfarne hopes to have mechanically completed in 2028, with first in-state gas delivery in 2029. “Glenfarne is rapidly advancing Alaska LNG to deliver reliable, affordable energy for Alaskans, backed by some of the biggest names in energy and construction,” said Tim Fitzpatrick, a Glenfarne spokesperson, in a statement Monday. “This implementation plan describes the next steps for early works activities to achieve that objective.”
DeSmog – February 12, 2026
The Oil Industry’s Latest Disaster: Trillions of Gallons of Buried Toxic Wastewater
A cache of government documents dating back nearly a century casts serious doubt on the safety of the oil and gas industry’s most common method for disposing of its annual trillion gallons of toxic wastewater: injecting it deep underground. Despite knowing by the early 1970s that injection wells were at best a makeshift solution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) never followed its own determination that they should be “a temporary means of disposal,” used only until “a more environmentally acceptable means of disposal [becomes] available.”
The documents include scientific research, internal communications, and talks given at a December 1971 industry and government symposium. And they come from multiple federal agencies, including the EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The documents show there may be little scientific merit to industry and government claims that injection wells are a safe means of disposal — putting drinking water and other mineral resources in communities across the country at risk of contamination, and jeopardizing local economies and public health.
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JD Supra – February 11, 2026
New York Again Tries To Block Constitution Pipeline: Flaster Greenberg PC
For the last decade, the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) has been trying to usurp the power of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by withholding the granting of state certifications that are otherwise allowed under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) pertaining to the siting of interstate oil and gas pipelines through any “waters of the United States.”
While previously the right obligation of states to issue CWA certifications had been considered to be a largely administrative, if not perfunctory, task, then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo changed all of that in 2016 when he determined – as a matter of broad state policy and not necessarily any project specific analysis – that, henceforth, New York State would no longer issue Section 401 Permits for any fossil fuel pipeline whatsoever
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MSN – February 11, 2026
Libya awards new oil, gas blocks to Chevron, Eni, others in first bidding round since 2007
Libya awarded oil and gas exploration blocks to foreign firms on Wednesday, including Chevron, Eni, QatarEnergy and Repsol, in its first licensing round in nearly two decades as it seeks to revitalise the sector despite political risks. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the winners of its first bidding round since 2007, allocating key acreage across the onshore Sirte and Murzuq basins and the gas-rich offshore Cyrenaica field in the Mediterranean.
Italy’s Eni and QatarEnergy secured rights to Offshore Area 01, strengthening a strategic partnership between them that has expanded across the Mediterranean. A separate consortium of Spain’s Repsol, Hungary’s MOL and Turkey’s state-owned TPOC won Offshore Area 07.
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Orange Leader – February 6, 2026
When I explain carbon capture and storage to my students, I start with a map of Southeast Texas. I point to the refineries and the power facilities, and then to the thick layers of rock below that have securely contained natural resources for millions of years. That map tells the story of why the Golden Triangle is uniquely suited to be an internationally-recognized hub for the safe capture and storage of carbon emissions.
In the Golden Triangle, carbon capture and storage (CCS) from industrial facilities follows the same practical application of geology, engineering, and industrial systems that this region has understood for generations. As these projects are planned and begin to come online, we are seeing well-established science applied to meet demands of a changing global economy.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Fort Worth Star-Telegram – February 12, 2026
Hood County’s proposed moratorium on data centers squashed by Texas senator*
The county was considering a six-month pause on any new projects to allow time to study regulations over air and water quality and pollution. Developers have multiple projects in the pipeline in Hood County, including a 2,600-acre data center complex called Comanche Circle that has triggered a tsunami of opposition from ranchers, landowners and conservationists near Glen Rose.
The standing-room only Commissioners Court was hours into a public hearing on the issue Tuesday when a letter from Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt arrived. Addressed to Attorney General Ken Paxton, with a subject line “Proposed Illegal County Moratorium on Development,” the letter said counties are merely political subdivisions of the state without any powers other than those specified by the constitution or state statutes. And a moratorium isn’t among those powers. The commissioners ended up voting 3-2 against the six-month
County attorney Matt Mills read Bettencourt’s letter following an impassioned public hearing where most speakers told commissioners that their quality of life, and livelihoods, were at stake. Bettencourt’s letter cited a law adopted last year that attempts to limit the ability of Texas cities to implement moratoria. He said the Senate Committee on Local Government “will be closely monitoring these situations” like with Hood County’s proposal.
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Rio Grande Guardian – February 12, 2026
Hancock says Texas has enough energy for all the data centers coming
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock says he is not concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power big data centers. But water, that is another thing. Hancock was the keynote speaker at a Texas Talks luncheon hosted by Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. His presentation was titled Fiscal Futures Briefing. The event took place at the Brownsville Events Center.
In the Q&A portion of the event, Hancock was asked whether Texas could handle all the data centers being proposed. “That’s a great, great question,” Hancock said. “Water is a huge concern of mine. I was vice chair of the Water & Ag Committee (in the Texas Senate), and so water is a huge concern of mine. And while we invested in it, the legislature, I think it’s got to be significantly more.”
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ESS News – February 12, 2026
Texas lands its first battery-only virtual power plant
For little more than a monthly subscription to Netflix, homeowners and “solar orphans” in Texas can now tap into a new “battery-only” virtual power plant (VPP) program from clean energy financing company Solrite Energy and VPP-based energy storage system manufacturer sonnen.
The offering builds on the companies’ previously launched virtual power plant power purchase agreement (VPA) that already provides 3,000 customers across the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) service area with solar and storage at no upfront costs and $0.12 per kWh rates. Now, per a conversation with leadership from both companies, the partnership plans to provide another 10-12,000 homes across the state with three 60 kWh sonnen batteries throughout the rest of the year. Unlike the first part of the program, however, customers can opt to only install batteries and not solar.
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Business Insider – February 12, 2026
Anthropic says it will pay 100% of the grid upgrade costs tied to its AI data centers
Anthropic says it’s going to foot the bill for electricity price increases tied to its data centers. “We will pay for 100% of the grid upgrades needed to interconnect our data centers,” Anthropic said in a blog post published Wednesday, adding that it will absorb costs that might otherwise be passed on to American households.
Anthropic said it will secure additional power to avoid pushing up electricity prices and invest in “grid optimization tools” designed to reduce strain and keep prices low. …. In a statement to Business Insider on Thursday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that “the costs of powering our models should fall on Anthropic, not everyday Americans.”
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CNBC – February 12, 2026
Families won’t see relief from rising electricity prices anytime soon, as demand from artificial intelligence data centers soars while power supply grows slowly, according to Goldman Sachs. Electricity prices jumped 6.9% in 2025 year over year, more than double the headline inflation rate of 2.9%, Goldman analysts told clients in a research note published Wednesday.
Prices will continue to rise through the end of the decade, as data centers make up 40% of electricity demand growth, the analysts said. This will lower disposable income, drag down consumer spending and slightly slow economic growth in the coming years, they said. Households will see electricity prices rise an additional 6% through 2027, the analysts said. Price inflation will then slow to 3% in 2028 on lower natural gas prices, they said. Consumer spending growth will fall 0.2% through 2027 and economic growth will slow 0.1% as a result, according to Goldman.
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Oil Price – February 5, 2026
How Vulnerable is the US Electrical Grid to Winter Outages?
A winter wallop that delivered a blast of Arctic air to two-thirds of the United States last weekend brought with it power failures, partially due to snow, ice and falling trees or branches damaging power lines. At least 35 deaths were reported, including three brothers between the ages of 6 and 9 who fell through an iced-over pond in Texas, and two people who were run over by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio.
The mega-storm reportedly caused blackouts to more than a million customers, especially in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. As of Tuesday morning there were still 550,000 outages across the country, according to poweroutage.com, via CBC News, with most of them in the South, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee.
Regulatory
E&E News – February 11, 2026
Winter storm revives fierce congressional grid fight
Grid operators across the country have managed recent extreme winter weather with only limited challenges, but that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from using last month’s storm in the fight over which energy sources are better to keep the lights on. For years, severe weather and power outages have been followed by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill arguing about the merits of fossil fuels versus renewables.
Republicans have gone on the offensive since Winter Storm Fern battered roads and energy infrastructure with heavy snow, ice and freezing rain from Texas to New England. In floor speeches, committee hearings and interviews, they argue that one thing prevented the energy grid from collapsing: reliable and affordable power from natural gas, coal and nuclear plants.
“Not surprisingly, fossil fuels and nuclear power provided the bulk of electricity during this week’s storm and the intense cold that followed,” said Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) during floor remarks. “Renewable sources generated smaller amounts of electricity, and they were also sporadic.”
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Thursday February 12, 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
Top Stories
TruthDig – February 11, 2026
Radioactive Oil and Gas Waste May Lie Beneath a North Texas Elementary School
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On a cold winter morning in Johnson County, Texas, at the southwestern edge of the booming Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, 52-year-old Lee Oldham stands beside the Pleasant View Elementary School and wonders what the drilling waste he helped lay underneath might mean for the children inside. Surrounding the school is the partially complete 2,500-home Silo Mills development that will supply it with children and that is also built atop drilling waste, according to satellite maps and interviews. The first families moved in two years ago.
“They weren’t telling anyone this was a radioactive material. They told us it was safe,” said Oldham, who worked as a bulldozer operator here from 2009 to 2011, laying waste that he said was generally six inches to a foot deep, but in spots as much as two to three feet. In 2015, Oldham returned to the same area doing reclamation work that involved putting one to two feet of local dirt back over the waste.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 11, 2026
OPEC Holds Oil-Demand Forecast Steady, Says Production Fell in January*
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries kept its forecasts for global oil-demand unchanged and said production from the wider OPEC+ alliance fell last month amid losses in Venezuela, Iran and Kazakhstan. Oil demand is projected to rise by 1.34 million barrels a day next year—slightly below 2026’s estimated 1.38 million barrels a day—supported by easing inflation, fiscal measures and improving global trade, the Vienna-based cartel said in its closely watched monthly report.
In the second quarter of this year, demand for OPEC+ crude is set to average 42.2 million barrels a day in the quarter, down from 42.60 million barrels a day in the first quarter. The estimates were left unchanged from last month’s report. Oil prices rose more than 2% on Thursday, with Brent crude climbing back above $70 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate above $64 a barrel as traders closely monitor developments between the U.S. and Iran amid fears that any potential escalation between the two nations could disrupt energy flows.
In January, OPEC crude-oil output fell by 135,000 barrels a day to 28.45 million barrels a day, while total production from OPEC+ members slid by 439,000 barrels a day to 42.45 million barrels a day, dragged lower by a sharp decline in Kazakhstan’s output. Venezuelan crude production fell by 87,000 barrels a day to 830,000 barrels a day, while Iran’s output declined by 81,000 barrels a day to 3.13 million barrels a day, the cartel said, citing secondary sources.
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Houston Chronicle – February 11, 2026
The CEO and co-founder of the Dallas-based pipeline giant Energy Transfer, Warren has used his $7.7 billion fortune to build up a reputation as a GOP kingmaker, helping politicians from former Gov. Rick Perry to President Donald Trump. This election cycle, he’s already given $12. 5 million to the pro-Trump Super PAC MAGA Inc., according to campaign filings. And now he’s trying to help Cornyn stay in office for a fifth term. Warren and his company have donated $1.3 million to the pro-Cornyn Super PAC.
If Cornyn makes it through the primary, Warren is a good person to have in his corner should he need a last-minute infusion of cash. Two weeks before the 2024 presidential election, Warren gave $2.5 million to Trump’s Turnout for America PAC.
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Energy News Beat – February 11, 2026
100 Wind Turbines Get an Upgrade in Texas, but at What Cost?
The Prairie Hill Wind Farm, commissioned by ENGIE in 2021 as one of the company’s largest U.S. renewable projects, was built at a reported cost of around $300 million. Now, just five years later, the entire array is facing the wrecking ball. According to ENGIE representatives who briefed local officials in January, the old turbines—each standing over 300 feet tall—are being fully decommissioned, not merely refurbished.
In their place? Sleeker, more powerful units that promise the same energy output from 37 fewer foundations. We cannot obtain confirmation that the 37 foundations will be cleaned to farm standards. This isn’t your garden-variety maintenance; it’s a full-scale repowering that boosts nameplate capacity without expanding the footprint. On paper, it sounds like a win for green energy: higher efficiency, lower visual clutter, and sustained power for the ERCOT grid.
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MSN – February 11, 2026
Baker Hughes wins ‘significant’ gas turbine order for Georgia, Texas data center projects
Baker Hughes in Wednesday’s trading to a nine-year high of $62.08 after saying it received a “significant order” from power generation company Twenty20 Energy for 10 Frame 5 gas turbines and associated generator technology supporting up to 250 MW of power generation capacity. Initial deliveries have been designated for Twenty20 Energy’s data center projects in Georgia and Texas and are scheduled for 2027.
The order comes as the two companies move toward a strategic agreement in which Baker Hughes (BKR) will supply multi-gigawatt power generation equipment to deliver reliable and sustainable power to meet the rapidly increasing demand for AI and digital infrastructure in the U.S.
The Latest TERse Tips
The US government issued a general license to allow oilfield-service companies to work in Venezuela as the Trump administration eases sanctions and pushes to rebuild the nation’s crude infrastructure — the license issued by the Treasury Department allows US firms to explore, develop and produce oil and natural gas in Venezuela under certain limited conditions, according to a statement Tuesday — the move is the latest in a series of steps Washington has taken to entice US companies to revive output from Venezuela’s vast crude reserves after last month’s capture of strongman Nicolás Maduro — Bloomberg*
Natural gas prices rose sharply in January, averaging $7.72 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), as cold weather increased heating demand, reduced production, and led to record storage withdrawals during Winter Storm Fern — the drawdown for the week ending January 30 was the largest weekly net withdrawal recorded in the history of EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report — in the February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) now forecasts U.S. natural gas inventories to end the withdrawal season in late March at less than 1.9 trillion cubic feet. This is 8% below previous forecasts, prompting the forecast for the Henry Hub spot price for February and March to be 40% higher than last month’s STEO — EIA
Tesla shuffling top sales leadership as deliveries of its EVs continue to fall — a Texas executive is leaving the Austin automaker after 13 years and the company has reportedly named a new head of global sales — Austin American-Statesman*
Why a big part of Greg Abbott’s legacy is riding on the GOP primary for Texas comptroller — [RRC Commissioner Christi] Craddick, who has served on the Railroad Commission since 2012, is also calling for a “top-to-bottom” audit of state spending. She has a far less contentious relationship with Abbott, who appointed her to the Southern States Energy Board in 2015. But the governor passed her over for Kelly Hancock when he was looking to fill the comptroller seat — Houston Chronicle*
Chevron’s El Segundo refinery key unit remains offline four months after fire
The state of Texas sued a fiberglass recycling company for dumping and abandoning thousands of wind turbine blades and components, creating two unauthorized parts graveyards in West Texas — Global Fiberglass Solutions, a Texas company, illegally accumulated and abandoned over 3,000 blades and parts, the complaint says — Houston Chronicle*
Federal regulators have concluded that two major Kinder Morgan Inc. natural gas pipeline projects spanning nearly 500 miles across the Southeast would not cause significant environmental harm, clearing a key hurdle for the multibillion dollar buildout — Natural Gas Intelligence*
Cheniere Energy Inc.’s marketing unit has clinched more shipping capacity for its expanding portfolio of Gulf Coast exports as the U.S. LNG boom ushers in a squeeze on carrier supply — Natural Gas Intelligence*
The US Federal Aviation Administration reopened airspace around El Paso, Texas, in a sudden reversal after announcing a 10-day closure that grounded flights in the city on the US-Mexico border — Trump administration officials cited unmanned aircraft activity from Mexican drug cartels for the shutdown — Bloomberg*
Evolution Petroleum Corp. on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.1 million — San Antonio Express-News*
Dozens of tankers filled with Russian oil are floating at sea without buyers — western powers are seizing the aging ships the country relies upon. Buyers of Russian oil are demanding the steepest discount to global oil prices since the early months of the war in Ukraine — it all spells crunchtime from Moscow’s most important economic engine — The Wall Street Journal*
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Oil & Gas Texas
Texas Monthly – February 11, 2026
He Wants to Deport Native Americans. He May Win Statewide Office in Texas.*
Top Texas Republicans tried to cancel Bo French when he ran the Tarrant County Republican Party. Now, as he runs for railroad commissioner, they are silent.
French and Patrick still share the same demanding patron, far-right billionaire Tim Dunn. The Midland oilman gave both politicians a nice payday last year from one of his PACs, the Texas Freedom Fund for the Advancement of Justice. French received an in-kind donation of advertising worth $150,000.
French does tweet about the railroad commissioner race. He regularly attacks Wright, who has performed his duties like almost every other railroad commissioner in the last couple decades—that is, by faithfully catering to the needs of fossil fuel companies. But most of French’s online “messaging” has little to do with pipeline safety or gas flaring or any other matter that keeps the petrodollars flowing. If anything, his rhetoric on X has grown even darker. French has recently been flagged for violating rules against violent speech—quite an accomplishment on Elon Musk’s platform—in tweets calling to “hang repeat violent offenders” and “remove third world subtards” from the country.
While the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have set off waves of protest and revulsion—and made significant dents in Trump’s approval rating—the would-be railroad commissioner has been thirstily seeking approval from far-right influencers for his big idea: rounding up, denaturalizing, and deporting 100 million people— nearly one out of every three people in the country—whom he dubs “foreigners.”
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MSN – February 11, 2026
Exxon exec says proposed European methane rules would add 13% to refiners’ oil costs
European Union rules intended to curb methane emissions could add ~13% to the cost of crude oil imports and strike a heavy blow to the bloc’s industrial base, Exxon Mobil’s (XOM) president of product solutions Matt Crocker told Bloomberg on Tuesday. ~80% of the E.U.’s current imports of crude oil would not satisfy the bloc’s methane criteria in 2027, and securing alternate supplies from the smaller pool of compliant crudes would add ~$9/bbl to the average price the bloc pays, Crocker said.
“We’re very supportive of reducing methane emissions and are very active in the U.S., but what European policy is doing is taking that into an extreme,” Crocker said in an interview. It is not the first time the European Union’s methane emissions rules have been opposed by U.S. producers, with previous complaints largely focusing on easing the burden on imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 7, 2026
Energy Transfer confirms upsizing of Desert Southwest pipeline*
Permian’s pipeline boom continues rolling along, fueled by rising demand for the region’s natural gas. Energy Transfer’ Transwestern Pipeline expansion, Desert Southwest, has undergone an expansion before construction begins. The company announced in December it will upsize the project’s mainline pipeline diameter from 42 inches to 48 inches, increasing capacity to up to 2.3 billion cubic feet per day, depending on final compression configuration. The pipeline will move natural gas from various receipt points in the Permian Basin area to existing and new delivery points in New Mexico and Arizona. The upsized project is now expected to cost $5.6 billion. Energy Transfer still expects the project to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2029, consistent with the original timeline.
There is significant demand growth in the Desert Southwest region, including the potential to retire and or convert coal-fired power plants to natural gas, which could further benefit the project. The ultimate capacity of the Desert Southwest expansion project will be based on market demand, company officials said in announcing the expansion. Analysts at East Daley Analytics noted that the company had indicated in its third quarter 2025 earnings call that it was considering the expansion after an initial open season received significant interest above the original capacity.
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Iraqi News – February 11, 2026
Iraq seeks stronger energy ties with ExxonMobil and Chevron
Iraq is moving to strengthen its partnership with US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron. The move aims to protect the country from rising regional tensions. It also seeks to ease pressure linked to US-Iran relations. According to Bloomberg, Baghdad views cooperation with American companies as a way to gain favor with US President Donald Trump.
The report said ExxonMobil and Chevron are looking to expand production in OPEC countries. Many of these countries face serious geopolitical risks. US foreign policy under President Trump has helped the companies secure new energy deals.
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Reuters – February 10, 2026
Williams forecasts higher 2026 profit as pipeline projects drive growth*
Rising electricity use from crypto-mining, households, businesses and an AI-driven boom in data centers is set to boost natural gas demand this year, strengthening pipeline operators’ expectations of sustained long-term need for gas infrastructure. Williams completed 1.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfpd) of pipeline transmission projects in 2025, while another 7.1 bcfpd of pipeline projects are currently in execution.
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Natural Gas Intelligence – February 11, 2026
Pipeline Data Signals Sharp Rebound in LNG Feed Gas Demand
19.3 Bcf/d: Feed gas nominations to U.S. LNG terminals have reportedly swung back with a vengeance, according to pipeline data, indicating exporters could be looking to make up for lost time during the winter storm. Wood Mackenzie estimated nominations could reach 19.3 Bcf/d Wednesday and average 18.7 Bcf/d in the coming seven days. The firm noted the persistent rise over the past few days “has been driven by the largest feedgas nominations we have ever seen” at East Coast terminals, but cautioned that those numbers could be revised in a later cycle.
45%: LNG inventories at Cameron LNG are building to the highest point in more than seven months as feed gas nominations to the plant run near maximum capacity, according to pipeline and Kpler data. Inventories at the facility reached 45% of capacity this week, with 1,229 GWh — around 4 Bcf — in storage, according to Kpler. It could be the highest point reported since last June. The build comes as feed gas nominations to the Cameron LNG receipt point continue to hover at 99% of capacity for the 11th day in a row, according to Wood Mackenzie pipeline data.
Oil & Gas National & International
Pipeline & Gas Journal – February 10, 2026
U.S. License Relief Could Restore Venezuela Oil Output by Mid-2026
Expanded U.S. licenses for Venezuela-related deals are expected to restore the South American country’s oil production by mid-2026 to the level it was at prior to a U.S. naval blockade of the country in December, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Feb. 10. Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA was forced to make deep output cuts after Washington imposed the strict naval blockade to pressure Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president captured by U.S. forces in early January.
The blockade cut off Venezuela’s ability to export oil, causing an accumulation of millions of barrels of crude oil in onshore storage tanks and vessels. Venezuela was producing around 1.1 million to 1.2 million barrels per day of crude oil before the blockade.
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CNBC – February 11, 2026
The CEO of French energy major TotalEnergies said it was “too expensive and too polluting” to return to Venezuela, despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for Big Oil to invest billions in the country. The company quit Venezuela in 2022 but the Trump administration has urged oil majors to return since the U.S. military operation to seize the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Jan. 3.
Speaking on Wednesday, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné told reporters the company quit the country “because it clashed with our strategy. It was too expensive and too polluting and that is still the case.” The comments were reported by Reuters. A spokesperson for TotalEnergies was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 11, 2026
TotalEnergies Slashes Buyback, Boosts Savings Target as Lower Prices Hit Profit*
TotalEnergies said it would reduce stock buybacks and step up cost savings after lower oil prices hit its fourth-quarter results. The French energy giant is looking to boost its output of both hydrocarbons and electricity while reining in expenses, at a time when oil majors are positioning themselves for a period of weaker prices and greater investor scrutiny of their balance sheets. TotalEnergies said Wednesday that it would halve its quarterly buyback to $750 million, with planned repurchase shares valued at between $3 billion and $6 billion for the year as a whole. Last year, its buybacks totaled $7.5 billion. The company previously warned it would slow the pace of its buybacks to retain flexibility amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
The move comes hot on the heels of BP’s suspension of its buyback as part a broader turnaround plan to cut its high net debt. But Exxon Mobil and Shell recently said they aim to keep buying back stock at the same pace as last year, pointing to a schism in how big oil companies navigate the current environment. TotalEnergies also said it would target savings over the 2026-30 period of $12.5 billion, including $2.5 billion this year. In September, it said the program would deliver savings of $7.5 billion over the same time frame.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 11, 2026
U.S. Energy Secretary Talks Oil Revival—and Democracy—in Venezuela Visit*
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said “enormous progress” is being made with Venezuela’s regime in the transformation of its decrepit oil industry, but that the objective is an end to sanctions and a transition toward democracy. “Boy, if things go in a positive direction, that’s the goal,” Wright told a small group of reporters after meeting with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, on Wednesday. “That’s the goal is to have a representative government and free trade and free commerce.”
Wright is the highest-ranking Trump administration official to arrive in Caracas since American commandos beheaded the regime by snatching strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3. That left Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, as the de facto head of state, but a leader beholden to the Trump administration, which has pressed for a better investment climate to lure foreign oil companies and jack up production. After a meeting at the presidential palace, Rodríguez spoke of a “productive association” that could advance bilateral relations. Wright referred to the “tremendous opportunities” in the future. They both smiled, and Wright said in Spanish, “Que viva Venezuela y viva los Estados Unidos,” which translates to “Long live Venezuela and long live the United States.”
At the same time, the day’s developments reflected the head-spinning pace at which Washington is driving the effort to repair and vastly improve the oil industry in another country—even though the Trump administration still considers the Venezuelan regime illegitimate because of its theft of elections and brutality. “You’re right, we do not recognize the current government of Venezuela,” Wright said in response to a question from The Wall Street Journal. “And most countries of the world do not.”
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
KERA (NPR) – September 10, 2026
Hood County rejects moratorium on new data centers, large developments despite pushback
Hood County Commissioners voted Tuesday against a plan to pause all new large industrial developments as residents raised concerns about more data centers headed to the county. Commissioners rejected the six-month moratorium on new industrial permits, including data centers and factories, 3-2.
County Judge Ron Massingill and commissioners Kevin Andrews and Jack Wilson voted no. However, commissioners Nannette Samuelson and Dave Eagle argue current rules are too outdated to protect Lake Granbury’s watershed from potential pollution and noise.
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Houston Chronicle – February 11, 2026
Houston residents can now track neighborhood storm-proofing efforts with new map
After years of storm-driven outages and mounting pressure for accountability, CenterPoint Energy is pulling back the curtain on where electric grid improvements are happening across Greater Houston .The utility giant launched its new Community Progress Tracker, an interactive, public-facing map that allows residents to see where electric infrastructure improvements have been made. The move comes amid CenterPoint’s Greater Houston Resilience Initiative, a long-term effort to strengthen the region’s power grid against increasingly severe weather.
Accessible online and on mobile devices, the tracker lets users search by address or ZIP code to view completed work across CenterPoint’s 12-county service area. Updates include installing storm-resilient poles, burying underground power lines, clearing vegetation and automation equipment installed since August 2024. For this reason, CenterPoint Energy officials are excited for customers to see what progress they’ve made in real time.
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KFOX – February 10, 2026
El Paso Electric rolls out home-battery grid support program with up to $500 incentives
El Paso Electric is launching a new pilot program that would use batteries installed in customers’ homes to help take pressure off the power grid during times of high demand, particularly during extreme summer heat. The utility says the program is designed to strengthen reliability without building major new infrastructure, as demand on the grid continues to grow.
Under the pilot program, qualifying homeowners can receive a whole-home battery backup system at no cost. During periods of high demand, El Paso Electric would be able to use a portion of the stored energy to support the local grid.
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WFAA – February 10, 2026
Rising Atmos gas bills strain North Texas households
That moment when the gas bill arrives feels familiar for many North Texas households. Kortni Williams remembers exactly how she reacted when she opened hers in February. “I gasped, and then I said, I cannot believe that our bill went up this much, knowing what we did to try to keep it down,” Williams said.
Williams lives in Rockwall, where she shared her experience after commenting on a social media post about rising gas bills. She was one of hundreds of people posting their statements and venting their frustration. “I didn’t realize that so many people were affected by it,” she said. In February, Williams’ gas bill topped $290, up from about $180 in January.
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Utility Dive – February 11, 2026
Xcel Energy pursuing large load tariffs in 4 states amid data center growth
Xcel Energy announced partnerships with NextEra Energy and GE Vernova on Thursday as it seeks to speed its development of new generation to serve growing data center interest. With a newly signed deal in the Upper Midwest, Xcel Energy now has more than 2 GW of contracted data center capacity in queue, and expects to sign another gigawatt of capacity in 2026, CEO Bob Frenzel said during an earnings call Thursday.
But the real potential, he said, is in the company’s long-term opportunities. Xcel now expects to have 6 GW of contracted data centers in queue by 2027 — twice what it anticipated last October. Even greater growth may be possible beyond 2030, when Frenzel said he expects the largest data centers to come online.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 11, 2026
Here’s What We Learned About the Power Grid During the Cold Snap*
When the Arctic blast sent wholesale power prices soaring, cryptocurrency miners powered down their operations. Data centers for cloud computing and artificial intelligence kept using electricity at a high and steady rate, according to Wood Mackenzie. The research and consulting firm has sensors that monitor the electromagnetic fields around transmission lines at sites across the U.S. They measure how much power is being devoured or generated at large data centers, manufacturers and power plants.
Worries are building about the sheer number of power-hungry data centers that will need to be built to drive the AI boom. Tech companies are debating utility executives about whether their electricity needs can be met without causing blackouts during times of extreme demand, and states including Texas are requiring more flexibility from large customers. As data centers account for a larger percentage of total electricity demand over time, that could pose challenges for the grid. Utilities and grid operators often rely on nights, weekends and holidays for recovery and maintenance. They could lose those windows if more data centers are operating around the clock.
The data centers’ behavior during the recent storm contrasts with last summer, when Wood Mackenzie found that many large data centers, crypto miners and factories from New York to Texas reduced their power use when temperatures rose. In some cases, their moves led to abrupt drops in wholesale power prices. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all for these data centers,” said Rebekah Llamas, director of global power-market intelligence at Wood Mackenzie. “They pick and choose when they respond to demand to help support power markets.”
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The Wall Street Journal – February 11, 2026
Siemens Energy Books Record Order Backlog, Driven by AI Data-Center Boom*
Siemens Energy said increasing demand from data centers is driving earnings growth, and helped the German maker of energy equipment notch up its highest-ever order backlog. Grid and power-generation equipment manufacturers are benefiting from the rise of artificial intelligence and the need to power the data centers the technology relies upon. Siemens Energy said Wednesday that momentum remains strong, with first-quarter orders up by more than 30% on the same period a year earlier to 17.61 billion euros ($20.95 billion). Siemens Energy said the U.S. was the largest contributor to order growth. Its order backlog stood at a record 146 billion euros.
Net profit nearly tripled to 746 million euros for the quarter ended Dec. 31 while profit before special items jumped to 1.16 billion euros from 481 million euros. Its profit margin before special items—a key profitability metric—came in at 12% compared with 5.4% previously. Siemens Energy backed its full-year guidance for fiscal 2026. It sees adjusted revenue growth in the range of 11% to 13% and a profit margin before special items between 9% and 11%. Net profit is seen between 3 billion and 4 billion euros.
Regulatory
Yahoo! News – February 11, 2026
Texas regulators will ask data centers to begin reporting their water usage
Utility regulators in Texas will start asking data centers and crypto-mining operations statewide within a narrow timeframe to share information about how much water they’re using. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) received an update Friday about the agency sending out a survey to these facilities in the spring. Luisa Venegoni, the chief of staff to the agency’s executive director, said data centers and cryptocurrency facilities will then have six weeks to respond.
She added the PUC is working with the Texas Water Development Board on the questions. She said those would include asking about direct water use, the types of cooling technology used and insight about indirect water use, like what sources provide power to the facility. Venegoni also noted the data collected will then be compiled into a report by the end of the year that will help with statewide planning on water.
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February 10, 2026
A Failed Climate Coup in the Courts: The Wall Street Journal*
Progressive climate orthodoxy hasn’t disappeared in the Trump era, and the latest evidence comes in a strange tale from a surprising place—the bureaucracy of the federal courts.
In December the Federal Judicial Center, the research and education agency for the federal courts, published its latest edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. A joint product with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the manual is billed as a resource for judges deciding complex scientific cases. But instead of a cure for insomnia, the new edition included some political pamphleteering.
The manual begins with a foreword by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who writes that while judges are “generalists” who often learn about scientific issues “through the adversary process, . . . sometimes it also helps to have a dispassionate guide.” Judges will do their job better when they learn from the technical expertise of scientists, she writes, and “the law will become stronger as it further reflects sound science.”
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Wednesday February 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
Top Stories
Reuters – February 10, 2026
Rejection of Texas law blacklisting ‘woke’ BlackRock could challenge anti-ESG laws in other states*
A Texas judge’s move to strike down a state law blacklisting “woke” financial firms, including BlackRock and HSBC, that used environmental, social or governance factors in investment decisions will likely drive a broader push to repeal so-called “anti-ESG” laws in other states, analysts said. Texas lawmakers passed the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act in 2021, requiring state agencies and local authorities to break ties with and divest the shares of companies that refused to invest in some oil and gas companies, targeting the likes of BNP Paribas and Danske Bank on its list.
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CNBC – February 10, 2026
U.S.-flagged ships have been advised to stay “as far as possible” from Iranian waters when navigating the Strait of Hormuz as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain elevated. In a notice issued Monday, the U.S. Maritime Administration said ship captains should decline permission for Iranian forces to board U.S. vessels.
Boarding attempts, including moves to force commercial vessels into Iranian waters through small boats and helicopters, have occurred as recently as Feb. 3, the agency under the Department of Transportation said. Should Iranian forces board a U.S.-flagged commercial vessel, crews were advised not to “forcibly resist the boarding party,” the notice said. It added that refraining from forcible resistance does not imply consent or agreement to that boarding.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 10, 2026
The U.S. Is Awash in Natural Gas, but American Factories Still Can’t Get Enough*
A big promise of the American shale-drilling boom was cheap, plentiful natural gas that would give U.S. manufacturers an edge against global competitors. Fifteen years in, U.S. gas production continues to reach new highs, the country has become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and yet domestic manufacturers say they are increasingly cut off from fuel during the coldest winter days. As frigid weather swept over the mid-Atlantic region late last month, Evonik Industries’ plant in Havre de Grace, Md., received notice from its local utility: Shut off the gas or risk huge financial penalties.
In many parts of the country, there isn’t enough pipeline capacity to guarantee manufacturers a flow of gas when heating and cooling demand surges. That doesn’t happen to power plants and homes, where gas is needed to keep people from freezing. Nor are firms that ship gas to overseas buyers cut off, thanks to long-term supply deals guaranteeing them space on pipelines. Workers at the Evonik plant were dispatched to close the gas supply valve into the factory, where the German chemical maker produces silica for toothpaste and food products.
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CNBC – February 10, 2026
EPA will revoke ‘endangerment finding’ that underpins all climate regulation this week
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday will revoke a critical scientific finding that undergirds the U.S. government’s climate regulations and ability to regulate greenhouse gases, the White House said. “On Thursday, President Trump will be joined by Administrator Lee Zeldin to formalize the rescission of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, referring to the EPA’s leader. “This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations.”
The EPA took a key step to axe the 2009 “endangerment finding” over the weekend by submitting the proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget, the EPA press office told CNBC earlier in the day. The agency initially proposed rescinding it in July last year.
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Reuters – February 10, 2026
Shell CEO says oil major does not have to buy assets anytime soon*
Related: Shell casts doubt on net zero 2050 commitment — S&P Global Platts
Shell needs an acquisition or exploration breakthrough to make up for an expected production shortage of 350,000 to 800,000 boed by 2035, the company and analysts have said.
The Latest TERse Tips
U.S. Weighs Seizing Tankers Carrying Iranian Oil to Pressure Tehran — but using a strategy the White House directed at Venezuela is seen as likely to spark retaliation by Tehran and a surge in oil prices — The Wall Street Journal*
Life in Cuba Is Grinding to a Halt Under U.S. Oil Blockade — the island is in crisis as airlines cancel flights, hotels close and authorities furlough workers — The Wall Street Journal*
Capstone LLC Releases 2026 Energy Sector Outlook: Policy Tensions and Market Shifts to Shape Investment Landscape — see the brief
Forget ‘Friday Night Lights.’ This Photo Book Captures the True Permian Basin — Boom and Dust shows a different side of the oil industry—and looks pretty good on a coffee table — Texas Monthly*
Oil & Gas Texas
Houston Chronicle – February 10, 2026
Hawk Dunlap in the Republican primary for Railroad Commissioner*
It speaks volumes that Jim Wright, the chairman of the Railroad Commission, makes news when he recuses himself from voting on a permit for a company he has a financial stake in. Such is the state of affairs for one of Texas’ most important agencies, which, for years, has been reduced to a rubber stamp for the oil and gas industry. The agency, originally created in the late 19th century to regulate rates and operations of railroads, hasn’t had anything to do with railroads since 2005. Yet the Railroad Commission’s name has stuck by design. It’s easier to get away with ignoring its responsibility as the state’s oil and gas watchdog if the public doesn’t understand what they’re voting for. …
Of the three candidates we met with, we are confident that all of them would take the oversight responsibilities of Railroad Commissioner seriously and bring sorely needed accountability and transparency to the oil and gas industry. Dunlap’s industry experience sets him apart. He has the credibility and personality to thrive in this job. He certainly wouldn’t back down if he detects a whiff of conflict of interest from his fellow commissioners. And he has the know-how and experience to help the agency craft regulations that protect the environment and landowners without hurting the bottom line of oil and gas companies. Dunlap is our pick in the primary.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 10, 2026
U.S. Frackers Explore New Frontier: Shale Abroad*
American shale producers are in a midlife crisis: They know their best days of growth are behind them. Yet it’s too early to call it quits, with oil demand expected to keep growing for a while longer. Many have combined forces, and some are spending extra capital to squeeze the most out of the acreage they have left. More recently, they have started looking abroad for shale. In January, shale pioneer Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources made its second acquisition in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale play. The company also signed a deal to develop shale fields in Turkey. Another of the industry’s early movers, EOG Resources, last year got licenses to explore shale in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. These moves are notable because most pure-play U.S. producers have focused on drilling in their own backyard. In recent years only major oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron have maintained big footprints abroad.
Back in the early days of the shale boom around 2010, American producers explored going abroad, according to Rob Clarke, U.S. shale analyst at Wood Mackenzie, referring to this initial period as “Global Shale 1.0.” Shale is, after all, the most common sedimentary rock and found all over the world. But production in the Permian Basin was so prolific that companies quit exploration abroad. “One of the things that killed Global Shale 1.0 was the Permian,” Clarke said.
Times have changed, and conditions are now ripe for a phase that Clarke calls Global Shale 2.0. The Permian Basin is still a gusher, but the wells aren’t as prolific as they used to be. On average, Permian wells first drilled in 2016 in the Wolfcamp formation were estimated to produce 65 barrels per lateral foot drilled, according to Wood Mackenzie. Wells drilled last year are expected to produce 46 barrels per foot.
Frackers thus have fewer years of top-notch wells remaining. Large-cap North American producers on average hold about 7.5 years of high-quality shale drilling inventory, or those that generate 10% returns when the U.S. benchmark oil price is below $50 a barrel, according to Andrew McConn, research director at Enverus. Small and midcap producers fare worse, with an average of 2.5 years of high-quality shale inventory left.
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Oil Price – February 10, 2026
As U.S. Drilling Cools, Oilfield Service Firms Chase Middle East Demand
The U.S. shale revolution is widely considered one of the most significant energy, economic, and industrial transformations in American history. By combining horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to unlock massive oil and gas reserves from shale rock, the energy revolution reversed decades of declining production, transformed the U.S. into the world’s top oil and natural gas producer and a net exporter of oil while reshaping global energy markets.
The U.S. shale revolution more than doubled total U.S. petroleum and other liquids production, rising from 9.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2009 to nearly 23 million bpd in 2025, while natural gas production grew by over 40% to 37.72 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), or about 103.07 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Unfortunately, the era of hypergrowth production by the U.S. Shale Patch is over, with mature basins like the Permian experiencing declining productivity while oil executives are prioritizing shareholder returns over production growth, leading to reduced capital investment and a focus on drilling top-tier inventory. U.S. oil drilling activity has been in a steady, long-term decline, with the number of active oil-directed rigs dropping by over 30% from late 2022 to October 2025.
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Yahoo! News – February 9, 2026
San Angelo ranks second in Texas for oil and gas permits
The San Angelo area ranks second in Texas in permits to drill new oil and gas holes. According to the Texas Drilling Permit and Completion Statistics for January 2026, the San Angelo area (District 7C) received 83 permits to drill new oil and gas holes. Texas as a whole has 673 permits to drill new oil and gas holes and Midland (District 8) tops the chart with 397 permits.
The San Angelo area (District 7C) also had 112 new oil completions which was ranked second in the state, The state had a total of 582 new oil completions with Midland (District 8) toping the charts once again with 307 new oil completions.
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Forbes – February 10, 2026
Oklahoma Exits Cement Houston As America’s Oil And Gas Capital
Houston has long been recognized as the oil and gas capital of the United States, for good reason. Thanks to Texas’s early leadership in oil production and a welcoming regulatory and legal structure maintained by the state’s government, most major oil companies and large independent producers have long established and maintained a major presence in the city.
Houston’s longstanding status as a central refining hub along the Houston Ship Channel made it a natural gathering spot for industry leaders, creating a hub for dealmaking unrivaled by any other U.S. city. Even Chevron, long a holdout which maintained its corporate headquarters in the San Francisco area for more than a century, moved its own operations to Houston in 2024, in large part thanks to the increasingly hostile nature of California’s state government to its once-prominent oil and gas sector.
Oil & Gas National & International
The Wall Street Journal – February 10, 2026
BP Suspends Share Buyback Amid Overhaul*
BP suspended its share-buyback program and said it would reduce spending this year, part of a broader plan by the British energy giant to overhaul its business. The London-based company is in the early stages of a turnaround aimed at bringing the business back to its oil-and-gas roots after an ill-timed move into renewables that left it the least profitable of the major oil companies. BP said Tuesday that the moves to scrap its quarterly share buyback and curb capital expenditure were aimed at shoring up the company’s finances as it works to become a simpler, more profitable business.
Shares in BP were down about 4% in early afternoon trading in Europe. BP’s decision to halt buybacks illustrates a split among big energy companies. Exxon Mobil and Shell recently said they aim to keep buying back stock at the same pace as last year, while Chevron and France’s TotalEnergies have signaled they would slow purchases as oil prices weaken. Crude prices fell by nearly a fifth last year, before regaining ground in early 2026 amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
The last time BP didn’t launch a quarterly buyback was in 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic, when a sharp drop in prices prompted energy companies to preserve cash. Tuesday’s announcement represents a step change in the pace of BP’s efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, Chief Financial Officer Kate Thomson said in an interview. BP’s previous buyback was $750 million a quarter after being reduced from $1.75 billion in April.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 10, 2026
Treasury Allows U.S. Companies to Provide Supplies to Venezuela for Oil Production*
The Trump administration on Tuesday let U.S. companies supply Venezuela with equipment and technology needed to boost the country’s oil production. The Treasury Department issued a new general license allowing transactions by U.S. entities to supply “goods, technology, software, or services for the exploration, development, or production of oil and gas in Venezuela,” according to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The license lets U.S. oil-field services companies like Halliburton and SLB to work in the country.
While the license covers some supply-related transactions, the U.S. is still expected in the near future to offer broader licenses allowing more American oil companies to invest and drill in the Latin American country. President Trump has urged U.S. oil companies to plow $100 billion into Venezuela to revamp its dilapidated oil industry and has been speaking with American oil companies about loosening restrictions the U.S. had put in place to pressure the government of Nicolás Maduro in recent years.
American oil companies thus far have said they see opportunities in pumping Venezuela’s oil but first want to see a host of changes to the country’s legal system and enhanced security following Maduro’s ouster. The Treasury’s license limits certain payment terms with the government of Venezuela and doesn’t allow transactions involving entities in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba or China, among other restrictions. The license’s authorizations apply to U.S. companies generally.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 10, 2026
The Saudi Crown Prince Taps the Brakes: Karen Elliott House*
These are tough times for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Some of his grandiose projects are being scrapped as unworkable and unaffordable with oil prices around $65 a barrel. The risk of a U.S. war with Iran puts all his other big developments—and the oil that funds them—at risk of retaliation. And the death of his elderly, infirm father, King Salman, could soon bring succession issues to the fore. Ordinary Saudis, royals and officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed told me during a two-week visit to Riyadh that he understands he moved too fast and created inefficient spending. He is now focused on smarter budgeting and less government debt.
For an American accustomed to President Trump’s daily TV appearances and nightly social-media posts, it’s striking that the crown prince doesn’t speak publicly to his citizens. To him, actions speak louder than words. While Mr. Trump has done scores of interviews in recent months, the crown prince hasn’t given one in more than a year. His finance minister is left to explain the closing of big projects like Neom, a 105-mile-long city, or the Mukaab, a 1,300-foot cube-shaped skyscraper resembling the Kaaba shrine in Mecca. An out-of-this-world project, the Mukaab was to feature a swirling observation tower with restaurants and holographic projections to transport the viewer to other times and places. Conservatives said the Mukaab denigrated the Kaaba; others objected to its cost as the centerpiece of a $50 billion development in Riyadh.
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Inside Climate News – February 7, 2026
MethaneSAT Releases First Global Assessment of Oil and Gas Climate Pollution
MethaneSAT, the world’s most advanced methane-detecting satellite and first spacecraft owned by an environmental nonprofit, promised to usher in a new era of climate accountability when the device entered Earth’s orbit in 2024. One year later, researchers with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) lost contact with the $88 million satellite, but not before downloading a trove of data collected over the prior year. Now, an initial assessment of data shows that methane emissions from oil and gas basins worldwide far exceed what is reported in official emissions inventories and fall short of targets set by major companies.
The early look at MethaneSAT’s system-wide analysis, published on Feb. 2, includes 45 oil and gas producing regions, which account for half of the world’s onshore oil and gas production. Measurements were collected for just over a year, from May 2024 to June 2025.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Dallas Morning News – February 10, 2026
‘Send it somewhere else’: Locals decry proposed transmission lines near Texas state park*
Greg Marsh starts his mornings early, brewing his cup of coffee and taking a seat at the dining room table while it’s still dark out. He likes to watch the sun illuminate the sky and rocky, rugged horizon, as birds sing and splash around in the stone birdbaths inches from his back window. Bluebirds are his favorite. For nearly 20 years, the 79-year-old has enjoyed his front-row seat to wildlife thriving throughout the hundreds of acres of land he ― and three generations before him ― have stewarded.
It’s a sentimental place where Marsh can still picture his great-grandad working the land with a mule and horse as cattle roamed. The property has changed since then: There aren’t any more cows and not nearly as much farming, but Marsh has given the land a new purpose in recent years, working with help from wildlife agencies to support the endangered golden-cheeked warblers’ migration and nesting patterns.
It also now shares two fence lines with beloved Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, a protected 1,500-acre swath of land that’s a roughly 90-minute drive from downtown Dallas. First opened in 1972, it has attracted as many as 250,000 visitors annually in recent years. Here, in Texas’ second-smallest county, is the setting for a new kind of Texas land war — one pitting rural residents such as Marsh against the powerful interests of power companies.
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Covering Katy – February 10, 2026
Texas regulators agree to review Katy’s rejection of battery storage facility
The Texas Public Utility Commission is expected to take up the case of Ochoa Energy Storage’s application to build a 500-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System facility in Katy in August, Katy City Attorney Bridgette Biget said Monday. The commission will review the case at its Austin headquarters.
Ochoa applied to build the facility, known as BESS, at 27501 Highway Blvd. But in October 2024, the Katy City Council rejected a special use permit needed under local law. Council members said they had concerns about safety and the facility’s location near Katy High School and residential areas. Ochoa is asking state regulators for a declaratory order against the city that would allow the project to move forward despite this special use permit rejection by the Katy City Council.
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S&P Global Platts – February 10, 2026
Mexico accelerates private power partnerships; industry upbeat but wary on contracts
The Mexican government is moving to accelerate private-sector participation, laying out details and conditions for partnerships to build 6.5 GW of clean electricity generation capacity by 2029, sparking optimism in the industry, but also plenty of questions.
The country needs 3.5 GW of new solar power capacity and 2.85 GW of wind power, according to a presentation given to potential players and stakeholders on Feb. 6. The presentation was given by top officials from the state utility, CFE, and the energy ministry to over 300 attendees, according to people who were present. The government is asking interested parties to register to participate by Feb. 20, according to the presentation, seen by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
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Politico – February 10, 2026
White House eyes data center agreements amid energy price spikes
The Trump administration wants some of the world’s largest technology companies to publicly commit to a new compact governing the rapid expansion of AI data centers, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. A draft of the compact obtained by POLITICO lays out commitments designed to ensure energy-hungry data centers do not raise household electricity prices, strain water supplies or undermine grid reliability, and that the companies driving demand also carry the cost of building new infrastructure.
The proposed pact, which is not final and could be subject to change, is framed as a voluntary agreement between President Donald Trump and major U.S. tech companies and data center developers. It could bind OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook parent Meta and other AI giants to a broad set of energy, water and community principles. None of these companies immediately responded to a request for comment.
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Reuters – February 10, 2026
Rising US industrial load intensifies power generation need*
Oil and gas remains a key driver of industrial power demand and companies continue to seek efficiencies from electrification. Total U.S. electricity sales to large customers are on the rise after decades of flat or declining load, due to rising demand from data centers and the oil and gas sector as well as some specific manufacturing sectors such as semiconductor and battery production, Ben Levitt, Associate Director, North America Power and Renewables Research, S&P Global Energy, told Reuters Events.
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Utility Dive – February 6, 2026
Xcel Energy pursuing large load tariffs in 4 states amid data center growth
Xcel Energy announced partnerships with NextEra Energy and GE Vernova on Thursday as it seeks to speed its development of new generation to serve growing data center interest. With a newly signed deal in the Upper Midwest, Xcel Energy now has more than 2 GW of contracted data center capacity in queue, and expects to sign another gigawatt of capacity in 2026, CEO Bob Frenzel said during an earnings call Thursday.
But the real potential, he said, is in the company’s long-term opportunities. Xcel now expects to have 6 GW of contracted data centers in queue by 2027 — twice what it anticipated last October. Even greater growth may be possible beyond 2030, when Frenzel said he expects the largest data centers to come online.
Regulatory
Grist – February 10, 2026
Trump Will Order Defense Department to Buy Coal Power
President Donald Trump plans to announce an executive order on Wednesday directing the U.S. Department of Defense to buy electricity from coal-fired power plants. The order, first reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a White House official, comes as the administration plans to repeal the endangerment finding, a landmark climate ruling that determined greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health.
“President Trump will be taking the most significant deregulatory actions in history to further unleash American energy dominance and drive down costs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a written statement. Environmental and security advocates blasted the order.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday February 10, 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
Top Stories
Reuters – February 9, 2026
Shell needs big discovery or deals as oil, gas reserves dwindle*
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February 9, 2026
We recommend in the Republican primary for Railroad Commissioner: Dallas Morning News*
Related: Texas Railroad Commission primary: Who is running and what to know — Texas Tribune
For too long, the Texas Railroad Commission has been criticized for essentially being in the hands of the oil and gas industry it is supposed to regulate. There are well-documented examples that reveal that the state agency basically operates a rubber-stamp system. This is why it was refreshing that three of the candidates in the Republican primary for Railroad Commissioner were concerned about conflicts of interest at the agency and the need to rebuild trust. From this group, we recommend Katherine Culbert, a process safety engineer, as having the best credentials for this agency and for her commitment to transparency.
Culbert, 50, told us she likes to look at things with a preventive eye to make sure workers and communities are protected. Orphan wells are an example of how the agency is not doing enough, she said. “When a plugged well leaks, the Commission needs to take responsibility for the well, no matter the history,” she wrote in the Voter Guide. “It does not benefit Texans to have the Railroad Commission turning away from helping landowners because of an old well that is not on the books.”
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pv magazine – February 9, 2026
ERCOT BESS interconnection applications drop 50% in H2 2025 as faults in the boom emerge
Texas nearly doubled its battery fleet in 2025, with 6 GW of new capacity coming online to total 13.9 GW and 22.9 GWh of operational grid-scale BESS capacity in early 2026, according to data from market research firm Modo Energy’s ERCOT Annual Buildout Report. It’s a record. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) interconnection process is fast, but that makes it fragile. According to Ovais Kashif, a US West research lead at Modo Energy, much of last year’s buildout reflects much older decision making.
“The record capacity delivered in 2025 came from projects financed three to five years ago, when battery revenues were much higher,” Kashif told ESS News. Now, the market remains more vulnerable to political shocks and the timeline after construction has remained the same for the past five years. As a result, he said, new interconnection applications in H2 fell 50% compared to H1, due to political hurdles like the loss of tax credits.
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Politico – February 9, 2026
Poll shows Democrats hold edge over Trump in energy cost battle*
Slightly more Americans think Democrats, not Republicans, are the party most committed to reducing energy prices, a new POLITICO poll has found — yet another sign of potential trouble for President Donald Trump and the GOP on the issue of affordability. Thirty-seven percent of U.S. adults believe Democrats care more about protecting them from spiking natural gas, heating and utility bills, compared with 25 percent who believe Republicans do, according to the poll of 2,093 people conducted by Public First on behalf of POLITICO.
While far short of a majority, the edge for Democrats on the question is striking given the decades that surges in fuel costs have tormented nearly every Democratic president since Jimmy Carter, giving Republicans a message to hammer at election time. As recently as late 2024, polls showed most voters trusting Trump over Kamala Harris to shepherd the economy. But those tides may be turning, amid signs that stubbornly high — and rising — heating and electricity costs in much of the country could endanger Republicans’ slim four-seat lead in the House in the November elections. Trump has tried to quash unrest over skyrocketing electricity bills, which have soared despite his vow to slash energy costs in half during his first year in office.
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The Latest TERse Tips
Constellation said Monday that Calpine LLC, a business unit of Constellation, signed a new 380-megawatt agreement with Dallas-based CyrusOne, a “leading global data center developer and operator,” to connect and serve a new data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center, in Freestone County — see the press release
With a potential for over $40 billion in spending over the next 10 – 15 years for new and upgraded transmission lines, Texans for Affordable Transmission has stepped forward to advocate for more affordable transmission infrastructure — see the press release
One Texas family is doing something unusual: raffling off 100-acres of their mineral rights for the price of a cup of coffee — KXAN
When Congress moved last week to slash federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations, the cuts fell hardest on red states — E&E News By Politico*
Cuba says international airlines can no longer refuel there as Trump turns up the pressure — CNBC
South Korea’s LG Energy Solution on Friday said it plans to buy the 49% stake held by Stellantis in their battery joint venture in Canada for the nominal amount of $100 (correct) — Reuters*
Oil & Gas Texas
E&E News By Politico – February 9, 2026
Longtime Exxon lawyers retreat from oil company’s climate cases
The law firm that has helped Exxon Mobil notch significant victories in its battle against climate lawsuits from local governments has pulled out of at least four of the court fights. Exxon and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison attorneys this month notified courts in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine and Washington state that the firm would no longer represent the oil giant as it fights efforts by governments and individuals in those states to hold the oil and gas industry financially accountable for climate change.
The filings did not elaborate on the reasons for the moves, but noted lawyers from other firms would remain as counsel. While rare, withdrawals from cases are not unheard of and can be made by either attorneys or clients for various reasons. Paul, Weiss attorneys continue to represent Exxon in a number of other climate cases, including a longstanding challenge from Massachusetts. The moves came at the same time as the chair of Paul, Weiss stepped down last week amid fallout over his email exchanges with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
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Houston Chronicle – February 9, 2026
Expand Energy to move headquarters to Houston as CEO steps down*
Expand Energy, the largest independent natural gas producer in the U.S., is moving its headquarters to Houston later this year. Formerly known as Chesapeake Energy, the $26 billion gas giant joins a growing list of oil and gas companies – including energy giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Devon Energy – moving to Houston to take advantage of the close proximity to LNG export terminals, fellow industry executives and global counterparts’ U.S. offices. The move to Houston is expected in mid-2026 and will primarily involve the leadership team, the company said Monday in a news release.
The relocation allows the company “to capitalize on Houston’s leading role as a gateway to the global natural gas market,” Expand’s Chairman Michael Wichterich said in a statement. “As North America’s largest natural gas producer, this will accelerate our strategy to provide affordable, reliable, lower carbon energy to growing domestic and global markets,” Wichterich said. Expand also announced Monday the company’s Chief Executive Domenic Dell’Osso would step down. No reason for Dell’Osso’s departure was given.
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Reuters – February 9, 2026
Chevron’s Tengiz oilfield back to 60% of usual output, two sources say*
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Texas Monthly – February 5, 2026
Oil Binds Venezuela’s Future to Texas. Will It Help My People Buy Our Freedom?*
Trump and his administration seem content, for now, to leave the dictatorship in place, only with Delcy Rodríguez at the top. She was Maduro’s cunning vice president and the engineer of a recent softening of Venezuela’s stance toward U.S. oil interests. She’s been working with Houston-based Chevron for a while, and last July she negotiated a license renewal with the Trump administration that allowed Chevron to resume producing and selling Venezuelan oil.
Rodríguez and others in the former Maduro regime are experts at buying time. Their game now is proving to Trump that the only way to retain order in Venezuela, the only way to start oil flowing again, is to keep them in charge. The regime controls the military; it controls the informal, weaponized gangs, called colectivos, that have served as the government’s intimidation arm; and it also controls the Mafias that have infiltrated all of Venezuela’s resource industries and run the black market resource economy.
For my other home, Texas, this situation is all upside. Because of our proximity to Venezuela through the Gulf and the Caribbean, our state has always been a natural trading partner. For decades before the Maduro regime came to power, Gulf oil refineries invested billions of dollars in technology to process the type of heavy crude that’s abundant in Venezuela. When that trade trickled down to almost nothing—because of the regime’s ineptitude and corruption, and then the sanctions Trump’s first administration began imposing in 2017—those refineries had to pivot to much more expensive and less plentiful supplies, mostly from Canada. From Port Arthur to Corpus to Galveston Bay, Texas refineries are licking their chops at the prospect of a Venezuelan oil bounce back.
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Beaumont Enterprise – February 9, 2026
Midland County seeks tips in series of crude oil thefts*
The Midland County Sheriff’s Office and Midland Crime Stoppers are requesting assistance in helping to solve multiple crude oil thefts across the county. According to a social media post by Midland Crime Stoppers, approximately 150 to 400 barrels of crude oil have been stolen from various companies and tank battery locations since December 2025.
“Unfortunately, cameras have not captured the suspect, so investigators are relying on the community,” Midland Crime Stoppers said. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest or charges of those responsible for the thefts. To be eligible for a reward, a tip must be submitted through the Crime Stoppers hotline, mobile app or website. Law enforcement must act on the tip for an arrest to be made, or the case must be cleared. Tips submitted through other avenues are not eligible. No caller identification is ever used and the caller will remain anonymous.
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Fox News – February 9, 2026
Fracking is science, but not a dark one. To date, there have been about 2,000,000 frack jobs in the U.S. My company alone has done thousands of them without incident. Yet, the public has been slow to catch on, or is suspicious, or distrusting. That is mostly a byproduct of the culture wars and the rich deceiving the poor, but more on that below.
By process, rock mechanics determine the pressure needed to fracture an oil and gas formation. Completions engineers use that data to calculate fracture pressure and propagation, the amount of frac slurry required, and at what rate it should be pumped. A frack company then mobilizes on-site alongside a wireline company. Wireliners isolate the wellbore a few hundred feet at a time into “stages,” shooting 20 or 30 holes through the casing and then pull off. The frac fleet starts in with a mix of water, sand and chemicals that they pump down the vertical section of the wellbore, a mile or two deep, and then out into the horizontal section for another two, three, or four miles. Most shales are pumped at 3,800 gallons per minute against surface pressures of 10,000+/- psi.
Oil & Gas National & International
Oil Price – February 8, 2026
Big Oil’s Merger Boom Is Being Driven by a Surprisingly Small Club
The oil and gas sector is continuing to consolidate after years of ‘merger-mania’, with ramifications for the entire energy sector and wider economy. But a recent report reveals that the spate of mergers and acquisitions that has characterized the fossil fuels industry over the last decade is not as widespread as it may seem, but rather concentrated among a few key players.
A newly released report from the consulting firm Bain & Co found that, within the oil and gas sector, “fewer companies are doing more of the deals and creating more of the value.” In fact, over the last ten years, just 20 companies were responsible for 53% of total deal value when it comes to mergers and acquisitions within the sector.
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Oil Price – February 8, 2026
The U.S. LNG Boom Is Lowering Europe’s Energy Costs and Raising America’s
The United States has cemented its position as the world’s leading exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) over the past couple of years, thanks to surging natural gas demand in Europe and Asia. U.S. LNG exports hit a record 111 million tons in 2025, surpassing 100 million metric tons for the first time, driven by high utilization and new capacity additions from projects like Plaquemines LNG.
But this could be just the beginning of the U.S. LNG boom: the EIA has predicted that U.S. LNG export capacity will more than double by 2029, with an estimated 13.9 Bcf/d of new capacity added between 2025 and 2029 as projects like Plaquemines LNG Phase 1 and Corpus Christi Stage 3 reach full operations. Meanwhile, additional projects such as Delta LNG, CP2 LNG, and others are expected to further bolster capacity toward 2030.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Houston Chronicle – February 9, 2026
TotalEnergies enters Texas AI power race with massive Google deal*
French oil major TotalEnergies plans to power Google’s Texas data centers with solar farms, staking its flag in the energy industry race to cash in on the state’s artificial intelligence power boom. Total’s solar agreement, announced Monday, stands out from a growing trend among oil and gas companies to nab lucrative power deals by promising the fastest developments — even if it means postponing the implementation of renewable options they’ve heavily invested in over the last few years.
Total, whose American headquarters is in Houston, said it agreed to deliver 1 gigawatt of capacity, enough to power 250,000 homes for one hot summer day in Texas. Marc-Antoine Pignon, Total’s vice president for U.S. renewables, said the deals mark the largest renewable power purchase agreements the company has ever signed in the United States. “This highlights TotalEnergies’ strategy to deliver tailored renewable energy solutions that support the decarbonization goals of digital players, particularly data centers,” Pignon said in a statement.
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Canary Media – February 9, 2026
Green hydrogen hype has dried up. This US startup is pressing on.
It’s a tough time for U.S. companies trying to make a go of green hydrogen. The Trump administration is threatening to cut billions of dollars in funding for hydrogen hubs and rapidly phasing out key tax incentives for the fuel. Major projects are getting canceled. Companies banking on the sector are struggling. And the wholesale abandonment of U.S. climate policy has undermined confidence in market prospects for low-carbon hydrogen that were already shaky before President Donald Trump won a second term.
Even so, Raffi Garabedian, CEO of U.S.-based electrolyzer manufacturer Electric Hydrogen, sees a path forward for his firm — and the industry as a whole.
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PV Tech – February 9, 2026
Electricity demand to grow rapidly in ‘new era’ for energy, says IEA
Global electricity demand is set to grow 2.5 times as fast as overall energy demand by 2030, ushering in what the International Energy Agency (IEA) has dubbed the “Age of Electricity”. The increase in electricity demand will be driven by electrification in the transport, industrial and building sectors, as well as the growth of data centres and AI. New AI and data centre industries mean that electricity consumption from advanced economies is “rising after 15 years of stagnation”, the IEA said, and wealthy nations are set to contribute around one-fifth of increasing power demand by 2030.
“A fundamental shift in the longstanding relationship between electricity demand and economic activity” will be “a defining feature” of the next four years, the IEA said in its Electricity 2026 report. The resurgence of demand growth in advanced economies “signals a new era in which electricity is a major energy input to some of the most dynamic drivers of global economies, such as AI, data centres and advanced manufacturing,” the report said. Both the US and EU are expected to see an average annual electricity demand increase of around 2% through 2030, and around half of demand growth in the US is set to come from data centre expansion.
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Reuters – February 9, 2026
Rising US industrial load intensifies power generation need*
As data centers spearhead a surge in demand for new power generation in the United States, rising demand from industrial manufacturing is also creating opportunities for developers. U.S. peak power demand is forecast to rise by 120 GW over the next five years, of which industrial consumption will account for about 24 GW, according to analysts at ICF. Oil and gas remains a key driver of industrial power demand and companies continue to seek efficiencies from electrification.
Total U.S. electricity sales to large customers are on the rise after decades of flat or declining load, due to rising demand from data centers and the oil and gas sector as well as some specific manufacturing sectors such as semiconductor and battery production, Ben Levitt, Associate Director, North America Power and Renewables Research, S&P Global Energy, told Reuters Events.
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Utility Dive – February 6, 2026
Utilities face cost-recovery risk as infrastructure costs, demand rise: Morningstar
Electric utilities are preparing for a major infrastructure buildout to meet growing demand while the cost for key transmission and distribution equipment is rising, sparking cost-recovery concerns, according to a brief released Wednesday by Morningstar DBRS. AI data centers are driving demand growth forecasts, but are also leading to inflation in the cost of the metals and grid-critical materials that are used in data centers, analysts with the credit ratings agency said in the brief, Beyond Power Demand: How AI-Driven Metals Inflation Is Testing Utility Regulation.
“For regulated utilities, this dynamic represents a shift from a pure demand-growth narrative toward a system-cost stress test, where rising capital intensity, regulatory recovery mechanisms, and customer affordability increasingly intersect,” the Morningstar analysts said.
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News from the States – February 5, 2026
With electricity bills rising, some states consider new data center laws
As Americans grow increasingly frustrated over their electricity bills, states are trying to keep the nation’s growing number of data centers from causing higher energy costs for consumers. For years, many states competed aggressively to land data centers, sprawling campuses full of the computer servers that store and transmit the data behind apps and websites. But many officials are now scrutinizing how those power-hungry projects might affect the electric bills of households, small businesses and other industries.
Oregon last year became one of the first states to enact a law requiring utilities to charge data centers different electric prices than other industries because of how they drive up the cost of energy production and transmission.
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The Hill – January 23, 2026
Coal by decree is not an energy strategy: Brian C. Murray, Duke University
In the middle of President Trump’s first term, a tale of two power plants reflected the nation’s seemingly irrevocable course of turning from high carbon dioxide-emitting coal to non-emitting nuclear and renewables. In Arizona, the Navajo coal-fired power plant closed in November 2019, despite efforts by the first Trump administration to keep it open.
The administration tried forcing the federally constructed but locally-run Central Arizona Project to purchase Navajo’s power and even sought a private buyer for the plant. But the numbers just didn’t pencil out — it was too expensive to operate, the private deal fell through, and the project got its power elsewhere.
Regulatory
Politico – February 7, 2026
BLM sets date for March oil lease sale in Alaska*
The Trump administration will offer 5.5 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope for oil and gas leasing, opening up a huge expanse of public land where Democratic administrations previously sought to restrict development. The Bureau of Land Management scheduled a lease sale for March 9 in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), a 23-million-acre preserve in northern Alaska that is home to caribou and migratory birds.
The sale by the Interior Department agency is mandated by last year’s Republican megalaw, which requires five sales in the NPR-A by 2035. Bids for the upcoming sale must be received by 4 p.m. Alaska time on March 5, according to a Federal Register notice set to be published Friday. “The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska plays a vital role in advancing America’s energy independence, and Congress has repeatedly made clear their intent for timely leasing and responsible development in the region,” acting BLM Director Bill Groffy said in a statement Thursday.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Monday February 9, 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 Monday after the U.S. and Iran pledged to continue talks over the Middle Eastern producer’s nuclear programme, easing concerns about a possible conflict that could disrupt supply from the region.
West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $63.13 a barrel, down 42 cents, or 0.66%, following a 26-cent gain at Friday’s settlement.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 49 cents, or 0.72%, to $67.56 a barrel by 0134 GMT after settling up 50 cents on Friday.
“Crude oil has eased in early trading this week, with the market breathing a sigh of relief over the constructive U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Oman,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
“With more talks on the horizon the immediate fear of supply disruptions in the Middle East has eased quite a bit.”
Iran and the U.S. pledged to continue the indirect nuclear talks following what both sides described as positive discussions on Friday in Oman despite differences. That allayed concerns that failure to reach a deal might nudge the Middle East closer to war as the U.S. has positioned more military forces in the area.
Top Stories
Politico – February 6, 2026
Oil money flows to Cornyn in Texas primary
In the GOP primary battle to retain his seat, Texas Sen. John Cornyn is getting a financial boost from the oil and natural gas industry. The incumbent, who’s seeking a fifth term in the Senate, raised at least $220,000 last year from people and corporate political action committees in the oil and gas sector, an analysis of campaign finance records shows. That’s ahead of the $157,000 that his main GOP primary rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has brought in from oil and gas in the midterm election.
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Bloomberg – February 7, 2026
As Trump remakes the global oil market, Exxon and Chevron want in*
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are setting their sights on expanding production in nations tied to OPEC, including some of the world’s riskiest geopolitical hotspots, as President Donald Trump’s assertive foreign policy helps them strike deals. Venezuela, home to the world’s largest reserves, is the most high-profile opening of a nation that had been mostly off-limits to US investors after Trump captured former leader Nicolas Maduro and took control of the country’s crude exports.
But the US is also backing Exxon and Chevron as they negotiate in Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, according to public announcements and people familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified discussing confidential meetings. The US oil majors’ international forays are the latest example of how Trump has upended the norms of the ways American corporations do business, especially in industries he favors, like manufacturing, fossil fuels and cryptocurrency. While Europe’s oil majors — Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE and BP Plc — are also seeking to expand in the Middle East, the US government support gives Exxon and Chevron a competitive edge.
“You have US ambassadors out there stumping on behalf of companies,” said Samantha Carl-Yoder, a former senior State Department official who helped US companies expand overseas under President Barack Obama and during Trump’s first term. “They’re running with it in a way that just didn’t exist under prior administrations, even Republican ones.” While the major oil producers have operated within OPEC+ countries for decades, opportunities for new projects have been limited due to state control of their oil industries, tough contract terms and political instability. In recent years, the US majors preferred to grow their shale businesses in the US, helping America overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest producer in 2018.
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Reuters – February 6, 2027
Rival bidders pursue Lukoil assets despite Carlyle deal, sources say*
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KWES – February 7, 2026
From oilfield water to battery power: Midland opens first U.S. Lithium Carbonate Facility in decades
A new lithium carbonate facility opened Friday in Midland, marking the first such operation in the United States in decades and highlighting how the Permian Basin’s oil and gas byproducts are being repurposed to support emerging energy technologies. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joined state, federal and industry leaders for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Element3 Resources Permian Basin Lithium Extraction and Carbonate facility, located along Farm-to-Market Road 715.
The facility extracts lithium carbonate from produced water — the water brought to the surface during oil and gas operations — transforming a long-standing byproduct of drilling into a material essential for batteries and energy storage systems. … Unlike traditional lithium mining, which can require years of permitting and construction, Element3’s process works alongside existing oil and gas infrastructure. Company leaders say that approach reduces development time while keeping production rooted in regions already familiar with energy operations.
The Latest TERse Tips
Texas Job Growth Expected to Rebound Slightly in 2026, Dallas Fed Says — Ft. Worth Inc.
TXNM Energy announced that the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a unanimous settlement allowing Blackstone Infrastructure to acquire TXNM Energy’s Texas utility, TNMP, finding the deal in the public interest — key terms include $45 million in rate credits to customers, governance and local oversight, dividend restrictions, financial protections and ring-fencing, workforce protections, and a commitment to fund the company’s 5-year capital expenditure plan — Stock Titan
Heritage Resources founder Michael Bush Wisenbaker Sr. has passed away at 80 — see his obituary here
Europe’s chemical industry is facing a wave of plant shutdowns and a sharp investment slowdown — industry leaders warn the trend threatens the region’s industrial base, and could reverberate through more downstream sectors, including polyurethanes — Plastics News
Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group is adding $1 billion to its 5-year capital spending plan to meet additional demand from Microsoft’s expansion of its data center campus in Mount Pleasant — Milwaukee Business Times
Colombia on Tuesday blasted Ecuador’s decision to hike up transportation fees for Colombian oil, calling the move an act of “aggression,” as a trade war between the two Andean nations intensifies — Associated Press
The Council on Foreign Relations says the AI Bubble Is Getting Closer to Popping — AI’s success or failure will depend on whether it can start to show the worth of massive investments. And today, the Trump administration’s tariffs and immigration policies are a big part of what’s holding back U.S. models and companies — CFR
Oil & Gas Texas
Oil Price – February 6, 2026
US Oil Drillers Add Rigs Even in Price Uncertainty
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose by 5 this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 551 this week, down 35 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 1 to 412 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 68 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 5, reaching 130, which is 30 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count slipped by 1 and now is at 9.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell again this week, by 481,000 bpd in the week ending January 30, to 13.215 million bpd on average, 647,000 bpd under the all-time high.
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Inside Climate News – February 8, 2026
More than 500 enormous oil tanks dot the floodplains of the Guadalupe River and its tributaries where they cross one of Texas’ leading oilfields, an Inside Climate News investigation has found, posing risk of an environmental disaster.
Longtime residents of these historic ranchlands still remember the last time these plains filled up with water in a biblical inundation in 1998. That was before the fracking boom hit this region and the oil-rich geological formation that lies beneath it, known as the Eagle Ford Shale. Today, a repeat of the historic flood could wreak havoc, locals worry.
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Houston Chronicle – February 6, 2026
Houston-based Sable Offshore receives federal subpoenas as insider trading allegations mount*
Federal regulators are investigating the embattled Houston oil company Sable Offshore over allegations its chief executive shared insider information, the company said Tuesday in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The federal probes pertain to “issues raised” in October by Hunterbrook, which published leaked audio and group messages that appear to show Sable’s CEO Jim Flores discussing undisclosed financial filings and prospects with a select group of investors.
The company said it received subpoenas from the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in December. The company was asked to turn over documents related to the alleged sharing of insider information, general stock trading, and other unspecified issues. Sable said in a Tuesday filing that it was “cooperating” with the requests, which could result in both civil and criminal penalties. Sable did not return requests for comment. It said in November that it would internally investigate the allegations.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 7, 2026
Texas pumped 124M barrels of oil in November as Midland area dominates*
The Railroad Commission has issued its preliminary crude oil and natural gas production figures for November 2025. Preliminary figures, based on production volumes reported by operators, indicate 124,149,657 barrels of oil (4,138,321 barrels per day) in November. Updated figures for November 2024 indicate crude production was 143,764,045 barrels.
Preliminary figures show Texas wells produced 1,002,396,104 Mcf (33,413,203 Mcf per day) of natural gas. The updated November 2024 total was 1,082,479,452 Mcf. Production came from 157,813 oil wells and 83,966 gas wells. The Midland area continued to dominate state oil production, and once again it wasn’t even close. Martin County was the top oil producer with 20,755,579 barrels.
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Rigzone – February 7, 2026
Phillips 66 to Cut Nearly 300 Jobs as LA Refinery Shuts
Phillips 66 will lay off around half of its employees at its sole remaining oil refinery in California after shuttering operations. The Houston-based company said it will cut 122 employees effective April 3 at two facilities in Carson and Wilmington that make up the company’s Los Angeles refinery, according a notice filed Monday with California’s employment regulator. This follows a separate notice last month that 155 employees will be terminated at the refinery in December, bringing the total to 277.
The century-old refinery employs about 600 staff, according to Phillips 66’s website. The fuel-making plant has been slated to close since 2024 and the facility, once capable of processing 139,000 barrels of oil a day, refined its final barrel of crude in late 2025. Another Texas-based refiner, Valero Energy Corp., is also cutting more than 200 jobs in California this year as it idles a San Francisco Bay Area plant.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 7, 2026
Battalion Oil shifts gas processing after Wink outage, boosts output
Delaware Basin-focused Battalion Oil recently announced several operational updates regarding both its gas treating arrangements and production performance. The Houston-based company has terminated its gas treating agreement with Wink Amine Treater LLC related to its acid gas injection facility. Battalion has also entered into a gas treating agreement with a publicly traded large-cap midstream company it declined to name.
In announcing the changes, Battalion management noted that the Wink Amine Treater AGI facility had ceased operations around Aug. 11, 2025, and remains out of service. This prompted the company to exercise its contractual rights to terminate the gas treating agreement.
After terminating its contract, Battalion reached an agreement with the large-cap midstream provider to process its gas at an alternative processing facility. The company had been using this midstream partner since Wink’s AGI facility went offline. After a significant facility expansion was completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, the midstream company is now able to process substantially all of Battalion’s gas volumes from its Monument Draw field.
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Oil & Gas National & International
Bloomberg – February 7, 2026
Hedge Funds Hike Bullish Oil Bets to 10-Month High on Iran Risks*
Hedge funds turned the most bullish on Brent crude since early April as traders hedged against the risk of a military conflict between the US and Iran and potential supply disruptions from the OPEC member. Money managers increased their net-long stance on Brent crude by 31,332 lots to 278,249 lots in the week ended Feb. 3, the highest in nearly 10 months, data from ICE Futures Europe show. Bullish bets on US West Texas Intermediate oil also rose to a six-month high, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Persistent tensions between the US and Iran have driven investors to raise bullish bets on both benchmarks for four consecutive weeks. The two countries appeared to square off at sea and in the air on Tuesday, reviving a risk premium that eventually ebbed as plans for nuclear talks took shape. The sustained bullishness was also reflected deeper within the options market and beyond. WTI bullish call options settled at their biggest premium to bearish puts since 2022 at one point this week, while a major oil-linked exchange-traded product saw its biggest inflow since 2020.
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Politico – February 7, 2026
Democrats urge EU to defy Trump on oil and gas rules*
Lawmakers have urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to resist Trump administration pressure to water down pollution rules for the oil and gas sector. In a letter, shared with POLITICO, 24 members of the House and Senate said ceding to demands from the Department of Energy to exempt American oil and gas from a regulation aimed at clamping down on methane pollution “would be a misguided approach.”
The signatories were all Democrats and were led by Rep. Scott Peters and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. The EU has so far resisted pressure to change new methane rules, which came into effect last year. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas often released through leaks and flaring during the extraction, refining and transport of petrochemicals. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, EU shipments of U.S. oil and gas have shot up. Natural gas imports in particular are up fourfold.
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Oil Price – February 7, 2026
Trump’s Fossil Fuel Push Meets a Legal Reality Check
United States President Donald Trump pursued an electoral campaign that focused on fossil fuel expansion and the reining in of renewable energy projects. Trump has regularly dismissed climate science as fearmongering, suggesting that the U.S. does not need to expand its green energy and cleantech sectors; rather, the country should focus on pumping more oil and gas to boost energy security. However, a recent assessment suggests that Trump may have been misinformed when setting the U.S. energy agenda.
On 30th January, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) broke the law when Energy Secretary Chris Wright handpicked five researchers who reject the scientific consensus on climate change to write a report on global warming to inform national policy. The Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 states that agencies are not permitted to recruit or rely on secret groups for policymaking.
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The New York Times – February 78, 2026
Trump’s Oil Grab in Venezuela Shatters an American Taboo*
President George W. Bush said he was invading Iraq to keep America safe. But critics saw a hidden motive: oil. “No blood for oil!” became a global rallying cry, and Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, accused Mr. Bush of seeking “to control the Middle East oil.” The Bush administration rejected the charge and was determined to refute it. After invading and occupying Iraq in March 2003, Bush officials were careful to leave Iraqis in control of their oil industry, and they never sought special treatment for American firms. As foreign investors moved in, the biggest winners by far were not U.S. companies but Chinese ones.
American presidents have long been accused of plotting to control foreign oil. But while the United States has built relationships and even intervened abroad for oil, it has never simply seized control of another country’s oil reserves. “I can’t think of a military operation that the U.S. engaged in to actually take oil from anybody,” said Richard Fontaine, the chief executive of the Center for a New American Security. Until now. Immediately after U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January, President Trump announced plans to take control of the country’s oil industry. Since then, Mr. Trump has forced Venezuela’s government to begin “turning over” as many as 50 million barrels for sale by the United States and is pressuring American firms to start drilling in the country, which sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves. “The people of the United States are going to be big beneficiaries,” Mr. Trump said at the White House last month. (Mr. Trump says that some oil revenue will be returned to Venezuela, but not how much.)
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Reuters – February 6, 2026
BP has no plans to honor the national oil bargaining agreement, union says*
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The Wall Street Journal – February 7, 2026
Saudi Arabia Cuts Flagship Oil Price to Asia for Fourth Straight Month*
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia cut the price of its crude for Asian buyers for the fourth consecutive month, signaling further caution as concerns that global supply will outstrip demand continue to weigh on global markets. State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco set the official selling price for March loadings of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia—the largest destination for Middle Eastern crude—at parity with the Oman/Dubai average, down from a premium of $0.30 a barrel in February.
Saudi’s monthly crude pricing is closely watched by traders as a key gauge of the kingdom’s view on regional demand. Prices for other heavier grades sold to Asia were cut by $0.40 a barrel, while lighter grades saw increases of $0.20 a barrel. Aramco also lowered prices for all grades sold to U.S. customers, Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean.
In early European trading on Friday, Brent crude was above $68 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $63 a barrel. The benchmarks are headed for their first weekly decline in weeks ahead of talks between the U.S. and Iran. “Escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran have contributed to higher oil prices,” analysts at Capital Economics said. “But we think that geopolitical fears will give way to weak fundamentals.” OPEC+ agreed at its most recent meeting to keep oil output policy unchanged for March and didn’t provide guidance on production levels beyond the first quarter.
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The New York Times – February 7, 2026
When Venezuelan Oil Comes to the U.S.*
When Venezuelan oil is shipped to the United States, where does it go? That simple question led me to the city of Pascagoula, Miss., home to Chevron’s flagship refinery on the Gulf of Mexico, where residents have long complained about pollution from the facility and other industrial sites along the coast. (Read my article on the community’s worries here.) It’s one of a handful of sophisticated refineries in the country that have been processing Venezuela’s heavy crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Operating under a special license, Chevron is the only American company that has continued drilling for oil in Venezuela in recent years, even while other oil giants left the country. As the U.S. government asserts control over Venezuelan oil production, Chevron is among the companies that could reap benefits most quickly. Pascagoula residents now worry that more Venezuelan oil is headed their way, adding to their pollution worries.
The prospect is giving fresh momentum to an unusual proposal by people who live near Pascagoula, in a neighborhood called Cherokee Forest. They’re asking Chevron and the owners of other industrial facilities in the city to buy their homes so they can move away from the pollution entirely.
Under their buyout plan, their homes would be converted into a “blue-green buffer” of forests, waterways and wildlife habitats between the industrial corridor and remaining households, aiming to alleviate chronic flooding and helping to filter industrial emissions. “Let them drill over there, do what they’ve got to do,” Julie Hambey, who has lived in Cherokee Forest for more than 30 years and who works at a nearby Walmart, told me. “Just get us all out.”
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Houston Chronicle – February 7, 2026
Steelworkers reach agreement with Marathon Petroleum, avert national strike*
The United Steelworkers union reached an agreement with Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum on Friday, setting a standard of wage increases that could apply to 30,000 oil workers across the country and that averts a national strike. The four-year agreement with the company, which is primarily a refiner, which now goes to local bargaining units for ratification, includes “strong wage increases and other national priorities,” the union said in a news release.
“USW members, across the country, across employers, across our industry, stood together in calling for a fair contract,” said Mike Smith, chair of USW’s national oil bargaining program, in a statement. In an emailed statement, a Marathon Petroleum spokesperson said the company was “pleased that Marathon and the USW have successfully negotiated a pattern agreement for new collective bargaining contracts in the U.S. refining industry.”
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Politico – February 6, 2026
The big split driving the tricky politics of AI data centers*
The tech industry is facing fierce local backlash to data center projects around the country. But a new poll suggests national opinion is still up for grabs. Cities from Madison, Wisconsin, to Chandler, Arizona, are rejecting new data centers — the hulking, server-packed complexes that make up the backbone of the booming artificial intelligence industry — citing everything from rising electricity costs to depleted water tables and air pollution. …
But the industry’s standing is also precarious, and the poll suggests a partisan split is emerging: People increasingly see the tech companies as aligned with Republicans, the survey shows. And Democratic Govs. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey won races in November in part by campaigning to force data center operators to help upgrade the electric grid and keep utility rates down. As the AI-driven projects spread, the map the industry will have to defend politically and financially will keep expanding, far beyond traditional clusters of data center growth in places like Virginia and Texas.
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Energy Newsbeat – February 7, 2026
Texas Sues Wind Turbine Recycler Over 3,000 Blades Dumped In Sweetwater
In a stark reminder that “green” energy isn’t always as tidy as it seems, the state of Texas has filed a high-stakes lawsuit against a wind turbine recycler accused of turning a rural Texas town into an unintended graveyard for massive, non-biodegradable blades. The case, centered in Sweetwater, highlights not just one company’s alleged negligence but a growing crisis in the wind industry: what happens when the turbines stop spinning? As the U.S. wind fleet swells to tens of thousands of installations, the challenges of recycling, decommissioning, and land reclamation are coming home to roost—often quite literally, in landfills and abandoned fields.
We have questions about the life span of wind farms. We have seen evidence that the numbers are inflated through subsidies for “Maintenance” or nameplate upgrades after 3 to 5 years, and that the real lifespan of wind farms has been masked by the industry through the availability of upgrade money. What we have seen is verifiable increases in consumer bills after 3 to 5 years that Utilities seek in the United States for rate increases following the addition of wind farms to grids. It is a pattern, and we are trying to get the documentation.
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Associated Press/Yahoo! News – February 6, 2026
Energy chief Wright says orders empowering coal plants helped keep lights on during winter storm
The Trump administration said Friday that its use of emergency orders to keep aging coal-fired plants operating helped prevent a major blackout from power shortages during the brutally frigid weather that has gripped most of America for the past two weeks.
Scattered outages occurred because of ice accumulation that felled local power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, at least briefly. But the nation’s regional power grids generally maintained reliable electricity service, with natural gas and coal leading the way, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials said.
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KTRE – February 7, 2026
$1.5B data center project under negotiation in Angelina County
Angelina County is in negotiations for a $1.5 billion data center that would be the largest single investment in the county’s history, County Judge Keith Wright said Thursday. Wright announced the potential project during his State of the County Address to the Lufkin Chamber of Commerce, calling it a significant opportunity to expand the county’s tax base and economic development.
The data center would be built on the paper mill plant property on State Highway 103 east of Lufkin that had been in use for more than 80 years, Wright said. The facility would clean up what he described as a “huge, humongous eyesore” and address current environmental issues on the site.
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Utility Dive – February 6, 2026
First Solar releases poll showing support for solar among GOP voters
A slight majority of right-leaning voters — 51% — surveyed in a poll commissioned by utility-scale solar manufacturer First Solar said they favor the use of utility solar energy, with 30% opposing it and 19% declining to take a position. “If the panels used for solar energy are American-made with no ties to China, support for solar energy soars higher,” said a memo from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, the research firm that conducted the survey. “Those in favor jump to 70%, while only 19% remain opposed.”
First Solar said in a release that the survey also found 52% of GOP-aligned voters are more likely to support a Congressional candidate who supports an all-of-the-above energy agenda and American companies building solar manufacturing facilities in the U.S. The survey polled 800 Republicans, Republican-leaning independents and Trump voters. Of those surveyed, 68% said they agreed with the statement, “We need all forms of electricity generation, including utility solar, to be built to lower electricity costs.”
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Oil Price – February 1, 2026
Nuclear Fusion’s Long Wait for Wall Street Is Finally Over
The world is about to gain its first publicly traded ‘pure-play’ fusion company, and it’s determined to deliver energy from nuclear fusion with an innovative model that uses neither magnets nor lasers, the most common components of leading fusion experiments. Instead, the model being piloted by the fusion-exclusive startup General Fusion uses mechanical pistons to contain plasma within a liquid lithium shell. Interesting Engineering reports that the technology has been described as a “practical, mechanical approach to fusion, emphasizing its ability to bypass the material degradation issues that plague other designs.”
But the most groundbreaking thing about General Fusion isn’t its technology – it’s its soon-to-be distinction as a publicly traded firm that focuses on nuclear fusion alone. This comes as the result of a “definitive business combination agreement” between General Fusion and Spring Valley Acquisition Corp, and shows a stunning confidence in the commercial potential of nuclear fusion. The investors are signalling a huge shift in the fusion field by putting all their eggs into this particular basket.
Regulatory
JD Supra – February 5, 2026
In light of the unprecedented projected spike in demand for electricity driven by data centers, manufacturing and industrial development, federal and state regulators are poised to act in 2026 to develop rules to address reliability, resource adequacy, process and cost allocation issues related to the integration of new large end users. Building on actions taken in 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), regional transmission organizations (RTOs), independent system operators (ISOs) and some states are expected to take significant steps to address the impact of these large end users on the electricity grid.
Where it started:
- Following a set of executive orders issued by President Donald J. Trump focused on energy and AI development, in October 2025, the Department of Energy directed FERC to issue an ANOPR related to the interconnection process, reliability issues and cost allocation associated with interconnection of large loads to the electric transmission system, including under co-location arrangements (i.e., where load and generation are located together or nearby). Interested parties filed over 230 initial and reply comments.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Friday February 6, 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
Top Stories
Just the News – February 4, 2026
Power grid watchdog warns that over-reliance on wind and solar will make winter blackouts likely
The North American grid watchdog Thursday published its annual long-term reliability assessment, and the analysis offers a sharp warning about the growing threat of blackouts across much of the United States in the coming years. “The overall resource adequacy outlook for the North American BPS is worsening: In the 2025 LTRA [long-term reliability assessment], NERC finds that 13 of 23 assessment areas face resource adequacy challenges over the next 10 years,” the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) report states.
During January’s Winter Storm Fern, many parts of the U.S. grid neared the point where demand exceeded supply. If the grid continues to shut down fossil-fuel generation and tries to meet demand with intermittent wind and solar, according to NERC, more Americans will face blackouts when demand is high.
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KDFW – February 5, 2026
Texas sues wind turbine company for allegedly abandoning 3,000 blades in west Texas
Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Global Fiberglass Solutions, Inc. and several affiliated entities, alleging the companies illegally dumped and abandoned thousands of wind turbine blades across two sites in Sweetwater. The state’s petition, filed on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), claims the defendants created unpermitted disposal sites that threaten surrounding communities and violate state solid waste statutes.
“Illegal disposal of wind turbines hurts our land and will never be permitted under my watch,” Paxton said in a statement. “Just because the radical left calls something a ‘green industry’ does not give any company a free pass to harm the Texas countryside, break our laws, and leave Texans to deal with the negative impacts.”
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Politico – February 5, 2026
Interior sets date for next Gulf of Mexico lease sale*
Interior Department officials set a date for a March oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as the Trump administration carries out Republican plans to boost fossil fuels. Bids submitted for areas covering more than 80 million acres of outer continental shelf in the Gulf will be accepted until 10 a.m. on March 10, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced Wednesday. BOEM said the lease sale will be held March 11, when the bids will be opened.
The Republican megalaw signed by President Donald Trump last July requires 30 oil and gas lease sales through 2040 in the Gulf, which Trump has renamed the Gulf of America. The first Gulf sale since 2023 was held in December, and it attracted considerable interest from oil companies. Matt Giacona, BOEM’s acting director, called the planned sale a “key step” for Gulf oil and gas production. Officials have dubbed the first two sales BBG1 and BBG2, which is short for “Big Beautiful Gulf.” The megalaw is known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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Politico – February 5, 2026
Data centers increasingly turn to off-grid gas*
Thirty percent of planned data center capacity is slated to use power built directly by developers, with most companies turning to natural gas generators despite touting renewables, according to a new analysis. The findings — from data center tracking firm Cleanview — offer one of the most detailed pictures to date on how the artificial intelligence industry could affect emissions and electricity. Companies are finding ways around a shortage of gas turbines to get “behind-the-meter” AI projects online fast, using “anything they can get their hands on” for power,
“Data center developers are in this great race,” said Michael Thomas, CEO of Cleanview, in an interview. “They are finding workarounds” to the turbine shortage. Researchers identified 46 data centers with a combined capacity of roughly 56 gigawatts that plan to build their own power behind the meter, rather than rely on grid electricity from utilities. In comparison, that amount of energy could power five Manhattan-size cities, Thomas said.
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Power Magazine – February 5, 2026
Abilene-based Natura Resources, which won the first federal construction permit for a liquid-fueled molten-salt reactor in 2024, will work with NGL Water Solutions Permian to explore deploying its 100-MWe reactor design alongside thermal desalination systems to transform briny drilling waste into usable water—while powering data centers and other industrial loads hungry for around-the-clock electricity.
The agreement announced on Feb. 3 hones in on collaborative opportunities in the Permian Basin, the sprawling oil and gas formation spanning West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where oil and gas operations produce more than 20 million barrels of produced water daily as a byproduct of unconventional drilling that typically contains high concentrations of salts, minerals, and hydrocarbons.
The Latest TERse Tips
A HUGE American military buildup near Iran has been seen for the first time in new satellite images as Trump “lays the groundwork” for ending the repressive Islamic regime — US Sun
Iran seizes 2 foreign oil tankers in Persian Gulf, state media says — ABC News
A pipeline explosion in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, Tuesday morning occurred while the pipeline owned by Delfin Offshore Pipelines was being cleaned — KPLC
Lyntegar Electric Cooperative has appointed Ross Aten as its fourth CEO, effective Jan. 9, 2026 — he brings over two decades of experience with the cooperative, having started as a part-time employee in the engineering department in May 2000 — Post Dispatch
Crux and Origis Energy have announced an investment of $340 million in tax equity capital to support a 413 MWdc utility-scale solar project in Ector County — Renewables Energy Magazine
Canadian Solar said on Thursday its e-STORAGE unit will equip two standalone battery energy storage projects totaling 503 MWh DC that are being developed by renewable energy company Sunraycer in Texas — Renewables Now
ConocoPhillips said Thursday it expects the North Field East LNG expansion project in Qatar to start up in the second half of this year, keeping global LNG supplies on track to continue surging as U.S. projects ramp up too — Natural Gas Intelligence*
US natural gas and oil services company Liberty Energy has entered into a power reservation and preliminary Energy Services Agreement (ESA) with an undisclosed ‘leading data center developer’ for a 330MW data center expansion in Texas — Data Center Dynamics
Wind turbine maker Vestas sees record revenue in 2025 — KTEN
Orsted Sells Onshore Business for $1.7 Billion After Judge Rules U.S. Wind Project Can Resume — the deal includes about 578 megawatts of operational capacity and 248 megawatts under construction — The Wall Street Journal*
Vistra Corp. is one of the best Nancy Pelosi stocks to buy in 2026 — Yahoo! News
Oil & Gas Texas
KHOU – February 5, 2026
Exxon Mobil starts up new Baytown unit
Spring-based Exxon Mobil Corp. has started up its third advanced recycling unit in Baytown. The new unit increases Exxon’s recycling capacity to process up to 250 million pounds of plastic waste a year. Globally, the company plans to reach about 450 million pounds of recycling capacity annually by the end of the year. The company previously said it plans to reach 1 billion pounds of capacity annually by 2027.
Exxon said the advanced recycling method allows the company to handle plastics that are harder to recycle. Those plastics can be turned into feedstocks for other products such as fuel or new plastic. In November 2024, Exxon announced it was investing more than $200 million to expand its advanced recycling projects in Baytown and Beaumont.
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BIC Magazine – February 5, 2026
Cheniere submits application to build massive LNG plant in Texas
Cheniere Energy has submitted an application to build a 24 million metric tonnes per annum LNG plant at its Corpus Christi location in Texas, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- Cheniere plans 24 mtpa LNG plant expansion in Texas
- Expansion to add four new LNG processing trains
- Cheniere aims for federal approval by May next year
The proposed project will be an expansion of Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant, which at present has a capacity of 18 mtpa but could soon produce as much as 25 mtpa with the ongoing Stage 3 expansion expected to be completed by the end of 2026. If the Stage 4 project is approved, Corpus Christi capacity would eventually rise to 49 mtpa.
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Bloomberg – February 5, 2026
Singer’s Elliott Urges Judge to Toss Lawsuit by Texas PE Firm*
Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management Inc. asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a Texas private equity firm that claims “tens of millions of dollars” are being withheld after the sale of oil and gas assets. Elliott argued it has “sole discretion” over when to distribute the proceeds based on agreements reached with Stronghold Investment Management, which had sued. “The managers have not determined to withhold distributions indefinitely; they are in the process of winding up complex entities following major asset sales and evaluating appropriate reserves and distribution timing,” attorneys for Elliott wrote in documents unsealed Tuesday in Delaware Chancery Court.
Stronghold sued Elliott in November, opening up another chapter to the long-running feud between the two firms. Elliott, famous for its activist investing, partnered with Stronghold in 2017 to buy and sell oil, gas and mineral interests. But the relationship soured in 2022, leading to a settlement between the sides that involved an agreement by Stronghold to wind down two partnerships.
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KHOU – February 5, 2026
President Trump announces 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela is heading to Houston
President Trump is talking up a big oil shipment from Venezuela that is already headed to Houston, but KHOU 11 energy expert Ed Hirs says that number isn’t nearly as dramatic as it sounds. “We have 50 million barrels of oil floating right now over to Houston, and we’re working with them really well,” said President Trump Thursday morning.
“That’s about four days of current levels of U.S. production,” Hirs said. “It’s a global market, 103 million barrels a day, so 50 million barrels really doesn’t represent a big amount in the global market, and this is oil that’s been produced by Venezuela. It’s not going to be a tremendous savings and fuel prices for anyone.” So while the headline number sounds big, experts tell us it’s more about optics than impact at the pump.
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Yahoo! News – February 4, 2026
Texas oil and gas production statistics for November 2025
Statewide and county crude oil and natural gas production for November 2025 reported in the tables below came from 157,813 oil wells and 83,966 gas wells, a press release detailed. The RRC reports that preliminary total Texas reported production for November 2025 was approximately 124 million barrels of crude oil and 1.00 trillion cubic feet of total gas. Updated total reported production for November 2024 was approximately 144 million barrels of crude oil and 1.08 trillion cubic feet of total gas.
Crude oil production reported by the RRC is limited to oil produced from oil leases and does not include condensate, which is reported separately by the RRC. For full oil and gas production statistics, you can visit the links below.
Oil & Gas National & International
National Today – Feburary 5, 2026
Traders Rush to Lock In Oil Prices Amid Iran Geopolitical Risk, More Venezuelan Supply
Investors rushed to lock in oil prices at record levels in January amid concerns around Iranian crude supplies and more Venezuelan barrels heading to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Hedging can help producers reduce risk and protect their production from sharp moves in the market by locking in a price for the oil. Traders traded a record number of WTI Midland at Houston contracts and set a daily record for the benchmark on the ICE, as U.S. crude futures closed around $65 a barrel on January 30, up about 14% from the first trading day of the year.
Iranian geopolitical tensions have influenced risk premiums in the oil market, while severe winter weather in the U.S. hit production and refinery dynamics. The return of Venezuelan crude has also created potential new competition for Canadian oil on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in other export markets, including China.
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CNBC – February 5, 2026
Oil giant Shell posts weakest quarterly profit in nearly five years, keeps buybacks steady
Shell on Thursday reported its weakest quarterly profit in nearly five years, amid a weaker crude price environment and unfavorable tax adjustments in the fourth quarter. Shell posted adjusted earnings of $3.26 billion for the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $3.53 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus. A separate, company-provided analyst forecast had put Shell’s expected fourth-quarter profit at $3.51 billion. It marks Shell’s weakest quarterly result since the first three months of 2021, when adjusted earnings came in at $3.2 billion.
For the full-year 2025, Shell posted weaker-than-expected adjusted earnings of $18.5 billion, compared to annual profit of $23.72 billion a year earlier. “I’d start off by saying it was actually a very strong operational quarter for us,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday. “A few things hurt us this quarter. Number one was some tax adjustments which went against us, chemicals has indeed been weak, but I would look to the strength actually of our integrated gas, upstream and marketing businesses,” Sawan said.
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S&P Global Platts – February 5, 2026
Shell promises spending cuts, oil and gas growth to tackle price weakness
Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan pledged to “focus on what we can control” after falling oil prices sent the company’s revenues to four-year lows in the fourth quarter of 2025, promising to fix the company’s chemicals business, cut spending, and accelerate upstream production. The international energy company’s upstream oil and gas business produced 1.89 million boe/d in Q4 2025, 60,000 boe/d higher than Q3, it reported Feb. 5, which CFO Sinead Gorman called a “strong quarter in the current price environment”.
The fourth-quarter increase for the upstream unit was driven entirely by gas, where output grew 15% quarter over quarter. In Q1 2026, Shell expects the division to contribute roughly stable or lower production, within a range of 1.7 million-1.9 million boe/d.
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Politico – February 3, 2026
Saudi oil-supply hikes help drive best GDP growth since 2022*
Saudi Arabia’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in three years in 2025, with the oil sector emerging as a stronger engine of growth under new OPEC+ supply policy. Gross domestic product rose 4.5 percent in the 12 months through December, according to preliminary data published by the statistics office Sunday. The expansion was the strongest since 2022, as was the 5.6 percent growth rate seen for the oil economy.
Non-oil activities slowed for a third straight year, though the sector was still the biggest contributor to overall economic expansion in 2025. Real GDP for the whole economy grew 4.9 percent year on year in the final quarter of the year. State oil giant Saudi Aramco has been pumping more crude since around mid-2025 as part of supply increases agreed to by OPEC+, led by the kingdom and Russia. The Gulf nation churned out about 10 million barrels a day in the final three months of last year, the most since early 2023, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Reuters – February 5, 2026
Mexico seeking way to send fuel to Cuba without being hit by US tariffs, sources say*
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
February 5, 2026
Customers saving millions in states that banned utility political costs: Energy & Policy Institute
In recent years, a number of states have passed laws prohibiting utilities from using money they collect from customers to fund the companies’ political activities and extravagant expenses. Now, ratepayers in these states are already seeing savings in the millions of dollars. Recent utility accountability legislation in Connecticut has saved gas and electric customers from footing the bill for nearly $14 million of their utilities’ spending on political influence and advocacy activities and Board of Directors’ perks in the past year. This marks an increase from the previous year, where customers saved over $9.7 million.
The legislation, which went into effect in June 2023, prohibits utilities from using money they collect from ratepayers for lobbying, advertising and marketing, and contributions to trade associations and groups incorporated under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.
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KFOX – February 5, 2026
Texas Railroad Commission approves Texas Gas rate increase for service costs
The Texas Railroad Commission has approved a reduced natural gas rate increase for Texas Gas Service customers in El Paso on Thursday. According to the City of El Paso, the originally proposed 27% increase was lowered following negotiation efforts.
Small residential customers may see their bills rise by about 10%, translating to an additional $3 to $4 per month. Larger residential customers could experience increases closer to 19%, or about $11 more per month, depending on usage. The company says the increase is needed to cover service costs and maintain reliable service.
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OK Energy Today – January 28, 2026
$2.1B Transmission line to stretch across Oklahoma Panhandle
Oklahoma regulators are being asked to grant approval for construction of a major electric transmission project that would cross the Oklahoma Panhandle and connect the eastern and western U.S. power grids. … Three Corners Connector LLC has filed an application with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission seeking authority to construct a portion of a 300-mile, $2 billion high-voltage transmission line known as the Three Corners Connector. The project would involve construction of an up to 525-kilovolt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line with endpoints near Guymon, Oklahoma, and Pueblo, Colorado.
According to the filing, the line would transport electricity from all generation sources and allow bidirectional power flows to respond to shifting demand between regions.
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Oil Price – February 5, 2026
U.S. Power Boom Triggers Global Gas Turbine Shortage
The hyperscaler-driven surge in U.S. power demand is creating ripple effects in the global supply chain, with gas turbines becoming the most critical bottleneck to rolling out flexible baseload capacity to support accelerated load growth. Gas turbine makers report soaring backlogs and delivery times years after order placement, while analysts say the bottlenecks in power plant equipment effectively delay the gas-fired power capacity that is needed now.
The U.S. sees unprecedented power demand growth—AI infrastructure, data centers, and advanced manufacturing are driving the first meaningful growth in U.S. power consumption since the 1990s. The growth is set to average about 2% each year over the next decade, making new electricity generation capacity critical to supporting the advance in AI and the onshoring of manufacturing.
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CBS News – February 4, 2026
Millions of Americans face higher utility bills as dozens of rate hikes take effect
Tens of millions of Americans are facing higher utility bills after regulators approved dozens of rate hikes last year. Regulators green-lit 43 rate hikes across the country in 2025, totaling $11.6 billion in increases, according to an analysis by PowerLines. The nonprofit, which is focused on lowering utility costs, said the vast majority of hikes have already gone into effect, while eight are slated to go live in the coming months.
All told, 56 million Americans will see higher utility bills, according to PowerLines, adding fresh financial pressure on consumers at a time when energy costs are already a major headache. Utilities are hiking their rates to pay for repairing and replacing ailing infrastructure, costs linked to extreme weather events, volatile fuel prices and the increase in electricity demand, driven largely by data centers.
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pv magazine – January 3, 2026
U.S. energy storage developers secure over $2 billion in latest capital infusion
Across three major transactions in early 2026, at least $2 billion in financing was recently announced, demonstrating the strength of energy storage as a core component of the U.S. power system.
Aypa Power, a Blackstone portfolio company, announced the closing of a $1.5 billion construction warehouse revolving credit facility, with an additional $500 million accordion feature. The company said the first-of-its-kind transaction represents the largest warehouse financing executed for a storage-focused independent power producer (IPP).
In a parallel move for the sector, Texas-based developer Jupiter Power closed a $500 million senior secured green revolving loan and letter of credit facility. The company said the funds will support the advancement of its project pipeline across the U.S.
PowerBank Corporation, a leader in North American energy infrastructure, announced it has entered into a loan agreement with NY Green Bank for an $8 million revolving credit facility. The company also secured $920,000 in mini-perm financing following the commissioning of its Geddes community solar and storage asset.
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Utility Dive – January 28, 2026
Sam Altman-backed Exowatt launches arm to power data centers with renewables
Renewable energy developer Exowatt has launched a business arm focused on providing land and energy infrastructure to support large or hyperscale data centers, the company announced last week. The company’s new arm, ExoRise, will lean on land, power and its P3 solar and battery technology — which stores energy in the form of heat and converts it to electricity on demand — to provide data centers with reliable power around the clock, Exowatt said in a press release.
The Miami, Florida-headquartered startup is backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and others, and said it will develop the projects in areas with high solar exposure across the U.S. Southwest, such as New Mexico, west Texas, Arizona and Nevada. Exowatt said the region offers ample land and solar resources which allows for faster deployment and has a minimal impact on local communities.
Regulatory
Beaumont Enterprise – February 5, 2026
State fines Mid-County chemical plants for emissions violations*
An ammonia plant in Nederland and a petrochemical plant in Port Neches have received new Texas Commission of Environmental Quality administrative fines levied Jan. 28 for emissions of carbon monoxide and other toxic compounds. TCEQ commissioners unanimously approved a total of $148,359 in penalties between OCI Beaumont and Indorama Ventures Oxides, with the former’s total penalties making up the majority at $105,000 and the latter’s being $43,359.
The state agency alleges OCI Beaumont failed to prevent 12,841 pounds of carbon monoxide, 128 pounds of nitrogen oxides and 30 pounds of volatile organic compounds from the methanol flare on May 11, 2022 for eight hours. TCEQ also said the ammonia plant failed to comply with maximum allowable emission rates. Indorama allegedly failed to prevent a number of emissions in 2022 and 2023. A total of 18,217 pounds of carbon monoxide, 15,530.46 pounds of volatile compounds and 3,364 pounds of nitrogen oxides also escaped into the air from the Port Neches plant across three emission events in 2023.
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Utility Dive – February 4, 2026
House lawmakers press FERC on affordability, reliability and gas
House lawmakers on Tuesday grilled members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about electric affordability, grid reliability and the agency’s reviews of natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas projects. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s energy subcommittee hearing was held while about 40,000 customers in Mississippi and Tennessee remain without power following Winter Storm Fern, which started sweeping across the United States on Jan. 23.
Also, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. on Jan. 29 warned that Midcontinent Independent System Operator, PJM Interconnection, Electric Reliability Council of Texas and parts of the Pacific Northwest face a high risk of not having enough power supplies to meet resource adequacy targets later this decade.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Thursday February 5, 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 Thursday after Washington and Tehran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, even as differences persist over the scope of the discussions.
U.S. crude oil was down over 2% at $63.8 a barrel in Asia trading (11.34 p.m. ET Wednesday).
Global benchmark Brent also fell 2.04% to $68.04 a barrel.
Iran is seeking to focus talks on its longstanding nuclear dispute with Western powers, while the United States wants the agenda to also cover Tehran’s ballistic missile program, its alleged backing of armed groups across the Middle East, and its domestic human rights record.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “should be very worried,” sending oil about 3% higher.
Trump had warned last month that he could order strikes on Iran if Tehran fails to agree to a deal around its nuclear program. He had also threatened to intervene in support of protesters who have been raising voices against the Islamic Republic.
Analysts cautioned that markets may be over-interpreting diplomatic signals that could quickly reverse.
Top Stories
Texas Monthly – February 3, 2026
The Far-Right Billionaire Who Bankrolled Ken Paxton Has Abandoned Him*
Related: How Taylor Rehmet upset a MAGA candidate to flip a North Texas Senate district — Salon
Since the beginning of his lengthy and oft-scandaled political career, Attorney General Ken Paxton has held one of the most valuable get-out-of-jail-free cards in Texas politics: the seemingly limitless support of Midland oil tycoon Tim Dunn. Whenever Paxton got into trouble, which was frequently, Dunn would be there to bail him out. In turn, when Dunn’s political operation went to war against the Texas Ethics Commission, Paxton, in his capacity as attorney general, refused to defend the agency. For nearly two decades, the Dunn–Paxton partnership seemed unshakeable. But a funny thing has happened in Ken Paxton’s run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Tim Dunn has disappeared.
Dunn and Paxton both made their first big splashes in Texas politics in the same year, 2002, with similar objectives. Dunn, who would soon become the most influential and ruthless political donor in the state, wrote his first substantial political check that year—a $10,000 donation to Free Enterprise PAC, a group that sought to advocate right-wing causes at the Texas Legislature, among them prohibiting “homosexual marriages and adoptions” and requiring “a super majority to increase taxes.” Paxton, a first-time candidate for state representative who closely aligned himself with the religious right, was Free Enterprise PAC’s biggest single beneficiary in that year’s legislative elections. …
But according to multiple sources I spoke with while reporting my recent Texas Monthly feature on the primary battle between Paxton and incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn, when Paxton approached Dunn about backing his Senate challenge, Dunn told him to stay out of the race. One source who is familiar with Dunn’s thinking told me, “Tim sat down and told Ken, ‘I don’t want you to be a senator; I want you to be a good attorney general.’” Dunn apparently saw Paxton’s challenge as a costly and unnecessary drain on resources that would weaken the party for the general election. (The billionaire, who seems to relish conservative internecine feuds and a good Republican primary throwdown, apparently likes Cornyn enough that, so far at least, he hasn’t seen a reason to spend heavily to oust him.)
After Paxton refused to back down, Dunn wasn’t pleased, according to the source. “When you look Tim Dunn in the eye and say, ‘Sorry, I’m doing it anyway,’ that doesn’t go all that well with him,” they said. (Dunn did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Paxton wrote, “You must be crazy if you think that myself or the Paxton campaign would respond to anything asked by a tabloid rag like the Texas Monthly.”)
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KTBC – February 4, 2026
Judge blocks Texas law prohibiting state investment in anti-fossil fuel companies
A Texas law requiring state entities to sever ties with financial companies that “boycott fossil fuels” has been blocked by a district judge. The judge decided Senate Bill 13, which prompted an $8.5 billion hit to BlackRock, violates two amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright ordered Tuesday that the State of Texas is enjoined from implementing and enforcing SB 13, which blocked state contracts with companies that were believed to be harmful to the fossil fuel industry. Albright found that the law violates the 1st and 14th Amendments, saying the law was overly broad, unconstitutionally vague, and enables arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 4, 2026
The Dell Scion Who Wants to Shore Up the Texas Power Grid*
Zach Dell aims to shore up the Texas power grid with an army of batteries installed one home at a time. The 29-year-old is the son of billionaire computer pioneer Michael Dell and the co-founder and chief executive of Base Power, a home-battery company that says it is adding over 50 customers a day in markets including Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Base Power has raised more than $1.3 billion from investors as battery storage is booming and grid-reliability issues are sending homeowners in frantic search of backup power.
Utility customers across the country increasingly face less reliable service from a combination of severe weather and an aging electricity system, while federal regulators have warned that power demand is outpacing infrastructure development. In states like Texas, both hurricanes and winter storms can cause disruptions. Base Power describes itself as a subscription service. The company owns the batteries and acts as a retail power provider for its customers, offering what it promises will be a lower-than-average rate. If the lights go out, the batteries will power a home for a day or two, depending on the size of the installation.
In the meantime, Base Power bundles the scattered residential batteries and plays power trader, acting as a single power plant. The company has more than 10,000 customers and about 200 megawatt-hours of installed capacity so far. The Austin-based company hopes to expand beyond Texas. “When the grid’s up and running, we use the battery to support the grid,” Dell said. “When the grid goes down, you get the battery back.” Homeowners pay $695 to install one unit, plus a $19 monthly subscription fee, in addition to their electricity bill that is based on usage. Its current energy rate is 8.5-cents per kilowatt-hour, which rises to around 14.3 to 14.5 cents after adding utility transmission-and-distribution costs. Texas residential rates averaged 16 cents in November, according to government data.
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KDFW – February 4, 2026
ERCOT ranked D- for Texas power grid planning, among nation’s worst according to report
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages power for about 90% of the state’s electric load, received a D- grade in 2025, according to a Feb. 2025 transmission planning report by Grid Strategies and the nonprofit advocacy group Americans for a Clean Energy Grid. Texas’ D- grade for its electric transmission planning and development, ranks among the lowest-performing regions in the country as electricity demand from data centers, industry and population growth accelerates.
The grade reflects weaknesses across multiple categories, particularly Texas’ lack of interregional transmission planning and limited long-term, scenario-based grid planning, the report said. This is because Texas operates its own electric grid through ERCOT, which connects more than 54,000 miles of transmission lines and over 1,200 generation units, but is largely isolated from the rest of the U.S. power system.
The Latest TERse Tips
Oil refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast are struggling to absorb a rapid surge in Venezuelan crude shipments since last month’s flagship $2 billion supply deal between Caracas and Washington, pressuring prices and leaving some volumes unsold, according to traders and shipping data — Reuters
US Crude Oil Inventories Take Big Hits In Storm Aftermath — Oil Price
Meta announced that it has signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Madrid-based Zelestra for the production of 176 MW of energy from a new solar project in Texas — ESG Today
Energy developer Aypa Power, a Blackstone portfolio company that operates utility-scale energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects, announced the closing of its $1.5-billion construction warehouse revolving credit facility, with an additional $0.5 billion accordion feature — Power Magazine
Case Summary: Shannon Wind Chapter 11 — Shannon Wind has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to pursue a Section 363 sale of its 204 MW wind farm in Clay County, north Texas, driven by legacy hedge liabilities stemming from Winter Storm Uri — Bondoro
Howard Energy Partners today announced that its chief executive officer, Mike Howard has been appointed to the National Petroleum Council (NPC) by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright — Morningstar
Baker Botts has added Cody Carper as a partner in its Houston office, where he will serve as co-chair of the Oil and Gas practice — see the press release
MPLX LP Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results — see the press release
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Oil & Gas Texas
CNBC – February 4, 2026
Chevron has signed a memorandum of understanding, or an initial agreement, with the Syrian Petroleum Company and the Qatari firm UCC Holding to evaluate the exploration for oil and gas offshore Syria, a spokesperson for the U.S. major said on Wednesday. Syria’s coast in the eastern Mediterranean lies between major gas discoveries in Israel and Egypt.
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February 4, 2026
Hawk Dunlap is not a politician. He’s an outsider, a renegade, a veteran West Texas oil and gas man looking to shake things up in the Texas Railroad Commission. Republicans eager to address a multi-billion-dollar burden on Texas taxpayers — not to mention an urgent threat to natural resources and public health — should give him their vote in the March 3 primary. The Railroad Commission — the misnamed agency that actually oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry — estimates there are more than 11,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in Texas. After passing through a series of transfers to various companies as production wanes, these so-called “orphan wells” become the property and financial burden of the state by default. When not plugged properly, they often leak harmful pollutants, threatening livestock, ranchland, farmland, groundwater and air quality. …
In our view, Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, a Republican up for reelection this year, has not shown sufficient independence from the industry he regulates. The revamped waste management rules Wright introduced not long after taking office in 2021 were written by industry executives and consultants. Wright owns stock in several hazardous waste companies in Texas.
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San Antonio Express-News – FEbruary 4, 2026
Texas law barring state investment in firms boycotting fossil fuels declared unconstitutional*
A federal district judge on Wednesday declared a 2021 law restricting state investments in companies boycotting the fossil fuel industry unconstitutional, calling it “facially overbroad” and citing free speech and due process concerns. Legislators passed Senate Bill 13 as a way of discouraging divestment from oil and gas companies, as financial figureheads at the time had signaled they intended to make climate change initiatives a larger factor in their investment considerations. The law requires the comptroller’s office to maintain a list of financial firms that refuse, terminate or penalize business with a fossil fuel company “without ordinary business purpose.” SB13 is commonly referred to as an “anti-ESG” law, which stands for “environmental, social and governance.”
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright delivered the summary judgment, and affirmed in the 12-page order that the way SB13 determined what constituted boycotting a company was too broad and undermined First Amendment free speech protections of the firms affected. The ruling also cited 14th Amendment due process concerns. “SB 13’s ‘boycotting’ definition is comprised of three clauses, all of which are undefined and not susceptible to objective measurement or determination,” Albright wrote in the ruling. Albright also wrote that the law already had led to “discriminatory enforcement” of its provisions. After SB13 was passed, huge state investment funds, including the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and the Texas Permanent School Fund, divested billions from firms.
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Politico – February 4, 2026
Exxon Mobil renews calls for plastics-to-fuel recycling support*
Exxon Mobil is re-upping the pressure on lawmakers and EPA to adopt friendlier policies regulating “advanced” or “chemical” recycling facilities. The petrochemical powerhouse announced Monday its third advanced recycling plant in Baytown, Texas, was operational and increasing its capacity to eventually transform up to 250 million pounds annually of hard-to-recycle plastics back into their molecular building blocks.
“What’s essential now is supportive policy frameworks — clear, consistent laws and regulations that recognize advanced recycling as a proven solution for hard-to-recycle plastics,” the news release says. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin toured the Baytown complex in September and commended the “limitless future potential.” Exxon is calling for “federal legislation that would officially recognize advanced recycling as recycling, [to] establish clear standards for recycled content claims, and ensure alignment across federal agencies, providing clarity for both industry and consumers,” according to the release. Chemical recycling, which proponents have rebranded as advanced recycling, is an umbrella term for a suite of technologies that break down plastics for reuse. Exxon uses pyrolysis, the most common technology in the family, which applies high temperatures to plastics to create a substance often used as a fuel additive.
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Offshore Energy – February 4, 2026
$11 billion US Gulf Coast project brokers 20-year LNG and gas deals with Mercuria
Commonwealth LNG has signed an LNG sale and purchase agreement (LNG SPA) with Mercuria Energy Trading to provide 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG for 20 years from the Commonwealth LNG export facility in Cameron, Louisiana and a gas supply agreement (GSA) with Mercuria Americas, together with Mercuria Trading, for the supply of a corresponding quantity of natural gas to Commonwealth.
Commenting on these deals, Brian Falik, President of Mercuria Americas, underlined: “This agreement reflects Mercuria’s commitment to securing long-term, reliable LNG supply from high-quality U.S. projects. Commonwealth LNG’s integrated approach, strong resource backing and focus on responsible, low-emission production align well with our strategy to serve global customers with dependable and competitively priced energy. We are pleased to partner with Commonwealth and Caturus as they advance a project that will play an important role in meeting growing international demand for LNG.”
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Energy Intelligence – February 3, 2026
Devon’s Coterra Takeover Creates New US Superindependent
US-energy-focused investment firm Kimmeridge, which has pushed for Coterra to reduce its reliance on gas, welcomed the deal. “As a significant shareholder in both companies, we are supportive of a combination that can unlock meaningful shareholder value. We continue to believe that will require portfolio rationalization and a renewed focus on the Delaware basin,” Mark Viviano, managing partner at Kimmeridge, said in a Feb. 2 statement. After the deal completes, the new-look Devon will also rank among the most efficient operators in the Delaware subbasin, running 20 rigs — closing in on EOG and Permian Resources’ combined 26 rigs — with estimated drilling costs of $782 per foot at Coterra and $717/foot at Devon.
JPMorgan recently ranked Devon fourth among 14 Delaware operators on productivity metrics, behind Exxon, Chevron and Oxy and ahead of Continental Resources and Coterra. Analysts estimate that across the entire Delaware subbasin, there are about 52,000 drilling locations that are technically drillable, economic under certain price assumptions or not yet drilled for other reasons. The bigger Devon will control roughly 13% of those 52,000 locations, with about 27% of the sites having an adjusted breakeven at the wellhead of $40 per barrel or less. Devon claims this represents the largest inventory of sub-$40 drilling locations in the industry, providing it with more than 10 years of high-quality drilling opportunities. At an average breakeven of $46.80/bbl, Mizuho estimates an average drilling inventory life for post-deal Devon of approximately 21 years.
Oil & Gas National & International
The Wall Street Journal – February 4, 2026
The $100 Billion Bet on Venezuelan Oil Relies on a Broken State Company*
During President Trump’s first term, his administration asserted that executives at Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, embezzled billions of dollars and used company aircraft to traffic in cocaine. Now it wants U.S. companies to go into business with the Venezuelan giant. The Trump administration is counting on foreign entities working with the Venezuelan state oil company to fuel what the American president hopes will be a $100 billion investment boom in the South American country’s energy industry. That is setting up a legal minefield for investors that have to go through PdVSA (pronounced peh-deh-VEH-sah) to tap Venezuela’s vast oil wealth.
“If a company is going to want to do business in Venezuela, it’s going to have to speak with PdVSA,” said Oswaldo Felizzola, head of the energy center at the IESA business school in Caracas. The country is said to have the world’s largest proven reserves of crude and once produced 3 million barrels a day, ranking it among the world’s oil giants. That production dropped to 300,000 a day at its lowest point under Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and is now about 900,000 a day.
Since the U.S. captured Maduro on Jan. 3, the Venezuelan regime changed its oil-industry law, breaking sharply with a quarter-century of Chavismo, the movement started under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, who advocated “oil sovereignty” with stringent state control through PdVSA. Soon after the oil-industry law was changed last month, the U.S. Treasury Department eased sanctions on PdVSA, issuing a general license allowing American companies to export and sell Venezuelan crude.
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Reuters – February 4, 2026
Equinor sold about 30% of its US gas on spot market during January price spike*
Norway’s Equinor sold around 30% of volumes from its U.S. onshore natural gas assets on a spot basis in January, capitalising on a cold snap that sharply lifted demand and prices, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday. Equinor owns stakes in onshore gas production in the U.S., with the Marcellus position in the Appalachian Basin on the U.S. northeast coast its largest natural gas asset outside Norway.
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S&P Global Platts – February 4, 2026
Trafigura CEO ‘not particularly concerned’ about Europe’s reliance on US LNG
The head of Trafigura said he is not worried about Europe’s growing dependence on US LNG because of buyers’ flexibility to source from elsewhere, if needed. “I’m not particularly concerned about that issue of overreliance on the US,” Richard Holtum told the LNG2026 conference in Doha Feb. 4. Holtum stressed that contracts with US LNG producers are typically on an FOB basis, so “you can take it anywhere.”
“It is not, I would say, that Europe is dependent on US LNG,” Holtum said. “It’s that Europe is dependent on LNG, and today the most efficient supplier is the US.” If needed, the continent could secure cargoes from other producers, supported by the array of import facilities developed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Utility Dive – February 4, 2026
Tesla sets battery storage deployment record in Q4 as EV sales slump
Booming demand for energy storage propelled Tesla’s stationary battery deployments to a fresh record in the fourth quarter of 2025 as its electric vehicle deliveries slowed sharply, the company said on Wednesday. Two Korean battery manufacturers, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, also reported strong stationary storage demand last quarter and said they expected more of the same in 2026. Both said their energy storage businesses helped offset slowing North American EV demand.
The Korean manufacturers said U.S. tax credits for battery manufacturing and deployment would drive business in the coming quarters. Tesla executives also said its energy storage business would expand despite ongoing uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy.
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Bloomberg – February 4, 2026
Texas Grid Shows How Batteries Can Help Avoid Winter Blackouts*
Last month’s sprawling winter storm from Texas to New England was one of the first multi-grid tests in the US for big batteries. They passed. Texas in particular benefited from energy storage, which helped cushion the state’s grid during the storm. Texas has nearly 17 gigawatts of installed battery capacity now, up from less than 0.5 gigawatts in 2021, according to data from Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator, and Wood Mackenzie. The state is expected to hit 25 gigawatts in 2029, per an annual assessment released last month by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
“The batteries were the savior this time,” said Barbara Clemenhagen, executive director of the Gulf Coast Power Association and energy consultant, adding that they likely could’ve helped Texas avoid the severe blackouts it experienced when a days-long freeze paralyzed the grid in early 2021. Grid operators are racing to fortify aging grids strained by extreme weather and surging power demand from data centers, new factories and electric cars. The Trump administration is keen to keep old coal-fired plants alive and build new natural gas and nuclear plants. Renewable advocates, meanwhile, say solar farms are cheap and quick to build.
Batteries are also seen as a key tool — they help minimize the intermittency of wind and solar power and can provide short bursts of energy when demand is peaking, especially when gas plants or wind farms are sidelined during intense storms. Batteries are often paired with solar generation and are increasingly being installed next to gas plants, according to battery developer Elevate Renewables. Storage is more common in Texas than New England today.
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Bloomberg – February 4, 2026
Ex-Tesla Energy Chief Raises $230 Million for Battery Startup*
Tesla Inc.’s former energy chief has secured more than $230 million to expand his battery startup into new markets. It’s the latest sign that the multibillion-dollar US home energy storage market is heating up as strain on the grid increases. California-based Lunar Energy develops software that helps optimize home batteries to charge when electricity is cheap and send stored energy back to the grid when demand is high. It also began deploying its own batteries by working with distributors last year. The firm has about 2,000 installations across California, said Kunal Girotra, who left Tesla to found Lunar about six years ago.
The new funding includes a $102 million Series D round led by B Capital and Prelude Ventures, as well as a previously unannounced $130 million Series C round. Lunar will use it to expand battery sales in new markets, such as Texas, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Girotra said his startup is close to being valued at $1 billion, though he declined to provide specific details. The US added nearly 4.9 gigawatt-hours of home energy storage in 2025, up almost 60% from the prior year, according to an estimate by BloombergNEF. That can help homes keep the lights on during extreme weather and help utilities improve grid management while avoiding firing up so-called natural gas peaker plants during periods of high demand.
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Real Clear Energy – February 4, 2026
Concerns around water use, air quality and environmental impact are often misunderstood. Modern data centers are increasingly designed to rely on reclaimed or non-potable water for cooling, significantly reducing overall water intensity. Air quality is also a key consideration, particularly in non-attainment areas such as the Dallas Fort Worth region. Many new facilities are evaluating alternative cooling technologies, including air-based systems, that limit emissions and protect existing air quality standards. When thoughtfully sited, data centers can also minimize noise and light impacts, support stormwater management, and coexist responsibly with surrounding land use.
North Texas is growing quickly, and meeting the demands of that growth will require more than incremental fixes. Regional leaders, from mayors to county officials, consistently point to the importance of having industrial partners capable of supporting long-term infrastructure investment. Data centers have proven they can play this role by modernizing essential systems while driving economic development in the communities that host them. Texas does not need to choose between growth and reliability, or between economic development and affordability. With thoughtful planning and strong public-private collaboration, data centers can help deliver all four. North Texas is already showing what that future can look like and providing a blueprint for how the rest of the state can prepare for the growth ahead.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 4, 2026
Google Is Spending Big to Build a Lead in the AI Energy Race*
Google plans to spend $4.75 billion to help solve a problem stymieing the AI race: finding enough electricity to run an ever-larger fleet of data centers. The company’s pending deal to buy Intersect, a wind and solar developer, would make it the only tech giant to own a power company. That could give it a significant advantage over rivals as power officials favor tech companies prepared to bring their own electricity sources online and the Trump administration presses them to avoid passing on power costs to consumers.
The deal is the latest in a series of bets Google has made to develop a soup-to-nuts strategy for accessing vast amounts of power. Among its competitors, Google was first to strike deals to develop advanced nuclear and geothermal plants designed to operate constantly. It was first to experiment with how it can reduce data-center power use during times of strain on the grid. And with the acquisition of Intersect, Alphabet will be the first to incorporate within its business the means to build its own electricity sources for Google data centers.
“The energy system, I would say, globally, is no longer fit for purpose, for serving the demands of AI,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data-center energy. “What we’re trying to do is really think proactively.” The acquisition has the potential to help Google better navigate the challenging process of bringing data centers online as regulators and legislators increasingly worry about electricity supply shortages. Tech companies are seeking to build data centers far more quickly than new power plants can be built to serve them.
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Utility Dive – January 28, 2026
Prime Data Centers uses closed-loop air and liquid cooling to earn Energy Star certifications
Two computing facilities operated by Prime Data Centers have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification, placing them in the top 25% of U.S. buildings for energy efficiency, the Texas-based technology infrastructure company said this month. Located in Dallas and Sacramento, the facilities “emphasize efficiency-driven design, advanced monitoring and benchmarking, and operational best practices intended to reduce energy consumption without compromising uptime or performance,” Prime said in a news release.
High-performance computing facilities face growing scrutiny from elected officials, planning councils, environmental groups and consumer advocates over their impact on water resources, energy costs and the natural environment. Responding to local pushback, developers abandoned 25 major U.S. data center projects in 2025, quadruple 2024’s figure, according to a Heatmap Pro analysis released this month.
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Utility Dive – January 28, 2026
How utilities can prepare for the next wave of data center growth: Tim King, Nexans North America
The speed of datacenter deployment has shocked the world. Recent reporting shows a potential underestimation of datacenter proliferation. The 54-volt in-rack power distribution systems supporting current growth were designed for kilowatts, not megawatts. Nvidia and partners including Schneider, ABB and Eaton are addressing this by developing 800-volt DC sidecars to deliver energy for next-generation data centers, but power demands show no sign of slowing.
According to Moore’s law, the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. For years, power draws declined under Dennard scaling: power density stayed constant as transistors shrank. That relationship has broken down and as transistor counts increase, total chip power consumption continues to rise.
Regulatory
The Wall Street Journal – February 4, 2026
Is AI the Next Climate Change?: Barton Swaim*
“People should stop training radiologists now. It’s just completely obvious that within five years, deep learning is going to do better than radiologists.” So pronounced the cognitive scientist Geoffrey Hinton, colloquially known as the Godfather of AI, a decade ago. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024 for his work in artificial intelligence. Mr. Hinton thought AI would make radiologists useless. They have since grown in number, demand and income. Mr. Hinton’s claim was among the earliest that AI would make a whole class of human practitioners redundant. Others have come at regular intervals since. In 2023 a Goldman Sachs study concluded that “roughly two-thirds” of U.S. jobs are “exposed to some degree of automation by AI” and that most of those “have a significant—but partial—share of their workload (25%-50%) that can be replaced.” Hedged language aside, that sounds like a lot of people on the unemployment rolls.
Studies like Goldman’s have generally shown more nuance than media reports and political pronouncements on supposed AI job loss. “Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency,” Reuters announced last week. Politicians of a progressive bent do their best to dramatize the threat. AI and automation “could replace nearly 100 million jobs over the next ten years, including 89% of fast food and counter workers, 64% of accountants and 47% of truck drivers,” says a report by Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Last year Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI could displace about half of all entry-level white-collar jobs over the next five years, even as it drives productivity and growth to new heights. He reiterated that prognosis last week in a 20,000-word essay. Much of what he writes in this piece—on the dangers of crazy people and rogue regimes accessing powerful AI tools, and on the ill-advisability of selling semiconductors to China—is perceptive and interesting. His predictions about AI and the labor market, less so.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Wednesday February 4, 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 extended gains on Wednesday after the U.S. shot down an Iranian drone and armed Iranian boats approached a U.S.-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, rekindling fears of an escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Warm forecasts sent the price natural gas down overnight, at 3 am Wednesday down about 3%.
West Texas Intermediate crude was up 63 cents, or 1.0%, at $63.84 per barrel.
Brent crude futures were up 56 cents, or 0.8%, at $67.89 per barrel at 0400 GMT.
Top Stories
Maritime Executive – February 3, 2026
Trump Administration Green-Lights Texas GulfLink SPM Project
Just weeks after taking over the federal environmental-review process for deepwater oil and gas terminal licensing, the U.S. Department of Transportation has approved a construction and operation license for Texas GulfLink, the first issued under the Trump administration. Texas GulfLink will be a twin single-point mooring facility located about 27 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. It will be fed by a 42″ subsea pipeline to a manned offshore platform, where its operations will be overseen on-site in real time. It is backed by Sentinel Midstream.
Capt. Stephen M. Carmel, head of DOT’s Maritime Administration, said in a statement that the project will speed up exports of American oil to global buyers. “We are signaling to the global market that America is open for business. By approving projects like Texas GulfLink, we ensure that American oil producers aren’t halted by domestic bottlenecks,” he said.
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Bloomberg – February 3, 2026
Kuwait to Open Up Key Oil Fields, Pipelines to Foreigners*
Kuwait is planning to open up some of its oil fields to overseas firms and lease part of its pipeline network, a significant move by the OPEC member as it looks to position itself as a key investment destination in the Middle East. Kuwait Petroleum Corp. is pursuing a plan to invite international oil companies to assist its production arm, Kuwait Oil Co., in the development of offshore fields, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said at a conference in Kuwait. The deals are likely to be in deposits such as Jazah, Jlaiaa and Nokhitha, where Kuwait wants to boost production levels.
While the prime minister didn’t clarify what sort of investments international companies might be allowed, opening up the sector would likely draw interest from big firms as Kuwait looks for more than $30 billion to boost oil output capacity by about a third by 2035. TotalEnergies SE boss Patrick Pouyanne said at the same event that his company would be keen to work on oil expansion in the country, along with LNG and solar projects.
Global oil companies have been present in Kuwait for years, but mostly on technical service contracts. Sheikh Ahmed said the country would retain sovereign ownership of the resources in fields where overseas investments would be allowed. The framework for these new deals would be service-based contracts, KPC Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah told reporters.
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Hobbs News – February 3, 2026
Permian Basin in dire need of power
The Delaware Basin of Southeast New Mexico is starving. Every economic development opportunity that could possibly come to New Mexico — from nuclear facilities, including upgrades at Urenco USA, to data centers — all need one thing: Power. And it is power New Mexico is lacking in spades. How much? Potentially as much as 20,000 megawatts of power, according to James Lackey, director of Customer Relations at Xcel Energy.
Lackey was one of two guest speakers at the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Comprehensive Energy Transition Strategy workshop Wednesday in Hobbs. The meeting was the first of several going on around the state to identify paths forward to meet the state’s growing need for energy.
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CNBC – February 3, 2026
Oil giants brace for a bruising earnings season — with shareholder returns at risk
European energy giants face some tough choices this earnings season, with shareholder payouts seen at risk as they look to cut costs amid lower crude prices. Western oil and gas majors have long sought to keep investors happy through share buyback programs and dividends. But a multitude of industry headwinds, along with expectations for a particularly weak earnings season, have
Shell and TotalEnergies are both expected to report their lowest fourth-quarter profit in nearly five years when they publish earnings this month, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus of analysts. European energy companies find themselves in a “very difficult” market environment, with industry players likely to report lower quarterly profits and lower free cash flow, according to Atul Arya, vice president and chief energy strategist at S&P Global Energy.
The Latest TERse Tips
Blackstone, which is acquiring Texas-New Mexico Power, CEO among top donors to John Cornyn Super PAC — San Antonio Express-News*
ExxonMobil faces antitrust claims in Texas for launching a clean-energy project after blocking a rival company from a carbon dioxide pipeline network, according to a new filing in Texas Business Court — Clean Hydrogen Works LLC added Exxon as a defendant Monday to a year-old lawsuit against Exxon’s affiliate, Denbury Carbon Solutions LLC — Exxon, the amended petition says, pulled a “Rockefeller-style power play” by acquiring Denbury in late 2023 and making it end an agreement to let Clean Hydrogen Works use its carbon dioxide pipeline — Bloomberg*
Atmos Energy Corporation Reports Earnings for Fiscal 2026 First Quarter; Affirms Fiscal 2026 Guidance — see the press release
Enterprise Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings — see the press release
Marathon Petroleum Corp. Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results — see the press release
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) began 2026 by surpassing a major milestone: digitizing more than 100 million oil and gas records — Odessa American
ERCOT says it leaned on Texas’ 15 mobile generating units and an RMR unit during the state’s first major cold-weather event since 2021’s disastrous Winter Storm Uri — RTO Insider*
Anterix and CPS Energy on Tuesday announced a spectrum purchase agreement that will enable CPS Energy to deploy a mission-critical 900 MHz private wireless broadband network, marking a major step forward in strengthening grid operations, enhancing resiliency, reliability, and accelerating the digital transformation of the utility’s infrastructure — see the press release
Terra Energy, a residential solar subscription provider, has secured $35 million in green loan financing from Breakwall Capital, an energy specialist focused on providing direct lending solutions to middle-market and developing-energy companies — Mercom Capital Group
One worker suffered a minor injury when an LNG pipeline exploded in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, where the Sheriff’s Office tells KFDM crews are expected to let the fire burn itself out
Oil & Gas Texas
MarketWatch – February 3, 2026
Phillips 66 Reports FCC-Related Emissions at Borger Refinery: TCEQ — OPIS
Phillips 66 and Delek reported recent emissions-related activity at their Texas refineries, according to filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Phillips 66 experienced a process upset at its 159,688 b/d Borger refinery in the Texas Panhandle on Friday, the company told TCEQ. The event triggered emissions from the fluid catalytic cracking unit, cat flare and GOHDS flare that lasted 14.5 hours.
Separately, Delek reported routine equipment maintenance at its 74,000 b/d Big Spring refinery in West Texas on Sunday, according to a TCEQ filing. The work is expected to result in emissions from the FCCU regenerator and crude, north, south and reformer flares and is scheduled to continue through March 23.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – Febuary 3, 2026
Texas upstream employment ends 2025 little changed*
Despite the headwinds of low oil prices and falling activity, upstream oil and gas employment in Texas remained essentially flat in 2025. The Texas Oil & Gas Association released a report finding that through November 2025, upstream employment totaled 201,200 jobs, citing data from the Texas Workforce Commission. Employment declined by 3,500 jobs from October but year-to-date employment was little changed, with a net gain of 300 direct upstream jobs. Employment was also modestly higher than a year earlier, rising by 100 jobs.
“Reaching new production highs in multiple categories with employment essentially remaining steady is absolutely remarkable. Navigating these volatile circumstances is a vivid reminder: growth is not guaranteed,” Todd Staples, TXOGA president, said in a statement. “This resilience demonstrated by increased energy output in 2025 depends on policies that support infrastructure development and market flexibility so the oil and natural gas industry can adapt to uncertainty and continue delivering the affordable, reliable energy that powers our modern way of life.” Since the COVID-era low point in September 2020, Texas upstream oil and natural gas employment has increased by more than 44,000 jobs, a 28 percent gain, underscoring the industry’s continued role as a high-wage employer in the Texas economy, according to TXOGA’s report.
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Houston Chronicle – February 3, 2026
Houston loses thousands of oil and gas jobs—even while adding nearly 31,000*
For decades, Houston’s economy has been powered by oil and gas—a sector that shaped everything from job growth to skyline development and migration into the region. That engine is now cooling again. According to the Greater Houston Partnership’s January 2026 employment forecast, oil and gas employment in the Houston area is expected to shrink, even as the region adds tens of thousands of jobs overall. The metro area is expected to add about 30,900 jobs next year, pushing total employment to a record 3.52 million. But that growth is expected to come almost entirely from outside the energy sector.
The trend reflects a familiar pattern taking shape again: lower oil prices, corporate consolidation and efficiency gains are translating into fewer energy jobs, not more. The Partnership projects oil and gas extraction jobs will fall by about 3,200 positions in 2026. Manufacturing jobs—many tied to energy and petrochemical supply chains—could decline by another 3,400, while administrative and support roles, which often include energy services, are forecast to shrink by roughly 7,500 jobs. At the same time, health care, construction and education are expected to drive much of the region’s net job growth.
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Reuters – February 3, 2026
SLB wins $1.5 billion contract for Kuwait’s Mutriba field development*
Oilfield services provider SLB said on Tuesday it has been awarded a $1.5 billion contract over five years by Kuwait Oil Company for the development of the Mutriba field in the country. Oil producers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are seeking to boost inventories, which is driving exploration and drilling activity in the region, and with it demand for oilfield services. In December, SLB received a five-year contract to supply Saudi Aramco services for the energy giant’s unconventional gas fields.
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Gas Compression Magazine – January 30, 2026
NextDecade’s LNG Megaproject Takes Shape
SIAD Macchine Impianti has supplied seven methane/ethane boil‑off gas compressors for the Rio Grande LNG project, a major export terminal under development by NextDecade in Brownsville, Texas. Construction of the facility began in July 2023, with Phase 1 targeted to enter service around 2027. Phase 1, representing 18 MTPA of liquefied natural gas (LNG) of capacity, includes three liquefaction trains, two LNG storage tanks, and a single marine berth. When fully developed, the five‑train complex will be capable of producing up to 27 MTPA of LNG.
NextDecade expanded the project in 2025, beginning construction on Train 4 in September and Train 5 in October. Each of these additional trains is expected to contribute approximately 6 MTPA to the terminal’s output.
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KOSA – January 30, 2026
West Texas leaders unite to combat rising oil theft in the Permian Basin
Oil theft in the Permian Basin is no longer just an isolated crime, leaders say it has become a multi-million dollar threat. With both oil and high-dollar equipment increasingly being targeted, losses are now reaching into the tens of millions of dollars. Today (1/30/25), state and federal officials gathered in Odessa to address the growing issue during a major roundtable discussion. One official called it a true all-hands-on-deck moment, a group effort to finally turn talk into action.
U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzales delivered a strong warning to those involved in oil theft. “The message from today should be, you should not steal oil from the Permian Basin, or you will be going to jail for a very long time,” said Gonzales. Leaders emphasized that better and more coordinated communication between federal, state, and local agencies is critical to stopping the crime. They say sharing information more efficiently will allow law enforcement on the front lines to respond faster and more effectively.
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Houston Chronicle – February 3, 2026
Fewer people are moving to Texas. We’re in trouble: Bill King*
Once upon a time, Texas could rely on oil and gas bouncing back. That’s because petroleum used to be the definition of a cyclical sector, moving from boom to bust. Texans of a certain age might remember 1980s-era bumper stickers that read: “God, please give me one more oil boom, and I promise not to piss it away this time.” But we may be reaching the end of the final cycle. Various studies estimate that the world will reach peak oil consumption somewhere between 2030 and 2050, with only limited demand growth leading up to that moment.
True, Texas’ economy relies less on oil and gas than we once did. We’ve enjoyed considerable success attracting other industries to the state. The tech sector in the Austin region is well recognized, and Elon Musk has relocated massive operations to Texas with Tesla and SpaceX. Despite all that, though, domestic migration to Texas has still shrunk.
Oil & Gas National & International
S&P Global Platts – February 3, 2026
Analysts see record-breaking US gas storage draw during winter storm
US natural gas market analysts expect the US Energy Information Administration to report a record-breaking storage withdrawal for the week ended Jan. 30, as severe cold caused upstream production freeze-offs and an intense spike in heating demand. Analysts surveyed by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, predicted a consensus withdrawal estimate of 366 billion cubic feet for the upcoming EIA gas storage report. The EIA is scheduled to report its estimate Feb. 5.
If the predicted draw-down is accurate, it would mark the largest-ever recorded pull from US storage inventories, surpassing the prior record of 359 Bcf set in January 2018. A withdrawal this large would erase the US storage surplus.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 3, 2026
BP Investors Demand Proof That Shift Back to Oil and Gas Will Boost Returns*
BP needs to demonstrate that higher spending on oil-and-gas production will deliver value for shareholders, a group of investors in the energy major said Tuesday. BP is funneling investments into its traditional fossil-fuel business after a move into renewable sources of energy hit profits and led to multibillion dollar write-downs. The company reset its strategy February last year, has cut costs, and changed its leadership team in a bid to regain investor confidence that it can spend wisely and deliver higher returns. A shareholder resolution filed by U.K. and European pension funds, along with activist investor Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, said the reset strategy and renewed focus on oil and gas doesn’t address the root cause of BP’s underperformance.
The co-filers, including the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Nest and more than 100 individual shareholders, represent 0.42% of BP’s share capital. Their total stake was valued at more than $400 million as of Tuesday, according to LSEG data. The investors called on BP to take a more disciplined approach to capital expenditure and to offer more detailed disclosure that would allow investors “to better assess whether and how the company’s investment decision-making promotes disciplined capital allocation.” A representative for BP declined to comment.
Under its new strategy, BP is increasing oil-and-gas investment to around $10 billion a year for 2025 to 2027. This is 20% higher than previous guidance, and BP expects returns of greater than 15% on these projects. BP should better disclose how it assesses cost-competitiveness for each project and how it accounts for cost-overruns, and should explain how investment in exploration creates value for shareholders, the group said. The disclosures should be made no later than next year’s annual meeting of shareholders, the group said.
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CNBC – February 3, 2026
U.S. could issue general license for oil companies to produce in Venezuela this week, source says
The Trump administration could issue a general license as soon as this week for companies to produce oil and gas in Venezuela, a person familiar with the plan told CNBC on Tuesday. Chevron is the only U.S. company currently allowed to pump oil in Venezuela under a special license issued by the Treasury Department. Chevron has several joint ventures with state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.
President Donald Trump ss pressuring the oil industry to invest at least $100 billion to repair Venezuela’s energy industry after the U.S. captured former President Nicolás Maduro in a raid on Jan. 3. “The President’s team is working around the clock to ensure oil companies are able to make investments in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. Stay tuned,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement. Bloomberg first reported the news.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
The Wall Street Journal – February 3, 2026
Siemens Energy to Spend $1 Billion to Boost Manufacturing of Electrical-Grid Equipment*
Siemens Energy plans to spend $1 billion to boost its manufacturing of grid and power-generation equipment in the U.S. as demand for electricity soars. The investments include restarting gas-turbine manufacturing, the key to turning natural gas into electricity, at an existing factory in North Carolina. The turbines are needed to supply reliable power for AI data centers but are in short supply because of the stunning and rapid upswing in power demand. Siemens Energy, along with GE Vernova and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is among the big gas-turbine makers that are riding the boom to power artificial intelligence. Orders and prices for the monster machines have soared, but executives in the highly cyclical business have expressed some uncertainty over how long the party will last.
The plans announced by Siemens Energy suggest that the cautious optimism continues. Its $1 billion investment also includes a new high-voltage switchgear plant and training center near Jackson, Miss., where Siemens Energy already has a factory, and expansions at existing facilities in Alabama, New York, Texas and Florida. More than 1,500 jobs will be created in all, the company said Tuesday. “It is the hottest electricity market in the world at the moment,” said Christian Bruch, chief executive of Siemens Energy, in an interview. About 60% of the company’s investment will go toward grid equipment such as transformers and switchgear, and 40% will be spent on the gas generation side of the business, he said.
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Bloomberg – February 3, 2026
Texas Considers Revisiting Some Data Center Grid Approvals*
Texas has so many massive AI-related data centers in development that its grid operator is now considering reevaluating some projects that were previously approved. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas wants to examine projects unlikely to advance and provide greater clarity for when new sites are ready to connect to its system. Projects historically have been approved by utilities but in recent years Ercot has had to determine how this flood of new users can be served without breaking the grid.
Under an Ercot proposal, projects representing about 8.2 gigawatts of power consumption — demand that would be satisfied by the equivalent of eight conventional nuclear reactors — could be subject to new review, said Trudi Webster, a spokesperson for the grid. Ercot acts as an air traffic controller governing the flow of power and making sure the grid isn’t overtaxed. Its proposal is a bet it can both remove kinks that have bogged down projects and not undermine the state’s AI boom, which it has cultivated with business-friendly policies, abundant land, cheap power and the promise of limited regulation.
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CBS News – February 3, 2026
Hundreds rally in Glen Rose against proposed 200‑mile power line project
Hundreds of residents packed into a meeting Tuesday night in Glen Rose, rallying against a proposed high-voltage power line project they fear could change the land surrounding Dinosaur Valley State Park.
The standing-room-only gathering comes amid months of discussion and debate over Oncor’s Dinosaur–Longshore Project, which would build 765-kilovolt transmission lines stretching more than 200 miles across Texas, from Somervell County west to Howard County. Oncor says the project is designed to meet the state’s growing demand for reliable electricity.
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Politico – February 3, 2026
One battery company’s plan for weathering Trump
It’s a tough time for many clean energy companies. But at least one firm is thriving in the Trump era. Base Power raised $1 billion last fall for its distributed battery business, a powerful vote of confidence from investors at a time of significant policy uncertainty in Washington. Then, last month, the Texas-based company hired Travis Kavulla — one of the country’s best-known electricity experts — as its head of policy.
Kavulla is a former Montana utility regulator who had been working at the power company NRG Energy. He sat down (virtually) with Power Switch on Tuesday for a conversation about what drew him to Base and why the company has found success even as President Donald Trump axes climate spending and policy.
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The New York Times – February 3, 2026
Why U.S. Car Companies Want to Make Giant Batteries (blog)
Batteries power electric cars, eliminating the need for a gas tank. But they can also be mounted on the wall of a home with rooftop solar panels, storing energy when the sun is shining and releasing it at night. At a larger scale, shipping-container-sized batteries do something similar for power companies, which charge batteries during the day when electricity is cheap and discharge them onto the grid when prices spike in the evening. When Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, the legislation included generous incentives aimed at fostering a domestic battery-making supply chain to compete in the global market, which is currently dominated by China. Companies hatched plans to open battery factories in the United States. …
Right now, there’s room for growth in the domestic grid-scale battery industry, Weis said, though the market is competitive. By 2030, demand for grid-scale batteries is projected to be more than six times what domestic manufacturers produced last year, according to Wood Mackenzie. The question is whether companies like Ford and Tesla will be able to move fast enough and efficiently enough to compete with makers like Korea’s LG Energy Solution, which is already producing grid-scale batteries at a factory in Michigan.
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Oklahoma Living – February 3, 2026
A new era of energy demand: OK
The buzzword nowadays is data centers. We see it on our social media feeds, read it on headlines and hear stories. What exactly are data centers and what is the buzz about them? Data centers are facilities that house networks of servers providing data storage and processing power, wiring an increasing digitally connected world. Behind everyday tasks such as a Google search, an Amazon purchase, streaming a movie or using artificial intelligence are data centers powering these digital tasks. By nature, data centers require a lot of electricity and are considered large loads.
Serving large loads is not new for electric cooperatives, which have long provided power to agricultural, commercial and industrial members in addition to the base of residential members. What is new is the scale and speed of growth. Across Oklahoma and the nation, electric cooperatives are entering a new era of load growth driven primarily by large loads such as data centers, industrial expansion and the electrification of transportation.
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Utility Dive – February 3, 2026
Transmission planning, development improved since 2023 in most US regions: report
Transmission planning and development is improving in most parts of the United States, driven by new federal planning requirements, according to a report released Tuesday by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid. New England’s grade jumped to a “B” from the “D+” it received in the benchmark report ACEG issued in 2023. However, the grade for Texas slipped to a “D-” from a “D+” two years ago, and the grade for the Southeast remained unchanged at “F.”
“In the Southeast, a key hurdle for regional transmission planning is the lack of access to information and transparency,” Grid Strategies, which wrote the report, said. “Beyond the projects under development in Georgia, there is resistance to building large, high-voltage transmission.”
Regulatory
Inside Climate News – February 3, 2026
EV Charging Program Faces the Axe in Budget Bill
A budget bill moving through Congress this week would defund a 5-year-old program designed to expand electric-vehicle charging stations. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program got off to a slow start and had spent only a small share of its budget when the Trump administration took office a year ago and sought to claw back funding.
Now, NEVI is facing a $500 million reduction, part of a larger package totaling about $900 million in proposed cuts related to electric transportation. This would be a major step back for EV charging, but it’s an afterthought in a budget debate that has been more about immigration enforcement rules and avoiding a government shutdown.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday February 3, 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 Tuesday, easing for a second day, as market participants weighed the possibility of a de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions, while a firmer dollar placed greater downside pressure on prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude was at $61.83 per barrel, down 31 cents, or 0.5%.
Brent crude futures fell 39 cents, or 0.5%, at $65.91 per barrel at 0330 GMT.
Oil prices fell more than 4% on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was “seriously talking” with Washington, signaling a de-escalation of tensions with the OPEC member.
Iran and the U.S. are expected to resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, officials from both sides told Reuters on Monday, and Trump warned that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, bad things could happen if a deal was not reached.
Top Stories
Yahoo! News – February 2, 2026
Devon Agrees to Buy US Shale Rival Coterra for $21.4 Billion
Devon Energy Corp. agreed to acquire Coterra Energy Inc. for about $21.4 billion in stock to create one of the world’s biggest shale companies as dwindling drilling sites spur producers to consolidate.
The deal calls for Coterra stockholders to receive 0.7 Devon shares for each share they own, according to a statement Monday. It amounts to a roughly 12% premium for Coterra investors based on the stock value in mid-January before news broke that the companies were in talks, but it’s a slight discount to Friday’s closing price, according to energy data platform Enverus.
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Fortune – February 2, 2026
Buried in large, underground salt caverns along Texas and Louisiana’s coast, the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil has been an invaluable resource for the U.S. For five decades, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has helped the U.S. government conduct foreign policy and calm markets and prices at the pump in the event of supply disruption. Such is the SPR’s importance that the Trump administration is set to build another reserve of that ilk, this time to stockpile a resource some analysts and politicians have referred to as the new oil and gas: rare earths.
President Donald Trump is planning a critical minerals stockpile known as Project Vault, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing senior administration officials. The plan will combine a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Import-Export Bank with $1.67 billion in private capital, according to the report. A White House spokesperson confirmed to Fortune that the plan existed. A stockpile is only the latest step Trump has taken to keep critical minerals flowing for American industries, as the administration has made the secure supply of critical minerals a core component of its manufacturing and foreign policy strategy. …
In the same way that a small club of petroleum-producing states triggered an oil supply crisis in the 1970s, analysts have worried that the supply chain around critical minerals is making the U.S. similarly vulnerable in the 2020s, given that China controls the vast majority of both production and processing capacity that underlies these materials. Critical minerals refer to a wide range of raw materials including cobalt, lithium, and gallium, as well as so-called rare earth metals that generally appear in low concentrations and can be complex to mine. These minerals are essential to building advanced electronics and fundamental to modern industries such as carmaking, computing, and energy. The stockpile will store minerals for U.S. automakers and tech companies, according to Bloomberg’s report, which mentions several large U.S. firms that have signed on to participate, including Google, General Motors, and Boeing.
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KUHF (NPR Houston) – February 2, 2026
The Trump Administration exempts new nuclear reactors from environmental review
The Trump Administration has created an exclusion for new experimental reactors being built at sites around the U.S. from a major environmental law. The law would have required them to disclose how their construction and operation might harm the environment, and it also typically required a written, public assessment of the possible consequences of a nuclear accident. The exclusion announcement comes just days after NPR revealed officials at the Department of Energy had secretly rewritten environmental, safety and security rules to make it easier for the reactors to be built.
The Department of Energy announced the change Monday in a notice in the Federal Register. It said the department would begin excluding advanced nuclear reactors from major requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The act calls on federal agencies to consider the environment when undertaking new projects and programs.
The Latest TERse Tips
Texas land commissioner primary: Who is running and what you need to know — KPRC
The Bureau of Land Management has opened a 30-day public comment period to receive public input on plans to include 74 oil and gas parcels totaling 33,530 acres in New Me
SpaceX, xAI Tie Up, Forming $1.25 Trillion Company — the merger puts Elon Musk’s rocket and artificial-intelligence companies under one roof — The Wall Street Journal*
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has launched a daily North American series of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) price assessments, effective Feb. 2, 2026 — S&P Global Platts
Construction sites across Bryan and College Station are facing a growing threat as thieves target electrical breakers, leaving contractors worried and projects at risk, driven by the price of silver — KXXV
Fitch Ratings has affirmed nine North American electric transmission and distribution companies’ ratings. These actions follow the update of Fitch’s “Corporate Rating Criteria” and the “Sector Navigators Addendum to the Corporate Rating Criteria” on Jan. 9, 2026 — Fitch
Future of $2 trillion megacity The Line hangs by thread as Saudi rulers scale back plans for scandal-hit vanity project — The US Sun
A Republican donor and Texas oil executive is lobbying against bipartisan legislation imposing sanctions on pro-Russian, anti-democratic officials in the country of Georgia, according to a letter obtained by The Hill — Steve Nicandros, chairman and CEO of a Houston-based energy company claiming more than half a billion dollars of investments in Georgia, sent a letter to at least one Republican House member this month calling for opposition to the MEGOBARI Act
Oil & Gas Texas
Bloomberg – February 2, 2026
Before the Crash, Oil and Gas Drillers Pounced on Price Rise*
Shale drillers engaged in record hedging amid soaring energy prices in the days and weeks preceding the worldwide commodities crash. AEGIS Hedging Solutions LLC, which conducts trades that cover about one-fourth of US oil and natural gas production, saw its busiest week for gas as the polar vortex sent demand and prices for the fuel sky high. As for crude, AEGIS clocked its biggest month since mid-2025, during the height of the Iran-Israel conflict, according to Jay Stevens, director of market analytics at the firm.
The decision to hedge couldn’t have been more prescient. When markets opened Monday, European and US traders were greeted by screens of red as a general collapse in commodities that kicked off in Asia swirled around the globe. Oil futures nosedived in London and New York as geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran appeared to ease. European gas plunged as much as 14% while US futures fell the most since 1995. Metals and some agricultural markets also dropped. Energy companies, brokers, manufacturers and speculators employ hedging instruments such as swaps, options and futures to lock in profits or shield future supplies from potential losses.
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Fox News – February 2, 2026
Chevron CEO details strategy to shield consumers from soaring AI power costs
He said the company is leveraging the “tremendous resource” of U.S. natural gas to generate power directly for hyperscale data centers, bypassing the traditional electric grid and insulating the public from higher electricity costs. “This is another advantage where you can convert energy into intelligence, and the abundance of energy that this country has can translate not only into energy dominance but into AI dominance,” Wirth told Maria Bartiromo.
Chevron revealed plans in 2025 to develop an off-grid natural gas facility in West Texas designed to generate electricity for large-scale data centers without relying on the traditional power grid. The company previously announced a partnership with activist investment firm Engine No. 1 and GE Vernova to explore natural gas-powered solutions aimed at supporting the rapid expansion of AI and data center infrastructure in the United States.
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Reuters – January 30, 2026
Exxon CEO says first LNG at Golden Pass expected in March
“That venture has done a really good job of recovering from the bankruptcy,” Woods said during Exxon’s fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts. “My expectation is we will see first LNG produced in very early March.”
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Texas Border Business – January 30, 2026
Texas Upstream Sector Adds 2,000 Jobs to Close Out 2025
Citing the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) highlighted new employment figures for the Texas oil and natural gas industry. According to TIPRO, employment in the Texas upstream sector increased between November and December 2025, with oil and natural gas extraction jobs rising by 500 to 70,200 (+0.7 percent m/m), while support activities employment grew by 1,500 to 133,200 (+1.1 percent m/m). Combined upstream employment increased by 2,000 jobs to 203,400 (+1.0 percent m/m), reported TIPRO.
From January to December 2025, employment in the Texas upstream sector showed early gains followed by later fluctuations, noted TIPRO. Oil and Gas Extraction added a net 2,000 jobs (+2.9 percent), reaching a peak of 70,200 in June, July, and December, driven by robust Permian production despite market pressures.
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The Wall Street Journal – January 30, 2026
Chevron CEO Says It’s Too Early to Determine Venezuela Outlook*
Chief Executive Mike Wirth said Friday that it is too early to determine the company’s long-term outlook on Venezuela, in some of his first public comments since the U.S. incursion that culminated in the capture of strongman Nicolás Maduro. President Trump is pressing Chevron (the only major U.S. oil company currently active in the country), Exxon and other companies to pump $100 billion into oil projects in Venezuela to rebuild its shattered infrastructure. Most companies don’t want to rush into the country before the Trump administration and the Latin American country’s current government offer security guarantees and create a workable financial and legal framework for new projects.
Chevron is looking to see stability in the country and favorable fiscal terms, among other conditions, before laying the groundwork for sizable new investments there, Wirth said during Friday’s earnings call. “There’ll be a number of signposts that we’ll be watching,” he added. “It’ll have to compete in our portfolio versus attractive investments in many other parts of the world. With the right changes, we certainly could see our operations in the footprint expand in Venezuela.” Chevron and Exxon on Friday both reported their smallest annual profits since 2021, pressured by a growing glut of crude that has weighed on prices. Oil prices began sinking shortly after Trump returned to office and urged the Saudi Arabia-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to boost oil production in an already well-supplied global oil market. U.S. oil prices ended 2025 down 20% at $57.42 a barrel and have since climbed back near $64. Trump has suggested that he wants to drive oil prices down to $50 a barrel. Some in his administration saw opportunity in Venezuela: If large oil companies revitalized the country’s dilapidated oil industry, additional production could help bring oil prices down further.
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The New Yorker – January 21, 2026
The Battle for One of the Richest and Smallest Counties in Texas*
Loving County, in northwest Texas, may have the highest trouble-to-resident ratio in the United States. With sixty-four inhabitants, as of the 2020 census, the county is the least populated in the country. Control of its top elected positions—sheriff, judge, constable, county clerk—can be swung by a handful of votes. Many of those vying for power are related to, and estranged from, their opponents. Election results are regularly challenged by the losing candidate, sometimes repeatedly; this past November, Loving County reran three races from its 2022 elections.
Driving the long, empty roads that lead to the county seat, Mentone, an outsider might wonder what all the fighting is for. This part of the state is mostly scrubland, alternately windswept and sunbaked. Roy Orbison spent part of his childhood in Wink, a city close by, and got out as quickly as he could. “There was a lot of loneliness in West Texas where I grew up,” Orbison told an interviewer. “We used to say it was the center of everything, five hundred miles from anything.” He once said, “It was tough as could be, but no illusions, you know? No mysteries in Wink.” The area is known for brutal heat with little relief; a town just up the road is called, aptly, Notrees. But Mentone is situated near the center of the Permian Basin, the nation’s most productive oil-and-gas field. As many as fifteen thousand oil-and-gas workers pass through the county daily, and the industry has made Loving County one of Texas’s richest jurisdictions per capita, thanks in part to the fracking boom. Tax revenue amounts to roughly a million dollars per resident, and the county budget has more than doubled since 2020. Many county jobs, including paramedic, maintenance technician, and clerk, come with six-figure salaries.
Yet Mentone has no church, grocery store, cemetery, or school. What it does have is a legacy of enmity stretching back decades. In the twentieth century, several families—the Hoppers, the Creagers, the Joneses—competed for control of the town. When Pamela Colloff surveyed the county’s “spiteful, tribal politics” for Texas Monthly, in the mid-nineties, she found elections that were “knock-down-drag-out fights” animated by “the tangled web of family rivalries, personal vendettas, and enduring grudges among locals.” Some of those clans have since dwindled or decamped for more populated areas. But the habit of feuding remains, though these days it’s largely confined to infighting between factions of the Jones family. “If we had a movie theatre, or a mall, or five thousand people, or even one thousand people, things would be radically different,” Steve Simonsen, the county attorney, told me. “There’s not anything else to occupy people.”
Oil & Gas National & International
Reuters – February 2, 2026
US extends protection of Venezuela-owned Citgo from creditors*
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The developer of the giant Alaska LNG project said it has completed several preliminary agreements to advance the project, with pipeline manufacturers and builders, as well as gas suppliers and buyers.
Brendan Duval, chief executive of Glenfarne, told reporters in a virtual meeting Thursday that the agreements will set the stage for potential investors and lenders to enter the project. After the company’s announcement, Gov. Mike Dunleavy praised the project in his State of the State speech, calling it “closer to reality than ever.”
The Interior Department released a plan in November to massively expand offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters — and nearly 5,000 people and organizations had something to say about it over the past two months. Industry groups filed comments saying they would be happy to see more energy production on the outer continental shelf, while environmental groups raised concerns about massive oil spills that could wreck miles of coastline.
The Trump administration’s proposal would allow drilling off parts of California that have long been exempt from oil production, while also expanding drilling opportunities closer to Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. The plan would also offer new areas in the Arctic Ocean, north of Alaska. The proposal from Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management lays out a timeline for a slate of oil and gas lease sales
Energy Now – January 23, 2026
Mexico Weighs Stopping Oil Shipments to Cuba Amid Concerns of Trump Retaliation
The Mexican government is reviewing whether to keep sending oil to Cuba amid growing fears within President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration that Mexico could face reprisals from the United States over the policy, which is a vital lifeline for the Communist-run Caribbean island, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.
A U.S. blockade of oil tankers in Venezuela in December and the dramatic capture of President Nicolas Maduro this month have halted Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, leaving Mexico as the single-largest supplier to the island that suffers from energy shortages and mass blackouts. Mexico’s pivotal role in sending oil to Cuba has also put the U.S.’ southern neighbor in Washington’s crosshairs.
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Yahoo! News – January 26, 2026
The Looming LNG Glut and What It Means for Global Energy Prices
As several countries invest in expanding their liquid natural gas (LNG) production and export capacity, and significant quantities of the gas are expected to come online in 2026 after a record 2025, supply could soon outpace demand. This begs the question: just how much LNG is needed to “fill the gap” as the world develops its renewable energy capacity? Last year was a record year for LNG trade, as exports exceeded the quantities predicted in several industry forecasts.
The expansion of the world’s LNG trade has been led by the United States, which exported over 100 million metric tonnes of LNG in 2025. This was driven by several new plants coming online across the country. The U.S. exported an estimated 111 million metric tonnes (mmt) of LNG in 2025, 23 mmt more than the previous year and far higher than Qatar’s 20 mmt, the world’s second-largest exporter, according to the data analysis firm LSEG.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Utility Dive – February 2, 2026
Gas, electricity prices spiked year over year in November: EIA
The average residential price of electricity rose 5.5% in November, to 17.78 cents/kWh, compared with the same month the prior year, while the price of gas at the Henry Hub rose 88.5%, to $3.79 per million British thermal units, in the same period, according to a monthly update from the Energy Information Administration. Coal consumption also rose 17.9% in November year over year, EIA said, and total net generation rose 3.9%, to 334,779 thousand MWh.
Per kilowatt-hour, 46 states and the District of Columbia saw higher rates in November, EIA said. On a national basis, electricity rates rose 6.8% year over year. In D.C. they rose the most, increasing 25.9%, followed by Pennsylvania and Ohio, where they rose 20.3% and 18.6%, respectively.
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Houston Chronicle – February 2, 2026
‘A vast improvement’: Houstonians weigh in on CenterPoint’s performance in the recent freeze*
David Bradley, Harris County:If we’re gonna dog CenterPoint when things go bad, it’s only fair to give them some credit when things go well. There’s an old saying about how you make your own luck. Probably applies here. Let’s gather up all the Texas legislators and meet at The Pond for some celebratory drinks!
Chip Gille, Harris County: Lost power for three hours. No wind blowing, no ice on the lines. Can’t wait for a major storm!
Larry Dawson, Harris County: In our neighborhood, CenterPoint has been quite active in recent weeks, trimming trees that overhung power lines. It’s hard to say the exact impact of this work since we did not have the ice that was in the forecast, but I would like to commend CenterPoint for their proactive work.
Connie Oden, Harris County: A vast improvement from last time.
Bennie Cernoch, Harris County:I think they got lucky. I’ve been losing power when the wind blows a little bit. Also, I saw a notification from them about conserving natural gas now during the storm. What the….? A bunch of friends and I have just bought expensive whole-house generators that run on their gas. Will that not run and provide backup electricity when CenterPoint’s power shuts off? Geez, a double whammy! Sounds like someone needs to look into the gas supply situation along with the power supply!
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The Hill – February 2, 2026
Courts allow all five offshore wind projects blocked by Trump to resume construction
A federal court on Monday halted the last of five stop work orders issued by the Trump administration in December to block major offshore wind farms, giving the wind energy industry five legal wins in a row over the government. Reagan appointee Royce Lamberth granted an injunction against the administration’s stop work order against Sunrise Wind, a project that would provide power to New York.
In recent weeks, courts have issued similar injunctions against stop work orders the administration issued to four other projects. Monday’s ruling means that all of the orders issued by the administration in December have been halted and all of the wind farms it aimed to block can keep building. “With this decision, courts have now consistently rejected the government’s abrupt attempt to halt construction on these fully permitted projects,” said Hillary Bright, executive director of pro-wind group Turn Forward, in a written statement.
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The New York Times – February 2, 2026
Fear and Anger Grow as Thousands Remain Without Power in the South*
The flurries, for a brief time, fell again on Sunday. The snow landed on piles of jagged branches and sawed stumps, tangled power lines and the tens of thousands of people who have now gone a week without power or heat after a widespread ice storm knocked out power lines across the region. By Sunday, the weeklong paralysis from the storm across Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana had given way to weariness, anger and fear about how much longer thousands would be struggling to stay warm and fed without power. At least three dozen people have died across the three states in connection with the storm, officials have said.
Hurricanes and tornadoes, particularly in the South, often cause prolonged power outages, and residents are accustomed to going days without electricity. But it is rare to experience a loss of power during a sustained stretch of ice and freezing temperatures, with cold so fierce that it has left hundreds of workers struggling to navigate icy roads as they try to fix the electrical system. Anger was continuing to boil over toward the leadership of the Nashville Electric Service. The utility has struggled for days not only to restore power across the city and surrounding county, but also to accurately communicate to customers the scope of the repairs and the timeline needed to complete them.
Nashville accounts for a majority of the power outages in Tennessee, with about 33,000 customers still without power as of early Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, the agency acknowledged that it may take at least another week for some neighborhoods to return to full power, with at least one ZIP code predicted not to see full service restored until Feb. 11. “Nashvillians are justifiably angry,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell of Nashville, a Democrat, said in a statement. “It is critical to the life, safety and well-being of our residents that N.E.S. use every tool at their disposal to increase the pace, improve communication and get Nashvillians’ power back on.”
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The Wall Street Journal – February 2, 2026
U.S. Cold Snap Kills Dozens and Leaves Thousands Without Power*
Dozens of people have died and thousands of customers are still without power nearly a week after a sprawling winter storm blanketed much of the U.S. with extreme cold, ice and snow. The storm, known as a “bomb cyclone,” has been blamed for dozens of deaths. Southern states have struggled to recover from the paralyzing storm, with power outages still affecting more than 115,000 customers. At least 60 million people were under National Weather Service warnings Monday, covering extreme cold and winter weather conditions.
The Arctic air that has engulfed the Eastern and Southern U.S. has resulted in a rare situation in which it is colder in Florida than Montana, the weather service said. A warming trend is forecast to move across the Southeast starting Tuesday, producing warmer than usual temperatures for the region. But temperatures in Florida will remain below normal and a surge of arctic air will blow across the Great Lakes and into parts of the Midwest by Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Reuters – January 28, 2026
Westinghouse megadeal set to revitalize nuclear supply chain*
An agreement in October between the U.S. federal government and Westinghouse owners Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco was a key step by the Trump administration towards its goal of increasing nuclear capacity from around 100 GW today to 400 GW by 2050. The deal calls for 10 new large reactors under construction by 2030. “We’ve eliminated the AP1000’s first-of-a-kind challenges and the American nuclear supply chain is ready now, following the completion of two AP1000 units at Plant Vogtle in Georgia,” said Brian McCrone, communications manager at Westinghouse, referring to the last two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) built in the U.S., which were brought online in 2023 and 2024.
The supply chain is “capable of handling multiple projects simultaneously,” he told Reuters Events. In June 2025, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the duration of the AP1000 standard design certification to 40 years, with an expiration date of February 2046. … Cameco said that under the deal, the government will provide near-term financing of long lead time items, which include Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs), steam generators, and coolant pumps.
Regulatory
JD Rupra – December 10, 2025
Texas takes the reins on Class VI carbon sequestration wells: McGinnis Lochridge
The EPA’s November 2025 approval granting Texas primary enforcement authority over Class VI injection wells fundamentally changes who controls permitting of carbon capture and sequestration projects across the nation’s largest oil and gas state. For the 64 pending permit applications now transferring from federal to state oversight, this should improve permitting timeliness and accelerate projects tied to 45Q tax credits.
Texas became the sixth state to secure Class VI primacy, joining North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Arizona. The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) assumes authority on December 15, 2025.
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Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Monday February 2, 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
Top Stories
Houston Chronicle – January 30, 2026
Who benefits if Wall Street buys your utility? Texas-New Mexico Power customers could soon find out*
With its own coop of egg-laying hens in the parking lot, Stanton’s Shopping Center feels like “the last of the dinosaurs” as other local general stores have disappeared, says Allen Stanton, the shop’s soft-spoken, fourth-generation owner. To compete with the likes of Walmart, Amazon and H-E-B, the century-old store between Houston and Galveston created a niche as a unique meat market, Stanton said. Whatever Texans hunt, his team can turn into sausage or special cuts — deer, alligator or even the occasional emu.
Processing and storing all this meat requires cheap and reliable electricity. The “big boys” have backup generators, but the family-owned business can’t afford that, Stanton said. Fortunately, local utility Texas-New Mexico Power quickly restores any power outages that do occur, he said. “If that service goes away, it’d be an economic hit, maybe even to the survival of the business,” Stanton said. Stanton and some Texas-New Mexico Power customers are indeed worried about potential changes to their local power company, as Wall Street eyes the utility as a lucrative investment in futuristic artificial intelligence.
Blackstone has touted the deal as part of its strategy to invest in “the critical enablers of AI.” Data centers use lots of electricity to develop AI — and Texas could see a greater influx of data centers than anywhere else in the country. Texas-New Mexico Power has said the acquisition will give the utility the financial resources it needs to serve the growing energy needs of its customers, which are scattered along the Gulf Coast, the Dallas area and around Pecos in West Texas. The utility would remain headquartered in Texas and led by local management.
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Connect Money – January 30, 2026
Blackstone Energy Transition Arm to Acquire Arlington Industries
Blackstone and Arlington Industries, Inc. announced that funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners have agreed to acquire Arlington, a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of electrical products.
Founded in 1949, Arlington designs and manufactures a broad range of electrical fittings, enclosures, and related components used across commercial, industrial, and data center facilities. The company has built a strong reputation among electrical contractors for reliability and innovation, positioning it to benefit from rising investment tied to electrification and digital infrastructure.
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Inside Climate News – January 29, 2026
Developer Calls GW Ranch in Pecos County, Texas, the ‘Largest Power Project’ in U.S.
Texas’ environmental regulator this week issued the largest air pollution permit in the country to an enormous planned complex of gas power plants and data centers near the oilfields of the Permian Basin, according to an announcement from the project’s developers. Pacifico Energy, a global, investor-owned infrastructure company, called its 7.65 gigawatt GW Ranch in Pecos County “the largest power project in the United States” in a press release this week.
It’s among a handful of similarly colossal ventures announced during 2025 that have made Texas the global epicenter of a gas power buildout, according to data released Thursday by Global Energy Monitor (GEM). “Massive fossil fuel infrastructure is being developed, often directly at the source of gas supply, in order to feed speculative AI demand,” said Jenny Martos, project manager for GEM’s Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker.
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Utility Dive – January 29, 2026
NextEra bets on gas as data center pipeline remains steady at about 15 GW
NextEra Energy is doubling down on its strategy of investing in gas to serve hyperscalers as its development pipeline remained fairly stable last quarter, according to its latest earnings report. Executives said on a quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that they are still planning to deliver about 15 GW of new generation to data center power supply “hubs” by 2035, 6 GW of which will come from new gas-fired resources. …
NextEra Energy Resources, the company’s development arm, has also been on a bit of a buying spree for gas infrastructure lately. Company leaders said it had closed its acquisition of natural gas supplier Symmetry Energy Solutions on Jan. 9, and 10 days later bought a portion of Consolidated Edison’s interest in the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
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Inside Climate News – January 31, 2026
The Promising Renewable Energy That Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree On
As brutal cold has gripped much of the U.S. and increased heating demands, natural gas prices have soared as much as 60 percent. But the day-to-day cost of geothermal heating is steady as a rock. Geothermal uses pipes and liquid (often water) to tap the Earth’s steady temperature of around 55 degrees underground, using heat pumps to extract heat from the rocks for warming and pumping it back underground for cooling.
Unlike the political divide over wind and solar renewable energy sources, there is strong bipartisan support for geothermal systems. Proponents include U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the former CEO of a company that has invested millions in geothermal energy. Phil McKenna of Inside Climate News has reported extensively on geothermal energy. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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The Latest TERse Tips
Permian Basin road fatalities drop nearly 14 percent in 2025 — Permian Proud
Trump Moves to Cut Off All Oil to Cuba as U.S. Takes Aim at Its Government — President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on any country that delivers oil to Cuba appeared to be directed largely at Mexico, the only nation that has sent any meaningful fuel shipments to the island — The New York Times*
U.S. crude output is expected to be down 379,000 barrels per day in the lower 48 states for the month of January, according to consultancy Rystad, as operators kept restoring production after a winter storm knocked off up to 2 million bpd of output last weekend — Energy Now
Platts revises Carthage Hub natural gas index methodology — S&P Global Platts
PEC returned $10 million to members in January — see the press release
Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas was on track to take in more natural gas on Friday in a sign that one of its three liquefaction trains was likely back in service after shutting down on Thursday, data from LSEG showed — Energy Now
Texas Royalty Brokers has released a new research analysis examining how artificial intelligence is reshaping U.S. electricity demand and why natural gas is emerging as a critical near-term source of reliable power as AI infrastructure scales — see the press release
Fitch Upgrades SM Energy to ‘BB+’; Off Rating Watch Positive; Outlook Stable — Fitch
On January 29, 2026, Oncor Electric Delivery Company, 80.25%-owned by Sempra Energy, filed an unopposed settlement in its comprehensive base rate review in Texas, seeking approval for an annual revenue requirement of about $6.975 billion, representing an 8.8% increase and an estimated annualized revenue uplift of roughly $560 million over adjusted present revenues, alongside an updated capital structure of 56.5% debt and 43.5% equity, a higher authorized return on equity of 9.75%, and a higher authorized cost of debt of 4.94% — Globe and Mail
In 2026, virtual power plants must scale or risk being left behind — the AI data center frenzy is shifting utilities’ focus to large-scale generation. But advocates say flexible, distributed energy resources still provide the biggest bang for the buck — Utility Dive
Australia’s largest energy producer Woodside Energy has flagged a decrease in production for 2026 after reporting record annual production of 198.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2025 — Petroleum Australia
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Oil & Gas Texas
Oil Price – January 30, 2026
US Oil Drilling Continues to Flounder
The RRC noted in the statement that crude oil and natural gas production for October 2025 came from 157,228 oil wells and 84,019 gas wells — Rigzone
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose by 2 this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 546 this week, down 36 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs stayed at 411 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 68 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 3, reaching 125, which is 27 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count slipped by 1 and now is at 10.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell again this week, by 36,000 bpd in the week ending January 23, to 13.696 million bpd on average, 166,000 bpd under the all-time high.
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Inside Climate News – January 31, 2026
As freezing temperatures swept over West Texas last week, leaky pipeline systems in the Permian Basin of West Texas began to suck in air, spoiling their products, risking an explosion and leading operators to release or burn off vast volumes of gas. Chevron, for example, reported 11 large gas releases as it sought to purge oxygen from its tanks, according to filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Chevron estimated that it released more than 125,000 pounds of regulated pollutants in incidents during the storm. In some cases, Chevron’s tank hatches “remained frozen open,” allowing gas to vent freely for days at a time.
All of the incidents were “directly related to the severe winter weather disaster proclaimed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott,” the company wrote in its reports. In a statement to Inside Climate News, a Chevron spokesperson said the company followed its “winter weather action plans to enable safe, reliable and sustainable operations,” and that safety is its top priority.
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Houston Chronicle – January 30, 2026
Chevron and Exxon Mobil, Houston’s oil majors, take rival stances on Venezuelan oil as profits drop*
Related: Exxon, Chevron report annual profit declines as oil prices weigh on industry giants — Yahoo! News
Chevron and Exxon Mobil, Houston’s two largest oil companies, gave investors rival takes on the Trump administration’s controversial Venezuelan oil play while announcing lower profits for 2025. Chevron’s chief executive, Mike Wirth, said that he sees a potential 50% increase in its current Venezuelan output over the next two years, while Exxon left Venezuela out of its official 2030 plans completely. Weak crude prices produced the lowest annual profits in years for 2025 at both companies, despite record production across their portfolios in Texas, Guyana, and elsewhere.
President Donald Trump has pushed for the U.S. oil industry to invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela’s oil fields, thought to be the largest in the world. In calls with investors and analysts, both companies praised the administration for the steps taken since ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Jan. 3, but added that a lot of work remains to be done. The Venezuelan regime nationalized the oil industry in 2007, driving ConocoPhillips, Exxon and others to leave the country. Both Conoco and Exxon are still owed billions from the move. Chevron, however, has maintained baseline operations in the South American country. It operates under a special license issued by the Treasury Department and would need approval before increasing production and refining efforts.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – January 31, 2026
Oil and gas production rebounds after Winter Storm Fern*
Winter Storm Fern had its expected impact on energy production and markets. The frigid weather sparked a 110% rally in Henry Hub natural gas prices and a reduction in oil and natural gas production. According to an analysis put together by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas production declined 7% to 10% while electric demand surged 40% during the storm.
From Jan. 22 to Jan. 26, thermal and other dispatchable resources supplied up to 92% of ERCOT generation, including roughly 70% from natural gas, supporting reliability through periods of peak load and cold weather stress. Matthew Bernstein, vice president of North America oil and gas at Rystad Energy, reported an initial loss of 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the Bakken, Rockies and Mid-Continent, followed by a more abrupt drop of 12 Bcf per day, primarily driven by the Permian and broader Gulf Coast region.
Rystad’s analysis also had an initial pre-freeze assessment of 11.378 million barrels per day of production in the onshore Lower 48, which would likely see a monthly average January impact of 390,000 barrels a day, driven significantly by the Permian and other Petroleum Administrative of Defense Districts (PADD 3), which also includes the Eagle Ford and Haynesville.
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Reuters – January 31, 2026
Union extends talks with Marathon, averting strike at refineries*
The United Steelworkers union said late on Saturday it would extend talks with Marathon Petroleum averting a strike by 30,000 workers at U.S. refineries and chemical plants. The rolling 24-hour extension means the current contract, which had been set to expire at 12:01 a.m. ET (0501 GMT) on Sunday, remains in effect until either the union gives a 24-hour notice to strike or Marathon issues a 24-hour notice to lock workers out.
Since negotiations began a little over a week ago, the union has rejected at least five proposals from Marathon. The last proposal on Saturday would have given refinery and chemical plant workers a 14% wage increase over a four-year contract.
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Yahoo! News – January 30, 2026
Texas LNG Brownsville LLC, the four million tonnes per annum liquefied natural gas export terminal being developed in the Port of Brownsville, Texas, by an affiliate of Glenfarne Group, LLC, today announced a significant milestone in assembling a debt financing package of $5.7 billion for the construction of Texas LNG. The project remains on schedule for an early 2026 Final Investment Decision.
Texas LNG has assembled a group of leading financial institutions with deep experience in financing global infrastructure projects. These institutions will lead the financing upon satisfaction of certain conditions, with Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers underwriting $750 million each, for a total senior facility of $5.7 billion, which will comprise a senior construction facility and a revolving working capital & Letter of Credit facility.
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – January 31, 2026
EOG drills lone wildcat well in Pecos County’s Woodford*
Count EOG Resources among the producers stepping out into the unknown in the search for new drilling opportunities. The company is operating the sole wildcat rig in Pecos County — one of only three rigs active in the county — to drill its State Banana Stand 31 #3501H. The Railroad Commission issued the drilling permit for the wildcat well in late November 2025. The well, permitted to 14,000 feet, is located 30 miles southeast of Fort Stockton.
“EOG is drilling the Woodford in southern Pecos County. According to our estimates, the company has leased about 75,000 acres right on the border of Pecos and Terrell counties,” Stephen Sagriff, principal analyst at Enverus, told the Reporter-Telegram. He continued, “This is driven by oil resource scarcity in the U.S. and is just one of many stories where operators, including EOG, are ‘exploring’ domestically to appraise and expand resource. There are a handful of offsetting horizontal wells targeting the Woodford, developed by Brahman and brought online in 2015 and 2020, with mixed results overall.”
Oil & Gas National & International
CNBC – February 1, 2026
OPEC+ agrees to keep oil output unchanged as Iran tensions boost prices
OPEC+ agreed to keep its oil output unchanged for March at a meeting, the producer group said on Sunday, even after crude prices hit six-month highs on concern the U.S. could launch a military strike on OPEC member Iran. The meeting of eight OPEC+ members comes as Brent crude futures settled at $70.69 a barrel, down 2 cents or 0.03%, on Friday, close to the six-month high of $71.89 it hit on Thursday. The March contract expired on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $65.21 a barrel, down 21 cents or 0.32%.
The drop in prices came despite speculation that a supply glut in 2026 would push prices lower. The eight producers — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman — raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April through December 2025, roughly 3% of global demand.
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Argus Media – January 30, 2026
Slow US LNG exports to tighten Europe’s gas balance
US LNG deliveries to Europe are poised to slow down from around the second week of February after US firms redirected feedgas towards higher-priced domestic markets. A winter storm has hit the southeast of the US, leading to soaring local gas prices and prompting offtakers from LNG facilities with the flexibility to do so to redirect their feedgas towards the domestic market.
Spot feedgas costs at six of the eight LNG export terminals in the country spiked on Monday. Weighted-average feedgas costs to the 4mn t/yr Elba Island and the 5.75mn t/yr Cove Point terminals hit all-time highs of $96.36/mn Btu and $93.76/mn Btu, respectively. These prices were at significant premiums to delivered LNG prices for cargoes arriving in northwest Europe in the second half of February, which were $13/mn Btu that day.
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Bloomberg – January 30, 2026
Hedge Funds Rush Into Bullish Oil Bets Amid Iran Risk, US Freeze*
Hedge funds turned the most bullish on Brent oil since early April as President Donald Trump touted a growing US military presence near Iran and traders monitored the fallout from a sweeping winter storm. Money managers increased their long-only stance on Brent crude by 19,409 lots to 377,371 lots in the week ended Jan. 27, the highest in nearly 10 months, data from ICE Futures Europe show. Long-only bets on West Texas Intermediate also rose to a six-month high, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump said this week that a “flotilla” was headed to the Middle East, stoking fears of imminent US strikes in the oil-rich region. Iran accounts for about 3% of global supply, producing roughly 3.3 million barrels per day.
The remarks rippled through markets, keeping bullish options unusually expensive relative to bearish ones and steepening prompt spreads in both oil benchmarks into a more pronounced backwardation. Meanwhile, freezing conditions over the last week in the US disrupted a number of refineries on the Gulf Coast and a smattering of domestic output. Winter Storm Fern shut in close to 2 million barrels a day of American oil production at its peak, according to Energy Aspects.
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Argus Media – January 30, 2026
LNG share of alternative bunker fuel market grows
LNG is leading the charge in the alternative bunker fuel market as shipowners look to comply with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction regulations such as FuelEU Maritime, RED III, and EU ETS. Starting in 2025, shipowners traveling in to, out of and within EU territorial waters were required to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2pc, with steeper targets scheduled in the coming years. LNG is considered one of the most viable alternative marine fuels for shipowners seeking to comply with emission-reduction regulations in the short and medium term, according to market participants and recent bunker data.
The prioritising of LNG as an alternative bunker fuel is justified by ample availability at ports worldwide compared with other alternative bunker fuels, traders said. LNG bunkering infrastructure is available at 222 ports globally, according to industry group SEA-LNG.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Dallas Morning News – January 30, 2026
Higher power bills likely as Oncor, North Texas cities reach rate settlement*
Higher electric bills may be imminent as Oncor’s proposed rate increase moves closer to approval, according to documents filed Thursday with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Oncor and more than a dozen parties, including PUCT staff and local municipal groups, recently reached an agreement that resulted in a rate increase request that was less than the utility’s original request submitted last summer. According to Oncor, the current proposed rate hike would be about a 3% increase on bills for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month on a plan charging 15 cents per kWh, equating to about $4.64 per month.
The previous rate increase request would have resulted in closer to a 4.7% monthly increase, or roughly $7.90 a month. Oncor submitted the settlement to the PUCT for approval, which the agency can accept, change or reject the agreement. A decision is expected in the first half of 2026. The new rates will go into effect once the PUCT issues a final order. If the rates are approved as is, Oncor will apply a temporary adjustment to cover the difference between current rates and new rates for the time between Jan. 1 of this year to when the new rates begin, the utility announced.
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Austin American-Statesman – January 30, 2026
Why Austin Energy says it was forced to suspend 1 in 4 power line maintenance projects*
Austin may have avoided major power outages during the most recent winter storm, but a fully maintained distribution system isn’t the reason. Austin Energy told the City Council earlier this month that it was forced to cancel or delay about a quarter of its planned transmission line maintenance projects over the past four months because the grid could not safely handle taking those lines out of service. “Whether it’s delayed or it’s canceled, it essentially says we can’t do the work that we need to either maintain our system or upgrade it to prepare for future growth,” said Austin Energy Deputy General Manager Lisa Martin, calling the situation “another flag saying we need to take a call to action.”
The projects would have temporarily shut down transmission lines for repairs or upgrades. But engineers found that removing those lines would have overloaded other parts of the system, raising the risk of equipment damage and unexpected outages. Postponing the work, however, creates its own problems: a grid that is harder to maintain and potentially more vulnerable to longer and more frequent outages over time. At the center of the problem, utility officials say, is a shortage of locally generated power.
Austin Energy relies on a mix of electricity imported from across the state and power generated closer to home, including rooftop solar, residential batteries and natural gas plants within or near the city. During periods of extreme demand — such as severe winter weather — congested transmission lines make it harder to import electricity, increasing the city’s dependence on local generation to keep the lights on. That reliance is only expected to grow as statewide energy demand rises and the grid continues to change, Martin said.
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Enerdata – January 30, 2026
NRG Energy cleared to acquire 19 GW of gas and VPP capacity
The US energy utility NRG Energy has announced that it has received antitrust clearance from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for its previously announced acquisition of 18 natural gas-fired power plants and a commercial and industrial virtual power plant (C&I VPP) platform from LS Power (NRG Energy press release, 26/01/2026). Upon completion, the acquisition will add 13 GW of quick-start natural gas-fired generation capacity across the US Northeast and Texas, as well as 6 GW of virtual power plant capability.
The company said in May 2025 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the natural gas portfolio from LS Power. With all required regulatory approvals now secured, the transaction is expected to close shortly, subject to customary closing conditions, according to the press release.
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Utility Dive – January 30, 2026
Customers, don’t expect electric bill relief in 2026: ‘The cake is baked.’
Rising energy demand, inflation, grid investment, extreme weather and volatile fuel costs are increasing the cost of electricity faster than many households can keep up, and there are no easy fixes, experts say. Mitigating the problem would require threading a needle of policy alternatives, but even with the right policies, it will take time to reduce customer energy burdens. The U.S. Energy Information Administration puts the national average residential price per kilowatt hour in 2026 at 18 cents, up approximately 37% from 2020.
“I don’t see hidden costs that can be suddenly squeezed out of the system,” said Ray Gifford, managing partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer’s Denver office and former chair of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. “You are talking about an industry where most of the costs are fixed, and the assets are long-lived.”
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Architect’s Newspaper – January 26, 2026
A dangerous fiction is being promoted in Texas and across the nation: a manufactured energy crisis designed to justify our reliance on polluting coal plants while scapegoating new technologies like AI and data centers. Simultaneously, communities in Texas are grappling with the immense costs and impacts of proposed massive new transmission lines and the construction of large, resource- and land-intensive data center campuses.
Citing unsustainable energy and water consumption, more than 230 groups have now urged Congress to pause data center development in the U.S. But these narratives miss the real story. The problem isn’t our digital future; it’s our toxic past.
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Canary Media – January 29, 2026
Startup unveils heat battery it says can decarbonize almost any factory
Factories that make essential materials like steel and cement need scorching-hot air and steam to transform raw ingredients into finished products. Traditionally, they get that heat by burning fossil fuels. But the startup Electrified Thermal Solutions is pursuing a far cleaner approach: tapping piles of bricks.
The Boston-based company has developed a thermal battery system that uses electricity to heat metal-oxide firebricks for hours at a time. The goal is to soak up wind and solar power from the grid during cheaper off-peak periods, then deliver the stored heat to industrial furnaces, boilers, and kilns whenever manufacturers need it.
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The New York Times – January 30, 2026
Grids Are Surviving the Storm. But the Next 5 Years Could Be Rough.*
The reliability of the electric grids that power the United States and Canada is “worsening” and tens of millions of people face a growing risk of blackouts over the next five years, according to a group that monitors most of North America’s electricity system. That’s because demand for electricity is rising quickly, led by a boom in data centers. At the same time, utilities are retiring older coal- and gas-burning plants and aren’t adding enough generation to dependably meet growing demand, according to an annual assessment released Thursday by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal regulators.
“We are headed for a reliability crisis, except now the crisis is not over the horizon, but across the street,” Mark Christie, a former U.S. federal grid regulator, said in response to the report. The people most at risk of electricity shortfalls within the next five years are in areas of Texas, the upper Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic region and the Pacific Northwest, according to the report. In the worst-case scenario, a shortage of power could mean life-threatening blackouts during an intense heat wave or cold snap when the grid is particularly strained. The most severe example recently came during a massive winter storm in Texas in 2021. The state’s grid, which is unusual in that it is largely isolated from grids in the rest of the country, lacked sufficient power to meet soaring demand during the cold and suffered extensive blackouts. More than 200 people died during the storm.
Regulatory
JD Supra – November 26, 2025
Texas Business Court Addresses Another Winter Storm URI Force Majeure Dispute: Gray Reed
In Marathon Oil Co. v. Mercuria Energy America, LLC, the Texas Business Court (11th Division) considered a North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) contract to buy and sell natural gas. With three opinions to discuss, this post will be longer than usual.
When the storm hit Texas, seller Marathon failed to deliver all of the gas required under the contract and declared force majeure. The parties disputed whether the force-majeure clause excused Marathon’s failure to deliver. The court, having granted in part and denying in part dueling motions for summary judgement, issued this opinion because an opinion would “benefit the parties and the jurisprudence … “.