Texas Energy Report NewsClips archives April 2026

Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday April 30, 2026

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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 hit a wartime high Thursday following a report that the U.S. military would brief President Donald Trump on potential action against Iran, raising worries that armed conflict could resume, and building on the American blockade of Iranian exports.

Futures for West Texas Intermediate added nearly 3% to $109.82 per barrel.

June futures for Brent crude rose more than 5% to $124 a barrel Thursday.

Brent crude has surged to its highest levels since mid-2022, LSEG data shows, as the Middle East conflict chokes supplies.

Axios reported that the U.S. Central Command was set to present Trump plans for possible military action against Iran, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

Trump had earlier reportedly rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, signaling the naval blockade will remain in place until a broader nuclear agreement is reached.

 

Top Stories

 

Politico – April 29, 026

White House meets with Chevron, oil traders amid Iran standoff

White House officials huddled with oil industry executives Tuesday to discuss steps to tamp down the surge in energy prices in the event the U.S. keeps its blockade of Iranian ships in place for months, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting.

The meeting, which was confirmed by the people who were granted anonymity to speak about private discussions, came as U.S. crude oil prices climbed back above the $100 per barrel mark and gasoline prices extended their rally to the highest level in four years because of the disruption of shipments from the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

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Barron’s – April 29, 2026

Oil Producers Don’t Want to ‘Drill Baby Drill.’ There’s a Problem in Texas*

The Trump administration wants U.S. oil companies to drill more, so they can boost output and lower prices as the Iran War decimates global supplies. But there is little sign of that happening so far. One big reason they aren’t ramping up production has to do with a quirk in the commodities market, analysts say. Natural gas, a byproduct of oil drilling, is selling for negative prices in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, severely depressing how much money producers can make from each barrel of oil they sell.

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Oil Price – April 29, 2026

Phillips 66 Beats Q1 Estimates by $0.88 Per Share as Refining Margins Surge

In an earnings season highlighted by a Middle East conflict that has sent oil prices soaring, Texas oil refiner Phillips 66 has reported first quarter adjusted earnings of $0.49 per share, easily beating Wall Street’s consensus of a loss of $0.39 while net income came in at $207 million thanks to higher refining margins amid the big oil price rally. The giant refiner reported that it has formally increased its Sweeny NGL fractionation capacity by 23% and its Freeport LPG export dock capacity by 15% mainly through debottlenecking projects completed in 2025 to optimize the company’s Gulf Coast NGL value chain.

“We are confident in our ability to navigate market volatility due to our integrated business and the strength of our balance sheet. Backed by disciplined execution and strong operating performance, we remain well positioned to provide energy to the global market,” said Mark Lashier, chairman and CEO of Phillips 66.

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Houston Chronicle – April 29, 2026

Democrats investigate as Trump OKs almost $2 billion in taxpayer money to end offshore wind projects*

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Reuters – April 29, 2026

Ares to acquire Rover natgas pipeline stake from Blackstone*

Ares Management said it has acquired a stake in the Rover natural gas pipeline from a unit of fellow investment firm ​Blackstone for an undisclosed sum, as interest in U.S. energy infrastructure assets ‌grows. In a statement sent to Reuters, Ares said funds led by its Infrastructure Opportunities strategy would buy 32.4% of Rover, a pipeline system spanning around 700 miles (1,130 km) in Pennsylvania, West ​Virginia, Ohio and Michigan which moves natural gas from the Appalachian shale basin ​to Midwestern markets and beyond.

In a statement sent to Reuters, Ares said funds led by its Infrastructure Opportunities strategy would buy 32.4% of Rover, a pipeline system spanning around 700 miles (1,130 km) in Pennsylvania, West ​Virginia, Ohio and Michigan which moves natural gas from the Appalachian shale basin ​to Midwestern markets and beyond. “Large-scale, strategically located assets like Rover, which offer much-needed egress for in-basin supply, are playing a central role in the natural ​gas value chain and represent a compelling opportunity for expansion,” said Anthony Omokha, ​managing director in Ares Infrastructure Opportunities.

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Time – April 29, 2026

The 10 Most Influential Energy Companies of 2026

 

The Latest TERse Tips

A power interruption at the BP Whiting refinery, the largest refinery serving the Great Lakes region, forced the facility offline and reduced gasoline output that normally supplies parts of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois — WTVB

A group of state attorneys general wrote to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and major credit-rating firms, raising concerns about the use of environmental, social and governance factors in downgrade decisions — the officials from 23 Republican-led states, which include Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, said Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Corp. and S&P Global Ratings have “undisclosed material conflicts of interest,” in part because they have pledged to a United Nations-backed organization to incorporate ESG into their analysis — Bloomberg*

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) signed a virtual power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy Resources for a 250-megawatt solar plant in West Texas (Selenite Springs Energy Center) — Stock Titan

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth warned that strain on the aviation industry could intensify in the coming weeks as jet fuel supplies tighten, driven by disruptions tied to the Iran war — appearing Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Wirth said jet fuel in key regions was already at seasonally low levels before the conflict began, leaving markets vulnerable to supply shocks — Yahoo! News

A “Texas-first” data center with an initial 100MW of capacity is being planned for the Lone Star State — new developer Pace is planning the data center at a site in Glasscock, and said the scheme, dubbed the Lone Star Project, will “reflect a Texas-first development philosophy from start to finish — Data Center Dynamics

US behind-the-meter power solutions provider ElectriGen has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to develop and operate a 1.8GW behind-the-meter power platform designed to support a large-scale data center development at an undisclosed site — Data Center Dynamics

Onetime Hunt Consolidated CFO is the new CFO of PPG — see the press release

The Trump administration expanded on its new strategy to short-circuit offshore wind power developers, with two more agreements to refund offshore lease payments in exchange for cancelling those projects and promises by the companies to instead invest in U.S. oil and gas projects — Workboat

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Courthouse News – April 29, 2026

Fifth Circuit scrutinizes Texas judge’s quick ‘no’ on Exxon document demand

A minority shareholder urged the Fifth Circuit Wednesday to revive its demand for ExxonMobil documents, claiming a Houston federal judge wrongly killed the subpoena with little more than a blunt declaration that it was “way too broad and intrusive and burdensome.” The dispute centers on a federal law that lets foreign litigants obtain U.S.-based evidence for use overseas. Candel & Partners SAS, a minority investor in ExxonMobil’s former French subsidiary Esso S.A.F., is pressing a shareholder derivative lawsuit in France against Esso’s CEO, Charles Amyot. The suit accuses the company of suspicious deals and financial anomalies that allegedly cost minority investors more than a billion euros.

Candel first won an ex-parte subpoena from U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Texas. ExxonMobil moved to quash it. After a hearing, the Bill Clinton appointee sided with the oil giant, ruling that all four discretionary factors from the Supreme Court’s Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. decision weighed against the request.

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S&P Global Platts – April 29, 2026

S&P Global Ratings Raises WTI And Brent Price Assumptions Due To Ongoing Effective Closure Of The Strait Of Hormuz

S&P Global Ratings believes there is a high degree of unpredictability around the duration and scale of the Middle East war and its potential effect on commodity prices, supply chains, economies, and credit conditions. As a result, our baseline forecasts carry a significant amount of uncertainty. As situations evolve, we will gauge the macro and credit materiality of potential shifts and reassess our guidance accordingly. This report does not constitute a rating action.

• S&P Global Ratings raised its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil price assumptions by $15 per barrel (/bbl) for the remainder of 2026 and by $5/bbl for 2027. Our assumptions for 2028 and beyond are unchanged.
• The increases reflect larger and more persistent oil supply disruptions, alongside elevated geopolitical risk premiums, as U.S.-Iran peace talks remain at a standstill.
• In our view, prices will need to rise further or remain elevated for a prolonged period to curtail demand and improve market balances.
• Our price assumptions for Henry Hub, Canadian Alberta Energy Co. (AECO), and Dutch Title Transfer (TTF) for 2026-2029 are unchanged.

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KWTG – April 29, 2026

A proposed Energy Transfer gas pipeline would go through Grant County and more

Nick Seibel, publisher and editor of the Silver City Daily Press, covers top stories each week on the Silver City Report. This week we hear about an energy pipeline, candidate forums and the governor giving WNMU’s commencement. This is a transcript of the conversation.

Susan Morée: There was a meeting in Grant County about a pipeline. Talk about it.

Nick Seibel:  Yeah, Energy Transfer is the name of the company that wants to build the Desert Southwest Transwestern Pipeline Expansion, which would bring a natural gas pipeline across Texas, southern New Mexico, and into Arizona, and would start outside of Midland, Texas, and basically run across the southern part of the country here connecting those natural gas sources over in Texas and southeastern New Mexico over to mostly power generation stations, what it sounds like, along the route of the pipeline. So, it’s a big deal, certainly.

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Center Square – April 27, 2026

Energy companies refusing to invest until lawsuits are over, lawmaker says

Louisiana energy companies may be keeping major projects on the sidelines until a 2025 law meant to bring more predictability to oilfield environmental litigation takes effect, according to comments from Rep. Brett Geymann. In an interview, the Lake Charles Republican said an oil and gas working group that included about 30 people – roughly 10 to 12 legislators and the rest industry representatives – heard directly from executives about why Louisiana projects remain stalled. No lobbyists were allowed in the room, he said, because lawmakers wanted “raw, unfiltered discussion.”

Executives “put their guard down,” he said, and described a business climate in which Louisiana investments are still being delayed because of pending and potential lawsuits. One industry representative, Geymann said, told lawmakers that when executives sit in a board room and review stacks of potential investments, “we take the Louisiana stack and move it to the side.”

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Dallas Morning News – April 29, 2026

Half of Texas companies seeing drag from Iran war, Dallas Fed surveys show*

Nearly two months after the onset of the Iran war, the conflict is taking a significant toll on Texas businesses with roughly half of Texas firms reporting at least some negative impact, according to survey results released this week by the Dallas Fed. Some 31% of respondents said the war was having “a slight negative impact,” and 16% said it was having “a significant negative impact.” Of the respondents who reported a negative effect, a majority — 69% and 54%, respectively — cited higher fuel costs and uncertainty, while 43% cited reduced customer demand and spending. Smaller numbers cited higher costs besides fuel and disrupted supply chains and shipping delays.

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Houston Chronicle – April 29, 2026

Texas officials rejected Corpus Christi water project amid looming crisis*

News from the States – April 29, 2026

Corpus Christi delays action on plan to cut water use by 25% if emergency is declared

The Corpus Christi City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to delay a vote on how much residents, local businesses and refineries would have to cut water if a supply crisis is triggered. Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of the city’s water department, presented a plan to require all customers of the city’s water system to reduce use by 25% during a Level 1 emergency — the point when the water supply is projected to be 180 days from falling short of demand. Experts say that may happen as soon as September unless significant rain falls.

Council members told Winkelmann they needed more information on how curtailment would be enforced — including fines and fees for customers who violate limits — before settling on a rate. “It’s very difficult to vote on something where you don’t know the end result,” Council Member Gil Hernandez said.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 29, 2026

The Global Energy Order Is Breaking Down*

A fractured OPEC. A blockaded Persian Gulf. A U.S. emboldened by its world-leading fossil-fuel output. The Iran war is scrambling the longstanding foundations of the oil market, ushering in a more fragmented and potentially more volatile energy world. The free flow of petroleum across oceans is out. Resource nationalism is in. The latest rupture of the global energy map came Tuesday, when the United Arab Emirates said it would leave the Saudi Arabia-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, dealing a major blow to a cartel of oil producers that was designed in part to tame an industry famed for booms and busts. Instead, the U.A.E. is striking out on its own.

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Bloomberg – April 29, 2026

US Oil Exports Hit Record as Iran War Energy Crunch Deepens

US crude exports surged to a record last week as the Iran war sends overseas buyers hunting for replacements to Middle Eastern oil. Even as the US and Iran hold on to a fragile ceasefire, oil buyers across the world are still grappling with the worst disruption to global energy supplies in history. American exports have been critical to help fill the gap, with President Donald Trump pushing for more US production as part of his energy dominance agenda. That has sent US crude exports above 6 million barrels a day, eclipsing a previous high of nearly 5.3 million set in late 2023, according to data published Wednesday from the US Energy Information Administration.

The surge in the volatile weekly crude exports figure also helped send overall exports of US oil and fuel to a fresh all-time high, topping 14 million barrels a day. But there are limits on how long US exports can continue at these levels, raising concerns over a quickly eroding global supply cushion. The surge in shipments is putting pressure on domestic US oil stockpiles, which dropped by more than 13 million barrels last week and are holding below longer-term seasonal norms. “The US cannot make up the world’s deficit alone,” said Joe DeLaura, a global energy strategist at Rabobank. With the US serving as a backstop to global oil markets, domestic fuel prices are continuing to rise. Nationally, retail gasoline costs more than $4 a gallon and is at a seasonal record. Diesel is also at the highest seasonal level ever, topping $5 a gallon.

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E&E News By Politico – April 29, 2026

Court considers pausing Mountain Valley expansion project*

A federal appeals court is weighing whether to freeze construction of a project to extend the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline about 30 miles into North Carolina. Environmental groups asked a three-judge panel Tuesday to put work on the MVP Southgate pipeline on hold while the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviews whether state regulators improperly certified that the project complied with water quality standards in Virginia and North Carolina. The Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices and other groups are appealing both permits in two separate cases before the court.

It was unclear whether the panel, which in the past tossed out approvals for the main pipeline, would intervene in Mountain Valley’s latest project. At times, the judges appeared concerned with the pipeline developer’s track record of environmental violations while building the mainline pipe from West Virginia to southern Virginia. But Judge James Andrew Wynn noted that comparisons between the construction of the main pipeline and the North Carolina extension were limited, since the projects were built in different states, with different water standards and using different mechanisms.

CNBC – April 29, 2026

The ink was barely dry – so to speak – on this week’s Power Point when the news blew harder than the oil well in the movie There Will Be Blood.  The United Arab Emirates is leaving OPEC, and leaving now.  It came as a shock to many.  The UAE may only be the 3rd largest producer in OPEC – and 8th largest in the world – but it punches above its weight in terms of influence.  I’ve been to a number of OPEC meetings and the UAE and its long-time energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei have always been at the forefront of the negotiation and dialogue.  Whenever there was a conflict – usually with Iran – Saudi Arabia or the UAE appeared to be the country that could smooth it over.    When the group would finally make a decision on oil output, the UAE was often on the dais with OPEC’s President and Saudi Arabia, facing the worlds energy journalists.

The reverberations of the news haven’t yet begun.  When you read this, the news will only be a day old and the May 1st exit not even here.  So how this ultimately plays out is anyone’s guess.  So here’s mine. It’s no secret that the UAE can produce more oil than it is.  OPEC and its OPEC “plus” coalition, a group led by Russia and held together by what’s called the group’s Declaration of Cooperation, adhere – mostly – to an output quota system everyone agrees on.  More simply, it tells countries what they are allowed to produce.   Keeping to this quota system is meant to keep the oil market in balance and free from huge over or under supply.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 29, 2026

The U.A.E.’s OPEC Bombshell Signals a New Middle East Order*

The United Arab Emirates’ decision to withdraw from OPEC did more than deliver a shock to the cartel that has long ruled the global oil market. It also rang the opening bell for the new geopolitical order that the war with Iran is ushering in across the Middle East. The new alignment is redrawing political fault lines between the Arab world and Israel that defined the region for decades. Instead, the U.A.E.—the financial nerve center of the Gulf and a potent military power—is strengthening security cooperation with Israel as both states work to change the region’s strategic balance through force of arms if necessary.

Israel recently sent its Iron Dome missile-defense technology and troops to operate it to the Gulf state, people familiar with the matter said, something that would be unthinkable elsewhere in the Arab world. The war has given the U.A.E., a small and fantastically wealthy federation of monarchies, an opportunity to emerge from the shadow of its larger neighbor Saudi Arabia and make a statement about its aspirations for regional power. The U.A.E. pointedly signaled its new priorities by announcing its exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the one body the Arab world has ever been able to use to throw around its collective clout, at the exact moment Gulf leaders were meeting in Saudi Arabia in an attempted show of unity. The decision was timed to deliver a shock and to make a statement that the U.A.E.’s national interest comes first, Emirati officials familiar with the decision said. The U.A.E. is also rethinking its ties to organizations including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, according to officials familiar with the discussions. Asked for comment, a U.A.E. official said no further withdrawals are planned for now.

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Grist – April 28, 2026

This Supreme Court ‘victory’ for oil giants is not what it seems

For millions of years, the Mississippi River flowed unchecked, carrying roughly 400 million metric tons of sediment down to Louisiana, where it spilled into the Gulf of Mexico to create new land. But in the early 20th century, a series of dams and river-training structures were built to prevent flooding — leaving the river tamed and unable to produce new terrain at anywhere near its previous pace. Oil and gas development, which ripped broad canals through vulnerable marshland, made matters worse.

As sea levels rose, existing land subsided, and more brutal storms battered the coast. Louisiana lost more than 2,000 square miles of wetlands over the last century, a slow dismantling exacerbated by climate change. About a football field or more land disappears every 100 minutes, and the state’s southern parishes are expected to lose another 3,000 square miles by 2050 unless drastic action is taken. After years of devastating hurricanes, many of Louisiana’s southernmost towns have been emptying out.

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Washington Post – April 28, 2028

More than 60 percent of U.S. is covered by drought as impacts worsen*

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The New York Times – April 29, 2026

Loss of Emirates Further Weakens OPEC’s Influence*

OPEC will be less powerful without one of its leading members, the United Arab Emirates. The question is: How much? The emergence of the United States as the world’s largest oil producer has diminished the grip that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had over the global market, as has the departure of several of the cartel’s members. But the announcement on Tuesday that the Emirates, a major oil producer, is leaving after more than 50 years of membership comes at a difficult moment for the organization. The United States and Israel are locked in a uneasy standoff with Iran, a founding member of OPEC that has effectively shut down much of the flow of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. During the two-month war, Iran has also attacked its partners in the cartel.

“There’s no way to underplay U.A.E.’s departure,” said Frank Fannon, who was an assistant secretary of state for energy resources in the first Trump administration. “It’s part and parcel of a general shift. There’s the lack of trust among members, particularly with one of them shooting at other members. It’s a very big deal.” For now, the chaos in global oil markets from the war with Iran and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial Persian Gulf shipping channel, is overshadowing the fallout from the Emirates’ pending departure. Regardless of how many members OPEC has, the Gulf has become an unreliable energy supplier. Indeed, oil prices hardly budged in response to the Emirates’ announcement. The longer-term consequences will become clearer if and when the strait reopens, allowing producers throughout the region to return to prewar production and export levels.

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Bloomberg – April 29, 2026

No, the Iranian Oil Industry Isn’t About to ‘Explode’: Javier Blas*

If US President Donald Trump is right, the Iranian oil industry should be imploding by now. On April 26, he predicted the country’s wells would “explode” in a “very powerful” destructive process starting in three days. That’s today. Considering oil is central to the war, one would hope Trump has his facts right. Unfortunately, he doesn’t. …

The petroleum engineering facts are, however, far more complex than the White House’s rose-tinted narrative. Put simply, the Iranian oil industry isn’t about to implode (unlike the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which faces an existential crisis after the United Arab Emirates decision to quit the cartel after six decades of membership to gain the freedom to boost output). Still, Trump appears to have decided to keep the blockade in place, hoping it will end the stalemate at the negotiating table.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

electrek – April 27, 2026

Tesla files to deliver Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package – ending the saga

Tesla has filed an S-8 registration statement with the SEC to register 303,960,630 shares of common stock for CEO Elon Musk under his 2018 pay package. At today’s share price of ~$376, those shares are worth over $114 billion. The filing confirms what many expected after the Delaware Supreme Court restored the award in December: the years-long legal fight over the largest executive compensation deal in corporate history is officially over.

The 2018 CEO Performance Award was designed as an all-or-nothing bet. Tesla’s board granted Musk options to buy 304 million shares (split-adjusted) at $23.34 per share, contingent on Tesla hitting 12 escalating market cap and operational milestones. Musk reached the final milestone in December 2021.

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KSAT – April 29, 2026

Lawsuit filed against CPS Energy after 5 injured in Preston Hollow Drive home explosions

Two North Side residents filed a lawsuit accusing CPS Energy of negligence after they were injured in home explosions earlier this month along with three others. Jose Ochoa and Mayte Terrie Reeves filed the joint lawsuit Monday in Bexar County. On April 21, their home was the second to explode in the 15000 block of Preston Hollow Drive, near Thousand Oaks Drive. The San Antonio Fire Department said the explosions were likely related to a natural gas buildup.

Ten households were evacuated following the explosions. According to the lawsuit, Ochoa and Reeves were evacuated after the first explosion but were then told it was safe to return home. The lawsuit states natural gas had leaked underground from a CPS Energy line, forming a “volatile gas cloud” inside their home, causing the second explosion and fire.

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Transport Topics – April 28, 2026

USGS Says Appalachian Lithium Could Support EV Battery Demand

Parts of the Appalachian region of the eastern U.S. hold enough lithium to curb America’s reliance on imports for centuries, according to new research by the U.S. Geological Survey, underscoring domestic resource potential as demand for critical minerals accelerates.

The areas — primarily covering Maine, New Hampshire and the Carolinas, holds an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium, said a USGS study published April 28. That’s enough of the battery metal to replace 328 years of U.S. imports at last year’s level, and enough to power 130 million electric vehicles or 1.6 million grid-scale batteries, the agency said.

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Realtor.com – April 28, 2026

America is about to need more power—millions already can’t afford it, new data shows

America is about to need a lot more electricity, even as millions of households are already struggling to afford it, new data shows. Residential electricity customers had their service shut off 13.4 million times in 2024 because of unpaid bills, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas recorded the most shutoffs in the nation, with more than 3 million residential electricity disconnections.

The figures come from a new federal data collection created after Congress directed the EIA to study residential utility shutoffs. The agency spent roughly three years developing the survey before completing the report earlier this year. The first report lands after years of mounting pressure on household electric bills. Residential electricity prices rose 33% from 2019 to 2025. The shutoff data puts a harder edge on that trend, showing what can happen when rising power costs reach households with no room left to absorb them—and just as the country is preparing for the next big jump.

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April 28, 2026

Pew Report Charts Path to Accelerate Use of Distributed Energy Nationwide

In response to mounting calls to solve our nation’s energy affordability and reliability challenges, The Pew Charitable Trusts has released a report that offers policymakers and regulators actionable recommendations to bring distributed energy resources (DERs) to scale in the United States. “Distributed Energy Can Unleash the Resilient, Affordable Grid of the Future,” the DER policy playbook, lays out six policies to lower electricity bills, strengthen grid reliability, and help utilities defer costly investments in new power plants. DERs—such as battery storage, rooftop and community solar, and smart thermostats—generate, store, and manage electricity close to the home, business, or facility where it is needed.

“Pew’s DER policy playbook provides decision-makers with actionable steps that can be implemented now to address increasing energy demand, costly utility bills, and more extreme weather,” said Maureen Quinlan, who leads Pew’s DER initiative. “By integrating DERs into the fabric of energy policy, planning, and procurement, legislators and regulators can unleash affordable, reliable energy in communities across the country.”

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Reuters – April 29, 2026

Entergy increases capital spending plan by 33% on expanded Meta data center deal*

U.S. electric utility Entergy increased its four-year capital spending plan by about 33% to $57 billion, a boost that is being driven largely by the ​expansion of energy infrastructure to serve Meta data centers, the company said on Wednesday. U.S. power ‌demand hit record levels in 2025 and is expected to grow again this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as tech companies rapidly build out data centers, some of which use as much electricity as an entire city at a single site.

Entergy ​is among the utilities raising capital expenditure plans over the last two years, in part for ​the construction of power plants and transmission lines to electrify proliferating data centers. Last ⁠month, Entergy announced that it had entered into an agreement to supply electricity to Meta data centers in ​Louisiana, a deal that will involve building seven new natural gas-fueled combined-cycle power plants, totaling more than 5.2 ​gigawatts. One gigawatt is enough to power 750,000 homes. Under a separate agreement announced in 2024, Entergy is also building multiple gas-fired power plants in Louisiana for a giant Meta data center campus.

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Reuters – April 28, 2026

US consumers face rising electricity prices despite clean power savings*

 U.S. annual power demand is forecast to rise by 1.2% in 2026 and by 3.3% in 2027 as data center deployments surge, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said earlier this month. Texas is predicted to see the largest increase with average annual demand rising 10% in 2025-2027 in the base case ​and 15% in a high demand scenario. Power plant developers are struggling to keep pace with surging AI demand. Average annual residential electricity prices are predicted to rise by 5.1% in 2026 and ‌by 2.4% in 2027, before inflation is taken into account, EIA said. Some states are likely to see higher increases as the impact depends on local generation sources and consumption trends.

In the large PJM network, which hosts the largest concentration of U.S. data center development in northern Virginia, forward capacity market prices soared in recent power auctions and analysts warned of a significant increase in retail prices in the years to come. Rising gas prices, import tariffs on steel and aluminium and upgrades to transmission networks are all helping to drive up electricity prices, Ed Firs, Energy Fellow at the University of Houston, told Reuters ​Events.

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How the American Oligarchy Went Hyperscale: Tim Murphy

Data centers have replaced megayachts as the preferred theater of oligarchic status signaling. Instead of submarines and retractable dance floors, these billionaires tout their compute, their gigawatts, and their acreage. The largest of the new facilities, the so-called “hyperscale” sites where AI models are to be trained, come with names that reflect the pathologies of their founders. Sam Altman’s Stargate in Abilene, Texas, will be “roughly the size of New York’s Central Park,” according to Bloomberg—while OpenAI’s Project ­Jupiter site in New Mexico could be larger still.

Amazon and Anthropic are developing Project Rainier on 1,200 acres outside South Bend, Indiana. Elon Musk trained his Mein Kampf–loving chatbot, Grok, at Memphis’ Colossus 1. Colossus 2 is on the other side of town. The names evoke both ancient and contemporary mythology; in D.F. Jones’ science fiction trilogy, ­Colossus is the rogue AI that enslaves mankind. (Grok, for its part, has described itself as “MechaHitler.”) Both Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have AI projects called­ ­Prometheus. There are at least five AI companies named for Icarus.

 

Regulatory

 

Source NM – April 29, 2026

Democratic NM land commissioner candidates differ on oil and gas donations, data centers

While Democratic candidates vying in the New Mexico commissioner of public lands primary largely agreed with each other at a forum Tuesday evening in Santa Fe, notable differences about the candidates’ views on fundraising and data centers emerged toward the end of the hour-long discussion.The June 2 election pits Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo), Jonas Moya and Juan de Jesus Sanchez III against each other. One of them will face Republican Michael Perry in the November general election.

The League of Women Voters of Santa Fe County hosted the forum at The Food Depot. LWF Santa Fe President Hannah Burling acted as moderator, and asked candidates whether they would accept campaign donations from the oil and gas industry, which provides most of roughly $2 billion in revenue annually to the State Land Office.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday April 29, 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 eased on Wednesday from a multi-day rally as ‌investors digested the ramifications of the United Arab Emirates’ surprise decision to quit OPEC, though supply disruptions from the stalemated Iran war support the market.

West Texas Intermediate was down a fraction at 4 am EST at $99.28.

Brent crude futures for June dipped 1 cent to $111.25 a barrel by 0413 GMT, having climbed for the previous ​seven sessions. The June contract expires on Thursday and the more active July contract down 28 ​cents at $104.12.

Wednesday’s slight decrease could be partly linked to the UAE’s surprising decision to leave ⁠producer cartel OPEC, said LSEG senior analyst Anh Pham, as it points to a stronger supply outlook when ​the country is free of the group’s output quotas.

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Top Stories

 

Washington Post – April 28, 2026

A Trump-branded nuclear power project thrilled investors. Then came the crash.

When the start-up Fermi America announced plans to build the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus near Amarillo, Texas, last year, investors clamored for a chance to cash in on the artificial intelligence boom sweeping through the U.S. economy. Fermi’s co-founders include Rick Perry, energy secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, and his son Griffin. The company said construction of the world’s largest data center would begin at the site by the end of 2025. It aimed to break ground on four nuclear plants bearing Trump’s name, it said in a news release last month, “on July 4th — with the President.” Investors valued the company at more than $13 billion after its initial public offering in October, making the stakes owned by Griffin Perry and the family of chief executive Toby Neugebauer each worth billions.

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Associated Press – April 28, 2026

United Arab Emirates will leave OPEC in a blow to the oil cartel

Related: Why the U.A.E. Broke Up With OPEC — A Wall Street Journal editorial*

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of its third-largest producer and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE’s decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low — meaning it wasn’t able to sell as much oil to the world as it had wanted.

“Having invested heavily in expanding energy production capacity in recent years, the bigger picture is that the UAE has been itching to pump more oil,” Capital Economics wrote in an analysis. “The ties binding OPEC members together have loosened,” it said, particularly after Qatar withdrew from the cartel in 2019.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 28, 2026

U.A.E.’s OPEC Exit Deals Major Blow to Cartel Amid Middle East Oil Squeeze*

Related: UAE’s departure from the OPEC oil cartel is not without precedence. Who could be next? — CNBC

The United Arab Emirates said it would leave OPEC, dealing a heavy blow to the oil cartel as the war in Iran scrambles alliances and investment priorities among the world’s top oil producers. The sudden departure of OPEC’s third-biggest producer further weakens a bloc that despite producing up to four out of every 10 barrels of oil pumped worldwide has been hobbled by internal disunity and the rise of American oil output. The war in Iran has piled on more pressure by exacerbating rifts among the Arab countries at the core of the group and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which the group’s biggest producers export most of their oil, making it impossible for the group to influence the market during its biggest supply shock.

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Oil Price – April 28, 2026

The World’s Data Lifelines Are Increasingly Exposed to Sabotage

Undersea cables are vital for delivering renewable power from offshore projects and providing cross-country telecommunications connectivity. The rapid growth of undersea cable networks is helping to boost regional connectivity worldwide. However, more must be done to reduce vulnerabilities in these networks and combat the threat of sabotage.

There are various types of cables running under the sea, each with its own purpose. The first undersea cables were put in place in the 19th century, with over 400 cables now active worldwide. Some submarine cables provide the primary means of cross-region connectivity, while others transport renewable energy from offshore projects to onshore transmission networks.

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CBS News – April 28, 2026

Billion-dollar energy deals signal US push into Balkans

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BBC – April 28, 2026

Third Ukrainian strike hits Russian oil refinery and prompts evacuations

TER Note: This is turning into an ecological disaster, with amateur video indicating some bunker oil flowing into the Black Sea and burning oil flowing onto some city streets in areas close to the Tuapse refinery, likely releasing deadly chemicals into populated areas, not to mention the possible blow to the Russian economy

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Libya’s National Oil Corporation ​on Tuesday signed ‌a memorandum of understanding with U.S. ​energy major ​Chevron to conduct a ⁠joint study ​to assess shale ​oil and gas reserves in number of the ​country’s sedimentary ​basins, the head of ‌NOC ⁠said in statement. The statement said that preliminary estimates ​showed ​about ⁠123 trillion cubic feet ​of gas and ​approximately ⁠18 billion barrels of oil ⁠in ​the ​Libyan basins — Reuters*

ONEOK, Inc. Tuesday announced higher first-quarter 2026 results and increased 2026 financial guidance. Unless otherwise noted, all results are compared with the same period in 2025 — see the press release

Iran offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade on the country and ends the war in a proposal that would postpone discussions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, two regional officials said Monday — U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the U.S. and Israel to go to war on Feb. 28. And U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to rule out any deal that excludes Iran’s nuclear program — Associated Press’KBTX

El Paso Water purchased a 300-acre Upper Valley site last month to preserve open space, but didn’t inspect a 117-year-old dam on the property that is now in danger of breaching and flooding nearby areas, utility officials said Friday in response to questions from El Paso Matters — El Paso Times

Texas Railroad Commission GOP runoff: Who is running and what to know — Texas Tribune

ERCOT staff say demand response programs could be a short-term solution to the grid operator’s resource adequacy problem as they address the mismatch of desired load and promised generation — RTO Insider

Valero Energy’s 424,000 b/d Port Arthur, Texas, refinery reported a process unit upset on Monday that prompted operations personnel to use flaring to minimize contaminant emissions, according to a regulatory filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — MarketWatch

The U.S. Treasury warned financial institutions Tuesday that they could face sanctions if they engage in dealings with Chinese refineries that process Iranian oil — CNBC

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Reuters – April 28, 2026

Chevron likely to close deal for Singapore refinery stake sale to Eneos in May, sources say*

Chevron is likely to close a deal for the sale of its 50% stake in ​Singapore Refining and other regional assets to Japan’s top refiner ‌Eneos in May, two sources familiar with the matter said. The U.S. major had been expected to complete the deal, valued at $1 billion or more, in the first quarter, ​Reuters reported earlier, but the timeline has since been pushed ​back slightly following a major energy supply disruption caused by ⁠the U.S.-Iran war.

Chevron and Eneos declined to comment. Morgan Stanley, which ​has been appointed by Chevron to handle the sale also declined to ​comment. Both parties are reassessing some terms in the deal, including crude procurement for the refinery and offtake agreements for refined products, two other sources said. Currently, PetroChina and Chevron are ​taking turns to supply crude to the 290,000-barrel-per-day refinery on Jurong ​Island every quarter. The Chinese major shipped crude from northeast China’s Dalian to Singapore last ‌month, ⁠in an unusual move to fill the shortfall at SRC, Reuters reported.

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Bloomberg/Yahoo! News – April 28, 2026

Chevron CEO Says Venezuela Must Do More for Oil Industry Revival

Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said changes to Venezuela’s oil policy are a sign of progress in trying to attract foreign investment, though further measures are needed. “It moves things in a positive direction,” Wirth said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “It still needs some work. It’s probably not enough to bring in the level of investment that would be desirable. So I think there’s progress that’s been made.”

Wirth expressed confidence in the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy after the US toppled Nicolás Maduro in January and Delcy Rodríguez became the country’s acting president. Within weeks after Maduro’s capture, Venezuela changed its long-standing nationalist oil policy in a bid to entice investors.

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San Antonio Express-News – April 27, 2026

Texas jury awards $1.6B to families of victims in deadly plant explosion

A jury has awarded a massive billion-dollar settlement to two South Texas families left behind after an explosion at a hazardous chemicals processing site in far West Texas that killed two workers in 2023. After a two-week trial, a jury in Starr County, in the Rio Grande Valley, awarded more than $1.6 billion, combined, in damages to the families of Reinaldo Garcia Peña, 57, and Angel Alaffa, 30, who were killed in an October 7, 2023, explosion at Pecos Liquids Handling Facility, a hazardous materials processing plant in Pecos, Texas. The billion-dollar verdict is believed to be the largest workplace wrongful death verdict to be handed down in Texas, according to the Ammons Law Firm, the lawyers who represented the victims’ families.

The jurors found that the company that owned the facility, Upton Assets LLC, had been negligent and ignored federally required safety regulations, which directly led to the death of the two Valley men. Pecos Liquids Handling Facility was a so-called Process Safety Management facility, meaning it was subject to strict requirements to train personnel, document safety procedures and maintain other safety protocols due to the “highly hazardous” materials it processed.

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PBS – April 28, 2026

California oil fight tests state’s right to push back against Washington during war

Crude oil pumped from the depths of the Pacific Ocean is flowing for the first time in more than a decade through a pipeline that crosses California state park land after the Trump administration defied state officials to restart drilling off Santa Barbara, calling it essential to national security. State officials call it trespassing and are asking a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge at a hearing Monday to order Sable Offshore Corp. to stop using the pipeline — which snakes for 4 miles (6 kilometers) through a portion of Gaviota State Park — and to remove it.

The pipeline system owned by the Texas firm had been idle since one of its pipelines ruptured in 2015 and caused one of California’s worst oil spills, blackening beaches for 150 miles (240 kilometers) from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles.

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Texas Tribune – April 28, 2026

Corpus Christi delays action on plan to cut water use by 25% if emergency is declared

The Corpus Christi City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to delay a vote on how much residents, local businesses and refineries would have to cut water if a supply crisis is triggered. Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of the city’s water department, presented a plan to require all customers of the city’s water system to reduce use by 25% during a Level 1 emergency — the point when the water supply is projected to be 180 days from falling short of demand. Experts say that may happen as soon as September unless significant rain falls.

Council members told Winkelmann they needed more information on how curtailment would be enforced — including fines and fees for customers who violate limits — before settling on a rate. “It’s very difficult to vote on something where you don’t know the end result,” Council Member Gil Hernandez said. Leaders were asked to set water limits Tuesday, delaying decisions on additional details, such as surcharges and variance applications, until a future meeting.

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Inside Climate News – April 19, 2026

Low-Producing Oil Wells in Texas Cause Headaches for Landowners

Some Texas oil wells gush hundreds of barrels of oil a day. But many are like the wells on Jackie Chesnutt’s ranch in West Texas that only trickle out a couple barrels a month. Chesnutt, a retired engineer, claims the five wells operating on her ranch are out of compliance with state rules and should be shut down. The company, CORE Petro, says that it’s struggling to break even, let alone pay to plug the wells. But it says that all its wells are in compliance.

There are thousands of oil and gas wells around Texas like these: low-producing wells leased by companies operating on a shoestring. About two-thirds of the active oil wells in Texas, or 99,000 wells, produce less than 10 barrels of oil a day, according to the state regulator. To remain active, oil wells in Texas must produce at least five barrels for three consecutive months or at least one barrel for 12 consecutive months.

 

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Reuters – April 29, 2026

TotalEnergies earnings jump 29% as oil price, trading offset supply disruptions*

TotalEnergies exceeded market expectations with a ‌29% jump in first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, boosted by strong trading and high oil prices linked to the Iran war, even as regional disruptions shut in 15% of ​its upstream production. The French oil major’s adjusted net income for the ​quarter was $5.4 billion, compared to $4.2 billion a year ago. Analysts had ⁠expected $5 billion, according to LSEG data.

The spike in oil prices has helped European ​majors reap billions of dollars from the energy supply crunch. Benchmark Brent crude ​futures climbed to multi‑year highs near $120 a barrel after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, followed by Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks ​on Gulf neighbours.

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S&P Global Platts – April 28, 2026

Prolonged war could send oil up to $115/b, with surplus returning by 2027: World Bank

A 1% reduction in oil production due to a geopolitical shock typically leads to crude prices rising by more than 11%, the World Bank said April 28, forecasting that Brent would average $86/barrel in 2026 if there is no further escalation of the war in the Middle East. A prolonged war or a more serious disruption to oil flows could push Brent prices to $115/b in 2026, the bank said in its latest commodity markets outlook.

“At the onset of a significant geopolitical oil shock, a surge in uncertainty over future supplies and global economic conditions can drive risk premia higher, reflecting both efforts to secure physical stocks and speculative market responses,” the World Bank said. Supply shocks also lead to “greater inventory building in the medium term as a form of self-insurance.”

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The Wall Street Journal – April 28, 2026

BP Profits Double as Iran War Boosts Oil Traders*

BP’s quarterly earnings more than doubled as its oil traders capitalized on market volatility triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. The British energy giant’s first-quarter results Tuesday are its first since the conflict in the Middle East upended global energy markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring. They are also the first since Chief Executive Meg O’Neill took charge of the company to lead a turnaround. BP reported an underlying replacement cost profit—a similar metric to net income that U.S. oil companies report—of $3.2 billion for the first three months of the year. That is up from the $1.38 billion it reported in the first quarter of 2025, and above the $2.67 billion analysts had expected.

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Reuters – April 28, 2026

LNG tanker orders gain pace despite mixed outlook from Iran war*

Global orders to build liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGC) are set to rebound this year after a 2025 slump as growing LNG ​output and vessel fuel efficiency drive demand, industry executives and analysts say.  The rise in orders is offsetting concerns that supply disruptions from the ‌U.S.-Iran war may reduce near-term shipping demand and pressure freight rates.

Since late last year, shipbuilders in South Korea and China have received more orders, with 35 new LNGC builds contracted in the first quarter, according to consultancies Poten & Partners and Drewry. By comparison, 37 LNGCs were ordered in all of 2025, with a record 171 orders placed in 2022, Drewry data shows. Each tanker costs $250 million-$260 ​million, and takes over three years to build.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

San Antonio Express-News – April 28, 2026

CPS Energy revamps power plan, shifts toward more natural gas as demand surges*

Surging demand for power is spurring CPS Energy to revamp its energy generation plan, moving the utility further from its goal for less reliance on fossil fuels. The need to reevaluate the utility’s generation plan came after the utility forecast that its capacity under the current plan will fall short of being able to meet demand by the start of the next decade.

The need to reevaluate the utility’s generation plan came after the utility forecast that its capacity under the current plan will fall short of being able to meet demand by the start of the next decade. The gap is driven by the high level of growth locally and across the state, as well as increased costs required to build out new energy generation sources, said David Kee, the utility’s director of energy market policy. The municipally owned utility is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, as part of the San Antonio’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. But the utility’s proposed generation plan calls for using more natural gas than it previously planned on. The current objectives under the climate action plan didn’t consider the level of growth the region is experiencing, spurring conversations by the city to reassess its goals, CEO Rudy Garza said.

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Stock Titan – April 28, 2026

TXNM’s 2026 Energy Proxy Statement

TXNM Energy’s 2026 proxy outlines three shareholder votes and updates its pending $61.25‑per‑share cash merger with Blackstone Infrastructure. Shareholders will elect ten directors, ratify KPMG as auditor, and cast an advisory vote on executive pay. The company highlights 2025 ongoing earnings of $2.33 per diluted share, an indicated 2026 dividend of $1.69 per share, and investment‑grade credit ratings supported by $800 million of equity financing.

TXNM serves about 842,000 customers in New Mexico and Texas through regulated utilities PNM and TNMP, emphasizing grid resiliency, wildfire risk mitigation, and an energy transition strategy. In 2025 it delivered 80% carbon‑free energy to PNM customers, added 465 megawatts of new solar and battery storage, secured approval for 617 megawatts of additional resources from 2028, and returned $116.6 million of fuel savings to customers via the Western Energy Imbalance Market. Governance features include a majority‑independent, 50% female board, majority voting for directors, proxy access, stock ownership guidelines, and a clawback policy covering incentive compensation.

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Texas Tribune – April 28, 2026

Data center boom strains Texas homebuilders’ need for electricians

Abilene builder Gene Lantrip is on the front lines of Texas’ population boom, but a new force is making it harder to finish construction on homes. Data centers are poaching the electricians he needs to install light switches and wiring that power his duplexes. The state has added more than 2.6 million residents since 2020, bringing in a steady surge of workers and families who need homes. But Texas doesn’t have enough electricians to meet the demands of two competing priorities: building the housing to meet the needs of a growing state and becoming a global leader in AI.

The centers that drive AI technology require massive facilities to power and cool servers, making electricians critical from construction through long-term operations. Early industry projections show data centers projects will need thousands of licensed electricians, pulling from a limited labor pool. “It’s taken us two months longer to build the houses than what it did before the data centers were coming in,” Lantrip, 69, said. “That’s the downside.”

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Dallas Morning News – April 27, 2026

AI data centers are moving fast in Texas. Environmental regulators are falling behind: Kathryn Guerra, Public Citizen*

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The New York Times – April 28, 2026

It’s the age of electricity and America isn’t ready*

Electricity is perhaps the most underrated issue of our time. In the United States, we have been blessed with a power grid that instantly responds whenever you flick on the lights. It works mostly as expected, cooling our homes, charging our laptops and phones, running life-saving equipment. But as we plug more things into the grid, it will come under unprecedented strain. Virtually every economic goal that American politicians might strive for — growing the economy, reinvigorating the manufacturing sector, fighting climate change or just making life more affordable — will require big upgrades to the electricity system.

Lately Americans have become fixated on the explosion in data centers and the power needs of artificial intelligence. That is actually a small part of a much bigger problem. Our grid is too old and our supply of electricity too small. If we don’t meet this moment, we will face an impoverished future of more expensive, less reliable energy, and slower economic growth. In a worst-case scenario, we could see Americans defect from the grid entirely, raising costs for everyone. Something needs to change now. If you want to fix the grid, you first have to understand it. The place to start is your electricity bill.

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S&P Global Platts – April 28, 2026

Shell readies Europe’s largest refinery for green hydrogen

Shell is poised to start renewable hydrogen operations at Europe’s largest refinery, with its Holland Hydrogen 1 electrolyzer close to completion as the company gears up to meet expanding European green fuel regulations. The 200-megawatt renewable hydrogen plant will produce 60 metric tons/day to supply Shell’s nearby 404,000 b/d Pernis refinery in Rotterdam from later in 2026.

The site sits at the end of the Maasvlakte man-made extension to the Port of Rotterdam, built on land reclaimed from the sea. The electrolyzer hall at Holland Hydrogen 1 stands ready to receive the green hydrogen production cells, which will be assembled in an adjacent building before installation. A complex collection of pipes and storage tanks arranged in 10 rows will each house a 20-MW alkaline electrolysis stack from manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Nucera.

 

Regulatory

 

Dallas Express – April 28, 2026

Texas Opens Public Comment On Rule Letting Utilities Use Battery Backup Power

Texas regulators have opened a public comment period on a proposed rule governing energy storage contracts, drawing both support for grid reliability and concern over security risks. The Public Utility Commission of Texas proposed a new rule, 16 TAC §25.58, that would allow transmission and distribution utilities to contract with power generation companies for electric energy storage capacity, according to the Texas Register filing.

The filing says the rule is intended to “ensure reliable service to distribution customers” by enabling utilities to access stored energy during periods of high demand or grid stress. The filing states there would be “no probable economic cost” to persons required to comply with the rule and no fiscal implications for state or local government over the first five years. The proposal formally opens a public comment window through May 18, 2026, with the possibility of a hearing if requested. Regulators are specifically seeking input on whether utilities should recover those costs only in base-rate cases or also in interim proceedings, and how certain lease-treatment standards should apply

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday April 28, 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 edged higher Tuesday as investors parsed fresh signals from U.S.-Iran negotiations, with uncertainty over a potential de-escalation keeping markets on edge.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.66% to $97.03 per barrel while international benchmark Brent oil futures added 0.44% to $108.67 a barrel.

The higher prices came as U.S. President Donald Trump and his national security team discussed a proposal from Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, conditional on Washington lifting its blockade and ending hostilities, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz — which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas — remain severely disrupted, with roughly 20 million barrels per day of crude, fuels and petrochemicals affected, according to Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

Even if hostilities ended immediately, a return to normal market conditions would take months, Lipow said, citing the need to clear mines, ease tanker congestion and gradually restart production and refining.

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Top Stories

 

E&E News By Politico – April 27, 2026

Why 2 oil states are slow to embrace wastewater recycling

The two biggest oil-producing states are at a crossroads as they try to solve one of the industry’s thorniest problems — getting rid of billions of gallons of salty, oily wastewater that’s produced alongside crude. Academic researchers in Texas and New Mexico say technology developed in recent years allows companies to clean up the waste, known as produced water, so it can be released into surface water like rivers or diverted for uses such as crop irrigation. But state regulators are still cautious about the idea.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates water in the state, said it wants to address “knowledge gaps” before it issues disposal permits for oil field waste, and it will take more than a year for companies to reach full capacity once they receive a permit. New Mexico’s Water Quality Control Commission is considering an application from the oil industry and a group of oil states, though the commission has already turned down the idea twice. A lack of new state regulations is slowing down development at a time when Texas and New Mexico are fighting a drought and looking for long-term sources of water, said Zach Stoll, assistant director of the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium at New Mexico State University.

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CNBC – April 27, 2026

Oil giant Shell to buy Canada’s ARC Resources for $16.4 billion in push to boost output

British oil major Shell on Monday said it agreed a deal to buy Canadian energy company ARC Resources in an output-boosting deal valued at $16.4 billion. The transaction will add roughly 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to Shell’s portfolio and is designed to increase the London-listed firm’s long-term oil and gas production. Shell CEO Wael Sawan described ARC Resources, which is focused on the Montney shale basin in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta as “a high-quality, low-cost and top quartile low carbon intensity producer” that will strengthen the firm’s resource base for decades.

“We are accessing uniquely positioned assets and welcoming colleagues that bring deep expertise which, combined with Shell’s strong basin level performance, provides a compelling proposition for shareholders,” Sawan said in a statement. ARC Resources President and CEO Terry Anderson welcomed the announcement, saying that the firm’s assets and staff “will play an important role in helping Shell to further strengthen Canada’s resource landscape whilst also providing the secure energy that the world needs.”

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Dallas Express – April 21, 2026

‘Regulation Is The Biggest Threat’ – Wayne Christian At EarthX Dallas On AI Power Surge

A Texas regulator warned Monday that government rules are the “biggest threat” to building AI data centers as demand for power surges. Speaking at the EarthX conference in Dallas, Wayne Christian, Commissioner at the Railroad Commission of Texas, said regulatory costs and delays are slowing the development of the infrastructure needed to support the growth of artificial intelligence.

“The biggest threat we have with development or AI centers is government regulation,” Christian said during a panel on powering the next industrial era, adding, “so if government regulation would back off on some of this stuff … it increases the cost.”

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates — nitrates, largely from agricultural runoff, are linked to cancers and birth defects. Research says areas with factory farms have higher levels of risk — Inside Climate News

Geronimo Power has begun commercial operations at the 270 MW Blevins Solar Project, located in Falls County, Texas — Renewable Watch

Single-person households in Texas pay an estimated $1.19 billion more per year in energy bills compared to equivalent shared households, and this additional financial burden, which researchers are calling a “singles tax,” places Texas second in the U.S. for excess energy spending among people living alone — KDAF

Renewables companies Octopus Energy and Lunar Energy are rolling out an electricity plan in Texas that will pair fixed energy pricing with Lunar Energy’s home battery that manages when power is stored, used and shared — Solar Power World

GM becomes first U.S. automaker to reach 100% renewable energy goal — see the press release

The US Government has authorised Enbridge Energy to continue operating and maintaining its existing cross-border pipeline facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, following the issuance of a new presidential permit — Mega Project

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Oil & Gas Texas

 

KUHF – April 27, 2026

Texas Attorney General’s Office sues chemical manufacturing company over pollution at Freeport facility

The Texas Attorney General’s Office is suing a chemical manufacturing company, alleging it released more than 70,000 pounds of air pollution from its Freeport plant. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is asking the court to impose civil penalties against Blue Cube Operations LLC, as well as require the company to hire independent auditors and implement compliance measures. Paxton is currently running in the republican runoff for Senate against encumbent republican John Cornyn.

“I will not allow any company to harm Texans’ health with dangerous chemicals,” Paxton said in a news release Monday. “Companies operating in Texas have a duty to protect the people who live and work around them. Blue Cube’s repeated failures exposed Texas families to hazardous substances and forced entire communities to shelter in place. We will hold them accountable and work to prevent this kind of threat to public health in the future.”

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KTRE – April 23, 2026

West Texas rancher raises alarm over abandoned well blowouts impacting water supply

Well blowouts have become a common sight on land near the Pecos County and Crane County border, causing damage to property, threatening livestock and raising concerns about water. Schuyler Wight, a landowner near the Pecos County and Crane County border, has experienced multiple well blowouts on his property. But after reporting the blowouts to the Railroad Commission, he said nothing has been done.

“They’re underfunded, they’re understaffed, they’re undermanned,” Wight said. “They don’t have the personal to take care of it and basically, they don’t care.” These blowouts are leaving an uncontrolled amount of oil, natural gas or other fluids above the surface. Specifically, hydrogen sulfide or H2S, a toxic gas with a rotten egg odor that creates to air quality and life. It can even become fatal if inhaled too much.

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Politico – April 27, 2026

Oil and water mix in the Permian

The nation’s largest oil field could also be a major water producer — if companies can figure out how to clean it. The Permian Basin, which straddles southeast New Mexico and northwest Texas, is producing billions of gallons of extra-salty, chemically laced water every day — a side effect of fracking that some believe could help ease a regional drought. The oil and gas industry wants to treat the so-called produced water and release it into dry creekbeds or use it to irrigate crops. But as Mike Lee writes today, regulators in both West Texas and New Mexico are a little apprehensive.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is about to release regulations about the surface use of treated produced water. But it is moving more slowly on permits, saying it wants to address “knowledge gaps” before allowing companies to discharge recycled produced water into tributaries that feed into West Texas’ Pecos River.

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Reuters – April 24, 2026

SLB, Baker Hughes see oil exploration spending rising as Iran war disrupts supply*

Top oilfield services companies SLB and ​Baker Hughes said on Friday they expect higher spending on oil exploration and production, as tighter global supplies driven by ‌the Middle East conflict highlight the need for investment, particularly in North America. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has halted 20% of the world’s oil that usually flows through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz and shut in 9 million barrels a day of oil production, causing Asian and European countries to scramble for supplies. It has also ​focused attention on energy security and the need for supply diversity.

“There is a growing need for increased upstream investment to expand ​global production capacity and ensure we can meet rising demand,” Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes, said in ⁠a post-earnings conference call, adding he sees a potential acceleration of investment decisions for liquefied natural gas projects in North America. Many countries will ​likely prioritize supply diversification and invest in exploration once the conflict subsides, SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch said, adding he expects increased investment in ​projects in North America and Latin America, including in deepwater offshore markets.

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Center Square – April 23, 2026

Railroad Commission candidate wants to add Muslim-majority countries to Texas land ban

Controversial candidates continue to run for a position on the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the oil and natural gas industry. In 2022, Sarah Stogner ran as a Republican in a crowded primary race, and lost, after riding a pump jack wearing only underwear and boots.  Now, former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French is running for the RCC in a May 26 runoff after ignoring multiple calls to resign during his short time in office. When he did resign, it was to run for the RRC in order to “stop the Islamic invasion, and defeat the left,” he said.

French’s most recent legislative priority was to ban all Muslim-majority countries from purchasing land in Texas, arguing “Islam poses an existential threat to Texans’ way of life.”  He’s running “to put Texans back in the driver’s seat of Texas energy policy. America has been at war with Islam since the time of our Independence, and stopping the subversive influence of Islam in Texas by banning all Muslim countries from acquiring land and interfering in Texas Oil and Gas will be my top legislative priority.”

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Lincoln Parish Journal – April 23, 2026

Louisiana’s abandoned oil well crisis dwarfs Texas problem on a per capita basis

Louisiana’s oil patch is leaving behind a growing legacy of abandoned wells that leak, contaminate groundwater and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars — and on a per capita basis, the state’s problem is more than four times worse than Texas, which has drawn national attention for the same issue.

As of March 2025, Louisiana has 6,465 orphaned oil and gas wells — unplugged, abandoned sites with no responsible operator — according to the state Department of Conservation and Energy. Texas has approximately 10,029 orphaned wells, according to its Railroad Commission. But Texas has nearly seven times Louisiana’s population. Louisiana has roughly one orphaned well for every 711 residents. Texas has one for every 3,130. Louisiana’s per capita burden is more than four times heavier.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Asahi Shimbun (Japan) – April 27, 2026

Japan’s scramble for U.S. oil sends Panama Canal fees soaring

With more than 90 percent of its crude oil supply effectively choked off by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Japan is scrambling to secure alternative oil supplies, pivoting sharply to the United States. This strategic calculation, marked by the recent arrival of the first U.S. oil tanker, is part of a wider Asian rush for American crude that has caused transit fees through the Panama Canal to nearly triple.

The Panama Canal Authority announced on April 23 that transit fees for some vessels have skyrocketed, with the average price for a last-minute auction slot surging from $135,000–$140,000 (21.5 million-22.3 million yen) before the attacks on Iran to $385,000 in March and April.

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UPI – April 27, 2026

U.S. crude reaches Tokyo Bay as Japan diversifies oil supply

A tanker carrying U.S. crude oil from Texas arrived in Tokyo Bay, marking Japan’s first delivery of American oil as it moves to diversify supply away from the Middle East following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Japanese media reported that the tanker departed Texas on March 22 and arrived Saturday, becoming the first U.S. crude shipment to reach Japan since tensions escalated after U.S. strikes on Iran in late February.

The shipment will be transported via pipeline to a refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, operated by Cosmo Energy Holdings, where it will be processed into gasoline and other petroleum products. The cargo amounts to about 145,000 kiloliters, equivalent to roughly half a day of Japan’s domestic oil consumption.

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Bloomberg – April 27, 2026

Iran’s Unused Oil Storage Shrinks to 22 Days or Less, Kpler Says*

Iran is rapidly running out of places to store crude oil, threatening to accelerate production cuts in what was once OPEC’s second-largest source, according to research firm Kpler. The Islamic Republic has enough unused storage capacity to last another 12 to 22 days, Kpler analysts wrote in a report Monday. That is raising the prospect that Iran may be forced to cut daily oil output by another 1.5 million barrels by mid-May, they added. Iran already has curtailed as much as 2.5 million barrels of daily crude production, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last week. Neighboring producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE are also among nations that have had to reduce output since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28.

Despite the dire outlook for Iranian oil output, the regime in Tehran probably won’t begin to fully feel the financial pinch for months, Kpler wrote. Crude exports from the Iranian regime have fallen sharply since early-April, when US President ordered a Naval blockade of Iranian ports. As traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dwindled, Iranian shipments have most recently dropped to about 567,000 barrels a day, Kpler said. Exports averaged about 1.85 million barrels a day in March.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 27, 2026

Iran Is Flooded With So Much Unsold Oil That It’s Stashing It in Derelict Tanks*

Iran is scrambling to find new ways to store its oil, hoping to avoid a crippling production shutdown as a U.S. naval blockade bottles up its exports and negotiations to end the war remain deadlocked. With oil backing up at home, Iran is reviving derelict sites known as “junk storage,” using improvised containers and trying to ship crude by rail to China. The unusual steps are aimed at delaying an infrastructure crisis and blunting Washington’s leverage in the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. The war between the U.S. and Iran has turned into a race to see whether Tehran’s oil industry or global energy consumers crack first. Every barrel that can’t leave the country through normal export channels must go somewhere: into a tank, onto a ship, into an improvised storage site—or remain underground. Iran hopes to avoid the risk of having to turn off the spigots and deepen its revenue losses, said Sanam Vakil, Middle East and North Africa program director at Chatham House, a nonpartisan London think tank.

“The shutdown will add pressure and motivate the negotiations,” Vakil said.  The first round of talks between the U.S. and Iran ended earlier this month with little progress, then collapsed last week when Iran refused to meet again. Iran has presented regional mediators with a new offer to stop its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a full end to the war and a lifting of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, The Wall Street Journal has reported. It would see discussions about Iran’s nuclear program put off for now.

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Grist – April 27, 2026

Michigan wins key legal battle over Line 5 pipeline

Michigan’s decades-long fight to shut down the Line 5 pipeline will be heard in state court after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the dispute belongs there, clearing the way for judges to weigh whether the aging oil pipeline can continue crossing the Straits of Mackinac.

The ruling is seen as a win for tribes, environmentalists, and state Attorney General Dana Nessel, who preferred to keep the fight in state court. She has since 2019 been trying to revoke the easement that allows the pipeline to cross the Straits, which connect lakes Michigan and Huron, citing the risk of an oil spill.

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Legal Planet – April 16, 2026

Big Oil Could Pay for Climate-Fueled Insurance Hikes

There are several ways to try to make polluters pay. California is considering a new one — empower the state Attorney General to sue oil and gas companies to recover costs on behalf of Californians specifically related to the housing insurance market. Survivors, taxpayers and policyholders — whose rates are skyrocketing as a result of climate-fueled disasters like last year’s Eaton and Palisades fires — are already paying. Fossil fuel companies should too. That’s the thinking behind a bill known as SB 982, or the Affordable Insurance and Recovery Act, by Sen. Scott Wiener. Think of it as a “Make Polluters Pay to Help Stabilize the Insurance Market” bill.

The bill seeks to recover damages on behalf of policyholders and the state’s FAIR Plan (the insurer of last resort) that were caused by events that resulted from, or were made worse by, climate change. It permits the AG to bring a civil action in the name of the people against a covered entity for recovery of “climate-attributable damage.” It would create an Attorney General Climate Disaster Fund, where any monetary relief would be deposited. It would prohibit the companies from passing on the costs of the civil action by, for example, jacking up prices at the pump. Which companies should pay how much? Bill language states that “the court and jury may use market share and alternate liability principles to determine the proportionate liability of covered entities for climate-attributable damage.”

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Reuters – April 24, 2026

Canada greenlights Enbridge gas pipeline expansion in test of Carney approval process*

Canada has approved a ‌C$4 billion ($2.93 billion) expansion of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system in British Columbia, the first major pipeline project to get the go-ahead under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney, elected last year on a platform to grow the economy to defend it against ​U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, has pledged to speed permitting times for major resource projects in ​a country where construction has often been slowed by regulatory and legal challenges.

Enbridge has ⁠been developing its Sunrise Expansion project, which will add 300 million cubic feet per day of natural gas ​capacity in B.C., since 2022, and applied for federal regulatory approval two years ago. Matthew Akman, the company’s president ​of gas transmission and midstream, said on Friday Enbridge noted faster approval for this project than for past ones. … Still, Akman said Canada ​must move even faster if it wants to compete globally in energy export and liquefied natural gas projects.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

KSAT – April 27, 2026

CPS Energy board holds first meeting since North Side home explosions; KSAT pushes for answers

The CPS Energy Board of Trustees met on Monday afternoon, nearly one week after an explosion on the North Side hospitalized five people. But six days later, the utility is still tight-lipped on what happened, pointing to the National Transportation Safety Board’s ongoing investigation. The two separate explosions took place around 6 p.m. on April 21 in the 15000 block of Preston Hollow Drive, which is located near Thousand Oaks Drive.

Two adults and one child suffered burns and were hospitalized after the first explosion. Two additional adults were hospitalized as a result of the second explosion. A Brooke Army Medical Center spokesperson said that, as of Monday, two of the victims are still in critical condition.

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S&P Global Platts – April 27, 2026

Middle East war hits renewable energy supply chains directly and indirectly

The war in the Middle East has continued to affect the energy sector, particularly oil and gas, but has also disrupted renewable energy supply chains. “You can’t really separate the two anymore,” Jon Powers, president of solar and battery storage developer CleanCapital, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. “It has been an oil- and gas-centric conversation, but you marry that to the demand … that’s been growing and it’s sort of hitting everywhere.”

The war has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping passageway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Shipments of oil, gas and related materials have been essentially blocked, along with important feedstocks for renewables and battery storage, such as aluminum, copper, helium and sulfuric acid. But the impacts of the conflict have been uneven for manufacturers of renewable energy infrastructure.

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ESG Dive – April 27, 2026

General Motors sourcing 100% renewable energy for US operations

General Motors is now powering all its sites and facilities in the United States with 100% renewable energy, a milestone the company said it reached last year. The company claims it is the first U.S. automaker to achieve this goal. GM announced the breakthrough in an April 21 release ahead of Earth Day, held annually on April 22. The car manufacturer said its investments in domestic renewable energy have generated around $1.9 billion in gross domestic product since 2015 and that projects contracted through 2026 will likely bring in an additional $333 million.

The company matched 70% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy in 2025, nearly doubling what it sourced in 2023, according to the release. GM aims to completely power its global facilities with renewable energy by 2035.

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WYFF – April 23, 2026

Solar and wind account for 3% of global energy, but are a growing power source for homes, businesses

As the United States grappled with Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a choke point for one-fifth of the world’s crude oil — CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright whether the U.S. should rely less on oil and more on renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power. “We have gone through two months when the entire global energy system is in chaos just because of one shipping lane,” Tapper said April 19 on “State of the Union.” “Doesn’t that make an argument for alternative kinds of energy, so that the U.S. is less reliant on oil?”

Wright, whose private-sector career was in natural gas and oil, said the U.S. produces more oil than it consumes, making it a net exporter of oil; we’ve rated a similar claim Half True. Wright said that “we definitely want energy from everywhere we can get it” — including nuclear energy — but gave the impression that progress in renewable energy has been disappointing.

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Oil Price – April 19, 2026

Britain’s Renewable Energy Glut

The United Kingdom has been rapidly increasing its deployment of new renewable energy capacity in recent years, to the point that it now has some to spare during peak production hours. While the U.K. gradually increases its battery storage, the government is encouraging consumers to use more electricity during certain times of the day to help shift reliance away from fossil fuels to green alternatives.

Consumers are being asked by the government to use high-consumption appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines, as well as electric vehicle (EV) chargers, during peak renewable energy production hours this summer, when more solar and wind power is being delivered to the grid. Energy suppliers will support the government’s efforts by offering free or discounted electricity during certain hours of the day when there is a surplus of electricity. The scheme is also expected to be extended to businesses and manufacturers.

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Ars Technica – April 21, 2026

Satellite and drone images reveal big delays in US data center construction

Silicon Valley has been pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building ever-larger AI data centers that require as much electricity as hundreds of thousands of US homes—but that massive buildout faces significant construction and power challenges along with growing local resistance. Now satellite imagery is showing that nearly 40 percent of US data center projects may fail to be completed this year as scheduled.

The Financial Times drew upon satellite imagery from the geospatial data analytics company SynMax showing how much progress has been made in clearing land and laying building foundations for each data center project. It also cross-checked project progress against public statements and permit documents compiled by the industry research group IIR Energy. The resulting analysis revealed how major projects from tech companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, and OpenAI are “likely to miss completion dates by more than three months.”

 

Regulatory

 

Reuters – April 27, 2026

US to end more offshore wind leases in exchange for fossil fuel investments*

President Donald Trump’s administration said on Monday that it had reached a deal to end two more ‌U.S. offshore wind leases in exchange for $885 million in pledged investments in domestic fossil fuels. The projects, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific, are managed by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between France’s ENGIE and Portugal’s EDP Renewables.

The announcement comes ​a month after French energy giant TotalEnergies reached a similar agreement with the Interior Department to redirect $1 ​billion from offshore wind leases to U.S. oil and gas production. The deals represent ⁠a new strategy in Trump’s effort to stymie U.S. offshore wind projects, which the president has called ugly, costly and inefficient. “Now ​that hardworking Americans are no longer footing the bill for expensive, unreliable, intermittent energy projects, companies are once again ​investing in affordable, reliable, secure energy infrastructure,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday April 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

Oil prices extended gains on Monday, rising nearly ‌2% as peace talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled while shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited, keeping global oil supplies tight.

Brent crude futures rose $2.16, or 2.05%, to $107.49 ​a barrel by 2346 GMT, the highest since April 7, and ​U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $96.17 a barrel, up $1.77, or 1.88%.

Last ⁠week, Brent and WTI gained nearly 17% and 13%, respectively, the biggest ​weekly gains since the start of the war.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded ​during the weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived ​In Pakistan.

Tehran has largely closed the strait while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iran’s ports. Traffic through the Strait ​of Hormuz remained limited, ​with just ⁠one oil products tanker entering the Gulf on Sunday, shipping data from Kpler showed.

 

Top Stories

 

Utility Dive – April 24, 2026

Average US electricity prices rose 9% year over year in February: EIA

Revenue per kilowatt hour for electricity — a proxy for retail rates — rose 9% on average this February compared to the same month last year — rising by 26.3% in Virginia, 21.9% in Ohio and 19.5% in Pennsylvania, according to a Thursday report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Total average revenues per kWh increased by 9.0% from last February, to 14.36 cents/kWh in February 2026,” EIA said. Residential retail prices of electricity went up 7.4% year-over-year.

All four sectors — residential, commercial, industrial and transportation — saw increases in average revenues per kWh compared to last February. “The Transportation sector saw the highest increase, up 23.6%, then the Commercial sector, up 10.7%, followed by the Industrial sector, up 8.6%, and finally the Residential sector, up 7.4%,” EIA said. More electricity was also sold year-over-year this February, the agency found, and total net generation went up 1.2%.

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The Strait of Hormuz oil shock has yet to crash demand as the rich world borrows from its stocks and pays up to secure supply. Traders are now sounding the alarm that a harsh adjustment is coming. The longer the vital oil channel doesn’t reopen, traders say, the more consumption is going to have to recalibrate lower to align with supply that’s dropped at least 10%. And for that to happen, people will have buy less, either through prices they can’t afford, or government intervention to force consumption down.

A billion barrels of supply loss is already all-but guaranteed — more than double the emergency inventories that governments released not long after the conflict began at the end of February. Buffers are being used up fast, helping to keep a lid on oil prices for now. But with the closure now in its ninth week, demand destruction that started in less obvious sectors like petrochemicals in Asia, is quietly spreading to everyday markets the world over.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 26, 2026

See How the Energy Crisis Is Spreading Across the World*

We are indeed facing the largest energy crisis in history—International Energy Agency chief, April 23. Those hardest hit are oil importers, often furthest away from the fighting. The crisis has forced governments to take measures unseen for almost half a century. Some have declared a state of energy emergency.

The 32 countries of the IEA released a record 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves. Here’s what the measures look like in practice. About a week into the war, the president of the Philippines ordered a temporary four-day week in some government offices and prohibited unnecessary travel by officials. On March 24, he declared the country—a net energy importer—was in a national energy emergency. A committee monitored the supply and distribution of fuel, food and medicine.

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CBS News – April 24, 2026

IEA says Iran war will keep the global natural gas market tight for two years

The implications of the Iran war on energy markets will extend well beyond this year, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday.  The conflict in the Middle East, now in its second month, is expected to crimp global natural gas supplies for two years as damage to liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar disrupts supply, the IEA predicts.

The war has closed the Strait of Hormuz, effectively cutting off one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies. IEA head Fatih Birol on Tuesday called the disruption “the biggest crisis in history” in an interview with France Inter radio. Iranian strikes on Ras Laffan Industrial City, a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Qatar, last month reduced its LNG capacity by 17%, Qatar’s energy minister said. It could take up to five years to repair the damage, the energy minister added.

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Bloomberg/Yahoo! News – April 25, 2026

The Billion-Barrel Hormuz Oil Shock Is About to Crash Demand

The Strait of Hormuz oil shock has yet to crash demand as the rich world borrows from its stocks and pays up to secure supply. Traders are now sounding the alarm that a harsh adjustment is coming. The longer the vital oil channel doesn’t reopen, traders say, the more consumption is going to have to recalibrate lower to align with supply that’s dropped at least 10%. And for that to happen, people will have buy less, either through prices they can’t afford, or government intervention to force consumption down.

A billion barrels of supply loss is already all-but guaranteed — more than double the emergency inventories that governments released not long after the conflict began at the end of February. Buffers are being used up fast, helping to keep a lid on oil prices for now. But with the closure now in its ninth week, demand destruction that started in less obvious sectors like petrochemicals in Asia, is quietly spreading to everyday markets the world over.

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Reuters – April 26, 2026

Goldman Sachs raises oil price forecasts on tight supply*

Goldman Sachs has raised its oil price forecasts for the fourth ​quarter to $90 a barrel for Brent crude and $83 ‌for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), on lower output from the Middle East. “The economic risks are larger than our ​crude base case alone suggests because of the ​net upside risks to oil prices, unusually ⁠high refined product prices, products shortages risks, and ​the unprecedented scale of the shock,” GS analysts led ​by Daan Struyven said in an April 26 note.

• Forecast assumes a normalization in Gulf exports through the Strait of ​Hormuz by end-June versus mid-May previously and a ​slower Gulf production recovery.
• GS estimates 14.5 million barrels per day of ‌Middle ⁠East crude production losses are driving global oil inventories to draw at a record 11-12 million bpd pace in April.
• GS expects the global oil market ​to swing ​from a ⁠1.8 million bpd 2025 surplus to a 9.6 million bpd Q2 2026 deficit.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Baker Hughes is working under the assumption that the Strait of Hormuz may not fully reopen for months, a senior executive at the influential oilfield services firm said Friday — Reuters*

“In Texas alone, roughnecks (entry-level) average $43,969, while technicians (mid-level) and petroleum engineers (senior-level) can earn $50,873 and $74,556, respectively. Those numbers spike even higher for offshore rigs, paying $60,000 for roustabouts (entry-level), $100,000 for drillers (mid-level) and over $150,000 for supervisors (senior-level). Oil workers with college degrees can also start their jobs at six-figure salaries, according to ALB” — Houston Chronicle*

Video: S&P’s Yergin: “The Biggest Energy Disruption We’ve Ever Seen” — Bloomberg

Ukrainian Drone Strike Hits Russian Chemical Complex in Volgograd as Fire Erupts at Yaroslavl Refinery — a high-pressure acid pipeline was damaged at the Apatit plant and a major Rosneft-Gazprom refinery in Yaroslavl was set ablaze during a massive overnight drone raid across Russia — Kyiv Post

On Thursday, Austin City Council approved Austin Energy to begin negotiations for a new solar farm at the former Travis County dump — KXAN

New Mexico deserves a future beyond fossil fuels — “Our most vulnerable communities and ecosystems, who’ve paid the highest price for extraction, deserve a say in their future,” op-ed by Feleecia Guillen in Source NM

A bipartisan group of senators led by Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pushed back on President Trump’s decision to loosen sanctions on Russian oil amid a global shortage of oil supplies by introducing legislation to restore congressional oversight of U.S. sanctions on Russia — The Hill

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the U.S. does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea, and, he said, a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table — Houston Chronicle*

According to AAA Texas, the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.60. That is a 14-cent drop from last week, however, we are 85 cents higher than we were last year at this time — the national average is $4.03 per gallon, which is down 6 cents

Read More: Texas Fuel Prices Slide Second Week: What to Know | https://thebullamarillo.com/texas-gas-prices-drop-again/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price – April 24, 2026

US Oil Drillers Scale Back as Global Supply Crunch Continues

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 544,  down 43 from this same time last year. But the number of active oil rigs specifically slipped by 3 to 407 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 4 after falling by 2 in the week prior. Gas rigs now sit at 129, which is 22 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 8.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during the week ending April 17. US crude oil production averaged 13.585 million bpd during the reporting period—277,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell during the week ending April 17 by 6 to 165 crews.

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Bloomberg – April 24, 2026

Valero Pulls Back on Mexican Oil After Texas Refinery Blast*

Top independent US oil refiner Valero Energy Corp., the largest buyer of Mexican crude, has cut purchases from the country to a trickle in April as it struggles to restart its Texas refinery following an emergency total shutdown. The company has agreed to buy one cargo from Mexico of less than 200,000 barrels this month, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. That compares with an average of 4 million barrels a month last year. The majority of Valero’s imports go to the Port Arthur refinery, one of the largest on the US Gulf Coast. In late March, the refinery faced extensive damage from a diesel hydrotreater fire. The explosion and fire were so severe that the unit’s blast-resistant control room was destroyed.

For Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, the loss of appetite from Valero is a big blow. The San Antonio-based refiner accounts for about 20% of Mexican oil sales. Valero, the largest US independent refiner after Marathon Petroleum Corp., and Pemex didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. Amid diminished demand from Valero, Mexico’s state oil company is shipping more oil to South Korea and also to its Deer Park refinery in Texas, the document shows. It’s unclear when the Port Arthur refinery will be able to fully restart. Since the late-March incident, the facility has ramped up activity at some of its units, but key pieces, including its largest crude unit, remain offline. The refinery can process 435,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the company.

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Bloomberg/Insurance Journal – April 24, 2026

A 50% Surge in Zombie Oil Wells Prompts Texas to Crack Down on Toxic Water Leaks

Texas is planning new rules to speed up its response to so-called zombie oil wells after the number of sites leaking toxic wastewater increased more than 50% this year. Oil companies in the largest US crude-producing state are pumping so much wastewater underground that oilfield fluids are bursting through old wells and onto the surface, particularly in the Permian Basin. The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oil and gas regulator, is proposing new emergency measures that would shut wastewater injection within a two-mile radius of a leaking well or compel nearby operators to clean up the site themselves.

The increasing severity of the situation means the regulator needs to address the root cause of the leaks, which often come from wastewater exerting too much pressure on old wells, it said in a March presentation seen by Bloomberg News. “We can no longer simply solve the surface flow and ignore the subsurface situation,” the RRC said.

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Reuters – April 24, 2026

Amber Energy says it will invest $11 billion in Citgo if sale is finalized*

Amber Energy CEO Greg Goff promised $11 billion in investments in Citgo ​Petroleum if the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office ‌of Foreign Assets Control releases the refiner owned by Venezuela to Amber as a Delaware judge approved in ​November. Goff’s appeal for release of control to ​Amber came in an opinion column he ⁠wrote with Amber Chairman Paul Foster that appeared ​on the Wall Street Journal website on Thursday ​night.

• Goff and Foster said $1 billion would be invested in adding 125,000 barrels per day in crude oil refining capacity ​at the 165,000-bpd Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery.
• Another $500 ​million would go to expand coking capacity at the 188,023-bpd ‌Lemont, ⁠Illinois, refinery to boost diesel and asphalt output in the Midwest.
• About $250 million would be spent expanding premium gasoline production capacity at Citgo’s 459,800-bpd Lake ​Charles, Louisiana, ​refinery.

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April 25, 2026

The think tank who thinks it can outsmart Texas schools: Glenn Rogers, Dallas Morning News*

Another long-term campaign to derail public school representation is the effort to enact a ban on so-called taxpayer funded lobbying. Organizations that represent public education, such as the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), have been under constant attack from groups that support such a ban. State Senator and Attorney General candidate Mayes Middleton, who now identifies as “MAGA Mayes,” has been beating this drum for years.

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Barron’s/MSN – April 24, 2026

Natural gas is wildly profitable around the world. In Texas, prices are negative.

As war-driven shortages drive the price of oil and natural gas to multiyear highs around the world, a curious thing is happening in Texas—natural gas is trading at negative levels. That means that producers are having to pay companies to take the natural gas they are producing off their hands. This isn’t the first time gas has gone negative in Texas. But the price is particularly depressed today, and it’s coming at a time when most of the world desperately needs the commodity.

Natural gas priced at a major pipeline intersection in West Texas called Waha is trading for negative $7.05 per million British Thermal Units, according to the latest data from LSEG. That means that producers have to pay buyers that amount. The price hit a record low of negative $9.52 on April 15, according to trade publication Natural Gas Intelligence. The natural gas price at Henry Hub, a pipeline intersection in Louisiana, is also depressed, though not nearly as much. It’s trading at $2.52, an annual low. The bottom line is that there is too much natural gas being produced in the U. S.—and Texas in particular—and not enough pipelines to transport it.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Inside Climate News – April 24, 2026

Fossil-Fuel Funded GOP Leaders Claim a Renowned Scientific Institution Has ‘Potential Conflicts of Interest’

Soon after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a plan to revoke its legal authority to regulate climate pollutants last summer, the nation’s most respected scientific organization fast-tracked a review of the latest evidence on whether greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare.

Now Republican leaders of the House science committee—who have received generous campaign donations from the fossil-fuel industry—are questioning the “formation, funding and expedited timeline” of the expert committee that reviewed the evidence of climate pollution’s harms for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

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Grist – March 18, 2026

Big Oil has moved on from ‘greenwashing.’ Here’s the new playbook.

Remember when the fossil fuel industry couldn’t stop talking about climate change? In 2020, when oil prices plunged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Oil promoted efforts to cut carbon emissions and trumpeted various energy “innovations”: transforming algae into fuel (Exxon Mobil), capturing carbon (Chevron), and producing green hydrogen (BP). Critics deemed it “greenwashing” — highlighting small sustainable investments to distract people from the pollution at the core of their business.It didn’t take long for oil companies to move on from those old talking points.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, supply disruptions drove oil prices up, and oil giants switched to a new message: Fossil fuels are essential to “energy security,” and they’re here to stay. That’s according to a new report from Clean Creatives, an initiative pressuring PR companies and advertisers to stop working with fossil fuel clients, that analyzed more than 1,800 advertisements, press releases, and social media campaigns from BP, Shell, Exxon, and Chevron between 2020 and 2024.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Cool Down – April 24, 2026

Home explosion linked to decades-old plastic gas pipes that utility company was supposed to replace

A doorbell camera captured a head-turning video of a gas explosion in North Texas, and the early investigation shows the blast may be linked to aging and faulty underground pipes.  According to a report from CBS News, the explosion in February critically injured one woman who was airlifted to the hospital following the blast.  Atmos Energy, a natural gas utility serving more than 3.3 million customers across the South, said that following the blast, its crews detected an isolated leak on a short section of pipe buried in the area, per CBS News.

The company claimed the pipe, which was made of a material only used between 1970 and 1971, was installed by a previous utility company.

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Oil Price – April 24, 2026

Infrastructure Funds Now Capture 77% of New Climate Capital

A transformation is taking place in clean energy and climate investing. The current energy crisis has shifted global energy priorities, with a newfound emphasis on energy security and resilience. As a result, flows of investing dollars are shifting away from new and innovative technologies toward tried and true energy sources and methods that fall under the purview of established and trusted entities. We are also seeing – at long last – a shift toward investing in much-needed energy infrastructure to support the world’s fast-growing and increasingly complex energy needs.

A recent report from Sightline Climate found that infrastructure funds currently account for 77 percent of new climate capital raised. These funds have gained appeal thanks to skyrocketing power demand driven by the AI boom, and have possibly enjoyed a windfall for their “slow and steady” returns in an era of geopolitical instability and energy market volatility. Atmos Energy, a natural gas utility serving more than 3.3 million customers across the South, said that following the blast, its crews detected an isolated leak on a short section of pipe buried in the area, per CBS News. The company claimed the pipe, which was made of a material only used between 1970 and 1971, was installed by a previous utility company.

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Dallas Morning News – April 25, 2026

North Texas company rides AI fervor to IPO filing*

Coppell-based Csquare, a provider of data center colocation services, began the process of an initial public offering as AI demand prompts technology infrastructure to seek public liquidity. The company announced Friday it had confidentially filed a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, though the number of shares and the price range they will be offered have yet to be determined. The offering will take place once the SEC completes its review process. Due to the confidential filing, certain details such as business operations and financial disclosures are not yet public.

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E&E News By Politico – April 24, 2026

Texas regulators let data center tap existing wind farm*

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Thursday approved a pioneering agreement allowing a data center to connect directly to an existing wind farm (“behind-the-meter”), establishing a new model for handling high-demand data centers on the Texas grid. This 5-0 decision requires the data center to adhere to strict emergency curtailment protocols, including disconnecting within 30 minutes during grid stress.

The project, which is considered a first-of-its-kind for the ERCOT grid, involves a “co-location” deal where the data center acts as a direct, onsite user of the wind farm’s power. Responding to grid reliability concerns, regulators mandated that the facility must immediately stop taking power from the grid during shortages and instead rely on the connected wind farm, ensuring. This decision serves as a “road map” for other tech companies seeking fast, renewable energy, as developers aim to avoid long interconnection queues

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Pipeline & Gas Journal – April 26, 2026

NextEra Energy Posts Strong Q1 as Gas Generation, Infrastructure Demand Grow

NextEra Energy reported higher first-quarter earnings, driven by continued investment in power generation and infrastructure as electricity demand rises across the U.S., according to its April 23 financial release. The company posted adjusted earnings of $2.275 billion, or $1.09 per share, up from $2.038 billion, or $0.99 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

CEO John Ketchum said the results reflect strong performance across both its regulated utility business and energy infrastructure arm. “These results reflect continued strong financial and operational performance as America’s electricity demand continues to increase,” Ketchum said.

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CNBC – April 24, 2026

Nuclear reactor company X-energy shares surge 27% as AI drives interest in its IPO

Advanced nuclear reactor company X-Energy began trading Friday as the AI boom and electrification broadly spark a flurry of interest in the nuclear industry. The stock opened at $30.11, after upsizing its initial offering, pricing at $23 per share — ahead of the initial range of $16 to $19 per share. The company raised more than $1 billion, making it the largest nuclear public offering on record. Shares ended the day 27% higher at $29.20.

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Oil Price – April 25, 2026

A New Solar Breakthrough Could Make Wood Part of the Energy Grid

As the world adds solar and wind energy capacity at an unprecedented scale, we are increasingly faced with an energy variability crisis. Solar panels only produce energy when the sun is shining, and wind turbines when the wind is blowing. Unfortunately, energy demand curves are often directly at odds with these production trends. This creates a major dilemma for the energy grid, as well as for energy markets. And market volatility, including record-breaking negative energy prices in places where renewables have been deployed at a massive scale, can scare off investors, thereby threatening the future of clean energy adoption when it’s never been more urgently needed.

The obvious solution to this problem is the massive expansion of grid-scale energy storage and the development of cost-effective and scalable long-term energy storage solutions. Scientists around the world are currently hard at work doing just this – but many researchers are also looking into new and novel forms of clean energy production that can produce around-the-clock, avoiding the variability issue altogether.

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Salt Lake Tribune – April 25, 2026

‘Hyperscale’ data center project in Utah — expected to generate and consume more power than entire state — nears final approval

Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary plans to build a massive hyperscale data center project in Box Elder County — which state boosters say will fund modern buildings at Hill Air Force Base while generating all of its own power, cleaning the water it uses so it can be sent to the Great Salt Lake and creating 2,000 high-paying jobs in the rural area.

The board that oversees the state’s Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, approved a series of resolutions Friday to move the multibillion-dollar project forward, agreeing to move fast and charge far lower taxes than usual to help O’Leary “lure the hyperscalers” to Utah.

 

Regulatory

 

Associated Press/Galveston County News – April 8, 2026

States are struggling to meet their clean energy goals. Data centers are to blame

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Friday April 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

Oil prices rose Friday as the Middle East conflict continues to stoke energy worries, with both the U.S. and Iran seizing ships as the Strait of Hormuz stays shut.

West Texas Intermediate futures advanced 0.32% to $96.17 per barrel.

International benchmark Brent crude pared gains to climb 0.63% to $105.73 per barrel in Friday trading.

Prices rose even as Israel and Lebanon agreed to prolong their truce following a meeting at the White House with senior U.S. officials, President Donald Trump said Thursday. “The Meeting went very well!” Trump posted on Truth Social, announcing the extension.

The ceasefire, initially set to last 10 days, will now give more time for diplomatic negotiations, with Washington also pledging support to bolster Lebanon’s defenses against Hezbollah.

 

Top Stories

 

Politico – April 23, 2026

No quick rebound from Hormuz disruption, oil execs tell Dallas Fed

See the Dallas Fed survey update

U.S. oil and gas executives expect traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to be constrained through August — with little change in U.S. crude output to offset the drop in Middle East oil, according to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Most of the executives in the survey released Thursday also said they expect shipping costs for oil from the Persian Gulf to rise even after the U.S. war with Iran ends due to higher insurance rates and tolls.

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Reuters – April 23, 2026

White House expected to extend Jones Act waiver up to 90 days, sources say*

The White House is ​expected to extend the Jones Act waiver for ‌up to 90 days as early as Friday to help blunt fuel price pressures tied ​to the Iran conflict, according ​to two sources familiar with the ⁠decision. The move would temporarily ease requirements that goods ​transported between U.S. ports be carried on ​American-built and American-crewed vessels, allowing foreign-flagged ships to move fuel and other key commodities more ​freely as the administration seeks to ​contain energy market disruptions from the war and tensions ‌in ⁠the Strait of Hormuz.

A White House official told Reuters the extension is under consideration, but declined to comment on ​the length ​and ⁠timing of any announcement. Trump waived Jones Act limitations for 60 ​days starting March 17, hoping ​the ⁠move would help tame the surge in fuel prices caused by the Iran ⁠war by increasing ​shipments from the U.S. ​Gulf Coast to other coastal markets in the country.

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Austin American-Statesman – April 23, 2026

Tesla acquires AI hardware company amid AI, robotics efforts*

After touting its artificial intelligence efforts during its latest earnings report, Tesla Inc. appears to be investing even more in artificial intelligence. The Austin automaker agreed this month to acquire an unnamed AI hardware company for up to $2 billion in Tesla common stock and equity awards, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Approximately $1.8 billion is subject to certain service conditions and the successful deployment of the company’s technology, the filing said.

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Beaumont Enterprise – April 22, 2026

Port Neches wastewater facility, local oil refineries fined by state*

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved penalties totaling $1,204,981 against 69 regulated entities for violations, including Chevron Phillips, Motiva, Energy Transfer and the city of Port Neches. The outlier was Port Neches’ wastewater treatment facility at 6499 Georgia St., which was found to have exceeded permitted discharge limits for a multitude of pollutants including Enterococci bacteria from August 2022 to June 2023. A penalty of $240,000 was procedurally levied in October that year, but the city agreed to invest $490,000 into an extremely localized Supplemental Environmental Project to offset the fine.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, ActBlue, Realtors, casino promoters and Beto are the top five PACs spending this legislative season — see the Houston Chronicle’s new list

Democrats are budgeting about $13 million in Harlingen, Texas, a media market that covers South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley and touches three competitive House races, for the fall campaigns to bring Congress under their control — The Wall Street Journal*

Tesla is officially one step closer to its autonomous future as the first Cybercab has rolled off the production line at Gigafactory Texas — Not a Tesla App

US waste services provider Enviri Corporation (NYSE:NVRI) said its Clean Earth unit has started full-scale solar panel recycling at a facility in Lancaster, Texas, after securing approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — Renewables Now

Geronimo Power has begun commercial operations at the 270 MW Blevins Solar Project, located in Falls County, Texas — Renewable Watch

Single-person households in Texas pay an estimated $1.19 billion more per year in energy bills compared to equivalent shared households, and this additional financial burden, which researchers are calling a “singles tax,” places Texas second in the U.S. for excess energy spending among people living alone — KDAF

The Orange County Advanced Power Station recently completed its “first fire,” marking the first time fuel was introduced and ignited within the system — KBMT

Renewables companies Octopus Energy and Lunar Energy are rolling out an electricity plan in Texas that will pair fixed energy pricing with Lunar Energy’s home battery that manages when power is stored, used and shared — Solar Power World

GM becomes first U.S. automaker to reach 100% renewable energy goal — see the press release

The US Government has authorised Enbridge Energy to continue operating and maintaining its existing cross-border pipeline facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, following the issuance of a new presidential permit — Mega Project

Why Gas Prices Go Up Fast and Take So Long to Fall — fuel station owners take some of the hit for consumers when oil prices surge. On the way down, they try to get their money back — The New York Times*

After the driest winter on record, officials this spring want to raise the level of badly depleted Lake Powell on the Colorado River to keep its hydropower humming, and to do so, they plan to eventually let out as much as a third of the water in Flaming Gorge Reservoir upstream on the Green River in Wyoming and Utah, which would exceed a record 2022 surge that kept electricity flowing — Associated Press/KXAN

China demonstrates microwave beam that recharges drones in flight, continues power delivery — this could significantly expand how long drones remain in the air, supporting continuous surveillance, strike missions — Interesting Engineering

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Inside Climate News – April 21, 2026

Transco Pipeline Project Faces Legal Challenge

Five environmental groups are petitioning a federal appeals court to invalidate a water quality permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a controversial Transco pipeline. The $1.5 billion Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP) would run through five states, including North Carolina, where it would extend for 28 miles in Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth and Davidson counties.

The SSEP is one of the largest pipeline capacity expansions in the Southeast in decades, and necessary, Transco says, to meet regional demand for natural gas. It involves adding pipelines alongside existing ones to carry more gas between the Gulf and the Southeast. For 165 of the pipeline’s 173 stream and wetland crossings, Transco received a federal water quality permit from the Corps to construct the pipelines using a “dry-ditch, open-cut” crossing method, which can permanently damage aquatic ecosystems.

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Santa Barbara News Press (CA) – April 19, 2026

Agent Orange precedent: Inside the latest ruling against Sable oil pipeline: Tom Schultz

When a Santa Barbara judge handed environmental groups a win against oil production along the Gaviota Coast on Friday, she drew upon case law with roots in the Vietnam War era — and for the first time in a written decision signaled state regulations might supercede a Trump Administration order to keep the crude flowing. “The court makes its position clear,” county Superior Court Judge Donna D. Geck wrote, rejecting a request by Sable Offshore Corp. to lift a preliminary injunction intended to prevent the Houston-based firm from transporting oil from the Santa Barbara Channel to Central California.

That clarity, according to Geck, stems largely from a decades-old precedent in which chemical manufacturers were compelled by federal Defense Production Act (DPA) orders to deliver Agent Orange, a defoliant weaponized by the U.S. Military for a decade in the 1960s and early 1970s, yet were found liable in the mid 1990s for improper disposal of the compound as well as cancer deaths resulting from its use.

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KBTX – April 23, 2026

Turning air into water could become a solution for water-hungry Texas cities

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Oil Price – April 23, 2026

Chevron Restarts Wheatstone LNG Amid Global Gas Shortage

Chevron has restarted production of liquefied natural gas at its Wheatstone project in Australia after repairs prompted by cyclone damage in March. The repairs took a while due to the severity of the damage. “Extreme winds associated with the cyclone damaged several hundred air-cooled heat exchangers, known as ‌fin fans, making the repair programme a significant undertaking,” the supermajor’s head of operations and maintenance in Australia said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle last month disrupted operations at a total of three LNG facilities in Australia, including Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone, worsening an increasingly severe global LNG supply crunch. Gorgon only had to suspend operations at one of its three liquefaction trains.

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S&P Global Platts – April 23, 2026

Golden Pass LNG project in Texas sends first cargo to Belgium’s Zeebrugge terminal

The first cargo exported by the Golden Pass LNG terminal signaled a destination of Belgium’s Zeebrugge LNG import terminal on April 23 as it was underway in the US Gulf Coast, S&P Global Commodities at Sea data showed. Seven Atlantic-based LNG traders told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, that the cargo, loaded by Golden Pass majority owner QatarEnergy, could be used to make up for some of the supplies from the energy giant’s Ras Laffan facilities that were curtailed because of the war in the Middle East.

Three market participants said Italy’s Eni was the likely buyer. The carrier, Al Qaiyyah, departed Golden Pass on April 22, marking a major milestone for the ninth major LNG export terminal in the US. CAS data showed the ship was expected to arrive at the Belgian regasification facility on May 8. QatarEnergy is historically the main supplier to Zeebrugge and remains the dominant capacity holder.

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Houston Chronicle – April 23, 2026

Corpus Christi will likely face emergency water restrictions this fall, staff warns*

Corpus Christi’s residents and massive petrochemical industry could soon be forced to cut water use by as much as 25% amid an historic drought. City leaders have been scrambling for months to avoid emergency water use restrictions as their main reservoirs have been depleted. But emergency groundwater projects have yielded less supply than anticipated, and staff told city council during a workshop this week that a water emergency could hit as soon as September.

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April 23, 2026

A history lesson for Texas lawmakers. New Mexico bites back: Joe Holley, Houston Chronicle*

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Bloomberg – April 23, 2026

Trump’s Emergency Oil Sails to Europe as War Upends Energy Flows*

A massive release of oil from US emergency reserves that has started flowing to American refiners is also supplying fuelmakers in Europe, and potentially in Asia, as the Iran war upends global energy markets. Global trading houses have sold at least 4 million barrels of medium crude grades from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to European refiners, and are also seeking buyers in Asia, people with direct knowledge of the transactions said, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public. The US-Israeli war on Iran triggered the biggest oil supply disruption in history as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz blocked off shipments from top OPEC producers in the Persian Gulf. The Trump administration pledged to release 172 million barrels as part of a relief plan coordinated by the International Energy Agency to cushion soaring energy costs that threaten to stoke global inflation.

Supertanker Eagle Versailles, carrying nearly 2.1 million barrels of Bryan Mound medium sour crude, is on its way to Rotterdam, according to bills of lading compiled by maritime intelligence firm Kpler Ltd. The oil grade is named after one of the four underground salt cavern sites where the US emergency hoard is stashed away. So far, the US has released 79.7 million barrels to 12 companies. The oil was offered in an exchange basis, meaning it was loaned to traders and refiners and has to be returned at a later date. Vortexa Ltd. estimates more than half, or nearly 50 million barrels, could be exported by June, based on the assumption that the oil awarded to non-fuelmakers is likely to go to overseas markets starved of Middle East supplies.

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News from the States – April 20, 2026

Alaska LNG export project requires further massive public subsidy

Sponsors for the proposed 807-mile Alaska gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas processing and export facilities are seeking additional massive public subsidies to make the project viable. Even fallout from the largest “oil disruption in history” isn’t enough to overcome the need. Although President Trump initially boasted that the Alaska LNG export project would be a signature accomplishment of his administration, the project appears vastly over budget and shrouded in secrecy.

The project is being advanced by a partnership of the private firm Glenfarne Group, which has a 75% share, and 8 Star Alaska LLC, a private subsidiary of the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, with a 25% share. AGDC gave 75% of 8 Star Alaska’s assets, including permits, rights of way, research and data, to Glenfarne in exchange for a commitment to pursue the project to a “final investment decision” on whether to build it. The final investment decision, due at the end of 2025, is still pending and months behind schedule.

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Associated Press – April 22, 226

The Iran war could drive up costs for petroleum-derived products like clothes and crayons

It might be hard to imagine the Iran war weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings are not immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained. Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are made with polyester and acrylic, synthetic fibers derived from petroleum. Three weeks after the war started, suppliers in China notified Aleni Brands that getting the materials already was costing them 10% to 15% more, CEO Ricardo Venegas said.

“I think this situation demonstrates how much oil permeates throughout our system, and we can’t get away from it,” said Venegas, who founded Aleni Brands last year and is in the process of adding product lines. “Who would have thought that the price of a toy would have a direct relationship with oil?”

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E&E News By Politico – April 6, 2026

FERC seeks comments on Constitution gas project*

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Friday that its staff will look into the potential environmental effects of the long-planned Constitution pipeline and a related compression project. Williams Cos. and Iroquois Gas Transmission System have each asked FERC to reissue certificates for the intertwined projects, which would let natural gas flow from Pennsylvania to upstate New York before connecting with existing infrastructure.

The Trump administration has thrown its support behind the 125-mile Constitution project, saying the pipeline is key to lowering energy prices in the Northeast. The project was canceled in 2020 before Williams revived it last year. In the Friday notice requesting public comment, FERC said it will prepare an environmental analysis for Constitution as well as the Wright Interconnect project from Iroquois. The Wright project would enable gas delivery from Constitution’s end point into interstate pipeline systems.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Utility Dive – April 23, 2026

CenterPoint to energize 8 GW of data center load by 2029

Houston-area electric utility CenterPoint Energy has a line of sight to 12.2 GW of “firmly committed” new load and expects the increased utilization of its system to reduce costs for residential and commercial customers, officials said Thursday in a first quarter earnings presentation. The utility now has 3.5 GW of load under construction. In total, it expects 8 GW of data center load to be energized by 2029, with another 4.2 GW to follow. That’s about a 60% increase over the 7.5 GW of load CenterPoint identified at the end of last year.

Houston is no longer an “emerging destination” for data center developers and is instead “firmly established as a location of choice for some of the world’s largest hyperscalers,” CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells told analysts and reporters. CenterPoint has approval from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas for 3.2 GW of the load, with 2.5 GW of that approved since the company’s last earnings call in February. The utility expects to submit the remaining 9 GW of projects to ERCOT for approval within the next few weeks, Wells said, with more to come.

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Dallas Morning News – April 23, 2026

Oncor files request under new process, which may mean higher electric bills for Texans*

Just days after Oncor was approved to hike its electricity rates, the company filed a separate request that may increase residents’ bill even more. The Dallas-headquartered company on Wednesday filed its first request under the unified tracker mechanism (UTM), a new regulatory process that allows certain transmission and distribution investment previously filed separately to be reviewed together in a single annual proceeding. In a statement on Thursday, officials said its request under the process reflect investments in infrastructure placed in service between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2025. Those costs are associated with new and upgraded transmission facilities, system interconnections and distribution assets such as poles, wires and substations, as well as equipment needed to “support customer growth and maintain reliable service.”

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Zacks/Yahoo! News – April 23, 2026

CenterPoint Energy Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. CNP reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 56 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 58 cents by 3.8%. However, the bottom line increased 5.7% from 53 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company recorded GAAP earnings of 48 cents per share compared with 45 cents in the first quarter of 2025.

CNP generated revenues of $2.98 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 billion by 1.4%. However, the top line improved 2% from the year-ago reported figure of $2.92 billion. Total expenses increased 2% year over year to $2.32 billion. CNP reported an operating income of $658 million compared with $649 million in the previous year. Interest expenses and other finance charges totaled $265 million, up 13.2% from $234 million last year. The company announced 12.2 gigawatts (GW) of firmly committed industrial load at Houston Electric, expecting 8 GW of data center load to be energized by 2029.

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KTRK – April 23, 2026

Two data centers proposed for Matagorda County, residents pushing back

Some people living in Matagorda County are pushing back against proposed data centers in the area. Data centers are large facilities filled with servers that store information people use every day on the internet, fueling AI and the digital data boom. ABC13 has now learned from county leaders that two of those facilities are planned for Matagorda County, from Barrio Energy.

But some living in the community are now pushing back against the proposal and said their main concern is how the facility will impact their rural lifestyle here. Residents are sounding the alarm and have started a petition and a Facebook group called Matagorda County Against Data Centers.

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KXAN – April 22, 2026

Austin Energy provides homeowners with option to lease solar

Austin homeowners can now lease residential solar equipment. It’s part of Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan for a clean energy future for the city.  Austin Energy said expanding its solar leasing will help increase customer access to the benefits of solar with low or no upfront costs.

“Solar should be simple, safe and a smart investment for households, said Tim Harvey, Austin Energy Director of Customer Energy Solutions. “By pairing residential solar leasing with strong consumer protections… we’re making it easier than ever for customers to go solar with confidence.”  Austin Energy said solar leasing is an agreement where a residential customer pays a monthly fee to have a solar panel system installed on their property by a third-party commercial company, which will maintain the equipment.

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Fort Worth Star-Telegram/AOL – April 22, 2026

County commissioner says Granbury officials mislead public about data center

Hood County Commissioner Nannette Samuelson has accused the Granbury city manager and other city officials of deception and misrepresenting facts concerning power a plant designed for a future data center on over 2,000 acres annexed by the city in January.

Samuelson, who has been critical of a growing number of proposed data centers in her precinct, said during a specially-called commissioners court meeting Tuesday afternoon that the county received documents in June 2025 from Granbury’s economic development department describing the power plant project, called Project Horizon (now Project Patriot), from Dallas-based Bilateral Energy LLC. In July, Bilateral Energy received a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to build the power plant.

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Houston Chronicle – April 22, 2026

Here’s what the Texas energy sector can do to celebrate Earth Day: Michael E. Webber, University of Texas at Austin*

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Power Magazine – April 23, 2026

How Corporate Energy Buyers Are Reshaping the U.S. Grid: CEBA CEO Rich Powell on Data Centers, Nuclear, and Permitting Reform

Corporate America has become one of the most consequential forces shaping the U.S. electricity system. Speaking as a guest on The POWER Podcast, Rich Powell, CEO of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), explained how the country’s largest energy buyers are responding to unprecedented demand growth, betting on a widening mix of clean technologies, and pressing policymakers for the permitting reforms they feel are critical to meeting the moment.

Powell described CEBA as a “business association” dedicated to advancing low-cost, reliable, carbon emissions–free electricity systems. According to the organization’s latest figures, corporate buyers have announced 143.8 GW of clean energy deals in the U.S. since 2014—nearly the installed generating capacity of Texas. “That’s a heck of a lot of power,” Powell said. The organization is explicitly “big tent” when it comes to technology. While some members still frame their goals around renewables, others are fully technology-agnostic. “If it’s carbon emissions free, we like it,” Powell said.

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – April 15, 2026

Texas Legislature Targets Data Center Growth: What Industry Stakeholders Need to Know: Gray Reed

Texas has quickly become one of the nation’s most prominent data center markets. A recent report by real estate firm JLL predicts that Texas could have the most data centers worldwide by 2030. In brief, data centers are facilities designed to house racks of computer servers that process and store data — every internet search, streaming request, and cloud transaction runs through one. While there are already hundreds of data centers in Texas, the growth of AI has significantly increased demand for expanded and upgraded facilities.

Texas, with its vast landscape, independent grid, and business-friendly environment, has become a leading destination for data center development, and many anticipate broader economic benefits for the state will follow. The debate came into sharp focus last week when Texas House lawmakers held a committee hearing, questioning grid officials, data center developers, and energy companies on the industry’s growing demands on the state’s power and water infrastructure.

 

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday April 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 extended their gains on Thursday in ‌the wake of stalled peace talks between Iran and the United States, and as both nations maintained restrictions on the flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

West Texas Intermediate futures were also up $1.52, or 1.6%, at $94.48.

Brent crude futures rose $1.37, or 1.3%, to $103.28 a barrel at 0410 GMT, after settling above $100 for the first time in ​more than two weeks on Wednesday.

Both benchmarks closed ​more than $3 higher on Wednesday after larger-than-expected gasoline and distillate stock draws in the U.S., ⁠and over the lack of progress on Iran peace talks.

“The oil market is repricing expectations with little sign of progress ​in finding a resolution in the Persian Gulf,” said ING analysts in a note, adding that hopes for a resolution ​are fading as peace talks stall.

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained very light on Wednesday, the first day since President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran.

Trump’s decision to unilaterally extend the truce has not opened the strait. Iran is still trying to control ship traffic in the sea lane, while the U.S.imposes a blockade of Tehran’s ports and vessels.

 

Top Stories

 

Bloomberg – April 21, 2026

Oil Traders Say Billion-Barrel Hole Will Linger Long After War*

The impact of the Iran war will continue for months even after any deal to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s largest oil traders have warned. Some said flows through the waterway may never return to normal. Brent futures are trading just below $100, down sharply from highs of nearly $120 in the weeks immediately following the war, as the market watches for news on peace talks due to be held in Pakistan.

Speaking at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, executives at some of the world’s largest oil traders warned that the rewiring of the oil market would take months even if a peace deal is agreed soon. The market is not fully reflecting the impact of the massive supply disruption, they said, cautioning that prices will need to ratchet higher to the point of pushing the global economy toward a recession if the conflict continues. Already, the oil market faces a guaranteed supply loss of around one billion barrels — in part because of the time it would take revive flows once the strait reopens, according to Vitol Group Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy.

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i24 – April 22, 2026

Report: Demining Hormuz could take up to 6 months, Pentagon estimates

Fully clearing the Strait of Hormuz of mines laid by the Iranian military could take up to six months, the Pentagon has informed Congress on Tuesday.  Since such operation is unlikely to be carried out while the U.S.-Israeli war against the Iranian regime is ongoing, this assessment means the conflict’s economic impact could extend late into this year or beyond. The estimate was presented by a senior Defense Department official at a classified briefing for members of the House Armed Services Committee, three officials familiar with the discussion told Washington Post.

The officials said that Iran may have placed 20 or more mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Some of the mines were floated remotely using GPS technology, making it harder for U.S. forces to detect, according to the Defense official. The effect on oil prices could have significant implications on domestic U.S. politics, with November’s midterm elections in sight.

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Reuters – April 22, 2026

Kinder Morgan tops quarterly profit estimates amid rising natural gas demand — and will buy Monument Pipeline*

Related: Kinder Morgan said on Wednesday it agreed to buy Monument Pipeline for $505 million in cash, adding to its Texas natural gas pipeline network — the company said in a statement that the deal includes about 225 miles of natural gas pipelines in Houston and surrounding areas — Monument Pipeline provides transportation and storage services to gas utilities, liquefied natural gas shippers and industrial customers — Kinder Morgan said the purchase is “complementary” to its existing Texas intrastate pipeline network — the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to closing conditions — Bloomberg*

Kinder Morgan exceeded Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as the pipeline operator benefited from increased U.S. ​natural gas demand driven by the Middle East conflict and data center ‌expansion. U.S. pipeline companies are benefiting from robust oil and gas output in the Permian Basin, with ongoing uncertainty about ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz leading to a greater preference for ​U.S.-sourced LNG.

“The geopolitical landscape became even more turbulent this quarter, with conflict ​in the Middle East joining the ongoing war in Ukraine as ⁠a source of significant commodity price volatility,” Executive Chairman Richard Kinder said. The company said ​the Middle East conflict also curbs competing LNG supply boosting the longer-term consumption outlook. ​It expects total U.S. gas demand to reach 150 billion cubic feet per day by 2031, up about 27% from this year.

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April 20, 2026

The Oil Market Breaking Point Is Here: HFI Research (blog)

Let’s say that by Tuesday, the ceasefire ends with a long-lasting peace deal in place. There are ~160 million bbls of floating storage in tankers that will rush for the exit. These barrels will take 30-40 days to transit + offload. For these tankers to return, it would take an additional 20 days. As for the other segments in the market, there are 70 VLCCs headed for the US right now to load US crude and offloading to Asia. The time it takes for these VLCCs to load will be 6-8 weeks. Transit time to Asia will be another 45-50 days. To offload and go back through the Strait of Hormuz would be another 20-25 days. In total, we will not see meaningful tanker traffic back in the Strait of Hormuz from this entourage for at least 3 months.

To alleviate the current onshore storage build-up in the Middle East, we would need at least 100 VLCCs. There are 600 million bbls of onshore storage, and to give producers enough cushion to restart production, onshore storage needs to drain down by ~200 million bbls. Again, tanker activity shows that’s not physically possible until mid-to-late June, at the earliest. Once the onshore crude storage drains, we need a steady flow of tankers coming to through the Strait of Hormuz to pick up crude. By this point, producers like Saudi, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, and Bahrain can restart. This process will take a few more weeks all but guaranteeing that the lack of supply continues.

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Utility Dive – April 20, 2026

The great data center delay — A perfect storm of physical and geopolitical constraints as AI demand is increasing: Bruce Bateman, Omdia

The industry is grappling with a massive shortage of the raw materials required to actually build and cool these systems. Helium is indispensable for cooling wafers and leak detection. Following the 2026 strikes on Qatari production —which accounts for one-third of global supply — spot prices have doubled. Fabs in Taiwan and South Korea are now rationing helium. This net supply shortage could lead to a potential reduction in chip production. Bromine, essential for etching circuits and flame retardancy, has surged to $12,000 per metric ton. With ICL Group in Israel controlling nearly 40% of the global supply, and providing 97% of South Korea’s imports, geopolitical instability has turned this once-common mineral into a strategic liability.

AI infrastructure is incredibly metal-intensive. Each megawatt of data center capacity requires approximately 27 tons of copper for wiring and cooling. Copper prices hit a record $6 per pound in January 2026 and currently sit at approximately $5.61 per pound. Meanwhile, aluminum reached a four-year high of $3,544 per metric ton in early March and remains elevated near $3,505. Data centers are now actively outbidding traditional industrial sectors for these metals.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Iran war creating worst energy crisis ‘in history,’ says International Energy Agency — Strait of Hormuz closure, coupled with energy-related fallout from Ukraine war, becoming world’s ‘biggest crisis’ ever, IEA chief says; jet fuel price hikes may cost travelers — Times of Israel

Henry Hub cash prices have traded at a premium to Nymex futures since late February, while Waha has remained deeply negative, highlighting a market increasingly driven by regional bottlenecks — Natural Gas Intelligence*

Texas Energy Report has spoken with more than one O&G company planning to work up wells

Some 246 firefighters were still tackling a fire at Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse into Wednesday, more than 48 hours since a Ukrainian drone attack, local authorities told several sources

The oil market will lose at least 1bn barrels of crude and refined products due to the war in the Middle East, even if the conflict ends tomorrow, the head of the world’s biggest independent oil trader Vitol has warned — Financial Times*

Sempra reports that the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a final order in the comprehensive base rate review for its majority-owned subsidiary Oncor — the order sets an annual revenue requirement of about $6.97 billion, an increase of roughly $560 million, or 8.7%, over Oncor’s adjusted annualized revenues — Stock Titan

Insurers refused to pay $57m to Chevron for the 2023 seizure of an oil cargo by Iranian commandos despite hiking war risk premiums by 50 times to cover the threat, according to lawyers for the US oil giant — Chevron is set for a courtroom battle in July with insurers to decide who shoulders the cost for oil confiscated from the 159,100-dwt Advantage Sweet (built 2012) during a tit-for-tat series of ship seizures by the US and Iran —Trade Winds

The RRC is investigating a well is emitting an oil and water mixture in Grandfalls — KOSA

A new report by London Economics International LLC (LEI) casts serious doubt on the alleged need for two massive methane gas pipeline projects in the Southeast—Southern Natural Gas’s South System Expansion 4 (SSE4) and Kinder Morgan’s Mississippi Crossing (MSX) — Southern Environmental Law Center

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) Board of Directors approved the ballot for the 2026 Board of Directors Election at its regular meeting on April 17 — four members are running for the director positions in Districts 2 and 3 — Liberty Hill Independent

Energy Dome, an Italian maker of CO2 batteries designed to store renewable energy for up to 24 hours, has signed a pact to deploy its technology at New Era Energy & Digital Inc’s AI data center project under development in Odessa — Renewables Now

Joint Base San Antonio will be the first military base in Texas to be powered by its own nuclear reactor — San Antonio Express-News*

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Texas Observer – April 22, 2026

Legislators are (sort of) beginning to grapple with the grim costs that come with the state’s data center boom

“What’s in the water?” state Representative Erin Zwiener asked when talking to the developers of a proposed data center in her district, which covers most of fast-growing Hays County, south of Austin. “There are additives to try to help the water be more efficient with cooling, and I couldn’t get a straight answer. I asked, if this water leaks from the system, what’s in it? Is there anything of concern to the public in it? And I just kept being told it would never leak.”

In late March, Zwiener announced the formation of the Hays County Data Center Working Group as a response to community frustration and legal helplessness at the county level in the face of a massive data center boom—fueled by the onslaught of artificial intelligence (AI). This comes too as the Texas Legislature sets out to grapple with the consequences of this boom and if and how to regulate in the face of a powerful industry that seeks rapid development and immense resource use.

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Capital & Main – April 22, 2026

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Fortune – April 22, 2026

Halliburton CEO: U.S. oil is in the ‘early innings’ of a rebound—and a drilling ramp-up is coming*

The U.S. oil sector has entered the “early innings” of a rebound with more growth to come, Halliburton chairman and CEO Jeff Miller said Tuesday, explaining that the Iran war is forcing countries to prioritize energy security by capturing more barrels both domestically and from other regions outside the Middle East. Amid the pain of higher prices at the pump and in supply chains, there are bright spots for oilfield services companies like Halliburton, which conducts drilling and fracking work (hydraulic fracturing), as oil production ramps up around the world to make up for disruptions caused by the war and the standoff over the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20% of global energy supplies flow.

Miller kicked off the first earnings season for the industry since the war began by arguing that the sector has fundamentally shifted—at least for a “few solid years”—with elevated prices and a push to rely less on the Middle East. This is the case even if a deal is reached soon to reopen the Strait of Hormuz choke point, Miller said. “In North America, we already see the early signs of recovery. Outside of the Middle East, we expect our international business to grow,” Miller said, specifically citing growth in South America and Africa. “Equally important is the view that energy security is no longer [just] a talking point. That’s going to drive activity, and I think that change is not temporal.”

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World Oil – April 22, 2026

American energy faces attacks by European activist courts: Wayne Christian, RRC

American energy works, because it’s reliable, but when reliability erodes, investment slows, infrastructure suffers, and consumers pay more. Unfortunately, energy reliability is once again in jeopardy, as a European court oversteps its bounds to work around an American judicial ruling and attempts to charge an American energy company millions of dollars.

Case background. The case revolves around Energy Transfer’s Dakota Access Pipeline (Fig. 1) and the violent protests against it in 2016. The protesters, largely rallied by the activist organization Greenpeace, created a makeshift encampment outside the construction site. From there, protests escalated into organized lawlessness and a national smear campaign. Protesters threw rocks and burning logs at law enforcement, locked themselves to equipment, set fires to bridges and barricades, and openly tried to halt a lawfully permitted infrastructure project through intimidation.

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Bloomberg – April 22, 2026

Exxon Mobil Is Said to Consider Sale of Hong Kong Gas Stations*

Exxon Mobil Corp. is exploring a sale of its gasoline station network in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, as the US oil and gas giant continues to trim its retail footprint globally. The company, which operates under the Esso brand, may seek a valuation of $500 million to $600 million for the assets, one of the people said. Considerations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people added.

The potential divestment comes at a time of uncertainty for the retail fuel industry. While gas stations have historically provided stable cash flows, the business is facing renewed pressure from extreme volatility in crude markets following the outbreak of the Iran war. Exxon has a global strategy to streamline assets and has appointed advisers to handle a series of sale of its downstream retail sites under the Esso brand in markets including France, New Zealand and Hong Kong, one of the people said. Last October, the company agreed to sell its Esso-branded service stations in Singapore to PT Chandra Asri Pacific Tbk.

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KTEN – April 22, 2026

Fourteen indicted in large-scale oil theft conspiracy in Texas and New Mexico

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

S&P Global Platts – April 22, 2026

Mexico to send crude to Japan to help ease supply constrains caused by Iran war

Mexico has agreed to send “some” crude oil to Japan, according to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Demand for Mexican barrels comes as Japan faces mounting energy security risks tied to the war in Iran, which has disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global crude shipments.

Sheinbaum and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae discussed the matter during a conversation late on April 20, Sheinbaum said April 21, adding that there was an agreement following a previous request from Japan. Sheinbaum said the topic was discussed as part of broader bilateral cooperation. Sheinbaum did not provide details, but noted that this was not the first time Mexico had sent crude to the island.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 22, 2026

Secretive Shipments of Iranian Oil to China Are Under Threat by U.S.*

Iran, China and an array of middlemen have evaded U.S. sanctions for years by shipping oil on aging tankers with opaque records and transferring cargoes between ships at sea, all to avoid scrutiny and legal liability. U.S. forces boarded one such sanctioned tanker that has frequented China and Iran as it sailed on Tuesday through the Indian Ocean, roughly midway between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The interception of the stateless M/T Tifani, along with the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, is part of a forceful effort to thwart a secretive oil trade that has flourished for years and largely thrived after nearly two months of war.

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Reuters – April 22, 2026

Sierra Leone signs permit with Shell allowing offshore surveys*

Sierra Leone has signed an agreement with Shell ​that allows the oil major to conduct ‌advanced geological and geophysical surveys across multiple offshore blocks, the country’s petroleum directorate said on Wednesday.

• The ​reconnaissance permit agreement covers an area of ​approximately 20,600 square kilometres and includes basin ⁠modelling and petroleum systems analysis, a statement ​said.
• The programme, similar to one signed with ​Eni (ENI.MI), opens new tab last October, is expected to enhance understanding of Sierra Leone’s deepwater hydrocarbon potential.
• The permit will provide a data-driven ​framework for technical evaluation and potential future ​participation in licensing opportunities, the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra ‌Leone (PDSL) ⁠said.
• “Our strategy is deliberately focused on de-risking the basin through high-quality data, attracting credible global players and accelerating the pathway towards exploration ​drilling,” Foday ​Mansaray, PDSL ⁠director general, said in the statement.

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Reuters – April 22, 2026

Iran war may crush oil demand today, but send it soaring long term: Ron Bousso*

While oil demand destruction deepens with each passing day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the longer‑term impact of the Iran war may paradoxically work in oil’s favour. Spiking energy security concerns and greater fragmentation could lead to a less efficient, more voracious global energy system. Aggregate worldwide oil consumption is plummeting under the ​strain of the Iran war, which has reduced global crude supplies by 13 million barrels per day (bpd), or 12%, since the conflict broke out on February 28.

Demand has so far been ‌curtailed by around 4 million bpd, roughly 4% of global consumption, according to Russell Hardy, CEO of oil trading house Vitol. Hardy’s estimate of demand destruction is considerably higher than that of the International Energy Agency, which puts the loss at 2.3 million bpd for April. Even so, it still represents the largest monthly collapse in consumption since the depths of the COVID‑19 pandemic in 2021.

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PBS – April 22, 2026

Supreme Court rules for Michigan in its fight to shut down an aging energy pipeline

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with Michigan in ruling that the state’s lawsuit seeking to shut down a section of an aging pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel will stay in state court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous court that the Enbridge energy company waited too long to try to move the case to federal court.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued in state court in June 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows Enbridge to operate a 4.5-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Nessel, a Democrat, won a restraining order shutting down the pipeline from Ingham County Judge James Jamo in June 2020, although Enbridge was allowed to continue operations after meeting safety requirements.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

April 21, 2026

Utility CEO pay surges amid higher profits, customer struggles: Energy & Policy Institute

Investor-owned electric and gas utilities paid their CEOs $626 million in 2025, an Energy and Policy Institute analysis of annual corporate filings found. From 2017 to 2025, utilities paid their CEOs more than $5.2 billion. Ohio-based American Electric Power (AEP) compensated CEO Bill Fehrman $36.6 million in 2025, making him the highest paid utility CEO of the year by a wide margin. It would take the average worker in AEP’s home state of Ohio 550 years to earn what Fehrman made last year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fehrman’s 2025 pay was a $23.3 million increase over the previous year, driven by stock awards intended to motivate Fehrman to “create sustainable shareholder value,” incentivize focus on “longer-term results,” and reduce risk of CEO turnover.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 22, 2026

Billions in EV Write-Downs—and New Bonus Goal Posts for Detroit CEOs*

The electric-vehicle reset at Ford Motor F -1.17%decrease; red down pointing triangle and General Motors GM -0.06%decrease; red down pointing triangle has come with multibillion-dollar costs—yet also the highest compensation ever for the CEOs during their tenures. Last year Ford announced $19.5 billion in write-offs as it retooled its EV strategy. Ford’s board in addition has changed how it calculates bonuses for Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley and other top executives, according to a recent proxy statement. The change tied the 2025 bonus payouts partly to the sales of “electrified” vehicles—meaning EVs and gasoline-electric hybrids—rather than sales of EVs alone, as had been the case in 2023 and 2024.

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Houston Chronicle – April 22, 2026

Texas, the nation’s energy capital, shuts off the most utility customers, federal report finds*

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Corpus Christi Caller Times – April 22, 2026

Drainage district raises water concerns related to Tesla refinery

Water quality in Petronila Creek has long been a concern. The creek has suffered from elevated levels of nutrients and bacteria.  But now, a local drainage district has concerns about a new potential source of pollution — Tesla’s lithium refining plant located between Robstown and Driscoll. Shortly after the facility became fully operational early this year, workers for Nueces County Drainage District No. 2 discovered a pipe discharging into a ditch that drains into Petronila Creek, according to the drainage district.

Tesla has Texas Commission of Environmental Quality approval to discharge wastewater from its battery-grade lithium compounds manufacturing facility into “an unnamed ditch,” according to permit documents. But the ditch is managed by Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, which says the company never notified the entity of its intent to discharge.

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The New York Times – April 22, 2026

Judge Halts Trump Actions Aimed at Throttling Renewable Energy*

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a series of decisions that wind and solar developers say have throttled hundreds of renewable energy projects across the country. Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit that a coalition of renewable energy developers filed against the Interior Department in December. The developers argued that the Trump administration was unlawfully discriminating against wind and solar power, impeding projects on public and private land.

In her ruling, Judge Casper, an Obama appointee, said the developers were likely to prevail on the merits and ordered the Interior Department to stop implementing a series of memos, issued last year, that subjected renewable power to intensified reviews and new restrictions. The coalition that filed the lawsuit — including RENEW Northeast, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, the Southern Renewable Energy Association and Interwest Energy Alliance — applauded the ruling. “Our coalition has demanded and received an immediate halt to the Trump administration’s unlawful permitting actions, which have discriminatorily placed wind and solar technologies into second-class status,” the coalition said in a statement.

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Utility Dive – April 22, 2026

Base Power partnership to mitigate price spikes, load peaks for South Texas co-op, CEO says

A newly expanded residential battery partnership between Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative and distributed battery storage company Base Power will provide the South Texas utility with 50 MW of capacity across its service territory, the companies said last week. The announcement builds on a 2-MW pilot project that demonstrated distributed batteries’ potential to enhance system flexibility and performance, GVEC General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer said on April 13.

“The industry is moving toward distributed, aggregated resources that can be deployed quickly and at scale … this model [is becoming] a practical tool for reliability and system flexibility in Texas and beyond,” Tim Pianta, Base Power’s head of utility partnerships, said in an email.

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Reuters – April 22, 2026

GE Vernova lifts 2026 outlook as AI boom fuels power equipment demand*

GE Vernova on Wednesday raised ‌its annual forecasts for revenue and adjusted core profit margin, betting on surging demand from data centers and grid infrastructure, sending its shares up over 13% to an all-time high in early ​trading. A sharp rise in electricity demand, particularly from power-hungry data centers tied ​to artificial intelligence, is boosting orders for gas turbines and grid equipment, strengthening ⁠the company’s core businesses even as its wind unit struggles.

It expects revenue of $44.5 billion ​to $45.5 billion in 2026, compared with $44 billion to $45 billion earlier, and adjusted EBITDA margin ​of 12% to 14%, up from 11% to 13% earlier. Analysts on average expect revenue of $44.5 billion and margin of 13.7%, according to data compiled by LSEG. CEO Scott Strazik said the ​company expects to reach at least 110 gigawatts (GW) of combined gas turbine backlog ​and slot reservation agreements by year-end.

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Dallas Morning News – April 22, 2026

Texas must reject Big Tech’s power grab and regulate AI: Brendan Steinhauser, Alliance to Secure AI*

 

Regulatory

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KUHF – April 22, 2026

TCEQ can withhold documents related to cancer-causing emissions for now, Texas Supreme Court rules

Texas’ top environmental regulator does not have to produce thousands of documents related to carcinogenic emissions limits after the agency was accused of delaying their release, the Texas Supreme Court ruled. In its ruling, the high court reversed a decision that found the Texas Commissioner on Environmental Quality violated a deadline to ask the attorney general’s office whether more than 6,000 files could be withheld after a public records request from the Sierra Club, an environmental nonprofit.

The court found the commission didn’t blow the deadline for two reasons: The commission put its request to the attorney general’s office in “interagency mail” within the timeframe, and TCEQ reset the 10-day period by sending an email to the Sierra Club for clarification on their information request. Justices Brett Busby and Debra Lehrmann dissented.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday April 22, 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 edged lower Wednesday as uncertainty lingered over the trajectory of the U.S.–Iran conflict, as President Donald Trump extended a fragile ceasefire with Tehran but signaled tensions remain far from resolved.

WTI lost 0.95% to $88.82 per barrel as of 2:15 a.m. ET.

International benchmark Brent crude slid 0.59% to $97.91.

Prices declined as Trump said the U.S. would prolong its temporary truce with Iran beyond the previously set deadline, citing a “seriously fractured” political situation within Tehran.

The ceasefire will remain in place until Iranian leaders present a unified proposal to end hostilities with Washington and Israel, he said in a post on Truth Social. In the meantime, the U.S. would continue its blockade of Iran’s ports.

 

Top Stories

 

Bloomberg – April 20, 2026

Texas Oil Pipes Are Running All-Out to Supply War-Driven Overseas Demand*

Texas oil pipelines are running above designed capacity in some cases amid rampant overseas demand for US crude to replace cargoes stranded by the Iran war. Pipeline flows from the Permian Basin to Gulf Coast export terminals have climbed to an all-time high, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Last week alone, the volume of crude pumped through those networks rose by 1.5% to a daily average of 5.27 million barrels, Wood Mackenzie figures showed. On one system that feeds oil to Corpus Christi exporters, the pipes have been running at 102% of nameplate capacity, an indication that shippers are pushing the bounds to deliver as much oil as possible.

“With strong export demand being one of the main drivers, Corpus Christi-bound flows have unsurprisingly been exceptionally strong,” said Lee Williams, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. One knock-on effect of the surge in foreign demand has been a draw-down on domestic crude stockpiles. The amount of oil held in storage at the key US hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, shrank by 1.7 million barrels in the most recent government data, the steepest drop since the start of 2025. US exports of crude and refined products such as gasoline have never been higher, and along the Gulf Coast, outbound shipments of oil are set to touch a new record in May. The unprecedented foreign pull on US supplies could start to pinch the homegrown energy landscape as domestic fuelmakers increasingly find themselves competing with overseas refiners for barrels.

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Bloomberg – April 21, 2026

Oil Traders Warn of Recession Impact as Hormuz Hits Demand*

The world’s top oil traders warned that the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is increasing the risk of a global recession as fuel demand takes a hit. The vital energy channel has been largely closed to non-Iranian shipping since war began at the end of February, choking off hundreds of millions of barrels of supply. Consumer nations have been using up buffer inventories that they hold for emergencies to cope with the shortfall. While international forecasters already acknowledge that conflict is sapping economic growth and oil demand, merchants including Vitol Group, Gunvor Group and Trafigura Group warned on Tuesday that the situation will get even worse if Hormuz doesn’t open up soon.

“We’ve borrowed supply,” Vitol Group Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy said at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, pointing to drawdowns of inventories from a variety of sources. “But you can’t do that forever. There are recessionary consequences from having to ration that demand.” Benchmark oil futures rallied about 30% since the war began. They spiked to almost $120 a barrel in early March but have since subsided, trading near $95 on Tuesday amid tentative hopes the US and Iran can reach some kind of peace deal. Hardy said the war so far eliminated about 4 million barrels a day of demand, a figure that will rise if Hormuz stays shut. Tracking the electronic signals of tankers suggest that only a few are passing through Hormuz, including some that are linked to Iran but aren’t leaving the region. Some carriers are sneaking through with their transponders off.

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KVUE – April 20, 2026

State Rep. James Talarico proposes ending federal gas and diesel tax

Related: The NRA’s top mission in Texas: Stop James Talarico in the Senate race, by John Moritz, San Antonio Express-News*

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Texas Tribune – April 21, 2026

Testing finds toxic metals where Tesla lithium refinery discharges wastewater in South Texas

After Texas regulators said Tesla’s lithium refinery near Corpus Christi wasn’t violating its permits by discharging what local officials reported as black wastewater into a drainage ditch, independent water testing there this month found two toxic metals and other contaminants. Eurofins Environment Testing, an accredited lab with locations across the globe, reported traces of hexavalent chromium, a well-known carcinogen, and arsenic, an environmental poison. Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, which manages the ditch, commissioned the test.

Neither hexavalent chromium nor arsenic is included as an allowable discharge pollutant in Tesla’s wastewater permit. “The results are quite disturbing,” wrote Frank Lazarte, an attorney representing Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, in a cease and desist letter to Tesla’s associate general counsel last week. The district is asking Tesla to stop discharging wastewater into the ditch until they can discuss the lab results.

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The Guardian – April 20, 2026

Democrats urged to link clean energy to affordability as Iran war hikes up prices

Democrats should get louder in championing clean energy’s affordability and resilience from global shocks, according to some of the party’s leading voices on the climate. As the Iran war roils economies by raising the cost of oil and gas, countries are aiming to accelerate their shift to cleaner energy. But in the US, Donald Trump has sought to kill off any alternative to fossil fuels while opposing Democrats have been reluctant to tie the conflict to any action on the climate crisis.

The closure of the strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally travels, in the wake of the US and Israel’s attack on Iran caused energy costs to spike around the world. In the US, the cost of gasoline has soared above $4.10 a gallon nationally, with Trump admitting the costs could even be “a little bit higher” by November.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

US interdicts stateless sanctioned tanker sailing from Iran to China — the M/T Tifani loaded Iranian crude at Kharg Island and departed from China before being stopped near Sri Lanka — Fox News

Scoop: Trump mulls extending waiver to ease U.S. oil shipments — Axios

ExxonMobil said Massachusetts’ attorney general is proposing a “massive fishing expedition” in the state’s long-pending “greenwashing” lawsuit by seeking to question witnesses about hundreds of topics, some dating back nearly 50 years to the 1970s — Law 360

Clean Earth has received Texas Commission on Environmental Quality authorization to operate full solar panel recycling at its Lancaster, Texas facility — the permit allows the site to process approximately 600,000 solar panels per year (about 20 million pounds of material) and extends existing e-waste recycling to end-of-life solar management, supporting recent Texas recycling requirement — Stock Titan

Green data center developer Soluna Holdings, Inc. says it has closed the acquisition of the 150 MW Briscoe Wind Farm in West Texas for a total purchase price of $53 million, financed through cash on the balance sheet and debt — see the press release

Xcel Energy is once again warning of possible public safety power shutoffs in western, southern Colorado based on estimations of high fire danger — CBS News

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Reuters – April 21, 2026

Oilfield service firm Halliburton is discussing commercial terms with customers for Venezuela operations*

Oilfield service firm Halliburton on Tuesday said it has been discussing commercial terms with customers for operations in Venezuela after making visits to its existing ​facilities in the country. Interest in Venezuela has ramped up dramatically since ​the U.S. capture of former President Nicolas Maduro in ⁠January, with oil producers and investors looking to re-enter the country ​that is home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Oil majors already ​operating in the country like Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab have been advancing plans to ramp up output, putting increased focus on service firms and equipment needed for much of the ​work.

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Rigzone – April 21, 2026

Phillips 66, Kinder Morgan Advance Texas to Arizona Pipeline Project

Kinder Morgan Inc and Phillips 66 said Monday they have secured enough long-term customer commitments to proceed with a proposed pipeline for refined oil products from Texas to Arizona. “Customer response during the open season underscores the importance of Western Gateway in addressing long-term refined products logistics needs in the region”, Phillips 66 chair and chief executive Mark Lashier said in a joint statement. “Strong market interest validates the role this project can play in improving supply flexibility and reliability for West Coast markets”.

Kinder Morgan CEO Kim Dang said, “We’re pleased to be able to use our existing assets to leverage growth opportunities for the Arizona and California markets”. Decision on the Western Gateway project is still subject to “the execution of definitive transportation service agreements, joint venture agreements, and respective board approvals”, the companies said.

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MarketWatch – April 20, 2026

Chevron Says Fire at Pasadena, Texas, Refinery’s Process Unit Extinguished

A Saturday fire that shut down a reformer unit at Chevron’s 125,000 b/d Pasadena, Texas, refinery has been extinguished, according to a company spokesman and regulatory filing. Ross Allen, a Chevron spokesman, said in a Monday statement that the company continues to supply customers in the region following the incident. The refinery experienced a leak and fire in a process unit that was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, he added.

A filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Sunday identified a reformer as the process unit, which was shut down after the fire. The emissions event lasted for just over one hour, the filing showed. The Pasadena refinery, located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Houston, has an estimated 24,000 b/d of catalytic reforming capacity, according to the Energy Information Administration.

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KHOU – April 21, 2026

Houston company called in to control East Texas gas well fire

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S&P Global Platts – April 21, 2026

Africa-focused Vaalco starts producing oil from new well off Gabon

Africa-focused Vaalco Energy has reported “encouraging” results on its latest Etame field development well — part of a long-awaited Gabon drilling campaign — with an initial flow rate of about 5,000 barrels/day, it said April 21. In a statement, the Houston-based company said it had successfully drilled and brought online the Etame 14H well within the Main Fault Block of its offshore Etame field.

The well achieved an “excellent initial flow rate” of 4,850 b/d of crude oil and encountered 325 meters of net pay in high-quality Gamba reservoir sands, with porosity and permeability beating expectations, it said. The company also said it had mobilized its rig to the nearby Ebouri platform and commenced drilling on its EEBOM-5H development well.

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Politico – April 20, 2026

Gas project review downplays climate after endangerment repeal*

The Trump administration is taking public comment on a planned offshore liquefied natural gas export project that would ship out 8.4 million metric tons of gas annually from the Gulf of Mexico. The Department of Transportation released a draft environmental analysis Friday for ST LNG’s deepwater port project, proposed for approximately 10 miles off the coast of Matagorda, Texas — finding the undertaking isn’t likely to harm several threatened or endangered species.

ST LNG is one of the first major energy projects to undergo an environmental review at the Maritime Administration since EPA in February repealed the 2009 finding that served as the agency’s foundational authority to regulate greenhouse gases. While the DOT review tallies how much carbon dioxide equivalent the project is expected to emit during its offshore construction and operation, it included that information in a section on air quality and noise. DOT said ST LNG will be required to comply with Clean Air Act requirements that “are applicable at the time of permit issuance,” noting that EPA finalized its rescission of the endangerment finding in February.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

CNBC – April 21, 2026

Trump administration discussing currency swap line with United Arab Emirates

The White House has discussed offering a financial lifeline to the United Arab Emirates as the U.S. war with Iran wreaks havoc on the Gulf state’s economy, a White House official told CNBC. The UAE has not formally requested a currency swap line, and plans are not currently being drawn up, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about nonpublic plans. Still, it is being discussed within the administration, the person said. Such a move would provide liquidity in dollars to the oil-rich UAE, but could be politically tenuous for the administration as U.S. consumers grapple with higher prices at home.

The UAE and other Persian Gulf nations have been hit hard by the U.S. war with Iran. Tehran has fired troves of missiles at the U.S.′ regional allies, damaging economic infrastructure. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also largely choked off oil exports that the UAE depends on for cash flow.

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Reuters – April 21, 2026

Trump mulls extending shipping waiver to ease US oil shipments, Axios reports*

U.S. President Donald Trump is ​considering extending the Jones ‌Act waiver, which allows foreign-flagged cargo ​ships to move ​fuel and other goods ⁠between domestic ports, ​Axios reported on ​Tuesday, citing U.S. officials.

Trump waived Jones Act limitations for ​60 days starting ​March 17, hoping the move ‌would ⁠help tame the surge in fuel prices caused by ​the ​Iran ⁠war by increasing shipments from ​the U.S. ​Gulf ⁠Coast to other coastal markets in the ⁠country.

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The Guardian – April 20, 2026

Trump signs memos to boost US fossil-fuel production for ‘defense readiness’

Donald Trump on Monday released a series of memos that doubled down on his support of increased domestic fossil fuel production for purported “defense readiness”. Trump’s memos, which cited the president’s 20 January 2025 executive order declaring a national energy emergency, said US-based oil, coal, and natural gas production must expand “to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defense capability”.

“It emphasized that our Nation’s current inadequate and intermittent energy supply leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security,” one of Trump’s memoranda said of his executive order.

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Reuters – April 20, 2026

Shell faces new court case in the Netherlands over emissions*

A Dutch ​climate activist group launched a new court case against Shell on Tuesday in ‌the Netherlands, demanding that the British energy major immediately end its investments in new oil and gas projects. Like a number of its peers seeking to capitalise on soaring profits from oil and gas sales following the outbreak ​of the Ukraine war, Shell has scaled back its renewable energy operations and weakened emissions targets.

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Reuters – April 21, 2026

Russia to halt Kazakhstan’s oil flows to Germany via Druzhba, sources say*

Russia is set to stop oil exports from ‌Kazakhstan to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline starting from May 1, three industry sources said on Tuesday.  The sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that an adjusted oil exporting schedule has been sent to Kazakhstan ​and Germany. A halt to Kazakh flows would add more uncertainty to Germany’s fuel supply as ​the Iran war disrupts energy shipments from the Middle East only a few ⁠years after Berlin’s decades-long energy ties with Russia were upended by the war in Ukraine.

Kazakhstan’s oil ​exports to Germany via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline totalled 2.146 million metric tons, or around 43,000 barrels per ​day, in 2025, an increase of 44% from 2024, and 730,000 tons in the first quarter of 2026. A complete halt would remove about 17% of the up to 12 million metric tons of oil a year processed by Germany’s ​PCK refinery – one of the country’s largest – in the northeastern town of Schwedt, fuel from which ​powers 9 out of 10 cars in the Berlin and Brandenburg region.

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Bloomberg – April 21, 2026

IEA Head Pitches Iraq-Turkey Pipeline to Bypass Hormuz: Hürriyet*

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol proposed building a new oil pipeline linking Iraq’s Basra oil fields and Turkey’s Mediterranean oil terminal in Ceyhan to shift the balance away from the Strait of Hormuz, according to Turkish newspaper Hürriyet. “I believe a Basra–Ceyhan pipeline could be extremely attractive and a very important project for both Iraq and Turkey, as well as for regional supply security—especially from Europe’s perspective,” Birol said in an interview with Hürriyet, published on Sunday. “I also believe the financing issue can be overcome. Now is exactly the right time.”

Iran on Saturday reimposed restrictions on vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, less than 24 hours after Tehran declared the waterway open to commercial ships. Several liquefied natural gas tankers reversed course while en route there after Iran warned ship captains that the vital channel was once again closed to maritime traffic. Iraq relies on Hormuz to export oil from the Gulf port of Basra, which holds one of the world’s largest reserves at around 90 billion barrels and accounts for about 90% of the country’s oil exports, Birol told the newspaper.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Reuters – April 21, 2026

Texas power supply margins squeezed until grid expansions kick in*

Texas grid operator ERCOT is moving forward with a $33 billion grid expansion plan to address unprecedented load growth and transmission constraints, including the construction of over 2,400 miles of 765 kV high-voltage power lines. ERCOT manages about 90% of Texas’ electricity load and power demand is surging on the back of surging demand from data centers, industrial groups and ​a growing population.

The state benefits from large land areas and plentiful solar, wind and gas resources but a lack of transmission capacity is holding back developers. ERCOT’s transmission plan includes the extension of high-voltage transmission in ERCOT West, Far West and North and the Permian Basin. Benefits will include reduced power curtailment of wind and solar power in West Texas, where rapid development of power generation has outpaced transmission infrastructure. However, new transmission lines take several years to come online and this will impact power margins and power deployment in the short term as demand continues to rise.

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Reuters – April 20, 2026

Tesla’s energy storage division to pick up slack as car margins drop and credits fade*

Also see: Far from Austin, Tesla’s top rival sets up shop in North Texas — WFAA

Also note: Tesla has launched its Robotaxi service in Dallas and Houston as part of CEO Elon Musk’s strategic shift toward AI and robotics, a move intended to bolster the company’s $1.3 trillion valuation — KUHF

Tesla’s solar and energy business is likely to outshine the EV maker’s challenged core business when it ‌reports quarterly results this week, a sign of resilience as Tesla progresses slowly in its turn to robots and self-driving technology. CEO Elon Musk’s plans to build new assembly lines and produce robots are expected to cost $20 billion this year and drive Tesla to its first quarter of negative cash flow in two ​years.

The latest push to expand electricity generation in Texas is online after the state’s latest power plant became fully operational a month early, the Lower Colorado River Authority announced. Timmer Peaker Power Plant is a 380-megawatt natural gas power plant near Maxwell, Texas, in Caldwell County. It’s designed to be brought online in minutes when needed to provide extra power to the grid.

“Texas is rapidly adding power to the state grid,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “LCRA’s investments in generation through the Texas Energy Fund will help ensure reliability for all Texans as we fortify the state’s ability to power homes. Together, we will keep Texas moving forward.” The plant is capable of powering 100,000 homes during peak demand.

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San Antonio Express-News – April 20, 2026

Why Facebook’s parent company is pouring $10B in a remote Texas data center

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is investing $10 billion to build a massive data center campus in far West Texas, and construction of the latest phase of the development is already underway. According to a new filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Wurldwide LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meta, has embarked on the development of 600 acres of land in northeast El Paso for the next phase of Meta’s “Project Seafox.” Construction of the new phase is valued at about $289 million and began in November 2025, TDLR records show. During this phase of development, Wurldwide LLC will construct 12 new buildings and five “owner substations” covering nearly 26 million square feet.

Overall, Meta plans to develop more than 1,000 acres of land over the course of five phases. It’ll take more than 4,000 people to build the data center, which will join existing Meta data centers in Fort Worth and Temple to become the company’s third in Texas. Once complete, the Meta El Paso Data Center will employ more than 300 people and have a 1-gigawatt capacity meant to facilitate Meta’s growing reliance on AI models and its goal to use AI “to build toward superintelligence,” company officials stated.

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Business North Carolina – April 20, 2026

FERC seeks $1.1 billion from Abram-led Durham energy firms, allege “brazen fraud”

The companies specialize in selling energy conservation credits to large regional electricity operators PJM and MISO.

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Power Magazine – April 19, 2026

Japanese Group Proposes $2-Billion Gas-Fired Power Plant for Hawaii

Japan’s largest power generation company has made a proposal to invest $2 billion for construction of a 500-MW combined-cycle and simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plant on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Tokyo-based JERA said the project comes after the company made an agreement with Hawaiian officials last fall as part of a commitment with the Trump administration to build new U.S.-based power generation facilities.

JERA, which has at least part ownership of 10 U.S. power plants, recently said the Hawaii station would replace older oil-fired generation. The company said it would cut energy costs on Oahu by 20%. Officials said the new plant would be supported by an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. JERA last year agreed to increase its purchases of U.S. LNG at least for the next 20 years

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – April 21, 2026

Texas Navigates Grid Reliability, Data Center Expansion, and Capital Investment Amid Rapid Energy Transformation: Ford & Lardner

• Texas is operationally strong today, but grid reliability will increasingly depend on whether the state can add power fast enough, expand transmission capacity, continue deploying storage, and manage rising demand from large industrial users.
• For data center developers and investors, the challenge is no longer limited to site selection. Other obstacles include securing reliable power, navigating local permitting, managing public perception, and addressing resource concerns early.
• Investments are following the places where reliability and load growth intersect. Capital is moving not only into power generation, but also into the broader systems required to support it.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday April 21, 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 declined Tuesday during Asia hours amid uncertainty over the fate of the second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May fell $1.11, or 1.2%, to $88.50. The May contract expires on Tuesday and the more-active June ​contract was down 76 cents, or 0.9%, at $86.66.

Brent crude futures declined 54 cents, or 0.6%, at $94.94 a barrel at 0300 GMT.

Reports suggest that Vice President JD Vance would lead the U.S. delegation to Pakistan, while Iran’s rhetoric so far indicates it is not ready for further negotiations.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said Tuesday in a post on X.

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has renewed threats of overwhelming military action against Iran, warning that “lots of bombs [will] start going off” if no agreement was reached before a fragile ceasefire expires Tuesday evening.

 

Top Stories

 

Reuters – April 20, 2026

Fermi stock drops sharply after CEO and CFO departures*

Background: The World’s Largest Planned Data Center Is Running Into Trouble: Michael Thomas, Distilled

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Oil Price – April 20, 2026

Inside the Race to Control the World’s Lithium Supply

The world is ramping up its lithium production in a bid to meet the growing global demand for critical minerals, being driven by renewable energy deployment and the higher uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and other electronics. Lithium production from mining increased from 31,500 metric tonnes in 2015 to 82,500 tonnes in 2020 and 290,000 tonnes in 2025. While China remains the world’s biggest lithium producer, as production expands, several new players are entering the market, which is helping to diversify operations.

The global lithium-battery market exceeded a value of over $150 billion in 2025, marking a 20 percent increase compared to 2024. “Batteries are becoming a cornerstone of the automotive sector, a critical source of flexibility for power systems, and an increasingly important source of back-up power for digital infrastructure, including data centres and artificial intelligence,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Lithium-ion batteries are also used for industrial and strategic applications, such as in defence.

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Baird Marine – April 20, 2026

US natgas hits one-week high as output drops and LNG exports surge

US natural gas futures edged up to a fresh one-week high on Monday on a drop in output over the past couple of weeks and forecasts for cooler weather and higher demand through early May than previously expected. Gas futures were also supported by near-record gas flows to US LNG export plants and a five per cent jump in crude futures on fears the US-Iran ceasefire could collapse after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship.

Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose 3.8 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $2.712 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since April 8 for a second day in a row.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Update 2:30 am EST: Authorities in Nacogdoches County responded to a reported explosion and fire at an oil well site just north of Etoile, east of Lufkin along the Angelina River, about 12:30 am local time — few details so far

President Donald Trump has designated an energy emergency in the United States utilizing a presidential order, indicating foreign adversaries are exploiting energy vulnerabilities — Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Grid Infrastructure, Equipment, and Supply Chain Capacity — “On January 20, 2025, I issued Executive Order 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency), under the National Emergencies Act.  That order found that America’s inadequate energy production, transportation, and infrastructure constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy.  It further recognized that foreign adversaries have exploited these vulnerabilities, and that an affordable and reliable domestic supply of energy, including the infrastructure needed to generate, transmit, and deliver it, is essential to ensuring United States defense readiness, economic strength, and energy independence” — see the White House website

Six people have been injured after an electric shock incident at the Martin Lake power plant in Tatum — Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said two people were life flighted and four were taken to a hospital in either an ambulance or private vehicles — Valdez said the injuries were caused by an arc flash — KLTV

Electric bills will soon be higher for Dallas-area Oncor customers after getting the green light from the Public Utility Commission of Texas late last week — Dallas Morning News*

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating and senior unsecured ratings at ‘BBB’ — Fitch has also affirmed MPC’s Short-Term IDR and CP ratings at ‘F2’ — the Rating Outlook is Stable — Fitch

The Amarillo City Council approved the action to delay a natural gas increase estimated at an average monthly bill increase of $6.45 — Atmos Energy filed for an increase in gas utility rates under the Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program (GRIP) in February of this year for four Panhandle cities, including Amarillo — KFDA

Texas public power utility Kerrville Public Utility Board marked a major milestone on April 17 with a groundbreaking ceremony for its new power generation plant — American Public Power Association

Haynes Boone hired an energy company ex-chief legal counsel to help clients enter newly-open oil and mining markets in Venezuela — Sudan Maccio, a Venezuelan native dual-licensed in Texas and Venezuela, joins the firm as a partner in Houston after nearly two years at PetroTal Corp — Bloomberg

The Iran Question Is All About China: Why Operation Epic Fury Is the Opening Act of the Indo-Pacific Century — Zinebriboua

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

E&E News By Politico – April 20, 2026

California judge restricts offshore oil company despite Trump administration intervention*

A California judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration’s order that a Texas company ship its offshore oil to market does not release it from the limits she previously placed on the operation. Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Donna Geck ruled that Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s March order to Sable Offshore Corp. does not require her to drop the preliminary injunction she put on Sable’s pipeline restart.

Geck’s ruling is a victory for environmental groups and the state of California, which has launched multiple legal challenges against Sable to stop the company from running oil through its pipelines. The Trump administration, for its part, has intervened twice to help Sable overcome opposition from state officials. The previous company that owned Sable’s pipeline system, which connects its oil platforms off the Santa Barbara coast to a waystation in Kern County,

 

News from the States – April 20, 2026

On the issues: A Q&A with Ken Paxton and John Cornyn

In a rare intraparty clash of political heavyweights, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is fighting to extend his career in the May 26 Republican primary runoff against Attorney General Ken Paxton after no candidate won more than half of the votes during the primary. Neither candidate responded to our questionnaire ahead of the March primaries, despite repeated efforts by Tribune reporters to seek their participation. In their absence, the Tribune filled in the candidates’ responses, where possible, based on their past public comments and relevant voting histories.

Both candidates have fashioned themselves as close allies of President Donald Trump, who has so far refused to endorse in the contest. They have not participated in a debate and are not expected to do so before the election.

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MSN – April 20, 2026

Tanker arrives at Golden Pass LNG terminal to load first export cargo

A tanker has arrived at the Golden Pass ​facility in Texas to collect the plant’s inaugural export ‌of liquefied natural gas, Golden Pass LNG said Monday, after finally beginning production earlier this year following prolonged delays in construction. The Al Qaiyyah LNG tanker, which arrived ​at the facility on Monday, is owned by QatarEnergy, which has a 70% stake ⁠in the plant; Exxon Mobil (XOM) holds the other ​30% of the project’s equity.

The Exxon-chartered (XOM) LNG carrier HL Sea Eagle ⁠was ​in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, ​with LSEG ship-tracking data showing it headed to Golden Pass, a sign it could ​load the second shipment from the facility, Reuters reported. Golden Pass is expected to be one of the largest U.S. LNG export plants when fully operational, with total capacity of more than 18M metric tons/year. The project has faced delays ​and cost overruns since construction began in 2019, including the bankruptcy of its original lead contractor; Golden Pass said on March 30 that it had produced its first ​LNG.

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Inside Climate News – April 20, 2026

Facing Drought and Low Snowpack, Rio Grande States Expect a “Challenging” Year

“Severe.“ “Critical.” “Dire.” “Challenging.” “Record-low.” Officials at the Rio Grande Compact Commission annual meeting Friday worked through the thesaurus to describe the conditions on the river that flows out of southwestern Colorado. Compact signatory states—Colorado, New Mexico and Texas—along with federal agencies that operate along the river presented their 2026 outlooks at the New Mexico Capitol in Santa Fe.

The three states signed the Rio Grande Compact in 1938 to resolve disputes over water rights along the Rio Grande from its headwaters in Colorado to far West Texas. Farther downstream in Texas, from Presidio to the Gulf of Mexico, Rio Grande water is managed under separate frameworks.

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San Antonio Express-News – April 20, 2026

Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project*

Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico. The groups sued on the 16th anniversary of the nation’s worst offshore oil spill 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, when BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig sent 134 million gallons (500 million liters) of crude oil spewing into the ocean, killing 11 people and causing billions of dollars in damage to wildlife and miles of coastline.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Politico – April 20, 2026

Senate Republicans introduce bill to shield oil and gas industry*

Republican lawmakers are introducing legislation to shield oil and gas companies from being held liable for the burning of their products, advancing a long-held industry priority. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) on Friday unveiled the “Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026” to prevent “leftist legal crusades” they say have delayed or blocked energy projects.

“Energy security is national security, and we will not self-sabotage our critical industries with a cascade of costly lawsuits and extreme penalties that jeopardize American drilling,” Hageman said in a press release. “America’s energy producers should be protected from the dangerous legal precedent that would be set by the retroactive punishment of lawful activity. The legislation is highly unlikely to secure the 60 votes needed in the Senate but represents an ambitious attempt by the energy industry and its GOP allies to pursue a top priority before one or both chambers potentially flip in the midterms.

 

Reuters – April 20, 2026

Global strategic oil inventory totaled 2.5 billion barrels at end of 2025, EIA says*

The strategic global oil inventory stood at around 2.5 billion barrels at the end of last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday. The agency plans to add its assessment of strategic inventories in its Short-Term Energy Outlook, starting ​in May, as the United States is releasing 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum ‌reserve in a bid to reduce oil prices that have soared due to supply shocks from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The U.S. effort is part of a broader release of 400 million barrels of oil agreed by the 32-nation International Energy Agency in March.

• The three largest strategic ​oil inventories were held by China, the United States, and Japan as of December 2025, the EIA said. Other ​significant strategic inventories are held by countries in Europe that are a part of the ⁠Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Middle East, and Asia.
• China added an average of 1.1 million barrels per day ​of oil to its strategic inventories in 2025, which reached nearly 1.4 billion barrels as of December 2025, the EIA said. Preliminary government ​data indicates China continued to build inventories in 2026 prior to the Iran crisis, the EIA added.
• Chinese government-held inventories averaged about 360 million barrels in December 2025, the EIA said, while about 1 billion was held by national oil companies. The EIA assumes that both commercial and government-held crude oil ​inventories in China are part of strategic oil inventories.

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Bloomberg – April 20, 2026

BP’s Long-Awaited Revival Is Marred by Unforced Errors*

BP Plc and its shareholders were poised for a celebration this week. After several punishing years, its annual meeting on Thursday should have marked a triple coronation: a new chairman, a new chief executive officer and a new strategy that — finally! — looks set to make money. But even with its shares trading at a 16-year high, the oil giant has managed to turn the gathering into a rancorous assembly. The trouble started when Follow This, a Dutch campaigning group on climate issues, tabled resolutions backed by a tiny group of investors asking BP and its rival Shell Plc to provide financial plans for a hypothetical scenario where global oil and gas demand starts to fall. Shell agreed to put the resolution to a vote at its annual meeting in May; BP declined, on what seems like a technicality. The company says the campaigner failed to table a “resolution that was directive or mandatory,” so it doesn’t consider the request legal. The matter may end in court.

The rejection left some investors unimpressed — not because they support the resolution, but because they care about corporate governance and want BP to show it’s listening. Legal & General Investment Management, a top-10 shareholder, says it plans to vote against the re-election of Albert Manifold as chairman in protest. Other investors, both in the UK and the US, will vote against him too. Considering Manifold is the architect of BP’s turnaround, voting him out would be foolish and I expect him to survive. But the negative votes highlight how strongly some feel about the affair; even investors rallying around the chairman concede the company, with hindsight, made a mistake.

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Reuters – April 20, 2026

Eni says talking with Repsol on Venezuelan gas exports, no deal yet*

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The New York Times – April 20, 2026

The Forces of Scarcity Hitting Asia May Soon Spread Across the World*

When the war in Iran started on Feb. 28, Asia expected to see serious, gradual impacts from losing access to a huge portion of the world’s oil and gas. But the conflict’s economic and social impacts have hit the region harder and faster than officials and experts expected. Many countries across the Asia-Pacific are experiencing sudden jolts of disruption that they are struggling to manage, with some comparing the crisis’s breakdowns and scope to the Covid pandemic.

Even if there is a peace deal soon, the future of this industrious region that has driven global economic growth for decades will likely include months of canceled flights, surging food prices, factory pauses, delayed shipments and empty shelves for products long considered quick and easy to buy worldwide: plastic bags, instant noodles, vaccines, syringes, lipstick, microchips and sportswear. Collectively, according to many officials and experts, if the war’s strangling of commercial traffic through the Middle East lasts for even a few more weeks, and uncertainty lingers, shortages could push several countries into convulsions of unrest, followed by recession.

Countless businesses are verging on insolvency. Governments are taking on enormous debt to slow inflation. By year’s end, in the most dire projections by the United Nations and others, millions across Asia could be pushed into poverty. “The impacts are so rapid and deep,” said Phillip Cornell, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center who is based in Sri Lanka. “Just from a magnitude perspective, this is really very, very, very large.” Resource scarcity tends to unleash dark forces in human psychology and capitalism. As the International Monetary Fund has noted, the world economy is slowing nearly everywhere because roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquid natural gas, along with vital byproducts, have been held back from the global market since the war started. Even if the Strait of Hormuz stabilizes tomorrow, it could take years for oil and gas output and shipping to reach fat prewar levels.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 20, 2026

Saudi Arabia and Iraq Are Caught in a Hidden War Within the War*

Iraqi militias backed by Iran launched dozens of explosive drones at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states during more than five weeks of fighting, in what is becoming a shadowy war within a war pushing some of the world’s largest oil producers toward open conflict. According to at least one Saudi assessment described by a person familiar with it, up to half of the nearly 1,000 drone attacks on the kingdom came from inside Iraq. They included strikes on a Saudi refinery in the sensitive Yanbu oil hub on the Red Sea and oil fields in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, people familiar with the matter said.

The conflict is unfolding in the shadow of the war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran in late February. Iran itself has fired thousands of drones and missiles at its Gulf Arab neighbors, as well as at Israel and U.S. bases across the region. The militias in Iraq—along with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which fired rockets at Israel throughout the war—broadened Iran’s options for attacking its enemies and the amount of firepower it could rain down. The U.S. has warned the militias are planning more attacks and has told citizens to stay away from the embassy and consulates in Iraq. The American Embassy in Baghdad has been targeted repeatedly throughout the war and has largely evacuated its staff.

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Bloomberg – April 17, 2026

Look to Latin America’s Oil Boom for Energy Security: Juan Pablo Spinetto*

From the ultra-deep waters of Brazil’s Santos Basin to the arid shale fields of Argentina’s Patagonia, a new hydrocarbon boom is welling up across Latin America. About 44% of global crude supply growth between 2025 and 2030 is expected to come from Brazil, Guyana, Argentina and Venezuela, according to consultancy Rystad Energy. Together, these four producers are set to add nearly 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of the decade, out of a projected global increase of 5.6 million.

This expansion could hardly come at a more sensitive moment for the oil market. Conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz and damaged natural gas infrastructure, is forcing the industry to rethink risk, reliability and diversification. For Latin America, that shift creates a clear opening: to position itself as a steady, resource-rich supplier in a region largely free of major interstate conflict and increasingly shaped by more pragmatic, pro-business policy trends. If the region emerges as a winner from today’s geopolitical realignment, much of that newfound weight will rest on its growing energy clout.

“Latin America does not replace the Middle East, but it meaningfully mitigates concentration risk by combining stable investment environments, visible project pipelines and scalable resource potential,” Rystad Energy analyst Radhika Bansal told me. That, she added, positions the region as “one of the most important contributors to global oil supply growth over the coming decade.”

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

KUT – April 20, 2026

Hutto data center developer withdraws rezoning request, effectively ending the project

The developer of a proposed data center in Hutto has withdrawn its rezoning application with the city, effectively ceasing the project. Zydeco Development had requested the city rezone a parcel of land to allow for “heavy industrial” development for its proposed data center. The site, located on Ed Schmidt Boulevard, is currently zoned for “multi-family residential” development. Zydeco’s request would have required the city to change both its future land use map and comprehensive plan.

Howard Koontz, the director of development services for Hutto, recommended the city deny Zydeco’s application at a public meeting on April 7. “Our comprehensive plan reflects the community’s vision for how Hutto should grow, and that vision guides how we evaluate every item that comes before us,” Koontz said. “As submitted, this proposal was not consistent with that vision. Thoughtful planning is a priority for the city, and we remain open to continued dialogue.”

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Politico – April 20, 2026

Data centers’ mad dash for the Texas grid

Data center developers are flocking to Texas — and vying for spots on a grid that is facing unprecedented growth. The state’s regulators and main grid operator are eyeing a system that would green-light data centers in batches, as I write today. Projects in so-called Batch Zero will be assigned power based on what the grid can handle now. But projects not chosen for that first batch may have to wait years for the state to add the necessary transmission and generation.

That has set up a mad dash among developers. “We’re not really sure what exists after Batch Zero,” Arushi Sharma Frank, an executive adviser with Nvidia-backed Emerald AI, said during a conference last month in Dallas. “Who is in Batch One that will still want to start or finish the project in Texas?”

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San Antonio Express-News – April 20, 2026

Here are where the data centers between Austin and San Antonio are located*

For many Texas Hill Country residents, the region’s rolling hills, sweeping views and remote ranch lands are central to its identity — and a heritage they want to preserve. But in recent years, tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon have increasingly challenged that vision, building more than 100 water-reliant data centers between Austin and San Antonio alone. The projects collectively receive more than $1 billion in tax breaks each year and have sparked community backlash.

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The Conversation/Fox 44 – April 17, 2026

1 in 3 US households struggle to pay energy bills, but the reality is likely even worse: Diana Hernández, Columbia University

Americans’ concerns about being able to afford electricity and home heating fuel are elevated since the beginning of the Iran war. But newly released nationwide data shows that even before the war began, these concerns were widespread, long-standing and getting worse faster than the data can reflect.

The new information is from preliminary reports based on the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, a representative survey of U.S. households conducted every four to five years by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. These early results show that energy insecurity, a hidden hardship defined as the inability to adequately meet household energy needs, affects millions of American households and is worsening quickly.

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electrotek – April 20, 2026

Europe’s EV sales surge just hit 51% – and oil is the reason why

Europe’s EV sales just surged 51% last month, and oil is a big reason why. Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations jumped 51% in March 2026 across 14 key EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) markets, according to new data from New Automotive and E-Mobility Europe. More than 224,000 new EVs were registered in March alone, accounting for 22% of all new car sales in those markets (and an estimated 21.2% across the EU).

That growth is coming at a moment when Europe’s reliance on imported oil is back under scrutiny due to the conflict in the Middle East. The data suggests EV adoption is no longer just about climate targets or cost savings – it’s increasingly tied to energy security. In Q1 2026, EU countries registered more than 500,000 new EVs – up 33.5% compared to the same period in 2025.

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Business Insider – April 14, 2026

The Midwest’s rise to America’s second-biggest data center hub is fueled by these key states

Texas and the Midwest are emerging as the key hubs for the largest and most powerful data centers for cloud and AI computing, shifting the industry’s nexus away from Northern Virginia, a new report shows. The two regions accounted for one-third of hyperscale data center capacity at the end of 2025, according to Synergy, an IT market research firm.

The two regions will account for 53% of new hyperscale data center capacity coming online in the next few years. Northern Virginia has long served as Big Tech’s primary data center hub. Power availability is driving the shift inland, the report said. The companies building the largest and most powerful facilities are seeking land with readily available electricity.

 

Regulatory

 

The New York Times – April 18, 2026

Carbon Removal Industry Reels as Microsoft Retreats*

Over the last several years, Microsoft almost single-handedly established the market for carbon dioxide removal technologies, a nascent field that aims to scrub the planet-warming gas from the atmosphere to counter climate change. But now, Microsoft is stepping back from the industry it helped create, telling some companies that it is pausing future purchases of carbon removal credits, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The news was first reported by Heatmap.

The development could be a major blow to the hundreds of start-ups developing carbon removal technologies, which have raised more than $5 billion in recent years. Though the field is in its infancy and hundreds of companies are pursuing different strategies, proponents of the technology say that because there is so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it’s not enough to reduce emissions; excess amounts also have to be removed to stave off the worst consequences of global warming.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday April 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

Top Stories

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 19, 2026

Big Oil Plows Billions Into Far-Flung Drilling Sites to Escape Iran Turmoil*

Exxon, Chevron and other energy companies are speeding up their searches for new oil-and-gas prospects—far away from the perils of the war in the Middle East. Exxon recently outlined a potential plan to pump up to $24 billion into Nigeria’s deep-water oil fields, while Chevron expanded its footprint in Venezuela. BP bought stakes in oil blocks off the coast of Namibia, and TotalEnergies TTE -5.25%decrease; red down pointing triangle signed an exploration deal with Turkey. Major oil companies could together create $120 billion in value from their exploration ventures in coming years, the energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie estimated Thursday.

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KABB – April 17, 2026

Supreme Court backs oil firms, sends Louisiana coastal damage suits to federal court

The Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of oil and gas companies in a major case tied to coastal damage in Louisiana, giving the companies another chance to fight the lawsuits in federal court. In a unanimous decision, the high court sided with oil companies, including Chevron, in the case by Plaquemines and Cameron parishes. This was just one of 42 lawsuits filed over a decade ago by Louisiana coastal parishes and the states attorney general. This ruling is expected to effect all of the lawsuits filed in 2013.

The decision does not end the case but changes where it will be heard. A Louisiana jury had previously ordered Chevron to pay more than $740 million to Plaquemines Parish to help restore coastal land damaged over decades. Lawyers for Chevron and Exxon Mobil argued the case should be handled in federal court because their work was connected to the U.S. government during World War II. The Trump administration supported the oil companies appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Bloomberg – April 18, 2026

So What Is the Real Oil Price Right Now?: Javier Blas*

For all my reporting life, I’ve dreaded one question: What is the price of oil — the real one? Invariably asked during a crisis, it demands a neat answer, a precise dollar-per-barrel figure. But each time my reply is anything but: It depends on what kind of crude we’re talking about, when it is being sold and where. The Iran crisis is no different. Rather than offering a single price, what I can attempt is to shed light on today’s physical and financial oil markets, and why you can pick up a barrel of crude for $78 in Kansas or $286 in Sri Lanka.

In the midst of the latest Gulf conflict, oil has been an economic weapon and propaganda tool. Both Tehran and the US had been blockading shipments through the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway before at least a temporary reopening on Friday, and trying to jawbone the market in their favor. Be wary of anyone saying one particular oil-price gauge matters more than the others. Whoever is betting on the cost of crude going up will argue Friday’s relief selloff doesn’t reflect reality, with shipping still severely disrupted. Those betting on a fall will have had their own views confirmed. Broadly speaking, the oil market is split in two. The first part is the physical market, where real barrels change hands and they can be touched, smelled, almost savored. The second is visible only on computer screens. These are the printed financial contracts such as swaps, futures and options that change hands in electronic marketplaces. Traders call them paper barrels.

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Texas Tribune – April 17, 2026

As Corpus Christi scrambles to find more water, nearby cities are facing their own water woes

As a historic drought in South Texas deepens, parched cities along the coastal bend are following Corpus Christi’s playbook and racing to drill their way out of a crisis. But as more and more cities turn to groundwater instead of surface water, experts warn that they risk exhausting the area’s aquifers and should only use wells as a temporary solution.

Alice is working on getting a second well online by May. Mathis is currently drilling two. And Beeville, which already has four, finished drilling a new well this week and is expected to begin pulling water from it by the end of the year. It also has two offline wells ready to use as backups.

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Dynuz – April 18, 2026

City Council Wrecked in Voter Bloodbath After Allowing New Data Center

Small town politicians are learning the hard way that when Americans say no to data centers, they mean it. In Festus, Missouri — a sleepy town of roughly 12,700 residents — the backlash was so great that residents ousted half their city council after they approved a $6 billion data center development against the public will. According to Politico, the uproar caused by the data center approval led to a surge in voter turnout, the majority of whom expressed their discontent with the old councilors by voting in four anti-AI newcomers.

Take Rick Belleville, a 70-year old who’d never previously run for office, but who unseated Jim Tinnin in the city’s fourth ward. Tinnin, an eight-year city council veteran, had previously been elected in 2018. This time, he lost to the upstart Belleville by over 40 percentage points after voting to approve the data center buildout. “I ran because I thought the city was not listening to people,” Belleville told Politico. “It’s really the way the deal was handled that led to this kind of uprising.”

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Iran reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a tanker attempting to pass the waterway on Saturday warning that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect — KIDY

The Louisiana Public Service Commission has approved Entergy Louisiana’s request to expedite the approval of the power company’s plan to build seven new gas power plants and other investments to power Meta’s data center in Richland Parish — the 4-1 vote means the PSC will vote in December on Entergy’s power plan proposal. Commissioner Jean-Paul Coussan says that’s plenty of time to review Entergy’s plan — Louisiana Radio Network

Tesla is rolling out its robotaxis in Dallas and Houston, the electric vehicle maker said on ‌Saturday, marking further expansion of its nascent service in the ‌United States since its Austin, Texas, launch last year — Dallas Morning News*

Synergen applied for a taxable value limitation for its proposed large-scale clean ammonia plant in Calhoun, Texas — Quantum Intel

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Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price- April 17, 2026

US Oil, Gas Drilling Activity Slows

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 543,  down 42 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs slipped by 1 to 410 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 63 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 after falling in the week prior as well. Gas rigs now sit at 125, which is 19 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count rose by 1, to 8.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production stayed the same during week ending April 10. US crude oil production averaged 13.596 million bpd during the reporting period—266,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending April 10 by 5 on top of the 7-crew gain in the week prior.

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Salt Lake Tribune – April 18, 2026

A Vernal oil field is laying off more than 150 workers, citing a ‘significant downturn’

An oil fracking company is laying off more than 150 workers at its oil field in Vernal, according to a state filing, marking a sharp reversal for a facility that was highlighting record activity just a year earlier. The mass layoff by ProFrac Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Texas-based ProFrac Holding Corp., was disclosed March 27 in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN notice, filed with the Utah Department of Workforce Services, according to the agency’s online database.

The layoffs are expected to begin May 26, however, a letter sent to Vernal employees, and obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune through a records request, says that timeline could shift “depending upon the need for workers as the shutdown of the facility progresses.” … The company attributes the layoffs to a “loss of business revenue” and internal reorganization, affecting at least 26 jobs at the facility. The letter also points to a “significant downturn in the local market business.”

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World Oil – April 17, 2026

Texas upstream employment declines, hiring demand remains strong, TIPRO says

Texas upstream oil and gas employment declined in early 2026, even as hiring activity remained elevated, according to new data from the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO). Employment in the state’s upstream sector fell by 900 jobs between January and February, including a loss of 300 positions in oil and natural gas extraction and 600 jobs in support activities, based on the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by TIPRO.

Despite the decline, workforce demand remains resilient. TIPRO reported 8,554 unique oil and natural gas job postings in Texas in February, including 3,706 new postings. The state continued to lead the nation in energy job listings, well ahead of California, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Support activities for oil and gas operations accounted for the largest share of postings, followed by gasoline stations, petroleum refineries and natural gas pipeline transportation. Houston led all cities with 2,207 job postings, followed by Midland, Odessa and Dallas.

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WOAI – April 15, 2026

Texas Agriculture Commissioner calls for immediate gas tax suspension

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller urged Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday, April 14, to immediately suspend the state’s motor fuel tax to offset “skyrocketing” diesel and gasoline prices. Miller called for the suspension to take effect now rather than waiting for the next legislative session, citing the financial strain on working families.

He noted that states like Indiana and Georgia have enacted similar measures. “Texas, the nation’s energy and agricultural powerhouse, should be leading the way,” Miller said, pointing to the state’s “healthy” rainy day fund as a resource to cover the gap.

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CBS News – April 12, 2026

GOP runoff battle for Texas Attorney General pits veteran prosecutor congressman against oil and gas executive and experienced senator

Aside from the GOP primary runoff battle for U.S. Senate in Texas, the other races generating a lot of buzz for the May 26 runoff are the Republican and Democratic contests for Texas Attorney General.  The current attorney general, Ken Paxton, is leaving the office at the end of the year and is running for U.S. Senate.

The Republican candidates, State Senator Mayes Middleton and Central Texas Congressman Chip Roy, are in a very contentious fight.  They emerged from the March 3 primary, finishing in the top two. Middleton received more than 39% of the vote, while Roy finished with nearly 32%. Middleton also received the endorsement from another Republican candidate, Aaron Reitz.

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News from the States – April 6, 2026

New Mexico commission to consider new oil and gas cleanup rules

The New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission is weighing proposed changes to oil and gas cleanup rules that climate advocates say would be a key step forward in preventing orphaned and abandoned wells. New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Act requires that state energy officials charge oil and gas companies for plugging and cleaning retired and abandoned wells. Republican lawmakers have recently argued that conservation tax revenue should pay for it instead.

Across New Mexico, plugging and remediating thousands of abandoned wells could cost between $700 million and $1.6 billion, according to a 2025 Legislative Finance Committee report. The report recommended an update to state rules that govern the bonds companies guarantee to reflect the cost of cleanup. A coalition of environmental organizations has proposed a slew of new rules that they say will modernize the “decades-old financial safeguards” aimed at preventing orphaned and abandoned wells.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Associated Press/Dallas Morning News – April 17, 2026

US extends waiver on Russian oil sanctions to ease Iran war shortages despite Bessent denial*

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday extended its pause on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to ease shortages from the Iran war, days after Secretary Scott Bessent ruled out such a move. The so-called general license means U.S. sanctions will not apply for 30 days on deliveries of Russian oil that has been loaded on tankers as of Friday. It extended a similar 30-day license issued in March for Russian oil that had been loaded by March 11. The extension underscores how the fallout from the Iran war has boosted Moscow’s ability to profit from its energy exports, which had been restrained since the invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Bessent ruled out extending the license. “We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil,” he said. The administration did not immediately explain the reversal.

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Reuters – April 18, 2026

Turkey says Iran gas pipeline contract nearing expiry, no talks yet on extension*

Turkey’s long-term contract for importing natural gas from Iran is due to expire in the ​coming months, and the two countries could hold talks on a ‌possible extension, though no negotiations are under way yet, Turkey’s energy minister said on Saturday. The agreement, due to expire in July, provides for delivery of 9.6 billion cubic ​metres of gas a year, but actual flows have often ​fallen short.

Turkey imported 7.6 bcm from Iran last year, accounting for ⁠13% of total gas imports. Regulator data show the pipeline last ​hit the contracted volume in 2022. “According to our forecast, we might need this ​gas pipeline or the gas flow from Iran for the security of supply of Turkey. There is no negotiation right now ongoing. I think they are busy with ​so many other things. But we might sit and discuss a potential ​extension,” Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in the ‌southern ⁠Turkish province of Antalya.

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Reuters – April 19, 2026

Is it time to abandon hope the Strait of Hormuz will open soon?: Clyde Russell*

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

OK Energy Today – April 19, 2026

Texas legislator threatens to stop data center

A state legislator who represents Wichita Falls, Texas and surrounding counties near the Red River is tackling the issue of data centers—including one proposed project drawing growing attention. Rep. James Frank said he plans to ask Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop a proposed data center project in Archer County if the company does not provide information and answers to concerns raised by constituents. Archer County sits at the south edge of Wichita Falls and, in a Facebook posting, Rep. Frank said he has talked to developers of the Three Way Road project and urged them to hold an informational public meeting.

“Data center development has very quickly become one of the biggest political issues in the 14 counties of House District 69. I have heard from many people excited about the enormous economic opportunities that these projects can create. I have also heard from many people with very serious and legitimate concerns about what data centers might mean for their property and our area,” he wrote.

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KDFW – April 17, 2026

Update: ERCOT sent back to drawing board after predicting quadrupled power demand by 2032

The people who run the power grid in Texas, the Electric Reliability Council, or ERCOT, this week said the state should prepare for a surge in power demand over the next six years. They predict numbers that are nearly quadruple what we currently use. The Public Utility Commission (PUC) Friday held back on giving the green light to ERCOT’s proposals.

PUC’s role is to regulate the state’s utilities and oversee ERCOT to make sure we have reliable service. Their reason for holding back on fully accepting the preliminary long-term load forecast is because the commission thinks the projections are inflated and based on speculative data.  ERCOT says peak power demand will quadruple in six years, projecting a peak demand of 367,790 megawatts by 2032. To put that in perspective, the highest demand ever for the state was around 85 thousand megawatts in 2023.

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Houston Chronicle – April 17, 2026

How much power will data centers new to Texas use? No one really knows.*

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KTSM – April 17, 2026

OSHA opens investigation into El Paso Electric following power outage incident

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into El Paso Electric following an incident on Wednesday, April 15, causing injuries to two employees. As KTSM 9 News previously reported, one employee was airlifted, and another was transported with injuries after an incident that left over 5,000 of customers in East El Paso without power.

According to a statement by EPE, two employees were hurt during work activities. “OSHA citation items will be posted 30 (thirty) days after the employer receives the citation(s), except in cases of significant public interest. Posted citation items reflect any amendments to citations that are the result of a prompt settlement, which OSHA encourages,” read part of the inspection detail by OSHA.

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April 17, 2026

Owner of massive Elwood Energy plant isn’t waiting for Illinois closure deadlines. They’re literally moving the plant to Texas: Chicago Tribune*

The owner of two-thirds of a massive natural-gas-fired power plant in Will County is moving their part of the facility to Texas. Literally. As in, putting huge turbines on flatbed trucks and driving them south to friendlier climes. We’ve learned that two-thirds of the capacity at the 1,350-megawatt Elwood Energy facility — the largest natural-gas-fired peaker power plant in Commonwealth Edison’s territory and one of the biggest in the nation — now is being shut down thanks to Illinois’ landmark clean-energy law enacted in 2021. The sudden removal of that whopping 900 megawatts of capacity could well drive up local electric bills that already have been rising. …

Hull Street Energy, of Bethesda, Maryland, early last year acquired six of the nine 150-megawatt gas turbines that have been running at Elwood. The timing was interesting given that the plant wasn’t likely to be allowed to operate for long. Now, we have a better idea of the rationale for the deal. The equipment was valuable to Hull Street — but not if it stayed in Will County. The firm’s decision to move the turbines to Texas, where they will continue to operate, makes sense because there’s high demand even for older equipment like this. We’re told there’s a five– to seven-year wait to purchase new gas turbines.

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Bloomberg – April 19, 2026

Cheap Batteries Are Taking Over the World’s Power Grids*

Around the world, a wave of mega installations of batteries are lining up to be connected to the grid this year — from solar hubs in Texas to grasslands in Inner Mongolia and the site of a former coal plant north of Sydney. Falling costs and soaring energy demand from data centers had already set the stage for rapid growth. The war in the Middle East has helped accelerate the trend by lifting demand for alternatives to expensive fossil fuels, setting 2026 up to be the year batteries become influential in the global energy system. BloombergNEF analysts had already expected installations to jump by about a third this year, led by expansion in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. That momentum could build further if fuel disruptions persist.

Signs of the ramp up are already emerging. A Chinese battery manufacturer has forecast a sharp rise in first quarter profit as global demand picks up. In Vietnam, a developer is seeking approval to replace a planned LNG-to-power project with renewables paired with storage, citing the surge in fuel costs linked to the war. “We’ve now crossed into a point where anytime anyone is looking at investing in the power system, batteries are one of the most attractive options,” said Brent Wanner, head of the power sector unit at the International Energy Agency. “Battery storage systems will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.”

In markets flooded with solar and wind — technologies that have been built out significantly since the last energy crisis in 2022 — battery operators can buy electricity when it’s cheap and sell it when demand peaks. Where grids once relied on coal and gas when renewable output dipped, storage technology is now becoming cheap and fast enough to make a difference in how the grid functions. Average costs have dropped by around 75% from 2018 to 2025, according to BNEF, and are expected to tumble another 25% through 2035.

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Utility Dive – April 17, 2026

FERC tees up June decision on data center interconnection reform

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission plans to take action on the U.S. Department of Energy’s proposed reforms for interconnecting data centers and other large loads to the transmission system in June, the agency said Thursday. FERC will address the problems discussed in the DOE’s proposal in “a manner that is quick, efficient, and legally durable,” the commission said in a notice of intent to act.

When DOE issued its proposed principles for interconnecting data centers in October, it asked FERC to make a decision by April 30. However, since then, the regulatory landscape around interconnecting large loads has changed, with FERC making decisions on proposals from the PJM Interconnection, Southwest Power Pool, Commonwealth Edison and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the commission noted.

 

Regulatory

 

Austin American-Statesman – April 19, 2026

TCEQ’s mission is to protect Texans. Its own data shows it’s failing: Kathryn Guerra, Brion Oaks*

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, better known as TCEQ, likes to talk about its mission: “protecting public health and natural resources consistent with sustainable economic development.” But talk is cheap. The state agency’s own performance data reveals a regulator that has abandoned half of its mission — the half that protects people. A new report from Public Citizen’s TCEQ Watchdog Campaign tells the story, and it all points to decisions made by Gov. Greg Abbott’s political appointees at the top of the agency. In fiscal year 2025, TCEQ conducted the fewest on-site investigations in eight years — 3,600 fewer than 2024, 5,200 fewer than 2023, and fewer than it did during the COVID pandemic years.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Friday April 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

Oil prices fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the war in Iran “should be ending pretty soon,” while a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon raised hopes of easing supply disruptions.

US crude oil futures for May delivery fell by 5 am on Friday EST by 1.44% to $93.33 per barrel.

International benchmark Brent for June delivery declined 1.29% to $98.1 per barrel.

Trump on Thursday said that “the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” reiterating rosy predictions about the end of the war that began on Feb. 28.

Hours earlier, Trump said in a Truth Social post that a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is set to begin at 5 p.m. ET.

He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would be invited to the White House for what he described as the first meaningful talks between the two countries since 1983.

 

Top Stories

 

Middle Eastern Eye – April 16, 2026

Sri Lankan buyer paid $286 for barrel of oil, as actual prices diverge from markets

The price paid for a barrel of oil in Asia has reached as high as $286 in at least one case, as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Georges Elhedery, the CEO of HSBC Bank, said at an investment forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Elhedery made the remarks to underscore how the benchmark price of oil in the West does not reflect the actual price buyers in certain parts of the world are paying.

“What worries me is not the headlines. I mean, oil headline is above $100, $110,” he said, according to a transcript of his conversation recorded by Bloomberg and obtained by Sherwood News. “Realistically, if you are now trying to get oil from the Middle East, you may be paying $140, $150,” he said.

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Politico – April 16, 2026

Former DOE official jumps to lithium, geothermal developer*

Robert Edwards, a former Energy Department official, has joined T5 Smackover Partners, a Texas-based company developing geothermal energy and critical minerals at a reclaimed coal mining site in the sprawling Smackover formation in Texas. Edwards was tapped to serve on the company’s strategic advisory board, according to a news release. Cole Fisher, who served as the global director of GE Vernova’s decarbonization business development, has been named president.

The project is located in the Smackover formation, which spans from northeastern Texas into southwestern Arkansas. The formation has large deposits of ancient salt water — or brine — that contain high concentrations of lithium. The region in recent years has drawn significant attention from oil and gas companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil that are pivoting to critical minerals like lithium. Bruce Thompson, a Dallas-based entrepreneur, said in a February release that he bought the land from Luminant, a Texas-based electric utility. T5 Smackover Partners is developing a project in Franklin, Titus and Hopkins counties in Texas that combines geothermal power with direct lithium extraction and bromine recovery. Lithium is a key ingredient in EV batteries.

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Texas Tribune – April 16, 2026

Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says

Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan. The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

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Politico – April 16, 2026

Oil company founded by energy secretary paid no US taxes last year

Related: Secretary of Energy makes promises for America’s ‘nuclear renaissance’ — KTXS

The company founded and formerly run by Energy Secretary Chris Wright paid no federal corporate income taxes last year, according to its regulatory filings, and actually got more than $10 million back from the IRS.

Liberty Energy, the oil field services company Wright founded in 2011 but left last year to join the Trump administration, was among several energy companies included in a report issued Tuesday by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy naming 88 companies that together made more than $105 billion before taxes last year but paid no federal corporate income taxes.

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San Antonio Express-News – April 15, 2026

One of Texas’ largest cities plans $464M project to avoid water crisis

Water has become the hottest topic in Texas to start the year, and we haven’t even entered the summer months. Georgetown enacted a $291 million plan to make sure it doesn’t run out of water, Jacob’s Well is set to be closed to swimming for a fourth-straight year and Corpus Christi is fending off a state takeover if its water crisis doesn’t improve. Meanwhile, one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas is investing hundreds of millions to protect its residents from future water threats.

Fort Worth is putting nearly half a billion dollars toward a new water reclamation facility intent on supporting the growing western portion of the city. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) finally approved a permit for the Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility on August 12, 2025, seven years after the city first filed for the permit. Now Fort Worth has submitted plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), revealing the scope of the project.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Video: Fire spreads and intensifies in Tuapse refinery in Russia’a Krasnodar after Ukrainian drone attack — YouTube/Kanal 13

Europe could run out of jet fuel in 6 weeks, IEA warns — CNBC

Russia Could Occupy the Baltics in 90 Days Without Sending in a Single Soldier — a new war game by the Baltic Defense Initiative, a Lithuanian think tank, suggests that Russia could drive the Baltic states to capitulate merely by bombarding them with missiles and drones — The National Interest

Williams is signaling an aggressive timeline on the long-stalled Constitution Pipeline, with the operator targeting reinstatement of its FERC certificate by the third quarter of this year and initial service by late 2027 — Natural Gas Intelligence*

PROENERGY has finalized the sale of two ERCOT natural gas fired generation facilities to South Texas Electric Cooperative for $768 million — the deal includes the 384-MW Braes Bayou and 384-MW Brotman plants, totaling 768 MW, which were built between 2021 and 2023 to provide immediate, high-demand power to the Texas grid — Hart Energy*

“As part of the ongoing refreshment process of its Board of Directors,” CenterPoint Energy says its shareholders elected a new Director, Michael A. (“Casey”) Herman to its Board, effective April 16, 2026. “Herman brings decades of audit, governance, and finance strategy experience in the electric and gas utility industries to CenterPoint’s Board.” — see the press release

“Jim Wright ran for the Railroad Commission of Texas six years ago as a reformer. But his reforms drew the ire of powerful oil tycoons who are now trying to unseat him. Wright championed the first overhaul of oilfield waste rules in 40 years at the Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency. Some independent oil and gas companies criticized the rules change adopted last year. One of those companies, CrownQuest, brought a lawsuit against the Railroad Commission challenging its legality. CrownQuest’s billionaire founder Tim Dunn is known for targeting Texas Republicans who he does not consider sufficiently conservative. He is now backing Bo French, a far-right candidate, to unseat Wright at the Railroad Commission.” — San Antonio Current

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Pipeline & Gas Journal – April 16, 2026

Permian Constraints Keep Waha Gas Prices Negative for Record Stretch as U.S. Markets Weaken

Pipeline constraints in the Permian Basin continued to pressure U.S. natural gas markets, with prices at the Waha Hub remaining in negative territory for a record 47 consecutive days. Limited takeaway capacity has trapped associated gas production in West Texas, forcing producers to discount or effectively pay to move volumes out of the region. Analysts have long cited insufficient pipeline infrastructure as a key bottleneck, with additional capacity not expected to come online until later this year.

The sustained weakness in Permian pricing comes as broader U.S. gas and power markets also softened. Spot power and natural gas prices in Texas and California turned negative on April 14, as mild weather reduced both heating and cooling demand.

________________________________

 

Baird Maritime – April 16, 2026

Exxon cancels first two Golden Pass LNG sell offers, reason unclear

Exxon Mobil has withdrawn an offer to sell two initial cargoes of liquefied natural gas from its Golden Pass export plant in Texas that’s been in the process of starting up operations, two people familiar with the decision said on Thursday. The sources did not give a reason for the withdrawal, but the plant has been running at around a third of its capacity since it began production late last month, according to data from financial firm LSEG.

Golden Pass, a joint venture between Exxon and QatarEnergy, took in about 287 million cubic feet per day of natural gas on Thursday to be liquefied for export, LSEG data showed. The plant’s first train has a nameplate capacity of 800 mcfd. LNG producers and traders typically offer cargoes to potential buyers during the commissioning phase, when plants are tested to ensure they are operating as designed.

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KBMT – April 16, 2026

ExxonMobil plans major carbon storage project in Southeast Texas

________________________________

 

Bloomberg – April 16, 2026

Oil Curve ‘Might Be Kind of Lying’ About Prices, CEO Says*

________________________________

 

Reuters – April 16, 2026

Valero partially restarts Port Arthur, Texas refinery after blast, sources say*

Valero Energy Corp has partially restarted its 380,000 barrel-per-day Port Arthur, Texas refinery following a March 23 explosion and fire, said two ​people familiar with plant operations. While the production line from the ​115,000-bpd AVU 147 crude distillation unit (CDU) is operating, Valero ⁠is repairing the heater in the 210,000-bpd AVU-146 CDU, keeping that ​production line shut. … During inspection of the refinery’s units following the March 23 shutdown of the refinery because of the fire, Valero discovered a damaged tube in AVU-146’s heater. ​Once the heater tube is repaired, Valero plans to restart the ​CDU.

The AVU-146 crude distillation unit accounts for 2% of crude oil refining capacity in ‌the ⁠U.S. Gulf Coast states of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, which contain 9.62 million bpd or over half of the U.S. total. In Texas alone, AVU-146’s capacity is 3.4% of the state’s total of 6.13 ​million bpd in ​atmospheric crude distillation ⁠capacity. … No injuries were reported from the March 23 explosion ​and fire ⁠in diesel hydrotreater, but one person has filed a lawsuit, alleging he was injured when knocked to the ground. Valero has previously declined ⁠to comment ​about the lawsuit.

________________________________

 

The Hill – April 15, 2026

Chevron executive says ‘people should try to drive less’ amid Iran war

Chevron executive Andy Walz said that “people should try to drive less” to offset higher energy prices during the U.S. military operation in Iran. “People should drive less. They should try to conserve energy,” Walz told CBS News this week. “We should be doing that all the time,” he continued. “Energy’s essential for people’s lives, but we should conserve it.”

Global energy rates have spiked during the Middle East conflict, after Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets and energy infrastructure in the Gulf Region after Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28. These attacks effectively halted the flow of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil transportation corridor.  As a result, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil skyrocketed to $118 at the end of March. The average price of standard gas in the U.S. has also hiked up amid the conflict, exceeding $4 a gallon at the end of last month.

April 13, 2026

Challenge to Energy Transfer’s Green Chile gas pipeline for OpenAI/Oracle Project Jupiter Stargate AI data center: Public Citizen

On January 29, an affiliate of Energy Transfer applied for blanket authorization to build 18 miles of 24-inch diameter natural gas pipeline (which it calls Green Chile) to serve the proposed Project Jupiter data center on the New Mexico side of the northwest suburbs of El Paso, TX. Project Jupiter is a joint venture of OpenAI and Oracle as part of its broader Stargate AI plan, with initial construction performed by Borderplex Digital Assets.

The sole use for the Green Chile pipeline is to supply nearly 3,000 megawatts of planned natural gas power generation to exclusively serve Project Jupiter. The power needs for Project Jupiter exceed the entire existing generation output of all of El Paso Electric’s current power capacity, with the New Mexico Environment Department revealing the facilities would annually produce hundreds to thousands of tons of several pollutants.

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Texas Tribune – April 16, 2026

Texas oil and gas regulator Wayne Christian peddles oil-backed crypto coin

Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian is peddling a new crypto token tied to the value of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest given his position as an elected official to the state agency that oversees the oil and gas industry in Texas — and whose regulatory decisions could impact the value of the token. Christian, a Republican and one of three members of the Railroad Commission, is listed as a member of the board of directors and chair of the advisory board of Energy Substantiation, the company launching the West Texas Intermediate Coin, or $WTIC, according to materials obtained by The Texas Tribune that the company shared with prospective investors as recently as October.

Christian pitched prospective investors on $WTIC ahead of the coin’s public launch later this year, according to an email from Christian that also was obtained by the Tribune. “We are now inviting a limited group of early participants to learn more and consider getting involved at the founding stage,” Christian, who also works as a financial advisor, wrote in the email. “After more than 40 years as a financial advisor, I’ve learned that the biggest opportunities are often those recognized early. I believe this one is worth serious consideration.”

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

S&P Global Platts – April 16, 2026

US expands Iran blockade scope as initial enforcement proves largely effective

The US Navy has expanded the scope of its blockade on Iranian seaborne trades to cover all sanctioned ships, as vessel-tracking data shows Washington’s initial enforcement is largely effective in controlling maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. In a notice dated April 16, the US Naval Forces Central Command said all ships linked to Iran and listed by the Office of Foreign Asset Control could now be seized “regardless of location” as part of the blockade.

Also targeted are ships carrying contraband goods to Iran, including crude, refined products, iron, steel, aluminum, energy equipment, weapons and others “at any place beyond neutral territory,” according to the notice. After the weekend peace talks between the US and Iran collapsed, CENTCOM has enforced a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas since 1400 GMT April 13 and turned back 14 ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea within 72 hours, it said.

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Reuters – April 16, 2026

Iran war brings US close to net crude exporter for first time since World War Two*

The U.S. nearly turned into a net crude exporter last week for the first time ​since World War Two as shipments surged close to a record high to meet demand from Asian and European buyers scrambling to replace ‌Middle East supplies cut by the Iran war. The U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran triggered the largest ever disruption to the global energy market as Iranian threats to shipping stopped around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies from transiting the Strait of Hormuz waterway.

________________________________

 

Reuters – April 15, 2026

Trump issues several pipeline permits for US-Canada oil transportation*

U.S. President ​Donald Trump issued several pipeline permits ‌on Wednesday, including one for the construction of a new pipeline, to facilitate the transportation of ​crude oil and petroleum products between ​the U.S. and Canada, according to documents ⁠released by the White House. The permit ​authorizing construction was issued to the Bakken ​Pipeline Company for pipeline facilities at Burke County, North Dakota.

Other permits were issued for the maintenance and ​operation of existing pipelines at border locations ​in North Dakota and Michigan.

________________________________

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 16, 2026

TotalEnergies Eyes Boost From Oil-Price Surge, Despite Hit to Production*

TotalEnergies said it expects a boost to its financial results from higher oil and gas prices as the energy industry continues to weigh the impact of the war in the Middle East. The French energy major said Thursday that it expects first-quarter production of oil and gas to be at the same level as the previous quarter, when it reported output of 2.545 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. A chunk of TotalEnergies’s hydrocarbon output is offline due to the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, which has spread to the wider Persian Gulf. As a result of the war, TotalEnergies has shut down or is shutting down production in Qatar, Iraq and offshore United Arab Emirates, representing around 15% of its total output. The company last week said a refinery complex in Saudi Arabia, a joint venture with the kingdom’s national oil company, was closed after being damaged.

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The New York Times – April 14, 2026

Trump Officials Pledge Swift Completion of Controversial Gas Pipeline*

A controversial plan to build an underwater gas pipeline skirting the shores of New York City is charging forward on schedule, three high-ranking Trump administration officials said on Tuesday at a groundbreaking ceremony. Under a bright blue sky and in front of a gigantic American flag that flapped in the wind, energy executives, labor leaders and cabinet secretaries celebrated the project on the grounds of a former World War II naval air station in coastal Brooklyn, surrounded by the city’s largest natural marshland.

The White House officials spoke of energy independence and abundance, patriotism and affordability. But environmental and climate activists protesting the plan, which was previously rejected repeatedly by the state, have spoken about global warming and threats to local waterways. Doug Burgum, the Interior secretary, described “a future where America leads the world, where we’ve got enough energy to not only support affordability and prosperity at home, but to bring peace in the world, because we can sell energy to our friends and allies so that they can stop buying from those that wage war or terrorism.”

And Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, spoke of President Trump’s agenda to fast-track fossil fuel projects throughout the United States, especially in the Northeast, where aging infrastructure has not kept up with soaring energy demand. Mr. Zeldin recalled a meeting at the Oval Office in early 2025 during which Mr. Trump “specifically” asked about the underwater pipeline for New York. “He wanted it built instantly,” Mr. Zeldin said.

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CNBC – April 16, 2026

Nearly 60% of U.S. farmers say their finances are getting worse as fertilizer, fuel costs rise: Survey

On a farm in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where her husband’s family has worked the land for generations, Lorenda Overman is facing familiar hurdles — but also new pressures she couldn’t have predicted only months ago. ″We’re always battling weather, disease and insects,” said Overman. “Three years we’ve had record high input prices, and it has just got higher the last six or eight weeks.”

Fertilizer prices have surged due to shipping disruptions from the war in the Middle East, and the higher costs are rippling across U.S. agriculture just as spring planting gets underway. Farmers are being forced to scale back inputs, shift crops and reconsider how much to plant, which could affect the supply of certain crops in the U.S. and around the world. New survey data from the American Farm Bureau Federation shows fertilizer access and affordability are becoming a defining challenge for this year’s growing season. Almost six in 10, or 58%, report worsening financial conditions amid rising input and fuel costs, according to the survey conducted April 3 through April 11.

________________________________

 

Associated Press/Yahoo! News – April 14, 2026

In apparent flub, Energy Secretary Wright says US heading ‘in the wrong direction’

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Utility Dive – April 16, 2026

FERC orders American Efficient to pay $1.1B for ‘brazen fraud’

American Efficient; its owner, Modern Energy Group; and affiliated companies must pay about $1.1 billion for “one of the largest and most brazen frauds” in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s history, the agency said Wednesday. American Efficient violated the market rules of the PJM Interconnection and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator by selling them energy efficiency resources that it didn’t control or that wouldn’t reduce load beyond what would have happened anyway, FERC said.

The company also manipulated the PJM markets by fraudulently presenting itself as a legitimate capacity seller, making misleading statements that its program lowered customer prices and by failing to tell PJM that MISO and ISO-New England had disqualified the company from their capacity markets, FERC said.

________________________________

 

KAVU – April 13, 2026

South Texas Energy Cooperative expands energy capacity with $768 million plant purchase

Two natural gas‑fired generation facilities were acquired Friday, April 10, by South Texas Electric Cooperative Inc. (STEC) for $768 million. The facilities were purchased from PROENERGY after years of planning, according to a statement from the cooperative. The acquisition adds 768 megawatts of generation capacity to STEC’s fleet. STEC currently owns three power plants: the Sam Rayburn Power Plant in Nursery, the Pearsall Power Plant in Pearsall, and the Red Gate Power Plant in Edinburg with about 1,865.3 megawatts of capacity.

Half of the newly acquired power capacity will come from the Braes Bayou Power Plant in Fort Bend County, with the remaining half operating from the Brotman Power Plant in Brazoria County. … Under the terms of the agreement, PROENERGY will continue operating the facilities.

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Hill Country Community Journal – April 11, 2026

More than 600 landowners fight power line project

As the filing deadline closed at the Public Utility Commission of Texas for the proposed Howard-Solstice 765-kV transmission line by AEP Texas and CPS Energy (Docket 59336), more than 600 landowners, businesses and governmental entities filed motions to intervene in the Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) proceeding — joining the Hill Country Preservation Coalition (HCPC) in what is now one of the most actively contested transmission cases in Texas history.

The filings include motions to intervene from the commissioner courts of four affected counties — Kerr, Edwards, Real and Val Verde — alongside hundreds of private landowners, ranches and property-holding entities across the proposed corridor. In total, nearly half of all filings in the docket are tied to intervenor participation, underscoring the scale of legal and procedural engagement in the case. Additionally, more than 260 parties submitted protest filings or comments, including U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and state Reps. Eddie Morales Jr. and Wes Virdell.

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KXAN – April 14, 2026

Rapid growth driving proposed electric upgrades in Georgetown

Rapid growth and electricity intensive development are driving major investments in Georgetown’s electric infrastructure, according to city officials. Georgetown’s Electric Utility General Manager Daniel Bethapudi said the city operates its own electric utility, but only at the distribution level. This means Georgetown is responsible for delivering power to customers but not generating or transmitting energy.

“We are responsible for not only the infrastructure that serves the customer, but also the energy that the customers consume, and the billing and the customer interface,” Bethapudi said. “The way we procure the energy is through contracts—to serve our customers—so we have multiple contracts for the energy that the customers use.”

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Austin American-Statesman – April 16, 2026

EV interest rises with gas prices, but new car sales still lag*

Interest in electric vehicles is spiking along with gas prices, but that may not be translating into new car sales. Auto research website Edmunds is seeing growing consumer interest, noting that EVs accounted for 9.6% of research activity on its website in January and February. As pump prices experienced a record surge in March, EV research climbed to 11.6% of the site’s total activity.

The uptick in research — from reading expert reviews to submitting dealer leads — comes after sales of new EVs slumped in recent months. Electric vehicle sales fell by 27% in the first quarter, according to Kelley Blue Book. But that doesn’t necessarily mean buyers are shying away from EVs. Used EV sales have soared, suggesting cost-conscious consumers are still looking for gas-saving deals.

________________________________

 

E&E News By Politico – April 16, 2026

Largest US renewable project begins generating electricity

The largest renewable energy project ever built in the United States has begun generating electricity, putting a two-decade push to deliver wind power generated in New Mexico to consumers in California on the cusp of completion. SunZia Wind has begun testing its 916 turbines as it nears the start of commercial operations later this quarter, according to a person familiar with the project. The impact is already evident: California broke its record for wind generation eight times in the last four weeks, according to Grid Status, a website that tracks power flows.

The 3.5-gigawatt wind development, which will deliver power over a 550-mile transmission line to California, is nearing the finish line at a time when the wind industry is under attack in Washington. President Donald Trump eliminated tax credits for the industry and has erected new permitting barriers for wind projects nationwide. Wind developers have sought to keep a low profile against that backdrop in attempt to avoid provoking the president. In a sign of the times, neither the project nor the California grid operator announced SunZia had begun generating electricity. The news was first reported by Grid Status.

 

Regulatory

 

E&E News By Politico – April 16, 2026

4 takeaways from Chris Wright’s Capitol Hill appearance

Energy Secretary Chris Wright faced sharp criticism from House Democrats over rising energy prices during a budget hearing Wednesday, while also offering new details on the Department of Energy’s award cancellations, solar development and his approach to permitting reform. It was Wright’s first hearing appearance on Capitol Hill in nearly a year, and Democrats were quick to make up for lost time, grilling him over rising gasoline prices following U.S. strikes on Iran.

“We’re looking at gasoline prices going through the roof across the country,” said Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “This is an administration that decided on a war of choice in Iran, and that choice is driving up these costs.” The Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing was focused on the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal, which would cut nondefense spending by more than 10 percent and impose even steeper reductions on renewable energy programs.

________________________________

 

The New York Times – April 16, 2026

Bessent Questions the Cause of Climate Change and Its Economic Toll*

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Tuesday that it was difficult to determine the actual causes of climate change, dismissing decades of science that has attributed global warming to the burning of fossil fuels. He instead called on international financial institutions to focus their attention on economic growth and alleviating poverty. The comments came in remarks on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Mr. Bessent had previously ordered the World Bank to remove some of its climate finance targets and finance “all affordable and reliable sources of energy” including gas, oil and coal.

The Trump administration has reversed most of the spending on clean energy that was underway during the Biden administration and pushed ahead with policies that end restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and aim to ramp up domestic production of fossil fuels. President Trump last year called global warming a “hoax” and a “con job.” While the Treasury secretary did not go that far, his comments contradicted the scientific consensus about why the world’s climate is changing.

“Yes, the climate does change,” Mr. Bessent said, adding that “we are going through cycles, and I believe that it is very difficult to deconstruct the reasons around why anything changes.” Leading scientists have rejected claims like Mr. Bessent’s, and noted that natural factors like the sun, volcanic eruptions and orbital cycles would be cooling the earth if not for human activity. Instead, about 200 years ago, after the start of the Industrial Revolution, the direction of global temperatures reversed and began rapidly warming.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday April 16, 2026

Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall

 

Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, reversing earlier declines, on scepticism that peace talks between ‌the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle East producing region.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 14 cents to $91.43 a ​barrel. Both benchmarks settled little changed on Wednesday but traded in a wide range.

Brent crude futures were down 26 cents to $94.67 a barrel at 0611 GMT.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has resulted ​in the largest-ever disruption of global oil and gas supplies due to Iran’s interruption of ⁠traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas ​flows.

“While there are hopes for de-escalation, many investors remain sceptical, given that U.S.-Iran talks have repeatedly broken down even ​after appearing to make progress,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

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Top Stories

 

Bloomberg – April 15, 2026

Texas Sees Power Demand Quadrupling by 2032 on Data Center Boom*

Related: In compliance with new Public Utility Commission of Texas requirements established by the Texas Legislature, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. Wednesday filed a preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast for the years 2026–2032 — the forecast will be discussed at the PUCT Open Meeting on April 17, 2026 — the current forecast projects approximately 367,790 MW of demand in the ERCOT Region by 2032 — see the press release

The Texas grid operator warned power demand may quadruple from recent record levels by 2032 to feed booming data-center expansion and population growth, an increase that would require the equivalent of almost 300 new nuclear reactors. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said peak demand may reach 367,790 megawatts in six years, a vast increase from the all-time peak of 85,508 megawatts reached in August 2023. Data centers will account for more than 60% of the projected increase, according to an Ercot presentation released Wednesday.

While Texas is facing “exceptional growth” across sectors, Ercot Chief Executive Officer Pablo Vegas said “we believe this forecast to be higher than expected future growth.” Ercot’s latest forecast demonstrates how grid operators, utilities and regulators are struggling to figure out how to cope with a rush of data-center proposals. Some observers expressed skepticism about the Ercot forecast.

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Oil Price – April 14, 2026

The Rare Earth Trap: How China Outmaneuvered the Entire Western Defense Industry

In 1992, China’s political leader Deng Xiaoping made a comparison that should’ve set off alarms across the West: “There is oil in the Middle East; there is rare earth in China.” Instead, for the next 30 years, Western governments largely treated rare earth processing as low-value work — something they could hand off to whoever would do it cheapest. But then REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) came along with partners and started building domestic processing capability while most of the industry was still looking the other way.

Beijing saw the value in rare earths early and treated it as a long-term weapon, which is why China now controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing. That covers not just mining, but the refining and metal-making that turn raw rock into parts for everything from fighter jets to wind turbines. It spent 30 years building that position deliberately, with state-backed financing, predatory pricing, and export controls designed to prevent anyone else from catching up.

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The Guardian – April 15, 2026

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds

The world’s top 100 oil and gas companies banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran, according to exclusive analysis for the Guardian. Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil are among the biggest beneficiaries of the bonanza, meaning key opponents of climate action continue to prosper.

The conflict pushed the price of oil to an average of $100 (£74) a barrel in March, leading to estimated windfall war profits for the month of $23bn for the companies. Oil and gas supplies will take months to return to pre-war levels and the companies will make $234bn by the end of the year if the oil price continues to average $100. The analysis uses data from a leading intelligence provider, Rystad Energy, analysed by Global Witness.

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Fortune/Yahoo! News – April 15, 2026

U.S. utilities are planning a $1.4 trillion spending spree, up 30%, over the next five years amid the AI construction boom

U.S. utilities and power generators are hiking their spending plans to record levels at the same time as consumer utility bills have surged to new highs—and it’s no coincidence. Investor-owned utility companies increased their capital spending plans by more than 27% to at least $1.4 trillion through 2030—up from $1.1 trillion a year ago—and that’s not even counting privately held companies, according to a new report released Tuesday from the nonprofit PowerLines.

The AI power boom and the wave of construction for data centers is the leading cause of new spending growth nationwide, but it’s a convergence of spending causes that have triggered utility bills to spike about 40% since 2021—“with no signs of slowing down”—PowerLines said.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Saudi Arabia pressures Trump to scale back war on Iran — Mohammed bin Salman wants the US president to lift quarantine of Iranian ports, say diplomats — The Telegraph

US sends thousands more troops to Mideast as Trump seeks to squeeze Iran — MSN

Iran war damaged as much as $58 billion of energy infrastructure, Rystad estimates — CNBC

The Bureau of Land Management today opened a 30-day public comment period to receive public input on plans to include 32 oil and gas parcels totaling 21,181 acres in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas in an August 2026 sale — the comment period ends May 15, 2026 — see the press release

After 12 years of being called NRG Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is reverting to its original name: Reliant Stadium — the change was approved Wednesday by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation — according to NRG, a recent survey revealed that 90% of their Houston-based customers supported the return of the stadium’s original name — Houston Chronicle*

“The Strait of Hormuz is not as important to global energy as it was just a few weeks ago.  Here’s why.  Over the past few years, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have very smartly built back-up pipelines. Those pipelines – a whopping 7 million barrels per day capacity in Saudi and about 1.5 million per day flowing across the UAE – have cut the flow of shipborne oil out of the Hormuz by half.” — CNBC’s “Power Insider”

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 15, 2026

New report says new Permian oil intervals keep coming*

Already home to vast crude oil and natural gas reserves, the Permian Basin may have an even longer runway than originally thought, according to a new report from Enverus Intelligence Research, a subsidiary of Enverus. EIR’s report, Permian Basin Play Fundamentals: The Intervals Keep Coming, estimates the region holds around 55,000 economically viable drilling locations with oil prices below $50 a barrel. This represents 10% year-over-year growth, driven primarily by high-quality resource expansion and continued cost reductions. This inventory is nearly double the combined total of the other major North American plays referenced in the report.

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Rigzone – April 15, 2026

Texas Petroleum Theft Task Force Holds Meeting

Earlier this month, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) revealed that the organization’s petroleum theft task force held its second quarterly meeting. In a statement posted on its website, the RRC said members of its state taskforce on petroleum theft (STOPTheft) gathered in Midland, Texas, on April 2 “to continue their work addressing the challenges of petroleum theft in Texas”.

“Led by RRC Chairman Jim Wright, the session opened with a brief overview of the task force’s duties, subcommittees and timeline goals for delivering their first report to the Legislature in December,” the statement said, noting that this report will assess theft impacts, long-term economic effects, and ways to improve coordination between law enforcement.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 15, 2026

Hormuz Blockage Helped U.S. Oil-Export Hub Hit Records*

 

Energy Now – April 15, 2026

Oil-Gear Maker NOV Cuts Earnings Guidance as Iran War Hikes Costs and Snarls Deliveries

NOV Inc., one of the biggest US makers of oilfield gear, slashed its earnings guidance for the first quarter as the war in the Middle East raises costs and snarls equipment deliveries. Safety and logistical problems from the conflict dented revenue by about $54 million and adjusted earnings by around $32 million, Chief Executive Officer Jose Bayardo said in a statement Wednesday.

The company now expects to report adjusted earnings of $177 million for the first quarter, down from its previous forecast of about $200 million to $225 million. … NOV is the latest oilfield services firm after SLB to publicly warn that the ongoing conflict has pushed earnings below earlier guidance. The revised outlooks underscore the sector’s growing exposure to geopolitical disruptions that have curtailed energy supply and left the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war, effectively shut.

KXAS – April 15, 2026

Analyst: Texas gas could reach $4.50 this summer as Gulf oil traffic stalls

Texas gas prices could approach $4.50 a gallon this summer if the situation in the Middle East continues for another three to five weeks, according to an industry analyst. Matt Smith, an oil market analyst with Kpler, said drivers in Texas could see prices over $4 by the July and August road trip season. In other parts of the country, he said, gas could reach $5 a gallon. Smith said the disruption near the Strait of Hormuz is already affecting global fuel markets. Kpler’s ship tracking platform shows large clusters of tankers sitting near the strait, including full vessels loaded with oil that cannot move.

He said the first major effect is already showing up as rising gas prices. Smith said Europe and Asia could begin seeing gas lines in the next few weeks because of shortages. Jet fuel is also becoming a growing concern, especially in Europe and on the U.S. West Coast. Smith said Europe gets much of its jet fuel from the Middle East. He said the West Coast also depends heavily on jet fuel tied to Asian markets that cannot get oil from the Middle East to produce it right now.

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Reuters – April 15, 2026

Permian-focused EagleRock plans rare US oil and gas IPO, sources say

EagleRock, a company that collects royalties and fees from oil and gas ‌production on the land it controls in the Permian Basin, is exploring a U.S. initial public offering that could value it at up to $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The Houston-based firm has hired Goldman Sachs on the potential rare U.S. oil and gas listing, four of ​the sources said, with two adding it could come as soon as the second quarter.

The listing plan comes as ​crude prices have soared due to the conflict in the Middle East. The turmoil has triggered one ⁠of the greatest-ever global energy shocks and boosted the appeal of U.S. assets, which have continued to move oil and gas unencumbered ​by the war. EagleRock owns and controls land in the Delaware and Midland portions of the Permian, the heart of the U.S. ​shale industry in Texas and New Mexico, as well as infrastructure to handle water used in the hydraulic fracturing process, according to its website. By holding surface rights, it collects royalties from energy companies operating on its land, allowing EagleRock to earn revenue without producing.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

S&P Global Platts – April 15, 2026

US LNG drops to lowest price since Middle East war began

US LNG prices fell to their lowest levels since the Feb. 28 start of the US-Israel war with Iran, tracking softer delivered prices in Europe and Asia as buyers take a more cautious approach to spot purchases. The Platts Gulf Coast Marker for US FOB cargoes loading 30-60 days forward was assessed at $12.76/MMBtu on April 15, down 56 cents/MMBtu, or 4.2%, day on day. This marked the lowest assessed level since Feb. 27, when the GCM was assessed at $9.25/MMBtu, prior to the start of the conflict.

Throughout the trading day, market sources reported lower day-on-day tradeable values, with an offer for US LNG cargoes loading in June below Platts GCM assessment. An Atlantic Basin trader said the offer level appeared to reflect a seller seeking to attract buying interest. US LNG prices have followed declines in delivered prices across key demand centers as market participants digest signs that Tehran and Washington may resume diplomatic negotiations.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 15, 2026

US report details gasoline blends as EPA expands summer fuel options*

The Energy Information Administration has released a report detailing what is in the gasoline dispensed at the pump. There is conventional gasoline, the standard blend used across most of the U.S., and reformulated gasoline, which is required by the Clean Air Act in areas with high smog. Reformulated gasoline burns cleaner, is typically more expensive and makes up 25% of U.S. gasoline sales. To meet federal air quality standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators require different formulations depending on air quality and location, which affect performance, cost and emissions. In addition, warmer summer months require a different gasoline formulation than cooler winter months.

Specific formulations vary by region and season. Key differences between formulations include octane rating, volatility — commonly measured as Reid vapor pressure, or RVP — and emissions. This year, because gasoline and crude prices have climbed significantly, the EPA has issued a temporary emergency fuel waiver to allow nationwide sales of E15, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, and to remove all federal impediments to selling E10, gasoline blended with 10% ethanol, across the country. The agency is relaxing federal enforcement of summer RVP standards to help mitigate gasoline prices.

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Oil Price – April 15, 2026

U.S. Is Most Resilient to the Energy Shock, Until It Isn’t

The seven-week-long war in Iran has shown that the regions are not equally hurt by the worst oil and gas disruption in history. Asian countries, which are most dependent on oil and LNG flows from the Middle East, are already grappling with fuel shortages, airlines are raising fares and grounding flights, and refiners bid for every non-Middle Eastern barrel in a fierce competition to procure crude.

That’s true for most of Asia, but not for China. Beijing has been amassing crude into commercial and strategic storage over the past year—at low oil prices and at even lower prices for Iranian and Russian supply. … Such high U.S. exports and a protracted conflict could reduce inventories in the key U.S. Gulf Coast regional market to critically low levels by the end of June, even after accounting for the approved releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Amrita Sen, co-founder and director of market intelligence at Energy Aspects, wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times this week.

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ABC News – April 14, 2026

Iran war triggered ‘most severe oil supply shock in history,’ the International Energy Agency says

The Iran war set off the “most severe oil supply shock in history,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report on Tuesday, warning that high prices would slash demand for crude, the primary lifeblood of the global economy. In March, oil prices notched their largest one-month gain ever, the IEA said.

The IEA — a Paris-based group made up of 32 member nations, including the U.S. — warned of a widespread bout of “demand destruction” in the report. Under such a scenario, high prices would make oil unaffordable for many buyers, forcing them to find alternatives or forgo energy use altogether.

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Reuters – April 15, 2026

Goldman Sachs flags two‑way risks to their 2026 oil price outlook*

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday flagged both upside and downside risks to its average 2026 crude forecasts for Brent/WTI at $83/78 per barrel, citing growing ​uncertainty around Middle East developments and oil flows through the Strait ‌of Hormuz.

• Reduced flows through Hormuz pose the biggest upside risk to Goldman’s price forecasts, with estimated oil flows through the strait still at 10% of normal or 2.1 million ​barrels per day (bpd), they said.
• The United States Navy on Monday had ​begun a blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal ⁠areas, posing further upside risk to prices as Iran-associated tankers have been ​accounting for most recent flows through the strait.
• Meanwhile, cuts to oil production in ​the Middle East were lower than Goldman’s mid-March estimates, skewing prices to the downside.
• The bank estimates 8 million bpd of average crude production shut-ins in the Persian Gulf in ​March, roughly in line with OPEC Secondary Sources but lower than IEA ​estimates of 10 million bpd.
• The announcement of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and rising prospects of a ‌near-term ⁠peace deal have added further downward pressure on prices by easing the geopolitical risk premium.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 15, 2026

The Cost of War: How Economists Predict the Economy Will Fare*

The war in Iran has economists downshifting their outlook for the rest of the year, with the consensus in The Wall Street Journal’s latest quarterly survey pointing to higher inflation, slower near-term growth and weaker job creation. The following charts break down economists’ forecasts for key indicators and show how the panel’s 2025 consensus compares with actual outcomes. The latest survey, conducted April 3-9, reflects average forecasts from 68 economists. Not all respondents answered every question.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Utility Dive – April 15, 2026

Utility investment plans jump 21%, further threatening affordability: PowerLines

Investor-owned utilities have boosted their 5-year capital expenditure plans by about 21% in order to meet rising electricity demand, threatening to exacerbate an energy affordability crisis that is worrying almost three-quarters of Americans, according to a report from PowerLines, an energy consumer nonprofit.  The group reviewed 51 recent utility quarterly earnings calls and found IOUs plan to spend $1.4 trillion through 2030, up from the $1.1 trillion that was laid out in capex plans last year. The growing total “could become a major driver of future rate increase requests,” PowerLines warned.

The Southeast “is a particular hot spot of proposed capital spending,” PowerLines Executive Director Charles Hua told journalists in a Tuesday discussion of the report. Utility capex plans in the South total $572 billion, more than double any other region, the report found.

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KTXS – April 14, 2026

‘I might want to move out’: New $7 billion Texas data center sparks mixed reactions

Following the approval of a 10-year tax abatement by Nolan County commissioners, residents are now assessing what could become one of the most significant economic transformations in the county’s history. The decision clears the way for a $7 billion data center project, which is expected to inject millions into the local economy through more than $3 million in annual payments and upwards of $2 million in yearly charitable funding. The project, led by Crusoe Energy Systems, arrives amid a broader surge in large-scale data center facilities across Texas.

The news has sparked a plethora of reactions from local residents and business owners, ranging from anticipation to apprehension. Sweetwater resident Christine Illig views the 200-megawatt data center as a pivotal step in the right direction.

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Governing – April 15, 2026

A First-of-Its-Kind State Ban Targets Energy-Hungry Data Centers

The Maine Senate took a final vote on April 14, 2026, to enact first-of-its-kind legislation banning large data centers in the state until November 2027. The bill, LD 307, puts a moratorium on data centers with power needs of 20 megawatts or more, stymying proposed developments in several parts of the state, including in the rural mill town of Jay in Western Maine and at the former Loring Air Force Base in rural Limestone, Maine, near the Canadian border.

The bill would also create a council to study future electric load projections on New England’s grid and identify strategies to protect Mainers from paying higher electricity rates, among other issues related to data center development and policy.

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April 15, 2026

Landmark EIA Report Reveals U.S. Utilities Shut Off Power 13 Million Times: Center for Biological Diversity

Utility companies disconnected U.S. households from electricity more than 13.4 million times in 2024, according to a landmark report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Corporate utilities shelled out billions to shareholders and top executives the same year. The report, released Tuesday, is the first state-by-state dataset disclosing how often utilities have shut off electricity and gas to households who are unable to make payments. The highest average utility disconnections are primarily concentrated in the South, with Texas and Florida recording the most household shutoffs.

“This federal data is the most sobering portrait we have of the country’s brutal energy affordability crisis,” said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s energy justice program. “It’s inexcusable for utility executives and shareholders to make record profits while families suffer climate extremes and get punished for being poor. We’re grateful to Congress and the Energy Information Administration for establishing the first-ever study of how many millions of people are having their power shut off because they can’t afford to pay. The only sure way out of this mess is to replace the price-gauging of fossil fuel utilities with affordable, renewable community energy.”

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CBS News – April 14, 2026

Data centers could spur a utility spending spree, report finds. Here’s the impact.

U.S. utility companies are planning to invest $1.4 trillion over the next five years to update the nation’s ailing power grid as the data center boom intensifies the need for electricity. That’s according to a new report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan nonprofit consumer education organization PowerLines, which analyzed capital spending plans from 51 investor-owned utilities. A majority of those companies, which serve 250 million U.S. customers, cited data centers as a top driver of capital expenditures in their earnings reports.

Developers are rushing to build power-hungry data centers across the country as tech companies look to expand capacity for artificial intelligence computing. The boom has sparked local opposition from communities that fear rising electricity demand will result in higher utility bills. U.S. data centers consumed more than 4% of the country’s total electricity in 2023, according to the MIT Energy Initiative. That could rise to 9% by 2030, the research group projects.

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Inside Climate News – April 7, 2026

The Global Energy Supply in a Decade ‘Is Not a World We’re Going to Recognize’

The United States’ war on Iran could fundamentally alter how countries consume and generate energy and hamper international progress in combating climate change, a panel of energy experts said today. Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan natural resources and environment think tank, sponsored the panel in conjunction with its new report, “Global Energy Outlook 2026: How the World Lost the Goal of 1.5°C.”

“We may not have a functional Strait of Hormuz coming out of this situation,” said Sarah Ladislaw, one of the panelists and founding director of the New Energy Industrial Strategy Center in Washington, D.C. “And that’s not a small issue.”

 

Regulatory

 

Associated Press/KXAN – April 15, 2026

As energy costs rise, some states back off ambitious climate goals

Seven years ago, New York lawmakers set ambitious goals for slashing greenhouse gas emissions with clarion calls about saving the future. Now, with slow progress made and political realities shifting, Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking a delay, saying she wants to save consumers money.

Times have “ radically changed,” Hochul said, since 2019, when the state set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. She’s proposed giving the state years more to comply, saying pursuing that goal now by imposing planned fees on polluters would lead to crushing energy prices.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday April 15, 2026

Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall

 

Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday with Brent futures up ‌and U.S. futures down amid uncertainty over crude supply from the key Middle East producing region as the Strait of Hormuz remains mainly shut.

West Texas Intermediate crude was down 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $91.05. The contract earlier fell as much ​as 4.7% after dropping 7.9% the session before.

Brent crude futures were up 40 cents, or 0.4%, to $95.19 a barrel at 0420 GMT, paring earlier losses of as much as 0.9%, after falling 4.6% in the ​previous session.

Refiners are desperately seeking alternative crude ‌supply, ⁠pushing the premiums they are willing to pay for oil from areas such as the U.S. Gulf Coast and North Sea. A cargo of WTI Midland for delivery to Rotterdam traded at a record premium of $22.80 a barrel above benchmark European prices on Tuesday.

Talks to end the war between the U.S. and Israel ⁠and Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of negotiations ​over the weekend prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. This has increased optimism talks could eventually settle the conflict and ​open up crude oil and fuel flows.

While the market is thinking the worst is over and factoring in further rounds of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran in the coming days, there is more hope than actual developments at this point, said Suvro Sarkar, energy sector team lead at DBS Bank.

“Physical ​oil is still trading at significant premiums to these futures prices,” he said.

 

Top Stories

 

S&P Global Platts – April 14, 2026

North American aluminum sector nearing ‘supply crisis’ after Middle East disruptions

The North American aluminum sector is approaching a critical supply shortage as the impacts of lost Middle Eastern metal begin to settle in, industry leaders and experts told Platts. Iranian missile and drone strikes in the Persian Gulf region on March 28 shut down Emirates Global Aluminium’s 1.5 million metric tons/year Al Taweelah refinery in Abu Dhabi and Aluminium Bahrain’s 1.6 million mt/year facility. The disruptions to the facilities, along with logistical challenges through the Strait of Hormuz, are expected to strain a North American market already dealing with tight supply due to US tariffs.

“It is nearing a supply crisis,” Jean Simard, president and CEO of trade group Aluminium Association of Canada, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. “Going into the Iran situation, North American aluminum markets already had very low inventories. In the coming weeks, we’re heading into a very unhealthy situation where we will see a shortage, and prices will keep going up.”

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Fortune – April 14, 2026

Most of Wall Street points to high oil prices as the driver of inflation. A maverick Johns Hopkins economist says they’re chasing the wrong culprit*

[A] maverick economist asserts that these prestigious commentators are missing the problem’s true cause, and that while prices are jumping at the same time oil is spiking, it only appears that the petroleum squeeze is to blame. He’s Steve Hanke, the veteran “hardcore monetarist” who is a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and has been nicknamed “the Money Doctor.” “Everyone’s been writing about how oil prices are causing inflation. It only looks that way. The two are correlated, but the first doesn’t cause the second at all,” declares Hanke. He points out that although Wall Street regarded the new 3.3% figure as a surprise and as a result of the war, Hanke wasn’t surprised. He notes that the three-month annualized rate that occurred back in February was also exactly 3.3%. “Inflation was accelerating before the war, and it will keep accelerating after the war’s over and oil prices fall,” the big-time contrarian told Fortune. “It’s at the point now where the genie is clearly out of the bottle and won’t be put back in anytime soon.”

Hanke contends that it’s growth in the money supply, not price shocks like the one we’re now witnessing, that determine the overall course of the price level. “If gasoline and other oil products get more expensive, people have less to spend on rent, restaurants, and everything else,” he says. “Supply-chain disruptions only change relative prices, they have no impact on overall inflation.” It’s the explosion in the money supply he asserts, that’s the real villain. That’s just what the monetarist view predicts. “It’s commercial banks that create 80% of new money,” says Hanke. “The Fed only creates the other 20%. It’s the big surge in that banking credit that’s pushing up prices.” He adds that a rise in the money supply translates into higher prices only following a significant lag. The monetary takeoff happened over two years ago, and he’s been warning of its aftermath ever since.

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Axios – April 13, 2026

AI surge gives carbon capture a new push

Technology that captures carbon emissions from power plants may finally get a breakthrough as deep-pocketed tech companies try to meet climate goals while powering the AI race. It could help make natural gas electricity cleaner, but it’s long been too expensive. The AI boom could change that.

At least five projects under consideration across the U.S. would capture carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas plants connected to data centers, according to company statements, news coverage and independent reports. This includes Google’s publicly touted project in Illinois, another one Google is reportedly behind in Nebraska, projects by ExxonMobil and Chevron and another by Meta that has the option to add the tech. What’s more, multiple interviews with top executives in both energy and AI sectors indicate the technology is under active discussion.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 14, 2026

IMF Warns of Deep Global Downturn if War Is Prolonged*

A prolonged Middle East conflict could slash global growth to rates seen only in the deepest recent recessions, the International Monetary Fund warned in its latest set of forecasts. Already, the war has been more disruptive to global energy markets than the 1973 oil crisis, the IMF’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said in an interview. He warned that if the disruptions persist beyond this year, even after the U.S. and Iran reached a tenuous cease-fire last week, world economic growth could fall to about 2% in 2026, a sluggish rate seen only during the deepest recent downturns. “Every day the clock is running, it gets bigger and bigger,” Gourinchas said of the economic risk.

The multilateral lender’s forecasts often serve as a benchmark for private and official forecasters around the world. This April, the uncertainty introduced by the war led it to take the unusual step of issuing projections for three scenarios: a “reference,” “adverse” and “severe.” In the reference scenario, the conflict resolves promptly yet still places a drag on the global economy. In that outcome, oil would average about $80 a barrel this year, and global output might grow 3.1% on a year-over-year basis, the IMF projected. That is down from the 3.4% growth recorded last year, and lower than the 3.3% the IMF projected in January.

In their adverse scenario, which assumes that the war persists but ends later this year, oil prices spend much of the year around $100 a barrel, global growth might fall farther yet, to around 2.6%. Global inflation would rise to 5.4%. And in a severe scenario, in which the war continues into next year and keeps oil prices high, the global economy could slide into an even deeper downturn, the IMF projected.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Why grocery price hikes are coming — “The global energy crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is only the beginning of the economic cost of the war with Iran — I study how institutions affect businesses and supply chains, and I expect food prices to rise next, with high prices lasting even after whatever point hostilities end” — The Conversation/Valley Central

Fitch Ratings has assigned a ‘BBB-‘ rating with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR1’ to both NRG Energy, Inc.’s new issuance of senior secured first lien note and Term Loan B. Fitch also rated the company’s new issuance of senior unsecured debt ‘BB+’/’RR4’ — Fitch

Fitch Ratings has affirmed El Paso Electric Company’s (EPE) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ with a Stable Rating Outlook. Fitch also affirmed EPE’s senior unsecured debt at ‘BBB+’ — Fitch

European countries are putting together a plan for a broad coalition of countries to help free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, including sending mine-clearing and other military vessels, but the plan would only come after the war and may exclude one country in particular: the U.S. — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday the plan is for an international defensive mission that doesn’t include the “belligerent” parties, meaning the U.S., Israel and Iran. European diplomats familiar with the plan say European ships wouldn’t be under American command — The Wall Street Journal*

Research Update: Caturus Energy LLC Ratings Placed On CreditWatch Positive On Galvan Ranch Asset Acquisition — S&P Global Platts

GFL Environmental announced a deal to acquire Calgary-based Secure Waste Infrastructure, a publicly traded industrial waste and energy infrastructure business with a focus on treatment of oil waste — GFL is offering 80% shares in its company and 20% cash in a deal that would value Secure at $6.4 billion Canadian dollars — Waste Dive

Xcel Energy says new solar generation and battery energy storage facilities are in service to help manage energy costs and reliability for New Mexico and Texas customers — KFDA

GVEC and Base Power has announced a significant expansion of their residential battery program, bringing affordable, whole-home backup power to households across GVEC’s entire service territory — see the press release

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

CBS News – April 14, 2026

Chevron says Venezuelan oil imports are helping curb U.S. gas prices

Chevron’s stepped-up imports of Venezuelan oil are helping ease fuel prices for U.S. consumers, according to a senior executive with the energy giant.Andrew Walz, Chevron’s president of global refining, told CBS News that the company is running its Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery around the clock to process crude from Venezuela.

Walz said Chevron is moving to curb prices for consumers as the war in Iran constrains global oil supplies and pushes U.S. gasoline prices up to their highest level since 2022.  A tanker carrying 400,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude will supply Chevron’s Mississippi refinery for four days. The oil imports are helping both “bring revenue to Venezuela, and it’s helping Americans,” Walz said.

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Reuters – April 14, 2026

US power and natgas prices turn negative in Texas and California as mild weather cuts demand*

U.S. spot power and ​natural gas prices in Texas and California traded in negative territory for Tuesday as mild weather kept both heating and ‌cooling use low, allowing ample amounts of hydro and other renewable sources of energy to meet more demand. Negative prices are a sign that energy firms were producing too much power or gas, requiring some firms to cut back on output or pay others to take their power or gas.

In West Texas, average cash gas ​prices at the Waha Hub remained in negative territory for a record 47 straight days as pipeline constraints continued to trap gas ​associated with oil production in the Permian region, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin. Analysts have long said negative ⁠prices were a sure sign that the Permian region, which spans West Texas and eastern New Mexico, needs more gas pipes.

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KVUE – April 13, 2026

Surge in fertilizer prices amid Iran war strains Central Texas farmers

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Grist – April 13, 2026

The most polluting LNG project in the US is being built in Louisiana

When Louisiana launched the country’s liquefied natural gas export boom in 2016, LNG was touted as a cleaner, climate-friendly alternative to coal and oil. But the state’s first LNG terminal, Sabine Pass LNG, quickly became one of Louisiana’s largest sources of climate-warming pollution, releasing more greenhouse gases than the state’s biggest oil refineries.

An even larger source is on the way. A sprawling LNG facility under construction near Lake Charles, about 40 miles east of the Sabine Pass terminal, is projected to produce substantially more emissions — eclipsing every LNG export terminal built in the United States so far and exceeding the dozens of LNG projects proposed for the next decade, according to a Verite News analysis of state and federal records.

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Texas Observer – April 13, 2026

How Trump’s ‘God Squad’ Could Devastate Endangered Species Along Texas’ Gulf Coast

“Energy security is national security, directly enhancing our operational readiness and ability to project power globally,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in an emailed statement to the Observer. “A resilient, domestic energy supply of oil is essential to safeguarding our nation’s interests and maintaining our strategic advantage.” Environmental advocates, however, say this exemption won’t help that cause because the Endangered Species Act has never been used to prevent drilling operations in the Gulf. Instead, they say it just reduces costs for companies that would otherwise have to employ protocols to protect vulnerable species.

“The decision … is not going to result in any more oil production; it’s not going to result in lower gas prices. It will result in real harm and the potential extinction of one or more species in the Gulf,” Mashuda said. “There is no indication that the Endangered Species Act is currently, or even will in the future, be responsible for halting oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico.” The United States is the world’s leading producer of both oil and natural gas. Of American oil production, 15 percent comes from the Gulf with Endangered Species Act protections in place. The Environmental Protection Agency and Interior Department did not comment on the decision, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration referred the Observer to the Department of Defense.

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KLTV – April 13, 2026

‘Volatile situation’: East Texas economist breaks down impact of Strait of Hormuz blockade

Tensions and oil prices remain high as negotiations between the United States and Iran continue to bounce back and forth. The U.S. just installed their own blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, with East Texas economist Dr. Ray Perryman cautioning the market reacts to every move. … “If it becomes sort of a permanent situation, it’s just going to be much more difficult to do business in the Middle East. Then that starts making the investments in the United States and elsewhere look more attractive,” Perryman said, noting Texas, New Mexico and the Permian Basin already produce half of the oil in U.S.

“The United States is the world’s largest producer and there’s still ample reserves out there. So, there’s options the companies have if this thing persists for an extended period of time,” he said. Regardless, the potential for impact is clear, both across the globe and here at home, penetrating the market at a level deeper than gas prices. “Petroleum is the base of plastics, paints, some pharmaceuticals, adhesives, cosmetics. I mean, a lot of things in our everyday life are tied to petroleum, and higher prices in petroleum work their way through a lot of different pieces of the economy,” Perryman said.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 14, 2026

$133 vs. $99. What Is the Real Price for a Barrel of Oil?*

Which oil price is the right one? These days, the price of a physical barrel of oil is significantly higher than what oil prices in financial markets suggest. Dated Brent, which reflects oil for actual physical delivery 10 to 30 days out, has risen to $132.74 a barrel as of Monday. Brent futures for the nearest delivery settled at $99.36 a barrel. The gap between the two prices is historic, according to Gary Ross, chief executive officer of Black Gold Investors. Never has the market seen an oil-market disruption of this size, or such uncertainty over what might happen next, he added.

The disconnect is especially stark for Brent, the international benchmark. The current front-month Brent futures are for June delivery, which is two months out. Brent futures don’t actually convert to physical delivery. They settle into an index price that is derived from the physical market at that time. The front-month U.S. benchmark crude, the WTI, is for May and settles physically. Secondly, oil price moves are so volatile that traders aren’t willing to place big bets in futures markets. Hedge funds and algorithmic traders have fairly modest positions in oil futures, said Ilia Bouchouev, managing partner of Pentathlon Investments. Professional traders largely don’t expect the oil market to normalize by June, when the front-month Brent futures expire, Bouchouev said. But traders who hold that view aren’t willing to place big bets on it because the market is so volatile.

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S&P Global Platts – April 14, 2026

Strait of Hormuz traffic dips as US enacts blockade

A dozen vessels transited the contested Strait of Hormuz April 13, a drop of seven transits from the day before, as the US blockade of Iran’s ports came into effect, according to an April 14 report from S&P Global’s Commodities At Sea. Most of those ships clung to the confines of Iranian territorial waters, the report said, after Iran advised vessels to use a specific pathway inside its territorial waters because anti-ship mines were present.

Six oil and chemical tankers transited the strait on April 13, four of which are sanctioned by the US, CAS data showed. Windward analyst Ami Daniel wrote in a LinkedIn post that a US-sanctioned Handysize tanker, after initially reversing course, eventually left the Strait of Hormuz in what he said was “first indication” of Iranian output moving out of the Gulf after the announcement of the US blockade.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 13, 2026

U.S. Oil Blockade Is Set to Boost American Exports—and Prices at the Pump*

President Trump is pitching a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as an opportunity for American oil-and-gas exporters. The squeeze on supplies is a bad omen for prices at the pump.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

San Antonio Express-News – April 14, 2026

$14B data center may be coming to drought-stricken Texas. Here’s where

In drought-parched South Texas, plans for a $14 billion data center are drawing scrutiny from residents and prompting local leaders to go on the record saying they support economic development, but not at a price that outpaces and strains precarious natural resources. Over the last week, officials in Cameron County and the city of Harlingen have begun examining the issue after a Scottish “green energy” company, Eneus Energy, began showing interest in the Rio Grande Valley, which is currently in the midst of a massive industrial revolution thanks to companies like SpaceX and Rio Grande LNG, as well as proposals for a high-tech military shipyard and an oil refinery touted by President Donald Trump. However, Eneus’ interest has spurred public backlash from locals who worry that a water- and power-hungry facility could sap resources that are already at the brink due to a years-long drought.

On Tuesday, April 7, the Cameron County Commissioners Court responded to that concern by unanimously passing a resolution that aims to put guardrails on how data centers would operate in the region. But county leaders admitted that Texas law gives them limited regulatory authority. The county “supports responsible economic development; however, the court formally expresses opposition to the use of open-loop evaporative cooling systems or other high-volume potable water consumption technologies in large scale,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. said, reading from the resolution.

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KIAH – April 14, 2026

State study reveals Texas power grid among least reliable in US

A study by electricity provider Payless Power revealed that Texas ranks among the least reliable states for power outages. The state places 44th nationwide, with residents experiencing some of the longest outage times and the lowest trust in utilities in the U.S. Texans lose an average of 717 minutes of power per year and 60% report decreased confidence in utility services after outages.

Power outages are an increasingly common reality across the U.S., driven by extreme weather, rising demand and aging infrastructure. These disruptions are becoming recurring events for many households, often lasting for hours or days and are eroding public confidence in grid reliability.

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Texas Tribune – April 14, 2026

Tesla’s Gigafactory water use surges in Austin as new chip plant looms

Tesla’s Giga Texas increased its annual treated water use by more than 200 million gallons in just two years, raising concerns about whether Austin can fulfill its long-term water conservation plans as Elon Musk advances plans for a new semiconductor plant expected to push demand even higher. From 2023 to 2025, Tesla’s annual treated water use rose about 68% to 556 million gallons becoming Austin Water’s third-largest customer — up from fifth in 2023, according to Austin Water. The increase is raising new concerns about how water limits are applied, as residents are urged to conserve water while large industrial users continue to expand.

In March, Musk announced Terafab, a proposed $20-25 billion semiconductor fabrication plant near Giga Texas, also known as the Gigafactory, in eastern Travis County. Environmentalists warn the project could further strain a persistently drought-stricken region and potentially clash with the city’s long-term water planning efforts. “It’s extremely alarming,” said Paul DiFiore, an environmental attorney who sits on Austin’s Water Forward task force. “All of a sudden, they’re using more water than the vast majority of people in the city.”

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KUHF – April 13, 2026

CenterPoint Energy’s customer satisfaction rating increases, according to independent survey

CenterPoint Energy has seen a slight increase in its consumer satisfaction ratings compared to a survey conducted last year by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The ACSI administers national surveys across several U.S. industries. Its 2026 energy utilities customer satisfaction ratings were based on a national survey of 33,759 customers who were contacted between January of 2025 and December of 2025. The national average score for electric investor-owned utilities this year was 72 out of 100.

CenterPoint’s national rating for its electricity services rose from 70 to 72, as measured on a 100-point scale. Its 70-point rating from the 2025 survey reflects data from 2024, when Hurricane Beryl and a derecho left parts of Houston without power for days – and in some areas, more than a week.

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April 14, 2026

Texas Is Building the Future of Electricity: Cato Institute

Texas is showing the country how to grow its electricity supply faster than anywhere else. The grid operator that covers the vast majority of the state, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), accommodates growth because it adds supply and integrates new technologies more quickly than other systems. When “speed to power” is the name of the game—as it is for the artificial intelligence (AI) transformation underway—data center developers will continue to choose Texas.

But even the most flexible system can be improved. ERCOT is not broken, but some of the largest new loads do not fit neatly into the traditional utility service model. Even in ERCOT, delays are stacking up in interconnecting new generators and large new loads (in electricity-speak, meaning customers). In May of 2025, the large load queue of ERCOT was 169,615 megawatts (MW), and last month it reached 410,618 MW. A growing queue means longer delays and a system increasingly unable to meet the AI moment.

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Associated Press/KVUE – April 13, 2026

Iran war’s global energy crisis sharpens China’s advantage in clean tech

 

Regulatory

 

E&E News By Politico – April 14, 2026

States push streamlined home solar permitting to meet rising demand*

Soaring power demand and rising energy costs are pushing some Democratic-led states to seek to streamline the permitting process and lower the costs for homeowners to install rooftop solar systems. That push toward “automated permitting” has been used by California — as well as deep red states like Texas and Florida — and comes as many regions seek out new sources of electricity amid a supply crunch that has boosted homeowner costs and threatened the reliability of the power grid.

The effort focuses on automated permitting, which typically involves a web-based platform where solar installers can submit project information for code compliance and potentially receive permits on the same day, rather than going through a manual process involving local government. The push comes after Republicans in Congress curbed incentives for renewable energy that were extended under the Biden administration – and to address the systemic costs the have kept rooftop solar costs in the United States far higher than in other industrialized countries.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday April 14, 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 Tuesday as traders weighed a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping and signs that Washington and Tehran could still continue peace talks.

U.S. crude oil futures for May delivery fell more than 2.24% to $96.85 per barrel as of 12:20 a.m. ET. International benchmark Brent for June delivery was down 1.46% at $97.91 per barrel.

“Whether we have further conversations, whether we ultimately get to a deal, I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table,” Vance said in a Fox News interview.

He also noted that an agreement could benefit both sides if U.S. conditions, particularly on Iran’s nuclear program, were met.

 

Top Stories

 

USA Today – April 13, 2026

Trump says gas prices could be same or ‘a little bit higher’ before midterms

President Donald Trump said the price of oil and gas could remain elevated before the midterm elections in November, hours after in-person peace talks between between U.S. and Iran failed. “It could be the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same,” Trump told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo in an interview on April 12.

The comment came on heels of a record 21.2% spike in gasoline prices, which marked the largest monthly increase in recorded history, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 10. Over the year, gas prices were up 18.9%.

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Oil Price – April 13, 2026

Baker Hughes Sells Waygate to Hexagon for $1.45 Billion

Baker Hughes has struck a deal to sell its Waygate Technologies business to Sweden-based Hexagon for about $1.45 billion in cash, marking another step in the company’s broader effort to reshape its portfolio and concentrate capital on areas it sees as core to long-term growth. The business being sold sits within Baker Hughes’ Industrial & Energy Technology segment and specializes in advanced non-destructive testing tools used to inspect critical infrastructure without interrupting operations. The transaction includes Waygate’s remote visual inspection, ultrasound, radiography, and imaging product lines, along with the unit’s intellectual property, operating footprint, and other business resources.

For Baker Hughes, the sale is less about exiting a weak asset than about tightening strategic focus. The company said the divestiture fits with its value-creation and portfolio-management approach, following three recently completed transactions and alongside its pending acquisition of Chart Industries. Management framed the move as part of a broader push to improve the resilience of earnings and cash flow while strengthening the balance sheet.

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Bloomberg – April 13, 2026

Oil Prices Have Higher to Go, IEA Warns*

Following a dramatic weekend of failed peace talks—tied to a ceasefire one of the parties says isn’t yet in place—the US raised the stakes again in the Iran war, this time with a blockade of Iranian shipping. Oil rose on Monday, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate at a little under $100. Questions remained around confused messaging from the White House, what exactly will be blocked, whether Iran will exact a threatened toll for what it calls “piracy,” and now the possibility of a second round of talks. But one thing does seem more likely than not: as far as energy prices are concerned, the worst is yet to come.

This according to the International Energy Agency, which warned oil prices don’t yet reflect the severity of the unprecedented supply crisis. About 13 million barrels a day of oil supply have been shuttered by the war, with more than 80 energy facilities damaged, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. The Paris-based agency has already described the current supply disruption as the biggest in history, saying a recovery could take as long as two years. “Prices are already high, but they are not reflecting the severity of the problem,” Birol said. “I think soon we will see they will converge, which is an extremely sensitive issue for the global economy.” As for Donald Trump’s latest effort to squeeze Iran, Nouriel Roubini, chief executive of Roubini Macro Associates, is not optimistic. “A blockade by itself is a game of chicken that I think Iran eventually wins, because they can suffer for a while,” he said at the Greenwich Economic Forum in Hong Kong Monday. “We’ll be in a worse world because we’ll still have higher oil prices, stock markets falling, bond yields higher.”

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Reuters – April 13, 2026

Chevron agrees to asset swap in Venezuela to focus on heavy oil projects*

Chevron signed two key agreements on Monday to expand ‌operations at Venezuela’s vast Orinoco Belt, including an asset swap adding an extra heavy crude area to its main project while returning an offshore gas field and a small crude area, executives and officials said at an event.Chevron  The agreements are among the first big expansion deals since the U.S. launched ​a $100 billion reconstruction plan for Venezuela’s energy sector after capturing President Nicolas Maduro, and a sweeping reform of ​the country’s main oil law was approved in January, encouraging foreign investment.

The pacts, expected to allow ⁠the U.S. major to boost crude output and participation at the OPEC country’s main oil region, were signed ​by company executives led by Javier La Rosa, head of Chevron’s Base Assets and Emerging Countries, and officials from state-owned ​company PDVSA in the presence of acting President Delcy Rodriguez. The deals include the increase of Chevron’s stake at one of its joint ventures with PDVSA in the Orinoco, Petroindependencia, to 49% from a previous 35.8%.

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Center Square – April 13, 2026

Record armada of tankers bound for U.S. Gulf to load oil

An unusually large number of crude oil tankers on the open seas has the American Gulf coast as a destination as the ships are redirected to load cargoes bound for markets around the world already experiencing shortages. Second-term Republican President Donald Trump said Saturday on social media that “massive numbers” of “completely empty” oil tankers are en route to the United States to purchase American energy.

“Foreign buyers are voting with their ships: American energy means stability, strength, and freedom from Middle East blackmail,” the president posted on Monday. Shipping data posted by maritime intelligence company Windward shows 171 crude tankers are bound for the U.S. Gulf to load crude oil cargoes, which compares with about 110 in a typical month.

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E&E News By Politico – April 13, 2026

Texas sharpens attacks on solar power

Related: Texas isn’t alone. Republican lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin have proposed restricting new solar development, while a GOP bill in Missouri would ban it until the end of 2027 — Politico

Texas lawmakers and regulators have unleashed blistering new attacks against solar this month, setting up a showdown that could curb renewable energy growth. State senators grilled solar advocates over whether Chinese-made solar panels could give the Communist Party of China the ability to meddle with Texas’s isolated electric grid. The Public Utility Commission of Texas sent a solar and battery project back to a state administrative court, telling El Paso Electric it should consider natural gas or other traditional generation.

And state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said his office filed civil investigative demands with four companies as part of a new initiative to investigate “widespread” fraud among rooftop solar companies. Moves against renewables aren’t new in Texas, which has a history of going after wind and solar every two years when lawmakers meet despite installations across the state. But the timing ahead of the 2027 legislative session — which kicks off in January — is notable because the state is bracing for a surge in power demand from data centers and other large users.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Arthur Schechter, Houston attorney, former ambassador to the Bahamas and Metro Chairman, dies at 86 — Houston Chronicle*

Video: IMF chief warns of global oil ‘shocks’ amid Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade — Fox News

A New York appeals court struck down a $16.1 billion judgment against Argentina, overturning a lower court’s order to compensate former shareholders of the nationalized energy giant YPF, a decision that was celebrated by Argentine President Javier Milei — Associated Press

The new book, “Vigil: A Novel,” recounts the story of “a spirit guide that guides the soul of a dying, unrepentant oil tycoon named K. J. Boone through the afterlife, confronting his corporate greed and the environmental damage he caused,” in a “satirical and philosophical exploration of life, death, capitalism and absolution” — an AI recap of the new novel

China Seizes An Island While The World Is Watching Iran — Forbes

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Oil & Gas Texas

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 13, 2026

Texas Probes Lululemon Over ‘Forever Chemicals.’ The Company Says It Stopped Using Them.*

The Texas attorney general is investigating Lululemon Athletica LULU -0.79%decrease; red down pointing triangle for allegedly using so-called forever chemicals in its workout gear. But the athletic-apparel company said it stopped using the chemicals more than two years ago. The Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Monday that emerging research and consumer concerns have raised questions about the potential presence of these chemicals in the company’s apparel.

 

Inside Climate News – April 13, 2026

Oil Tycoon Funds Far-Right Candidate Challenging Texas Oilfield Regulator

Jim Wright ran for the Railroad Commission of Texas six years ago as a reformer. But his reforms drew the ire of powerful oil tycoons who are now trying to unseat him. Wright championed the first overhaul of oilfield waste rules in 40 years at the Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency. Some independent oil and gas companies criticized the rules change adopted last year. One of those companies, CrownQuest, brought a lawsuit against the Railroad Commission challenging its legality.

CrownQuest’s billionaire founder Tim Dunn is known for targeting Texas Republicans who he does not consider sufficiently conservative. He is now backing Bo French, a far-right candidate, to unseat Wright at the Railroad Commission. French, former chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party, announced his campaign in November 2025 saying he would fight “radical climate change ideology” and “foreign capture” of the industry. Key issues the Railroad Commission regulates, including flaring, injection wells and waste pits, went unmentioned.

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Dallas Morning News – April 13, 2026

Wright casts Railroad Commission race as test of experience vs. polarizing campaign*

For incumbent Jim Wright, his runoff opponent for the Texas Railroad Commission isn’t just inexperienced, he’s unfit for the job. Choosing Bo French, Wright said, would put regulation of the state’s oil and gas industry in the hands of a candidate focused on polarizing issues outside the commission’s work rather than the expertise it demands. “Texas needs a workhorse in this position, not a show-pony who is focused on issues that are wholly unrelated to the important work that we do here at the commission,” Wright said.

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KIII – April 10, 2026

Corpus Christi water workshop grows heated over Inner Harbor desalination plan

A city water workshop meant to clarify progress on a proposed Inner Harbor desalination plant instead devolved into a contentious, nearly two-hour exchange among council members, the mayor and residents. No vote was taken during the meeting, but tensions ran high as officials debated not only the desalination project itself, but also the purpose and timing of the workshop.

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Houston Chronicle – April 13, 2026

Why are gas prices so high? Houston prices spike with Strait of Hormuz in limbo*

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19th/Yahoo! News – April 7, 2026

Is fracking in Texas endangering a day care’s children?

ARLINGTON, TEXAS — In early December, drilling resumed near Mother’s Heart Learning Center. Newly installed gas wells dot property at 2020 S. Watson Road, less than one mile from the day care. One day in December, the sound of fracking machinery was so cacophonous that children couldn’t play outdoors. For gas companies and stakeholders, the project is poised to be an economic windfall. But many Arlington residents and experts say it could come at the expense of the community — especially its children.

In January 2025, the Arlington City Council unanimously approved a permit allowing French oil and gas company TotalEnergies to install 10 new gas wells in East Arlington, which has a heavy concentration of Black and Latinx residents. It marked the first time in over a decade that the city council approved a permit for a new drill site after years of community opposition. Named Maverick, the new site also lies near three schools — Johns Elementary, Adams Elementary and Thornton Elementary. Five wells owned by the same company already occupy the plot of land near the new drilling site, which the company has owned since 2008.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 13, 2026

Iran War’s Economic Shock Wave Is Expected to Get Even Bigger*

President Trump’s naval blockade of Iran risks further upending a global economy already battered by weeks of war, escalating a regional clash into a worldwide financial shock that could prove more devastating than the fighting itself. The U.S. blockade on ships entering or exiting Iranian ports is set to drain more oil from a tight market, prolong the squeeze on other key commodities flowing through the Strait of Hormuz and inject significant uncertainty into the global economy. Oil prices jumped on Monday. Aluminum prices surged to a four-year high amid fears of prolonged supply squeeze from a region producing nearly a 10th of the world’s supply of the key industrial metal.

The U.S., a net energy exporter, is less likely to see shortages, but higher prices at the pump are hitting consumers. President Trump on Sunday conceded that energy prices might not fall soon and could still be higher when voters head to polls in midterm elections this fall. On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the continued closure of Hormuz is “greatly damaging” for Europe. The European Union is working on plans such as temporarily easing its subsidy rules and encouraging member states to coordinate gas purchases, she said

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The Wall Street Journal – April 13, 2026

Blockade Plunges Oil Market Into Fresh Round of Turmoil*

President Trump’s order to blockade Iranian trade through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s promise to continue to choke the strait are leaving global energy markets in even deeper trouble than they were just days ago. It isn’t clear how ships can satisfy both U.S. and Iranian conditions on leaving the Gulf, according to shipbrokers and analysts. Tehran says international ships need to pay up to get through Hormuz, but Trump said he had instructed the Navy to interdict vessels that have paid a toll. Instead of the prospect of oil flowing again, as many hoped after the cease-fire was struck last week, the blockade stands to remove 2 million barrels of daily Iranian exports from a market already struggling to navigate a historic supply crunch.

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Associated Press/KLTV – April 13, 2026

Trump says US military has blockaded Iranian ports to pressure Tehran

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the American military had begun a blockade of Iranian ports as part of his effort to force Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal to end the war that has raged for more than six weeks. Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at U.S.-allied countries.

That set the stage for an extraordinary showdown that posed serious risks for the global economy and raised the specter that the ceasefire could collapse and the war could resume. Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict — which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — failed to reach an agreement this past weekend. There has been no word on whether negotiations will resume.

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S&P Global Platts – April 13, 2026

US blockade unlikely to change Hormuz shipping hiatus: IMO chief

The US blockade of Iranian ports will do little to change the effective halt in shipping transits via the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s control of the key energy shipping route has choked off normal trade flows since late February, the head of the International Maritime Organization said April 13. Following the collapse of US-Iran weekend peace talks in Islamabad, US Central Command started to enforce a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports from 1400 GMT on April 13.

“I don’t see a big change right now in the status quo … A further blockage right now doesn’t really change the fact that there’s no normal trade,” Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said, joining the industry chorus of opposing the imposition of a toll system. “Additional blockade just doesn’t really help anything in finding a solution to the conflict,” he told reporters in the UN agency’s headquarters in London.

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Reuters – April 13, 2026

Peak oil price likely to come ‘in next few weeks,’ US Energy secretary says*

Oil prices are likely to hit their peak “in the next few weeks” once ship traffic resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, ​U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday. Prices are expected to ‌continue rising until “meaningful” ship traffic resumes through the strait, Wright told the Semafor World Economy Forum in Washington, despite previous comments he made that oil prices would likely come down soon. “We’re going to see ​energy prices high – and maybe even rising – until we get meaningful ship traffic through ​the Strait of Hormuz,” Wright said. “That’ll probably hit the peak oil price ⁠at that time. That’s probably sometime in the next few weeks.”

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S&P Global Platts – April 13 2026

Hormuz risks stall tankers despite high rates, yet reopening may flood market

The US-Iran ceasefire might fail to benefit tanker owners despite rising nominal rates in Middle Eastern trades, according to some analysts, as security and legal risks loom large over transits through the Strait of Hormuz. On April 7, US President Donald Trump said he agreed to suspend attacks on Iran’s infrastructure for two weeks, conditional on Iran allowing ship traffic to return to normal at the key waterway handling 20% of global oil flows.

Nominal tanker rates rose following the announcement, as shipbrokers said some Asian refiners and Western traders sought tankers to load from the Persian Gulf for prompt dates. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the VLCC rate for shipping from the Gulf to China at $80.69/metric ton on April 10, up from $62.69/mt April 7. The LR2 clean tanker rate for the Gulf-UK/Continent trade rose to $91.11/mt from $88.89/mt.

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Reuters – April 13, 2026

Morgan Stanley maintains oil price forecasts and predicts slow recovery in supply*

Morgan Stanley left its Brent crude oil price forecasts unchanged on Monday, at $110 a barrel for ​the second quarter of 2026 and $100 a ‌barrel in the third quarter, falling to $80 a barrel in 2027. The bank said it expected oil supply chains to take ​months to normalise even if a reopening of the ​Strait of Hormuz can be achieved. Under its ⁠base-case scenario, exports through the Strait stay at low ​levels in April, recover about 70% of lost volumes ​between May and July, and return to steady-state levels by October.

Oil prices climbed back above $100 per barrel on Monday, as ​the U.S. Navy prepared to block ships to ​and from Iran via the Strait of Hormuz, potentially restricting Iranian ‌oil ⁠exports, after Washington and Tehran failed to reach a deal to end the war. … Meanwhile, ​Middle Eastern ⁠producers including Kuwait and Iraq have lifted Asia-bound official prices sharply for May. Saudi Arabia ​set the price of its Arab Light ​crude ⁠to Asia at a record premium of $19.50 a barrel to the Oman/Dubai average.

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Reuters – April 13, 2026

Intergovernmental deal for $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline due this year, official

An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on a planned $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline will be signed this year, the head of Morocco’s hydrocarbons and mining ​agency (ONHYM) said. Agreed a decade ago, the project – known as the African ‌Atlantic Gas Pipeline – would run 6,900 km on a hybrid offshore-onshore route with a maximum capacity of 30 billion cubic metres (bcm), including 15 bcm to supply Morocco and support exports to ​Europe, ONHYM’s Amina Benkhadra told Reuters by email.

The pipeline, which has the ​backing of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has completed ⁠its feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED) stages. Following the intergovernmental agreement, a high ​authority for the pipeline will be established in Nigeria, bringing together ministerial representatives from ​each of the 13 participating countries to provide political and regulatory coordination, Benkhadra said.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

KERA – April 13, 2026

Texas lawmakers held a hearing on data centers. Here are 4 key takeaways

Data centers are popping up around Texas like fire ant hills after a rainstorm. Or maybe like bluebonnets in the spring. Either way, they seem to be everywhere — and more are coming. Their arrival could strain the power grid, raise energy costs and siphon already scarce water resources. Lawmakers and regulators need to prepare for the disruption. But how? Last week, some of the state’s biggest data center developers and operators visited Austin to respond to that question.

As representatives of industry, their answers, predictably, downplayed costs and touted the benefits of the data center boom. But the hearing, conducted by the House Committee on State Affairs, contained some fascinating information and gave an early look into how state leaders may tackle this major issue in the 2027 legislative session.

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Texas Tribune – April 13, 2026

Why More Texans Are Taking Their Power Back

For one family in Houston, the decision wasn’t about saving money, but about getting through a week. When Hurricane Beryl knocked out power across parts of Southeast Texas, some neighborhoods went dark for days. But for Allante Green-McGowan, the lights stayed on. Her home solar and battery system kept her refrigeration running — critical for storing her husband’s medication — while neighbors waited for the grid to come back on.

Another Houston resident, Michael Shepard, powered his home for nine consecutive days after the storm. Stories like these used to be rare. They’re now becoming routine, and they’re the reason more Texans are moving from thinking about energy independence to actually achieving it. The logic for going home solar and battery storage is obvious: hedge against rising energy costs and protect your home when power outages happen. And yet, plenty of people are still waiting.

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Reuters – April 9, 2026

Tesla is developing a new smaller, cheaper EV, sources say*

Three of the people said the compact SUV would be produced in China, and one said Tesla also aims to expand ‌production to the United States and Europe. The car would be 4.28 meters in length, or about 14 feet, two of the sources said. That’s significantly shorter than Tesla’s top-selling Model Y SUV, which is about 15.7 feet long.

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As EV load grows, utilities use managed charging to harness flexibility, lower costs

7.2 million electric vehicles in the United States are simultaneously driving the need for grid upgrades and providing utilities with a powerful tool to defer those expenses. U.S. utilities are working with third-party software providers and automakers to develop and scale managed charging programs that can spread out the EV charging load and avoid creating peaks that stress local systems, helping to defer infrastructure upgrades that drive up rates.

Manufacturers including General Motors, Ford and Rivian also have seen value in these programs and are partnering with distributed resource service providers like EnergyHub, WeaveGrid and Chargescape to improve customer experience and access to these programs.

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The Guardian (UK) – March 31, 2026

Demand for hydropower surges as Trump clamps down on clean energy

Submersible hydroelectric technology deployed across the Great Lakes could become a key cog in clean energy efforts, supporters say, amid surging electricity demand and costs. Home to one of the largest deposits of freshwater on the planet, the Great Lakes region has on its shores some of the largest cities in North America in Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and Detroit, where electricity demand is growing. While none of the five Great Lakes have significant tides or currents to fuel hydropower, several of the waterways that link the lakes do.

Last month the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), an entity that has operated submersible hydroelectric projects in Alaska and Maine for years, announced its first urban venture on the St Lawrence River in Montreal, which is set to begin operating two hydroelectricity devices later this year.

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Texas Public Radio – April 6, 2026

New solar tech offers big promise in an uncertain energy moment

As the war with Iran rattles global energy markets and climate change drives the need for cleaner power, solar advocates are pointing to a fast-moving technology they believe could reshape the industry: perovskite-based solar cells. Recent oil-supply disruptions tied to the conflict have pushed up prices and renewed concerns about the risks of relying on fuels vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. At the same time, the International Energy Agency says expanding renewable energy is essential to cutting emissions from some of the world’s most carbon-intensive sectors.

That backdrop is helping build excitement around perovskites, a class of materials that researchers say can absorb sunlight extremely well and convert it into electricity with remarkable efficiency. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the best research perovskite cells now exceed 27% efficiency, while perovskite-silicon tandem cells have reached roughly 35% in lab settings — well beyond the long-recognized ceiling for standard single-junction silicon cells.

 

Regulatory

 

Utility Dive – April 6, 2026

Minnesota approves Xcel’s utility-owned battery program

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved Xcel Energy’s utility-owned, battery-based virtual power plant, despite objections by clean energy groups and others who argued for opening the program to competition from independent developers. Through phase 2 of the Capacity*Connect program, Xcel will deploy up to 200 MW of energy storage systems across its distribution grid by 2028, with batteries sized from 1 MW to 3 MW. Battery deployment will be done in collaboration with deployment services company Sparkfund, the utility said.

The proposal has been closely watched both inside and outside the state for its potential implications for distributed energy resources. In a statement to Utility Dive, Xcel said it would install “cost-effective battery storage resources at strategic locations on the grid,” such as local businesses and nonprofits, to “help meet increasing demand for electricity, maintain reliable service for our customers, maximize the efficiency of existing infrastructure and support local jobs.”

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday April 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

The U.S. also announced a blockade of Iranian ports, ​a measure aimed at ratcheting up pressure on ​Tehran, as well as on the recipients – mainly China – ⁠of Iranian crude.

Soft commodities ​also rose sharply on heightened concern about disruption to ​fuel and fertiliser supplies, and bonds were sold on worries about the ‌risks ⁠to inflation.

 

Top Stories

 

Reuters – April 12, 2026

US blockade of Iran will be major military endeavor, experts say*

A U.S. naval blockade of Iran is a major, open-ended military endeavor that could trigger fresh retaliation from Tehran and put tremendous strain on an already ​fragile ceasefire, experts say. President Donald Trump, in a social media post after no deal emerged from peace talks this weekend in Islamabad, said the U.S. Navy “will begin ‌the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” The U.S. military’s Central Command later said the blockade will only apply to ships going to or from Iran, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. It will take effect on Monday at 10 a.m. in Washington (1400 GMT), CENTCOM said.

Trump also said U.S. forces would interdict vessels that have paid tolls to Iran, ​even if those ships are now in international waters. “No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The ​ultimate goal, Trump said, would be to pressure Iran to end its effective closure of the strait, a choke point for about 20% ⁠of the world’s oil, to all but the countries that secure safe passage from Tehran.If Trump’s strategy succeeds, he would eliminate Iran’s greatest point of leverage in negotiations with the ​United States and clear the strait again for global trade, potentially lowering oil prices. But a blockade, experts say, is an act of war that requires an open-ended commitment of a significant number of ​warships. “Trump wants a quick fix. The reality is, this mission is difficult to execute alone and likely unsustainable over the medium to long-term,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official during the Biden administration now at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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Bloomberg/Yahoo! News – April 11, 2026

The Oil Market Is in the Grip of a Panicked Race for Barrels

While investors focused on the fragile Iranian ceasefire this week, a desperate scramble for cargoes has been playing out in the oil market, as traders and refiners scour the globe for immediately available supplies. In the North Sea, the world’s most important physical crude market, traders submitted 40 bids for cargoes this week, only four of which were met by offers. Cargoes for delivery in the coming weeks changed hands at unprecedented prices above $140 a barrel. Elsewhere, refiners have been hunting increasingly further afield for supplies, leading to a series of unusual trades and surging premiums for any oil that’s ready to ship right now.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 11, 2026

Nuclear energy could be part of produced water treatment efforts*

A nuclear energy renaissance and the rising number of produced water treatment facilities have created a nexus that could advance both industries. Natura Resources, which is developing molten salt reactors, has teamed with the Texas Produced Water Consortium to find ways to utilize its modular reactors to provide power to treatment plants. Natura is also working with NGL Water Solutions on the effort. “Nuclear power could be a big benefactor for produced water,” Nick Morriss, vice president of business development at Natura, told the Permian Basin Water in Energy conference last week.

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Austin American-Statesman – April 12, 2026

Trove of top-quality lithium deep underground in Texas sparks race to see who gets it*

Franklin County — Inside his office just off Mount Vernon’s town square, attorney B.F. Hicks lays a map out on his desk. At speed, he points at different tracts, reciting who lives there, what size their property is and which companies he’s heard have sent landmen to knock on their door to negotiate lithium leases. For a few years now, the infiltration of companies into this rural region of Texas searching for lithium — a critical ingredient for storing solar energy and powering electric vehicle batteries — has become a topic of conversation over dinner at the local chophouse or in catching up at the historical society meeting. Sometimes, it’s behind closed doors as friends, family and neighbors gossip about who’s getting the best offers for their mineral rights.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 12, 2026

AI Is Using So Much Energy That Computing Firepower Is Running Out*

The artificial intelligence gold rush is rapidly drying up the supply of the one resource that AI developers can’t do without: computing power. The sharp capacity crunch has caused consternation among power users, forced companies to scuttle products and led to reliability problems. The issues are a warning sign for the AI boom, as they may limit the utility of powerful new AI tools just as massive amounts of users have begun to rely on them to boost productivity.  Over the past few months, demand has exploded for “agentic” AI, autonomous tools that use the technology to independently perform tasks, from writing software code to scheduling house tours for real-estate brokers. Companies have been scrambling to secure the availability of computing capacity needed to serve a growing base of customers who are also significantly increasing their AI use.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Houston Ship Channel teams deploy booms after diesel spill at Pemex facility in Deer Park — MSN

“What we do know is that in the nearly six weeks since Operation Epic Fury began, more than 60 energy infrastructure assets in the Gulf have been affected by drone and missile strikes, with roughly 50 sustaining different degrees of damage. We expect most attacks will not cause long-lasting disruptions. Some facilities, however, will face lengthy repair timelines, with at least eight assets appearing severely impacted. Qatar’s Ras Laffan oil and gas complex, for example, may require years of repairs to restore 17% of its damaged capacity, while Bahrain’s Sitra refinery was struck twice.” — JP Morgan in a note

Chevron Corp. has argued in a Texas federal court that it is not liable for a $24 million drilling debt incurred by a Venezuelan subsidiary, alleging the contract in question did not comply with Venezuelan law. In court-ordered briefs, Chevron contended that the emails and agreements relied upon by Servicio Ojeda, C.A. were not authorized by properly appointed managers — Law 360*

“The [O&G] industry has invested in technology to recycle produced water. I’m very proud that they’re doing that” — RRC Chairman Jim Wright at a recent town hall in Goliad

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Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price – April 10, 2026

US Oil, Gas Drillers Take the Foot Off the Gas As Prices Climb

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Thursday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 545, down 38 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 61 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 after gaining 3 in the week prior. Gas rigs now sit at 127, which is 22 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 7.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during week ending April 3. US crude oil production averaged 13.596 million bpd during the reporting period—266,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending April 2 by 7 after losing 13 crews over the previous two weeks.

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MSN – April 10. 2026

ConocoPhillips sends team to Venezuela to evaluate oil prospects

ConocoPhillips has dispatched a team to Venezuela to evaluate the prospects for a return to drilling in the oil-rich Caribbean nation almost two decades after billions of dollars in assets were seized by the socialist regime. The undertaking makes ConocoPhillips just the second major US oil company to publicly disclosed an on-the-ground inspection in Venezuela, home to some of the world’s biggest crude reserves.

The purpose of the trip is to “better understand the potential for in-country oil and gas opportunities,” Dennis Nuss, a spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday. “We will evaluate Venezuela against other international opportunities as part of our disciplined investment framework.”

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 11, 2026

ConocoPhillips Permian president excited for what’s next*

Growing up in Wyoming gave Aaron Hunter an appreciation for the outdoors. But he found his lifelong passion for energy at Montana Tech, earning a degree in petroleum energy. His career path brought him to Midland a little over 21 years ago, and now Aaron Hunter, president of ConocoPhillips’ Permian business, is a “self-proclaimed Permian nerd.” Hunter has spent most of his career in the Permian Basin and found the region rewarding both personally and professionally.

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Energy Now – April 11, 2026

FERC Approves NextDecade’s Request for More Workers and Longer Hours at Texas Site

U.S. federal regulators on Friday approved a request by NextDecade (NEXT.O) to increase the peak number of construction workers ​at its Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, ‌according to a regulatory filing. NextDecade told regulators that global geopolitical tensions had heightened demand for U.S. LNG, prompting developers to move quickly to ​bring new supply online.

The Iran war has led to global ​LNG supply challenges as the world’s second-largest producer, QatarEnergy [RIC:RIC:QATPE.UL], ⁠has not been able to export the superchilled gas and ​has suffered damage to its plant, potentially taking 12.5 million ​metric tons out of global supplies for up to five years. In a separate filing dated last Friday, NextDecade asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ​for permission to raise its peak construction workforce by 2,275 ​workers to 7,500, up from the previously authorized 5,225, as it moves ‌to ⁠accelerate construction of the liquefied natural gas export terminal.

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Houston Chronicle – April 10, 2026

Will oil stop flowing to the US? Analysts say no — but prices may rise, including in Texas*

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Bloomberg – April 10, 2026

Valero Pulls Back on Mexican Oil After Texas Refinery Blast*

Top independent US oil refiner Valero Energy Corp., the largest buyer of Mexican crude, has cut purchases from the country to a trickle in April as it struggles to restart its Texas refinery following an emergency total shutdown. The company has agreed to buy one cargo from Mexico of less than 200,000 barrels this month, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. That compares with an average of 4 million barrels a month last year.

The majority of Valero’s imports go to the Port Arthur refinery, one of the largest on the US Gulf Coast. In late March, the refinery faced extensive damage from a diesel hydrotreater fire. The explosion and fire were so severe that the unit’s blast-resistant control room was destroyed. For Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, the loss of appetite from Valero is a big blow. The San Antonio-based refiner accounts for about 20% of Mexican oil sales. Valero, the largest US independent refiner after Marathon Petroleum Corp., and Pemex didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. Amid diminished demand from Valero, Mexico’s state oil company is shipping more oil to South Korea and also to its Deer Park refinery in Texas, the document shows. It’s unclear when the Port Arthur refinery will be able to fully restart. Since the late-March incident, the facility has ramped up activity at some of its units, but key pieces, including its largest crude unit, remain offline. The refinery can process 435,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the company.

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Inside Climate News – April 7, 2026

Corpus Christi Water Crisis Spurs Stampede on South Texas Aquifers

Jim Wells County — Dwindling levels in this region’s main reservoirs have triggered a rush on local aquifers as cities, towns, chemical plants and ranchers drill for water. The nearby city of Corpus Christi faces a looming catastrophe from the imminent depletion of water supplies that sustain 500,000 people and one of Texas’s main industrial complexes. Recent emergency groundwater projects have pushed off the timeline to disaster by months, officials said last week. But locals fear they may threaten the water supplies of rural towns and residents who have historically relied on their own small wells.

“People like me are probably gonna be running out of water,” said Bruce Mumme, a retired chemical plant worker who lives on family land in rural Jim Wells County, about 40 miles outside Corpus Christi. “Then this property and house is useless.” Dust covers the fields where hay for Mumme’s cattle should grow. His catfish are about to die as the last of their pond evaporates. Sand dunes have started to form. He’s roamed this land since he was a boy and he’s never seen sand dunes.

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Bloomberg – April 11, 2026

Iran War Sows Mayhem for Big Law’s Energy Clients in Texas

Texas energy lawyers are sorting through the chaos of the Iran War, helping some clients find new domestic energy sources and telling others that new mergers and acquisitions are “dead, dead, dead.” The uncertain prospects of a ceasefire, volatile oil prices and urgent requests of clients are adding to the lawyers’ sense of being on a rollercoaster—one that is zipping in the dark.

“The conflict in the Middle East has had so many reversals,” said Jeff Nichols, the Houston-based chair of Haynes Boone’s energy group. “It’s like playing chess on a board where the pieces keep disappearing.” Energy lawyers from Baker Botts, Vinson & Elkins, Foley & Lardner and Troutman Pepper Locke dealmakers and energy lawyers are weighing short-term opportunities against longer-term uncertainty as well as assessing the need to beef up staffing in a lateral market that has already caught fire due to the buildout of artificial intelligence data centers.

Energy lawyers from Baker Botts, Vinson & Elkins, Foley & Lardner and Troutman Pepper Locke dealmakers and energy lawyers are weighing short-term opportunities against longer-term uncertainty as well as assessing the need to beef up staffing in a lateral market that has already caught fire due to the buildout of artificial intelligence data centers.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Associated Press/Houston Chronicle – April 11, 2026

Lessons learned in ’70s have made the US and world economies less vulnerable to oil shocks

The world economy is experiencing a disorienting flashback to the 1970s. Oil prices are once again surging in the wake of war in the Middle East, driving up the cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and threatening a return to stagflation – the toxic mix of higher prices and slower growth that made economic life so miserable a half century ago. But the U.S. and world economies are less vulnerable now than they were when Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern petroleum producers withheld oil supplies to punish countries that supported Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

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Oil Price – April 9, 2026

Shale Play Pushes Argentina Oil Output To All-Time High

A year ago, any news about rising oil production anywhere would only serve to make oil traders more bearish on the commodity amid persistent talk of a massive glut. Now, any news of more supply is a welcome change in a world suddenly dominated by reports about fuel rationing and the very real possibility of severe oil shortages. Enter Argentina.

Argentina’s crude oil production hit 847,000 barrels daily earlier this year as the country doubles down on the largest shale oil and gas formation outside the United States, the Vaca Muerta. Thanks to that play, Argentina could see its output grow to 1 million barrels daily by 2030, according to Argentina’s energy industry association.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Inside Climate News – April 10, 2026

Texas Data Center Developers Play Offense on Water, Claiming Huge Cuts in Usage

As Texas confronts decades of water mismanagement and growing demands for electricity from data centers, the state’s top utility regulator, Public Utility Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson, told a state House committee on Thursday that it’s critical to have a clear picture of how much water data centers use.

His testimony came as data center developers assured the House Committee on State Affairs that newly developed closed-loop cooling systems allow cooling fluid, sealed in a circuit, to absorb the heat from electric equipment and turn the fluid into vapor before it is condensed back into liquid. For Dallas-based Skybox Datacenters, using a closed-loop system means its average data center uses less water than five typical households, said Haynes Strader, Skybox’s chief development officer.

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KERA – April 10, 2026

Granbury residents sue city over data center plan, allege Texas Open Meetings Act violations

A group of Granbury residents sued city leaders over plans for a proposed data center development and the annexation of more than 2,000 acres of land in Hood County. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Hood County, names the City of Granbury, Mayor Jim Jarratt, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Wadley, several city council members, and City Manager Chris Coffman as defendants.

Plaintiffs Daniel Piatt, Janet Logsdon, James Logsdon and Craig Jackson are residents and property owners who say they were denied transparency and proper notice regarding the project. “As taxpayers and ratepayers Plaintiffs are being forced to pay taxes and utility rates to support the implementation of the annexation of Knox Ranch and agreements made by (Granbury) for the construction and approval of a massive data-center without proper notice to the public,” the lawsuit alleges.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 10, 2026

Families Spent Decades on Louisiana’s Bayous. The Power Company Pulled the Plug.*

A 20-minute boat ride carried Danal Boss to the remote cabin his family has owned on this brackish bayou since he was a toddler. He opened the door and flipped the light switch. Nothing happened. “Old habits die hard,” said the 50-year-old home builder on a recent day. The power has been out since Hurricane Ida in 2021—not because it was the worst storm to hit the area, but because the local electric utility decided to cut the family’s cabin and many others from the grid for good. In this corner of Southern Louisiana, the Bosses’ cabin is one of several hundred middle-class retreats—known locally as “camps”—reachable only by water yet long equipped with the comforts of home, thanks to electricity from a local co-op. But since Ida, owners buy generators and haul 55-gallon drums of diesel across lakes and bayous.

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WBUR – April 10, 2026

Q&A: How China’s superfast charging cars are leaving American EV’s in the dust

Discussion: host Meghna Chakrbarti; along with Zitong Zhang, who reviews electric vehicles for the YouTube channel ZITONG, China on the Ground; plus Natalie Neff, editor at Autoweek; and Ilaria Mazzocco, deputy director and senior fellow with the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

CHAKRABARTI: Now, so I was watching some TikTok and YouTube videos last night, and I was seeing people like taking the charging plug, putting it into the side of the car and then one guy put his phone like in front of the information panel on the dashboard, and you could see the charge percentage go up. And it was going up so fast. It actually reminded me of the turning of numbers when, here in the United States, you’re filling up a gas tank. It was that quickly.

Did you have that same experience?

ZHANG: Exactly. That was just like looking at a fuel station filling up a car. That’s exactly how I felt. Actually, the time that I tested that car, it didn’t even take nine minutes to charge it to 97%. It was actually eight minutes and 28 seconds.

CHAKRABARTI: Amazing. Okay, so I want to take a quick step back here, because again, five minutes to, what, 75% you said.

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E&E News By Politico

Entergy pushes Texas gas expansion despite net-zero goal*

Entergy executives broke ground on a natural-gas-fueled power plant here Thursday, raising questions about the company’s plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and two members of the state Public Utility Commission joined the groundbreaking ceremony. Entergy CEO Drew Marsh said the new power plant will bolster electric reliability for customers in Southeast Texas.

The Port Arthur gas plant and another gas plant planned in San Jacinto County, Texas, will “provide the modern, dispatchable generation needed to support the region’s expanding population and economy,” Marsh said. Once it’s online, the $1.46 billion Port Arthur plant will be able to produce as much as 754 megawatts, while the $735 million plant in San Jacinto County will be built to generate as much as 453 MW.

The Wall Street Journal – April 11, 1026

High Gas Prices Are Tempting Americans Back to EVs*

Skyrocketing gas prices cemented Eric Janney’s decision in March to go electric for good. The IT worker in Aliquippa, Pa., bought a lightly used Kia EV6, after trying the same vehicle on a cheap lease for the past couple of years. “Knowing that we can go out and do what we need to do at any time and not have to worry about how much we’re gonna be able to put fuel in the tank has been incredibly beneficial,” said Janney, 43, whose wife is a homemaker.

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Oil Price – April 11, 2026

Three Energy Stories That Actually Matter Right Now

• New nuclear projects—like the Tennessee Valley Authority SMR with GE Hitachi—remain extremely expensive, raising doubts about their competitiveness despite future cost reductions.
• China is gaining an edge in AI by offering significantly cheaper computing (tokens), potentially pressuring U.S. firms on pricing, demand, and energy consumption dynamics.
• Breakthroughs in perovskite solar—driven partly by American Association for the Advancement of Science collaborations—could dramatically boost efficiency and disrupt traditional electricity markets if durability challenges are solved.

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KTAM – April 10, 2026

EPA Administrator talks energy affordability amidst energy costs skyrocketing

To open his media remarks at the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin expressed his gratitude to get away from Washington D.C. to “allow the residents of the San Antonio area to very conveniently be able to raise their concerns.” His main message — the Trump administration has solved the balance between protecting the environment without burdening the economy.

“You don’t have to choose between one or the other,” Zeldin said. “We reject that notion.” Zeldin’s most recent example, a proposed walkback of a Joe Biden-era rule intended to limit pollution. As part of the Clean Air Act, the EPA previously phased out routine ‘flaring’ except in 24-hour windows for maintenance.

 

Regulatory

 

Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 11, 2026

TCEQ preparing for treated water discharge permits*

Water management has evolved from ancient irrigation methods to the Romans’ aqueducts to early filtration that, for the first time, improved water quality and reduced waterborne illnesses. All those innovations were driven by water scarcity and resulted in the expansion of water supplies. Texas currently faces increasing water supply stress and produced water is seen as the next opportunity, said Brooke Paup, chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality.

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Utility Dive – April 10, 2026

EPA proposes weakening power plant coal ash protections

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed adding “flexibilities” to the rules that govern the management and cleanup of coal ash, the waste that remains when utilities burn coal to generate power.  There are approximately 775 coal ash surface impoundments and landfills across the country, according to the agency.

Environmental advocates say the changes could allow utilities to leave submerged coal ash in place, a practice which threatens drinking water. Coal ash contains mercury, cadmium, chromium and arsenic, which are linked to cancer and other health problems, according to the EPA. EPA’s proposal is “another handout to the coal power industry at the expense of our health, water, and wallets,” Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice, said in a statement.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Friday April 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

Oil prices edged higher in choppy trading Friday as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz deepened, with the vital shipping lane still largely closed despite a ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery gained 0.4% to $98.29 per barrel as of 1:06 pm. ET. International benchmark Brent crude futures for June delivery were up 0.56% at $96.48 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Iran to “stop now” if it was charging tankers to transit the strait, a move that risks undermining a 2-week ceasefire agreement that was contingent on reopening the waterway.

Shipping flows through the chokepoint, which handled about 20% of global oil supply before the war, remained severely restricted, keeping markets on edge.

“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump’s top economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Thursday that getting even one oil tanker across the strait would provide a “huge chunk of what’s missing.”

 

Top Stories

 

Baird Maritime – April 9, 2026

Occidental reports oil discovery at prospect in the Gulf of America

Occidental Petroleum has announced that it has discovered oil at its Bandit prospect in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico). The exploration well, located approximately 125 miles (201 kilometres) south of the Louisiana coast in Green Canyon Block 680, encountered oil-bearing Miocene sands.

The project co-owners are currently evaluating the results to determine the next stages for the discovery. Occidental serves as the operator with a 45.375 per cent working interest, while Chevron USA and Woodside Energy hold 37.125 per cent and 17.5 per cent respectively.

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Reuters – April 9, 2026

Iran war raises demand for US fuel, boosting Gulf Coast refining margins*

U.S. Gulf Coast refiners are reaping the strongest margins in years as disruptions to Middle Eastern oil flows from the Iran war raise demand for U.S. fuel exports, ​analysts and experts said. Asian and European refiners have been hit hard by a slump in Middle Eastern crude exports due to Iran’s ‌blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, forcing some to cut production.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, conditional on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though tanker traffic remains limited and doubts persist over whether the fragile truce will hold. U.S. refiners, less reliant on Middle Eastern crude, are well placed to benefit from global fuel shortfalls, by ​maximizing international sales from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub. The U.S., the world’s largest fuel market, has about 18 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining ​capacity, much of it on the Gulf Coast export hub.

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Houston Chronicle – April 9, 2026

Will Texans pay more for power as data centers expand? Lawmakers grill companies about their impact.*

It was a reflection of the pressure that Texas politicians are facing from both sides — angry residents and wealthy, impatient tech companies — as the state emerges as the fastest-growing data center market in the world. In their testimony, data center companies framed their facilities as critical infrastructure for the modern digital world. Texas might be the “only place in the free world” able to compete with China in developing artificial intelligence, said Haynes Strader, chief development officer of Skybox Data Centers, because of the state’s abundant natural resources and business-friendly environment. “Data centers have become this physical thing to be mad about if you’re afraid of AI,” Strader said. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be. There’s a lot of scary stuff having to do with it.”

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Reuters – April 9, 2026

Goldman Sachs lowers second-quarter 2026 oil price forecasts*

Goldman Sachs trimmed its second‑quarter 2026 forecasts for Brent and U.S. crude to $90 and $87 a barrel, respectively, ​late on Wednesday, after the U.S. and Iran agreed on ‌a two-week ceasefire. Previously, the bank forecast Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices to average $99 and $91 a barrel, respectively.

“Given the reduction in the risk premium at the ​front of the curve and already edging up oil flows through ​the SoH (Strait of Hormuz), we nudge down our Q2 forecast ⁠for Brent/WTI,” the bank said in a note. … Goldman kept its third-quarter forecast unchanged at $82 for ‌Brent ⁠and $77 for WTI, and for the fourth quarter at $80 for Brent and $75 for WTI. The bank said risks to its price forecasts remain skewed to the upside, reflecting the potential for longer‑lasting disruptions and more persistent crude ​production losses.

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Bloomberg – April 9, 2026

IMF Chief Says Oil Shock Tests a World With Little Fiscal Buffer*

The International Monetary Fund said that the conflict in the Middle East is a major supply shock that will test the resilience of a world with limited scope for fiscal support, even as US and Iran have negotiated a two-week ceasefire. Given the uncertainties around the Middle East conflict, the Washington-based fund will publish a range of scenarios in its World Economic Outlook report next week. But even in the most hopeful case, the IMF is cutting its growth forecasts, managing director Kristalina Georgieva said. “What we do know is that growth will be slower — even if the new peace is durable,” Georgieva said in prepared remarks Thursday ahead of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings that start next week in DC.

Before the US-Israeli attack on Iran started Feb. 28, the IMF had planned to upgrade its global growth outlook, Georgieva said. The US and Iran agreed this week to a truce that remains fragile. But the damage to infrastructure and supply chains warrants a downgrade to the economic outlook, even in the most optimistic case, the IMF chief said. In response to a supply shock that has send oil prices surging and increased food insecurity in many parts of the world, Georgieva urged policymakers to take a careful approach. With many countries bloated with public debt, they cannot afford blanket fiscal support. “I appeal to all countries to reject go-it-alone actions — export controls, price controls, and so on — that can further upset global conditions: don’t pour gasoline on the fire,” she said. Back in January, the IMF slightly raised its outlook for global growth to 3.3% this year, saying economies had been remarkably resilient amid trade and geopolitical tensions.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Some reasons why the US is the main beneficiary of the Iran War with Anas F. Alhajji (10 min.) — YouTube

Mexican state oil firm Pemex said it put out on Thursday a ​fire at its Dos Bocas refinery in southern Mexico, with no ‌injuries reported in the second such blaze within less than a month — Reuters*

Charted: Oil Trade Through the Strait of Hormuz by Country — Visual Capitalist

Saudi Arabia’s critical pipeline to the Red Sea suffered a recent attack from Iran, cutting throughput by 700,000 barrels per day — the attack hit a pumping station on the East-West pipeline, according to a state-news agency report. This pipeline brings crude oil from processing facilities near the Persian Gulf to an export terminal on the Red Sea called Yanbu — CNBC

Record oil production in West Texas helps stabilize U.S. supply amid Iran war — production in West Texas has helped the U.S. stabilize its demand for foreign oil amid the Iran war, despite drilling fewer oil wells — Texas Tribune

Texans have experienced a significant 35.5% increase in idle electricity costs since 2020, primarily due to “vampire devices” that drain power even when turned off, according to a new study from Domestic & General — KDAF

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Texas Tribune – April 9, 2026

Railroad commission hopeful Bo French says he wasn’t invited to a GOP candidate forum in Midland

On Thursday, Texas Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French told his more than 50,000 followers on X that he had been snubbed by a Republican candidate forum in Midland, his hometown. “To my friends in Midland, know this, I was not invited and knew nothing about this event,” he wrote, linking to a local news story recapping the event. “The good news is, actual conservatives around the state are rallying behind my campaign despite the dirty tricks of RINOs.”

However, an official with the Midland County Republican Women, which hosted the event on Wednesday, said he had been invited. Rhonda Lacy, vice president of programs for the organization, said they reached out to French in advance, without success. On Jan. 20th, she sent an email to his campaign website, the only way she had to reach him at the time. Despite repeated attempts to reach him via calls, texts and emails since January, Lacy, who has served in some capacity with the club for 50 years, did not hear back from him.

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Bloomberg – April 9, 2026

Texas Landowner’s Stock Sinks as CEO of Top Shareholder Dies*

Shares of Texas Pacific Land Corp. tumbled Thursday after the chief executive officer of its largest shareholder died, rattling investors in the Permian Basin landowner that has drawn attention as technology companies seek sites for data centers. The stock fell 15.7% Thursday, the biggest one-day drop since March 2020. Murray Stahl, who was CEO of Horizon Kinetics Holding Corp. and a board member of Texas Pacific, passed away on April 7, according to a statement. The firm owns nearly 15% of the Dallas-based Texas Pacific, whose market value reached $35 billion last month, exceeding that of oilfield services giant Halliburton Co.

“Aside from being TPL’s largest shareholder, he was its largest cheerleader,” said Chadd Garcia, portfolio manager with Ave Maria mutual funds, a top-20 Texas Pacific shareholder. “Ultimately, TPL was included in the S&P 500, an achievement I am sure five years ago, few people but Murray viewed as being possible.” Texas Pacific, a land bank created out of a 19th-century railroad bankruptcy, owns nearly 900,000 acres in West Texas, much of it atop shale oil and gas reserves in the Permian Basin that have benefited from higher commodity prices this year. The land is already used for Bitcoin mines, utility-scale batteries and renewable-power projects. Its access to cheap natural gas has attracted interest from tech giants including Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. seeking electricity for large data centers.

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Houston Chronicle – April 9, 2026

Texas legislators must answer difficult water policy questions*

Changes to Texas’ water regulations have traditionally drawn emotional responses and claims that they would reallocate water and eliminate private property rights. “We don’t have the luxury of reacting to water issues,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association. “We’re not planning for the next drought or outage. We’re planning for the next generation.” Water is not just another resource, he told those attending the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference. “It is the one resource that determines whether anything else is possible.”

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Washington Post – April 8, 2026

Mexico’s president weighs fracking to curb reliance on US natural gas

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday announced plans to tap into unconventional natural gas deposits in an effort to lower her country’s reliance on foreign energy at a time when the Iran war is disrupting global energy markets. But Sheinbaum — a scientist and climate expert — notably avoided the term hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” a drilling method used to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground bedrock using a highly pressurized liquid. Instead, she framed the initiative as a quest for “sustainable” extraction, emphasizing that environmental impacts would be minimized to the greatest extent possible.

The technical feasibility of “sustainable fracking” is a subject of significant debate among environmental scientists and energy experts. But Sheinbaum said a technical committee will spend two months evaluating less harmful methods, such as utilizing nonpotable water and reducing chemical additives. The committee will also assess the potential costs of these mitigations, she said.

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April 7, 2026

Is Texas ready to start reusing oilfield waste?: Sierra Club

What if the water used to extract oil and gas could be cleaned and reused? At first glance, it might sound like a practical solution, especially in a state like Texas, where water supplies are increasingly strained. But the deeper you look, the more complicated the answer becomes.

To understand why, it helps to start with the scale of oil and gas production itself. Texas leads the nation in energy production, accounting for about 43% of all U.S. crude oil output. Much of that production relies on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking – a process where large volumes of water mixed with chemicals are injected deep underground to break apart rock and release oil and gas.

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Dallas Morning News – April 2, 2026

‘This business is in my blood,’ Presidio Petroleum landman and GC Brett Barnes says*

Brett Barnes is a landman. His title is general counsel for Presidio Production, a Fort Worth upstream oil and gas company. But Barnes is a landman. Maybe not in the sense of the popular Paramount streamer — “I’ve never been kidnapped by a cartel,” he notes — but a landman, nonetheless. His daddy was a landman. He worked more than 25 years at Oryx Energy, starting in the days when it was still known as Sun Oil Co. When Oryx was sold, he went to work at Eni, the Italian national oil company. After Eni, it was Stephens Production Co. Landman, through and through. The younger Barnes continued along that arc. When he graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 2006, Brett took his J.D. to Anadarko Petroleum and ignored it — to work as a landman. He worked more than four years at EOG Resources — as a landman. He left in 2011 for the Forestar Group — to become a land manager. You get the picture.

Houston Chronicle – April 3, 2026

Dealing with Trump’s ‘look what you made me do’ energy excuse: Michael E. Webber, University of Texas at Austin*

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

CNBC – April 10, 2026

The fluctuating price of dated Brent, the global benchmark for real-world barrels of crude, has prompted energy analysts warn to that acute stress in the physical oil market shows little sign of abating amid worries over a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East. As energy market participants continue to monitor shipping disruption through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, an unprecedented gap has emerged between dated Brent and front-month Brent futures, suggesting supplies will remain tight for some time.

The spot price of dated Brent, which refers to physical cargoes that have been assigned delivery dates from 10 days forward to one month ahead, came in at $131.97 per barrel on Thursday afternoon, according to data compiled by Platts. That’s up over 7% from the previous session but down from a record high of $144.42 on Tuesday, just before the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week truce. Dated Brent is assessed based on bids, offers and trades in the open physical spot market, which means it reflects the real-world price tag of crude oil. Brent crude futures for June delivery, meanwhile, were last seen trading 0.6% higher at $96.51 per barrel on Friday morning.

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Turkiye Today – April 9, 2026

Satellite image shows smoke, fire at Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq facility

New satellite imagery provided by the European Space Agency showed large plumes of thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility on Wednesday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran and following earlier reports of an Iranian attack.

The image was taken on April 8 at around 10:00 a.m. local time, or 3:00 a.m. Eastern time, according to the report. It showed smoke and fire at the Abqaiq facility, one of Saudi Arabia’s most critical oil processing sites. The satellite image, provided by the European Space Agency, showed thick black smoke rising from the facility. The report said the image came after earlier reports of an Iranian attack on Wednesday.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 9, 2026

Extent of Damage to Middle East Energy Facilities Key to Economic Impact, OECD Says*

The impact of the conflict in the Middle East on economic growth and inflation around the world will partly depend on the damage caused to energy production and transport infrastructure, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s chief economist. The Paris-based research body last month released new forecasts for the global economy that saw little change under the assumption that energy prices start to fall back later this year from the highs they have reached in the weeks since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. However, oil and gas prices over the coming years don’t just depend on whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed to shipping.

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KXAN – April 9, 2026

Iran demands $1 per barrel of oil passing through Strait of Hormuz, paid in crypto

Iran reportedly intends to require ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay the cryptocurrency equivalent of $1 per barrel of oil on board during the two-week ceasefire with the U.S. Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, which works with Iran’s government, told the Financial Times about the requirement on Wednesday.

He said that it will cost $1 per barrel of oil and that ships need to email Iranian authorities about what they are carrying. K“Once the email arrives and Iran completes its assessment, vessels are given a few seconds to pay in bitcoin, ensuring they can’t be traced or confiscated due to sanctions,” Hosseini told the newspaper.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 9, 2026

More BP Investors Demand Proof That Fossil-Fuel Pivot Will Benefit Shareholders*

M​ore BP shareholders ​are backing a move ​c​alling on the energy major to​ prove that increasing investment in oil-and-gas production​ will deliver value for investors. The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, a group representing U.K. pension funds, said Thursday that it was joining other investors in supporting a resolution to be voted on at this month’s shareholder meeting, in response to the London-listed group’s shift away from a ​ renewables-focused strategy. The resolution calls on BP to demonstrate that higher spending on fossil-fuel production can deliver value for shareholders, and was filed earlier this year by U.K. and European pension funds along with activist investor Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, or ACCR.

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Bloomberg – April 9, 2026

Iran and Ukraine Make Oil Shocks Look Too Easy: Liam Denning*

It is kind of surprising that oil shocks are shocking. A vital commodity coursing through the capillaries of modern life that is also, via a cosmic joke, reliant on some of the most volatile places on Earth. Why wouldn’t there be disruptions? Yet, history shows we get blindsided again and again. The current disturbance, now suspended in a murky two-week ceasefire, is different in terms of scale. The supply choked off in the Strait of Hormuz equates to 10% to 15% of global demand, significantly higher than the 7% hit during the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74. But it is also different, momentous even, in one other respect that also links it to another, somewhat overshadowed, oil shock erupting thousands of miles further north around St. Petersburg.

What links Iran’s closure of Hormuz with Ukraine’s recent disruption of Russia’s oil exports to the Baltic Sea is how cheap and easy they look relative to the damage done. This asymmetry is an important dimension of a new energy system — more fragmented and insecure – that is emerging out of these wars. Iran did not have to swamp Hormuz with mines, establish air or naval superiority there, nor sink every tanker daring the narrow gauntlet. From the outbreak of hostilities to Tuesday’s announcement of a two-week pause, there had been 22 confirmed attacks on vessels in the Strait and the Middle East, according to the International Maritime Organization, an average of less than one a day.

Iran targeted the ships with ballistic missiles, along with cheaper drones and some mines. But above all, it leveraged something that costs nothing: Fear. US and Israeli attacks have undoubtedly degraded Tehran’s military capabilities, just not by enough to persuade ship owners, insurance underwriters or crews that the possibility of attack had been sufficiently reduced. Ed Morse, senior advisor at Hartree Partners LP, a commodities trading firm, gives the example of a theoretical ship owner who, quite apart from any safety concerns for the crew, must weigh the possibility of not just a $120 million tanker getting sunk but also the loss of maybe $300 million of profits while they await a replacement.1 Iran didn’t need to occupy the Strait; it merely needed to suggest that those waters were best avoided.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 9, 2026

Trump’s Perilous Straits: Kimberley A. Strassel*

Those who wish Donald Trump success in his effort to rid the world of the Iranian threat spent this week warning the president of the security risks of quitting before the job is fully done. Weak-kneed Republicans might also consider the political risks. GOP hand-wringers—inside the White House and out—are pushing the president hard to call it quits. The American people have limited tolerance for war, they note. The longer the Strait of Hormuz blockade lasts, the higher oil prices—and the cost of gas, diesel, jet fuel, heat and fertilizer—will climb, frustrating the public and potentially damaging the economy. Every day the president is focused on bombing and war messaging, they warn, is a day he isn’t out making the case for his domestic achievements on energy, prices, deregulation, taxes. Look at the polls! See those Republican losses in those special elections! The midterms are coming!

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Reuters – April 6, 2026

Bridger’s Canada‑Wyoming crude line seen costing $2 billion, topping 1 million bpd*

Bridger Pipeline’s proposed project to transport Canadian crude from the ‌U.S.-Canada border to Wyoming would cost about $2 billion and have the capacity to transport more than 1 million barrels of oil per day, according to new details released by the company. The company first outlined plans in January to the ​Montana Department of Environmental Quality for a pipeline capable of transporting 550,000 barrels per day ​of Canadian crude from near the U.S.-Canada border in Phillips County to travel south ⁠through eastern Montana before crossing into Wyoming and terminating near Guernsey.

However, filings submitted in late March ​show the proposed 36-inch pipeline would span nearly 650 miles (1050 km) and ultimately have the capacity to deliver ​up to 1.13 million barrels per day to Guernsey, Wyoming. Bridger expects the pipeline to initially operate at about 550,000 barrels per day. The project, which the developers say would largely follow existing pipeline corridors to minimize new land disturbance, ​would cost about $1.96 billion for the 435.2 miles that will be laid within Montana.

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Jerusalem Post – April 3, 2026

Gulf states consider bypassing Strait of Hormuz with new oil pipelines via Haifa – FT

The Gulf states are considering expanding their oil pipelines beyond the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to bypass dependence on the crucial Persian Gulf waterway for exports, The Financial Times reported on Thursday morning. One of the main options examined reportedly includes a trade route that would connect the Arabian peninsula with the Mediterranean through the port of Haifa.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia has been the only Gulf state to maintain a steady flow of oil exports amid the war, mainly thanks to the East-West pipeline, which connects its oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and bypasses the Strait.

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Utility Dive – March 31, 2026

Before we build more gas pipelines, we need better data: Researchers at 3 universities

A familiar debate is heating up about the need to build more gas pipelines. During extreme cold weather, both electric- and gas-heating demand increases. This demand from gas-heating customers and gas-fired electric generators can drive up the price for gas and potentially strain the pipeline capacity to transport it. Add inadequate winterization, freezing equipment and failures at the electric distribution level to the mix, and we get the usual headlines of thousands of people without power.

So, the argument goes, we need more pipelines to survive extreme winter weather. And maybe we do. But as a group of researchers modeling how the gas and electric systems interact during disasters, we are here to tell you that “more steel” isn’t the first answer.   In fact, before we spend billions on infrastructure, we need to invest in something much cheaper: data. It is possible to plan, utilize and strengthen our nation’s energy infrastructure to be more reliable and resilient in the face of extreme weather. But, right now, many of us who are working on the resilient grid of the future are effectively flying blind.

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Truthout – March 20, 2026

Operation Epic Fury Explained: Riches and Domination Drive This War

Speaking of windfall profits, the leading financial beneficiary of the war so far looks to be a young liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter called Venture Global. It is a U.S.-based LNG company sitting on substantial uncontracted spare capacity that it can sell to the highest bidder. Coincidentally or not, its founders are big Trump supporters. Other LNG exporters are also seeing surging stock prices, while traders like Vitol, Trafigura, Shell, and TotalEnergies are likely making a killing on contracted LNG volumes bought at low U.S. prices and sold into Asia and Europe, where markets are spiking.

Oil companies, generally, are looking at a propitious reversal in their fortunes compared to where things were at the beginning of the year. 2026 was expected to be a year of oversupply, and prices were projected to stay low. U.S. companies in particular were pulling back their drilling plans, and many of the big international companies announced reductions in dividends and share buybacks.

But just this week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. The EIA raised its forecast for the 2026 average WTI (West Texas Intermediate, or the high-quality crude that serves as the U.S. benchmark for pricing) oil price by over $20 per barrel, saying, “This price forecast is highly dependent on our modeled assumptions of both the duration of conflict in the Middle East and resulting outages in oil production,” meaning it could be higher if the conflict lasts longer. A back-of-the-envelope calculation by Oil Change International suggests that this could generate about $280 million in additional revenue every day for companies producing oil in the U.S. — more than $100 billion over a year. And that’s not counting other fossil fuels.

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Reuters – March 31, 2026

How China can survive without the Strait of Hormuz

The world’s largest importer of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is, paradoxically, also one of the best placed to weather the waterway’s closure. China consumes oceans of oil from the Gulf and imports roughly as much from the region as India, Japan and South Korea combined. In response to the closure of the Strait, officials across Asia are asking citizens to take shorter showers or work from home to save energy. In China, the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper is instead telling readers the country holds its own “energy rice bowl.”

While the editorial does not mention that Beijing has unofficially banned fuel exports to conserve supplies, the country is nonetheless more insulated than many of its neighbours thanks to years of policy measures that have reduced its vulnerability to energy shocks. China boasts an electric vehicle fleet about as large as the rest of the world’s combined, vast and growing oil stockpiles, diversified supplies of oil, and gas and an electricity grid that is almost insulated from imports thanks to domestic coal and renewables. “The current situation is really close to what Chinese planners have had in mind for decades,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Finland.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Canary Media – April 9, 2026

Fervo Energy inks big turbine deal to build more next-gen geothermal

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Clean Technica – April 5, 2026

Superfund Site Still On Track For Solar Power & Green Hydrogen

Now that US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has disrupted global fuel markets, it’s time for the Energy Department’s $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program to kick into action. Except, not. The program was aimed at building a more resilient hydrogen supply for domestic industries. Too bad Trump ripped up the plan upon taking office last year. Nevertheless, a trickle of activity continues to stir in the area of green hydrogen produced from water, with New Mexico among the states in play. …

One green hydrogen project that did manage to survive the Trump chopper — at least so far — is the Questa Hydrogen Project. To be located at former Chevron molybdenum mine and Superfund site in the village of Questa, New Mexico, the project received $231 million in funding through a US Department of Agriculture program called Empowering Rural America. The award was announced on January 13 of 2025, when former President Joe Biden was still in office.

The Questa project comes under the wing of the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, one of 900 or so member-owned electric utilities around the country established under a Depression-era Act of Congress. The aim was to lift rural communities out of poverty through electrification. To this day, electric coops serve an outsized proportion of counties that fall into the persistent poverty rate.

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Inside Climate News – April 9, 2026

Unpacking Trump’s Use of Emergency Powers to Prop Up Coal

At one time, the U.S. electricity grid ran mostly on coal. But coal-fired power plants have steadily been decommissioned. Power producers found the plants were too expensive to operate and carried risks tied to toxic air pollution, waste and climate-warming emissions. Then President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year with a fresh zeal to revive the coal industry. His Department of Energy invoked emergency powers to force utilities to keep old plants operating.

Not only is this bad policy, it’s also a misuse of a law designed for wartime, according to legal scholars and analysts. If allowed to stand, this poses problems for utilities, grid operators and regulators who plan for decades-long timeframes, only to be overruled by short-term political imperatives that favor certain industries.

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Utility Dive – April 9, 2026

Entergy, Xcel, others seek to upend competitive transmission bidding in MISO, SPP

Entergy, Xcel Energy and seven other utility and transmission companies want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to halt the practice of putting regional transmission projects out to bid in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Southwest Power Pool region. Requiring competitive bidding for certain transmission projects — instead of giving them to incumbent utilities — slows transmission development by 16 to 20 months on average, the utilities said in an April 7 complaint filed at FERC. They asked FERC to make a decision by July 16.

Former FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee told Utility Dive he disagrees with the complaint’s argument. “The competitive solicitation process has challenges and can certainly be improved but throwing the baby out with the bath water as the complainants suggest is counterproductive and not in the interest of consumers,” Chatterjee, chief of governmental affairs for Palmetto, said in an email. “The commission should focus on reforming the process, not suspending it.”

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Reuters – March 27, 2026

Ceres’ CEO Mindy Lubber: ‘We need to talk to everyone about clean energy, not just Democrats’

While U.S. environmental veteran Mindy Lubber knows that political interest in green issues ebbs and flows, she can’t recall a time when the green tide in Washington D.C. was further from the shore. “In Congress, there are hearings almost weekly on why considering ESG (sustainability investment) is a bad thing” says Lubber, president and CEO of the influential sustainability non-profit Ceres. “The times now are very different. It’s brutal.”

Today’s ruling Republican party is almost allergic to so-called “woke capitalism” and has made eradicating it a priority. Hence, the hollowing out of environmental institutions such ​as the Environmental Protection Agency (of which Lubber was a regional administrator between 1998 to 2001) and the cavalier dismantling of climate policies. “On every value we believe in, we’re being told it’s the opposite. Up is down these ‌days. Black is white,” she says. This new reality is a tough pill to swallow, admits the head of Ceres, whose members include many of the largest Fortune 500 companies (including Apple, Gap, PepsiCo and Starbucks) and nearly 100 institutional investors with close to $10 trillion in assets under management.

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The Times (UK)  – March 28, 2026

GridBeyond boss on a charge to keep the lights on in Texas

Back in February 2021, a series of severe winter storms knocked out much of energy infrastructure in Texas, plunging millions of people across the state into cold and darkness — some for several days — as the main grid operator was forced to initiate rolling blackouts to keep the whole system from melting down. Three years later, Texans were worried about the opposite problem. Houston, the state’s largest city, experienced its first 32C day of the year at the unusually early date of May 7, presaging a scorching summer to come. Would the grid that failed so dismally in the winter of 2021 hold up under the strain of all the air-conditioning being switched on? Or would outages just become a fact of life in the Lone Star State?

A local television station turned to Michael Phelan, chief executive of the energy management company GridBeyond, for answers. Could artificial intelligence improve the Texas power grid? While everything may be bigger in Texas, it is not necessarily smarter, which is why the TV show had an unassuming electrical engineer and start-up founder from Ireland on the line. This was the kind of situation GridBeyond was made for.

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Utility Dive – March 30, 2026

Generation declined 0.7% year over year in January while prices went up 9.5%

The U.S. saw a 0.7% year-over-year decline in January electricity generation, in spite of Winter Storm Fern driving consumption significantly higher in particular areas, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. In the Northeast, January generation increased 8.2% year over year due to cooler temperatures, EIA said. Southern Co. saw daily peak demand “very close” to its all-time high, EIA said. The rest of the country saw January temperatures near average, above average, or — in the West — significantly above average.

The January residential retail price of electricity increased by 9.5% year over year, EIA said, while retail sales declined 1.7%. January’s Henry Hub price for natural gas went up 86% year over year.  Changes in electricity generation from natural gas were “mixed,” EIA said, “with the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Central regions all seeing an increase in natural gas generation compared to the previous January, while the Southeast, West, Florida, and Texas all saw a year-over year decrease in natural gas generation.”

 

Regulatory

 

Associated Press/PBS – April 9, 2026

States are struggling to meet their clean energy goals. Blame data centers

Nevada’s largest utility says it will need three times the electricity required to power Las Vegas just to handle proposed data centers — and it probably can’t do that without fossil fuels. That means the utility could miss Nevada’s clean energy targets requiring 50% renewable power by 2030. “I can’t remember a time in the history of the industry where we’ve seen as much interest in adding load, which is primarily driven by data centers,” said Shawn Elicegui, senior vice president of regulatory and resource planning for NV Energy, which provides electricity to 90% of the state.

It’s one of many utilities across the country grappling with how to meet the exploding electricity demand for data centers to power artificial intelligence without sacrificing long-term plans to move away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable and zero-carbon sources. In North Carolina, which is also seeing a surge of data centers, the largest utility is revising its long-term plans to delay the retirement of coal plants and to build more natural gas plants. Legislators removed an interim goal for utilities to cut carbon emissions, spurring concern from environmentalists that the state might miss its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday April 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 rose Thursday after Iran accused the U.S of violating elements of a two-week ceasefire agreement, raising concerns that tensions could escalate again and disrupt energy supplies.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May rose 3.2% to $97.44.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for June delivery added 3.1% to $97.76 at 3:42 a.m. ET.

The moves come a day after U.S. crude oil posted its biggest single-day drop since 2020.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said on Wednesday that Washington had breached the terms of the ceasefire deal.

“The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments — a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on social media.

 

Top Stories

 

Reuters – April 8, 2026

Traders place large $950 million bet on oil price falling hours ahead of ceasefire

Investors placed an approximately $950 million bet on oil prices falling just hours before the U.S. and Iran announced a ceasefire, the latest large wager on the direction of the world’s most traded commodity ahead of a major policy ​announcement by President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, investors sold a combined 8,600 lots of Brent and U.S. ​crude futures at 1945 GMT, according to LSEG data.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 8, 2026

Cease-Fire Teeters on Its First Day*

A two-week cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran was on tenterhooks Wednesday, as Israel launched massive attacks on Lebanon and Iran threatened to reverse its plan to open the Strait of Hormuz to traffic. Both the U.S. and Iran claimed victory on Wednesday after the two countries agreed to a cease-fire to end the war that began in late February, but Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and Israel unleashed a barrage of deadly strikes against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. on X of several key violations of his country’s 10-point framework to end the war. These breaches, he wrote, make both the cease-fire and negotiations for a long-term peace agreement effectively meaningless.

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KEYE – April 8, 2026

$1 billion a year in data center tax breaks get the attention of Texas lawmakers

The debate over data centers has moved to the Texas State Capitol. The leaders of the House and Senate are asking lawmakers to take a deep dive into the impact of data centers and whether tax incentives being offered to the industry are worth it. Cheap energy, available land, and a friendly regulatory environment have Texas on the verge of having more data centers than any other state.

Hutto is the latest Central Texas community at odds with developers and local officials over a surge in new AI data center projects. The City of Hutto must approve a zoning change for Zydeco to build a data center at 450 Ed Schmidt Blvd. …  Kirk Offel is the CEO and Founder of Overwatch Mission Critical. He will testify at Thursday’s hearing of the Texas House State Affairs Committee on data centers. Offel says data centers need to build trust with communities across Texas. “We do not stop doing it. We just built them safer. We build them better. We build them more sustainable,” said Offel.

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Houston Chronicle – April 8, 2026

Data center opponents put Ken Paxton in bind ahead of Senate runoff*

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RFD TV – April 8, 2026

Data Centers Expand into Rural Areas Competing with Agriculture

Data centers are rapidly expanding into rural areas, raising new concerns about competition for land, water, and electricity with agricultural operations. Texas A&M AgriLife economists say the impact will depend on how these facilities use local resources and how communities manage development.

Texas is emerging as a major hub, with about four gigawatts of data center capacity already in place and nearly eight gigawatts under construction. Large-scale facilities can span hundreds of acres and operate continuously, consuming as much electricity as a small city.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Dan Patrick says Republicans will “have a tough time” holding Texas House majority in November — the lieutenant governor’s remarks are the latest sign that Republicans are worried about the fall midterms. The GOP has controlled the state House since 2003 and currently has an 88-62 advantage — Texas Tribune

Fitch Ratings has assigned a ‘BBB-‘ rating to Vistra Operations Company, LLC’s proposed senior unsecured notes — Fitch expects the proceeds to be used as repayment of existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes — Vistra Ops’ Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) is ‘BBB-‘ with a Stable Rating Outlook — Fitch

Since the beginning of April, about 40 earthquakes have been documented in that area, ranging from magnitude 1.2 to 3.5 — “These earthquakes are located within the Eagle Ford Shale, a broad area stretching from Mexico to between Houston and Austin,” said Justin Rubinstein, a research geophysicist and project leader for the USGS Induced Seismicity Project.. “Over the past 10 to 15 years, there has been a pretty big increase in seismicity in this area.” — KIII

Tesla has quietly switched on a public configurator for its Supercharger for Business program, and the numbers tell us exactly what it now costs a third party to buy into the network: $500,000 in hardware and roughly $940,000 all-in for a standard V4 8-stall site — electrek 

Podcast: Rising electricity costs have led to surging interest in utility board elections — WBUR

Meet the new political alliance against AI and data centers — Politico

Paramount has received signed equity commitments of close to $24 billion from three sovereign-wealth funds led by Saudi Arabia to help back its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to people familiar with the matter — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has agreed to provide roughly $10 billion of the nearly $24 billion to Paramount, run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison — The Wall Street Journal*

US green data centre developer Soluna Holdings Inc has achieved full vertical integration for its Project Dorothy campus in West Texas with the acquisition of a co-located 150-MW wind farm for USD 53 million — Renewables Now

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Zero Hedge – April 8, 2026

Exxon Warns Of $6.5 Billion Hit From Iran War As Q1 Earnings Set To Print Slightly Below Consensus

In an early clue how the Iran war will impact energy earnings, ExxonMobil warned of a $6.5bn hit to Q1 earnings from the Iran war but said the bulk of this was the result of unfavorable timing for its accounting of hedging contracts, which would be offset as underlying transactions were eventually completed. The US supermajor also said that global oil and gas production would be 6% lower in the first three months of the year than in the fourth quarter of 2025 because of attacks on facilities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in which it holds ownership stakes.

According to Exxon’s 8K filed this morning, Goldman calculated that the company’s adjusted EPS at the mid-point came in at ~$1.80 vs. consensus closer to $1.90 and Q4 levels closer to $1.71. As shown in the chart below, there was sequential improvement in Upstream driven by higher liquids prices, sequential declines in Downstream due to higher maintenance and relatively flat performance in Chemicals.

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Reuters – April 8, 2026

Exxon plans spring and year-end overhauls at Beaumont, Texas refinery, sources say*

Exxon Mobil Corp plans overhauls in the spring and at the end ​of this year at its 612,000 barrel-per-day ‌Beaumont, Texas refinery, said people familiar with plant operations. In May, Exxon plans to shut the 60,000-bpd ​coker for a planned overhaul that ​will continue into June, the sources said.

In ⁠December, the 120,000-bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker will ​be shut for a planned overhaul along with ​two hydrotreaters lasting into January, according to the sources. Cokers convert residual crude oil into feedstocks for motor ​fuels or petroleum coke, which can be ​used as a substitute for coal. The Beaumont refinery ‌is ⁠the third-largest in the U.S. by crude oil processing capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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Upstream – April 3, 2026

Oilfield contractor set to reincorporate in Texas

The company noted that it has already has “substantial” operations in Texas, including its Houston headquarters. Weatherford has eyed the move “over several years” and said Thursday that “the time is right to proceed”. It believes the shift will help reduce compliance burdens while potentially accessing larger pools of capital.

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Houston Chronicle – April 8, 2026

Earthquakes are becoming more frequent in East Texas and Louisiana. Here’s what scientists say.*

The earthquakes are a destabilizing force for the Haynesville shale area, where production has increased in recent years as liquefied natural gas export facilities proliferated along the Gulf Coast. President Donald Trump has deepened interest in the area by making American LNG a cornerstone of his “energy dominance” plans. And Haynesville rig counts have nearly doubled over the last year. The worsening earthquakes have puzzled researchers and scientists — even those well-versed in the science of oilfield tremors. Seismicity in the Haynesville formation is not as well studied as in the Permian Basin, where years of research established a link between a rash of earthquakes and the disposal of oilfield wastewater.

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KERA – April 8, 2026

Texas farmers worry Iran War will delay fertilizer shipments during spring planting season

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is disrupting global fertilizer shipments, causing shortages and price hikes for Texas farmers. Dr. Mark Welch, professor and extension economist for Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension, says the bottleneck threatens to delay deliveries during the crucial spring planting season, potentially reducing yields for a broad range of crops.

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KUHF – April 8, 2026

Galveston activists sue over Endangered Species Act exemption for oil and gas industry in the Gulf

Environmental activists in Galveston have joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration after its decision to exempt oil and gas companies from adhering to protections under the long-standing Endangered Species Act. Trump administration officials within the Endangered Species Committee voted unanimously on the exemption last week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth triggered the vote, citing “national security” reasons.

Joanie Steinhaus, ocean program director for Turtle Island Restoration Network, an ocean conservation nonprofit that has a main office in Galveston, said the exemption would leave a number of Gulf species and ecosystems unprotected and vulnerable to extinction, including the critically endangered Rice’s whale and the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 8, 2026

Texas to dedicate $1 billion a year to state water fund for 20 years*

Texas voters last November approved a constitutional amendment directing revenues from state sales and use taxes to the Texas Water Fund. “It is the largest dedicated water investment in Texas history,” Rep. Cody Harris, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the Permian Basin Water in Energy conference.

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Houston Chronicle – April 8, 2026

How the Iran ceasefire may affect Houston gas prices and what past oil shocks tell us*

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 8, 2026

Oil CEOs Raked in Money From Trump’s Iran War*

President Trump’s bombing campaign against Iran is yielding a windfall for some of America’s top oil executives.  Executives sold stock worth $1.4 billion in the first quarter of the year as the share prices of Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Diamondback Energy and other oil-and-gas companies soared on the back of a historic shock to the world’s crude supplies, according to an analysis of insider-transaction disclosures from analytics firm VerityData. Some of the sales were prearranged under plans that allow executives to sell stock automatically at specific times or share prices without making in-the-moment decisions that could leave them open to allegations of improper trading. The plans are often set weeks or months in advance, though the specifics are rarely public. Nonetheless, the executives’ timing was auspicious.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 8, 2026

Iran War Cease-Fire Can’t Undo the Middle East’s Energy Hangover*

The cease-fire agreed to between President Trump and Iran may silence the guns, but the wreckage at key regional energy hubs is set to leave lasting economic damage. Iranian missile and drone strikes have hit dozens of refineries, oil fields and natural gas export terminals across the region, ensuring a prolonged squeeze on global oil-and-gas markets even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens. The sheer complexity of rebuilding these damaged energy facilities translates into an extended stranglehold on global supply—and higher oil prices. With refineries offline, even if producers pump crude, markets will still suffer shortages of refined products such as diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. Conversely, damaged export facilities mean hydrocarbons cannot be safely loaded onto tankers.

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Yahoo! News – April 8, 2026

US gas prices risk topping $5 per gallon if Strait of Hormuz stays closed: JPMorgan

Gasoline prices could hit $5 per gallon nationwide if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a focal point of the Iran war, remains effectively at a standstill for much longer. “To date, US retail gasoline prices have already increased to close to $4/gallon, but our commodity team sees a risk of that exceeding $5/gallon if the strait remains effectively closed by mid-April,” JPMorgan’s Joyce Chang and Natasha Kaneva wrote in a client note.

Gasoline at $5 would represent its highest level since June 2022, when prices reached a record of nearly $5.02 per gallon. On Tuesday, the national average price of gasoline climbed to nearly $4.14, according to AAA data, up roughly about $0.80 from a month ago.

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April 8, 2026

EIA Forecasts Brent Crude Oil To Peak In Second Quarter At $115 Per Barrel – Analysis

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz continue to be limited causing oil storage to fill quickly in countries that rely on the waterway for exports. As a result, we estimate that Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain collectively shut in 7.5 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil production in March. We assess that production shut-ins will rise to 9.1 million b/d in April.

In this outlook, we assume the conflict does not persist past April and that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz gradually resumes. Under those assumptions, we expect production shut-ins will fall to 6.7 million b/d in May and return close to pre-conflict levels in late 2026.

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S&P Global Platts – April 8, 2026

Iranian petchem producer Jam says it will take years to repair damage from April 6 attack

Iranian petrochemicals producer Jam has said it will take years for it to carry out reconstruction work and resume production after being attacked by US and Israel forces on April 6. In an April 7 statement on its website, the company said damage was caused to its tanks and processing plants, adding that the strikes have left some parts of its operations on fire.

Jam is located in the Pars Special Economic Zone, near the South Pars natural gas processing, where some power plants and production plants were destroyed in the April 6 attack, according to the company. Jam has a production capacity of 3.174 million metric tons/year of polypropylene and polyethylene. It added in the statement that an estimate of the damage from the attack is ongoing.

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Reuters – April 8, 2026

Iran ceasefire eases fears but LNG sector left scarred, industry executive says*

A Middle East ceasefire signals de-escalation, but the conflict has scarred the global ‌LNG industry, denting confidence in Gulf suppliers and raising doubts among Asian buyers, particularly poorer countries, over the fuel’s reliability and affordability, a top industry executive said. LNG prices have, as of last week, soared over 80% since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on ​Iran on February 28, closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that normally carries about ​a fifth of global LNG supplies, to most ships.

“This was not a supply crisis. This ⁠was a supply chain crisis,” said Menelaos Ydreos, secretary general of the International Gas Union, which has more ​than 140 members worldwide, representing more than 90% of the world’s gas market. … Global gas supply remains ample. But LNG depends on complex infrastructure, specialised ships and predictable transit routes. When those are disrupted, cargoes flow to buyers able to pay more, leaving poorer importers exposed, ​he said.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 8, 2026

Shell Sees Hit to Gas Production, Boost From Trading Amid Middle East War*

Shell cut its outlook for first-quarter natural-gas production but said it expected a boost from oil trading, as the energy industry counts the cost of the damage caused by the war in the Middle East. The U.K. energy giant said Wednesday that the output of its integrated gas segment would take a hit from lost Qatari volumes due to the conflict in the first quarter, but that its oil trading operations would deliver a significantly higher result than in the prior quarter. The update from Shell comes after the war in the Middle East set off a volatile ride in energy markets and placed some of the oil-and-gas industry’s biggest investments on the firing line. One of Shell’s crown-jewel assets, the Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar, was targeted in the conflict.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 8, 2026

Iran Tightens Its Grip on Hormuz Despite Cease-Fire*

Iran told mediators it would limit the number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz to around a dozen a day and charge tolls under the cease-fire struck by President Trump, showing Tehran plans to tighten its grip on the world’s most important energy-shipping lane. Ships that pass will have to coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful paramilitary group that has been labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, Arab mediators said. Four ships were allowed to pass Wednesday, the fewest so far in April, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, down from more than 100 a day before the war. Iran is requiring ships to work out toll arrangements ahead of time and then pay the fees in cryptocurrency or Chinese yuan, mediators and shipbrokers said.

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CBC – April 8, 2026

Oil and fuel prices to remain high throughout the year: Deloitte report

The ongoing war between Iran and the U.S. is expected to keep oil prices high for the remainder of the year, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices too. North American oil prices are anticipated to average $85 US per barrel in 2026, according to a new report released Wednesday from Deloitte Canada, compared to averaging just $67 in 2025. …

Oil prices have been relatively low over the last two years as more oil was being produced compared to the level of demand. The conflict in the Middle East continues to choke transit through the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil and natural gas supply from international buyers. “There is going to be a lot of pressure on all of our energy needs for this year,” said Botterill, in an interview with CBC News.

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The New York Times – Apirl 7, 2026

Suspect in Hacking of Climate Activists Is Extradited to New York*

Amit Forlit, who has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with running a so-called hacking-for-hire operation that targeted environmental groups, has been extradited from Britain to stand trial in New York. Mr. Forlit, 58, is accused of running a sprawling enterprise that operated around the world, including in Russia, India and Dubai. A 2022 grand jury indictment unsealed on Friday charged Mr. Forlit with conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, which could result in up to 45 years in prison.

Prosecutors for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York confirmed Mr. Forlit’s arrival in New York on Thursday evening in a letter to Judge Jesse M. Furman, writing that he had been arraigned before a magistrate judge. From at least 2012 to 2019, Mr. Forlit orchestrated “massive” crimes against corporations, organizations and individuals, according to the indictment. He is accused of working closely with Aviram Azari, who was convicted of crimes related to hacking in New York in 2023 and released from federal prison last year, and others. The schemes generated “tens of millions of dollars” in unlawful proceeds, the indictment said.

Their clients included a lobbying firm in Washington that was working for “one of the world’s largest oil and gas corporations, with headquarters in Irving, Texas,” according to the indictment. A brief prepared by Mr. Forlit’s legal team as he fought extradition identified the lobbying firm as DCI Group and the company as Exxon Mobil, which at the time was based in Irving.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

pv magazine – April 8, 2026

ERCOT proposes $1,500/MW incentive for legacy Texas storage to adopt grid stability support

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is advancing a concept proposal to potentially financially support older energy storage and renewable resources in adopting advanced grid support capabilities. The concept, presented to the Inverter-based Resource Working Group (IBRWG) on March 27, 2026, seeks to address legacy assets currently exempt from newer, mandatory stability requirements.

The initiative is designed to align legacy Inverter-based Resources (IBRs), particularly Energy Storage Resources (ESRs), with grid-forming standards. In practice, this will mean a retrofit for inverters, with grid-following inverters to be replaced with grid-forming capabilities, or a “GFL-to-GFM” retrofit, involving new equipment and commissioning.

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Texas Tribune – April 8, 2026

Texas is giving data centers more than $1 billion in tax breaks each year

Texas will lose out on $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry, according to the comptroller’s office. That figure is likely a vast underestimate given the explosion of new facilities being built, but already makes the tax break one of the state’s costliest incentive programs and soon to be the most expensive of its kind in the nation.

Lawmakers, who will meet in January for the next legislative session, say they are considering proposals to either limit the scope of the tax break or get rid of it altogether. “These new numbers are extremely concerning and I will say they’re unsustainable,” said state Sen. Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “I plan to look at filing legislation to either repeal the exemption or take a very close look at it and see.”

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Austin American-Statesman – April 8, 2026

Tesla loses some of its tax breaks for Gigafactory Texas for noncompliance with agreement*

Travis County is withholding a chunk of the millions of dollars in tax breaks it agreed to give Tesla Inc. for Gigafactory Texas after finding the company isn’t holding up its end of the deal. Because of non-compliance with some terms laid out in the economic development performance agreement the county and Tesla reached in 2020, the Elon Musk-led company will not receive 9% of scheduled rebates for 2020, 2021 and 2022. Commissioners voted 4-0 with one abstention to withhold that part of the funds the county offered for construction of the sprawling complex east of Austin where the company builds electric vehicles and batteries.

The dollar amount of the rebates being yanked was unclear Wednesday, though terms of the agreement suggest it could total more than $4 million. County Judge Andy Brown said Tesla provided “significant but incomplete documentation” regarding its green building program, minimum hourly wage and compensation for contractors providing janitorial and food services. Another provision that lacked documentation involved construction site safety, which requires Tesla to inform subcontractors about requirements to provide water breaks for workers.

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Austin American-Statesman – April 8, 2026

Environmental groups push for action on Tesla’s ‘ecological paradise’*

A slow-moving environmental project proposed by Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. may finally be making headway. Years after it was first pitched, Tesla is proposing restoration of 28 acres of riverfront land at Gigafactory Texas, a project it says is creating an   “ecological paradise” that would be open to the public. According to a site plan filed with the city of Austin for the area along the Colorado River, the project would add a concrete shared-use path, decomposed granite walking trail and an elevated riverfront wooden boardwalk near the giant factory where the company manufactures electric vehicles and batteries.

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Houston Chronicle – April 8, 2026

Texas could incentivize data centers to bring their own power supply, cut usage on command*

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KYTX – April 7, 2026

Public meeting addresses questions about proposed natural gas power hub in Anderson County

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E&E News By Politico – April 8, 2026

Utilities ask FERC to halt transmission competition across Midwest, Plains

A coalition of nine utilities in the Midwest and Great Plains wants federal energy regulators to suspend a long-standing policy requiring competitive bidding for billions of dollars in new high-voltage power lines. It’s a change the companies claim is key to helping the U.S. win the artificial intelligence race, but one that critics warn would stifle competition.

The group, whose members include Xcel Energy, Entergy and seven other utilities, filed a complaint Tuesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that seeks to temporarily eliminate the competitive solicitation provision in FERC’s landmark Order 1000, which broadly reformed electric transmission planning and cost allocation.

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Fort Worth Star-Telegram – April 8, 2026

Fort Worth may sell green energy bragging rights to fund fixes to old city hall

The city of Fort Worth may sell its remaining renewable energy credits to chip away at a budget shortfall to fix its old city hall building. The credits have served as a way to guarantee that about half of the city’s power use comes from renewable sources, however, up to this point they’ve had no effect on the city financially. That could change if the City Council votes to approve selling the credits to generate some cash. The city has had the credits since 2021 through a deal with its electricity provider Reliant Energy, according to a city report.

Under the deal, Reliant “retires” the credits annually, meaning it guarantees part of the city’s power usage comes from renewable sources. The program is overseen by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which makes sure each credit is tied to a specific renewable energy producer. Up to this point, Fort Worth has received the “environmental attributes associated with renewable energy generation,” city property manager Marilyn Marvin said in an email to the Star-Telegram.

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Utility Dive – April 6, 2026

Turning the AC-DC switch: A legacy technology has reached its limits: Shaun Walsh, Peak Nano

Some of today’s most important technologies didn’t come to dominate because they were better. They won over alternatives because they were easier to deploy, fit existing business models, or were better marketed. Over time, we often discover that the “runner‑up” is better suited for where the world is headed. That dynamic is playing out now with the shift from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) in data centers and electrified transportation. History offers plenty of examples where a stronger technology lost the market. Betamax was widely regarded as higher quality than VHS, yet VHS became the home video standard because it was cheaper, easier to scale, and aligned with content distribution and consumer habits.

Similarly, in the “War of the Currents,” AC’s advantage wasn’t efficiency but because it was easier to change voltage for long‑distance transmission and a rapidly expanding grid. DC couldn’t deliver then, but today, DC–DC power converter technologies enable efficient, reliable DC voltage changes.  However, a century later, AC’s early win continues to shape power distribution even as the assumptions that favored AC break down under the demands of hyperscale data centers, AI, EVs, and new forms of electrified mobility.

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – March 24, 2026

Hyperscalers, Reliability and the Return of Natural Gas Paired With Carbon Capture: Bracewell

Hyperscale data centers being developed to provide energy for artificial intelligence (AI) are forcing a change in the clean-energy conversation. “Hyperscalers” refers to large technology companies that build, own or procure extensive cloud and data center infrastructure, along with the substantial power resources needed to support rapidly growing computing demand. The US power sector has not had to confront load growth at this pace, and at this scale, for decades. Hyperscale data centers are demanding large, steady blocks of power on an accelerated timeline that do not match the current pace of transmission buildout or the lengthy interconnection queue.

At the same time, hyperscalers want power that is clean, firm and available around the clock. The set of technologies that can credibly satisfy all three, at large scale and on relatively quick timelines, is narrow. That is where natural gas combined cycle units with carbon capture and storage (NGCC+CCS) are re-entering the mainstream again as serious, if potentially controversial, clean firm power “lifeline” possibilities for hyperscalers that need large blocks of dependable power on compressed timelines.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday April 8, 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

• Brent Crude: Dropped to approximately $95 per barrel, reversing earlier trends that had pushed prices toward $150 per barrel during the crisis.
• WTI Crude: Fell below $100 per barrel to roughly $94 to $96 per barrel 
• Market Sentiment: The 2-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran triggered a relief rally, significantly lowering the risk premium on energy, causing investors to exit safe-haven positions.
• Physical Market: Despite the price drop, some traders note that physical markets remain stressed, and it may take time for shipping, such as through the Strait of Hormuz, to fully normalize

 

Top Stories

 

Reuters – April 8, 2026

Trump says US will help with traffic buildup in Strait of Hormuz*

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will help ​with the buildup of shipping traffic in the ‌Strait of Hormuz. Trump on Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to ​reopen the strait or face attacks on ​its civilian infrastructure. Trump said the last-minute deal was ⁠subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of ​oil and gas supplies through the strait, which typically ​handles about one-fifth of global oil shipments.

“We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to ​make sure that everything goes well,” Trump said. “There will ​be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran ‌can ⁠start the reconstruction process,” he also said.

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Politico – April 7, 2026

EPA finalizes tweak to Biden methane rule

EPA announced Monday that it had finalized a minor update to Biden-era methane standards for oil and gas operations. The rule, which EPA cast as a reversal of “burdensome, unworkable Biden-era oil and natural gas policies,” was first proposed by the Biden EPA in December 2024 after it granted industry petitions for limited changes to its methane standards. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in a statement Monday accused the Biden EPA of seeking “to regulate the oil and gas industry out of existence.”

“We are taking another step to fix those mistakes while proving we can both protect human health and the environment and grow the economy at the same time,” he said. The press release said the rule was finalized Monday, March 30, on the same day it completed White House review. Both the Biden proposal and the Trump administration’s final version of the rule make two sets of technical tweaks to the standards the Biden administration published in early 2024. They extend the time that oil and gas operations may flare gas during an emergency or equipment malfunction beyond the one-day limit set by the original rule. And they make some technical changes that industry petitioners had sought to the rule’s monitoring requirements.

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Inside Climate News – April 7, 2026

US Senators Investigate $370 Million IRS Payout to Cheniere Energy

Seven Democratic U.S. senators have launched a probe into a $370 million “alternative fuel” payout to Cheniere Energy, made earlier this year by the IRS, that critics say the liquefied natural gas export company never should have received. An earlier Inside Climate News investigation into the company’s push to get that tax credit for using LNG to power its tankers noted that such fuel is standard in the industry, not an alternative. The incentive is also intended for motor vehicles or motorboats, the latter of which are defined in federal shipping regulations as no more than 65 feet long. LNG vessels are typically 1,000 feet in length.

“We write to clarify whether the Internal Revenue Service has determined that companies using liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propelling LNG tankers qualify for credits under the Alternative Fuel Excise Tax (AFET),” the senators wrote to Scott Bessent, the IRS acting commissioner, on Tuesday. “Providing tankers with AFET credits would unnecessarily waste taxpayer money while doing nothing to protect the environment, reduce costs for everyday Americans, or lessen the United States’ dependence on oil.”

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Argus Media – April 4, 2026

Meta funds El Paso nat gas plant as interim power fix

Tech giant Meta is paying to build a natural gas-fired plant to power its El Paso data center, but regulatory filings show the agreement is temporary, raising questions about how Texas ratepayers will be protected once the initial five-year period ends. El Paso Electric (EPE) plans to supply the data center through McCloud Generation, a 366MW plant with 813 modular gas generators located next to the site, according to a filing with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Starting in 2027, the plant would power the data center exclusively for an initial five-year “bridge period” and remain separate from EPE’s transmission system, with all costs recovered from Meta under a commission-approved rate.

The arrangement aligns with the White House-backed Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which calls on large technology companies to pay for the power and infrastructure needed to support their data-center loads rather than shifting those costs onto other customers. But the filing also shows that much of the ultimate risk allocation is deferred, with decisions about long-term cost recovery left to future regulatory proceedings once the temporary structure ends.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 7, 2026

Energy Stocks Are Having a Moment That Could Last*

Investors have been underexposed to energy stocks for some time. Since 2021, for example, more funds have flowed out of energy-sector ETFs than into them, versus a net inflow for all sectors, according to data from State Street Investment Management. Meanwhile, even after the rally this year, the energy sector makes up less than 4% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization, while tech makes up 32%. This seems low. Toward the end of 2022, the most recent inflation shock, the energy sector made up more than 5% of the index. In the 1970s, energy made up a quarter of the index, according to a report from Carlyle.

There were plenty of reasons investors had shunned energy stocks. After the oil-induced inflation shocks of the 1970s and 1980s, there was a relatively long period of calm. Even the resurgence of inflation in 2021 and 2022 was relatively short-lived after supply chains normalized and sanctioned Russian oil found its way onto the market. Cheap exports from China also helped keep prices and inflation low for a long time, notes Tim Murray, capital-markets strategist at T. Rowe Price. The U.S. shale boom helped keep a lid on oil prices. …

Increasingly, it is becoming harder to dismiss an energy-driven inflation-shock scenario. Oil-market analysts say it is likely the Hormuz chokepoint, critical to global oil supply, will remain at least partially closed for some time, despite hopes for a cease-fire. If the U.S. leaves abruptly with Iran in control of the waterway, it is all but inevitable that fighting will resume in the region, notes Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, calling the situation an “unsustainable equilibrium.” A military attempt to open the waterway is no sure thing. Further escalation brings with it more potential threats to the region’s energy infrastructure and possibly even the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia’s alternative oil-export route.

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KBMT – April 6, 2026

Valero refinery blast released 157K pounds of chemicals over 10 days, state report reveals

Tank Transport – April 7, 2026

Valero Port Arthur Blast: 12 Warning Signals for Fuel Markets

The Valero Port Arthur blast refers to the March 23, 2026, explosion and fire at Valero’s Port Arthur refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. The story is now less about the blast video and more about what still constrains the plant: restart mechanics, lost utilities, emissions accounting, diesel sulfur compliance, litigation exposure, and the broader importance of a site that sits at the intersection of conventional refining and lower-carbon fuel production.

“The March 23 blast hit one of Valero’s most important Gulf Coast refining assets, a site that links conventional fuel production, logistics, and lower-carbon fuel investment.”

The most useful way to read the incident is to separate the three layers of information. First, there is what has been publicly confirmed about the shutdown, the damaged unit, and the restart sequence. Second, there is what the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has published in its emissions-event system. Third, there is what remains an allegation, inference, or still-pending investigation. That distinction matters because early industrial-incident coverage often compresses those layers into a single narrative, even though they do not yet deserve equal weight.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

President Trump backed down Tuesday from a threat to wipe out the entirety of Iranian civilization, saying he agreed to a two-week cease-fire deal with Iran in hopes the countries will be able to finalize a long-term peace agreement — The Wall Street Journal*

Six South Texas county judges joined groundwater and surface water conservation officials and Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Jim Wright on Monday, April 6 at the Goliad Memorial Auditorium to address worsening drought conditions and the long-term water outlook — among the county judges on the panel of the Water Town Hall that drew residents concerned about declining supplies, was San Patricio’s David Krebs, who said his county faces a complex water delivery structure involving multiple communities and supply systems — South Texas News

Pflugerville water crisis: 40 citations issued so far for Stage 3 violations — KTBC

Greenpeace has asked for a second trial after a judge entered a $345 million judgment against the organization in a landmark case brought by the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Energy Transfer — News from the States

First responders across Southeast Texas received hands-on training Tuesday evening on how to handle emergencies involving electric vehicles, as Tesla hosted a session focused on the growing presence of EVs on local roads — KBMT

Houston-based America First Refining has selected Fluor as its front-end engineering and design partner, the Irving-based engineering and construction firm announced April 7 — Houston Business Journal*

An Abu Dhabi investor announced late Tuesday that it is taking a stake in two major natural gas pipelines that operate across and between the Upper Midwest and Canada — the investor, E Point Zero said it has agreed to pay $2.25 billion for Oklahoma-based Traverse Midstream Partners. E Point Zero Holding is a subsidiary of Two Point Zero, an investment platform headed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — Texas Lawbook

Baker Hughes said Tuesday it has secured a strategic order from San Matias Pipeline S.A. to supply three gas compression units for a major natural gas pipeline project in Argentina — see the press release

Explosives were found in a border area between Hungary and Serbia near a pipeline that carries Russian gas, and which both depend heavily on — UPI

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Reuters – April 7, 2026

Freeport LNG seeks approval to demolish obsolete import facilities in Texas*

Freeport LNG has asked U.S. regulators for permission to demolish facilities in Texas ​that were previously used to import liquefied natural gas, ​according to a regulatory filing. While the U.S. was ⁠once a major importer of the fuel, the shale revolution ​transformed the domestic gas market and turned the country into ​the world’s largest LNG exporter. Freeport has not imported LNG since 2011.

“As the terminal has been operated exclusively for the purpose of liquefying ​natural gas and exporting LNG, and has not regasified ​imported LNG for well over a decade, Freeport LNG proposes to decommission, ‌disconnect, ⁠and/or demolish certain obsolete facilities,” the company told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Freeport, the third largest LNG exporter in the U.S., said it wants FERC approval for the project ​by the end ​of this ⁠year, adding that removing the unused infrastructure would enhance operational safety and significantly reduce the ​time employees spend maintaining and inspecting non-operational ​assets.

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Upstream – April 7, 2026

Chevron resumes Leviathan gas production offshore Israel

“On 31 March, Chevron received a notification from the Petroleum Commissioner at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, according to which all preparations required for the resumption of operations of the Leviathan platform may be carried out,” NewMed said in a statement. The co-venturer added it intends to examine the possibility of receiving compensation from the state in connection with the 33-day suspension of production from Leviathan, Israel’s largest gas field.

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Reuters – April 2, 2026

Oil giants show early interest in US Gulf deepwater field stake, sources say*

European energy majors TotalEnergies and Shell are among companies eyeing a majority stake in one of the U.S. Gulf’s most promising sites, three ​sources with knowledge of the process said, as interest in North American energy prospects ‌rises due to the Middle East conflict. London-listed BP is also interested, two of the people and a fourth one said, as is Spain’s Repsol, a fifth person said. Chevron is also expected to consider a bid, two of the ​people said.

Two of the owners of the Shenandoah offshore field kicked off a sale process for their ​stakes in recent days, offering possible buyers 51% of the project, three of ⁠the people said. The selling duo are Blackstone-backed Beacon Offshore Energy, the operator of the field, and ​HEQ Deepwater, which is owned by Quantum Capital Group and Houston Energy. The rest of the holding ​is with Israel’s Navitas Petroleum. Initial bids are expected to be filed in coming weeks, the sources said. Other parties that may be drawn into the process include large Middle East and Asian energy producers, said a sixth person with knowledge of ​the process.

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Hydrocarbon Processing – April 7, 2026

Fluor signs contract with X-Energy for advanced nuclear project at Dow’s Seadrift facility in Texas

Fluor announced that it has entered into a contract with X-energy to support the company’s proposed advanced nuclear project at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations in south Texas. Under the agreement, Fluor will initially deliver Front-End Loading Stage 2 (FEL-2) services. FEL-2 focuses on project definition, strategic planning, feasibility assessment, cost control and risk mitigation. Fluor will recognize the undisclosed contract value for this initial portion of work in the first quarter of 2026.

The X-energy project proposes to develop four, 80-megawatt small modular reactor (SMR) units to supply Dow’s Seadrift site with safe, reliable, carbon‑free electricity and industrial steam, replacing aging energy and steam infrastructure. The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), which accelerates the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies through cost‑shared partnerships with industry. A construction permit application was submitted in March 2025 and is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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Natural Gas Intelligence – April 1, 2026

Cheniere Signals Continued Feed Gas Growth With Sixth LNG Train Startup

Cheniere Energy Inc. has begun commissioning activities on the sixth of seven trains at its Corpus Christi LNG Stage 3 expansion project just days after the fifth train reached commercial operations. The firm told Texas regulators in a filing that contractors with Bechtel Group could initiate startup operations on Wednesday. Each train can add up to 0.21 Bcf/d in feed gas demand from West Texas hubs at peak capacity. Bechtel has delivered trains for Stage 3 to Cheniere roughly 2-3 months after commissioning begins.

LNG feed gas demand is forecast to remain near all-time highs despite multiple operational blips at Gulf Coast terminals. Wood Mackenzie estimated nominations could average 19.6 Bcf/d over the next seven days as production at Golden Pass LNG and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi expansion continue to ramp up. However, pipeline flows indicated outages at Freeport LNG and Golden Pass on Tuesday, leading to nominations being revised down in a later gas cycle.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The New York Times – April 7, 2026

How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran*

The black S.U.V. carrying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 11. The Israeli leader, who had been pressing for months for the United States to agree to a major assault on Iran, was whisked inside with little ceremony, out of view of reporters, primed for one of the most high-stakes moments in his long career. U.S. and Israeli officials gathered first in the Cabinet Room, adjacent to the Oval Office. Then Mr. Netanyahu headed downstairs for the main event: a highly classified presentation on Iran for President Trump and his team in the White House Situation Room, which was rarely used for in-person meetings with foreign leaders.

Mr. Trump sat down, but not in his usual position at the head of the room’s mahogany conference table. Instead, the president took a seat on one side, facing the large screens mounted along the wall. Mr. Netanyahu sat on the other side, directly opposite the president. Appearing on the screen behind the prime minister was David Barnea, the director of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, as well as Israeli military officials. Arrayed visually behind Mr. Netanyahu, they created the image of a wartime leader surrounded by his team.

Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, sat at the far end of the table. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who doubled as the national security adviser, had taken his regular seat. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who generally sat together in such settings, were on one side; joining them was John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy, who had been negotiating with the Iranians, rounded out the main group.

The gathering had been kept deliberately small to guard against leaks. Other top cabinet secretaries had no idea it was happening. Also absent was the vice president. JD Vance was in Azerbaijan, and the meeting had been scheduled on such short notice that he was unable to make it back in time. The presentation that Mr. Netanyahu would make over the next hour would be pivotal in setting the United States and Israel on the path toward a major armed conflict in the middle of one of the world’s most volatile regions. And it would lead to a series of discussions inside the White House over the following days and weeks, the details of which have not been previously reported, in which Mr. Trump weighed his options and the risks before giving the go-ahead to join Israel in attacking Iran.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 7, 2026

Some Republicans Set Their Own Deadline on Iran War. It’s Getting Close.*

As President Trump threatened a major escalation in Iran before easing off on his ultimatum Tuesday night, the Republican-led Congress is out of the picture. Lawmakers are on a holiday recess, and won’t return to Washington until next week. But some Republican lawmakers have set a deadline of their own that is approaching at the end of this month: They say federal law requires the president to seek approval from Congress if military operations in Iran last longer than 60 to 90 days. The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war and fund the military, but makes the president commander in chief of the country’s armed forces.

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Financial Times – March 18, 2026

As Verity points out, the premium paid for oil as far away as Norway, Algeria and Kazakhstan has also shot up higher because of their resemblance to the Gulf crude now getting bottled up inside the Strait of Hormuz. Just to be clear, these crazy Gulf oil prices reflect how some Asian refiners are simply desperate to secure the crude they need, and are happy to pay what it takes to get it (Norwegian oil naturally takes longer to ship). Meanwhile, the current Brent and WTI contracts are for May delivery, when there should be a lot of supply coming from various strategic reserves, leading to the big divergence.

They therefore reflect different oil markets. But that doesn’t mean that the Gulf oil price craziness isn’t worrying. “These benchmarks are directly exposed to export disruptions and therefore capture marginal scarcity more effectively than Atlantic-linked crudes,” JPMorgan’s analysts argued in a note yesterday. …

Unfortunately, JPMorgan’s analysts therefore reckon that those wild Oman and Dubai oil prices are likely to prove a harbinger for the larger oil price benchmarks if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened pronto. They said:

“. . . The apparent stability in Brent and WTI should not be taken as evidence of ample global supply. It reflects a temporary buffer created by regional inventory overhangs, benchmark composition, and policy interventions. If the Strait does not reopen, this divergence is unlikely to persist: Brent and WTI will ultimately reprice higher as Atlantic basin inventories are drawn down and the global market is forced to clear at a materially tighter supply level.”

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S&P Global Platts – April 7, 2026

US EIA trims 2026 US spot gas price forecasts on near-average storage expectation

The US Energy Information Administration on April 7 again trimmed its natural gas spot price forecast for the second and third quarters of 2026, saying that it expects Henry Hub prices to remain closely aligned to the year-ago quarters, with inventories remaining near average. The agency, in its April Short-Term Energy Outlook, forecast that Q2 Henry Hub spot gas prices will average $3.01/million British thermal unit, 9 cents below the March estimate. The Q3 forecast was lowered by 7 cents from the March estimate to $3.26/MMBtu.

The April STEO marked the second consecutive month in which the agency lowered its spot gas prices for the rest of the year. The EIA now expects Henry Hub prices to average $3.67/MMBtu for 2026, 9 cents below the March full-year forecast. The agency also lowered its 2027 Henry Hub price forecast by 26 cents from the March estimate to $3.59/MMBtu.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 7, 2026

The American Gas Exporter That Pulls In Billions During Energy Shocks*

The world is in the throes of a significant energy shock for the second time in four years. Natural-gas exporter Venture Global is ready to reap the profits. With an unorthodox business model that allows it to capitalize on global disruptions, Venture Global raked in billions of dollars in 2022 when Russia throttled gas deliveries to Europe and buyers sought new supplies. The windfall helped the company become the second-largest U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas, after Cheniere Energy LNG 0.08%increase; green up pointing triangle. Now, Venture Global is positioned for a repeat scenario that could boost its ambition to not only surpass Cheniere, but also overtake Qatar, the tiny Middle Eastern nation that sits on some of the world’s largest gas reserves and has become an LNG juggernaut.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

MSN – April 7, 2026

Fort Worth asks landowner to remove data center use from zoning request

Developers hoping to get 184 acres of land in west Fort Worth rezoned for industrial and multifamily residential use will not be able to use the land for a data center, as growing concern from residents has prompted the city to pump the brakes on several data center developments.

A zoning application filed by Fort Worth-based construction company Westwood Professional Services, for land owned by the John Henry Dean & Shirley Lawson Foundation and the Dallas-based developer Standridge Companies, requests that the Fort Worth Zoning Commission rezone two parcels of land at the northwest corner of FM 1187 and Interstate 20. The land is in Fort Worth’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, with the developer hoping to get the land annexed by the City Council after the Zoning Commission decides on the zoning case.

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San Antonio Report – April 4, 2026

CPS Energy delays rate increase discussion until after summer, passes $50M budget shortfall

CPS Energy won’t ask for a rate increase yet, but that means the public utility is looking at a $50 million funding gap through the beginning of 2027 after its board of trustees approved its budget on March 30. The electricity provider moved the budget forward after scrutiny from San Antonio City Council last month and will look at multiple strategies for addressing the $50 million funding gap. The current budget does not include a rate increase, officials said, but rate increases are still on the table in future years as the utility makes large infrastructure investments.

CPS Energy had proposed a budget earlier this year that ran between February 2026 and January 2027 with plans to discuss filling that $50 million shortfall by increasing rates for customers. But the utility was cautioned by city council members, who were concerned that, by approving such a budget, the utility intended to propose a rate increase without their approval.

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Power Magazine – April 7, 2026

Fervo, Turboden Sign 1.7-GW Turbine Deal for Geothermal Power Plants

A subsidiary of Italy-headquartered Turboden has a turbine supply agreement with a Texas-based group, a deal that will further support U.S. geothermal energy projects.

Turboden America LLC, a subsidiary of Turboden S.p.A.—part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group—on April 7 said it will provide its Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) turbines for up to 35 GeoBlocks, which are Fervo Energy’s 50-MW ORC power plants. The companies on Tuesday said the new commitment for 1,750 MW of generation capacity builds on Turboden’s prior agreement with Fervo to supply ORC units for three 50-MW GeoBlocks at Fervo’s enhanced geothermal development in Cape Station, Utah.

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Texas Monthly – April 7, 2026

How One Texas County Struck a Deal With Its Data Centers*

When Scooter Mangold first heard how much water Microsoft’s data center engineers were requesting from his Central Texas water company, he didn’t just say no. “I told them they’d lost their minds,” Mangold told me, his face breaking into a grin under a white lampshade mustache. His company, Yancey Water Supply, could have probably made it work, he admitted, but that would have dramatically reduced the available groundwater for everyone else in the slice of Medina County it serves, including his own kids and grandkids. It could have been another in a line of now-common stories: tiny, outlawyered rural area takes on multibillion-dollar corporation trying to build massive, loud, resource-hungry data center in the community.

Instead, Mangold, one of the dozen or so water providers in the county, presented a counteroffer: Send over your blueprints, he told the tech company. Let’s see what we can figure out. Problem-solving is Mangold’s forte. He beamed as he showed me the framed enrollment certificate for a 2025 law he says was written, essentially, for him. When he needed an exemption for one of his water-storage projects that ran through the heavily regulated Edwards Aquifer, he simply started making calls. Within a single legislative session, he told me, the problem was fixed. He doesn’t view the resource wars brought by the influx of data centers all that differently.

After reviewing Microsoft’s plans, he went back to the corporation: If it could switch from evaporative cooling, which requires a constant stream of fresh water, to a different type, it could reduce the proposed data center’s water needs by about 85 percent—150,000 gallons per day—figures he pounded out on a sturdy desk calculator to show me. “I told them, ‘Come back with the air-cool design, and we’ll talk,’ ” Mangold said. They did.

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Austin American-Statesman – April 7, 2026

Electric big rigs and self-driving semis flocking to Texas highways. Here’s why.*

The heavy duty cabless autonomous truck pulls out of a lot onto a quiet street outside a North Austin brewery, flexing its ability to maneuver alongside other vehicles on a public street before turning around, coming back and parking. Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli, whose company built the truck, and other leaders in autonomous and electric trucking say such big rigs soon could be a common sight across Texas.

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Inside Climate News – April 7, 2026

The Hidden Culprit Behind Rising Gas Utility Bills 

From the cold snap this winter to the U.S.’s war with Iran, rising energy bills are making headlines. But there’s a larger story behind spikes in gas-utility costs, one decades in the making.  The main driver of these bills used to be the price of gas itself. Now it’s the gas system infrastructure, like pipeline replacements: That accounted for about 70 percent of customer bills in 2024, while gas was just 30 percent.

“The sleeper culprit of these continuously rising bills is, in fact, the infrastructure,” said Kristin Bagdanov, co-author of a new report by the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) that was published Tuesday. Electric bills have been on the rise too, but not nearly at the same rate as those for gas. In 2025, gas utility bills rose 60 percent faster than electric ones and four times faster than inflation, the BDC report found. All of this comes as gas use declines, a result of more efficient gas boilers alongside a push towards electrification as states work to meet climate goals.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 7, 2026

These Cities and States Are Taking Aim at Data Centers (map)*

Maine looks poised to become the first state to freeze building of new data centers with legislation that could pass this spring, but community backlash against these properties is spreading across the country. Lawmakers in more than 10 states have proposed temporary bans on data-center construction this year. Dozens of county and city governments have already passed such measures. …

Virginia and Texas lead the country in data-center construction, with 579 and 411 server farms, respectively, according to the industry website Data Center Map. The data-center boom today is driven by the construction of large properties for training and operating artificial intelligence, or so-called hyperscale data centers.

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Alter Net – April 7, 2026

Trump faces red state revolt MAGA did not expect

President Donald Trump is pushing AI all over America — but a small Wisconsin town is laying the foundations for how to fight back. A small Wisconsin city upended by a data center backed by President Donald Trump is set to vote Tuesday on a referendum that could reshape grassroots resistance to AI projects nationwide.

“The vote in Port Washington, a lakeside town of roughly 12,000 people just north of Milwaukee, appears to be the first time any U.S. municipality will go to the ballot to kneecap data center development,” Politico reported on Tuesday. “It marks an aggressive new tactic in an escalating movement to oppose the hulking artificial intelligence factories — and offers a potential blueprint for other small towns challenging Big Tech.”

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – April 6, 2026

Texas Legislature Sets Its Sights on Data Centers and AI — What You Need to Know: Foley & Lardner

Texas House and Senate leadership recently released their interim charges, which serve as “homework assignments” for legislative committees to study before the 2027 session. These directives often form the foundation for future legislation, and can signal leadership priorities for the upcoming session. This year’s charges show a clear focus on the rapid growth of data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and their impact on the state’s infrastructure and the conduct of private and public business in the state.

• Balancing Growth and Rights: Lawmakers are seeking ways to balance the economic benefits of data center growth against the impact on local landowners, private property rights, and community integrity. Systemic potential economic benefit has brushed up against concerns local communities will have difficulty absorbing the impacts (Senate Business and Commerce Committee).

 

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday April 7, 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 Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to attack Iran’s civil infrastructure, warning that the nation will be “taken out in one night” if the Islamic Republic’s leadership failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May broadened gains to trade over 4% higher at $115.41 per barrel as of 2:08 a.m. ET.

Brent crude for June delivery rose about 2.3% to $111.41 per barrel.

On Monday, Trump repeated his threat that the U.S. would destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, while also signaling that Iranian leadership was negotiating in earnest.

The closure of the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman has led to a supply shock, sending prices for crude, jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline soaring since the war broke out on Feb. 28.

“They have ’til tomorrow,” the president said. “Now we’ll see what happens. I can tell you, they are negotiating, we think in good faith, we’re going to find out. We’re getting the help of some incredible countries that want this to be ended, because it affects them also.”

 

Top Stories

 

Yahoo! News – April 6, 2026

North American oil is in demand as world grasps for supplies

The spiderweb of cracks in the global oil market are spreading across the Rocky Mountains and US Great Plains as demand for a shrinking pool of accessible crude escalates. Oil grades from Texas and North Dakota to Alberta are surging as refiners compete with rivals in Asia and Europe for barrels after weeks of strangled shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

Bakken oil traded at the Clearbrook, Minnesota, hub shot up to an US$18 premium to the monthly average of West Texas Intermediate on Monday, compared with a US$1.20 discount the day before the Iran war erupted on Feb. 28, according to Modern Commodities prices. “It’s all about US exports,” said Dennis Kissler, head of energy trading at BOK Financial Securities Inc. “We’re going to be exporting a ton of crude, that’s what’s keeping WTI elevated.”

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The Guardian (UK) – April 5, 2026

‘It’s all fear and headlines’: energy traders race to keep pace with volatile oil markets

On the weekend that US-Israeli drones first began to rain down on Tehran, energy traders across the world’s major financial centres began to redraw their strategies. When they returned to their trading desks on that March Monday morning, they found oil and gas prices spiking amid a market nightmare made real: the unprecedented shutdown of the vital trade route through the strait of Hormuz.“I had been telling our oil trader for weeks to be ready for a war with Iran,” said one trading analyst at a major European energy company.

“But he didn’t see it. The market was oversupplied, and prices were already looking higher than they should, so he shorted the market. That guy lost millions after the first strikes,” he said. “He’s an idiot.” In the weeks since war engulfed the Middle East, global energy markets have whipsawed in response to the escalating conflict as it throttled flows of fossil fuels to the global market and damaged the vital energy infrastructure underpinning the Gulf economies.

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Associated Press – April 6, 2026

Low-voltage utility elections face surge of attention as electricity bills rise

Rising household electricity prices and controversy over data centers are reshaping low-profile elections for control over utilities that build power plants and power lines — and then bill people for the cost. The tensions played a prominent role during last year’s elections in Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia, and now they’re sweeping through Arizona and Alabama, where once-sleepy contests are becoming political brawls.

Even national groups like Turning Point Action — better known for its role mobilizing young conservatives behind President Donald Trump — are getting involved by knocking on doors and texting campaign messages. The organization wants to curb environmentalists’ influence over the Phoenix-area Salt River Project, the largest public utility in the country, in a Tuesday election.

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Politico – April 6, 2026

‘AI midterms’ start early in Texas

Texans have been pressing their state lawmakers for months to place more restrictions on power-hungry data centers. But Big Tech has been talking to legislators, too. And as I write today, they brought their checkbooks. The artificial intelligence industry has poured millions of dollars into the campaigns of Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Republicans in the Texas Legislature who are up for reelection this year. Texas is home to hundreds of data centers in operation or development — second only to Virginia.

“This will be thought of as the AI midterms, because there’s so much money out there,” said Marjorie Connolly, communications director for the Tech Oversight Project, a watchdog group. It’s a battle that’s brewing across the country as Americans grapple with the growing footprint of warehouse-sized data centers. The facilities consume eye-popping amounts of electricity and water, prompting both Republicans and Democrats to consider ways to limit the impact on constituents’ utility bills.

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Solar Power World – April 6, 2026

Texas attorney general launches investigation into residential solar sales practices

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into the sales practices of residential solar companies in the state. As part of the initiative, Paxton has issued civil investigative demands (CIDs) to a number of companies (including Freedom Forever, Sunrun, Lone Star Solar Services and CAM Solar). Collectively, there have been over 100 complains filed with the Office of the Attorney General against these companies.

The attorney general says these companies are being investigated for violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, including misrepresentation of energy bill savings, the efficacy of solar panel systems and equipment implementations. The CIDs require the companies to disclose, among other information, documents regarding how they track changes to electricity bills for consumers using their systems to determine savings, warranties, service plans, marketing materials and contract information.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Ballistic missiles and drones launched by Iran have allegedly struck Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Industrial City in the Eastern Province, sparking large fires at key petrochemical facilities, according to visuals circulated by Fars News Agency, triggering fires at key petrochemical facilities

Iranian media report that attacks have targeted facilities at the South Pars natural gas field

How Trump holding off on endorsing Cornyn has energized Paxton in the Texas race for Senate — Dallas Morning News*

El Paso Electric marked the completion of its landmark Felina Solar Facility project in Fabens — KTSM

Cheniere Energy, Inc. Monday announced the retirement of G. Andrea Botta as Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors effective as of the Company’s 2026 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 14, 2026; following Mr. Botta’s retirement, Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will assume the role of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Collawn will become the Lead Director — see the press release

Shares of Blue Owl Capital Inc. closed at a record low on Monday, capping weeks of declines fueled by mounting concerns over the health of the $1.8 trillion private credit market — Bloomberg*

How Thomas Powell, one of Texas’ newest billionaires, grew a $6.7B Houston manufacturing business — Houston Chronicle*

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 6, 2026

Operators rethink ‘stay the course’ as sustained $100 oil more probable*

Permian Basin oil and natural gas producers remain puzzled about commodity prices in the wake of the conflict involving Iran. “Volatility” and “uncertainty” were mentioned numerous times in the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ recent first-quarter energy survey. As one respondent put it: “We really have no idea.” A second wrote: “We do not agree with expectations that the price of oil will retreat to the $50s.”

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Reuters – April 6, 2026

Phillips 66 faces $900 million loss as Iran crisis lifts oil prices*

U.S. refiner Phillips 66 said on ​Monday its first-quarter results were hit by a sharp increase in ‌commodity prices, leaving it with nearly $900 million in pre-tax mark-to-market losses, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Energy prices soared after the U.S.-Israeli war on ​Iran began in late February. Iran’s effective closure of the Strait ​of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of ⁠global oil and gas supplies, has roiled global energy markets ​and sent crude prices soaring.

Phillips 66’s losses were mainly due to its ​net short position in derivatives contracts related to crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas liquids and renewables feedstocks. Its net short position in derivatives contracts related to crude oil and petroleum ​products was approximately 50 million barrels as of the end ​of March, the Houston, Texas-based refiner said. The losses were distributed across business segments, the ‌filing ⁠showed.

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Houston Chronicle – Yahoo! News – April 6, 2026

New East Texas LNG facility is launching at ‘the right time’ as Iran war reshapes global gas markets

Terry Fritz bought her light blue lakefront house more than two years ago, as the now-hulking liquefied natural gas facility took shape across the street. Golden Pass LNG, owned by QatarEnergy and Houston oil behemoth Exxon Mobil, started commercial production last week and expects to ship its first cargo in the coming months. The water that laps against it is the same that added real estate appeal to the line of neighboring pillar-raised homes and vacation rentals.

Fritz, 70, said she didn’t mind Golden Pass. The gas processing and export facility was relatively quiet, she said. Unlike the refineries down the road in Port Arthur, she couldn’t smell the gas being piped in and, at night, the flares and lights made it look like she lived near a little city. “They do what they need to do,” Fritz said of companies operating nearby, like Exxon. “And if it keeps the gas lower than it is in California, then it’s nice.”

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The Guardian (UK) – April 1, 2026

Invisible plumes and ‘terrible pollution’: the reality of the US gas sites rated ‘grade A’

Rapidly expanding certification scheme run by a UK nonprofit and used by major gas companies may be understating the actual methane emissions it purports to certify, a Guardian investigation has found. BP, ExxonMobil and EQT are among the producers that have turned to London-based MiQ to demonstrate that their US-produced natural gas complies with the European Union Methane Regulation, or EUMR, which aims to curb energy-related emissions.

The findings raise questions about whether third-party certification schemes can credibly demonstrate exporters’ compliance with the bloc’s new methane rules, an approach championed by the gas industry and now supported by the European Commission. MiQ runs the largest voluntary methane certification programme globally, covering about a fifth of US natural gas production and 7% globally. It maintains that its framework is specifically designed to comply with the EU methane regulation.

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Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Yahoo! News – April 5, 2026

Texas wants to take oil land from New Mexico. What could go wrong?: Bud Kennedy

Texas wants to take over part of New Mexico. That was the unbelievable headline last week. It wasn’t April Fool. Two Republican lawmakers in New Mexico started this. They’d like to move Hobbs, Portales and two whole counties into redder, more oil-friendly Texas. In the words of Lovington Republican Rep. Randall Pettigrew: “We can get the hell out of New Mexico. … [Democrats] want all the money.”

Texas, of course, would love the money. We’d gladly take $13 billion a year in oil revenue from Lea and Roosevelt counties. We can even send an army of lobbyists and oil zillionaires to make it happen. After all, why stop at Texas’ current 254 counties? What’s a few counties between neighbors? Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, actually assigned a committee to consider the opportunity. … As you can imagine, this did not go over well in Santa Fe or Albuquerque. The oil from southeast New Mexico is considered the bedrock of the state’s economy.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

RFDTV – April 6, 2026

Ethanol Production Falls While Demand and Exports Shift

U.S. ethanol production declined last week while demand softened, even as exports and blending activity showed signs of strength. Data from the Energy Information Administration shows production dropped 3.7 percent to 1.08 million barrels per day, the lowest weekly output since January. Despite the weekly decline, production remained 1.1 percent higher than a year ago and above the three-year average. The four-week average also slipped slightly to 1.10 million barrels per day, reflecting a modest pullback in overall output levels.

Ethanol inventories tightened, falling 4.3 percent to 26.0 million barrels, with stock declines reported across nearly all regions. At the same time, gasoline demand — a key indicator for ethanol use — dropped 2.7 percent to a four-week low, though it remained above year-ago levels.

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Bloomberg – April 6, 2026

Abu Dhabi Petrochemicals Plant Halts as Attack Sparks Fires*

A huge petrochemicals plant at Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates was halted after an attack sparked multiple fires, Abu Dhabi’s government media office said Sunday. The fires were caused by falling debris from air-defense interception, the office said in a post on X. No injuries were reported. The UAE and other countries around the Persian Gulf have repeatedly come under attack from Iran since the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic began in late February. The sprawling Ruwais industrial zone in the Al Dhafra region suffered an assault last month that shut down Abu Dhabi’s only oil refinery.

The petrochemicals plant at the complex produces polyethylene and polypropylene and is operated by Borouge Plc, a firm that recently merged with Borealis AG and Nova Chemicals Corp. to create a vast polyolefin company. State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has been developing the Ruwais area as a major hub as the firm pushes into trading refined fuels and builds a global chemicals and natural gas business. But UAE infrastructure remains a prime target for Iran more than a month into the war. Last week, the country’s largest gas-processing facility, at Habshan, suspended operations following an attack.

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S&P Global Platts – April 6, 2026

Hormuz energy shock threatens food security, affordability gap for import-dependent countries

Rising energy and fertilizer costs linked to shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz are amplifying risks to global food systems, with low-income, import-dependent countries facing the brunt, according to recent analyses by the UN and Purdue University. Shipping through the critical trade corridor has effectively stalled, with transits down by more than 95% since late February. The resulting disruption to oil, gas and fertilizer flows has triggered a cascade of cost pressures across agricultural supply chains, the UN Trade and Development said in a March 30 study.

The impact is increasingly feeding into food systems through higher input, transportation and trade costs, while a separate March 31 analysis by Purdue University highlighted how the same disruption is structurally widening the gap between food-secure and food-insecure economies, said Ken Foster, professor of Agricultural Economics and director, Purdue Farm Policy Study Group, and Bernhard Dalheimer, assistant professor of Macroeconomics and Trade.

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Reuters – April 6, 2026

Russian LNG producer Novatek sets up company to build vessels*

Russia’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas Novatek has set up ​a company to build its own ‌vessels and floating facilities, according to the state’s registry of authorised companies, amid a shortage ​of gas tankers due to sanctions. Ilya ​Lushchikov, who is also head of Novatek’s Murmansk ⁠LNG project, is in charge of ​the new company, called Severny Inzhiniring, or ​Northern Engineering, which was set up on March 25, according to the registry.

Western sanctions imposed ​in 2022 significantly limited the availability for Russia ‌of ⁠ice-class tankers to transport LNG cargos. Zvezda, Russia’s most advanced shipbuilder, specializing in constructing large Arc7 ice-class tankers capable of breaking through ​ice up ​to ⁠two metres (6.6 feet) thick, has so far only delivered one Arc-7 ​class tanker for Novatek’s Arctic ​LNG ⁠2 plant.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 6, 2026

The Next Target for the U.S. and Israel Is Iran’s Economy*

The U.S. and Israel have a set of targets lined up in Iran designed to cripple the country’s economy and ensure the regime’s recovery from this war is long and painful. Israel is awaiting authorization from Washington this week to begin striking Iran’s energy facilities, an Israeli official said, potentially undermining output in one of the world’s major oil-and-gas producers. In a Wall Street Journal interview, President Trump said Sunday the U.S. was prepared to hit all of Iran’s bridges and power plants, creating enough damage that it would “take 20 years to rebuild, if they’re lucky, if they have a country.”

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NPR – April 1, 2026

Q&A: The oil industry is betting big on plastics. Here’s what that means for the future

Tonya Mosely: My guest today is Beth Gardiner, a journalist and author of the new book “Plastic Inc.: The Secret History And Shocking Future Of Big Oil’s Biggest Bet.” In it, she argues that while millions of us have been trying to use less plastic, the fossil fuel industry has been making more. Plastic, she says, is Big Oil’s plan B. The less we use, the more they make.

Gardiner: Well, it was about seven or eight years ago, and I still remember the morning that I saw this headline. It was an article in The Guardian about the plastic and petrochemical industry. That particular story was specific to plastic producers in the United States, and it said that because of fracking, which was such an interesting connection to me, some of these huge companies like ExxonMobil and Shell were ramping up to actually make 40%, I think it was, more plastic in the U.S. in the coming handful of years. And, I mean, it just felt like kind of a gut punch because, like you said, I’ve always been the person kind of carrying my bags to the store. I feel bad if I forget to bring them. I’m toting around my metal water bottle. I have it sitting right here.

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April 3, 2026

How the Iran war could shift energy policies around the world: The Atlantic Council

The war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have plunged global energy markets into deep uncertainty, disrupting critical oil and gas flows and accelerating structural shifts in how governments and industry approach energy policy, trade, and security. In some regions, the effects are already acute. Southeast Asia faces fuel shortages and rationing that threaten industrial activity. China is managing domestic stockpiles while balancing exports to key trading partners, exposing vulnerabilities across its supply chains.

Europe is confronting soaring energy costs that strain households and industry, heighten inflationary pressures, and force policymakers to trade off short-term relief with long-term transition goals. Africa grapples with higher fuel and fertilizer prices that exacerbate food insecurity, even as the conflict opens opportunities for oil, gas and infrastructure investment. Meanwhile, in the Western Hemisphere, the crisis is creating new opportunities for energy producers across the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Guyana to expand production and attract investment as demand for secure, diversified supply intensifies.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

San Antonio Express-News – April 5, 2026

Renewable energy is a ‘second opportunity’ for some rural Texans*

Ely Valdez was considering selling his flock of sheep when a solar farm moved in across the road. He was being laid off from oil field jobs every three months, he said, and money was tight. But what if his 27 sheep could graze the solar farm as a way to maintain the flock and potentially grow it to his goal of 100? When he contacted the solar development to discuss it, its owner asked a question that changed everything: “How much would you charge us?” Being paid for pasturing his sheep wasn’t at all on Valdez’s mind until that “lightbulb moment,” he said. But it opened the door for his development of companies that often work in partnership: EVA Ranch, a sheep vegetation management service, and South Texas Curbing, a ground maintenance company.

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Inside Climate News – April 6, 2026

Trump’s Budget Proposes Massive Cuts for Climate and Environmental Programs

President Trump’s annual budget request to Congress continues his administration’s defunding of climate change programs, environmental protection and renewable energy, slashing the budgets of the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The spending plan for fiscal 2027 “builds on the President’s vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending,” wrote Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a foreword to the 92-page document, which includes an historic, $1.5 trillion defense budget, an increase of 44 percent. EPA spending would be cut in half under Trump’s proposal, released Friday, and grants from the agency would be slashed by $1 billion. Congress rejected a similar budget request from the president last year. 

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March 31, 2026

EIA Launches Pilot Survey on Energy Use at Data Centers: American Public Power Association

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is launching three voluntary pilot field studies to evaluate energy consumption in data centers, with web-based pilot surveys in Texas and Washington state as well as in-person interviews in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. EIA identified 196 companies operating data centers across Texas, Washington state, and the Northern Virginia-DC region. Each company will be asked to report on the energy use of at least one data center in the targeted region. The questionnaire will cover energy sources, electricity consumption, site characteristics, server metrics, and cooling systems.

EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey is prioritizing data collection efforts in the rapidly evolving energy sector, EIA said. In February, EIA launched three voluntary pilot field studies to assess the feasibility of collecting data on graphite, vanadium, and zirconium, all of which are minerals critical to the energy sector. Graphite is used in batteries and advanced manufacturing; Vanadium is extracted in petroleum refining; and zirconium is used for nuclear fuel cladding.

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March 31, 2026

Utilities lobby for re-regulation across PJM: Timeline tracks private meetings, legislation, advertising: Energy & Policy Institute

Over the past two years, electric distribution utility companies operating in the PJM Interconnection region have mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign, urging lawmakers to allow them to own and build power plants once again.  As part of this effort, utilities – including Exelon, FirstEnergy, and PPL Electric – have held extensive private meetings with officials, lobbied for legislation, testified before public bodies, and mounted public-relations campaigns. EPI has compiled a timeline documenting these activities, including materials obtained through public records requests.

This campaign – commonly referred to as “re-regulation” – would reverse restructuring policies adopted by PJM-region states in the late 1990s, which required utilities to divest their power plants and shifted electricity generation to competitive wholesale markets. Electric distribution utilities in states such as Maryland and Pennsylvania no longer own generation assets, unlike vertically integrated monopoly utilities elsewhere in the country that continue to own generation, transmission, and distribution under state regulatory oversight.

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E&E News By Politico – March 24, 2026

Offshore wind’s cloudy day had a silver lining

As the Trump administration finalized a deal Monday to pay an offshore wind developer for abandoning a pair of leases, the country’s largest offshore wind farm announced it had begun generating electricity. The split-screen captures the state of offshore wind in America. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, which energized the first of its 176 turbines, is the largest of five projects under construction. All five will rank among the largest renewable energy projects ever built in the United States — adding electricity to the grid at a time when utilities are racing to keep up with power demand from data centers.

“This achievement marks another important step forward, adding much‑needed electricity to help meet the fastest‑growing power demand in the country,” Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue wrote in a post on LinkedIn. The project represents the culmination of a decades-long push to build offshore wind projects along the East Coast. But whether any future offshore wind projects follow is an open question. The industry has been battered by rising costs and political attacks from President Donald Trump, a long-standing wind opponent who has tried to halt projects under construction and yank permits from planned developments. On Monday, his administration unveiled a new tactic: paying offshore wind developers to walk away.

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Renewables Now – March 24, 2026

Doral Renewables closes USD 900m for Texas solar-storage project

US solar and battery storage developer Doral Renewables LLC has achieved financial close on its Cold Creek project in Texas, which will combine 430 MWac of solar generation and 340 MWh of storage. The company said today it has secured almost USD 900 million (EUR 777m) of financing commitments to build the project in Schleicher and Tom Green Counties, with full construction now underway and start-up expected in the summer of 2028. Doral Renewables secured an off-taker for most of the project’s output in October 2025.

The lender group was led by MUFG and also included Santander, HSBC, Ally and IDB. The debt financing consists of over USD 400 million of construction-to-term financing, close to USD 35 million of tax equity bridge loan financing and about USD 55 million of letters of credit.

 

Regulatory

 

Texas Lawbook – April 6, 2026

Pipeline Owner Sued for $200M Breach Owes $1 Biz Court Determines

A Texas Business Court judge ruled Thursday that although Antero Resources, one of the largest U.S. suppliers of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, had won earlier rulings in a breach of contract lawsuit against a West Virginia pipeline owner, Stonewall Gas Gathering, Antero would take only $1 of the $200 million it asked for under a “favored shipper” provision in a gas gathering agreement.

“Antero sued asking for $200 million in damages. It is rewarding for Stonewall to have prevailed and defeated this claim by continuing to defend the case vigorously through trial,” Todd Mensing, partner at the Houston-based trial boutique Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, said in a news release.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday April 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

 

The Wall Street Journal – April 5, 2026

Trump Warns Iran He Could Strike ‘Every Power Plant,’ in WSJ Interview*

President Trump threatened to destroy all of Iran’s power plants if the country’s leaders don’t agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening, ratcheting up pressure on Tehran. “If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country,” Trump said in an eight-minute interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.  The comments came hours after U.S. forces rescued an American aviator trapped in Iran. Trump in recent days has repeatedly escalated his threats against the country, which has resisted his demands and appears determined to carry out a war of attrition.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 3, 2026

Control Over Strait of Hormuz Will Determine Who Wins the War*

Oil tankers, container ships and bulk carriers shimmer all over the horizon to the left of the windswept beach here at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. They have been bottled up in the Persian Gulf ever since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran more than a month ago. To the right, with the Iranian coast only 40 miles away, the dark-blue sea is completely empty. Only a handful of vessels a day manage to cross the Strait of Hormuz, down from well over 100 before the war. They take a circuitous route through Iranian territorial waters, often paying the Iranian regime a hefty toll.

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Reuters – April 5, 2026

OPEC+ agrees to boost oil output when Strait of Hormuz reopens*

OPEC+ agreed ‌on Sunday to raise its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May, a modest rise that will largely exist on paper as its key members are unable to raise production due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz – the world’s most important oil route – since the end of February and cut ​exports from OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq, the only countries in the group which were able to significantly raise ​production even before the conflict began.

Crude prices have surged to a four-year high close to $120 a barrel, translating into soaring ⁠prices for transport fuels which are pressuring consumers and businesses across the globe, and triggering government action to conserve supplies. The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 bpd ​represents less than 2% of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens, OPEC+ sources have said. Consultancy ​Energy Aspects called the increase “academic” as long as disruptions in the strait persist.

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Time – April 3, 2026

Inside Trump’s Search for a Way Out of the Iran War

For Trump, the stark warning was unsettling. The President has begun many recent mornings watching video clips compiled by military officials of battlefield successes, according to a senior Administration official. He has told advisers that being the commander in chief to eliminate the nuclear threat posed by Iran could be one of his signature achievements. But Wiles, according to two White House sources, was concerned aides were giving the President a rose-colored view of how the war was being perceived domestically, telling Trump what he wanted to hear instead of what he needed to hear. She had urged colleagues, the officials say, to be “more forthright with the boss” about the political and economic risks.

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News 1st – April 2, 2026

Global oil stockpiles could sink to critically disruptive levels soon, sparking more shortages — JP Morgan Chase

Global Analysts have warned that the impact on global oil supplies will intensify throughout April, describing the situation as akin to an “economic time bomb.”  Citing a latest report from J.P. Morgan, the U.S.-based multinational investment bank, analysts say that the ongoing war has created a significant risk of depleting global oil reserves.  The report notes that this crisis stems from disruptions to oil transportation through the Strait of Hormuz over the past month.

The J.P. Morgan report highlighted that Asian countries will be the first to face the risk of oil shortages due to the military climate, followed by Western nations toward the end of April. Currently, nations are surviving on oil reserves already present at land. However, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting new supplies via tankers, many countries face the imminent risk of their reserves running short.

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Bloomberg – April 2, 2026

Europe’s Diesel Shock Deepens as Supplies Head Elsewhere*

Crude oil crisscrossing the $100-a-barrel mark might be what grabs headlines, but for Europe’s most important petroleum product, prices have now passed an eye-watering $200. That’s the price of the region’s benchmark diesel futures, known as ICE Gasoil, which rose as high as $1,509.50 a ton earlier today, the equivalent of $202.3 a barrel. It’s the highest the marker’s been since 2022, the year that Russia — then Europe’s top external diesel supplier — began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Whether prices drop back or keep rising largely depends on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In normal times, millions of barrels a day of refined fuels — including diesel — flow through the waterway that connects energy infrastructure inside the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. With shipments still largely halted, there’s an enormous squeeze on supplies, which is being exacerbated by some refiners cutting production because of a lack of crude oil from the Middle East.

For Europe, which relies on imports of diesel, that’s a big problem. The region consumes more than 6 million barrels a day of the fuel, which powers everything from trucks to ships to construction equipment.

So with prices soaring and some gas stations already running dry, you might think traders would be directing every available cargo of fuel toward the continent at full speed. But that is not what’s been happening. Take, for example, the STI Solace. This oil tanker recently loaded diesel in waters off the coast of the UK. But instead of delivering the fuel to a European port, it’s taking the cargo about as far away as it’s possible to go: more than 12,000 miles to Australia.

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Associated Press/KXAN – April 3, 2026

Trump administration to rejoin offshore drilling agencies separated after 2010 Gulf oil spill

The Trump administration said Friday it is combining two agencies that were separated in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The Interior Department said the overhaul would increase efficiency and speed up permitting for offshore oil and gas drilling. The new Marine Minerals Administration will bring together the functions of the current Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.

Doing so will enable a “streamlined approach” that will maintain existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards, he said. The combined agency will “deliver clearer coordination, better service to the public and stronger, more integrated oversight of offshore energy development,” Burgum said in a statement.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Explosions were reported overnight on April 6 in the southern Russian port city of Novorossiysk, with local residents reporting a drone attack at an oil terminal and damage to a residential building — the Sheskharis oil terminal was struck by drones, independent Russian Telegram news channel Astra reported, citing an open-source analysis of eyewitness footage — the site is a major oil export terminal that serves as the endpoint for pipelines run by Russia’s state-run Transneft, the world’s largest oil pipeline company — Kyiv Independent

Texas continues to add jobs, outpace national job growth — unemployment rates higher than past months, greater than national rate — Center Square

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Murphy Oil Corporation’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BB+’. Fitch has also affirmed Murphy’s guaranteed revolver and senior unsecured notes at ‘BB+’ with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR4’. The Rating Outlook is Stable — Fitch

Synthetic Canadian oil prized by refiners for its rich diesel output tripled in a matter of days amid a worldwide clamor to secure supplies of the truck and train fuel — Bloomberg*

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has prepared a draft environmental impact statement for the Sabine Pass Stage 5 Expansion Project, proposed by Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC; Sabine Pass Liquefaction Stage V, LLC; Sabine Crossing Pipeline, LLC; and Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline, L.P. — see the press release

Why Has the WTI Oil Price Surpassed Brent? — Rigzone

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Rigzone – April 3, 2026

Continental Boosting Oil Output as Prices Soar

Billionaire oil wildcatter Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources Inc. plans to increase production as the war in Iran sends crude prices soaring to the highest in four years. “Continental is increasing our capital budget, which will increase production,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Lawler said in a statement to Bloomberg.

Continental is the first prominent US oil producer to say publicly that it plans to ramp up output amid the Iran war, which has crippled supplies from the Persian Gulf and sent crude futures soaring 50% in four weeks to more than $100 a barrel. Hamm is among US President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters in the oil industry.

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Oil Price – April 2, 2026

US Rig Count Rises For First Time in Three Weeks

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Thursday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 548, down 42 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 2 to 411 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 70 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 3, reaching 130, which is 26 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 7.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production held steady during week ending March 27. US crude oil production averaged 13.657 million bpd during the reporting period—205,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell during the week ending March 27 by 5 after losing 8 crews in the week prior.

 

Inside Climate News – March 28, 2026

Summit Sold Its Midwest Pipeline as a Carbon Solution. Now, It’ll Be Used for Fossil Fuels.

For four years, battles over private property rights have gridlocked state legislatures across the Midwest and stalled plans for a pipeline to transport liquified carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in the region. In the background of this eminent domain standoff, Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions, the company behind the pipeline, has quietly shifted its focus from carbon sequestration to fossil fuel extraction.

Summit now says its pipeline will be used to drive domestic oil and gas production in a process known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which injects CO2 gas into wells. The gas mixes with oil in the rock pores to produce a thinner, easier-to-pump fluid, potentially doubling the amount of oil that can be extracted from a reservoir. … In a complete departure from plans made just a few years ago, Summit has been quick to adapt to the new political realities. Early this year, the company scrubbed the phrases “climate change” and “global warming” from its website.

Instead, a new page announces Summit’s plans to become “the critical CO2 supply artery for America’s most prolific oil and gas basins,” the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming, the Bakken Formation spanning parts of North Dakota and Montana and the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico.

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Bloomberg – April 2, 2026

Jera’s US Purchase Deal With Commonwealth LNG Terminated*

A purchase agreement between Commonwealth LNG and Japan’s top liquefied natural gas buyer, Jera Co., has been terminated, according to a document filed with the US Department of Energy. Jera and Commonwealth entered the long-term agreement last year, which would’ve seen the proposed Louisiana-based export project supply 1 million tons of LNG annually for 20 years. The notification of the deal’s termination was dated April 1 and filed on behalf of Commonwealth Energy. The agreement was terminated effective March 3, the letter said, without giving a reason. A spokesperson for Commonwealth LNG did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jera declined to comment.

The planned Commonwealth LNG project is under development by private equity-backed Kimmeridge Energy Management LLC, whose managing partner Ben Dell said last week that a final investment decision is expected in April. The project has other long-term offtake agreements with purchasers including Glencore Plc and Malaysia’s Petronas.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 3,2026

Texas officials push new steps to curb oil theft losses*

More than 40% of oil and gas operators said theft affected their operations in the past year. According to the Railroad Commission of Texas, the crime has been linked to organized crime and foreign criminal syndicates and has cost Texas millions of dollars in lost state revenue. However, members of the RRC State Task Force on Petroleum Theft are working to prevent future losses.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 3, 2026

RRC seeks comment on monitoring plan*

Texans around the state are being asked to speak up as the Railroad Commission crafts its annual Oil and Gas Division Monitoring and Enforcement Strategic Plan. The annual call for stakeholder comment stems from Texas Natural Resources Code Sec. 81.066, which requires the commission to develop an annual plan to use oil and gas monitoring and enforcement resources strategically to ensure public safety and protect the environment. The statute directs the commission to seek input when developing the annual plan.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – April 3, 2026

FO Permian signs lease for power plant*

Additional dispatchable power generation is headed to the Permian Basin. FO Permian Partners announces the closure of a long-term lease in Reeves County enabling the development of a 400-megawatt (MW) power plant that will deliver electricity to the regional grid. Completion is expected in the fourth quarter of 20927 or first quarter of 2028. The project is intended to strengthen grid reliability in West Texas while supporting continued industrial growth, data center development, and oil and gas activity across the Permian Basin.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Arab News – April 4, 2026

How Iran’s naval mines could choke global trade through the Strait of Hormuz

Each year on April 4, as the world marks International Mine Awareness Day, attention often focuses on the deadly legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance on land. But beneath the waves, another threat is unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s sea mines have raised the stakes for maritime traffic and global trade. Nine days after the US and Israel launched their joint military operation against Iran, US officials said Tehran might be preparing to deploy naval mines in the waterway to further disrupt one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

The officials, speaking to CBS News on condition of anonymity, said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy was deploying its fleet of fast attack boats, which can carry two or three mines at a time. Then, on March 23, US officials told the broadcaster that intelligence assessments indicated at least a dozen underwater mines had already been used in the waterway, while another official put the number at fewer than a dozen. These were identified as Iranian-made Maham 3 and Maham 7 limpet mines. Iran’s IRGC, which effectively controls the strait alongside the country’s conventional navy, has a range of minelaying craft at its disposal, along with explosive boats and shore-based missile batteries, according to CNN.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 5, 2026

The Iran War Is Making the American Economy More Dominant Than Ever*

“We cannot permit a resource so vital to be dominated by one so ruthless. And we won’t.”—George H.W. Bush, 1990, on Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait

“Go get your own oil!”—Donald Trump, March 31, 2026, on Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz

These figures help explain why Trump is prosecuting war in the Persian Gulf differently from his predecessors. His strategic motives aren’t that different: to deny a hostile power the means to dominate the region, and to protect Israel. Where Trump differs is in the economics. Past presidents believed that the free flow of oil was one of those global public goods that the U.S. was uniquely equipped, even obliged, to safeguard. George H.W. Bush made the case in 1990 for pouring troops into the Gulf region not just to free Kuwait from a dangerous dictator’s clutches, but to deny him control over 20% of the world’s oil reserves.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 5, 2026

This Oil Shock Is So Big It Is Fueling a Turnaround in Energy Stocks*

Investors are betting big that the largest oil disruption in history might jolt the energy industry out of a yearslong slumber.  The fallout from the war with Iran has rocketed oil prices above $100 a barrel and battered stocks and bonds in recent weeks, but it has also rewarded shareholders of America’s oil-and-gas companies—transforming a flagging industry into one of the market’s only havens. Over the past month, only one grouping within the S&P 500 has traded in the green, and it is energy. Shares in fuel-refiner Phillips 66 and major oil companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil just logged their best quarters on record. The move was enough to push Exxon’s forward stock-price-to-earnings ratio to recently top that of market darling Nvidia.

Wall Street’s scramble for traditional energy names goes beyond Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is zapping about 10 million barrels of crude from the global economy each day and driving up profits for many oil producers and refiners. Massive drawdowns from strategic stockpiles in the U.S. and elsewhere will need to be replenished. And the recent engine of global production growth, the American shale patch, is showing fresh signs of slowing—raising the prospects that future supply will be more limited.   U.S. energy stocks have vaulted upward despite white-knuckle moments when oil prices seesawed. In recent days, those same energy shares skidded when it appeared the conflict might be resolved sooner.  On Thursday, though, benchmark U.S. crude futures jumped 11% to $111.54 a barrel, after a national address by President Trump provided little clarity on an exit strategy from Iran or a reopening of the strait.

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CNBC – April 2, 2026

Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Thursday morning, citing an official. Tanker traffic through the key oil-shipping route “should be supervised and coordinated” with the two countries, said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister of legal and international affairs, according to a translation of IRNA’s report.

“Of course, these requirements will not mean restrictions, but rather to facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships that pass through this route,” Gharibabadi reportedly said. U.S. stock indexes, which were trading sharply lower Thursday morning after President Donald Trump signaled that the Iran war will continue for weeks to come, suddenly turned higher following IRNA’s report.

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Oil Price – April 2, 2026

OPEC+ Prepares Paper Oil Barrels While Exports Stall

OPEC+ is preparing to weigh another output increase this Sunday as the world’s most critical oil artery remains effectively shut. Eight core members of the group are expected to discuss raising production again after agreeing to a 206,000 bpd increase for April. Two OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group is likely to move forward with another hike on paper, positioning itself to add barrels quickly if the Strait of Hormuz reopens.

More than 20% of global oil flows normally pass through Hormuz. That flow is now constrained by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE have already curtailed output as exports stall. Prices have pushed toward $120 per barrel as a result.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 5, 2026

The U.S. Plastics Industry Was in the Doldrums. Then the Iran War Began.*

About two weeks after the start of the Iran war, Dow Chief Executive Jim Fitterling told investors something they hadn’t heard in a while about one of the company’s most important products. “We’re seeing prices go up everywhere,” he said, referring to polyethylene, a plastic that goes into detergent bottles, food packaging and many other goods. Fitterling said Dow DOW 1.74%increase; green up pointing triangle was going to raise the commodity’s North American price by 15 cents per pound in April after boosting it by 10 cents in March. Six days later, the company said the April price hike would actually be 30 cents.

The war has affected every corner of the world’s polyethylene industry. Middle Eastern producers, which account for 20% of the global supply, have cut production. Plastic makers in Asia and Europe curbed their own output when Persian Gulf crude oil, the raw material they rely upon, became inaccessible. That left U.S. chemical companies, which use cheap and abundant natural gas to make their plastic products, to boost production and raise prices at furious rates.

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Oil Price – April 3, 2026

Oil Majors Eye U.S. Offshore Asset as Supply Crunch Intensifies

TotalEnergies and Shell are among the companies interested in buying a majority stake in the Shenandoah oil and gas field that is being sold by Beacon Offshore Energy and HEQ Deepwater. Per a Reuters report citing unnamed sources, other interested parties in the 51% stake include BP, Repsol, and Chevron. The heightened interest in the offshore field comes amid the unprecedented supply disruption in Middle East oil and gas, amid the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.

Beacon Offshore Energy is financially backed by Blackstone, while HEQ Deepwater is owned jointly by Quantum Capital Group and Houston Energy. The third stakeholder in the Shenandoah field is Israeli Navitas Petroleum, which holds 49% in the project.

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PBS – March 31, 2026

Kharg Island is key to Iran’s oil exports. Targeting it carries major risks

Iran’s Kharg Island, home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil, has emerged as a focus of the month-old war launched by the United States and Israel. Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg — or a ground invasion — would severely curb Iran’s oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic. It would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf Arab infrastructure and further drive up oil prices. The skyrocketing cost of fuel is already threatening the world economy.

A U.S. occupation of the island would put American troops in a stationary position just 33 kilometers (21 miles) off Iran’s coast, well within range of its arsenal of drones and missiles. Other islands near the vital Strait of Hormuz could also be targeted. Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands are held by Iran but long claimed by the United Arab Emirates, a close U.S. ally. Qeshm Island is home to a desalination plant.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Utility Dive – April 3, 2026

Reject Talen-Energy Capital power plant deal, PJM market monitor tells FERC

Federal regulators should reject Talen Energy’s plan to buy about 2.6 GW from Energy Capital Partners because it would increase the power company’s market power in the PJM Interconnection market, according to the grid operator’s market monitor. Monitoring Analytics said in its Tuesday filing that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should require Talen and ECP to refile their application for the transaction with commitments that would limit Talen’s ability to use market power to increase electricity and capacity prices.

For example, Talen should commit to keeping the ECP generation in the PJM capacity market instead of diverting it to serve data centers, it said. Removing that capacity would negatively impact the rates PJM market customers pay, Monitoring Analytics said. “Removal of capacity from the capacity market would also make PJM less reliable.”

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April 3, 2026

Texas should plan for managing data center growth: Dallas Morning News*

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Politico – April 3, 2026

The supply crunch that could raise your electric bill

“The entire system is trying to grow faster on the supply and the demand side, and we have a limited number of transformers we can crank out,” Josh Rhodes, a research scientist focused on energy with the University of Texas, Austin, told me in a recent interview. At last week’s CERAWeek by S&P Global conference, one executive at a major electrical manufacturer told me that they’re already sold out of transformers for two years at one of their U.S.-based manufacturing facilities — which hasn’t even opened yet. (The executive was granted anonymity to speak freely). A Wood MacKenzie report from last year found that the cost of some power transformers has risen between 77 and 95 percent since 2019.

Hunter Hunt, president and CEO of Hunt Energy, said at a panel at CERAWeek that there’s a wait time of two and a half years to get some transformers and a three-year wait for circuit breakers. “Everybody’s trying to put their hands on these,” Hunt said. Harry Sideris, president and CEO of Duke Energy, said at a CERAWeek panel that his company has been doing things they’ve “never dreamed of” to serve data centers. “We got Caterpillar reciprocating engines on the back of a flatbed — a tractor trailer — to get somebody online three months earlier because they’re making $10 million a day,” Sideris said. That $10 million a day — that’s for just one data center, he said.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 4, 2026

Rolls-Royce’s New EV Just Might Be Worth the Half-Million-Dollar Price Tag*

There are many pretty little cars in the world but not a lot of big ones. I would ask you to consider the work of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Notwithstanding a few coachbuilt masterpieces of the midcentury, the British superluxury legend—now owned by BMW Group—has specialized in grandiose, emotionally frigid town cars, metaphoric for class privilege itself. The company’s current bestseller, a three-ton, square-cut diamond known as the Cullinan, is a horror show aesthetically, yet totally on-brand. The Spectre (ours in the Black Badge specification, $535,550, as tested) cuts against the grain in a number of ways. Defying the odds, this majestic two-door, four-seat coupe is utterly gorgeous, an eye-filling joy in the walkaround: The daringly raked windscreen and fastback flyline, the tapering cabin slung back behind the endless hood, the audacity of wheels and tires, all drawn in superhero proportions. If Rolls-Royce is about delivering world-apart experiences to its clients, the Spectre certainly represents. Behold, the most beautiful big car I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I’ve laid my eyes on plenty.

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electrek – April 2, 2026

FERC: Renewables made up 88% of new US power generating capacity in 2025

Solar accounted for more than 72% of US electrical generating capacity added in 2025, with another 16% from wind, according to belatedly released data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.

When it comes to new capacity additions, solar has held the lead among all energy sources for 28 consecutive months. Installed utility-scale solar capacity now exceeds the individual capacities of wind, hydropower, and nuclear power. Further, FERC expects solar to add another 86 gigawatts (GW) over the next three years, during which time solar capacity will also surpass that of coal.

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Inside Climate News – April 3, 2026

Why Doesn’t Texas, the Leader of Onshore Wind Energy, Have Any Offshore?

Texas state officials have led a successful and concerted effort to prevent offshore wind developments in the Gulf. Over the last few years, key leaders whose signatures and support are required to permit energy developments off the coast signaled to investors that such approvals would be unlikely.

So even as five offshore wind projects resume construction this month after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s stop-work order for the developments, Texas has none in the mix. The U.S. has a small number of projects operating off the East Coast, totalling some 40 gigawatts.

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Power Magazine – April 1, 2026

Full Throttle: Five Trends Reshaping the Gas Power Boom

A phrase that started in PJM’s market monitor reports is fast becoming the operating principle of the entire gas power buildout: “bring your own generation” or BYOG. On its face, the idea is simple: Because data centers can’t wait for utilities to plan, permit, and build adequate capacity, they are moving to finance their own generation and demanding it be delivered quickly. In some instances, the speed imperative has replaced cost as the deal-winning variable, and every decision downstream—contracts, procurement, financing, engineering sequence—is now seemingly being restructured around it.

Across the industry, the adjustment is visible in procurement architecture. Owners who once left heat recovery steam generators, transformers, and switchgear to their engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors are now buying long-lead equipment directly—sometimes before permits are secured. Lump-sum turnkey contracts are giving way to target-price frameworks with fixed fees and shared savings. And major regulated utilities, including Xcel Energy, are locking in turbine supply agreements years in advance in moves their executives describe as building the “clock speed” the market now demands.

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – March 20, 2026

ERCOT’s Proposed “Batch Zero” Process: What Developers of Large Loads Need to Know: Foley & Lardner

In a step toward implementing a cluster or “batch” process for studying large load interconnections, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) published new details on how it is planning to transition to that process, beginning with a “Batch Zero.” The draft planning guide document titled “Batch Zero Process for Large Load Interconnections,” if adopted and implemented, would materially alter the requirements for developers of large electric loads such as hyperscale data centers, advanced manufacturing plants, and other high-demand facilities, and would allow ERCOT to evaluate multiple projects simultaneously, likely improving efficiency and reducing delays from the current sequential assessment process.\

The proposed Batch Zero Process in Planning Guide Revision Request (PGRR) 145, posted on March 4, 2026, introduces a transitional study process that would replace most elements of the existing Large Load Interconnection Study (LLIS) process with a coordinated, system-wide study and transmission capacity allocation approach. Developers seeking to connect loads over 75 MW, or to substantially modify existing facilities, would face new eligibility criteria, stricter project maturity requirements, and potentially more competitive access to available transmission capacity.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday April 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

Oil prices climbed nearly 7% on Thursday, as President Donald Trump said the United States would keep up attacks on Iran ​without committing to a specific timeline to end the war, fanning ‌investor fears about sustained disruptions to supply.

West Texas Intermediate added some 51% over last month, currently trading at over $100 per barrel as President Trump indicated the war against Iran was not coming to a swift end

West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $6.40, or ​6.4%, to $106.52 per barrel.

Brent crude futures rose $6.84, or 6.8%, to $108 per barrel by 0643 GMT.

The gains followed an earlier fall of ​more than $1 in both benchmarks prior to Trump’s televised speech ⁠to the nation, after having settled lower in the previous session.

“We ​are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it ​very fast. We’re getting very close,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. military had nearly achieved its goals in the conflict which would end in two to ​three weeks, but giving no specifics.

 

Top Stories

 

Houston Chronicle – April 1, 2026

Texas senators warn foreign-linked energy tech could threaten the state’s power grid*

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Reuters – April 1, 2026

US Gulf Coast tanker market tightens as Asia seeks to replace lost supply*

Oil tanker availability along the U.S. Gulf Coast has dropped sharply in ‌recent weeks, as Asian and European refiners cut off from Middle Eastern supply have been snapping up vessels to import oil and fuel from the United States, shipping analysts and traders said. The Iran war has stalled tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz, curbing the ​flow of Middle Eastern oil to Asia and Europe, and prompting refiners there to buy replacement barrels from ​the United States, Brazil and West Africa.

Wider discounts on U.S. crude oil compared to global ⁠benchmark Brent crude have spurred demand for tankers in the U.S. Gulf Coast, reducing vessel availability in the region, ​said Aristidis Alafouzos, chief executive officer of Okeanis ECO Tankers. … “The resulting surge in freight rates is unprecedented, with Suezmaxes and Aframaxes earning upwards of $300,000, compared to an average $60,000 over the past five months,” Alafouzos said.

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Oil Price – April 1, 2026

Traders Ramp Up Bearish Oil Bets To Nearly $1 Billion

Traders have poured a record $977 million into the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO), a leveraged bet that oil prices will collapse from their war-driven highs. Despite the high-volume, double-leveraged bet, the ETF still dropped 41% in March, its worst month in nearly six years, highlighting the ETF’s high risk in volatile markets. Oil prices have pulled back from recent highs after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he is looking to wind up the Iran war soon.

The ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF is a leveraged, inverse ETF designed to deliver twice the inverse of the daily performance of the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index. It is used to profit from falling oil prices or hedge long positions.  However, its leveraged nature, coupled with the fact that the fund seeks daily, not long-term, inverse results, means that traders who hold longer than one day can still book huge losses despite a general downtrend in oil prices.

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The Wall Street Journal – April 1, 2026

What Iran’s Control of the Strait of Hormuz Means for the Global Economy*

Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz has created a crippling new reality for the global economy. It has kept about half a billion barrels of petroleum products from global markets, fueled inflation and disrupted supply chains. President Trump has told aides in recent days that he is willing to end the U.S. military campaign even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. Doing so would make wartime changes in the strait permanent, inject a new price premium into oil markets and push the shipping industry down a perilous path. “It would be a disaster for energy markets because it would mean oil will have a huge surcharge from Iran,” said Ellen Wald, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. “There would be a massive amount of uncertainty.”

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Power Magazine – April 1, 2026

Texas launches $350M nuclear fund ahead of data center boom

The State of Texas has opened applications for $350 million in advanced nuclear grants through the Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund (TANDF), making the nation’s largest state‑level nuclear package competitive for the first time across two programs aimed at reactor construction and supply chain development. In an exclusive interview with POWER, Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office (TANEO) Director Jarred Shaffer said notices of intent are due April 23, with full applications closing May 14.

TANDF’s $350 million funding is divided across two reimbursement programs structured under Chapter 483 of the Texas Government Code, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June 2025 through House Bill 14. The Project Development and Supply Chain Reimbursement Program (PDSCRP) holds $70 million—20% of appropriated grant funds by statute—capped at $12.5 million per award and reimburses up to 50% of expenses tied to technology development, feasibility studies, front-end engineering design, site and environmental characterization, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) early site permit work, construction permit application preparation, manufacturing capacity development, and fuel processing and fabrication activities essential to the fuel cycle supply.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against an Odessa-based container company and its owners, alleging they caused a “catastrophic” chemical fire in 2024 and subsequently failed to clean up toxic contamination that spread into a West Texas neighborhood — Fox News

Global law firm Reed Smith today announced that Jason Newman will join the firm as a partner with the Energy & Natural Resources Industry Group in the firm’s Houston office — see the press release

Chevron said on Tuesday that downstream assets ​at its Wheatstone liquefied natural gas ‌plant in Western Australia suffered extensive cyclone damage, leaving both production trains offline — Reuters*

The Federal Reserve is not considering the energy supply shock caused by the Iran war in its policymaking, Chair Jerome Powell said Monday — CBS Austin

Despite growing concerns about rising utility bills, Xcel Energy is lobbying Minnesota lawmakers to make permanent a controversial program that enables it to charge customers hundreds of millions of dollars for fossil fuel infrastructure upgrades without standard regulatory review — Energy & Policy Institute

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Bloomberg – April 1, 2026

Key US Oil Grade Is Fetching Highest Premium Since Covid-19*

The most important US offshore oil varieties are commanding the highest premiums since as far back as the Covid-19 pandemic as energy-market chaos from the Iran war worsens. Overseas demand is soaring for high-sulfur US crude grades that are broadly comparable to Middle Eastern supplies cut off as missiles and drones rain down on Persian Gulf oil fields and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively ceased. Refineries around the world are typically geared to optimally process very specific types and proportions of oil varieties, which often makes substituting normal supplies with replacement barrels tricky — and expensive.

Mars crude from the Gulf of Mexico was fetching $15 a barrel more than the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate as of late Monday, the widest spread since the darkest days of the global pandemic in April 2020, according to Link Data Services LLC. That was a landmark month in the history of the petroleum industry because worldwide energy demand collapsed and crude prices briefly went negative. Another key high-sulfur oil pumped from US Gulf fields, Poseidon, was also trading at close to a $15 premium, the highest in Link figures going back to 2022. Shortly after the conflict erupted with US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic on Feb. 28, the Trump administration sought to calm oil-price volatility by releasing millions of barrels of emergency oil reserves from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Although the SPR is mostly comprised of so-called sour crudes like Mars and Poseidon, the commitments to distribute those supplies haven’t been enough to plug the deficit of Persian Gulf supplies.

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Bloomberg – April 1, 2026

Steeper West Texas Gas Discounts Are Outlier of Energy Markets*

Since the US-Israel attacks against Iran broke out just over a month ago, most global energy markets have rallied on concerns over supply disruptions. But in West Texas, natural gas prices are dirt cheap — and now look set to stay lower for longer. Plentiful supplies means that prices in the Permian Basin — home to roughly a quarter of US gas production — have collapsed, trading below zero most of this year already. Now there are signs that the price dislocations will likely continue into next year and the following one. The reason is simple: Higher crude prices in the wake of the war in Iran means that oil producers are expected to keep pumping. But when companies drill for oil in the Permian, they also get natural gas — whether they want it or not. And there’s not enough pipeline capacity to transport all that gas into export markets.

Discounts for Permian gas in 2027 and 2028 are now markedly steeper than they were before the war began as traders position for prolonged oversupply. Gas prices for delivery in 2027 at the West Texas Waha trading hub are at a discount of $1.31 per million British thermal units below the US benchmark. For 2028, the discount is $1.33, according to Intercontinental Exchange data. By comparison, just before the war broke out in late February, the 2027 level was 96 cents, while for 2028 it was 92 cents, according to forward curve data from Argus Media. Cheaper natural gas prices in the US can help to ease some of the inflation pressure unleashed by the recent surge in other energy markets. Americans are now paying, on average, more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline for the first time since 2022. And businesses are also dealing with the impact of higher costs for oil products like diesel and jet fuel. Natural gas is used in home heating and as a power-plant fuel.

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KLTV – April 1, 2026

Rising diesel prices impact East Texas truckers

Diesel prices have surged in Tyler and across the country as the ongoing conflict in Iran pushes crude oil above $100 a barrel. In Tyler, diesel is averaging $4.94 a gallon, about $0.30 below the all-time record set in 2022, while regular gasoline averaged $3.63 a gallon, roughly $1 below its record. AAA said crude’s rise is driving retail fuel increases nationwide and that retail prices often lag when crude falls again.

One owner-operator said he recently bought more than 200 gallons and spent more than $1,000. “You don’t run your truck any more than you have to,” said trucker Jay Heckathorne. “You think about things, you know. It just makes you think about everything and how it all fits together.” AAA says it may take time for prices to come back down even if the war ends soon. 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through the Straight of Hormuz, which has been heavily impacted by the war.

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PA News – March 31, 2026

TCEQ report shows compounds released in Valero fire

An air emission event report submitted by Valero Port Arthur Refinery to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality provides a reason behind the March 23 explosion and fire and provides the names of chemicals released. The cause of the event is listed as “an unforeseeable release of process fluid in Complex 2 resulted in an ignition event and multiple process unit upsets.”

The list of contaminant compounds includes particulate matter- 15,644.7 pounds released with an emission limit of 120.8, carbon monoxide – 6,111.38 pounds released with an emission limit of 1,174 and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) 914 pounds with a limit of 562.2.

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KIII – April 1, 2026

Energy companies respond to Corpus Christi water crisis

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Valley Central – April 1, 2026

Environmental groups accuse Mexico of lying about origins of oil spill in the Gulf

Environmentalist groups accused Mexico’s government of lying about the origins of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, something authorities promptly denied. The spill of off the coast of the southern Veracruz state has spread more than 373 miles and into seven nature reserves. It has dealt an environmental blow to the region as turtles and other marine life have been found on sea shores coated in oil, and to fishermen who have been unable to work in the oceans they have fished for decades.

Mexico’s government reported that 800 tons of hydrocarbon-laden waste have spilled into the ocean. The government said the spill started in March and the sources were a ship anchored off the coastal state of Veracruz and two sites from which oil naturally flows.

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The Wall Street Journal – March 31, 2026

U.S. Oil Output May Be Hitting a Wall at a Bad Time*

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Oil Price – April 1, 2026

Colonial Restarts Key Gasoline Pipeline After Georgia Damage

Colonial Pipeline has resumed service on its main gasoline artery to the U.S. East Coast after repairing damage caused by a third-party drilling crew in Georgia. The company said it completed repairs on Line 1, its main gasoline route from the U.S. Gulf Coast to East Coast markets, and brought the system back into service after damage in Paulding County, Georgia. The incident occurred on Tuesday, caused by a third-party well-drilling crew.

The restart is significant because Line 1 is one of the most important fuel supply links in the United States, moving about 1.5 million barrels per day of gasoline from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina. From there, supplies are distributed across local markets and shipped onward to population centers extending as far as New York Harbor.

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Lloyd’s List – April 1, 2026

Tanker cycle timing: from ‘scramble mode’ to demand destruction

Tanker markets are expected to follow a two-phase pattern if freedom of navigation is not restored. The first, already in full swing, is “scramble mode”, where buyers book whatever supplies they can. The second is the demand-destruction phase, as diesel, jet fuel and gasoline prices climb too high for too long.

Crude export alternatives to the strait — Yanbu in Saudi Arabia and Fujairah in the UAE — have ramped up quickly. These pipeline-fed replacement sources, together with stronger flows out of the Atlantic basin, have offset a surprising amount of lost Hormuz volumes. These replacement sources could eventually be supplemented by a modest recovery of Hormuz transits, assuming Iran lets more “friendly” tankers through under its toll system.

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Bloomberg – April 1, 2026

Jet Billionaire Warns Oil Spikes May Soon Risk Airline Failures

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CBC – April 1, 2026

Trump administration launches new bid to attract U.S. oil companies to Venezuela — but finding few takers

When U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum travelled to Venezuela with oil and mining executives last month, he was trying to pitch them on the opportunity that exists in that country’s neglected oil and gas fields. Then last week at a conference in Houston, he again tried to sell a room full of energy executives on the massive bounty of oil, natural gas and precious metals in the South American country.

Burgum — who plays a key role in the Trump administration — used the word “opportunity” three times when speaking about Venezuela at S&P Global’s recent CERAWeek energy conference. “The resources there are quite amazing,” Burgum said. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright also appeared to be making the Venezuela sales pitch, speaking at the conference about how well “aligned” the interim government and the U.S. administration are when it comes to growing Venezuelan production.

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Reuters – April 1, 2026

US natural gas supply outlook hinges on three key shale basins*

Natural gas touches almost every corner of the U.S. economy, fuelling power plants, homes, factories and the booming LNG export sector. But the supply needed to meet all those uses is coming from an ever-narrower slice of America’s shale patch. This mismatch between a widening band of consumers and a shrinking supply base means the U.S. natural gas market ​is heading for a potential structural crunch that could trigger bouts of supply stress and price volatility.

Higher gas prices, however, would harm the U.S. economy and potentially derail efforts to make the U.S. the dominant leader ‌in AI and data applications. That means U.S. gas producers are under intense pressure to make sure supply keeps up with demand. The so-called shale revolution helped propel the U.S. to the top of global natural gas producer and exporter rankings, and shale deposits account for around 75% of U.S. gas supplies, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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Oil Price – April 1, 2026

BP’s New CEO Pledges Consistency as Company Tries to Rebuild Investor Trust

BP’s new chief executive officer Meg O’Neill has pledged consistency and clear direction in her first message to staff as she takes over the top job at the UK-based supermajor effective April 1, amid very turbulent times for both the company and the energy industry. “I’m committed to providing clear direction and consistency so we can move forward together with confidence,” O’Neill told staff in her first message as CEO, the Financial Times reports.

O’Neill, former CEO of Australia’s Woodside Energy, was picked in December 2025 to succeed Murray Auchincloss, who left with immediate effect at the end of last year. O’Neill, who now becomes the first woman to lead BP and a Big Oil company, arrives at the supermajor after a few tumultuous years in the first half of this decade. Under Bernard Looney, BP pledged in early 2020 to boost renewables and reduce oil and gas production. Looney’s abrupt exit and his replacement with Auchincloss made investors anxious about the direction of the company, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis that followed highlighted the continued need for oil and gas.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

San Antonio Express-News – April 1, 2026

CPS Energy trial: Did it face price gouging or fail to prepare for 2021 winter storm?*

In the wake of 2021’s devastating winter storm, CPS Energy accused energy suppliers in 17 lawsuits of price gouging when temperatures plunged below freezing and residents were left without power for days. The San Antonio utility dropped or settled all but two of the cases, leaving it with a $418 million bill. Now, a trial in one of the remaining cases is finally underway. In a bench trial before state District Judge Laura Salinas in San Antonio, CPS wants a ruling that the natural gas prices charged by Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP subsidiaries Houston Pipe Line Co. LP and Oasis Pipeline LP are “unenforceable” because they are “unconscionable” and violate Texas public policy.

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Dallas Morning News – April 1, 2026

ERCOT: Data centers cause Texas’ large load queue to balloon*

The size of ERCOT’s large load interconnection requests – majority of which are data centers wanting to connect to the grid – soared by nearly 150 gigawatts to 410 gigawatts in just two weeks, a symptom of Texas becoming a hub for data centers and other high-tech industries. On Tuesday, ERCOT officials discussed the massive uptick in requests, the agency’s recently published “state of the grid” report and more at its third annual Innovation Summit at Kalahari Resorts’ convention center in Round Rock. Large loads are customers requesting a new or expanded interconnection, where its total peak demand at a single site would be at least 75 megawatts.

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Texas Tribune – April 1, 2026

AI-aligned super PACs are pouring millions into Texas congressional races

In an ad that aired ahead of the March primary, Republican congressional candidate Chris Gober was promoted to voters as a “Trump conservative” and “MAGA warrior” who “knows how to win a fight.” The ad didn’t include explicit references to artificial intelligence, only referencing Gober’s support for technology investment in Texas to “defeat China.”

But it was run by American Mission, an appendage of a deep-pocketed AI super PAC network called Leading the Future, which sprung up in 2025 with backers including Greg Brockman, co-founder of the ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and Joe Lonsdale, the Austin billionaire and co-founder of Palantir, an AI-centric software and data analysis company. American Mission spent about $372,000 airing the pro-Gober ad across the district, according to media tracking firm AdImpact, helping him win the nomination to succeed retiring Rep. Michael McCaul.

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Bloomberg – April 1, 2026

The US Data Center Boom Is Hitting a Transformer Crunch (blog)*

Almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled. One big reason is the shortage of electrical equipment, such as transformers, switchgear and batteries. They are needed not just for powering AI, but also for building out the grid that is seeing increased consumption from electric cars and heat pumps. US manufacturing capacity for these devices cannot keep up with demand, and the scarcity has caused data center builders to rely on imports.

Electrification is a key solution to both tackling climate change and powering AI ambitions. But America’s AI prowess on computer chips and cutting-edge software is being hamstrung by the country’s inability to manufacture the electrical parts. “There’s not enough domestic capacity to go around, so people are pretty much forced to go to the export market,” says Benjamin Boucher, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie. Crusoe Energy Systems won the contract to build the Texas data center campus because it promised speed. The secret to achieving that was buying enough of the right electrical equipment through early orders, securing some supplies before export barriers were erected.

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Utility Dive – April 1, 2026

Large load tariffs proliferate as states take more active role in data center regulation

State policymakers are increasingly looking to large load tariffs as a way to shield ratepayers from the surge in interconnection requests from artificial intelligence data centers, with 77 such tariffs pending or in place across 36 states, according to the Smart Electric Power Alliance, which recently updated its Database of Emerging Large Load Tariffs.  In 2025, state regulators approved 29 large load tariffs, compared to 14 between 2018 and 2024, SEPA said. The database, which is jointly maintained with the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, has added 12 entries and 3 additional states since its last update in November.

Experts say it’s too soon to know whether the tariffs are working as intended, and broader reforms to utility planning and power markets are likely needed. “We’ve seen the tariffs that set the initial agreements and the kind of frameworks, and they have these really important safeguards, but in a lot of states, we haven’t yet gotten to that process of cost allocation, which is complicated,” Louisa Eberle, a senior associate with the nonprofit Regulatory Assistance Project, told Utility Dive. “There are several reasons why rates might still go up for other customers if cost allocation isn’t done effectively.”

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Amarillo Globe-News – April 1, 2026

Fermi America secures $156M commitment as power grid progresses

Infrastructure is moving and more funds are being secured for Fermi America as it continues working on its massive AI data center campus and private power grid under construction in the Texas Panhandle near Amarillo. Fermi America, in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, on Wednesday, April 1 announced that it has entered into a senior unsecured promissory note with an investment fund managed by Yorkville Advisors Global, LP, providing committed financing of up to $156.25 million to support general corporate purposes. Texas Capital Securities served as financial advisor to Fermi America in connection with this transaction.

“You earn partners like Yorkville by doing what you said you would do,” said Toby Neugebauer, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Fermi America, in the release. “We are focused on executing at FermiSpeed to ensure power certainty at scale for our hyperscaler tenants and are honored to have such strong financial partners.”

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The Wall Street Journal – March

America Now Has an EV Rust Belt. High Gas Prices Won’t Rescue It.

ST. CLAIR, Mich.—At first, North America’s biggest auto-parts supplier was thrilled to snag the job of making enclosures for the batteries in General Motors’ new electric pickup. The contract was so big—and promised to be for years to come—that Magna MG 1.00%increase; green up pointing triangle International built a new factory in a Michigan cornfield. Five years later, that million-square-foot plant is mostly empty and losing money, a casualty of America’s messy breakup with electric vehicles. It is one of dozens of now desolate or sparsely used EV parts plants across the country. Now the war in Iran has driven gas prices up so sharply that EV enthusiasts are daring to wonder whether U.S. car buyers are willing to give the vehicles another look. But Magna and its big Detroit customers are forging ahead with plans to roll back EV investments.

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Bloomberg – April 1, 2026

America’s AI Build-Out Hinges on Chinese Electrical Parts*

In the red dirt of Abilene, Texas, more than 6,000 workers travel around on electric buggies, spending day and night constructing a massive data center that will feed the world’s growing artificial intelligence needs. When completed this year, the eight sprawling buildings — which OpenAI will use — will consume 1.2 gigawatts of power, or enough electricity for nearly 1 million American households. As the global AI race heats up, there is a huge rush to build data centers fast. There’s no lack of money chasing these projects, with tech giants Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com, Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. committed to spending more than $650 billion this year alone. Yet neither ambition nor capital is enough to materialize all the necessary components for these power-hungry computers.

Almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled. One big reason is the shortage of electrical equipment, such as transformers, switchgear and batteries. They are needed not just for powering AI, but also for building out the grid that is seeing increased consumption from electric cars and heat pumps. US manufacturing capacity for these devices cannot keep up with demand, and the scarcity has caused data center builders to rely on imports. Electrification is a key solution to both tackling climate change and powering AI ambitions. But America’s AI prowess on computer chips and cutting-edge software is being hamstrung by the country’s inability to manufacture the electrical parts. “There’s not enough domestic capacity to go around, so people are pretty much forced to go to the export market,” says Benjamin Boucher, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie.

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – March 31, 2026

Texas Takes the Wheel: The Railroad Commission’s Class VI Well Primacy and What It Means for Carbon Capture in the Lone Star State: Husch Blackwell LLP

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is rapidly emerging as one of the most consequential areas of energy law and environmental regulation. At its heart sits a technical but critically important regulatory category: the Class VI injection well. These wells are used to inject carbon dioxide into deep rock formations for the purpose of long-term underground storage, making them the cornerstone of any commercial-scale CCS project. For years, permitting authority for Class VI wells located in Texas rested solely with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), resulting in a process many in the energy industry found slow and uncertain.

That all changed last fall. In November 2025, the State of Texas formally received primary enforcement authority, or “primacy”, for its Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) program, granting the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) regulatory power over these types of wells and, consequently, the CCS process.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday April 1, 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

Crude prices reversed course to drop more than 4% on Wednesday as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s willingness to exit the Iran conflict within weeks, even as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

WTI for May delivery was down 3.5% to $97.79 a barrel as of 4 am ET.

Brent contract for June delivery also tumbled 4.8% to $98.56 a barrel.

The global oil benchmark surged more than 60% last month, in its strongest monthly rally dating back to 1988. The May contract settled about 5% higher on Tuesday at $118.35 per barrel.

Oil prices plunged after Trump said Tuesday evening that he expected the U.S. military forces to leave Iran in “two or three weeks” and appeared to be declaring victory.

“We leave because there’s no reason for us to do this,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’ll be leaving very soon.”

 

Top Stories

 

Yahoo! News – March 31, 2026

Microsoft in talks with Chevron, Engine No. 1 about $7B Texas power plant – Bloomberg

Microsoft (MSFT) is in exclusive talks with Chevron (CVX) and investment fund Engine No. 1 over a long-term deal that would underpin a massive energy complex in West Texas, providing electricity to power a large data center campus, Bloomberg reported after-hours Tuesday. The proposed natural gas-fired power plant is projected to cost ~$7B and initially generate 2,500 MW of electricity, making it one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., according to the report.

Chevron (CVX) previously disclosed some details regarding its proposed power plant—such as the chosen site near the city of Pecos, close to the Texas-New Mexico border in the heart of the oil-producing Permian Basin—but not the end user. The Permian produces so much natural gas—a by-product of oil—that it often overwhelms pipelines, so some gas is burned off because it cannot be transported, making the region an ideal location for power plants.

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CBS News – March 31, 2206

Trump administration exempts oil and gas drilling in the Gulf from Endangered Species Act

Related: What to know about Rice’s whale, a rare species in the way of Trump’s plans for more Gulf drilling — PBS

The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said environmentalists’ lawsuits threatened to hobble domestic energy supplies as the U.S. wages war against Iran. Critics said the move by the government’s Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life. Nicknamed the “God Squad” by groups who say it can decide a species’ fate, the committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

It met Tuesday for the first time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war. The U.S. pumps more oil than any other nation, but that hasn’t insulated it from spiking prices: The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 Tuesday for the first time since 2022.

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Texas Tribune – March 31, 2026

Hardline conservative donors Tim Dunn, Farris Wilks ballooned Bo French’s Railroad Commission campaign

A political action committee funded by Texas’ most prolific hardline conservative donors was the main benefactor to Bo French’s campaign for the Texas Railroad Commission in the March Republican primary, spending $375,000 to bolster his bid. The Texas Freedom Fund for the Advancement of Justice, formerly known as Defend Texas Liberty, gave French $225,000 and spent another $150,000 on an ad promoting his candidacy in a widely circulated conservative newsletter. The two PACs have been predominantly financed by West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who have deployed tens of millions of dollars to pull the Texas GOP and Legislature toward their hardline, anti-LGBTQ+ and immigration stances.

Dunn and Wilks’ PAC accounted for more than half of the $637,139 French raised from the start of his campaign through late February, helping him secure a spot in the May runoff against incumbent Jim Wright. The winner will face Democrat Jon Rosenthal in November for one of the three seats on the commission, which regulates Texas’ oil and gas industry.

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The Wall Street Journal – March 31, 2026

U.A.E. Wants to Force Hormuz Open and Is Willing to Join the Fight*

The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the U.S. and other allies open the Strait of Hormuz by force, Arab officials said, a move that would make it the first Persian Gulf country to become a combatant, after being hit by Iranian attacks. The U.A.E. is lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorize such action, the officials said. Emirati diplomats have urged the U.S. and military powers in Europe and Asia to form a coalition to open the strait by force, the officials said. A U.A.E. official said the Iranian regime thinks it is fighting for its existence and is willing to bring the global economy down with it in a chokehold on the strait. The U.A.E. official said the country had reviewed its capabilities to assist in securing the strait, including efforts to help clear it of mines and other support services.

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Reuters – March 31, 2026

Microsoft, Chevron and Engine No. 1 sign exclusive deal for power supply*

Microsoft, Chevron and investment fund Engine No. 1 have entered into an exclusivity agreement for power ​generation and supply, the three companies said on Tuesday. Technology companies, ‌including Microsoft, are rushing to secure electricity supply for their rapidly expanding data centers that would power generative artificial ​intelligence services such as ChatGPT and Copilot. “No commercial ​terms have been finalized, and there is no ⁠definitive agreement at this time,” the three companies ​said in a statement.

Chevron and Engine No. 1 had ​already announced a partnership last year to build natural gas-based power plants next to data centers in the U.S., with the two ​planning to use turbines by electric services company ​GE Vernova. Bloomberg News, which has reported the deal with Microsoft, said the ‌long-term ⁠agreement is tied to a proposed natural gas-fired power plant in West Texas, with a projected cost of roughly $7 billion.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war effort against Iran, telling them to “go get your own oil” and saying it was not America’s job to secure the Strait of Hormuz — Associated Press/KTRE

In another massive blow to high-tax blue states, Apollo Global Management Inc. has announced plans to establish a second U.S. headquarters, scouting locations in Texas and South Florida — Fox News

Exxon Mobil Is on Track for Its Best Quarter Ever — The Wall Street Journal*

FERC has cleared the way for what could become the Gulf Coast’s largest natural gas storage hub, granting a certificate for Golden Triangle Storage LLC to add 30 Bcf of capacity at its salt dome complex in Beaumont — Natural Gas Intelligence*

Union workers at Exxon Mobil’s refining and chemical plant complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ratified a new four-year contract on Friday, sources familiar with plant operations said — Westlaw

The Texas PUC is launching a survey of water use by data centers and crypto miners to address concerns about whether the state is prepared for the potential demand from the large loads’ H2O needs — RTO Insider

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of severe weather expected to impact multiple regions of Texas this week — “The State of Texas is taking action to prepare for severe storms expected to affect Texans in North, West, and Central Texas,” said Governor Abbott — see the press release

El Paso City Council denies another attempted rate hike by Texas Gas Service — El Paso Times

Marathon Petroleum is a step closer to renewing its air permit for its refinery in south-central El Paso, despite concerns raised by some community members, as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, said the company’s application meets all legal requirements — KFOX

Fitch Ratings has revised the Rating Outlook for Denton, TX’s rated utility system ratings to Negative from Stable, affirmed the revenue bonds at ‘A’ and assessed the Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) of the city of Denton at ‘a’ — Fitch

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Houston Chronicle – March 31, 2026

How some Texas oil companies are quietly ignoring Trump’s climate rollback*

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Dallas Morning News – March 31, 2026

Texas Stock Exchange nabs first primary listing commitment as Dallas firm launches energy ETF*

TXSE has its first taker. The Texas Stock Exchange is the planned primary listing venue of a new exchange-traded fund from Westwood Holdings Group, a Dallas-based investment and asset management firm.  Westwood filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday for a new product, the Westwood Salient Enhanced Power & Infrastructure ETF. Pending regulatory approval, the ETF will trade using the ticker symbol PWRX on TXSE after the exchange begins operations later this year.

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Oil Price – March 31, 2026

UAE Investment Firm Buys U.S. Midstream Gas Assets for $2.25 Billion

2PointZero, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company focused on energy infrastructure, has signed a deal to buy 100% in U.S. firm Traverse Midstream Partners, owner of minority stakes in natural gas pipelines, for $2.25 billion. 2PointZero, led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, entered in the deal through its subsidiary E Point Zero Holding RSC LTD, 2PointZero said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

The agreement – subject to regulatory clearance – is yet another investment from the Middle East in U.S. energy assets as companies from the Arab Gulf continue their deal-making abroad even amid the war. Traverse Midstream Partners, a portfolio company of The Energy & Minerals Group, holds a portfolio of high quality non-operated midstream assets, including strategic minority stakes in the Rover Pipeline LLC and Ohio River System LLC.

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Scientific American – March 31, 2026

Enough with the fear-mongering, fracking edition

Okay, environmental movement, Time Out. Your latest anti-fracking video, shared in an Upworthy post titled “In Case You Missed It, A Seriously Scary Thing Is Scheduled To Happen To New York City This November” is scaring and confusing people and it’s hurting your mission. The video has been making the rounds on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve seen posts from friends in New York City who can’t believe something like this could happen. I mean, “an explosion… in the West Village?” because of not just any natural gas, but fracked gas that is “laced with radon” and prone to explode AT ANY MINUTE.

See the video from Occupy the Pipelne on YouTube here

But natural gas from a hydraulic fracturing process doesn’t equal exploding pipelines, and this one is hardly the first one in the New York metropolitan area. According to the U.S. EIA (link), there are several natural gas pipelines running beneath the streets. Here are a few: “The Algonquin Gas Transmission Company system (1,100 miles) has the capability to move 1.5 Bcf per day of its 3.3 Bcf per day system capacity from New Jersey into the New York metropolitan area.”

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The Wall Street Journal – March 31, 2026

Exxon Scientists Had Doubts About Algae Biofuels. The Oil Giant Touted Them Anyway.*

Exxon Mobil’s scientists delivered a grim message to one of the oil company’s top strategic-planning executives in February 2020: Its much-heralded algae biofuels program was falling well short of its stated goals. Their presentation was one of multiple communications to Exxon’s top leadership in early 2020 that even the most promising strains of algae were struggling to produce much oil outside the lab, documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show. A week later, Exxon told investors algae could become a more prolific source of biofuel in the near term than agricultural products such as sugarcane and palm. That alarmed the scientists who didn’t agree with the way the data were presented to investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Pipeline & Gas Journal – March 31, 2026

Boardwalk Pipelines to Acquire Spire Marketing for $215 Million, Expand Gas Value Chain

Boardwalk Pipelines has agreed to acquire Spire Marketing for $215 million in cash, expanding its presence across the natural gas value chain while adding marketing and trading capabilities to its midstream operations. The deal brings a gas marketing business that supports procurement and physical delivery of natural gas across the U.S., serving commercial and industrial customers as well as pipelines, utilities and power generators.

“This is a step forward for Boardwalk as we continue to expand our participation across the natural gas value chain,” said Scott Hallam, president and chief executive officer of Boardwalk Pipelines. “By bringing on an experienced team with deep market expertise and established commercial capabilities, we seek to strengthen our asset optimization and more effectively serve our customers’ increasingly complex energy needs.”

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The Wall Street Journal – March 31, 2026

Iran Takes Aim at the Industries Behind the Gulf’s Pivot From Oil*

The oil states of the Persian Gulf have made great strides to diversify their economies in recent years, but they have also created a new vulnerability: more strategic targets for Iran to hit. Outgunned militarily, Iran is wreaking economic havoc in the Middle East by attacking factories that produce aluminum and steel, targeting services such as banking and tourism, and disrupting the region’s trade in products like fruit. Oil and gas production remains the Persian Gulf’s economic backbone, and Iran’s stranglehold on tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz has caused the war’s biggest economic dislocations.

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News from the States – March 31, 2026

More than 8,500 acres of Ohio’s public land approved for fracking

More than 8,000 acres at Egypt Valley Wildlife Area and more than 500 acres at Salt Fork State Park were approved to be fracked during Friday’s Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission meeting, which lasted less than 20 minutes.  Four different bid selections were approved for parts of Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont County — 3,846 acres, 2,792 acres, 849 acres, and 746 acres.

One bid selection was approved for 513 acres in Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County. The leases will be put out to bid next calendar quarter. … “The poisonous fruits of fracking will now grow in everyone’s backyard,” Save Ohio Parks said in a statement. Several people booed and shouted in opposition when the commissions voted to approve the bids.

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Associated Press/NBC DFW – March 31, 2026

Average U.S. gas prices soar past $4 per gallon, the highest since 2022

U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 as fuel prices continue to soar worldwide amid the Iran war. According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now $4.02 — over a dollar more than before the war began. The last time U.S. drivers were collectively paying this much at the pump was nearly four years ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The price is a national average, meaning drivers in some states — like California, Illinois, Nevada and Arizona — have been paying well over $4 a gallon for a while now. Prices vary from state to state due to factors ranging from nearby supply to differing tax rates.

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The Wall Street Journal – March 31, 2026

War Means Profits for LNG Producers, but Long-Term Challenges*

Stocks of U.S. liquefied-natural-gas companies have been on a tear, as higher gas prices will juice profits. But investors are ignoring the flip side of the Iran crisis: High prices are likely to rewire demand in ways that hurt the industry’s expansion plans. LNG has the same chokepoint as oil. Around a fifth of global supply is trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz, and most of this LNG comes from a single Qatari facility that has been struck by Iranian missiles. Qatar says it will take up to five years to repair damage to the Ras Laffan site, which will delay how soon flows go back to normal and keep global prices high.

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Reuters – March 27, 2026

Oil, gas exploration is back: Energy giants hunt to replenish reserves*

Global energy companies are getting back to basics and focusing on the hunt for new sources of oil and gas, executives declared at the CERAWeek conference in Houston this week, ending years of underinvestment in exploration. In recent years, the shale revolution in the U.S. promised abundant, flexible supply, while growth in ​renewable resources like wind and solar raised doubts about long‑term oil demand. Many oil and gas drillers chose to funnel profits to dividends and share buybacks instead of exploration.

Now, production in the Permian Basin ‌in the U.S. is expected to plateau while energy demand keeps growing. Oil and gas producers are racing to plug gaps in their reserves over the next decade as each year of production depletes existing fields. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is heightening the importance of finding new resources. Executives at the conference warned that supply shortages could continue for longer than expected, making new discoveries potentially more critical.

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S&P Global Platts – March 31, 2026

US has ‘plenty’ of jet fuel for countries facing shortages: Trump

US President Donald Trump has called on countries facing jet fuel supply disruptions to buy from American refiners or “just take it” from the Middle East Gulf, according to a March 31 post on his TruthSocial account.”All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the US, we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” Trump said.

His comments follow over a month of disrupted trade through the vital shipping chokepoint, where traffic ground to a virtual standstill after the US and Israel launched “Operation Epic Fury” on Feb. 28, triggering a wave of counterattacks from Iran. With regular trade flows from the Middle East Gulf disrupted, global jet fuel prices have surged.

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Associated Press/KVUE – March 31, 2026

Oil-thirsty Asian nations seek Russian crude as Iran war strains supplies

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Reuters – March 27, 2026

Russia’s Lavrov says US wants to take over Nord Stream gas pipelines*

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the U.S. has been seeking control over the ​Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, ‌which were damaged by mysterious blast in September 2022. Explosions that destroyed the pipelines more than three years ago largely ​severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing ​energy supplies on the continent although Russia had ⁠already largely stopped deliveries.

Russia and Western countries have ​both said the incident was an act of ​sabotage. Investigators spent years trying to piece together the mystery of who was behind it and last year a Ukrainian man was arrested ​in Italy on suspicion of coordinating the attacks. Speaking ​to France Televisions on Thursday, Lavrov said the U.S. has been ‌striving ⁠to dominate over the global energy markets, citing Venezuela, where Washington has effectively taken under control the world’s largest oil reserves, as well as Iran.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Houston Chronicle – March 30, 2026

Texas Supreme Court stops most lawsuits from 2021 winter storm. Here’s what it means for victims.*

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El Paso Matters – March 31, 2026

El Paso Electric filings detail power plant impact behind Meta’s $10 billion data center

As Meta Platform begins construction on its new multi-billion dollar El Paso data center, El Paso Electric is working to rapidly build a power plant for the facility that ratepayers will pay for within a few years.  Filings with the Public Utility Commission of Texas show the utility plans to shift the power plant’s cost to all customers after an initial one- to five-year “bridge” period where Meta would pay all of El Paso Electric’s cost to deliver power to its data center.

The nearly $500 million, 366-megawatt facility would rely on 813 small gas-fired generators that don’t require water but would emit pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.  Meta executives on Thursday unveiled a massive expansion of its planned data center in Northeast – boosting its investment from $1.5 billion to $10 billion. The company also announced increased investments in the community, including job training grants and bill payment assistance.

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Bloomberg – March 31, 2026

Thousands of Dumped Wind-Turbine Blades Prompt Crackdown in Texas*

For nearly a decade, residents of Sweetwater have been confronted by a jarring sight as they leave and enter this small West Texas town: thousands of used wind-turbine blades. The blades take up nearly 1 million square feet in a field off Interstate 20. Hundreds more occupy a second site nearby. Originally up to 200 feet long — nearly the wingspan of a Boeing 747 — the blades have been cut into thirds, exposing gaping openings. Locals complain they’re a haven for rattlesnakes, collect water that attracts mosquitoes and pose a threat to children living nearby. The town has repeatedly asked the company that left the blades there to remove them, with no success.

“It’s really ugly,” says Samantha Morrow, the city attorney. She’s received quotes to remove the blades, but they range from $13 million to $54 million, beyond the city’s budget. Thousands of visitors come to Sweetwater each year for its rattlesnake roundup, and the town also draws traffic tied to nearby wind energy projects. Miesha Adames, Sweetwater’s executive director of economic development, says the blades have damaged the town’s reputation. Texan officials have had enough. Attorney General Ken Paxton last month filed a civil lawsuit against Global Fiberglass Solutions, the recycling company that left the blades in Sweetwater. Four people have been indicted for illegal dumping and theft of property. The Nolan County District Attorney is seeking significant jail time and says more charges are likely. “They chose Sweetwater, Texas, Nolan County, and just decided, ‘I’m going to take some money and I’m going to leave this here and it’s their problem,” District Attorney Ricky Thompson told reporters at a recent press conference held in front of the blades. “That’s not okay.”

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Grist – March 31, 2026

Texas saw a $50B future in clean energy. Then the political winds shifted.

On an unseasonably warm January day, Duff Hallman’s goats and sheep wandered unhurried through the rocky hills of his ranch 30 miles south of San Angelo, Texas, unbothered by the long shadows that swept over the ground. The shadows fell from wind turbines towering 250 feet above, their blades spinning like clock hands over land that has been in Hallman’s family for four generations. From a shady spot in his backyard, Hallman can almost nod off watching them turn. “It slows your pace down a bit,” he said.

At 74, Hallman still feels honored to work the 9,200-acre ranch he owns with his brother and sister, sometimes putting in as much as 15 hours a day. The labor starts at dawn — mending fences, clearing pastures, tending horses and livestock — and is far from lucrative. He doesn’t do it for the money, but out of gratitude to those who kept the ranch going before him. “Somebody worked their tail off to make it happen,” he said. “And I have worked my tail off, too.”

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KCEN – March 31, 2026

‘This feels very un-Texan’ | Holland homeowner shares how $2 Billion ONCOR transmission line project would run next to their property

On March 26, Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority — known as LCRA — filed an official application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas for the Bell County East to Big Hill 765 kilovolt Transmission Line Project. The proposed line would stretch nearly 200 miles through 11 counties, including Bell, Lampasas, San Saba, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Concho, Schleicher, Tom Green, Burnet and Williamson counties.

The project is part of ERCOT’s statewide effort to build what planners are calling an “electric expressway” — high-voltage infrastructure designed to move power generated in West Texas to meet surging demand from data centers and large energy users. Towers would stand 200 feet tall, constructed of self-supporting steel lattice. More than 122 possible routes have been filed for consideration. A final route is expected by September 2026, with the line planned to be operational by summer 2030.

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pv magazine – March 31, 2026

Rhythm Energy expands renewable electricity plans to commercial customers in Texas

Texas retail electric provider Rhythm Energy has announced its first offerings for commercial customers with the introduction of two new electricity plans: All-Business and PowerShift Business. The former includes fixed-rate pricing, while the latter provides customers with off-peak pricing for 20 hours per day and a higher rate between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. — hours when many small businesses are closed.

The company says the new time-of-use (TOU) offering will help businesses like retail stores, beauty salons, and professional offices lower their energy bills by aligning their electricity consumption with lower-cost periods of the day.

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Latitude Media – March 31, 2026

The multimillion dollar debate over powering data centers in Texas: Maeve Allsup

When Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 6 into law last summer, rewriting the rules for how large loads connect to and operate on the grid, it made ERCOT the country’s most visible laboratory for managing data center load growth. The core philosophy of SB6 is simple, and has echoed as far as major tech companies and utilities, as well as the White House: Data centers should pay their own way for grid upgrades, and stand down during emergencies so that ratepayers don’t end up footing the bill.

But as the rulemaking process for SB6 has unfolded, it’s becoming clear just how far apart regulators and the AI industry are when it comes to the price of grid admission. Other markets around the country are closely watching the back-and-forth between Texas and developers over the size of financial commitments, and whether to grandfather in existing projects, explained Anne Liu, the research lead for ERCOT at Aurora Energy Research.

 

Regulatory

 

Center Square – March 30, 2026

U.S. Supreme Court denies Michigan pipeline case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over an oil and gas pipeline running through part of the state.  The case, Whitmer v. Enbridge Energy, challenges a separate lawsuit the Canada-based energy company brought against the state for revoking allowance of the pipeline to be run through part of Michigan.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Enbridge Energy’s lawsuit against the state policy to continue. Whitmer argued Michigan has a right to decide how its public lands can be used and should be allowed to revoke the company’s pipeline access.