Texas Energy Report NewsClips archives June 2026

Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday June 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 rebounded on Tuesday on concerns about the lack of details in a preliminary agreement ending the war between the U.S. and Iran and the realization the ​resumption of supply through the key Strait of Hormuz may take longer than ‌thought.

West Texas Intermediate rose to $81.12 a barrel, up 46 cents, or 0.3%, as of 0108 GMT.

Brent crude futures gained 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $83.42 a barrel

On Monday, oil prices fell by nearly ​5% to their lowest close since March 4 after U.S. President Donald Trump ​said a memorandum of understanding was signed to end the U.S.-Israeli war with ⁠Iran, which had closed the Strait of Hormuz that typically carried one-fifth of the world’s ​oil supply before the conflict and caused about 14 million barrels per day of output ​to be shut in.

Despite the optimism following the announcement, the full details of the memorandum have not been released publicly and a permanent truce has not been worked out.

Early indications are the agreement would reopen the ​blockaded Strait of Hormuz and extend a ceasefire for 60 days, allowing negotiators to ​tackle difficult issues like the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

 

Top Stories

 

Pipeline & Gas Journal – June 15, 2026

Western Midstream Closes $1.6 Billion Brazos Delaware Acquisition

Western Midstream Partners has completed its previously announced $1.6 billion acquisition of Brazos Delaware II, expanding its natural gas gathering, processing and crude oil infrastructure footprint in the Delaware Basin. The transaction included approximately $800 million in cash and $800 million in Western Midstream common units. The company issued about 19.4 million units as part of the deal.

In May 2026, Western Midstream announced plans to acquire Brazos Delaware in a transaction that added approximately 900 miles of pipeline, 460 million cubic feet per day of natural gas processing capacity at the Comanche processing complex and roughly 470,000 dedicated acres across Reeves, Ward, Pecos, Winkler, Culberson and Loving counties in Texas.

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Yahoo! News – May 15, 2026

LNG Major Woodside Says No Takeover Bid Received From Exxon

 

Marketwise – June 5, 2026

Elon Musk Is Buying Up America’s Gas Turbines… And It Proves Professor Litman’s “Dark Energy” Thesis

Elon Musk will be one of the world’s top buyers of gas turbines over the next few years… SpaceX has committed to spending more than $2.8 billion on these turbines for its artificial intelligence (“AI”) build-out, the company recently revealed in its initial public offering (“IPO”) filing… In March, SpaceX agreed to buy $805 million worth of turbines from an unnamed supplier, with deliveries running through 2029. Then in late April, the company struck a separate, still-pending deal for roughly $2 billion worth of mobile gas turbines and related equipment from another vendor.

As SpaceX admits in the “risks” section of its filing, these turbines are a big bottleneck to the AI build-out, stating: “We currently rely significantly on natural gas and gas turbine technology to power our data center operations.” The company also warned that any injunction or revoked permit could damage its AI business.

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Reuters – June 15, 2026

Most businesses expect operations to go electric by 2035, survey finds*

Most businesses expect their operations to be largely electrified by 2035 ​as they shift from fossil fuels, ‌a survey of corporate leaders from 18 countries released on Monday showed.

• Consultancy Public First surveyed 1,994 executives ​and senior managers of organisations with revenues ​of $1 million-plus between April 20-26.
• Commissioned by E3G, ⁠We Mean Business Coalition and the Global ​Renewables Alliance.
• Companies based in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, ​France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and United ​States.
• 90% of respondents say they expect their ​operations to be largely electrified by 2035.
• 90% say moving ‌to ⁠a renewables-based electricity system is likely to boost economic growth.
• 88% say electrifying their operations will make their business more competitive.
• 91% say electrification would ​improve energy ​security.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 101 Texas counties on Monday as severe storms and repeated rounds of heavy rain threaten widespread flash flooding this week, including Harris County

Comstock Resources, Inc. announced Monday that it has sold a minority equity interest in Comstock’s midstream subsidiary, Pinnacle Gas Services LLC, to certain funds managed by Sixth Street — Sixth Street invested $600 million in Pinnacle and acquired a 27% non-controlling common equity interest in Pinnacle — Sixth Street’s investment values Pinnacle at a $2.2 billion enterprise value — see the press release

“Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Gulf Oil, said he expects oil prices to drop down quickly to about $3.75 per gallon. Overall, however, several analysts told The Hill they expect to see elevated prices this summer and into the fall. ‘Through the summer we’re probably going to have a higher price environment than we saw last summer, just on the back of the fact that, you know, we still need to get that crude out,’ said Isabelle Gilks, principal analyst for retail fuels at Wood Mackenzie — The Hill (story publishes Tuesday)

Thousands remain without power as CPS Energy works to restore service — KABB

Texas bests West Coast rival California as top state for successful companies — San Antonio Express-News

92,211 Megawatts: Why ERCOT’s Summer Outlook Makes the Case for 765kV — “ERCOT recently told its board the Texas grid will face a record summer peak under normal weather — and a 42 percent jump in the number of transmission congestion plans needed to manage it. The state’s already-authorized 765kV plan is the answer” — Texans for Responsible Infrastructure Investment

GM is releasing a software update that allows some U.S. electric-vehicle owners ​to pipe power back to the electric grid, another example ‌of car companies pursuing business opportunities in the energy sector — Reuters*

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Bloomberg – June 15, 2026

West Texas Gas Rises Above Zero for First Time in Four Months*

Drillers in the world’s largest shale field on Monday were paid for the natural gas they produced for the first time in more than four months. Prices for day-ahead delivery at the Waha Hub, a key indicator for gas prices in the Permian Basin, settled at 35 cents per million British thermal units. This is the first positive price since February, ending a record 131-day streak of gas prices sitting below zero.

Hot weather, an increase in pipeline capacity as some conduits concluded maintenance and signs of a recent expansion to a key pipeline contributed to the price increase. The gain is a positive sign for producers such as Permian Resources Corp. and Devon Energy Corp., which had shut wells with very high gas-to-oil ratios to avoid bleeding more cash. Waha hub prices had inched closer to zero in recent weeks, driven up by higher heat-related demand fueled by gas-fired electricity plants powering air-conditioning. An uptick in demand from Mexico also pushed up the sub-zero prices.

Earlier in the so-called spring shoulder season, a transitional period between spans of peak gas demand, daily prices plunged to nearly -$10 per million British thermal units, the lowest price on record. Producers had been essentially paying to have gas hauled off as pipelines reached maximum capacity. Drillers shouldn’t hold their breath on prices remaining positive, traders and analysts say. Prices at the Waha Hub for the rest of June and July are still projected to be slightly below zero. “The market is pricing in some improvement, but maybe it’s not confident it’s going to stay positive yet,” said Paul Phillips, a senior strategist at gas marketing firm Uplift Energy.

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The Journal Record – June 12, 2026

Devon Energy forecasts oil production growth after Coterra merger

After finalizing its merger with Coterra Energy, Devon Energy, an Oklahoma City-founded company now headquartered in Houston, expects to expand oil and natural gas production, according to its 2026 forecast. Devon Energy plans to average 1.38 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, a unit of measurement combining oil and natural gas production. That output equals 8.28 billion cubic feet of natural gas, the average annual natural gas consumption of roughly 117,000 American homes.

“We are excited to share our initial outlook for the combined company,” Devon Energy President and CEO Clay Gaspar said in a press release. “We are carrying a sense of urgency into all aspects of our business, including integration, execution, and our portfolio review. Today’s guidance underscores the strength of our newly combined platform as one of the largest and most efficient (exploration and production) companies.” On its own, Devon Energy averaged 833,000 BOE per day in the first quarter of 2026.

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The Wall Street Journal – June 15, 2026

On Energy, Democrats Can Learn From Texas*

Years ago, the shy, demure White House chief of staff suggested to President Obama that America “should never let a good crisis go to waste.” And while that humble counselor was referring to the 2008 financial meltdown, the same wisdom applies to today’s energy crisis.

Public resistance to data centers reflects an everyday reality: Energy prices rose at nearly twice the rate of inflation in 2025. But if the growing schism between the tech industry and the broad public is generating bad blood, it also opens a path to reforms that would have been unthinkable a few months ago. To make the most of the opportunity, Democrats need to do something that doesn’t come naturally: spread the gospel of Texas.

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June 11, 2026

Is Argentina’s giant shale play the next Midland Basin?: Wood Mackenzie

Argentina is on the cusp of a shale revolution. The Vaca Muerta in the Neuquen Basin has proved to be a world-class shale resource, setting the stage for a new era of oil and gas production growth that could last for decades. A sense that something big is unfolding pervaded my meetings with the main operators in Buenos Aires last month. The parallels with early-stage US unconventionals are unmistakeable – for the Neuquen Basin Argentina 2026, think Midland, Texas 2010. 

The timing is perfect as buyers of oil and LNG seek to diversify supply sources away from the Middle East. Pietro Ferreira and Ryan Duman (Upstream) and Kristy Kramer (Gas and LNG) shared six insights on an opportunity that could be transformational for the Argentine economy. High-quality rock gives the Vaca Muerta sweet spots high productivity for both oil and dry gas. NPV10 breakevens are similar to the best US plays at around US$35/bbl for the black oil window and under US$2/Mcf for dry and wet gas. 

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Real Clear Energy – June 9, 2026

Water, Water Everywhere: Maximizing Oil Field Produced Water Use in West Texas: Scott W. Tinker, UT Austin

Texas has an opportunity to continue as the leader in oil and gas production for decades to come. To do so, industry and the state must manage and productively use the significant volume of water that gets produced along with the oil and gas. Permian oil and gas production is vital to U. S. transportation and power generation. Each day the Permian Basin produces about 6 million barrels of oil (~ 45% of U.S. supply) daily, which industry refines to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and myriad other products.

The basin also produces about 26 billion cubic feet of natural gas (~ 22% of U.S. supply), which industry processes for industrial, residential, commercial and transportation use. In addition, natural gas has become the backbone of Texas power generation and is increasingly being called on for “behind the meter” electricity generation for data centers.

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June 11, 2026

Five toxic waste sites in Texas that should be on your radar: Environment Texas

US Oil Recovery – Pasadena, TX — This site in the Houston area consists of 2 properties, one an inactive used oil processor and wastewater treatment facility that opened in 2002, and the other an old wastewater treatment plant, active from 1945-2009. So far, 6.7 million gallons of liquid waste, and 1.29 million gallons of sludge have been removed from the site. Despite efforts so far, the site’s human exposure dangers and groundwater migration are not under control.

Delfasco Forge – Grand Prairie, TX — Delfasco Forge was a munitions manufacturing and forge business in the DFW metroplex, which operated from the 1950s through the late 90s, and contaminated the surrounding soil and groundwater with chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE), which can cause liver and kidney damage, nervous system damage, rash, dizziness, and other symptoms.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

S&P Global Platts – June 15, 2026

Shipowners still face ‘very risky’ Hormuz, await US-Iran truce details

Shipping companies still face high risks in transiting the Strait of Hormuz despite the announcement of an upcoming US-Iran peace deal, security officials said June 15, while warning the resumption of normal traffic could take weeks. Following over two months of negotiations, Iran and the US have agreed to sign a preliminary deal June 19 that could suspend maritime attacks around the choke point — which handles 20% of global oil and LNG trades in normal times — for 60 days.

“The statements by the US and Iran are currently unclear and do not offer sufficient information regarding key aspects such as timings and safe routes,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, the world’s largest shipowners’ organization by direct membership.

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CNBC – June 15, 2026

How the Strait of Hormuz reopening could unfold if the U.S.-Iran deal is implemented

Related: Vance says U.S. expects Strait of Hormuz to be open ‘toll free’ long term — CNBC

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could rise to nearly 50% of prewar levels within a month if the U.S.-Iran deal is implemented without any major setbacks, analysts at the trade data firm Kpler said Monday. Washington and Tehran are expected to sign a deal Friday in Switzerland that will open Hormuz and lift the U.S. naval blockade of Iran. Ships sailing through Hormuz could increase to 40 per day compared to 100 daily transits before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the Kpler analysts said in a research note. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait before Iran started attacking tankers in early March.

Ships stuck in the Persian Gulf that are fully loaded with cargo will cross Hormuz first, the analysts said. There are an estimated 118 tankers in the Gulf that could exit the region within 15 days, they said The surge of stranded ships exiting the region is a one-time event that should not be interpreted as a durable increase of traffic, the analysts said. The key question is how many vessels will enter the Gulf after the backlog is cleared

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CNBC – June 15, 2026

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to the lowest level in more than 40 years as emergency stocks are released to help ease the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war. The SPR stood at 340.3 million barrels as of June 12, the lowest level since the summer of 1983, according to data released Monday by the Department of Energy. The reserve fell nearly 9 million barrels week over week.

The deal that the U.S. and Iran are set to sign on Friday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz comes as oil executives have warned that global inventories are rapidly depleting to critical levels. “We’re approaching unheard of inventory levels,” Exxon senior vice president Neil Chapman said May 28 at a conference hosted by Bernstein in New York. Chapman warned at the time that oil prices would spike as inventories fall while summer fuel demand is set to peak.

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KUHF NPR – June 15, 2026

Despite Strait of Hormuz reopening, gas prices could remain elevated

While gas prices have declined over the last month, energy experts said it could take time for Texas consumers to see additional relief, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens this week. “They may not see anything in the rest of June, but as we get in July and August I think we could see some real pressure come off gasoline prices,” said Skip York, a nonresident fellow in energy and global oil at Rice University.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump and Iran announced a tentative agreement to end the war and reopen shipping through the strait. The peace agreement is scheduled to be signed Friday. Oil prices have skyrocketed during the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Woodlands Online – June 15, 2026

Entergy Texas awarded ~$200 million to better protect the Southeast Texas power grid from severe weather

Entergy Texas has been awarded approximately $200 million through the Texas Energy Fund (TxEF) Outside‑ERCOT Grant Program to help strengthen the electric grid for more than 538,000 customers across Southeast Texas. The funding will be used to strengthen key parts of the electric system, which will support faster power restoration after severe weather and reduce restoration costs. The investment comes at an important time, as hurricane season begins and the region continues adapting to more frequent and intense storms.

“Texans deserve reliable electricity no matter where they live,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott. “These grants will strengthen the power infrastructure that Southeast Texas families, businesses, schools, and hospitals rely on every day. Texas will build a stronger, more reliable electric grid for all Texans.”

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Dallas Morning News – June 15, 2026

As Dallas builds more data centers, UN report warns of environmental cost*

A new research report provides a sobering account of the damage data centers are having on the global environment and what their growth could mean for the future. The report, published June 3 by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, found that the energy, land and water used by AI dwarf the needs of hundreds of millions of people globally. The findings are relevant for the Dallas area, which is home to over 230 data centers with more on the way, making it one of the largest data center markets in the United States.

The researchers estimated that in 2025, global data centers consumed enough electricity to power the homes of the 1.3 billion people living in sub-Sarahan Africa for 2.6 years, based on electricity usage reports from the International Energy Agency. By 2030, it is predicted that data centers will consume 9.3 trillion liters of water and cover 14,500 square kilometers of land. And AI infrastructure could generate up to 2.5 million metric tons of e-waste annually by 2030, the equivalent to discarding nearly 250 Eiffel Towers every year. For Texas, the water implications alone are staggering. “Three to 10% of our water use in the state of Texas could become devoted to powering data centers,” said Ian Seamans, the city hall advocate for Environment Texas, who was not involved in the report.

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CBS News – June 15, 2026

Electricity costs expected to hit record high this summer, new analysis finds

Cooling costs are projected to reach record highs this summer amid rising electricity prices and hotter weather. A new analysis from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association estimates that Americans will spend an average of nearly $800 on electricity between June and September, up 10.5% from the same period last year.

“Electricity prices continue to rise, and hotter summers mean households need to use more electricity simply to stay safe,” Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, said in a statement. “The result is that Americans are paying substantially more to cool their homes than they were just a few years ago.”

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TechCrunch – June 11, 2026

Everyone wants a piece of Tesla’s battery business

It’s not just automakers that are diving into energy storage. Startups have been raising large rounds to capture a chunk of the market. Base Power raised a $1 billion Series C in October to expand beyond Texas, while Lunar Energy raised $232 million to sell batteries to homeowners. Others, like Lightship, are pivoting somewhat. The electric RV manufacturer is now selling a mobile battery for job sites and other locations that need temporary power.

So far, Tesla has taken the lion’s share of the energy storage market. Of the 57 gigawatt-hours installed last year, Tesla was responsible for 82% of those installations. The company’s annual revenue from energy generation and storage has doubled since 2023, largely due to growth in Megapack and Powerwall installations. Tesla’s gross profits for the segment are around 30%, about double what it makes selling EVs and at least three times higher than typical automaker margins. GM’s gross margin over the last 15 years has averaged just over 11%.

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Oklahoma Voice – June 15, 2026

Oklahoma’s wind is ready. Its power grid is not: Mezabahnur Masum

Oklahoma ranks third in the United States for wind electricity generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In fact, wind now accounts for roughly 42% of Oklahoma’s in-state electricity generation. Across large stretches of western Oklahoma, the wind blows with a consistency that energy developers describe as among the best in the country. The problem is not generation. It’s movement.

The electricity produced in the Oklahoma Panhandle has to travel long distances to reach the cities and communities that consume it. That journey depends on transmission infrastructure, and right now the infrastructure isn’t keeping up. The result is curtailment: wind turbines that are spinning and generating power but deliberately dialed back because the grid has no room to carry what they produce.

 

Regulatory

 

KLTV – June 15, 2026

East Texas lawmaker warns against rushing data center legislation

State Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, says Texas can support responsible growth while safeguarding natural resources. Harris, chairman of the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources, will hold a hearing June 24 to examine data center water usage. He discussed the issue in an interview with Blake Holland for East Texas Politics on East Texas Now. When asked about possible legislative solutions, Harris said the focus should be on responsible resource use.

“I think that’s really where it comes down to making sure that they’re utilizing the natural resources responsibly and not harming their neighbor by pumping too much water, using too much water that is a detriment to the community that they’re surrounding and to other property owners,” Harris said. “I think noise control as well. You know, there have been reports of some data centers being very, very loud. Well, there should be some guardrails around that as well to where you’re not a nuisance to your neighbor down the road.”

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday June 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 tumbled after President Donald Trump said the U.S. has completed a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US crude oil futures for July delivery were down over 5% to $80.25 per barrel by 10.25 p.m. ET, hitting the lowest level since March 10.

Brent futures for August delivery traded about 4.26% lower to $83.31 per barrel, also lowest since March 10.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. Hormuz will open without a toll system and the U.S. will end its naval blockade of Iran, the president said.

“Ships of the World, start your engines,” Trump said. Let the oil flow!”

Trump, in a later post, said that the strait would open on Friday, the day the official peace agreement signing ceremony is set to be held in Switzerland.

“With the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World!” he said.

 

Top Stories

 

Bloomberg – June 12, 2026

Shell Plans $1 Billion Wind Farms Sale in Latest Renewables Exit*

Shell Plc is preparing to launch a sale of its offshore wind farms in the oil major’s latest move away from renewable energy to focus on its higher-returning fossil fuel business. The company has tapped advisers from Rothschild & Co. and PJT Partners Inc. to lead the sale, which could fetch over $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. The process could kick off as soon as the end of this year, with a sale likely to take place in 2027, the people said. Representatives for Shell, Rothschild and PJT declined to comment.

Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has sought to cut costs and offload low-returning assets since taking over more than three years ago. The plan to sell the offshore farms marks a further departure from the British energy giant’s past strategy to diversify into green electricity, with a strong emphasis on wind energy. It follows the ongoing divestments of Shell’s European onshore renewables arm, as well as Indian renewable power company Sprng Energy, which it bought in 2022 for $1.55 billion. The company also walked away from plans to develop offshore wind farms in Scotland last year. Put together, the disposals will leave Shell with little left in its portfolio of green power assets.

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Politico – June 12, 2026

The GOP’s favorite power plants run on subsidies

The White House and Republicans in Texas are shoveling public money toward building fossil fuel power plants. But those investments aren’t moving the needle yet for coal and gas plants, and they’re starting to carry political baggage. Let’s start in Texas, where Shelby Webb reports that the state’s $10 billion Texas Energy Fund to subsidize natural gas-burning plants has successfully brought some new generators online – even as it demonstrates the market’s limits.

“The only thing that has really driven movement on gas generation in this state has been a subsidy,” Pablo Vegas, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told lawmakers earlier this year. Three-quarters of the 1,200 megawatts in new gas power that’s come online in Texas since last summer were tied to those subsidies. The problem for gas, experts told Shelby, is that renewables remain relatively cheap to build.

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KUHF NPR – June 11, 2026

Texas Republicans press for local control over spread of AI data centers on first day of convention in Houston

The Republican Party of Texas wants to make regulating artificial intelligence (AI) and large-scale data centers one of its top legislative priorities for next year. Delegates to the party’s biennial statewide convention, which began Thursday in Houston, are seeking a stronger measure of local control. The party’s Legislative Priorities Committee has named regulating AI as the 15^th of its top 15 priorities for the 2027 Legislature. That followed stated priorities such as reforming the Legislature, improving border security and infrastructure, and opposing the perceived spread of Islamic religious law in Texas.

“Out of the 160-plus people we’ve had come testify to us so far, I would say at least a quarter of them were concerned, or their main points were about AI data centers,” said Patrick Von Dohlen, a member of the committee who is the party’s candidate for Bexar County judge. “And so, we have to take that into consideration and did.”

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Texas Observer – June 12, 2026

With Gas Tax Holiday, Are Texas Dems Pushing ‘Irresponsible’ Policy for Political Gain?

President Donald Trump’s poorly planned war with Iran has paralyzed global shipping routes and spiked the average price of gas by about $1 per gallon nationwide. For three months, Americans have struggled to rationalize both the conflict and the painful prices at the pump, as many work several jobs and side hustles to survive the current affordability crisis. Meanwhile, Trump’s flagrant lack of concern has smashed his purported “America First” promise into bits—and Texas Democrats are scrambling to pick up the pieces.

They’ve started with the cost of gas, one of the most salient barometers for the sitting president’s economic stewardship.

On April 21, Texas’ Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico stood in a rainy gas station parking lot and, in his usual practiced cadence, proposed a suspension of the federal gas tax, which currently amounts to 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel. “Americans in the last election voted for two things: to end the forever wars and to make life more affordable,” Talarico said in his address. “But the people in power have done the exact opposite.”

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Iran and U.S. reach deal, Trump and Pakistani prime minister say, as Israeli strikes in Lebanon threaten agreement — see live updates at CBS News

Residents in Russia’s Yaroslavl Oblast have reported what they described as a “fuel oil rain”, with black droplets and an oily film coating vegetation, surfaces and bodies of water, following a drone strike on a fuel depot belonging to Russia’s Federal Agency for State Reserves (Rosrezerv) — Pravda (Russia state)

Texas usually booms when oil prices rise. Why this time is different — Houston Chronicle*

Count on my vote to repeal the sales tax exemption for data centers — op ed by Juan Hinojosa in the Rio Grande Guardian

U.S. refiners can still absorb more Venezuelan crude, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday, as the South American country’s output bounces following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January and facilities on the Gulf Coast make adjustments to process higher volumes of heavy oil — gCaptain

Video: Shell USA President: Why a Quick Fix to the Energy Crisis Is Unlikely — PBS

ENN Energy Holdings Ltd.’s biggest shareholder is considering abandoning a nearly $12 billion buyout offer for the Hong Kong-listed company, according to people familiar with the matter — Bloomberg*

President Donald Trump accused New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reneging on a pipelines-for-wind deal reportedly reached last year so that work on an offshore wind project could resume — “We’re getting held up by the governor of New York,” Trump said about the Constitution pipeline after Monday’s NBA finals game — E&E News By Politico*

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price – June 12, 2026

Pace of US Oil Drilling Inches Up

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 563, up 1 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 2 for the second week in a row to 433 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 6 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 to 121, which is 8 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig stayed the same at 8.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during week ending June 5. US crude oil production averaged 13.799 million bpd during the reporting period, up from 13.707 million bpd last week and up 371,000 bpd from a year ago. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell during the week ending June 5 by 2 this week, reaching 190 crews.

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CNN – June 12, 2026

The tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, are hitting bottom. The oil market is about to hit a tipping point

Related: The world is quickly depleting its stores of oil, putting more pressure on President Trump to reach a deal with Iran that would quickly get more fuel flowing out of the Persian Gulf — The New York Times*

Cushing’s current inventory is 21.6 million barrels, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That’s dangerously close to operational stress levels, the tipping point at which Cushing struggles to supply all of its customers with the oil they demand. When Cushing’s reserves get below 20 million, they effectively hit empty, scraping the bottom of the barrel of what is largely unusable sludge. And when Cushing runs empty, strange things happen to the oil market.

Unless the Strait of Hormuz opens soon – very soon – we’re probably just weeks away from finding out what that looks like. Cushing is running out of oil because America has become the supplier of last resort for regions of the world that typically get their oil and fuel from the Middle East. Demand for US oil surged to a record high during the Iran war, and crude has flowed out of Cushing faster than America’s oil drillers can refill it. But it’s not just a Cushing problem. US diesel stocks recently hit their lowest level since 2003. Gas inventories have been falling, too – about 5% below where they were a year ago. Other US commercial crude storage facilities outside of Cushing are also getting drained fast – by 7.2 million barrels last week alone.

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Upstream – June 11, 2026

US contractor fails to receive enough shareholder support for Texas reincorporation

See the shareholder meeting results

Weatherford failed to receive enough shareholder support for its proposed reincorporation in Texas, the oilfield services contractor revealed Thursday. While the redomestication proposals received more than 60% support, they fell short of the threshold, prompting the company to pivot toward a Delaware move.

Held during a Special Court-Convened Meeting and the 2026 Annual General Meeting, the Texas redomestication proposals received backing from roughly 60% of the votes cast. Under Irish law and the company’s governing structure, a 75% majority was strictly required to push the move through. After the shortfall, Weatherford CEO Girish Saligram announced that the company will engage with shareholders and pursue a redomestication to Delaware instead.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – June 12, 2026

Post Oak sells Midway Energy Partners assets*

Post Oak Energy Capital continues to monetize assets, announcing the sale of assets held by Midland-based Midway Energy Partners. The announcement comes after Post Oak made six transactions in three weeks, including the sale of UpCurve Energy’s southern Delaware Basin assets and assets in the Haynesville and Oklahoma’s SCOOP play. Midway is an upstream platform focused on the acquisition and development of operated positions across the Permian Basin, particularly the Midland Basin. Midway’s assets were sold to multiple operators.

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – June 12, 2026

Permian producers are tiptoeing toward output growth*

Permian Basin producers are taking baby steps toward growing oil output in response to higher prices. Analysts at East Daley Analytics have updated their survey of Permian Basin operators and found responses point to a gain of about 217,000 barrels per day, or 3.2% growth, this year. That’s up from 2.7% growth in East Daley’s post-fourth-quarter 2025 earnings survey. Analysts estimate Permian oil production will increase from an average of 6.82 million barrels per day in 2025 to approximately 7.05 million barrels per day this year.

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Houston Chronicle – June 12, 2026

More oil is passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but Houston executives remain skeptical*

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KUHF NPR – June 12, 2026

Texas agency to set rules for using treated fracking wastewater on farmland

State environmental regulators are preparing to take another critical step toward allowing treated oilfield wastewater to be spread on Texas farmland, a proposal that supporters say could help the state’s water supply needs and critics warn could expose communities and agricultural land to contaminants if not treated properly. As the state faces an impending water supply crisis and state leaders explore different ways to expand the supply, they are looking at the billions of gallons of toxic wastewater produced every year from oil and gas operations.

Lawmakers have invested millions of dollars in studying the wastewater generated during oil and gas extraction and learning how to clean it. They’ve directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state’s environmental regulator, to lead the charge in setting water quality guidelines to make reusing produced water possible. The agency has written proposed rules for how produced water will be regulated. Critics say those rules are not specific enough to make water containing a highly toxic mix of chemicals safe to spray on farmland.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Reuters – June 12, 2026

Tired of chaos, investors retreat from oil market at record pace*

The extreme ​volatility of global oil prices has drained liquidity from the market this year at the fastest pace ‌on record, as investors have become increasingly wary of committing cash to an asset that has become hostage to U.S. President Donald Trump’s daily social media posts on the Iran war. Liquidity, or how well matched the number of buyers is to the number of sellers, is the ​product of a number of factors, including traded volume and open interest.

Open interest, or the number of Brent ​crude futures contracts that investors own, has fallen by nearly 17% this year, the fastest rate ⁠since at least 2009, according to LSEG data .Trump’s pattern of ratcheting up threats against Tehran, only to assert hours later ​that a peace deal is imminent, as well as the difficulty in tracking real-world oil fundamentals right now, has led ​to a degree of fatigue among investors, traders say. “People are exhausted by this chaos. They want this to be over. You cannot trade futures without being constantly burned in an environment when the messaging changes every other hour,” a senior executive from a major trading desk said. ​The executive asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

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Bloomberg – June 12, 2026

US Refiners Boosting Fuel Trade With Africa as Wars Crimp Supply*

US oil refiners are increasing diesel and gasoline shipments to Africa as the continent struggles to cope with supply disruptions from the wars in Iran and Ukraine. The surge in cargoes from fuel makers in places like Texas and Louisiana has been so strong that the US has become one of South Africa’s top sources of gasoline and diesel, according to data from energy analytics companies Vortexa and Kpler. It’s a significant shift for a nation that typically relies on the Middle East and India for such fuels.

Other African nations including Cote d’Ivoire and Namibia also are leaning on the US to replace shipments formerly delivered by India, Russia or Persian Gulf refiners. Indian supplies have been crimped as the Iran conflict throttles trade from that region while Russia has been beset by Ukrainian attacks on refineries that prompted the Kremlin to restrict fuel exports. Africa may be emerging as the “marginal market” for US refiners, which are running at maximum capacity to satisfy demand, said Susan Bell, senior vice president of downstream research at Rystad Energy. South Africa is on pace to absorb more than 5 million barrels of US diesel since the Iran war began in late February, along with 400,000 barrels of gasoline, Vortexa data showed. That amounts to a “truly unprecedented” trade flow, Bell noted.

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Oil Price – June 12, 2026

U.S. To Build Its First Ever Floating LNG Export Terminal

Over the past couple of years, the United States has established itself as the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with an operational liquefaction capacity of ~15.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). It’s home to nine large-scale operating LNG export terminals and more than 170 smaller, localized LNG facilities across the country used for domestic storage and peak-demand supply. And while it has traditionally favored building massive onshore liquefaction plants to make use of huge, established pipeline networks, secure coastlines and economies of scale, that is about to change as U.S. regulators have approved the construction of the first ever LNG floating platform on American waters.

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has issued a license to Houston-based Delfin Midstream to construct a $5-billion floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export terminal in federal waters roughly 40 nautical miles off the coast of Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The project received initial conditional approval way back in 2017 but faced years of delays and regulatory hurdles, including a brief pause on certain LNG export permits by the Biden administration in early 2024. The Delfin LNG project will now feature the largest floating LNG vessel in the world, eventually connecting four floating LNG units to existing offshore pipelines to export gas globally.

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KDH News – June 12. 2026

US slaps sanctions against Cuban oil and gas company as tensions rise

“While the Cuban people have suffered fuel shortages and blackouts because of decades of under-investment in critical infrastructure, Cuba’s Communist leaders have diverted energy resources to line their own pockets,” Rubio said in a statement. He further noted, without providing evidence, that Cuban officials “resell countless barrels of scarce energy on the secondary market, hoarding energy supplies for its military, intelligence and repressive forces, and rationing energy as a tool of social control.”

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Oil Price – June 11, 2026

Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Hits Full Capacity as Asian Demand Surges

The Trans Mountain pipeline has reached full capacity for the first time since its expansion was completed, boosting the pipe’s total carrying capability to 890,000 barrels daily. Indeed, this month the pipeline has seen more demand than there is capacity, a senior executive at the same-name company said, as quoted by Reuters.

The expansion of the Trans Mountain infrastructure has been crucial for Canadian oil producers’ output plans, which have focused on responding to higher demand for oil, especially from Asia and especially from China. The world’s top oil importer became the largest buyer of Canadian crude last year, taking in over 200,000 barrels daily.

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Bloomberg/Transport Topics – June 4, 2026

Remember the 1970s Oil Crisis? This Isn’t That

Related: What may happen as oil supplies dwindle and Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed — PBS

Domestic production of oil has significantly reduced the impact of energy price shocks on U.S. inflation and unemployment since the 1970s, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. An oil shock like the one resulting from the Iran war should boost the personal consumption expenditures price index by 1.5 percentage points over the subsequent year, versus 2.2 percentage points in the 1970s, Boston Fed researchers said in the study, published June 4.

Job growth, meanwhile, would have been reduced by 1.8 percentage points in the face of such a shock in the 1970s, but that effect “has largely disappeared in recent years,” they said. For the authors — which include the bank’s top economist, Egon Zakrajšek — that means “monetary policy should focus more on the inflation effects associated with oil shocks as opposed to the employment effects,” in part because “smaller employment effects could result in less disinflationary pressure to counterbalance the inflationary impact of higher oil prices.”

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Governing – June 12, 2026

Texas Is Winning the Race to Build New Power Capacity

The Trump administration’s war on renewable energy has had little impact so far this year, as solar generation and battery storage have accounted for 91% of new capacity installed across the U.S.
A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie released Wednesday also found that Texas is leading the way in new solar, installing 50% more than any other state in the January-March period.

“Texas is actually soon to overtake California for the most total installed solar capacity,” said Daniel Giese, state director for the association. A separate report from global energy think tank Ember showed solar supplied more electricity than coal in May for the first time on a monthly basis. It accounted for 12.8% of U.S. energy last month, while coal dropped to 12.2%, near its lowest-ever monthly share.

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June 12, 2026

After the 2021 winter storm, Garza took CPS Energy from crisis to stability: San Antonio Express-News*

When Rudy Garza took the reins at CPS Energy in late 2021, the city’s electric utility was in crisis. Saddled with more than $1 billion in debt from energy costs during Winter Storm Uri, CPS Energy’s financial forecast was bleak, with Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services changing their outlooks for the utility from stable to negative. Even worse, CPS Energy had lost the confidence of its costumers, many of whom were left in the dark during Winter Storm Uri and nevertheless will be paying the storm’s bill for years.

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KEYE – June 12, 2026

The New Atomic Age: America’s Nuclear Reboot Begins in Texas

The last time the United States built a nuclear reactor this quickly, the country was racing to develop atomic technology during World War II. More than 80 years later, a startup company outside Lockhart, Texas, is trying to prove America can build nuclear reactors fast again. Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company, says it completed construction of its pilot isotope production reactor, known as Groves One, in just 229 days — one of the fastest reactor construction timelines in modern U.S. history.

“So this is our pilot isotope production reactor we call Groves One,” said Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte during a tour of the facility. “It’s something we built from the ground up in about 229 days to reach substantial completion.” The reactor is part of a broader push by the federal government to accelerate nuclear energy development in the United States. Oklo is one of 11 companies selected for President Donald Trump’s nuclear reactor pilot program, a Department of Energy initiative aimed at bringing at least three reactors online by July 4.

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Utility Dive – June 12, 2026

Judge overturns DOE’s cancellation of $82.1M in clean energy grants

The U.S. Department of Energy is expected to reinstate $82.1 million in funding for 11 cancelled clean energy grants that were awarded by the Biden administration, after a federal judge vacated the cancellations on Thursday. The plaintiffs — a coalition of groups led by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers —  cited a similar case settled in January, in which DOE was ordered to reverse $27.6 billion in grant cancellations and did not contest that a primary reason for their cancellation was that the grantees were located in states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Plaintiffs  in the present case are seven DOE awardees who, like the Saint Paul plaintiffs, are located in a Blue State and had one or more DOE awards terminated in the same October 2025 set of DOE terminations that were at issue in Saint Paul,” the plaintiffs wrote.

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Inside Climate News – June 12, 2026

Despite Record Renewable Growth, China Is Still Betting on Coal

China’s coal power output rose in early 2026, fueling concerns that last year’s drop in power-sector emissions may be temporary despite record growth in renewable energy. Data from China’s National Energy Administration suggests that 2025 marked a turning point in China’s shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. Installed renewable energy capacity, including wind, solar, biomass and hydro, reached 2,340 gigawatts, accounting for nearly 60 percent of China’s total generating capacity. Combined wind and solar capacity surpassed thermal power capacity for the first time.

The rapid expansion of renewables helped drive the first annual decline in carbon emissions from China’s power sector in more than a decade, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The trend appeared to reinforce expectations that China could meet its goal of peaking its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

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Renewable Energy World – June 8, 2026

How can wave energy tech support the AI race?

Eco Wave Power and tech giant NVIDIA have been growing a bit more acquainted as the race for AI dominance continues. Eco Wave Power, an onshore wave energy technology company, announced that its technology was featured for the second time in an NVIDIA GTC keynote presentation, this time during NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s GTC Taipei 2026 keynote, highlighting the growing role of digital twins and simulation technologies in the optimization of real-world infrastructure.

The company also recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Eco Wave Power U.S., has joined the NVIDIA Inception program, an initiative designed to support companies advancing artificial intelligence, data processing, simulation, and high-performance computing technologies.

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – June 9, 2026

Texas Courts Constrain Any Appeal of ERCOT Board Action to Effectively Serial Motions for Reconsideration—Is That What the Legislature Intended?: Butler Snow

Given the material (sometimes massive) commercial impact that ERCOT Protocols have on market participants, it is important that market participants have the right to appeal those decisions, and they have done so. But the upshot of two recent decisions by the Supreme Court of Texas and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals is that any such appeals are effectively limited to motions for reconsideration by the ERCOT Board or the PUCT. Motions for reconsideration are rarely successful. This, then, begs the question: Is this the framework for appeals that the Texas Legislature intended?

The provisions of the Texas Utilities Code that govern the electricity system are generally contained in Title II of that Code and are known as the “Public Utility Regulatory Act” or “PURA.” PURA Section 39.151(a) directs that an independent organization must be established to “ensure the reliability and adequacy of the regional electrical network,” “ensure that electricity production and delivery are accurately accounted for among the generators and wholesale buyers and sellers in the region,” to maintain and process information essential to customers’ exercise of retail choice, and to ensure non-discriminatory access to the transmission and distribution (“T&D”) system.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Friday June 12, 2026

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

 

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

Oil prices fell Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington had reached a framework agreement with Iran, raising hopes the Middle East conflict could be nearing its end.

US crude oil futures for July delivery fell 1.61% to $86.30 per barrel

August futures for international benchmark Brent crude lost 1.75% to $88.8 per barrel.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said he expects an agreement to be signed “over the next few days,” assertions he has made several time during the conflict. He also said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen once a deal is finalized.

despite the recent fresh exchange of U.S.-Iran strikes, with ongoing diplomatic efforts, alternative shipping routes around the Strait of Hormuz and sharply lower Chinese crude imports helping offset geopolitical risks.

Citi also echoed in a note on Friday that sharply lower Chinese crude imports have helped moderate oil prices since the start of the Middle East conflict, reducing fears of a bidding war for supplies. The bank estimates China can keep imports near 8.7 million barrels per day without materially depleting inventories, suggesting demand from China may not provide a major boost to prices in the near term.

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Top Stories

 

The New York Times – June 11, 2026

Democrats Once Vowed to Stop Oil and Gas. Now They’re Not So Sure.*

Democrats and environmentalists are shifting their approach to climate change, as the economic fallout from war in the Middle East has reshuffled the politics of energy. With voters worried about spiking gas prices and inflation, some of the party’s leaders argue that they should stop trying to throttle oil and gas, which heat the planet when burned. It’s a rejection of the approach taken during the Biden administration, which treated climate change as an existential threat and tried to stop new drilling and pipelines.

The most recent example came in California, where Tom Steyer, a champion of fighting global warming, was edged out of this month’s gubernatorial primary by Xavier Becerra. Mr. Becerra, a moderate Democrat, questioned the state’s most stringent climate goals, like ending sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, and received donations from oil and gas companies.

Across the Northeast, Democratic governors have started to consider gas pipeline expansions, once unthinkable in the most climate-conscious states in the country. Even climate hawks in Congress have shifted their tactics, lawmakers said in recent interviews. And though the co-sponsors of the Green New Deal in 2019, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, still rail against the fossil fuel industry, they rarely emphasize their once-influential plan to mobilize the U.S. economy to fight climate change.

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Politico – June 11, 2026

Inside the campaign to discredit a key climate science report

Oil industry allies are quietly targeting a field of climate research that could cost fossil fuel companies billions of dollars. In the crosshairs is a forthcoming report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that will examine research into the ways corporate climate pollution is intensifying natural disasters. The conservative offensive could weaken the report’s perceived credibility at a time when it threatens to raise the legal jeopardy facing Exxon Mobil and other energy giants that are accused of contributing to fatal catastrophes in dozens of lawsuits, according to lawyers and scientists tracking the cases.

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Cool Down – June 11, 2026

Scientists create giant ‘fire tornado’ that may clean up oil spills faster and with far less smoke

A dramatic new experiment suggests one of nature’s most destructive forces could become an unexpected cleanup tool. According to new research from Texas A&M University, giant fire tornadoes could be a useful method for cleaning up oil spills. As crews search for better ways to handle spills, researchers say they have now carried out the first large-scale trial of fire whirls as a method for burning oil off the water’s surface.

With backing from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the study was led by Dr. Elaine Oran and Dr. Qingsheng Wang of Texas A&M University along with Dr. Michael Gollner of the University of California, Berkeley. When a major oil spill occurs at sea, one method of cleanup, known as an in situ burn, involves setting oil alight where it floats so the slick does not spread farther. That approach can shield shorelines, but it also creates heavy black smoke and leaves some of the oil unburned.

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The Texan – June 11, 2026

Google Announces $10 Million ‘Texas Water Impact Fund’

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Houston, Texas-based ERock, which supplies natural gas power systems to data centers, began trading Wednesday after raising $600 million at the midpoint of its range with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP — Law 360*

Exxon Mobil’s head of global trading Tracey Gunnlaugsson is retiring, two sources with knowledge of the matter said — Gunnlaugsson, based in Houston ​according to her LinkedIn profile, was appointed to lead the trading division ‌in 2023 after previously serving as human resources vice president at the company for nearly five years — Reuters*

A group of local citizens concerned about pollution runoff from the Fayette Power Project spoke at the Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District meeting on Monday, asking the district to step up groundwater monitoring for pollution — Fayette County Record

The Public Utility Commission of Texas launched a new webpage to help residents understand how electric utilities are strengthening their systems to handle extreme weather events — the System Resiliency Plans webpage allows users to view overviews of approved utility plans, who they benefit and how they will improve the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid — KCBD

LNG and natgas independent Caturus, LLC said Thursday the participation of 20 leading international financial institutions in the previously announced financing of its 9.5 million tonnes per annum Commonwealth LNG export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana — see the press release

Mario Mendoza, 37, hailing from Lovington, New Mexico, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce after being previously indicted by a federal grand jury in Lubbock for his role in a large-scale oil theft conspiracy in the Permian Basin involving 13 others — KLBK

Amazon said its global data-center operations withdrew about 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025, as data center companies around the world face growing scrutiny over the environmental impact of artificial intelligence — the company disclosed the figure in a blog post Thursday outlining its water-efficiency efforts. Amazon said water use at sites it owns and operates directly fell 2% from 2024 levels, even while it expanded its data-center footprint — The Wall Street Journal*

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

S&P Global Platts – June 11, 2026

The great oil reserves draw: how low can stocks go?

“The US we suspect is starting to approach what is described as an ‘operational floor’,” said John Evans, an analyst at the US-headquartered brokerage PVM Oil Associates, on the state of the reserve. “Our understanding is that it cannot be allowed to drop below a minimum 33% of capacity because the caverns in which reserves are kept will be compromised,” Evans said. Estimates vary over the minimum threshold needed to keep pipelines and other infrastructure operating, but industry veterans agree the threshold is approaching fast.

“Once the drawdown is complete, we’re going to be down to 250 million barrels. That’s already way too low for comfort,” said Paul Simons, a former IEA and US Department of State official. Those levels would only be enough to cover about two weeks of domestic consumption and sit well below a preferred floor of 30 days’ cover, he said. Commercial inventories are also falling fast. In a June 9 note, Jeff Currie, a senior adviser at investment company The Caryle Group, said supplies in Cushing, the physical delivery point for West Texas Intermediate crude, were “weeks” from nearing the floor where the futures settlement mechanism begins to break down.

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Reuters – June 11, 2026

Exxon plans work at Beaumont, Texas complex, says online notice*

Exxon Mobil Corp began work on ‌Wednesday night at its Beaumont, ​Texas refining ​and petrochemical complex, according ⁠to a ​notice the ​company posted online to notify nearby residents ​of increased ​actvity and flaring.

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Inside Climate News – June 11, 2026

An Old Well Gushed Waste, Not Oil, in a Small West Texas Town

An old oil well sprang back to life under the parking lot of the First Baptist Church of Grandfalls in April. Over the next eight days, more than 1.5 million gallons of toxic wastewater flowed out of the earth, according to state records. The state regulator, the Railroad Commission, spent $1.49 million plugging the leak and another $1.16 million disposing of the wastewater back underground. By early June, crews had stopped the flow and plugged the wellbore.

Wastewater, fortunately, did not enter the church. The imminent threat passed. But questions linger for the church’s pastor and Permian Basin residents. Why do old wells in the area keep blowing out? What will happen if the next leak isn’t under a parking lot, but a house or school?

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Texas Tribune – June 11, 2026

Texas Republicans open state convention projecting unity after years of infighting

Two years ago, the Texas GOP held its state convention in the throes of a ruthless primary fight aimed at ousting the Republican House speaker and more moderate lawmakers. This year, as the party braces for a tough midterm, delegates will gather in Houston under a historically unified spirit….

When the last GOP convention rolled around in 2024, the party’s finances were in their worst shape since 2017, with party leaders having alienated traditional corporate donors through their activism, including then-Chair Rinaldi’s attacks on House leadership and his dismissal of calls for the party to distance itself from an influential GOP group, Defend Texas Liberty PAC, with ties to white supremacists. In those donors’ places, the party increasingly relied on contributions from Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, the West Texas oil barons who funded Defend Texas Liberty and used it as their latest means of financing political opposition to more moderate House Republicans. Dunn-associated groups continue to be some of the party’s top donors, the Texas GOP’s latest campaign finance filings show.

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Texas Tribune – June 11, 2026

Corpus Christi’s delayed water response bubbles up to Texas governor’s race

Corpus Christi’s impending water crisis — and delayed action by city leaders — has become an issue in the race for Texas governor, with Gov. Greg Abbott threatening a state takeover of the city and his Democratic opponent, Gina Hinojosa, criticizing his “strong-arm” approach. Frustration grew after the Corpus Christi City Council voted last week to again push back a decision on building an almost billion-dollar water treatment plant, even as projections show the coastal community facing mandatory water restrictions in early 2027. After the vote, the governor’s office didn’t hold back.

“The moment for leadership arrived, but the Council met it with a whimper and a complaint,” said Robert Black, Abbott’s chief of staff. Instead of taking “meaningful steps to meet the long-term water needs of their citizens,” council members “chose to bicker, blame, and hide behind excuses and ‘studies’ rather than take action,” Black said in a statement. Black underscored the governor’s frustration with city leaders. In March, when water levels in two of the city’s main reservoirs fell to historic lows, Abbott said: “Corpus Christi is a victim not because of lack of water. They’re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision.”

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Associated Press/ABC News – June 11, 2026

Years after oil pipeline protests, North Dakota and the federal government settle policing lawsuit

The federal government will pay North Dakota nearly $28 million to settle a lawsuit over the costs of policing massive protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline nearly a decade ago, the state’s attorney general announced Thursday. The final settlement agreement’s sum is the same amount a federal judge determined last year after trial. The government also agreed to dismiss all of its appeals and to issue a statement that recognizes “that the people of North Dakota, including, centrally, our law enforcement officers, endured repeated acts of intimidation, violence, property destruction, unlawful conduct associated with encampments established on federal land without authorization,” Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley told reporters. …

The state sued in 2019, seeking $38 million. In 2017, the pipeline company Energy Transfer donated $15 million to help cover the response costs. That same year, the Justice Department gave a $10 million grant to the state for reimbursing the response. The judge found that Energy Transfer’s contribution was a gift and subtracted the $10 million already paid by the federal government when calculating the nearly $28 million award. Last month, he vacated several previous orders, including his 2025 ruling, at the request of both sides as they negotiated the settlement.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Globe and Mail – June 11, 2026

How Elevated Oil Prices are Boosting BP’s Energy Business

West Texas Intermediate crude is trading at more than $85 per barrel. The high price is being backed by ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) in its latest short-term energy outlook projected WTI at $88.32 per barrel this year, higher than $65.40 last year. A highly favorable pricing environment for the commodity is likely to continue supporting BP plc‘s BP exploration and production activities, which generate a significant proportion of its earnings.

The British energy major’s production outlook seems bright, thanks to major discoveries. On its latest earnings call, BP mentioned that since the beginning of 2025, it has made 14 discoveries. BP said Bumerangue appears to be a very large oil discovery, estimated at around 8 billion barrels in place, though further appraisal work is needed to determine how much can actually be extracted and commercialized.

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Politico – June 11, 2026

Hormuz closure sparks global pitchfest on energy

Multiple countries are pitching the Trump administration on how they can offer alternatives to the energy crisis the Iran war has sparked over the Strait of Hormuz. They’re hoping to get political backing and financial support in Washington. And they appear to be knocking on an open door. “Energy security is back on the table. This is exactly how we want to position ourselves. We can be one of the safe havens when it comes to supplying energy,” Suriname’s Oil, Gas and Environment Minister Patrick Brunings said in an interview.

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S&P Global Platts – June 10, 2026

Japan refiners deploy VLCCs for ship transfers, US crude amid Hormuz disruptions

Supertankers time-chartered by Japan’s oil refiners are facing a challenging situation, changing the basic mechanism of crude trade by doing ship-to-ship, or STS, transfer in Malaysia, even as some of them are partially idle due to disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, while others are tapping the US market, several tanker brokers, owners and charterers told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, June 9.

“It is a very challenging situation because Japanese tanker owners do not permit the VLCCs they have chartered out to call ports in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and even Fujairah and Oman,” said a chartering source. Two tanker brokers said that only the shipping company, NYK, permits the loading in Mina-al-Fahal on a case-by-case basis. An NYK spokesperson confirmed that its ships do not pass through or call at the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, but prohibition has been lifted in some parts of Oman.

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Oil Price – June 11, 2026

What’s Stopping the Trans-Caspian Pipeline After 27 Years?

With the Iran war disrupting traditional energy supply routes and the West seeking to lessen reliance on Russian transit networks, Trans-Caspian corridors have again emerged as a focus of international diplomacy and investment. Several distinct regional networks gained increased attention from global players at the Baku Energy Week earlier this month, including a subsea green electricity link and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor.

But prospects for another key project, the long-delayed Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP), remain in doubt, languishing in a geopolitical deadlock since 1999, although it does have its backers still dreaming of a fresh route for natural gas from Turkmenistan and other Central Asian nations. By bridging the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan, the TCP would deliver Turkmen and other countries’ natural gas directly into the Southern Gas Corridor, a mega-pipeline network stretching across Turkey to link with Greece, Italy, and the wider EU market.

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Bloomberg – June 10, 2026

Ten Reasons Oil Is Still Below $100 a Barrel: Javier Blas*

1. China, China and China
The global oil market is incredibly complex, with myriad factors interacting to keep prices under $100 a barrel. But if I had to pick just one, it would be China. Beijing has managed to slash its oil imports, providing a massive — and unexpected — relief valve. Last month, China imported 6.7 million barrels a day of crude via tanker, down nearly 40% from the 2025 average, according to Vortexa, a market intelligence firm. That drop of 4 million barrels a day is roughly equivalent to the consumption of Germany and France combined.

2. Demand destruction
The amount of oil refineries are processing into fuel and petrochemicals has fallen by about 5 million barrels a day. Either consumers are cutting back significantly, or refineries are running down their inventories. Likely, both factors are at play, with demand destruction, mostly in the petrochemical sector, probably accounting for 3 million to 4 million barrels a day.

3. Oil is still leaving Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for more than 100 days. Yet oil still flows from the Persian Gulf. The first route is obvious: bypass pipelines that circumvent the waterway, crossing Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The pipelines, which were previously little known outside the energy industry, have kept about 5 million barrels a day flowing.

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The Wall Street Journal – June 11, 2026

Climate Standard Setter SBTi Sets New Rules for Companies Seeking Net Zero*

The world’s leading corporate climate standard-setting group will allow companies to count purchased environmental credits in their carbon footprint calculations, as part of new rules it says are aimed at acknowledging the difficulty in eliminating certain emissions. The Science Based Targets initiative said it has made “an explicit choice to recognize that companies do not control everything, and that pretending otherwise does not serve anyone,” in its long-awaited update to its corporate net-zero rulebook. The new rules are “built on a best-efforts framework,” the U.K.-based nonprofit said. “The expectation is clear: Set targets based on science accompanied by reasonable implementation plans, deploy every lever within your control, be transparent about where barriers have limited what was possible, and demonstrate what you are doing to address those barriers over time.”

Up until now, the SBTi has said companies should focus on decarbonization within their own supply chain—by using renewable electricity on site to power their operations, for example. Market-based mitigation efforts, such as the purchase of sustainable-aviation-fuel credits to offset emissions, are actions outside the supply chain of a company. Such efforts weren’t previously allowed to be counted in calculations toward reaching SBTi-approved climate targets. Now, such methods can be considered core to a company’s net-zero strategy. Companies also will be allowed to use carbon-removal technologies, which could include direct air capture or reforestation credits, to help achieve carbon neutrality when faced with emissions that are impossible or nearly impossible to eliminate. This rule will only come into effect from 2035 to cover the last remaining emissions after all other steps have been taken.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Texas Observer – June 11, 2026

Last Year, a Corpus Christi Cryptomine Guzzled over 11 Million Gallons. Now, Its Water Usage Is Being Kept Secret.

The drought-stricken City of Corpus Christi is withholding how much water a controversial cryptocurrency mine is siphoning away from surrounding residents. The Texas Observer reported on the facility’s water burden last year in a series examining the cryptomine and artificial intelligence data center boom unfolding across the state. From May to August last year, the Bitcoin mine consumed 11,563,000 gallons, according to water utility records that the Observer previously obtained via a local resident’s public information request.

Together, the records pointed to an average of about 127,500 gallons a day, well over the 100,000-gallons daily rate that the city uses to label a “high-volume user.” Moreover, records obtained last year showed the city already added a new 4-inch water pipe to the site to help the mine cool its computing hardware with a technique known as liquid immersion.

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RTO Insider – June 11, 2026

CEBA Report: Blocking All Renewables Could Cost U.S. $121.2B*

Blocking new solar and wind development could cost the U.S. an additional $121.2 billion in electricity and natural gas from 2027 through 2033, according to a study from the Corporate Energy Buyers Association. CEBA released the new analysis entitled “The Cost of Constraining New Solar and Wind” that compares both baseline and high-load-growth scenarios in which new solar and wind resources were and were not allowed to compete against other generation sources across U.S. power markets. The analysis was commissioned by CEBA and performed by NERA.

“To maintain economic competitiveness at this critical time, America’s growing energy demand requires putting all energy options on the table,” said CEBA CEO Rich Powell. “When all energy resources are allowed to compete on a level playing field, American households and businesses benefit. Meeting demand from data centers, advanced manufacturing, and other growing economic drivers requires smart policy.”

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Dallas Morning News – June 11, 2026

Fight over data centers is a once-in-a-generation grassroots movement: Dave Lieber*

Texas is under siege by a new breed of megadevelopment.  Giant data centers are spreading across the state like fire ants at a picnic,  only they’re a trillion times bigger than the ants. These massive buildings raise concerns about water use, power consumption, noise and environmental impact. Grassroots groups in opposition are springing up just as quickly, organizing neighbors, attending public meetings and building websites, which ironically travel through data centers to reach their destination.

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pv magazine – June 11, 2026

MSN – June 10, 2026

Texas grid operators project confidence despite expectation to break energy demand records

Scorching temperatures and surging artificial intelligence demand will strain the Texas power grid this summer, though local energy officials say they are equipped to keep consumers supplied. Electric Reliability Council of Texas officials forecasted a peak load of roughly 92.2 gigawatts at their June 2 quarterly board meeting. That projection represents a 10.2% year-over-year increase and a 7.8% increase from the state’s previous record demand in 2023.

“The weather profile that we are likely to see over the next few months is a little more even uncertain than usual,” ERCOT Vice President of System Operations Dan Woodfin said at the meeting. Temperatures in Texas could reach 2023 peaks, depending on the state’s rain forecast. Heat spikes energy usage as consumers turn down the knobs on their air conditioners.

Energy use in Texas is also on the rise because of the rollout of AI data centers across the state. ERCOT received 519 requests in the last two years to connect large data centers to its grid, compared to 24 such requests the previous year. ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas told the Texas Tribune that his utility was experiencing “an unprecedented change in the pace of growth.”

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Austin Free Press – June 10, 2026

Dark energy: City of Austin says no peeking at council’s “peaker plant” votes

The city of Austin last week denied a formal Austin Free Press request for “records of any motions presented” during a closed session on natural gas powered peaking units, or “peakers” at the city council’s May 21 meeting. The request included “records of how each council member voted.” The city wrote on June 5 that it “is withholding the information” without first seeking a Texas Attorney General’s opinion, which government bodies typically do under the Texas Public Information Act. The city based this shortcut on a 2009 open records decision by then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott that offered automatic carve outs for a few types of information.

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Daily Energy Insider – June 10, 2026

SWEPCO marks milestone in transforming former coal plant into natural gas facility

Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power, said Monday it completed a large-scale concrete pour for the new turbine foundation for its natural gas plant being constructed in Hallsville, Texas.

The Hallsville Natural Gas Plant is being developed at the site of the retired H.W. Pirkey Power Plant, a decommissioned 721-megawatt (MW) coal/lignite-fired power station that began operations in 1985 and was retired in 2023 due to environmental compliance and maintenance costs.  The electricity generated by the natural gas replacement facility will serve the widespread service area of SWEPCO, reaching approximately 550,000 customers across Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

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The Wall Street Journal – June 10, 2026

Now Is a Good Time to Buy Into America’s Mega Utility Merger*

Shares of America’s largest utility, NextEra Energy, have fallen about 9% since the company announced last month that it would buy Dominion Energy.. This could be a good time to buy the dip on a top-notch utility.

NextEra said it would buy Dominion in a mostly stock deal, creating a giant that would be more than double the size by market capitalization of the next biggest utility. Dominion’s shares were trading at such a discount—about a quarter lower than NextEra’s forward earnings multiple—that the latter was able to offer a hefty premium without denting its earnings growth. NextEra expects the deal to be immediately accretive to its earnings per share.

 

Regulatory

 

Politico – June 11, 2026

Lawsuit targets Trump admin changes to EPA methane standards*

An environmental group is suing the Trump administration for modifying Biden-era methane regulations in response to complaints from the oil and gas industry. The lawsuit filed Monday in federal appeals court in Washington, comes as President Donald Trump’s EPA has embarked on a broader reconsideration of its landmark 2024 new source performance standards and emissions guidelines for existing oil and gas infrastructure. The Environmental Defense Fund, the group behind Monday’s lawsuit, is already challenging those changes in a separate case.

EPA’s modifications at issue in EDF’s new lawsuit allow more natural gas flaring in certain circumstances and alter vent gas monitoring requirements. “The 2024 methane standards for the oil and gas sector are common sense protections against dangerous air pollution,” said Rosalie Winn, EDF’s senior director and lead counsel for methane and clean air policy, in a statement announcing the new lawsuit. “The Trump EPA’s illegal weakening of these vital standards undermines efforts to keep our air clean, help keep people safe, and prevent the needless waste of American energy,” she continued.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday June 11, 2026

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

 

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

Oil prices jumped Thursday after the U.S. launched a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, stoking worries that the Iran war could drag on, disrupting energy supplies for longer.

U.S. crude oil futures for July rose 2.94% to $92.68 per barrel.

Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery gained 2.52% to $95.45 per barrel.

In a post on X, the U.S. Central Command said American forces had started “launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction.” The military said the operation was carried out “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”

Iranian state media, meanwhile, reported that Tehran had carried out missile and drone attacks against U.S. vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Top Stories

 

The Wall Street Journal/MSN – June 10, 2026

China is propping up the world economy by importing a lot less oil

A sharp fall in China’s crude oil imports during the Iran war has been instrumental in holding down oil prices and keeping the global economy humming. Clues are emerging in the mystery of the missing three million barrels—the oil that China would normally be importing but isn’t now. Chinese people are driving fewer gasoline-powered cars and taking trains instead of planes. The country is dialing back operations at the plants that turn crude oil into feedstock for materials such as plastics. And Beijing is beginning to draw down reserves.

The question is how long the import cuts can last—and what would happen if China needs to start buying more again. When the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran and the Strait of Hormuz was virtually closed, many analysts thought a prolonged closure could bring oil prices to $150 to $200 a barrel. That in turn was viewed as likely to trigger a global recession. Instead, with the strait chokehold well into its fourth month and clashes in the war continuing, the Brent crude benchmark is below $100 a barrel.

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Reuters – June 10, 2026

Commodities trader Gunvor funds venture to buy US natural gas production*

Commodities trader Gunvor ​on Wednesday told Reuters it has provided financial backing to a team of energy industry executives for efforts to ‌amass natural gas-producing assets across top U.S. shale basins. A Gunvor spokesperson confirmed that the company has backed Western Natural Resources, a private oil and gas producer based in Oklahoma City which has previously developed energy production projects in partnership with asset manager KKR.

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S&P Global Platts – June 10, 2026

US releases more funding to tackle growing inventory of abandoned oil and gas wells

More federal dollars have been released to help US states tackle abandoned and methane-leaking oil and gas wells as operators continue to leave unsealed drill holes behind. The US Department of the Interior announced in late May it had “unlocked” additional funding allocated under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help plug and remediate such well sites, with $2 billion now available for state grants. The belated funding, while welcome, will not come close to solving what has become a growing headache for oil-rich states, experts agree.

“Decommissioning wells and well sites is fundamentally burying money in the ground,” said Dwayne Purvis, a former oil industry executive who now consults with operators. “You’re doing work to create value that doesn’t earn a return. It benefits other people.” While most companies responsibly close their wells, companies that go bankrupt or lack decommissioning funds often abandon depleted or uneconomic sites, Purvis said in an interview. The result is a backlog that falls on states and taxpayers.

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Inside Climate News – June 10, 2026

Why an Activist From Texas Crossed the World to Confront Asia’s Biggest Petrochemical Company

In many ways, at nearly 80 years old, Diane Wilson would have rather stayed home. A retired shrimper with a high school education, she agreed to come here without thinking too much, as usual. That’s how she does things. That’s why she’d spent all of March camped outside a chemical plant on a hunger strike near her tiny Gulf Coast town in Texas, and why now she was on a dock in Taiwan listening to a gray-haired oysterman speak in Mandarin.

Wilson liked the man, named Lin Chun Lan. She smiled as she discovered how much they had in common. As fisherfolk they shared a reverence for the bounty of the ocean and a stubborn refusal to abandon its pursuit. That’s what drove them both to fight the same multi-billion-dollar company, Formosa Plastics Corp. Both persisted for decades. Both earned the ire of local power structures.

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June 10, 2026

‘Man who killed offshore wind’ now pushing fossil fuels and nuclear for Koch-funded Mackinac Center in Michigan: Energy & Policy Institute

David Stevenson, who led a national campaign against offshore wind power for the Delaware-based Caesar Rodney Institute, is now fighting land-based solar and wind farms and promoting fossil fuels and nuclear power with the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a group funded by the donor network of petrochemical billionaires Charles and Chase Koch.

The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI) and Mackinac Center are both affiliated with the State Policy Network (SPN), which serves as the central hub of a 50-state network of right-leaning think tanks. SPN has long sought to derail state clean energy and climate change policies, and is funded by right-wing and corporate donors that include fossil fuel interests.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Sempra says it’s preparing several projects costing more than $7 billion including high voltage upgrades in the southern Dallas-Fort Worth area that will eventually support 16 GW of new electricity demand — see the press release

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that 456 megawatts (MW) of new, dispatchable natural gas power generation units at NRG Energy’s TH Wharton Generating Station in Houston have come online — the units, backed by a loan through the Texas Energy Fund (TxEF), add enough electricity to power more than 100,000 Texas homes during peak hours — see the press release

Rayburn Electric Cooperative yesterday broke ground on Rayburn Energy Station II (RES II), a $685 million, 570-megawatt natural gas generation facility that will strengthen reliability for more than 625,000 Texans served by Rayburn’s four Member cooperatives across North Texas — see the press release

President Trump said Wednesday that U.S. operations have quietly removed millions of barrels of oil from Iran, claiming the effort helped prevent global oil prices from soaring — speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the United States has been taking “millions of barrels” through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict with Iran, adding that the operation had not been publicly disclosed until now — Yahoo! News

Surging gasoline prices have erased more than a year of Americans’ wage gains — the hole got deeper in May, when consumer prices rose 4.2% from a year ago, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That was significantly higher than the 3.4% gain in average hourly earnings registered in the May jobs report — The Wall Street Journal*

Inflation Heated Up to 4.2% in May, as Energy Costs Continued to Bite — consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in three years, but were in line with expectations — The Wall Street Journal*

The U.S. is seeking to loan energy companies up ‌to 40 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help push fuel prices down, the Department of Energy said ​on Wednesday — the latest U.S. offer to loan the ​oil is part of a previous U.S. agreement to ⁠release 172 million barrels from the facility, and so far ​the U.S. has loaned about 133 million barrels of the ​oil in that agreement — Reuters* — also see: U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Hits Multi-Decade Low Amid Iran Conflict, from Indexbox

A New Mexico-based clean energy project which has been under construction for the past 20 years is starting to deliver energy and is set to be fully operational in June — the SunZia wind farm is the largest US-based wind project to date, with 916 turbines and is projected to provide enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes — Environment America

JD Vance is ‘confident’ Iran war will be history in a year — his remarks on Iran came during an exclusive interview tied to the release of his new book — USA Today

Energy writer Claire Hao says she has left the Houston Chronicle to move back to her native Michigan

American Airlines and Google announced a record-breaking agreement for sustainable aviation fuel certificates, representing the largest publicly announced SAFc agreement between an airline and a single corporate customer to date — see the press release

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

The New York Times – June 10, 2026

Lee Raymond, Who Created Global Oil Behemoth Exxon Mobil, Dies at 87*

Lee R. Raymond, who as chief executive of Exxon Mobil wrung out costs to make that global oil company the most profitable in its industry while stoutly resisting the scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels was causing a potentially disastrous warming of the Earth, died on Saturday in Dallas. He was 87. His death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his son Colin, who said the cause was complications of pneumonia. Mr. Raymond’s agreement in 1998 to acquire Mobil — a transaction valued at about $81 billion, then the largest corporate merger ever — created the world’s biggest private-sector oil company in terms of annual sales, operating in 200 countries. The deal reunited the two biggest parts of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust, sundered in 1911 by federal trust busters in an effort to spur competition.

During his reign as chief executive, from 1993 to 2005, Mr. Raymond relentlessly cut costs, including eliminating a third of the executive jobs after the merger, and helped boost net income to $36.13 billion from $4.8 billion. The company’s market value increased fourfold to $375 billion. Mr. Raymond shunned publicity. There was no discernible effort to make him seem endearing or personable to the general public or even to his own employees. He was known for making withering remarks in response to questions from employees or investment analysts. “What you’re hearing today may seem boring,” he said at an analyst meeting in March 2005. “You’ll just have to live with outstanding, consistent financial and operating performance.” At company headquarters in Irving, Texas, he worked in a hushed office suite known as the God Pod, where a painting of a tiger hung behind his desk. Some employees nicknamed him “Iron Ass,” according to “Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power,” a 2012 book by the journalist Steve Coll.

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Bloomberg – June 10, 2026

Chevron Among Drillers to Feed Argentina Shale NGL Venture*

Chevron Corp. and two other major Argentine shale producers will sign contracts this week to supply a natural gas liquids project, a move that all but assures the $3 billion plan goes ahead, according to people familiar with the matter. Chevron, the US supermajor that’s eyeing a ramp-up in the Vaca Muerta shale basin, will partner with state-run YPF SA and private energy firm Pluspetrol SA, to sign contracts with TGS SA, a gas company leading the project. It is seen as crucial to avoiding infrastructure bottlenecks in the booming shale patch.

“Chevron confirms it is close to finalizing agreements related to a gas processing and natural gas liquids infrastructure project in Vaca Muerta, alongside other industry participants,” the company said in an email. YPF declined to comment. Pluspetrol declined to comment. TGS didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The three drillers will fill roughly 80% of the project’s capacity and signing the contracts is a step that goes hand in hand with TGS giving it the green light, known as the final investment decision, said one of the people. The project will turn natural gas — much of it so-called associated gas that comes out of oil wells — into liquids like butane and propane for export. TGS will pay for some of the $3 billion investment itself, with the rest financed by banks that are close to agreeing terms.

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Motley Fool – June 10, 2026

ExxonMobil and Chevron Reported a Combined $7.6 Billion Profit in Guyana Last Year. 

Amid growing concerns about the reliability of oil supplies due to heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the strength and durability of multinational oil companies have come under scrutiny. ExxonMobil announced yesterday that its operations in Guyana generated $4.7 billion in profit last year, highlighting the significance of the South American nation’s offshore oil boom as a buffer against the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.

Incidentally, another supermajor, Chevron, through its acquisition of Hess, had disclosed a $2.89 billion profit in 2025 from Guyana. It’s no secret that oil companies and investors are looking to diversify their energy investments away from any single region. At 6.6 million acres, the Stabroek block is a giant, low-cost, high-margin oil discovery located in deepwater territory. While ExxonMobil has a 45% working interest, Chevron has a 30% interest through Hess. The Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC holds the remaining 25%.

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MarketWatch – June 10, 2026

Phillips 66’s Borger Refinery in Texas Panhandle Reports Unit Upset, TCEQ Filing Shows — OPIS

Phillips 66’s 159,688 b/d Borger refinery in the Texas Panhandle reported a “process upset” that started on Tuesday, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The filing dated Wednesday showed an emission event lasted for about seven hours on Tuesday, as the facility released an estimated 900 lbs. of sulfur dioxide from its East Flare, which exceeded the allowed limit of 500 lbs., the TCEQ filing showed.

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Reuters – June 10, 2026

Gas generator maker ERock raises $600 million in US IPO

ERock raised $600 million in its U.S. initial public offering, the natural gas generator maker said late ​on Tuesday, becoming the latest company to ‌debut amid a busy market for new listings.

• The Houston, Texas-based company sold about 27.9 ​million shares priced at $21.50 each, the mid-point of ​its indicated range of $20 to $23.
• ERock joins a ⁠host of companies that have recently taken the public ​market path, as momentum in the U.S. IPO market ​has returned with renewed investor optimism for fresh stocks.
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX is going public this week, while AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI ​have already filed confidentially to go public in ​New York.
• ERock, founded in 2006, provides natural gas generators to data ‌centers, ⁠utilities, and commercial and industrial customers across nine U.S. states. A huge chunk of its revenue comes from high-growth regions such as Texas and California.

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San Angelo Live – June 7, 2026

Small Oil Producers Need Relief From Washington’s One-Size-Fits-All Regulations: Wayne Christian, RRC

America is at an energy crossroads. For years, the Obama and Biden administrations layered on a steady stream of malicious regulations, permitting delays, and compliance mandates that made it harder to produce American energy. While President Donald Trump works to roll back much of that, the reality is that producers have spent decades trying to keep up with an ever-expanding federal regulatory machine, and it’s taken its toll.

To address some of that, Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have both introduced the Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act in their respective chambers. Their legislation, if passed, would create a more targeted compliance framework for small and marginal oil and gas producers. Their idea is simple: a family-owned operator running a handful of wells should not be regulated the same way as a multinational company operating thousands.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Reuters – June 10, 2026

US crude stocks fall sharply as refiners crank up activity, EIA says*

U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week as refiners continued to boost activity to fill supply gaps caused by the Iran war, the Energy Information ​Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels to 426.5 million barrels ‌in the week ended June 5, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4 million-barrel draw.

U.S. crude inventories, including those from strategic reserves, have fallen by 79 million barrels since the Iran war ​began on February 28. The U.S. is the world’s largest crude producer and has stepped ​in to fill supply gaps caused by the conflict and the effective closure of ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade chokepoint. Inventories in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve are ​now at their lowest level since August 2023.

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CNN – June 10, 2026

Iran war ripple effects are increasing risks of acute hunger for millions, World Food Programme chief says

Ripple effects from the war in Iran are threatening millions more of the most vulnerable people with crisis levels of hunger or worse, World Food Programme (WFP) acting Executive Director Carl Skau told CNN. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up the cost of fuel exponentially, making the organization’s operations far more costly. The escalating fuel costs have also driven up the price of food around the world. And critically needed supplies of fertilizer from the Gulf to plant crops in places like Sudan have been stymied by the snarling of the critical waterway.

It is a devastating mix for an organization that was already having to make unimaginable choices due to significant cuts in funding. “In many places, we’re already taking from the hungry to give to the starving,” Skau said. The WFP relies on donations from governments and has seen an immense drop in funding across the board, including from its top donor, the United States. As of Monday, the US’s 2026 contribution was around $731 million. In 2024, it was more than $4 billion.

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The New York Times  June 10, 2026

U.S. Exports Rose in April, as Strait of Hormuz Closure Buoyed Demand for American Oil*

The war in Iran has raised prices for American consumers and depressed President Trump’s approval rating. But it is clearly benefiting U.S. energy companies, and the country’s exports. U.S. exports of goods and services rose 2.6 percent in April, to $327.1 billion, according to data the Commerce Department released on Tuesday, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz boosted U.S. exports of oil and petroleum products to a new monthly record. Exports of industrial supplies, computers and aircraft were also strong. Imports also rose, climbing 2 percent from the previous month, to hit $383 billion, as the United States imported electronics to fill out data centers.

The combination shrank the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services dipped to $55.9 billion in April, down 1.2 percent from the previous month. The Trump administration aims to reduce the trade deficit, seeing it as a sign of weakness in the U.S. factory sector. While the trade deficit has been extremely volatile, for much of the last year it has been on average slightly smaller than it was in the year leading up to Mr. Trump’s return to office. Trump officials have celebrated that change. But it is still debatable whether those trends are the result of more lasting changes to the economy due to the tariffs, or other more temporary factors. In April, for example, booming U.S. oil exports because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz more than accounted for the drop-off in the trade deficit. And before tariffs went into effect last year, importers stockpiled a massive amount of foreign goods, thereby reducing their demand for imports in the next months.

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S&P Global Platts – -June 10, 2026

Tariffs threaten North America’s energy security opportunity: panelists

North America risks squandering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage its energy resources and industrial base if tariff disputes and political disagreements continue to overshadow regional integration, panelists said during a discussion on the future of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Washington, D.C. on June 9.

The comments come as the three countries prepare for the 2026 review of the USMCA at a time when governments are seeking to reduce dependence on China, strengthen supply chains and secure the energy needed to support artificial intelligence, manufacturing and critical minerals development. At a White House event, US President Donald Trump said June 10 that he might not renew the agreement. “As long as these tariff actions continue and these short-sighted debates on whether integration is a good thing continue, we won’t get there,” said Jay Khosla, vice president for strategy and policy at the Public Policy Forum in Canada.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Center Square – June 10, 2026

Texans overwhelmingly oppose eminent domain, transmission lines through property

At townhall, city council and county commissioner meetings being held statewide, Texans are united in opposition to $40 billion worth of transmission line projects cutting across the state, using eminent domain and passing costs onto rate payers.  At issue is the implementation of a law by state regulatory agencies with a history of failure. In 2023, HB 5066, filed by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, received bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. Its stated goal was to expand transmission lines to support energy reliability in the Permian Basin.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state grid and nearly collapsed it in 2021 due to systemic failures, recommended in 2024 that the Public Utilities Commission of Texas approve building transmission lines across the entire state, not just local transmission upgrades outlined in the legislation. Both ERCOT and the PUCT are subject to state legislative oversight; all four PUCT commissioners were appointed by Abbott.

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KXAN – June 10, 2026

Texas landowners fight massive transmission line project at Austin hearing

Hundreds of Texas landowners gathered in Austin this week to challenge proposed transmission line routes tied to a major statewide power infrastructure project. The Bell County East to Big Hill 765-kV transmission project, proposed by Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority, is designed to move power across Texas and strengthen the state grid as demand rises from population growth, data centers and industrial expansion.

In March, the utilities filed plans with the Public Utility Commission of Texas that included 122 potential route options. This week, administrative judges are hearing testimony about those routes before eventually making recommendations to the PUC.For Burnet County resident Jan Rose, the possibility of a transmission line crossing her property is overwhelming. “It’s going to traverse our property, not along the property lines, but right through the middle, about 150 feet from our front door,” Rose said.

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The Texan – June 10, 2026

Abbott Issues Directive to ERCOT, Public Utility Commission to Control Rising Data Center Costs

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Texas Tribune – June 9, 2026

East Texas county judge urges state lawmakers to help locals combat data center proliferation

Dozens of East Texans converged at an Angelina County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday to demand answers regarding a proposed data center project on State Highway 103 East. The project proposed by Denver-based AmpZ Champion Data Center Holdings has drawn considerable ire in Lufkin over the last few months. Residents worry about potential light, sound, air and water pollution, as well as how this project will affect property values.

Even though Angelina County Judge Keith Wright shares those concerns, he told residents the county has no power to stop proposed data centers from being developed. In fact, another facility on Highway 103 West has already cleared major hurdles without any input from the county, he said. “We have no authority to do a moratorium or stop any type of development in the county,” Wright said. “Texas legislators have consciously limited what counties can do, and they’ve done it on purpose. They don’t trust us.” He called on residents to voice their concerns with the lawmakers who tied the county’s hands.

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San Antonio Express-News – June 10, 2026

Texas leads U.S. in solar growth as the renewable tops coal for first time*

The Trump administration’s war on renewable energy has had little impact so far this year, as solar generation and battery storage have accounted for 91% of new capacity installed across the U.S. A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie released Wednesday also found that Texas is leading the way in new solar, installing 50% more than any other state in the January-March period. “Texas is actually soon to overtake California for the most total installed solar capacity,” said Daniel Giese, state director for the association.

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San Antonio Express-News – June 10, 2026

Judge signals CPS Energy loss in trial over natural gas prices during 2021 winter storm*

CPS Energy is poised to lose a lawsuit against two natural gas suppliers that the utility accused of charging exorbitant prices during the February 2021 winter storm. According to a recent court filing, state District Judge Laura Salinas indicated she intends to enter judgment for Houston Pipe Line Co. LP and Oasis Pipeline LP, subsidiaries of Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP. The suppliers disclosed the anticipated ruling in a filing seeking more than $10.2 million in attorneys fees. The filing offers no further information about the judge’s planned ruling, and a final judgment has not yet been entered.

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KUHF NPR – June 10, 2026

Brazoria County passes resolution outlining requirements for future data centers

Brazoria County has joined a growing number of local governments across Texas in passing a resolution outlining desired regulations for data centers built within its jurisdiction. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, all five members of the Brazoria County Commissioners Court passed a three-page resolution outlining its requirements. The resolution states the court is in opposition to any future data center or related industry in the county that does not safeguard electric grid reliability, water and energy usage, agricultural land and public infrastructure. The county south of Houston also wants developers of such future projects to conduct independent impact assessments based on those criteria.

Ahead of the vote, lifelong Brazoria County resident Wesley Burnett told the court he and his family had been affected by a recently built data center. “The constant noise and vibration are still a daily nuisance,” Burnett said. “The disturbance is not occasional; it’s continuous. It’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a [year]. It creates not just a noise, but also a physical sensation that you can feel in your body.”

 

Regulatory

 

Reuters – June 10, 2026

US energy regulator approves PJM’s fast-tracked power plant interconnection plan*

U.S. grid operator PJM Interconnection said on Wednesday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved ​its proposed expedited interconnection track, a temporary process ‌to advance projects of significant size to address the urgent need for more capacity resources. According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. ​power consumption, which hit its second straight annual ​record high in 2025, will rise further in ⁠2026 and 2027, driven by AI-hungry data centers and ​electrification.

The approval comes as PJM and states across its ​footprint seek to bring new power generation online more quickly to meet rising electricity demand and maintain grid reliability. PJM said it ​would consider 10 interconnection requests per calendar year ​under the EIT plan for large new or uprated capacity resources ‌that, ⁠among other criteria, have a commitment from a relevant state authority to help expedite siting.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday June 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 were choppy on Wednesday after the U.S. launched military strikes against Iran, raising concerns that renewed hostilities could threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery fell 0.19% to $88.03 per barrel, paring gains after jumping over 1%.

Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery, slid 0.2% to $91.27 per barrel.

The U.S. military said it had completed strikes against Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. forces carried out strikes on Iran on Tuesday night after an American Army Apache helicopter was shot down a day earlier, according to U.S. Central Command. Centcom described the operation as a defensive and measured response to what it called Iranian aggression.

President Donald Trump said earlier Tuesday that Iran had brought down a U.S. helicopter conducting patrols near the Strait of Hormuz and indicated that the U.S. would retaliate.

 

Top Stories

 

ESG Dive – June 9, 2026

Banks’ fossil fuel financing increased 8% in 2025: report

The world’s largest banks increased funding for fossil fuel companies and projects by 8% in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of expanded financing, according to the latest Banking on Climate Chaos report. The 17th version of the report, released Monday, also documented a second-straight year of rising funding for fossil fuel expansion, with such products and companies seeing a27% increase in financing.

The report documenting fossil fuel commitments found that the largest 65 banks contributed $906 billion in fossil fuel financing in 2025, up from $842.6 billion in 2024. United States-based banks were responsible for nearly a third of fossil fuel funding (32.2%) last year, and the U.S. showed the largest increase of any of the tracked regions, with $35 billion more in financing than 2024, according to the report compiled by the Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Reclaim Finance and others.

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ProPublica – June 9, 2026

An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump. Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr.

In late November in Jamnagar, India, the scions of two of the most powerful families in the world stood face-to-face. On one side was 30-year-old Anant Ambani, son of one the richest men in Asia. On the other was Donald Trump Jr. For months, the Trump administration had been on the offensive against the sprawling Ambani energy empire, placing it at the center of an escalating tariff campaign against India. But after Trump Jr. touched down, the two men toured the Ambanis’ private zoo, and at night they performed a Gujarati folk dance, grinning as they moved together to the music.

Four months later, an obscure Texas startup called America First Refining announced that it had received a nine-figure investment from the Ambanis’ company. The deal puzzled numerous energy investors familiar with the project, which aims to build the first major new oil refinery in the U.S. in about 50 years. The company is run by a serial entrepreneur with a history of bankruptcy and lawsuits alleging fraud. After more than a decade of failed attempts to raise money, blown deadlines and rebrands, it had been floundering.

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US News – June 9, 2026

US Power Use to Beat Record Highs in 2026 and 2027, EIA Says

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Wright says amount of oil through the Strait of Hormuz will ‘continue to rise’ — The Hill

Sempra Infrastructure said Tuesday that the feedgas system for its Port Arthur LNG project has been placed into service ahead of the export plant’s first phase startup expected next year — see the press release

Pedernales Electric Cooperative has appointed Christian Powell as its next CEO effective August 4th, following the resignation of former CEO Julie Parsley in April — Marble Falls Daily Tribune

The Leander City Council voted June 4 to split its two votes between Elexis Grimes and Carlos St. James, the two candidates running for an open District 2 seat on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board of directors — Community Impact

In a first-of-its-kind agreement, Gov. Greg Abbott authorized on June 2 a $73 million Texas Energy Fund grant that will back a project replacing nearly 10,000 electric poles in Texas and strengthening electricity distribution for more than 38,000 in-state customers, including in Montgomery County, officials said — Community Impact

Power producer breaks ground on Sherman gas plant to help with peak demand — Dallas Morning News*

How bad will drought be in Texas? Rio Grande Valley farmers are bracing for the worst — the Rio Grande Valley typically grows between 60 to 80 million acres of fresh produce annually, but that has declined over the years due to drought — Texas Tribune

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

BOE Report – June 9, 2026

Permian Strategic Partnership Highlights $2.3 Billion in Regional Investment and Expanding Economic Impact Across the Permian Basin

The Permian Strategic Partnership (the PSP), a coalition of 25 leading Permian Basin energy companies and two university systems, today released its 2025 Annual Report and latest Power of the Permian economic impact report, highlighting how continued investment across the Permian Basin is strengthening local communities while helping drive American energy production and economic growth nationwide.

Since its founding in 2019, the PSP has invested approximately $21 million in education, healthcare, workforce development, and road safety initiatives across 22 counties in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. Those investments have helped leverage more than $2.3 billion in regional impact while supporting long-term improvements across the Basin. The 2025 report also highlights several new initiatives, including a pediatric residency program, expanded investments in Career and Technical Education (CTE), two tele-audiology clinics, and a regional mental health summit.

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San Antonio Express-News – June 9, 2026

San Antonio energy executive sues former HR director over alleged online, in-person harassment*

For years after leaving a Howard Energy Partners subsidiary, John K. Berry seemed unable to stop talking about the San Antonio company. His grievances surfaced in LinkedIn comment sections, beneath recruiting posts, company announcements and celebrations of corporate milestones. Sometimes the comments were sarcastic. Sometimes they were cutting. Often they appeared aimed at reminding current and former colleagues that he was still watching. The remarks accumulated over time — a jab here, a dig there, another swipe at company executives. Then the dispute left LinkedIn.

According to court records, Berry approached Howard Energy executive Brandon Burch and his wife in a restaurant parking lot while exhibiting “unpredictable and unsettling behavior.” Burch also alleged Berry later sent a Facebook message to his wife saying her husband would “get his Ass Kicked.” The allegations were enough for a Bexar County judge to issue a temporary restraining order barring Berry from contacting Burch or his family and from coming within 500 feet of Burch, his home and Howard Energy’s offices. A hearing scheduled for Tuesday on whether the restrictions should remain in place under a temporary injunction pending trial was postponed as the parties worked to set a new date, Erica Benites Giese, a San Antonio lawyer representing Burch, said outside of Presiding Court in Bexar County. She declined to discuss the case.

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Oil Price – June 9. 2026

Why Argentina’s Shale Boom Matters for Global Energy Markets

Argentina’s epic unconventional oil boom is going from strength to strength. At the end of 2024, South America’s third-largest economy emerged as the continent’s fourth-largest oil producer. After production faltered at the end of 2025, output bounced back to near record levels at a crucial time for world energy markets. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is impacting global oil supply, triggering a price shock that could push vulnerable economies into recession. The 8.6-million-acre Vaca Muerta shale will make Argentina a global energy powerhouse.

Government data shows that for April 2026, Argentina lifted a record 881,809 barrels of crude oil per day. This was not only 1.4% higher than a month prior but represents a notable 19% increase over a year earlier. This solid increase in petroleum production is attributable to the strong growth of unconventional oil output from the Vaca Muerta shale, which hit an all-time high during April 2026 of 618,849 barrels per day. As a result, shale oil now makes up over 70% of Argentina’s total petroleum output, the highest proportion ever.

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KAVU – June 9, 2026

State agencies begin plugging orphaned wells in Baffin Bay to protect coast

The General Land Office announced one of six orphaned wells in Baffin Bay has been plugged as part of a coastal protection project. An orphan is an abandoned oil or gas well with no current owner. According to the U.S. Department of Interior, these wells can negatively impact current and future oil and gas developments.

The effort is a collaboration between the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). Officials say four of the six wells will ultimately be capped and removed due to leaks and the threat they pose to the marine environment. … Investigations by the GLO and RRC initially found three of the six wells were leaking. The RRC attempted repairs, but the wells continued to leak, prompting plans to plug and remove them.

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Pipeline & Gas Journal – June 9, 2026

Double E Pipeline Nears Expansion FID as Shipper Demand Surges

Summit Midstream has secured additional long-term transportation commitments on the Double E Pipeline and extended its open season through June 30, citing shipper interest that exceeds currently available expansion capacity. The company announced two new firm transportation agreements totaling 150 million cubic feet per day, bringing open season commitments to 250 million cubic feet per day and increasing Double E’s total contracted capacity to approximately 1.9 billion cubic feet per day. Summit said it also holds a firm option agreement that could add another 200 million cubic feet per day of contracted capacity later this year.

The commitments support Summit’s planned Double E Compression Expansion project, which would increase pipeline capacity by roughly 50%, from approximately 1.6 billion cubic feet per day to 2.4 billion cubic feet per day. The company expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) by the end of summer 2026 and has already placed orders for gas turbine compressors to preserve its targeted late-2028 in-service date.

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Texas Monthly – June 9, 2026

Corpus Christi’s Water Crisis Sparks a Fight With Its Neighbors*

Now Corpus Christi is trying to avert an environmental calamity, brought on by the fifth year of an unprecedented drought. The lakes that feed the city’s water system are, even with recent rains, at only about 25 percent of their combined capacity. Projections indicate that the overall supply could fall short of daily demand by June of next year….

As a long-term fix for the salinity, Corpus Christi issued a $175 million construction contract this year for a new brackish-water treatment facility at the Stevens plant, with the salty groundwater delivered via a thirteen-mile pipe instead of the river. This plan literally bypasses the TCEQ’s regulations and could enable full production at both Nueces County well fields. It’s set to be completed in 2028. Corpus Christi Water CEO Nick Winkelmann says the city will never again abandon its groundwater wells, describing them as part of a diversified supply to better protect the city from future scarcity. Of course, once the city is taking maximum advantage of the water available from the Nueces County wells, the effects on the depth and quality of the water in other local wells could be even more significant.

The fight over water in Nueces County won’t stop whenever the drought eases. Neither will Chris Cuellar, whose daily river excursions continue. “However long this will last, I’m committed to seeing it through,” he says. Nueces County is the front line of just one battle in a wider water war that’s reshaping infrastructure and upending lives in the Coastal Bend. The commonality on all sides is an existential dread of running dry. Primal fear is pushing people across the spectrum to pick sides, fast-track plans, organize resistance, defend turf. And as in any conflict, geography matters. In thirsty South Texas, the side you’re on usually depends on where the water in your tap comes from.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

CNBC – June 9, 2026

What next for BP? Leadership exits test investor confidence in board oversight

BP is on its third CEO and third chairman in under three years, prompting investor scrutiny of the structure and oversight of its board as the oil major works to turn itself around and adapt to the supply shock. Weeks after CEO Meg O’Neill started in April, the chairman, Albert Manifold, was suddenly dismissed in late May. The board said this was due to “serious concerns” relating to governance standards, oversight and conduct.

Manifold said he had been fired “without warning and without explanation,” adding he disputes “entirely the characterisation” of his conduct. One of the oil supermajor’s top active investors told CNBC that some may be in danger of missing the bigger picture, while an activist shareholder said the company urgently needed to address the reasons for the turnover.

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – June 7, 2026

Alaska gas pipeline developer offers concession, proposes to cap natural gas costs for Alaskans

The firm developing the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline has proposed limiting the price for natural gas sold through the pipeline to Alaskans. If accepted by legislators, the limit would prevent the cost of gas from rising if the pipeline costs more than expected.

The new proposal from pipeline developer Glenfarne comes as the Alaska Legislature continues meeting in a 30-day special session, considering a major tax break to support the AKLNG pipeline project. That project aims to build an 807-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from the North Slope to Cook Inlet for export and in-state use. A price cap could resolve one sticking point in negotiations over the proposed tax break, but with half of the special session gone, a variety of other issues remain unresolved.

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S&P Global Platts – June 9, 2026

Japan refiners deploy VLCCs for ship transfers, US crude amid Hormuz disruptions

Supertankers time-chartered by Japan’s oil refiners are facing a challenging situation, changing the basic mechanism of crude trade by doing ship-to-ship, or STS, transfer in Malaysia, even as some of them are partially idle due to disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, while others are tapping the US market, several tanker brokers, owners and charterers told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, June 9.

“It is a very challenging situation because Japanese tanker owners do not permit the VLCCs they have chartered out to call ports in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and even Fujairah and Oman,” said a chartering source. Two tanker brokers said that only the shipping company, NYK, permits the loading in Mina-al-Fahal on a case-by-case basis. An NYK spokesperson confirmed that its ships do not pass through or call at the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, but prohibition has been lifted in some parts of Oman.

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The Hill – June 5, 2025

Trump auctions off rights to drill in Alaska wildlife refuge, but gets few bidders

The Trump administration on Friday auctioned off rights to drill in a pristine wildlife refuge in Alaska, but the lease sale attracted only two bidders on a few tracts of land. Of the about 60 tracts of land opened up for leasing by the Trump administration, only five received bids. Only Hex Energy and the state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority bid on tracts.

Overall, the lease sale netted about $3.7 million, half of which will go to the state of Alaska. Friday’s auction advances Republicans’ long-awaited and long-delayed goal of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), despite pushback from environmental advocates. However, the small number of  bids and bidders also demonstrates limited corporate interest in drilling in the controversial spot.

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KTUU – June 3, 2026

Anchorage seeks ‘seat at the table’ over proposed LNG gas line’s projected local impacts

A proposed 739-mile pipeline could cost Anchorage up to $173 million, according to the LaFrance administration. The Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project is being proposed to be set up 20 miles outside of the Municipality of Anchorage and would be responsible for transporting gas from the North Slope. However, due to the project being outside of the municipality, the city said it would receive no direct tax revenues from the gas line.

“I am really excited about the economic benefits that a gas line would provide. As mayor, I am being proactive in looking at how it would impact Anchorage,” Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said. Due to Anchorage being a “hub” near the project, the LaFrance administration said it would cost them millions of dollars in extra public service costs. The city would need to be prepared to welcome around 10,000 people to the city, resulting in a heightened demand for housing and emergency response services, LaFrance said.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Yahoo! News – June 9, 2026

Musk’s xAI, SpaceX hit with class action over data center ‘nuisance’

Elon Musk’s xAI and SpaceX have been sued by Mississippi residents who say a power plant ‌fueling nearby data centers is blasting “omnipresent and inescapable” noise that has eroded ‌their health and home values. The lawsuit, made public on Tuesday in federal court in Oxford, ​Mississippi, claims Musk’s companies negligently failed to curb the disturbance and created a public nuisance through excessive and offensive noise. Three residents filed the case on behalf of a class estimated at more than 10,000 members.

“The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is ‌wreaking havoc on communities across ⁠the United States” by subjecting thousands of residents to near-constant noise and vibrations, the lawsuit said. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for ⁠alleged emotional distress, reduced property values and other harms, as well as disgorgement of an unspecified amount in profits.

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Utility Dive – June 9, 2026

Not-for-profit utilities turn to energy storage as data centers drive cost, reliability concerns

Meeker Energy, a member-owned electric cooperative serving about 10,000 homes and businesses in central Minnesota, is typical of many non-profit utilities across the country. While investor-owned giants tout the profit potential of large-load pipelines in the gigawatts, distribution coops like Meeker are watching the wholesale cost of electricity rise, with little they can do to mitigate it except controlling for their own consumption. That expense accounts for the largest part of members’ bills.

That’s where storage comes in. The utility is in the early stages of testing behind-the-meter residential batteries at members’ homes for resilience and demand response. Steve Kosbab, Meeker’s energy services manager, said 60% of its members participate in at least one of its load management programs, which already helps Meeker reduce wholesale power demand charges.

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CNBC – June 9, 2026

Entergy CEO pushes back on fears that AI data centers will drive up electricity bills

Entergy CEO Drew Marsh said the rapid buildout of data centers doesn’t have to be a burden for residential communities. “Data centers really want to be good neighbors,” Marsh said on CNBC’s “Mad Money” on Tuesday. “They have reputations that they want to protect, and they want to be part of the community.”

The surge in AI-related power demand has sparked concerns among policymakers and homeowners that residential customers could end up footing the bill for data centers. Marsh said Entergy’s approach is designed to avoid that outcome by requiring data center operators to cover the costs of serving their facilities while also contributing to expenses that would otherwise be shared across the utility’s customer base.

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Power Magazine – June 8, 2026

Wildfire Risk Is Rising. Electric Cooperatives Are Acting—Congress Must Too: Jim Matheson, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

The urgency is clear. Wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe, threatening lives, homes, and critical infrastructure across the country. At the same time, electricity demand is soaring, placing additional strain on a grid that must remain reliable and resilient. Electric cooperatives are doing their part. They are investing in prevention, innovating to reduce risk, and working every day to safeguard the communities they serve. But they cannot do it alone—especially when outdated federal policies stand in the way of urgently needed solutions.

Passing the Fix Our Forests Act would remove those barriers. It would empower electric cooperatives to act more quickly, effectively, and safely in the face of a growing wildfire threat. At a time when the risks are rising and the stakes are higher than ever, that is not just good policy—it is essential to the safety and well-being of rural communities.

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RTO Insider  June 9, 2026

FirstEnergy Calls for Directly Assigning Tx Costs to Data Centers

“FirstEnergy recently filed a proposal with FERC arguing that large load customers, specifically hyperscale data centers, should directly pay for the new transmission upgrades needed to serve them, rather than socializing these costs onto existing residential and commercial ratepayers.”

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Auto Notion – June 3,2026

A British Company Is Selling Factory-Built Gas Power Plants That Snap Together in 30-Megawatt Blocks — Each Enough to Power a Small City, and on the Grid Years Before a Nuclear Plant Could

The Rolls-Royce most people picture is either parked outside a hotel or bolted under the wing of a widebody jet. The company’s loudest car news this year was the most powerful road car it has ever built, and the first with no engine at all. So the product Rolls-Royce put on a stand in Essen back in February is easy to miss, because it isn’t a car, it isn’t a jet engine, and it isn’t aimed at anyone who buys either. It’s a power plant. A modular gas one, sized in 30-megawatt chunks, and it’s pointed straight at the thing the AI industry can’t get enough of: electricity.

On February 10, at the E-world energy trade fair in Essen, Germany, Rolls-Royce Power Systems (the division that builds mtu-brand engines for ships, trains, and backup generators) launched a line of turnkey modular gas engine power plants. The pitch is in the format. Instead of pouring concrete for one giant central plant, you order preconfigured, factory-tested blocks rated at 10, 20, or 30 megawatts, stack as many as you need, and connect the whole thing to the grid within 12 to 18 months of placing the order. A single plant can be specced anywhere from five megawatts to several hundred, depending on what the customer wants.

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KMVT – June 8, 2026

Smart meters are modernizing our aging electric grids, here’s how

Utility companies nationwide have invested in digital meters that can detect power outages instantly and relay real-time data to operators, according to research from MIT that found the devices reduced outage duration by more than 5% in Texas. The electric grid is essential to the U.S. economy, national security and public health and safety. But much of it was built in the 1960s and 70s, and the aging infrastructure is struggling to meet modern needs.

Extreme weather events have added stress to an already overloaded system, leaving communities vulnerable to power outages. Over the last 15 years, utility companies have replaced analog meters with smart meters, digital devices now connected to more than 70% of homes in the U.S.

 

Regulatory

 

Reuters – June 8, 2026

US judge scraps Trump policy restricting wind, solar tax breaks*

A U.S. judge vacated a Trump administration policy implemented last year that made it harder for wind and solar energy projects to claim ​federal tax subsidies, according to court documents. The decision is the latest legal blow ‌to U.S. President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging efforts to slow development of clean energy technologies, which he has said are unreliable and unfairly subsidized. In a ruling on Saturday, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of U.S. ​District Court for the District of Columbia said the Treasury Department’s Internal ​Revenue Service had failed to give an adequate reason for eliminating a ⁠longstanding definition for what it means for a project to be considered under ​construction.

Under federal law, clean energy projects must begin construction by July 4 of this ​year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for a 30% tax credit and bonuses that can push the subsidy even higher. For a decade, project developers had been able ​to “safe habor” projects for four years either by showing substantial and continuous physical ​work or by incurring 5% of total costs before a credit expired.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday June 9, 2026

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

 

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

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, erasing most of the previous session’s gains, ‌after Iran and Israel said they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, though both sides warned they could resume hostilities.

West Texas Intermediate declined $1.13, or 1.2%, at $90.17 ​a barrel.

Brent crude futures were down 91 cents, or 1%, at $93.34 ​a barrel at 0400 GMT.

Prices climbed as much as 5% in the previous session after renewed ⁠Israeli strikes on Iran and attacks in Lebanon reduced hopes of an imminent end to ​the wider war, but pared gains after Iran’s armed forces announced the end of military operations against Israel.

“While ​there is some relief from the latest pause in direct strikes, investors are not convinced the truce will hold,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

 

Top Stories

 

Transport Topics – June 8, 2026

Texas Gas Drillers Shut Out of Oil Price Rally Turn to Shutting Off Wells

Two extremes are currently playing out in the Permian Basin. Drillers are reaping the benefits of a historic price rally due to the Iran war. But when it comes to natural gas, they’re having to pay customers to take it away. It has now been 124 days of negative gas prices at the Waha Hub, a key indicator for Permian gas prices, and some producers have thrown in the towel, shutting in some wells to limit their losses. Their number includes large Permian operators such as Permian Resources Corp. and Devon Energy Corp., both of which have shut wells with high gas-to-oil ratios.

“It seemed to us like the biggest no-brainer to shut in and curtail gas wells that were losing money,” Permian Resources Co-CEO James Walter said on an earnings call last month. The plight of gas output in the largest U.S. shale field stands in stark contrast to oil. Permian crude production continues to reach new highs, with some drillers expanding in response to surging prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.

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S&P Global Platts – June 8, 2026

US gasoline stocks near critical low as exports face summer strain: CERA

US gasoline inventories are approaching operational minimums that could force a sharp pullback in exports just as the peak summer driving season intensifies demand, threatening to push refining margins to record levels, according to S&P Global Energy CERA. “If you just follow the trajectory down, very similar to what happened in 2025, sometime in the next few weeks we will reach a level where the US can’t go much lower,” Richard Joswick, head of oil pricing and trade flow analytics at CERA, said in a June 4 webinar.

“It’s not an absolute minimum operating number — no one knows what that is — but it’s an effective limit on exports,” he said. Total US gasoline stocks have declined steadily since late February and are now tracking below 2025 levels, reflecting surging exports to offset global supply disruptions from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

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Reuters – June 8, 2026

Oil market calm masks a host of unknowns: Ron Bousso*

Related: China is helping to cushion global oil prices below $100 — but analysts warn it won’t last — CNBC

The biggest oil supply shock in decades has entered its fourth month – with no resolution in sight as neither the U.S. nor Iran appears willing to budge – yet the market remains surprisingly calm. This disconnect reflects an uncomfortable reality: the biggest drivers of today’s energy market are a host of unknowns… The ​first major unknown is exactly how long global inventories can last. Governments and companies have tapped commercial stocks and strategic reserves at an unprecedented pace since the conflict broke out on February 28.

Global crude and fuel stocks fell at a pace of 5.27 million barrels per day ​in March, accelerating to 8.62 million bpd in April and likely approaching 9 million bpd in May, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Draws could rise further to around 11 million bpd in June as seasonal demand increases ahead of the Northern Hemisphere summer. These are extraordinary numbers – equivalent to running down Saudi Arabia’s pre-war production every single day.

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KPRC – June 8, 2026

After deadly Beryl outages, CenterPoint CEO’s pay jumped to $12M

New financial reports reveal that CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells received a 30% raise in the months following Hurricane Beryl. Lawmakers and electric customers skewered Wells and the utility company for their disastrous response to restoring power after the Category 1 hurricane hit Houston on July 8th, 2024. At least ten people died from heat-related illnesses stemming from prolonged power outages after the storm.

Wells described the power company’s actions as “inexcusable” in a special Senate Committee hearing in Austin after the storm. “Our response to the impacts of Hurricane Beryl and communications were not acceptable,” said Wells on July 29, 2024. Wells told lawmakers he would not resign because doing so would only delay CenterPoint’s work to improve operations.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Summit Midstream Corporation on Monday announced continued commercial execution across two of its key growth platforms, the Double E Pipeline in the Permian Basin and its crude oil gathering systems in the Williston Basin — see the press release

Fitch Ratings has assigned a ‘BBB+’ rating to Sempra’s senior unsecured notes — Fitch

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, will change the frequency of several US Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) price assessments from weekly to daily, effective July 1, 2026 to reflect greater market liquidity — Platts

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Dallas Morning News – June 8, 2026

‘Impacting our neighbors in grave ways:’ High gas prices hit North Texas families*

Rising gas prices are continuing to strain the wallets of North Texans. For some, this means a lot more than just cutting back on spending.  “Can I feed my kids? Can I pay for gas? Can I make my rent payment?” These are the questions Susan Hoff, chief strategy and impact officer for United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, is helping people answer. Hoff said United Way partners with over 200 nonprofit organizations to serve around 1.7 million people per year across Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Denton counties.

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Pipeline & Gas Journal – June 8, 2026

Freeport LNG Feedgas Rebounds After Train 2 Shutdown in Texas

Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas was on track to take in more natural gas on June 8 after one of its three liquefaction trains shut down on June 6, according to a company report and data from financial firm LSEG. Freeport is one of the world’s most closely watched liquefied natural gas export plants because the shutdown and startup of the facility have previously caused massive price swings in global gas markets.

When Freeport shuts, U.S. gas prices usually drop because demand for the fuel from the plant declines, and when liquefaction trains at Freeport restart, U.S. gas prices usually rise as demand for the fuel increases. That, however, did not happen so far on June 8. Gas prices were down about 3% so far on June 8 due to factors not necessarily related to Freeport.

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Construction Digital – June 8, 2026

Bechtel: How LNG Boom is Driving a Wave of Mega-Contracts

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – June 6, 2026

Bryan Sheffield looks beyond Permian as Formentera expands globally*

After selling Parsley Energy, built on the legacy of his grandfather’s Permian Basin wells, Bryan Sheffield formed a new private equity partnership. Sheffield formed Formentera Partners with Blake London in 2020. Paul Treadwell and Stephanie Reed later joined them. “What makes Formentera unique is we’re private equity, but we also are an operator. We are a hybrid,” Sheffield told the Reporter-Telegram.

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KRQE – June 6, 2026

New Mexico projects $850 million revenue increase from high oil prices

Gas prices continue to surge across the country because of the war in Iran. But since New Mexico is the second largest oil and gas producer in the country millions of dollars in revenue are projected to boost the economy. “We’re estimating about 850 million dollars more coming into the state of New Mexico this fiscal year as a result of the war,” said Ismael Torres Chief Economist, Legislative Finance Committee

Torres, shared with lawmakers the financial outlook for gas and oil production revenues. A major concern earlier in the year was that state spending was out pacing revenue growth but now there’s a shift. “Are we gonna have enough cash in the checking account to keep paying our bills and cover executive order spending and appropriations made during the session so we were facing a tight constrained budget environment, and things have changed pretty dramatically,” said Torres.

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New Orleans Times-Picayune – June 5, 2026

What new $5B investment means for nation’s first floating LNG terminal off Louisiana coast*

A long-delayed project to build the United States’ first floating liquefied natural gas export terminal off the Louisiana coast has secured the $5 billion in financing it needs to move forward, company officials recently announced, further cementing the state’s key role in global LNG markets. Delfin Midstream aims to build the largest floating LNG facility in the world connected to an undersea pipeline the Houston-based firm is repurposing to bring natural gas from onshore to a platform about 40 miles off the coast of Cameron Parish.

Delfin’s announcement comes as Louisiana is emerging as the center of gravity for the American LNG boom. The state is already home to four operating export terminals, and the planned floating terminal is the third to receive a final investment decision so far this year. “U.S. LNG production is the biggest in the world right now — particularly with our friends in Qatar shut in,” said Eric Smith, associate director of the Energy Institute at Tulane University. “Arguably, Louisiana has more LNG export capability than anywhere else on earth.”

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

S&P Global Platts – June 8, 2026

Hormuz disruption drives Americas crude exports to all-time high in May

US crude oil exports surged to a record 5.6 million b/d in May, as Strait of Hormuz disruptions forced global buyers to seek alternative supply sources, S&P Global Commodities at Sea data showed. The sharp decline in Middle Eastern crude availability pushed buyers toward US Gulf Coast suppliers, with South Korea emerging as the largest single destination at a record 1.1 million b/d in May. European buyers also stepped up purchases, with the Netherlands taking 686,000 b/d and new flows emerging to several markets, including Croatia, the Philippines and Turkey.

US exports to Japan were steady at 602,000 b/d in May. The bulk of US crude exports — 4.9 million b/d — was light, sweet crude. Medium and heavy crude exports from the US climbed to a record high in May, with 3.5 million barrels sent to Germany and 4.3 million barrels to Italy. The US exported 3 million barrels of medium and heavy crude to South Korea and 1.7 million barrels to Japan.

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CNBC – June 8, 2026

Iraq and UAE race to establish alternative oil pipelines as exports through Hormuz dry up

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are fast-tracking plans to expand oil pipelines to replace the capacity lost by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as new data reveals their stark dependency on the Persian Gulf.  Last week, the Iraqi cabinet approved plans to accelerate crude exports through the Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline network, which would more than triple its existing shipments from 220,000 barrels per day to 770,000.

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Bloomberg – June 6, 2026

Brace for a Flood of Oil as Soon as Hormuz Reopens: Javier Blas*

When the day comes, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will be an extraordinary event: restarting about 10,000 oil wells, pumping roughly 15% of the world’s production, that had been shut down for a hundred days and counting. Nothing even remotely close has been attempted — ever. The oil industry doesn’t have a playbook for it; it will learn by doing. Unsurprisingly, the commodity market is deeply divided about how long it would take: oil bears believe it could be done in days and weeks, while the bulls talk about six to eight months, perhaps even a year. The most pessimistic say many wells won’t restart at all. My industry soundings are far more upbeat: When it happens, it would start as a trickle, but very quickly — in just a handful of weeks, if not days — transform into an oil flood. I’m on the side of the bears, as you may have guessed.

Admittedly, resuming shipping in the strait would require a diplomatic deal between the US and Iran that has so far proven elusive. But allow me to speculate on the day after Tehran and Washington sign a memorandum of understanding that, in practical terms, allows tanker traffic on the waterway to return to prewar levels within, say, 30 days.

I’m sidestepping key questions: Would Iran charge tolls or fees? Would oil tankers use the Iranian shipping lanes or the Omani ones? But the starting point is somber. The closure of Hormuz has forced Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to curtail output by 45%, from a pre-war level of roughly 32 million barrels a day to about 17.5 million last month, according to the International Energy Agency. Before oil can re-start, the first job is to get tankers past the Hormuz bottleneck into the Persian Gulf. Often, I hear the reopening would be a two-phase operation: First, tankers already laden would depart, and only then could ships on ballast go beyond the strait to load. That’s nonsense: It would happen simultaneously. Greek shipowners have already pre-positioned multiple empty supertankers within only three to five days of navigation from Hormuz for the job.

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S&P Global Platts – June 8, 2026

Airline industry profits to halve in 2026 on Middle East fuel shock: IATA

Global airline industry net profits are expected to fall to $23 billion in 2026, roughly half the $45 billion recorded in 2025, as a near-70% surge in jet fuel prices and Middle East war-related disruptions weigh heavily on margins, the International Air Transport Association said June 7. Net profit margins are forecast to compress to 2.0% from 4.2% in 2025, with net profit per passenger falling to $4.50 from $9.10, IATA said in its annual financial outlook released at its AGM in Rio de Janeiro.

According to IATA, jet fuel is expected to average $152/b in 2026, up 69% year-over-year from $90/b in 2025, based on an assumed Brent crude price of $95/barrel. The jet crack spread vs crude is projected to average at a historic high level of $57/barrel, lifting fuel’s share of total airline operating costs to 31.4% from 25.4% in 2025.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

KUHF NPR – June 8, 2026

Houstonians report difficulties paying energy bills, UH Hobby School survey finds

A new survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs found that nearly one in eight respondents face a high financial burden from energy costs. That means those households spend more than 10% of their annual income on electricity and natural gas. Texas electricity prices rose about 30% from 2021 to 2025, according to the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute.

Most survey respondents spent less than $200 per month on electricity and natural gas. However, 46% of surveyed residents also said they struggled to pay an energy bill at least once within the last year. “That’s not a fringe problem,” said Gail Buttorff, an associate director for the Hobby School’s Center for Public Policy who worked on the survey. “Almost one in two households had trouble paying energy bills in the last year.”

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Oil Price – June 6, 2026

Why Solar Power Is Booming Under Trump

Despite the Trump administration’s pivot away from renewable energies, solar continues to dominate new energy additions in the United States. Newly released data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shows that at the close of last year, solar energy additions were the single largest form of new energy capacity installations for the 28th straight month, starting in September of 2023. In fact, in spite of a broad rollback of Biden-era clean energy incentives since Trump resumed office in January of last year, renewables represented a whopping 88 percent of energy additions in 2025, with utility-scale solar alone counting for 72.6 percent of U.S. electricity additions.

This massive growth trend has caused solar power’s share of the United States energy mix to surpass that of wind power, nuclear power, and hydropower. And while many if not most of these renewable projects were greenlit and funded before Trump took office and rolled back tax cuts and subsidies for solar and wind projects, experts say not to expect a major cooldown any time soon.

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Houston Chronicle – June 8, 2026

Hundreds of large data centers want to join the Texas grid. ERCOT data shows top hot spots*

Related: An unprecedented data center boom means new challenges for Texas. Find out what’s planned near you — Texas Tribune

That’s set to change dramatically: More than 480 “large” data centers have requested to connect to the ERCOT grid through 2032, according to ERCOT’s data, as tech companies race to develop artificial intelligence. Altogether, these prospective data centers are seeking more than 418 gigawatts of electricity from ERCOT’s grid, according to the data — or nearly five times the all-time ERCOT power demand record of 85.5 gigawatts, set during summer 2023’s record-breaking heat wave. “It’s really been just something that we’ve never experienced before in the history of ERCOT,” CEO Pablo Vegas said in a previous interview about the surge in large electricity users. Grid experts widely believe most of the proposed large facilities are unlikely to be built, given constraints in AI chips and grid equipment.

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Utility Dive – June 8, 2026

Behind-the-meter data center gas plants will raise US energy bills: Jeffrey Rissman, Eric Gimon, Energy Innovation

A colossal data center is rising amidst the farmlands of Richland Parish, Louisiana. It will guzzle 2.2 GW of power, about twice as much as the entire city of New Orleans on a peak summer day. Near Cheyenne, Wyoming, an even larger data center looms on the horizon. While its first phase requires only 1.8 GW, it is ultimately designed to scale to 10 GW, as much power as all of New York City draws at its peak.

Aside from their ravenous power demand, these behemoths share one crucial trait: They will be fed by on-site power plants burning natural gas, not by the electric grid. Counterintuitively, it is data centers’ independence from the grid — coupled with their use of natural gas — that will hike energy costs for American homes and small businesses.

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Oil Price – June 3, 2026

Nuclear Startups Are in “Advanced Negotiations” to Buy Cold War Plutonium

As nuclear energy regains favor around the globe, competition for nuclear fuel is heating up. In an era of multiple and compounding energy crises driven by conflict, climate, and the power-hungry artificial intelligence boom, nuclear has resurfaced as a highly strategic option for building up energy security and independence for many nations around the world. But nuclear fuels supply chains are highly concentrated, and many of them are controlled by Russia, presenting critical geopolitical tradeoffs.

Today, there are only five plants in the world that operate large-scale uranium conversion, and half of that capacity is in the hands of the Kremlin, resulting in a critical resource bottleneck and geopolitical pain points. Accordingly, “U.S. nuclear energy faces fuel supply chain vulnerabilities, with tight uranium supplies, geopolitical risks, and rising costs threatening both existing reactors costs and advanced reactor development,” according to a January report from Stanford Energy.

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Forbes – June 8, 2026

Clean Energy Is Outspending Fossil Fuels Nearly Two To One: Ingmar Rentzhog, We Don’t Have Time

For every dollar the world invests in fossil fuels today, it invests nearly two in clean energy. Despite record political backlash, the money keeps moving in one direction, and it is not the direction the headlines suggest. According to the International Energy Agency’s new World Energy Investment 2026 report, global energy investment is set to reach about $3.4 trillion this year. Roughly $2.2 trillion is expected to flow into clean energy, including renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, efficiency and electrification. About $1.2 trillion will go to oil, gas and coal.

This is a historic shift. But it invites a fair objection that deserves a real answer. Fossil fuels do not compete on a level field. Governments around the world still spend enormous sums keeping fossil energy cheaper than it otherwise would be. These subsidies are usually defended as protection for households during periods of high prices. They also keep fossil fuels artificially competitive against cleaner alternatives. So the honest question is this. If we add fossil fuel subsidies to fossil fuel investment, does clean energy still lead?

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Reuters – June 8, 2026

EU plans tax changes to reduce electricity bills, draft shows*

The European Union is preparing changes to ‌energy taxes and network charges, including plans to tax electricity at a lower rate than gas, in a bid to cut consumers’ power bills, a draft proposal seen by Reuters showed. The European Commission proposal is part ​of the EU’s response to the fallout from the Iran war in energy markets, which ​has pushed up oil and gas prices, raising consumer bills due to ⁠the bloc’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.

The move would require national governments to tax electricity ​at a lower rate than natural gas, aiming to speed the shift from fossil fuels to ​electricity in transport, industry and heating, where oil and gas still dominate. By cutting relative power costs, it would boost the competitiveness of technologies such as electric cars and heat pumps. Fast EU action is needed “to decrease electricity ​bills and the EU dependence on fossil fuels”, the draft said.

 

Regulatory

 

Source NM – June 8, 2026

New Mexico governor appoints infrastructure advisor as Office of Natural Resources Trustee

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced the appointment of her infrastructure advisor to head the Office of Natural Resources Trustee — the state’s watchdog body to ensure polluters pay for damages to the state’s water, air, land and wildlife. The office has won damages from pollution from oil and gas, mining — such as the Gold King Mine spill — and from military and national laboratory sites, and used those funds for restoration projects. 

Lujan Grisham appointed Rebecca Roose to the acting trustee position after the March resignation of Maggie Hart Stebbins, who held the position for six years. Roose will now take the job on full time, with her appointment set to end with Lujan Grisham’s term on Dec. 31.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday June 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 oil prices jumped more than $3 a ‌barrel on Monday, initially spooked by Israel’s launch of renewed strikes on Lebanon a day earlier, but also gaining further steam after sounds of explosions were heard in Iran

Sounds of blasts were heard – in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan, local media reported early on ​Monday, eroding hopes for an imminent end to the wider war and a restart to crude ​flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures rose $3.20 or 3.39% to $96.24 a barrel ⁠while U.S. crude futures were up $2.87 or 3.17% at $93.41 per barrel as of 0333 GMT.

Those gains erased ​Friday’s losses, when prices fell on hopes of a de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict, which has seen oil prices ​rise over 50% since March.

Though Iran on Sunday fired a salvo of missiles at Israeli targets in retaliation, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that an agreement to end the wider war remains well within reach.

 

Top Stories

 

Rigzone – June 5, 2026

Matador Resources Inks Marketing Deals with Energy Transfer

Matador Resources Co said Thursday it has executed natural gas supply and other agreements with Energy Transfer LP (ET). “This transaction is an additional step taken by Matador’s marketing team to improve all-in pricing netbacks and reduce exposure to Waha Hub pricing in the second half of 2026”, the Dallas, Texas-based oil and gas explorer and producer said in an online statement.

“In addition to this gas supply agreement, Matador has executed separate natural gas liquid agreements with various ET affiliates to dedicate and sell Matador’s NGLs from multiple sources in the Delaware Basin to ET”. Last year Matador secured firm transportation on Energy Transfer’s Hugh Brinson Pipeline project for 500,000 million British thermal units a day of gas produced in the Permian Basin.

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Reuters – June 5, 2026

Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests*

Several ​large data centers and crypto facilities planning to connect to the Texas power grid ahead of ‌peak summer demand have failed key reliability tests, raising the risk of power outages just as electricity use hits its seasonal high, according to the state grid operator. The rapid expansion of data centers processing vast amounts of data for artificial intelligence and crypto mining is ​straining power grids across the United States.

Unlike traditional industrial customers, which tend to draw electricity steadily and ​predictably, data centers are engineered to cut their connection to the grid at the first sign ⁠of trouble to protect their equipment and keep services running. That makes them an unpredictable and potentially destabilizing force ​on grids already under pressure from rising demand.

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OK Energy Today – June 6, 2026

Oil levels at Cushing Hub are becoming critically low

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News from the States – June 5, 2026

Data centers are driving demand for gas from Northwest utilities, reports find

• Electric utilities in Oregon and Washington are increasingly leaning on the use of gas generators to help data centers meet their energy demands, as well as buying more gas-powered electricity from other states.
• Utilities’ growing use of gas to meet the new demand, and data center owners connecting facilities to on-site natural gas and diesel generators, means both states could miss 2050 targets for dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
• Reports show rather than adding more gas power to the grid, lawmakers in Oregon and Washington could instead pass laws like those in Texas that require data centers to power down when the region’s energy grid is stressed and overall demand is peaking.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Explosions reported early on Monday at the Karun Petrochemical complex at the northern coast of the Persian Gulf in Iran

100 days of the Iran war: How global markets and the economy have been affected, in charts — CNBC

The Texas Workforce Commission has released employment data through April 2026, showing that upstream oil and gas employment increased by 400 jobs in April compared with the revised March data — Texas Border Business

Tik Tok creator and candidate for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture warns AI data centers could drain water and drive up power bills — Yahoo! News

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Boardwalk Pipelines, LP’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured debt rating at ‘BBB’ — Fitch

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has ordered a contested hearing before considering a renewal of Marathon Refinery’s air permit — El Paso County Commissioners Court requested the legal proceeding, similar to a civil trial, to review the oil refinery’s emissions — El Paso Matters

Empire Petroleum Corp. Chairman Philippe Mulacek filed a Chapter 11 petition Thursday, pausing enforcement efforts against him over a more than $210 million judgment in a long-running Texas federal court fight — Law 360*

Fuel prices are shaping summer plans as US boaters get ready to hit the water — motorists and airline passengers aren’t the only travelers thinking about high fuel prices as summer vacations near — Associated Press/ABC News

Solar company Terra Energy is rolling out a new option that bundles rooftop solar, home battery backup, and electricity into one monthly bill without the usual long-term solar loan — electrek

Construction has begun on the 457 MWdc Tormes Solar Project in Navarro County, Texas — the development represents more than $750 million in renewable energy investment — Construction Owners

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price – June 5, 2026

US Drillers Continue to Add Oil Rigs

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 563, up 4 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 2 to 431 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 11 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 to 124, which is 10 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig stayed the same at 8.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during week ending May 29. US crude oil production averaged 13.707 million bpd during the reporting period, down from 13.715 million bpd last week but up 299,000 bpd from a year ago. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending May 29 by 3 this week, reaching 192 crews.

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E&E News By Politico – June 5, 2026

Independent oil companies eye Permian production boost

Three months after the war in Iran sent crude prices soaring, oil producers in the biggest U.S. oil field are starting to ramp up their production. The catch: The new push may only boost production by about 250,000 barrels a day, too little to lower the price of oil or provide relief for drivers. Independent drillers have begun adding rigs in the Permian Basin, albeit slowly, according to the data analysis firm Enverus. And the same companies are working through a backlog of wells that can be brought online quickly.

The trends show that producers expect high oil prices to last into 2027 because it will take that long for the new wells to come online. And the volume of oil expected from the new activity isn’t likely to bring them down. “It does not move the needle in the greater scheme of things,” Alex Ljubojevic, a lead supply analyst at Enverus, said in an interview. As recently as January, benchmark U.S. oil was trading below $60 a barrel and companies were shutting down rigs and slowing production. Permian Basin rigs dropped from a high of 257 last June to 221 on Jan. 1, according to Enverus data.

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Houston Chronicle – June 6, 2026

A broken feedback loop turns Texas politicians into national performers: Aaron Pomerantz, Rice University*

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Houston Chronicle – June 7, 2026

Texas Gulf Coast plant is first to run this chemical technology at full scale*

A billion-dollar chemical manufacturing plant is now up and running on the Texas Gulf Coast, and it’s one of the largest industrial investments in the area’s recent history. Röhm, a German chemical company, announced Friday that North America’s first C2-based methyl methacrylate (MMA) production facility is now operating at full scale in Bay City. Advent International has invested about $1.6 billion in Röhm, supporting the company’s growth and the transfer of its technology to the U.S. through the Bay City plant.

MMA is a chemical used to make acrylic plastics, coatings, adhesives and resins, often for automotive, construction and medical technologies. The Bay City production plant employs about 90 people and has an annual MMA production capacity of 250,000 tons. Company officials say the plant uses Röhm’s ‘Leading in MethAcrylates’ (LiMA) technology to cut energy and water use and reduce carbon emissions by up to 42 percent. Röhm says it’s the first time LiMA has operated at full industrial scale worldwide.  “LiMA technology does not only mark a technological quantum leap—it is a true game changer for the methacrylate industry,” Ronald Ayles of Advent International said in the release. “Bay City shows that this process can perform at industrial scale while delivering efficiency and environmentally friendly benefits.”

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KAVU – June 6, 2026

TCEQ responds to ‘zero discharge’ clause removal for Formosa plant

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rejects a ‘zero discharge’ clause requested by Formosa Plastics for a draft permit renewal on their Point Comfort plant. TCEQ says Formosa Plastics’ request for a ‘zero discharge’ clause is “inconsistent with TCEQ permitting and water quality standards.”

The commission says the “zero-discharge plastic limit is not required” by state guidelines. TCEQ says further that court decisions that do not involve TCEQ are not considered when drafting permits, instead basing them solely on “regulatory requirements.”

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – June 6, 2026

Cleaner-burning burners headed for Permian gas processing plant*

Midstream companies are looking to build cleaner gas processing facilities, and their suppliers are working to provide the necessary equipment. ClearSign Technologies, which develops advanced combustion and sensing technologies, received an order for its M1 burner from heater manufacturer Tulsa Heaters Midstream. The burner, sold through Tulsa Heaters, will be installed in a new heater at a multinational energy company’s gas processing facility in West Texas. ClearSign expects to deliver the burner in the third quarter of 2026.

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Houston Chronicle – June 5, 2026

Texas oil CEO arrested, accused of stealing from oilfield service firms*

“… the evidence indicates the scheme extends broadly across the State of Texas,” investigators said. Stogner said she began investigating the case after alleged victims shared their experiences online. “There’s a fine line in the boom-or-bust industry … between good faith, ‘got in over your head’, and a con man,” Stogner said. “If you commit crime in my counties and try to defraud my constituents, we will investigate you, and we will go arrest you, no matter where you are, regardless of county lines or state lines.” Cohen lives in New York but operates in the Permian Basin. Cohen is being held in New York and is expected to be extradited to Texas, Stogner said. He is charged with one count of theft of services and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, according to arrest warrants.  Cases like Cohen’s are challenging for law enforcement in small counties, Stogner said, noting the investigation remains ongoing.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

CNBC – June 7, 2026

OPEC+ approves fourth oil output quota hike since Hormuz closure

OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to a fourth increase in its oil output targets in as many months, even though the U.S. war with Iran is still preventing several of the group’s members from pumping more. The war has cut oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, creating the world’s biggest-ever supply crisis, as key OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, have been unable to supply customers in full since the end of February. The crisis for OPEC+ deepened when the United Arab Emirates left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after almost 60 years.

Seven core members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, have increased their output quotas from April to June by almost 600,000 barrels per day. In reality, the group’s production has collapsed due to export cuts by Gulf members, with production averaging 33.19 million bpd in April, down from 42.77 million in February, according to OPEC figures. On Sunday, the seven members decided to increase targets by 188,000 bpd from July, OPEC said in a statement. This is the same as the June hike, which was adjusted downward from monthly increases of 206,000 bpd in May and April to account for the UAE’s exit.

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CNBC – June 7, 2026

Iran’s threats against this Red Sea choke point are a big vulnerability for the oil market*

President Donald Trump faces the risk that Iran will close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the conflict in the Middle East escalates, a scenario that would slash oil supplies to an already deeply disrupted market. The Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world’s key trade choke points, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. It has acted as a crucial relief valve for the oil market as exports through the Strait of Hormuz have plunged due to Iranian attacks on tanker and cargo ships.

Saudi Arabia surged oil flows through its East-West Pipeline after the Hormuz closed, redirecting millions of barrels per day to the Red Sea. Those barrels are transiting the Bab el-Mandeb to Asia, which has helped offset some of the lost supply to key economies like Japan and South Korea. Oil and product exports through the Bab el-Mandeb nearly doubled to 7.2 million barrels per day in April compared with 3.9 million bpd in February before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, according to data provided by Kpler.

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Politico – June 4, 2026

Trump administration in ‘active dialogue’ on strategic petroleum reserve in California

The Trump administration is in “active dialogue” on creating a petroleum reserve in California, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told POLITICO on Friday, a move that would boost oil infrastructure in the state and undermine Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bid to shrink the state’s fossil fuel footprint.

A June 2 document that lawyers for Sable Offshore Corp., which owns a trio of oil platforms off the California coast, sent to the Energy Department and seen by POLITICO shows the company has proposed a West Coast Strategic Petroleum Reserve “in response to the inquiries made by the Trump administration and in the furtherance of Sable’s ongoing discussions with the Department of War for the supply of oil and gas to California.”

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Fortune – June 5, 2026

Putin is running out of money to wage war on Ukraine, and this Russian-occupied territory is running out of fuel as Kyiv smashes supply lines*

Defense spending could send the government’s budget deficit into dangerous territory, the report said, noting that the shortfall through April had already deepened to 5.9 trillion rubles, or about 50% above the forecast for the entire year. While Russia has been recording deficits for four years, a wider gap would further drain its reserve fund, which is now down 60% from prewar levels. In addition, the economy has since reversed after growing on the back of military spending. GDP contracted in the first quarter, and the Kremlin now sees just a 0.4% uptick for all of 2026, down from a previous view of 1.3% growth. The pivot toward economic stagnation follows hotter war-fueled GDP gains of more than 4% in 2023 and 2024. But that slowed to 1% last year, and Russia’s budget woes have worsened, too.

 

Midland Reporter-Telegram – June 6, 2026

U.S. energy lenders expect oil prices to retreat from recent highs*

Energy lenders responding to Haynes Boone’s Spring 2026 Energy Price Deck Survey significantly increased their near-term oil price forecasts amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East. Their responses also showed banks expect oil prices to retreat from recent highs over the next two years despite volatility tied to the conflict between the U.S. and Iran and the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

KERA NPR – June 5, 2026

Hill County drops data center moratorium after lawsuit, adopts new review requirements

Hill County commissioners reversed course on a controversial moratorium on new data center development Thursday after a developer sued the county, arguing the ban was illegal. During a special meeting, the Hill County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to rescind the one-year moratorium it approved in May. County leaders said the move was intended to protect taxpayers from potential liability stemming from a federal lawsuit filed by developer RCM Hill LLC. The company is planning a large-scale data center project near Hillsboro and argued the county lacked legal authority to impose the temporary ban.

According to the lawsuit, RCM Hill spent more than 16 months and invested nearly $1 million pursuing a proposed 1,235-megawatt data center known as Project Aquila. The company says it secured contracts to purchase more than 800 acres in unincorporated Hill County for more than $80 million and obtained key electrical planning approvals through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT.

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Data Center Knowledge – June 5, 2026

Google’s ‘Power-First’ Data Centers: A New Model for Energy Scarcity?

As the race for AI dominance intensifies, Google is trialing a new approach to data center design. At its Texas AI campus, the company pairs a state-of-the-art data center with 1 GW of dedicated power generation to address the growing challenge of electricity scarcity faced by hyperscalers worldwide. Google and energy developer Intersect refer to this strategy as “power first,” prioritizing the development of power generation alongside computing demand rather than adding large new loads to the grid and securing power later.

The initiative comes at a critical time, as utilities and grid operators across the US struggle to meet the unprecedented demand driven by AI infrastructure. Transmission upgrades often take years to complete, while new generation projects face significant permitting and interconnection challenges. In many regions, power availability has become a decisive factor in determining where and when hyperscalers can expand their operations.

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Associated Press – June 6, 2026

Energy Department says advanced nuclear reactor first to reach critical milestone

The Energy Department says a small nuclear reactor under development at a national lab has reached a crucial milestone that could allow it to produce electricity within a few years. The microreactor being developed by Antares Nuclear Inc. at the Idaho National Lab reached “criticality” on Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. The milestone occurs when a nuclear reactor achieves a self-sustaining chain reaction capable of producing a steady release of energy.

Antares is the first private company to bring an advanced reactor to criticality under a pilot program begun last year by the Trump administration meant to supercharge nuclear energy production in the U.S. The demonstration was conducted in partnership with the Energy Department and other contractors with support from the U.S. Army.

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KTRK – June 5, 2026

What hotter overnight lows could mean for our energy grid

As we kick off another summer here in southeast Texas, many of us are asking the same question we always ask this time of year: “Will our energy grid hold up with increased demand?” Experts say the concern isn’t so much our highs; it’s our lows. “The warm mornings are more of a sneaky concern because a lot of people put emphasis on, ‘Oh my gosh, this was such a hot day, temperatures were in the 90s.’ That’s because you started in the mid to upper 70s, so that’s where you begin your day.”

ABC13 meteorologist Elyse Smith said our warm overnight lows are breaking records. “For us to have mornings starting in the 80s, that is not normal, but it’s becoming more normal as our climate warms,” she said.

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Texas Public Radio NPR – June 7, 2026

City of San Antonio reaches halfway mark of its solar program

The City of San Antonio has announced its largest rooftop solar installation ever. It sits on top of the Ron Darner Parks and Recreation Headquarters off Old Highway 90 on the Far West Side. Doug Melnick is the city’s assistant director of resiliency and sustainability. He said the installation will reduce the electric bill at the headquarters. “We’re going to offset upwards of 70 to 80% of this building energy use with clean power. So not only is it going to help with air quality and the environment, at the end of the day, it’s going to save taxpayer dollars.”

Those savings will add up to $130,000 in annual utility savings, city officials said. The installation also marks the halfway point of the city’s $30 million-dollar solar program. The program has a goal of zero net energy for all municipal buildings by 2040.

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KWTX – June 5, 2026

Men accused of stealing nearly $600,000 worth of electricity near one of NASCAR’s iconic tracks

North Carolina authorities say two men are facing charges for stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of electricity from a substation near Charlotte Motor Speedway. Warrants allege 55-year-old Michael Keith Kluttz and 65-year-old Edward Jerome Little stole power from a Duke Energy substation just outside the iconic race track.

According to the warrants, Kluttz and Little were Duke employees and gained “unauthorized power” for Ver-El RV Park, a campground across from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Warrants said the allegedly stolen power was valued at about $591,000.

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Recharge News – May 21, 2026

Big tech still loves wind and solar – but it’s getting complicated

The AI boom that drove big tech’s renewable energy procurement to record highs is now challenging their commitments to power data centres solely with clean energy. Microsoft is weighing whether to abandon its most ambitious clean energy target — matching 100% of its electricity consumption with zero-carbon energy on an hourly basis by 2030 — as it races to secure enough power for its data centres, according to Bloomberg.

These discussions signal a broader dilemma among tech firms, who over the past decade became the biggest corporate buyers of renewable energy but now want ‘reliable’ firm power from gas or even nuclear alongside clean procurement such as wind, solar and batteries.

 

Regulatory

 

San Antonio Express-News – June 5, 2026

Texas EV registration fee, fuel tax out of synch with fairness, needs*

A year after buying a used Chevrolet Bolt EUV and enjoying the savings from  charging the vehicle’s battery at home instead of buying gas, I experienced a bit of sticker shock when I renewed my registration.  In addition to the standard renewal fee, I was charged a $200 electric vehicle fee. I didn’t have to think hard to figure out that this fee is a way for the state to compensate for EV owners not paying gasoline taxes, which help pay for roads.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Friday June 5, 2026

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

 

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

Oil prices rose on Friday, paring sharp losses from the previous session, after Hezbollah rejected a new Lebanon ceasefire proposal and Oman’s Mina al Fahal terminal suspended oil loadings following an explosion.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $93.06 a barrel, up ⁠2 cents, or 0.02%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday.

Brent crude futures rose ​33 cents, or 0.35%, to $95.36 a barrel by 0408 GMT after settling down 2.84% ​in the previous session.

Both contracts are set to post ​their first weekly gain in three weeks, with WTI up more than 6%, after fighting flared up ​in the Middle East as U.S.-Iran war peace talks dragged on while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil passes, remained limited.

Top Stories

 

BOE Report – June 4, 2026

Texas power demand growth nearly five times the broader US, report says

Electricity demand in Texas grew 9% in recent months, nearly five times the U.S. average, driven by the expansion of data centers and cryptominers in the Lone Star State, according to data released by Hitachi Energy on Thursday.

* The Texas power grid saw the largest jump in both power demand and the addition of new power supplies of any of the country’s grids in the six months ended in March 2026, the Hitachi Energy Grid Pulse report said.

* “Load growth over the last six months has been aggressive,” said Hitachi Energy Advisor Debashis Bose.

* Nationwide, about 28 gigawatts of new power-generating resources, primarily solar and battery storage, were added between October 2025 and March.

* Texas’ ERCOT grid and the Midwest U.S. Midcontinent Independent System Operator grid accounted for half of all of the power generation additions.

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Associated Press/Spectrum News – June 4, 2026

American Airlines temporarily suspends some of its summer routes due to steep jet fuel costs

American Airlines is temporarily suspending some of its routes this summer, as steep jet fuel costs continue to strain carriers’ budgets amid the war with Iran. In a statement, American said it had adjusted service for “select routes” in August and September — and that impacted travelers would be offered alternative arrangements or refunds. The Texas-based airline cited elevated fuel costs, and maintained that these changes were in line with wider industry trends.

American also said that it was not cutting any of its routes indefinitely and that it was proud to “offer an industry-leading network with more flights than any other U.S. airline.” Still, the summer suspensions could cause more headaches for travelers already facing fewer flight options and higher price tags across their budgets. Airlines around the world have canceled numerous flights or similarly trimmed schedules through the coming months — and many have are also hiking fees or cutting other perks in efforts to save money.

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KETK – June 4, 2026

SWEPCO awarded $200M to boost affordability, reliability for Texas customers

SWEPCO has received a $200 million grant to help boost affordability and reliability for its Texas customers.  Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement announcing the $200 million grant from the Texas Energy Fund Outside ERCOT Grant Program. The funds will be used to upgrade approximately 700 miles of power equipment in Northeast Texas, ensuring electric reliability for more than 192,000 Texas consumers.

“Reliable electricity powers every part of Texans’ daily lives,” said Governor Abbott. “As our state grows, we will ensure families, businesses and communities have the reliable, affordable power they need. Through these investments to upgrade power line infrastructure, Texas will remain the energy capital of the world.”

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Mining – June 4, 2026

EnergyX, Wildcat Discovery Technologies team up to build ‘battery mecca’ in Texas

EnergyX  and Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Holyvolt Group, announced Thursday they have entered into an agreement to advance a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material manufacturing facility in Hooks, Texas. The project represents more than $230 million investment, and if selected for DOE funding, federal support would accelerate construction, commissioning, and scale-up of one of the first meaningful domestic LFP cathode production facilities in the United States, EnergyX said in a news release.

The facility would be adjacent to EnergyX’s Project Lonestar lithium plant, which opened in March, and near the Red River Army Depot. EnergyX controls approximately 50,000 acres of lithium mining rights underneath the co-located cathode production facility and Lonestar lithium plant, located in the Smackover formation — a lithium-rich brine resource that stretches from Florida to Texas.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is down 18 cents since last week to $4.24, marking the second straight week of decline — AAA

Market analysts are worried about the ramifications of the continued depletion of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve — “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at less than half of its authorized level at present, and drawdowns are continuing in coordination with international reserve holdings to partially offset the current situation with supply interruptions in the Middle East,” economist Ray Perryman told the Reporter-Telegram by email

Nearly 40 ships previously stranded in the Persian Gulf have exited through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three weeks as vessels quietly coordinate with the U.S. Navy, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence — some shipowners are submitting their transit plans to the Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping group in Bahrain, said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, in a briefing Thursday — CNBC

Enforcement of a Texas law that prohibits state and local government contracts with businesses, including municipal bond underwriters, that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry is back on after a federal appeals court stayed a lower court ruling that found the law to be unconstitutional — Bond Buyer*

CPS Energy announced its interim chief executive officer on Thursday as the utility company searches for a long-term replacement of CEO Rudy Garza — Frank Almaraz was named interim president and CEO, the utility said in a news release — KSAT

The Lower Colorado River Authority Board of Directors has formally selected Rudy D. Garza as the utility’s next general manager, effective July 20 — South Texas News

The Public Utility Commission of Texas enters the second Texas Energy Fund Completion Bonus Grant Program agreement — the grant agreement is with the Lower Colorado River Authority for Timmerman Unit 2, the 188-megawatt (MW) second unit of their Timmerman Power Plant in Caldwell County — see the press release

“Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy chose the Texas Department of Transportation to help develop these new rules through the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program. Public and private organizations will work out how to safely add autonomous aircraft to existing flight patterns and connect San Antonio with Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as small communities in between” — editorial columnist Chris Tomlinson in the Houston Chronicle*

Talen Energy received the final approvals necessary to buy three U.S. gas-fired power plants, which is the latest in a long line of planned merger and acquisition activity across the U.S. power-generation landscape — Industrial Info

T1 Energy announced it has entered an agreement to acquire KORE Power, a battery energy storage system company, for $32 million of equity, cash and assumption of debt — the transaction is anticipated to close by the end of this month — Solar Power World

“Inside Trump’s secret plan for Cuba invasion with warship armada, 2,500 marines & special ops raid to bundle out Castro” — The Sun (US)

Video: Who will become the next chair of BP? — CNBC

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule last week to formally rescind the climate-risk disclosure regulation adopted under prior SEC Chair Gary Gensler in 2024, though the final rule never went into effect — Utility Dive

Oil & Gas Texas

 

S&P Global Platts – June 4, 2026

US gas storage stocks drop below 2025 levels after a bullish EIA report

The US Energy Information Administration reported June 4 a lower-than-expected weekly addition to natural gas storage inventories, reducing the surplus relative to the five-year average and sending stocks below 2025 levels. US natural gas inventories climbed by 95 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, the EIA said. The reported injection was 4 Bcf below the consensus estimate of 99 Bcf in the May 26 gas storage survey by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

It was also bullish compared with the five-year average injection of 101 Bcf and the year-ago addition of 119 Bcf in the corresponding week, according to EIA data. Gas inventories rose to 2.578 trillion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, the data showed. The storage surplus to the five-year average fell to 138 Bcf, or 6%, while stocks flipped to a 3-Bcf deficit to 2025 levels. The delta to year-ago levels has shifted from a 142-Bcf surplus April 17, EIA data showed. Injections were exceptionally high in the 2025 shoulder season, with seven consecutive triple-digit additions from late April to early June.

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Odessa American – June 3, 2026

Basin outstripping Saudi Arabia in energy significance: Bob Campbell

The global order of the energy industry is shifting and where the Permian Basin will fit in is an intriguing question. It will of course be very important, but in what relation to Russia, Saudi Arabia and the other members of OPEC and OPEC-Plus? How will Europe and Asia factor in with their massive and ever-increasing needs for power?

The infrastructure from war damage in Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain will eventually be repaired, but how long will it take and will the global order return to pre-war conditions or will it be altered? Waco economist Ray Perryman and Odessa oilman Kirk Edwards say big changes are taking place and the Basin is gaining prominence.

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KUT NPR – June 4, 2026

GOP leaders shunned Bo French for racist posts. Now they want him to regulate Texas’ oil and gas: Mose Buchele

In 2022, Sarah Stogner ran an insurgent Republican primary campaign for a seat on the Railroad Commission of Texas. Despite its name, the commission is the powerful agency that regulates oil and gas in the state. Riding a wave of discontent over abandoned oil wells and groundwater contamination, Stogner surprised many when she forced incumbent Republican Commissioner Wayne Christian into a primary runoff. She said it was only then that her campaign hired political consultants.

“They told me: ‘OK, you need to be talking about the [border] wall. You need to be talking about abortion. You need be talking hot button topics,” Stogner remembered. “I said, ‘Absolutely not.'” Instead, she kept hammering Christian on toxic air emissions, oilfield earthquakes and other issues related to oil and gas. She lost the primary runoff by 30 percentage points.

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Yardbarker – June 2, 2026

Is Texas Tech Oil Money Spoiling Sports?

Texas Tech’s rise in the NIL era has sparked a question many college sports fans are asking: At what point does financial power stop being an advantage and start becoming a problem? The Red Raiders have become one of the biggest spenders in college athletics, fueled by wealthy donors and deep ties to the Texas oil industry. There is nothing illegal about it. Texas Tech is simply playing by the rules that currently exist. But that does not mean the system is healthy.

College sports once rewarded strong coaching, player development and recruiting relationships. Those factors still matter, but NIL has dramatically shifted the balance. Increasingly, the schools with the deepest pockets can outbid competitors for talent. When a handful of programs can essentially write blank checks, competitive balance suffers.

Texas Tech has become the poster child for this new reality. The school’s resources have allowed it to make headlines across multiple sports, landing transfers and recruits that might have been out of reach just a few years ago. Fans of rival programs look at the situation and wonder whether championships are being won on the field or purchased in boardrooms.

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May 29, 2026

Fracking Saved U.S. Natural Gas Consumers Between $3 and $4 Trillion: Institute for Energy Research

University of California, Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute released a study detailing how shale gas technologies have reduced energy costs for American consumers. The study found that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale gas formations saved U.S. consumers between $3.1 and $4.3 trillion from 2007 to 2025, as consumption increased by more than 50% and U.S. costs were “delinked” from global LNG costs. U.S. gas prices averaged $9 lower per Mcf than in Europe and $11 lower per Mcf than in Japan from 2007 to 2025.

Haas assumed the United States would have been importing LNG to supplement its natural gas production absent the shale gas revolution, a valid concern in the early 2000’s when LNG import facilities were being permitted in the United States. While some may quarrel with the study’s methodology, the positive impact of U.S. domestic natural gas production because of modern technology is not in dispute, including the U.S. position leading the world in both production and exports.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

The New York Times – June 4, 2026

The U.S.-Qatar Domination of Gas Left the World Dangerously Exposed*

Years before the war in the Persian Gulf, executives in boardrooms across Japan were discussing a development they feared posed a growing risk to Asia’s energy supplies. The global trade in liquefied natural gas, the supercooled fuel that underpins power generation across Asia, was hardening into a duopoly. Just two nations — the United States and Qatar — were poised to account for the vast majority of supply growth by 2030. Anxiety was high in Japan because it’s the largest L.N.G. importer behind China. The concern was that a market dominated by two powerful suppliers could disadvantage buyers and leave Japan vulnerable should either pillar falter. The United States was viewed as politically unpredictable, especially after the Biden administration paused permits for new export facilities in 2024.

And Qatar sat in one of the world’s most volatile regions. In February, those fears were realized. That month, Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which Qatar ships virtually all of its L.N.G. to the rest of the world. Two weeks later, Iranian strikes hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan L.N.G. hub, inflicting damage that could take years to repair.

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Reuters – June 4, 2026

Iranian oil exports fall to lowest level in six years, data shows*

Iranian exports of crude oil and condensate fell to their lowest level in ‌at least six years in May, falling well below 300,000 barrels per day, mainly due to the U.S. naval blockade, according to shipping data and analysts. The U.S. began enforcing the blockade on April 13, choking Iranian exports as the ​oil market faces a supply crunch due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of ​Hormuz cutting exports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

Iran’s exports ⁠averaged about 209,000 bpd in May, Vortexa data shows, down sharply from 1.34 million bpd in ​April and nearly 1.9 million bpd in March. This marks their lowest level since late 2019 and early ​2020, when U.S. President Donald Trump was pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in his first term, Vortexa said.

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The New York Times – June 4, 2026

The Strait of Hormuz Is Getting Less Dire by the Day: Christopher Smart, former Obama Treasury official*

Related: Domestic production of oil has significantly reduced the impact of energy-price shocks on US inflation and unemployment since the 1970s, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. An oil shock like the one resulting from the Iran war should boost the personal consumption expenditures price index by 1.5 percentage points over the subsequent year, versus 2.2 percentage points in the 1970s, Boston Fed researchers said in the study, published Thursday — Bloomberg*

Whatever peace agreement the United States and Iran may cobble together, there will be no quick return to prewar energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Even after the mines are cleared, it will take a brave tanker captain to trust that the passage is once again secure — and higher insurance costs could raise the price of that trip by millions. But with every passing day, the world is learning to live without the Gulf’s seaborne exports. Just as the Covid-19 pandemic and President Trump’s tariffs forced a significant rewiring of global supply chains, the Strait’s closure has prompted a similar adjustment. You might be part of it. When gas prices rise rapidly, people start to limit their driving. Walmart just reported that customers are now buying less than 10 gallons of gas at a time on average at its filling stations.

The United States, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan and Venezuela are already increasing their oil production. Large releases of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve are also helping to cover shortfalls. Like a stream that finds its way around a fallen log, markets locate new supplies when the old ones are suddenly cut off. This adjustment is hardly painless. Qatar can ship its vast liquefied natural gas exports only through the Strait, and as a result, its economy may contract 9 percent or more this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. For the Gulf overall, forecasts for growth have been cut by more than half.

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KTUU (Juneau) – May 28, 2026

Alaska LNG special session: Lawmaker warns governor’s plan could leave state’s share of pipeline worth ‘virtually nothing’

A key senator warned Wednesday that Alaska’s share of the pipeline could be worth “virtually nothing” in the first special session hearing on the governor’s newly proposed liquified natural gas pipeline legislation, where lawmakers consider giving up billions in future tax revenue to make the project happen. Senate Finance Co-Chair Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, raised a fundamental concern about the state’s return on the project. As it stands, Alaska holds a 25% share of the gas line — but Stedman noted that’s before additional investors can choose to buy into the project.

“My concern is [Alaska’s stake will] have no value or virtually no value,” Stedman told the committee. “When they go out to bring in other investors, we’ll suffer a dilution issue and the question is, how big is the dilution issue? We have no idea.” According to Alaska Gasline Development Corporation financial statements, the state allocated $69.8 million in 2015 to fund that initial 25% share. Since 2013, the state has appropriated well over $500 million to gas line funds — including $355 million in fiscal year 2014 alone.

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BBC – June 3, 2026

Shell pumped oil through Nigeria pipeline for years despite pollution evidence, documents show

British multinational Shell continued operating a major oil pipeline in Nigeria for years even though it knew it was causing widespread pollution – despite a warning from its own staff and its own technical standards, internal documents obtained by the BBC show.

The files, including emails and presentations, reveal that a senior Shell executive cautioned as early as 2008 about the risks of continuing to pump millions of barrels of unrefined fuel through one of the company’s main pipelines in Africa’s biggest oil producer while it was subject to massive and destructive uncontrolled theft and infrastructure failures. Across Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta, decades of oil spills have left a landscape deeply scarred, with wetlands increasingly coated in crude and contaminated sediment.

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Business Times – May 22, 2026

UAE left Opec to pump more as end of oil era looms, presidential adviser says

The decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was three years in the making. It is based on its view the world is near the “autumn of the hydrocarbon age”, meaning the country needs to maximise oil revenues while it can, a senior adviser to the president said. The UAE ended its nearly 60-year membership of Opec on May 1.

In the immediate term, the decision is unlikely to affect the market because of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, it could have a major impact on Opec’s control over supplies when oil flows normalise. Anwar Gargash, adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan, said the country’s exit was chiefly because its Opec production quotas kept output well below capacity.

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News.az – May 28, 2026

Who are the oilmen behind Trump’s return? How shale oil fueled his political comeback:  Samir Veliyev

So the question “who are these oilmen?” has a concrete answer. They are not only the old oil barons. They are the owners, executives, investors, and lobbyists of companies producing oil in America’s shale basins, especially the Permian Basin. They include ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, EOG Resources, Diamondback Energy, Devon Energy, Continental Resources, and other players for whom Trump’s policy means fewer restrictions, more drilling, and greater confidence in the industry’s future.

But the main conclusion is broader. Trump was not brought to power by oilmen alone. He was brought back by an America tired of high prices, migration disputes, political polarization, and a sense of instability. The oil industry was simply among those who understood this wave early, invested in it, and now expects political returns. In this sense, shale oil has become not only an energy resource, but also a political weapon. It gave Trump a simple slogan, gave the industry hope for a comeback, and gave voters the promise of a cheaper and stronger America. That is why the story of oilmen and Trump is not only a story about money. It is a story about how a barrel of oil became part of a larger battle for power in the United States.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

RTO Insider – June 4, 2026

Texas RE Performance Report to Highlight Changing Grid*

An expert from the Texas Reliability Entity said the organization’s upcoming 2025 performance assessment will focus on the impact of large loads and renewable generation on reliability. Director of Reliability Services at the Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE) David Penney, confirmed that the upcoming 2025 performance assessment heavily emphasizes the grid reliability impacts of rapidly growing computational load (such as AI operations and data centers) alongside the integration of variable renewable energy sources.

Surging power demand from new tech and gas operations has collided with an evolving generation fleet. Texas RE has identified the “Disorganized Integration of Large Loads” as one of the largest systemic risks to the region, while renewable generation (like solar and wind) now frequently accounts for over 100 hours a year of massive system penetration. Assessments will include AI & Computational Demands: Tracking the 70.5 GW of forecasted new load awaiting interconnection by 2028 and its localized impact on transmission and reserve margins. Inverter-Based Resources (IBR): Monitoring the stability and grid ride-through capabilities of weather-dependent generation as the system becomes more dependent on them.

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Dallas Express – June 4, 2026

First Electric Co-op Wins $411M Texas Energy Fund Loan For Sherman Power Plant

Gov. Greg Abbott announced a Texas Energy Fund loan agreement on Thursday to support the construction of a 570-megawatt natural gas power plant in Sherman, with Rayburn Electric Cooperative slated to build and operate the facility. The project is the seventh loan finalized under the Texas Energy Fund’s In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program, which offers low-interest financing for new dispatchable generation tied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid. Power from the plant is expected to come online in 2028, according to the governor’s office.

Total project costs are estimated at less than $685 million, the governor’s office announced. The Public Utility Commission of Texas is providing a 20-year loan of up to $411 million, covering up to 60% of the total cost, at a 3% interest rate. The loan term runs from June 3, 2026, through June 3, 2046. “Texas is the energy capital of the world because we invest in the power needed to support the growth of our state,” Abbott said in a news release. “The Texas Energy Fund brings new, reliable generation online to ensure our power supply meets demand. This project is another step toward keeping our grid strong and our economy the envy of the world.”

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Houston Chronicle – June 4, 2026

What’s with the random, short power outages in Houston?*

Houstonians across the region are once again reporting a familiar frustration: brief but recurring power outages that last anywhere from a few seconds to an hour—sometimes without any major storm in sight. From Spring and Tomball to Montrose, the Heights, Pearland, Alief and beyond, residents say the interruptions have become increasingly noticeable in recent weeks, raising renewed questions about grid reliability heading into hurricane season.  “Do we live in a 3rd world country?” one Nextdoor user wrote in frustration.

 

Renewable Energy World – June 4, 2026

A second life for EV batteries? New partnership promises grid services from California to Texas

B2U Storage Solutions, a battery energy storage system (BESS) company, has announced a strategic supply agreement with Waymo, known for its autonomous vehicle technology, to repurpose batteries from their retired fleet electric vehicles (EV) for grid services. The used battery packs will be installed into BESS interconnected to the electric grid, providing grid services in electricity markets from California to Texas. The companies say the initiative will transition thousands of retired vehicles from the road to the power sector. B2U argues that by repurposing EV batteries, it is retaining residual value that would otherwise be lost in direct recycling.

“This agreement marks a significant milestone in B2U’s mission to provide integrated repurposing services to the automotive industry,” said Freeman Hall, CEO of B2U Storage Solutions. “By extending the use of these batteries as grid storage, we are monetizing the full potential of EV batteries, now providing crucial stability to the power grid as energy demand continues to grow.”

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Environmental Energy Leader – June 4, 2026

Glencore Deal Puts East Texas Lithium on Domestic Market Map

T5 Smackover Partners has signed a binding offtake agreement with Glencore Ltd. for lithium carbonate expected to come from its East Texas operations, adding a clearer market path for one of the domestic lithium projects tied to the Smackover Formation. Under the five-year agreement, Glencore will market all lithium carbonate produced during T5’s Phase 1 development. That first phase is expected to produce about 5,000 metric tons per year, or roughly 25,000 metric tons over the full contract term. Deliveries are expected to begin once commercial production is underway.

The deal matters because U.S. manufacturers are still looking for more reliable local sources of battery materials. Lithium carbonate is a key input for markets including electric vehicles, stationary energy storage, electronics, defense systems and advanced manufacturing. For buyers trying to reduce exposure to long and complex supply chains, domestic production remains a major priority.

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Inside Climate News – May 21, 2026

NextEra Energy to Join the Offshore Wind Club, But Does It Matter?

A utility megamerger announced this week would mean that the largest offshore wind project in the United States would be owned by the same company that already is the nation’s leading developer of renewables and battery storage. NextEra Energy of Florida, the largest U.S. utility by market value, reached an agreement to combine with Dominion Energy of Virginia, the sixth-largest utility by market value and owner of the 2,640-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

There are many reasons to be wary when large utilities merge, as several experts told me and my colleagues Charles Paullin and Amy Green for our story on the deal. For one, the resulting company is so large and powerful that it becomes difficult to regulate, making it harder to manage consumer rates and address environmental concerns.

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Latitude Media – June 3, 2026

The winding path to Oklahoma’s first utility-led battery projects

A utility in oil- and gas-rich Oklahoma is on its way to owning its first battery storage projects following a recent order by state energy regulators. On May 11, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved a $1.2 billion proposal by PSO, an AEP-owned utility, to buy three battery storage projects, more wind power, and build a gas plant in order to meet load growth from data centers and an aluminum smelting plant. Without the new generation and storage capacity, the utility forecasts a nearly 1.8-gigawatt summer shortfall by 2029. Commissioners, in a 2-1 vote, sided with the utility and clean energy advocates — and rejected an attempt by the state attorney general and the oil and gas lobby to block the storage.

The order comes as battery storage takes off in states like Arizona, California, and Texas, but lags behind in energy markets like SPP, of which Oklahoma is a member. However, the market is starting to shift in the state, where an estimated 2.3 gigawatts of storage is under development. That’s 44% of the entire near-term pipeline in SPP, according to the analytics firm Modo Energy. The pipeline is dominated by private companies that build projects on their own dime; the OCC’s order approving a regulated utility’s recovery of storage costs from ratepayers marks a shift, and potentially opens a new pathway for development.

 

Regulatory

 

E&E News By Politico – June 4, 2026

AI’s environmental impacts not fully understood, UN says*

The environmental impacts of artificial intelligence go far beyond energy, with potentially severe effects on water, land use and carbon pollution, according to a new analysis by the United Nations.

The report looks at data centers and supply chains supporting AI and quantifies the amount of water and land needed to generate the electricity for powering those facilities around the globe. It also examines the amount of carbon dioxide that could be generated by AI’s growing energy demands. A key theme of the analysis is that AI stands to have large environmental consequences, even if renewable energy is used to power data centers.

Low-carbon electricity, for instance, can consume large amounts of water or land. Using bioenergy rather than coal, for example, cuts the amount of carbon pollution significantly but is far more water intensive. “Evaluating sustainability through a single metric can hide trade-offs and shift burdens onto places already facing water stress or land pressure,” the report says.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Thursday June 4, 2026

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

 

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

Oil prices fell on Thursday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon boosted hopes for a broader agreement to ​end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that could lead to a reopening of the ‌Strait of Hormuz.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 78 cents, or 0.81%, to $95.24, paring gains from earlier in the week.

Brent futures were down 87 cents, or 0.89%, at $96.92 a barrel by 0458 GMT.

Both Brent ​and WTI rose about 2% on Wednesday after renewed Middle East hostilities including Iranian attacks ​on Kuwait and U.S. military strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel and Lebanon ⁠said late on Wednesday they had agreed to implement a ceasefire, raising hopes for a deal ​between Washington and Tehran, which has conditioned any agreement in part on an end to fighting ​between Israel and Lebanon.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that there could be progress in negotiations with Iran as soon as this weekend.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 8 million barrels to 433.7 million barrels in the week ended May 29, the Energy Information Administration said ​on Wednesday. That was ​a much bigger ⁠drop than the 4-million-barrel draw analysts had expected in a Reuters poll.

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Top Stories

 

Midland Reporter-Telegram – June 3, 2026

Analysts warn U.S. petroleum reserve drawdowns leave economy exposed*

Related: U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Nears Historic Lows Amid Ongoing Withdrawals — Indexbox

Market analysts are worried about the ramifications of the continued depletion of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at less than half of its authorized level at present, and drawdowns are continuing in coordination with international reserve holdings to partially offset the current situation with supply interruptions in the Middle East,” economist Ray Perryman told the Reporter-Telegram by email. The reserve has played a significant role in helping stabilize energy prices, he said, noting that energy prices would be somewhat higher otherwise.

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KUHF NPR -June 3, 2026

ERCOT predicts record summer energy demand

When Texas faced one of its hottest summers on record in 2023, its power grid neared failure and the state narrowly avoided rotating blackouts. That emergency came just two years after the state’s power grid failed during a historic freeze, leaving millions of Texans without power or heat. Texas is once again facing record summertime demand, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which released its summer forecast this week. However, energy experts say the grid is much more reliable than it was just a few years ago, in large part due to the growth of renewable energy sources.

“I think ERCOT has plenty of available capacity to get us through the summer,” University of Houston Energy Fellow Ed Hirs said. “The huge growth in wind and solar generation on the Texas grid [over] the past five years is really the reason.” Hirs said natural gas, coal and nuclear are also needed for grid reliability, but those sectors haven’t seen as much growth as renewables.

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KERA NPR – June 3, 2026

Potentially explosive gas leaks reported thousands of times in Texas

Excavators in Texas have damaged pipelines more than 4,800 times since the beginning of 2026, frequently causing highly explosive gas leaks. That includes over 1,000 incidents in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties. A KERA analysis of Railroad Commission of Texas “pipeline accident and incident reporting” data also found that many excavators had not contacted a notification center that arranges for the marking of underground utility lines free of charge.

Investigations into the cause of Thursday’s explosion at an Oak Cliff apartment complex that killed three are in the preliminary stages, but initial reports point to damage to a natural gas line and a possible leak. Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball has said that a fire engine had arrived within two minutes of a gas leak being reported. As the firefighters were going through standard set up procedures, the building exploded right before they were about to enter.

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E&E News By Politico – June 3, 2026

Trump moves to revoke ESA listing of Permian Basin lizard*

The Trump administration is seeking to revoke the endangered status of the dunes sagebrush lizard in the Permian Basin. The administration asked a federal judge to approve a legal settlement requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider the 2024 listing, arguing the initial decision was based on flawed conclusions regarding the permanence of habitat losses

The dunes sagebrush lizard, a 2.5-inch reptile found only in the shinnery oak dune ecosystems of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, has been a central target of the administration’s broader push to roll back Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections and prioritize fossil fuel extraction. The original 2024 listing under the Biden administration cited significant habitat fragmentation from oil and gas development and sand mining.

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Associated Press/CBC – June 3, 2026

Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg oil terminal before city hosts Russian economic forum

Ukrainian long-range drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and set it ablaze, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, sending smoke billowing over the city where President Vladimir Putin was born as it hosts Russia’s leading event for attracting foreign capital. The drones flew more than 1,000 kilometres to hit the terminal in Russia’s second-largest city, Zelenskyy said on social media, a day after Moscow launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Russian authorities only said that the Ukrainian drone strike targeted St. Petersburg’s infrastructure, without providing details. The city’s airport briefly suspended flights overnight because of the attack. Authorities cut off mobile internet services. With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes. The war that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour is more than four years old, with no end in sight.

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The Wall Street Journal – June 2, 2206

Airlines Called Sustainable Fuel the Future. When an Energy Crisis Broke Out, Barely Any Was Around.*

The war in Iran has left airlines scrambling to find their next barrel of oil, paying through the nose to ensure they keep flying. Alternatives made from used cooking oil, cover crops and even captured carbon dioxide would have eased pressures on the beleaguered industry—if only there had been enough to go round. For years, airlines have pointed to sustainable aviation fuel, otherwise known as SAF, as the future of lower-carbon flying. But the industry has struggled to take off.  Last year, SAF made up only 0.6% of fuel used for flights, according to the International Air Transport Association. Four years ago, the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization expected SAF production volumes to reach roughly five million tons in 2026. But today they stand at just over two million tons, while total jet fuel consumption is close to 300 million tons.

The Latest TERse Tips

The Lone Star State is now home to the most Fortune 500 companies, dethroning California as the capital of the Fortune 500 — Fortune

The U.S. Supreme Court has approved a compact between Texas, New Mexico and Colorado related to water rights of the Rio Grande — New Mexico and Colorado were sued by Texas in 2013 — according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the states were accused of unfairly siphoning water from the river before it reached Texas — officials said much of the dispute was focused on a stretch of the river between Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico and the Texas border — AOL

Martin County produced more than 20.9 million barrels of crude oil in March, topping all Texas counties, according to preliminary figures released Tuesday by the Railroad Commission of Texas — San Angelo Live

Donald Trump’s Iran war drains US oil stocks to lowest level since 2004 — industry warns prices could soon jump as inventories reach ‘critically low’ threshold — Financial Times

U.S. crude oil inventories extended their decline to six weeks as exports rose and refineries ran near full capacity, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration — commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 8 million barrels to 433.7 million barrels in the week ended May 29 and were about 3% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said, with crude stocks were seen falling by 3.3 million barrels in a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts — The Wall Street Journal*

The global economy is set for a significant slowdown this year as higher energy costs weaken consumer spending and business investment, but it could become much more severe if the conflict in the Middle East drags on into 2027, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development told The Wall Street Journal* — and, “even if oil peaks soon,” The New York Times agrees

SpaceX wins tax breaks to build $55B Terafab plant in Grimes County — Austin American Statesman*

Energy, chemicals, food, sports, inclusion: over his career, Tricon Energy president and CEO Ignacio Torras has made an impact in Houston’s quintessential arenas and he’s one of five Texans to join the Forbes Billionaires List this year — Houston Chronicle*

Incorporating our recently raised oil price assumptions, we expect major integrated oil company Chevron Corp. to generate substantial free operating cash flow (FOCF) over the next two years, enabling the company to maintain its strong credit measure, S&P Global says

Samsung Electronics America is relocating its headquarters to Texas from New Jersey just eight months after moving into its new Garden State facility with much fanfare, reigniting criticism that the area’s high corporate taxes and red tape are driving away businesses — Costar

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Dallas Morning News – June 3, 2026

A year after demanding his resignation, Patrick backs Bo French for Texas Railroad Commission*

Roughly a year after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Bo French’s inflammatory comments did not reflect Republican values, he is now backing French for the Texas Railroad Commission. French, a hard-right conservative who last week won the GOP runoff for the three-member commission that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, said he spoke with Patrick by phone Monday night. “The takeaway is that Republicans are unified and working together to defeat the slate of radicals the Democrats have offered up,” French, the former Tarrant County GOP chairman, posted Tuesday.

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The Texan – June 3, 2026

Here’s How Texas Shale Expertise is Shaping Development in the Persian Gulf

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Associated Press – June 3, 2026

Dutch court agrees to hear Greenpeace lawsuit against US energy company

Judges in Amsterdam handed Greenpeace a preliminary victory on Wednesday in an anti-intimidation court case, rejecting a request from fossil fuel pipeline company Energy Transfer to toss the complaint out. The Dutch-based environmental organization filed a lawsuit last year to block a $345 million award stemming from protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. A jury in North Dakota found Greenpeace liable for millions in damages to Texas-based Energy Transfer.

In response, Greenpeace brought a case in the Amsterdam District Court, arguing the North Dakota lawsuit was abusive and damaged the organization’s reputation. Energy Transfer has been engaging in “blatant attempts to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with the ongoing, peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline,” Greenpeace’s executive director Mads Christensen, said in a statement on Wednesday.

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El Paso Times – June 3, 2026

TCEQ grants El Paso leaders hearing on Marathon Refinery’s air permit

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality granted a request by El Paso County leaders to hold a contested hearing before considering granting an air quality renewal to Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s oil refinery. The TCEQ commissioners voted 3-0 to grant the contested hearing, a trial-like proceeding to discuss the refinery’s impact on El Paso’s air and environmental quality. The ruling was made during a hearing held on Wednesday, June 3, in Austin, which was livestreamed online.

TCEQ Chairwoman Brooke T. Paup and commissioners Catarina R. Gonzales and Tonya R. Miller granted the contested hearing, citing that the El Paso County Commissioners Court proved a hearing should be held since any emissions from the Marathon Refinery could impact public property, including Ascarate Park. “El Paso raises both statutory interests that are relevant to the application and owns property that’s approximately a half mile from the refinery,” Miller said during the hearing.

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S&P Global Platts – June 3, 2026

Exxon Mobil Corp. Outlook Revised To Positive From Stable On Forecast Sustained Strong Credit Performance

• We expect Exxon Mobil Corp. will generate substantial free operating cash flow (FOCF) over the next two years despite decreased activity in the Middle East.
• In addition, we forecast strong financial measures over the next 24 months, including funds from operations (FFO) to debt comfortably exceeding 60% and FOCF to debt above 40%, even under our marginal price assumptions of $50 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, $55 per barrel for Brent, and $2.75 per million Btu for Henry Hub natural gas.
• Therefore, we revised our outlook on ExxonMobil to positive from stable and affirmed our ‘AA-’ long-term issuer credit rating, our ‘A-1+’ short-term and commercial paper ratings, and ‘AA-’ issue-level rating on its unsecured debt.
• The positive outlook reflects our forecast that the company will maintain FFO to debt above 100% over the next two years and more than 60% under our marginal price assumptions. Similarly, we estimate FOCF to debt above 40% for the next two years at our marginal price assumptions. We view FOCF to debt as the key appropriate supplemental ratio in assessing Exxon’s credit risk.

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Energy News Beat – June 3, 2026

Two NM Counties Account For 78% of Onshore Federal Oil Production: David Blackmon

Related: In Tuesday’s voting, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is term-limited, and former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland defeated Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman for the open Democratic nomination. Several GOP contenders are seeking their party’s nomination — NBC News

Background: Well-funded PACs play hardball in final weeks before primary election — Independent expenditure groups backed by oil executives and out-of-state donors are spending heavily on negative ads — Albuquerque Journal

In a striking X post this week, the American Petroleum Institute spotlighted a powerful and unprecedented truth about American energy: Two counties in New Mexico – Lea and Eddy – account for an astonishing 78% of all federal onshore oil production, pumping out 1.3 million barrels per day. The API note comes on the heels of the recent Bureau of Land Management $4 billion lease sale on those very lands in southeastern New Mexico, an all-time record haul for such a sale in the Lower 48 states.

My response on X was simple: “God bless America’s drillers. God bless New Mexico.” I should have included “God Bless the 2nd Trump Administration and its Energy Dominance policy agenda. Oh, well, too late now.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Reuters – June 3, 2026

Oil refining has been underinvested, Saudi Aramco says*

The current oil supply crisis ​shows there is underinvestment in ‌oil refining as demand holds resilient, Saudi state-owned Aramco’s vice president of ​market analysis and sustainability, Musaab ​Al Mulla, said on Tuesday. Around ⁠3 million barrels per day ​of refining capacity closed between 2020 ​and 2023, Al Mulla said at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum ​and Gas Conference in London.

“Now ​we realise if you have those refineries you ‌may ⁠have definitely mitigated the impacts of the crisis today,” he said. The war in Iran, attacks on ​energy infrastructure ​and ⁠Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz ​followed by a U.S. naval ​blockade, ⁠have removed around 14 million bpd of oil supply from Middle ⁠East ​producers to the ​global market.

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Reuters – June 2, 2026

China seen tapping deeper into oil stockpiles as imports hit decade-low*

China is expected to tap deeper into its record crude oil inventories as refiners cut imports further while maintaining output ​curbs to minimize refining losses amid weak fuel demand, analysts and industry officials said. Tepid demand from the world’s top crude importer is partly capping global ‌oil prices , which have fallen 19% in May even amid a strained ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and with the Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of global oil supply usually passes – still largely closed for a third month.

Beijing has implemented a range of measures to insulate the country from soaring Middle East crude prices, including maximizing domestic oil drilling, curbing fuel exports and providing extra import quotas ​to encourage purchases of discounted Russian and Iranian oil. May seaborne crude imports could fall to the lowest in a decade at 6.451 million barrels per day, ​from 8.1 million bpd in April, according to Kpler. Another ship-tracking firm, Vortexa, estimated May imports at 7 million to 7.5 million ⁠bpd. This comes after China’s overall crude imports in April slumped 20% on-year to 9.3 million bpd.

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Reuters – June 3, 2026

Venezuela’s Trump-backed reforms have yet to draw investors wary of legal system, infrastructure*

Global investors remain wary of signing deals in Venezuela, even after the interim government enacted business-friendly reforms backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, a dozen sources with knowledge of private sector investment deliberations told Reuters. The South American country’s efforts to lure foreign investment in sectors as diverse as oil, shipping, ​pharmaceutical and chemical production have foundered as investors remain leery of the legal system. Six investors and six members of advisory firms said potential deals have been stalled by uncertainty over ‌dispute resolution, judicial independence, past expropriations, arbitration and currency controls.

Three of the investors already operate in Venezuela, and the rest are mulling opportunities in shipping and chemicals. At an oil industry event in Houston in May, Venezuela Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao noted that the new oil law includes mechanisms to settle disputes both within and outside Venezuela. Potential investors remain wary of the OPEC member country.

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S&P Global Platts – June 3, 2026

Q&A: Trafigura expands owned VLCC fleet for less exposure to time charters

Trafigura is set to operate more VLCCs under its ownership in bids to meet growing transport demand while reducing exposure to period charter markets, where rates could stay elevated amid consolidation and evolving geopolitics, according to the trading house’s top shipping executive. Andrea Olivi, global head of shipping at Trafigura, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, that owning a certain portion of the company’s fleet — which grew to a record size of 500 ships recently — would allow it to meet internal and external shipping requirements more cost-efficiently.

“Trafigura’s shipping volumes are increasing, but we’re also noticing an even bigger increase in cargoes and contracts from third-party companies — who realize that, thanks to our scale, we can offer unique advantages and economies of scale when it comes to freight,” Olivi said in a recent interview.

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Marketplace – June 2, 2026

Abandoned oil wells are polluting West Virginia. Plugging them won’t be easy.

On a suburban side road about 15 minutes from the center of Charleston, West Virginia, there’s a quiet hissing sound, almost completely masked by traffic noise coming from Interstate 64. The orphaned oil well is hard to find. But David McMahon has heard old oil wells make this sound before. “It’s the sound of the gas escaping,” he said.

McMahon, a lawyer and co-founder of the West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization, waded through a mess of wild grape vines and Virginia Creeper, lamenting that he didn’t bring a machete to cut through it all to Ted Boettner, a senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute. As they got closer, the smell hit. “I smelled it just now. Smells like sulfur, rotten eggs,” Boettner said. He’d just written a report on orphaned oil wells.

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CNBC – June 3, 2026

The three reasons why oil is staying below $100 a barrel (#3: The World Is Awash In Oil, and More Is On the Way): Brian Sullivan

One: Real optimism that the Iran conflict/war is soon settled.  

Iran needs oil because it brings in money.  Iran has a massive economic incentive to get back to ‘normal,’ whatever that may look like.  Iran is a petroeconomy.  Oil and natural gas are its economy.  Without exports, it goes broke.  And without money, the people suffer more than they have in the last 30+ years. Even without weapons, those people will have a breaking point, as whoever is running Tehran right now is no doubt keenly aware….

Two: China demand is falling.

JPMorgan star analyst Natasha Kaneva had an eye-opening note this week. She just got back from China and reports that she was shocked to see how much Chinese oil demand had been cut….

Three: The world is awash in oil … and more is coming.

So, back to the original question that I keep getting: where is the price of oil heading? While I appreciate the question – and the confidence – I have no idea.  Smarter people than me have gotten it very, very wrong.  Estimating oil price moves is a dangerous game. My friend, the late, great Boone Pickens, was often asked for an oil price target.  He’d coyly give a range or a direction instead of a firm answer, saying something akin to “it’s likely to go down more than it’s likely to go up.”  Classic Boone.  So I’ll borrow his strategy.  I can more easily make the case for $50 oil than $150 oil.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Houston Chronicle – June 3, 2026

Google pledges to invest $10M in Texas water as backlash over AI data centers grows*

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The Wall Street Journal – June 3, 2026

America’s Data-Center Build-Out Is Falling Way Behind Schedule*

Tech companies are earmarking unprecedented sums of money to finance the build-out of massive data centers, with a planned $85 billion equity-raise by Google parent Alphabet GOOGL -0.79%decrease; red down pointing triangle being the latest example.

But even as the piles of capital secured have grown ever larger, the ability to deploy it in the artificial-intelligence race has become less certain. Supply-chain backlogs, permitting fights and availability of power supplies are among the issues that have caused the construction of data centers to fall behind targeted timelines, with the gap growing wider in recent months: A JPMorgan analysis last month found that more than 60% of data-center capacity planned for completion in 2027 isn’t yet under construction, and another 7% is delayed.

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Reuters – June 3, 2026

Tesla rolls out unsupervised robotaxis in Austin*

Tesla said on Wednesday it was rolling out its unsupervised robotaxis in the ​Austin Metro area in Texas, as the ‌electric-vehicle maker looks to speed up its autonomous ride-hailing operation. Expanding the robotaxi service and wider adoption of ​its full self-driving software – a version ​of which underpins the technology – is key ⁠to Tesla’s growth strategy after CEO Elon ​Musk pivoted the company’s focus from EVs to ​AI and robotics.

“Unsupervised Robotaxi now in the entire Austin Metro area,” Tesla’s official robotaxi account said in a ​post on X. The service has been operating ​in Austin for nearly a year, where customers sometimes experience ‌wait ⁠times in excess of 30 minutes. According to a presentation by Austin officials, Tesla has roughly 50 vehicles operating in the city, while Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab ​Waymo runs ​more than ⁠250 in the same area.

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KETK – June 3, 2026

Abbott announces energy grant that will strengthen the Northeast Texas power grid

Gov. Greg Abbott announced an energy grant on Wednesday that will strengthen electric reliability in Northeast Texas. The funds from the grant will go toward a project to upgrade 700 miles of power equipment and are expected to impact more than 192,000 Texas consumers. Upgrades will include replacing aging copper wire with stronger aluminum and replacing existing utility poles.

“Reliable electricity powers every part of Texans’ daily lives,” Abbott said. “As our state grows, we will ensure families, businesses and communities have the reliable, affordable power they need. Through these investments to upgrade power line infrastructure, Texas will remain the energy capital of the world.” The project is expected to be completed by early 2031.

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Oil Price – June 1, 2026

The Next Stranded Asset Crisis Could Hit Utilities

Can it be real? Utility stocks offer a super combination of high dividends, steady growth, and potential total returns that exceed the cost of capital? All that with captive customers and the government standing by to make sure it all works out that way. Too good to be true? What about risks?

Risk in business has two meanings: the possibility of loss (or what might cause that loss) or the possibility that investments do not earn expected returns (or the cause of that underperformance).  Utility planning tends to assume continuance of prevailing trends, a projection by ruler, more or less. That procedure will not call the inflection point, where risk lies, because utilities move with the agility of supertankers. They cannot easily change course. They have too much invested in what they are already doing. We need to ignore the projections and examine specific risks.

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Reuters – June 3, 2026

Trump plans $700 million in new coal support, White House official says*

U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to use Cold War-era national defense powers to send nearly $700 million to support ​coal facilities, according to a White House official. Trump could announce as ​soon as Thursday that he will invoke the Defense Production ⁠Act, the 1950 law granting presidents wide authority over national security-related industries, ​to upgrade more than a dozen coal power plants, build a massive ​West Coast coal export terminal and match corporate funds to build new power plants, the official said.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to not preempt the president’s ​announcement, and cautioned that the details could still change. The Trump administration has ​framed energy issues in existential terms as it eyes the domestic need to sustain ‌power-hungry ⁠artificial-intelligence data centers and aims to marginalize foreign adversaries that hold large fossil fuel reserves. Coal, though, has faced steady declines in U.S. usage. It once accounted for more than half of U.S. electricity generation, but fell ​to less than ​one-fifth in recent ⁠years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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Governing – May 19, 2026

Why We Should Treat Households as Energy Infrastructure: Ari Matusiak, Rewiring America

Across the country, communities are pushing back against rising electricity bills, massive utility spending plans and waves of new data center development that consume energy, land and water while offering few visible local gains. As utilities pursue one of the largest energy investment cycles in generations, state lawmakers are increasingly caught between rising demand and households asking a simple question: What’s in it for us?

So far, the dominant answer has largely been promises of future reliability, fuzzy plans around economic growth, and systemwide benefits while households continue absorbing rising electricity costs. That gap is becoming harder to sustain.  There is a clear opportunity to answer it differently. Alongside necessary investments in new clean generation and grid expansion, states can choose to treat households as core energy infrastructure by adopting policies that make heat pumps, rooftop solar, home batteries and smart electric appliances vastly more affordable. Done at scale, these technologies can lower bills, reduce strain on the grid and help households become part of the solution to rising electricity demand while avoiding more expensive infrastructure costs.

 

Regulatory

 

Bloomberg – June 3, 2026

Bessent Plays Down a $200 Gasoline-Bill Hike Hurting US Buying Power

• The US is proposing tariffs of at least 10% on imports from most major trading partners. China slammed the move, India said it’s “engaged.”
• In Brussels, the European Union will allow fiscal leeway for green-related energy aid, and is gearing up for its own potential trade war with China.
• The OECD warned that the global economy is at risk of a slump in the event of a prolonged Iran war. Middle East hostilities continue.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Wednesday June 3, 2026

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

 

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

In one of the most serious exchanges since the ceasefire began, Iran fired missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain as the US conducted new strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, in news reported about 3 am CT Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the US military said it “disabled” an oil tanker heading for an Iranian port by striking it with a Hellfire missile

Oil prices rose Wednesday as investors weighed uncertainty over U.S.-Iran talks with the two countries launching fresh strikes Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said negotiations with Tehran were ongoing.

West Texas Intermediate futures for July delivery gained over 1.3% to $94.99, while international benchmark Brent crude for August delivery advanced 1.1% to $97.07 per barrel.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that it had defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and launched defensive strikes following “attempted attacks” by Iran, signaling an escalation in Mideast tensions.

That followed Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that Washington was still engaged in talks with Iran over a potential deal to halt the conflict, pushing back against Iranian media reports suggesting communications had broken down.

 

Top Stories

 

KUHF NPR – June 2, 2026

ERCOT votes to streamline process for data centers looking to join the power grid

See the Houston Chronicle coverage

Background: Texas takes aim at threat of ‘cascading’ outages — E&E News By Politico 

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) voted Tuesday to streamline its process for data centers looking to connect to the power grid. The vote comes as ERCOT is wading through a massive backlog of data centers and other large energy users — such as cryptocurrency miners and industrial facilities — looking to join the grid. In the past, these so-called “large loads” would go to their local utility company and ask to join the power grid. However, with so many data centers looking to connect, that’s no longer feasible.

It’s hard to evaluate whether there’s enough transmission equipment — such as power lines and transformers — to connect a data center to the grid in a given area, when other nearby projects are constantly being proposed. “That sequential evaluation of projects was growing untenable,” said Bryan Clark, a partner at the global energy law firm Bracewell LLP’s Dallas office.

Now, ERCOT is planning to evaluate data centers in batches, rather than individually. Its board voted to move forward with the first combined study of data centers, known as “Batch Zero,” on Tuesday. The new process will now go to the Public Utility Commission of Texas for approval on June 18.

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Yahoo! News – May 30, 2026

The world is quietly adapting to 9% less oil

Related: Oil demand shows first sign of contraction as emergency buffers fade: analysts — S&P Global Platts

Can the world live with 9% less oil? The answer, at least for right now, seems to be… maybe? That’s according to JPMorgan oil strategists Natasha Kaneva, Lyuba Savinova, and Artem Fakhretdinov, who spent last week meeting with market participants in China.

“The most striking takeaway from our meetings was not simply that oil demand has fallen,” the strategists wrote in a recent client note. “It was that it may have dropped by as much as 9% or 1.5 [million barrels per day] — abruptly, unexpectedly, and with remarkably little visible disruption.” Despite the three-month-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical shipping conduit for the global oil trade, prices on the energy product have remained relatively contained around $100 per barrel, only briefly spiking higher earlier in the war.

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Reuters – June 2, 2026

US plans energy investments in Azerbaijan, says $8 billion in deals signed*

A U.S. delegation and Azerbaijan signed commercial agreements worth more than $8 billion, and ​Washington plans to invest in the country’s ‌energy sector, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Caleb Orr said on Tuesday. Orr, on a visit to Baku, said ​the United States was seeking a larger ​role in Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure projects. “We are planning ⁠concrete investments in the energy sector,” Orr ​said in response to a Reuters question.

He said ​ExxonMobil remained an important partner in Azerbaijan after signing a memorandum of understanding on new exploration opportunities at last ​year’s Baku Energy Week, and that Chevron had ​signed a new exploration agreement during this year’s event, which ‌Washington ⁠supports. “We expect that we will be able to help Azerbaijan grow its role as the central node of the Middle Corridor for energy transit ​going to ​Europe and ⁠to the rest of the world,” Orr said.

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Texas Monthly – June 2, 2026

War, Gas Prices, and AI Are Fueling a Texas Pipeline Boom*

As ongoing threats to oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz drive petroleum prices to near-record highs, energy companies in West Texas are enjoying one windfall—and hoping to take advantage of another. Oil that just six months ago sold for $60 a barrel now goes for nearly $100, and producers are pumping at record levels. But when that black gold is pulled from the ground in the Permian Basin, a mix of gases bubbles up alongside it. The region lacks the infrastructure to deal with all that natural gas. There aren’t enough pipelines to ship all of it off to power plants and petrochemical plants, so companies are having to pay to have the gas removed. For the last two years, the Permian has been the only U.S. oil field recording negative prices for its gas. In recent weeks, those prices have dipped below negative nine dollars per thousand cubic feet—among the lowest in recent years. Those who connect this cheap supply with the growing demand elsewhere stand to profit, and pipeline companies are trying to cash in.

On the horizon is an unprecedented wave of new pipeline projects from the Permian Basin. Three are expected to be completed this year and would increase the area’s export capacity by about 20 percent. Two of those will lead to a gas hub near Corpus Christi and one to a hub at the center of Dallas–Fort Worth’s proliferation of power-hungry data centers for artificial intelligence. By 2029, another three are slated to come online, with more in the works. Altogether, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s predominant grid operator, says that data centers could add nearly 360,000 megawatts of power demand by 2030. That’s more than quadruple the most demand the grid has ever recorded. To accommodate that anticipated growth, ERCOT president and CEO Pablo Vegas has stressed the need to support gas generation.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson to resign as state’s top election official in July, after serving as the top election official for three years — Dallas Morning News*

Meet the Far-Right Nepo Baby Vying to Deregulate Texas’s Fossil Fuels — “Bo French is running a deranged culture-war campaign for a spot on the powerful Texas Railroad Commission. The race says everything about where Republicans are today” — New Republic

The FERC’s Summer Reliability Assessment is out — “The Texas Interconnection is widely at a normal risk level for Summer 2026 due to a 12% jump in anticipated resources for the summer period and a 4.5% decline in projected net internal demand. The lower demand forecast is the result of updated load modeling that reflects the observed behavior of load during peak periods and more demand response from large computational loads” — FERC

Vesper Energy has closed a $236 million financing package for its 201-megawatt Nazareth Solar project in West Texas, advancing another utility-scale renewable energy development as electricity demand across the ERCOT market continues to climb — Citybiz

Governor Greg Abbott today announced the first agreement under the Texas Energy Fund Outside of ERCOT Grant Program (OEGP) with Sam Houston Electric Cooperative — see the press release

Amigo LNG has all of its permits on both sides of the border in hand and is targeting the end of June to “start working on the ground,” according to CEO Muthu Chezhian of LNG Alliance, the Singapore-based firm behind the project — Natural Gas Intelligence*

Oil giant Chevron lines up former Texas solicitor general as GC in anticipation of CLO succession — Scott Keller joins as GC in July and will replace R. Hewitt Pate as CLO at the start of next year — Global Legal Post

Two women related to a former Austin Energy employee accused of routing nearly $1 million to fake vendors have also been indicted in Travis County, expanding a criminal case first brought against former city employee Mark Ybarra — Austin American-Statesman*

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Pipeline & Gas Journal – June 2, 2026

Howard Expands Oklahoma-to-Gulf Coast Gas Network

Howard Energy Partners (HEP) has expanded its Midcontinent natural gas platform through two recent transactions, acquiring full ownership of the Midship Pipeline and purchasing Tulsa-based gathering and processing operator Superior Midstream. The Midship transaction, completed May 29, gives HEP 100% ownership of the 36-inch, approximately 200-mile FERC-regulated natural gas pipeline serving Oklahoma’s SCOOP and STACK plays. The pipeline transports natural gas from production areas in the Anadarko Basin to downstream markets, including Gulf Coast demand centers.

HEP previously acquired an operating interest in Midship earlier this year and said the system has experienced record throughput and utilization since the company assumed operatorship. The pipeline also has the capability to move gas in either direction, providing operational flexibility as market conditions evolve.

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Reuters – June 2, 2026

Chevron applies for Argentina tax break program with $13.8 billion investment plan*

Chevron has applied to join Argentina’s incentive regime for ​large investments for a $13.8 billion unconventional ‌oil project in the El Trapial area of Vaca Muerta, the U.S. oil major said on ​Tuesday, in what would rank among the ​biggest new bets on the country’s ⁠shale patch. The filing, which still requires government ​approval, is the latest sign that global energy ​companies are positioning for long-term growth in Vaca Muerta, one of the world’s biggest shale oil and ​gas reserves and a cornerstone of ​the country’s hopes to boost exports and earn hard ‌currency.

“Chevron ⁠commends Argentina’s government for making meaningful progress toward unlocking Argentina’s world-class energy resource,” the company said in a statement. President Javier Milei’s government ​has promoted ​the RIGI, ⁠or incentive regime for large investments, as a key tool to ​attract foreign capital into strategic sectors ​including ⁠energy, mining and infrastructure.

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Utility Dive – June 2, 2026

Sunoco acquires wholesale assets in Texas

Sunoco has acquired the dealer wholesale fuel supply and transportation rolling stock assets of Alexander Oil Company, according to a Monday announcement from Corner Capital Advisors, which advised Alexander on the sale.

The deal gives Sunoco branded and unbranded dealer wholesale accounts in the Houston, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Bryan/College Station and Brenham parts of Texas, representing more than 90 million gallons of fuel a year. This is the third publicly announced transaction from Sunoco so far in 2026 as it targets a planned $500 million worth of bolt-on acquisitions this year.

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June 2, 2026

Firms’ Views on the Current Oil Price Shock: Stable for Now, Risky for Tomorrow: Atlanta Fed

Given the speed at which oil prices have ratcheted up and the potential for high oil prices to remain a facet of the near-term outlook, we were interested in how business decision-makers saw the immediate impact of higher oil prices on their costs, prices, and demand as well as what would happen if oil prices rose further and remained elevated through the end of the year.

Specifically, in April’s Business Inflation Expectations (BIE) survey we asked about the impact of recent increases in oil prices on firms’ input costs. We also asked similar questions about the prices a firm charges for their products and their anticipated demand. Firms were then given two hypothetical paths—prices returning to $67 a barrel or staying around $130 a barrel by year-end—to gauge possible impacts on their input costs, prices, and demand.

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Texas Tribune – June 3, 2026

Corpus Christi delays decision on nearly billion-dollar water plant despite impending crisis

A bitterly divided Corpus Christi City Council voted early Wednesday morning to delay a decision on reviving an almost billion-dollar water plant it had rejected nine months earlier. The 7-2 vote came at 2:20 a.m., almost 15 hours into a meeting that drew extensive interest from residents who argued for and against building a desalination plant that council members voted down last year over environmental and cost concerns.

The proposed plant is not expected to begin delivering water until late 2029, but supporters fear that without long-term supplies, the city’s economy will freeze, driving away residents and businesses and crippling the important tourism industry. Opponents expressed deep concern about the proposed plant’s impact on Corpus Christi Bay, and some doubted the fairness of an environmental study that concluded the plant’s salty discharge would not affect sea life.

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Texas Lawbook – May 24, 2026

Energy Transfer’s Ali Henderson is a ‘Trial Warrior’

The 12-person North Dakota jury filed into the courtroom. They had been deliberating for more than two days. Energy Transfer Assistant General Counsel Ali Henderson stood as the jury handed the court clerk the 33-page verdict form. The courtroom, filled with Greenpeace supporters and news reporters from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, stayed silent as the clerk started reading the verdict.

“Did defendants trespass on Energy Transfer’s land?”

“Yes.”

Damage award: “$3,761,034.”

“Oh my gosh, we are going to come in much lower than our damages experts calculated,” Henderson thought to herself, as Energy Transfer had sought a couple hundred million in damages for Greenpeace’s alleged destructive acts, tortious interference and defamation regarding ET’s pipeline construction in North Dakota. “How am I going to manage this message?”

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Nevada Current – June 2, 2026

‘I need Chevron’: The oil company at the center of the California governor’s race

When it comes to California’s climate future, the most important figure in the state’s chaotic governor’s race may not be any of the candidates on the debate stage. It may not even be outgoing governor Gavin Newsom or President Donald Trump. Instead, it might just be Chevron, the multinational oil company that was founded in the Golden State more than 100 years ago. It is among the largest producers, refiners, and sellers of petroleum products in a state rapidly shifting toward electric vehicles. Depending on which candidate is talking, the company is an example of how Big Oil is strangling consumers or an example of how climate regulations are strangling the state economy.

The behemoth — it reported $12.3 billion in profit last year — took the spotlight last month when an interviewer asked leading Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra about Chevron’s contributions to his campaign. The former state attorney general and Biden-era health secretary gave what seemed to be a candid response: “Chevron, that’s the problem with politics. They’re not the bad guy. Does everybody here drive an electric vehicle? You need Chevron. I need Chevron. My people of the state of California need Chevron … Chevron wants to give me a check, that’s — that’s their prerogative.”

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Reuters – June 2, 2026

Goldman Sachs expects elevated refined fuel margins through 2026 on Hormuz disruption*

Refined fuel margins are set to remain sharply elevated through 2026 after disruptions around the ​Strait of Hormuz tightened product markets more than ‌crude, Goldman Sachs said in a note on Monday.

• Goldman expects refined margins to stay 2–3 times higher for the ​rest of 2026 than 2013–2019 averages with ​diesel margins exceeding pre-war forecasts by $19–26 per barrel.
• Global ⁠refined product exports were down 4 million barrels ​per day (bpd) year-on-year, led by a lack of Persian ​Gulf product exports and reduced Asian refinery output.
• “We expect gasoline and especially diesel stocks to decline further in the initial ​Hormuz reopening stage as demand likely recovers more ​quickly than refined product supply,” the bank said.
• Goldman sees U.S. ‌and ⁠European diesel margins at $50 and $37 per barrel, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2026 and respective gasoline margins at $22 and $14.

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Morningstar – June 2, 2026

BP reports start of gas production at Azerbaijan’s ACG oil field

BP PLC on Monday reported the start of non‑associated gas production at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. “This marks the first-ever commercial gas production operations on ACG, one of the world’s largest oil-producing fields,” BP said. The London-based fuel major operates the ACG field. Partners on the venture include Spring, Texas-based-based Exxon Mobil Corp, alongside the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Hungary’s MOL Group, Japan’s Inpex Corp, Turkish Petroleum Corp and New Dehli-based ONGC Videsh Ltd.

“This is a big day for Azerbaijan and for the ACG co‑venturers. ACG has a long and successful history and now, nearly three decades into oil production, the field continues to hold potential to deliver value for the nation and its investors as it starts this new chapter,” commented Gio Cristofoli, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

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Global News – June 1, 2026

New documents show potential pipeline routes from Alberta to B.C.’s coast

New documents are laying out the potential route for the controversial pipeline from Alberta to B.C.’s coast. The documents, obtained by CBC News, show a number of options for the pipeline, with the majority of those ending in northern B.C. Alberta has released a new promotional video as it continues to make its case for a new oil pipeline to the B.C. Coast.

“My takeaway, looking at all of them, was that it was going further north than Northern Gateway and a lot of terminuses in Nisga’a territory,” Heather Exner-Pirot, with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said. Exner-Pirot, who is also a special advisor on energy to the Business Council of Canada, said the routes appear to be selected for political advantage to go through areas more supportive of oil and gas, rather than economics.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

Texas Tribune – June 2, 2026

Eight data centers threaten to transform this small Texas county. Local officials say they have no power to stop them.

Hood County — Brian Crawford points to the top of a hill northwest of his family’s home garden, just past their gently sloping yard dotted with live oaks beginning to flower. “All of this would be buildings,” said his wife, Laura Crawford.

“A slab of concrete,” Brian added. Their property is a 118-acre paradise along the Paluxy River Valley where the couple care for a menagerie of animals including their two enormous donkeys, Little Joe and Hoss, chickens and a herd of African antelope that they inherited when they bought the property nine years ago.

Instead of green, about 600 yards away from their garden, they could soon be looking at 2,100 acres of warehouse-like structures filled with computing servers that process the digital world, flattening their scenic view into something industrial. The site plan calls for a campus that spans almost six times the size of University of Texas at Austin’s main campus. Its Florida-based developer refers to it as the Comanche Circle project, but the eventual company that will run the data center has not been publicly revealed.

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KPRC – June 2, 2026

CenterPoint Energy kicks off 2026 hurricane season with grid resiliency upgrades in Houston

Related: Entergy Texas highlights year-round storm readiness efforts ahead of 2026 hurricane season — Hello Woodlands

As the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season officially gets underway, CenterPoint Energy is talking about the resiliency work the company says it has been focused on. The company calls the plan the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative—a sweeping effort to reinforce critical infrastructure across the region. It includes four pillars: trimming trees, installing new poles and equipment, adding automation and intelligence devices, and placing more underground power lines.

Since 2024, CenterPoint says it has installed more than 68,000 stronger, storm-resilient poles across the Greater Houston area. CenterPoint says it has also been clearing higher-risk vegetation, undergrounding power lines and deploying advanced technology to improve system reliability year-round. The company projects these efforts will prevent 150 million customer outage minutes by the end of 2026.

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San Antonio Express-News – June 2, 2026

CPS Energy answers lawsuits over North Side explosions that injured 5 people*

Oil Price – June 2, 2026

What Hormuz Is Teaching Traders About Utilities

Oil traders have spent months obsessing over tanker movements, shipping insurance costs and the fate of crude cargoes attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. But now, some of that attention will be shifting to a longer-term play: a potential restructuring of American utilities themselves.

Instead, Hormuz is exposing how vulnerable electricity markets remain to fuel price shocks, even after years of investment in renewable energy. While crude oil prices have dominated headlines, the effects of the disruption are steadily working their way through natural gas markets, fuel procurement contracts and wholesale electricity systems around the world. For utilities, power traders and policymakers, this is now a crisis that will serve as a stress test of how modern electricity markets respond when geopolitical risk suddenly becomes fully embedded in energy prices.

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Houston Chronicle – June 2, 2026

Texas summer heat, data centers could push power demand to a new record. Will the grid hold up?*

Still, ERCOT expects low risk of blackouts this summer, CEO Pablo Vegas said during the grid operator’s quarterly board meeting on Tuesday. “As we continue to see (power demand) growth coming on, that profile and picture obviously can evolve, and we expect it to evolve,” Vegas said. “But what we have published at this point is still showing fairly adequate capacity and low likelihood of emergency conditions going into the June and July months.” Recent ERCOT reports forecast a 0.04% chance and a 0.11% chance of the grid operator needing to initiate rotating outages in June and July, respectively.

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Tipranks – June 2, 2026

TXNM Energy Pursues Texas Rate Settlement and Grid Resilience

On May 29, 2026, TNMP, TXNM Energy’s Texas utility, filed a comprehensive settlement in its base rate review before the Public Utility Commission of Texas, seeking recovery of a $2.8 billion rate base as of June 30, 2025, preservation of a 9.65% return on equity with a 45% equity ratio, and separate recovery of $20.5 million in Hurricane Beryl restoration costs over five years, with interim rates to relate back to May 22, 2026 once a final order is issued.

The same day, sister utility PNM applied to the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission for approval of resources in its plan to advance carbon-free generation in line with state clean energy mandates, signaling TXNM Energy’s simultaneous push to stabilize regulated returns, fund storm-related grid resilience in Texas, and reposition its New Mexico portfolio toward cleaner power, with broad stakeholder participation but pending regulatory approvals in both jurisdictions.

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The New York Times – June 2, 2026

Blue States Sue Trump Administration Over Offshore Wind Deal*

Seven Democratic-controlled states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its move to block a planned wind farm off the coast of New York. The lawsuit seeks to overturn an extraordinary deal that the Trump administration reached in March with the French energy giant TotalEnergies. That agreement saw the government pay TotalEnergies $928 million to abandon plans to build the wind project off New York and another one off North Carolina. The New York attorney general, Letitia James, filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. James, a Democrat, said in a statement that the deal violated at least two federal laws and that it would harm New York’s economy and power grid.

“This administration cooked up a sham deal to pay a foreign energy company hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to abandon offshore wind and invest in oil and gas instead,” she said. “We are fighting back to stop this illegal agreement that threatens to erase over a thousand union jobs and cheat millions of New Yorkers out of clean, affordable energy.” The attorneys general of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont joined Ms. James in the litigation, arguing that their states could have gotten electricity from the project. Charlotte Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind leases, said in an email that the deal with TotalEnergies was “voluntary” and that “no one was forced to sign.” She added that the agreement “went through the appropriate channels” and was vetted by Justice Department officials. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

 

Regulatory

 

JD Supra – May 21, 2026

Texas Supreme Court Issues Troubling Decision in Royalty Dispute: Houston Harbaugh

Back in February I advised landowners to keep an eye on the discretionary appeal granted by the Texas Supreme Court in Fasken Oil and Ranch LTD, et al. v. Puig, et al. (No 24-1073, January 16, 2026). See, Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Arguments on Whether ‘Free of Cost’ Clause in 1960 Deed Prohibits the Deduction of Post-Production Costs (February 2026). At issue in Fasken Oil was whether the following clause in the 1960 Deed insulated the royalty from post-production costs:

“all the oil, gas and other minerals, except coal, in and under or that may be produced from the above-described acreage, to be paid or delivered to Grantor, B.A. Puig, Jr., as his own property, free of cost forever. . . “

The landowners, the Puig Family, argued that the scope and effect of the “free of cost” language in the 1960 Deed was controlled by the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Chesapeake Exploration LLC v. Hyder, 483 S.W.3d 870 (Tex. 2016). In Hyder, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a royalty clause which provided for a “perpetual cost-free” royalty was sufficient to exempt the royalty from all post-production costs. See, Hyder, 483 S.W. 3d at 874 (“[T]he general term cost-free does not distinguish between production and post-production costs and thus literally refers to all costs”). The Puig Family contended that the 1960 Deed should be construed in the same manner (i.e. no deductions). The trial court agreed with the Puig Family and entered judgment in their favor.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Tuesday June 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 held on to most of the previous session’s sharp gains in early trade on Tuesday on uncertainty over the status of ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran and the potential reopening of the ​Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday talks with Iran were ongoing, while Tasnim news agency reported ‌that Tehran had suspended indirect negotiations with Washington.

West Texas Intermediate fell 17 cents, or 0.18%, to $91.99 a barrel.

Brent crude futures inched up 6 cents, or 0.06%, to $95.04 a barrel at 0001 GMT.

Both benchmarks rose more than 5% in the previous session but pared gains after ​U.S. President Trump said he had not been told that Iran was suspending talks with Washington and that Israel ​had agreed to pull back any troops that were preparing to attack southern Lebanon.

In a separate ⁠interview with CNBC on Monday, Trump had said he did not mind if the talks were over.

 

Top Stories

 

E&E News By Politico – June 1, 2026

Congress set for summer sprint on energy, environment policy

Lawmakers’ return to Capitol Hill this week marks the beginning of a two-month sprint in which permitting reform, government spending bills and party-line budget packages will make up just a fraction of Congress’ jam-packed agenda. The House and Senate are facing a mountain of legislative priorities ahead of the August recess, and lawmakers are hoping to make meaningful progress on each one before entering the summer and fall campaign season. The upcoming scramble will be a major test of Congress’ ability to firm up bipartisan deals on a number of priorities with implications for energy and environment policy.

It will be a particularly pivotal time for Republican leaders, who will try to advance two partisan spending and tax packages filled with conservative wins they hope to campaign on. “I’m not saying it’s easy; I mean, our margins are thin just to get consensus with our own party,” House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said recently on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “It’s a tough process.”

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Compressor Tech 2 – June 1, 2026

EIA: Nearly 45 Bcf/d of new U.S. natural gas pipeline capacity planned through 2027

Developers plan to bring approximately 44.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new natural gas pipeline capacity online in the United States during 2026 and 2027, with most of the additions concentrated in Texas and tied to growing LNG exports and Permian Basin production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In its latest Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Tracker, EIA reported that roughly 70%, or 31.6 Bcf/d, of the planned capacity is already under construction. Texas accounts for more than two-thirds of the planned additions, with 29.7 Bcf/d of new capacity expected to originate in the state. Louisiana ranks second, representing 8.4 Bcf/d, or 19%, of the total planned expansion.

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Texas Tribune – June 1, 2026

Corpus Christi reconsiders building a desalination plant leaders rejected last year

Corpus Christi City Council is set to discuss Tuesday whether to revive a controversial and ambitious endeavor to build a desalination plant to convert seawater into drinkable water — a project the council rejected nine months ago over high costs and environmental concerns. A stubborn drought and rising demand has left the city strapped for water, but the coastal community is still divided on whether an expensive plant is worth the cost to taxpayers and the local ecosystem.

Desalination removes salt and other minerals from seawater or salty groundwater, but plants are expensive to build and require lots of energy to run. The city’s water department, the mayor and some City Council members view the proposed plant, the Inner Harbor Desalination Project, as the key to a long-term, steady water supply. City Manager Peter Zanoni often calls it a “drought-proof” solution capable of producing up to 30 million gallons of drinking water a day.

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June 1, 2026

The Exxon Example for Corporations: The Wall Street Journal*

Exxon Mobil shareholders last week voted to support management’s decision to move its corporate domicile to Texas from New Jersey. It’s a smart move that raises a question for other companies: Is it becoming a corporate governance duty to leave states that punish business for states that don’t? Seventy-one percent of Exxon holders supported the corporate move at its annual meeting. That endorsement came despite opposition from the proxy adviser duopoly of Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services. Those two advisory firms try to enforce progressive policies on corporate governance even if they’re not in the best interest of shareholders.

Exxon CEO Darren Woods pitched the decision as better for its business as the company has operated in Texas for decades. “The board believes that kind of familiarity will lead to more reasonable, productive decisions from Texas officials and citizens, which is critical to the long-term success of the company,” Mr. Woods told shareholders. Yet Exxon has had its legal home in New Jersey since 1882, so why move it now? The best answer is that the policy differences between states are becoming wider. States run by Democrats are moving in a sharply different direction than states run by Republicans.

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Chemical recycler Braven Environmental has abandoned plans to open a pyrolysis facility in Texarkana — Utility Dive

The Texas Public Utility Commission approved Vistra’s acquisition of the Q Generation assets in late May — Q Generation is the indirect owner of a key Texas cogeneration plant that was a cornerstone of the broader $4 billion purchase of the Cogentrix portfolio — The acquisition allows Vistra to rapidly expand its natural gas generation fleet to help meet surging power demands, particularly from energy-intensive AI data centers — see the SEC order

Falling US oil inventories put upward pressure on fuel prices — a surge in US oil exports highlights the impact of the global crisis on American consumers — opinion by Ed Crooks from Wood Mackenzie

 

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Dallas Morning News – June 1, 2026

Republican Bo French’s upset reshapes railroad commission race, giving Democrats hope*

When Bo French launched his campaign for the Texas Railroad Commission, Jon Rosenthal thought it was a joke. Rosenthal, a Democratic state representative from Houston, had expected he’d face Republican Jim Wright, chairman of the three-member commission that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry. French had drawn heavy criticism from both parties for incendiary social media posts. Wright was backed by the governor, top legislative leaders, the commission’s other two Republicans and major energy company executives.

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Texas Monthly – May 28, 2026

A Skeptic’s Guide to Whether Texas Democrats Can Actually Win This Year*

No Republican or pollster I talked to predicted a Talarico victory, but nearly everyone told me it was a distinct possibility. The positive case for Talarico is a simple one. In the last Trump midterm year, 2018, Beto O’Rourke ran a shockingly close campaign with Ted Cruz. He lost by 2.6 percentage points, but even Republicans could see that Democrats were in the range of victory: In a slightly more favorable year, with a slightly better candidate, they might prevail.

Everyone I spoke to, in both parties, believes that the national environment is better for Democrats this year than in 2018—Trump is even more unpopular, facing inflation and the Iran war. And they believe Talarico is a better statewide candidate than O’Rourke. At roughly this point in 2018, O’Rourke trailed Cruz in the polls by 5 points. The polling aggregate currently finds Talarico running 1.5 points ahead of Paxton (he leads by as much as 8 in one survey and trails by as much as 2 in another). As one longtime GOP strategist, who requested anonymity given their current position, told me: “This is not a made-up race. You are covering a real race.”

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Pipeline & Gas Journal – May 30, 2026

WhiteWater Adds 65-Mile Pelican Lateral to Serve Commonwealth LNG

WhiteWater plans to expand its Pelican Pipeline system in Louisiana with a new lateral designed to deliver natural gas to Commonwealth LNG’s proposed export terminal in Cameron Parish. The project, known as the Pelican Thrasher Lateral, will consist of approximately 65 miles of 42-inch pipeline extending from the Gillis area of Beauregard Parish to the LNG facility. The pipeline is designed to transport up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.

WhiteWater said the lateral is expected to enter service during the first half of 2029, subject to permitting and construction schedules. Last year, WhiteWater announced plans to increase the capacity of its 170-mile Pelican Pipeline to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day by expanding the system to 42-inch diameter pipe. The line, scheduled to enter service in 2027, will transport natural gas from Williams, Louisiana, to the Gillis Hub near Ragley, creating additional takeaway capacity for Haynesville production and Gulf Coast demand centers.

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Houston Chronicle – June 1, 2026

Trump voters chose gridlock by picking culture warriors over fiscal conservatives: Chris Tomlinson*

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Townhall – May 28, 2026

Talarico Thinks Attacking the Texas Oil Industry Is a Good Idea: Amy Curtis

James Talarico warned voters yesterday that mean old Republicans would take his insane statements ‘out of context’ to make him look like a radical Leftist. The problem with that argument, of course, is that Talarico truly is a radical Leftist, by his own admission. He thinks God is non-binary, that there are multiple genders, said the Bible approves abortion, and that veganism — in Texas! — is how we save the planet.

He’s also doubling down on attacking the biggest driver of the Texas economy: oil and fossil fuels. Like all Democrats, Talarico wants to ruin our quality of life by mandating expensive, unreliable, and costly ‘renewable’ energy projects that actually do more environmental harm than good. Doing so, Talarico argues, will turn our future into one like ‘The Jetsons.’ “Texans are seeing that climate change is here,” Talarico said, “and that we need action. And so I think if it can happen in Texas, if we can built that bipartisan coalition to save the planet. If we can do it here, then there’s hope for us doing it across the country and across the world.”

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Dallas Morning News – May 27, 2026

Who is Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner?*

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

S&P Global Platts – June 1, 2026

Venezuela crude exports to US, India rise in May as output climbs

Venezuelan crude exports to the US and India increased in May, extending a shift in trade flows that has seen the Latin American producer diversify its customer base, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea. Exports to the US rose to 17.1 million barrels in May, while Indian receipts climbed to 13.5 million barrels, as refiners stepped up purchases of heavy crude, CAS data showed June 1.

US imports of Venezuelan crude reached their highest in almost eight years in the week ended May 15, according to US Energy Information Administration data released May 20. India has emerged as one of the main beneficiaries of the new trade pattern. CAS data show Indian refiners increased purchases from Venezuela as they sought alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies disrupted by restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

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S&P Global Platts – June 1, 2026

Egypt leads US LNG cargo destinations in May as European share drops

Egypt was the top destination for US LNG cargoes delivered in May, while US shipments to Asia continued to rise during the month to help offset supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, an analysis of S&P Global Energy CERA data showed June 1.

The share of monthly US cargoes landed in Europe also declined in May to the lowest point since late 2024, as forward pricing for the winter months continued to discourage buyers in the region from competing with Asia for available volumes. Egypt received 16 US cargoes in May, followed by the Netherlands and Italy, each with 15; by India with 14; and by France, Germany and Japan, with 10 each.

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News from the States – June 1, 2026

‘Time is the enemy’: Oil industry faces uncertainty in what the Bakken’s next era will look like

North Dakota elected officials are pushing to make rapid progress on the next generation of oil production technology before a change in federal administration, but oil and gas executives say there’s no guarantee of a quick breakthrough. “We have a tremendous opportunity in the next two years, because we have an administration that understands this stuff. We have to get them to mobilize a little faster,” said Gov. Kelly Armstrong during a prominent oil conference in May. “Time is the enemy, but they understand this, and so we have gone from headwinds to tailwinds.”

But oil and gas executives say there are a lot of unknowns and success will depend on many factors. “Future success is far from a given, it’s going to have to be earned,” said Danny Brown, CEO of Chord Energy. “But the reward is tremendous for this and for future generations.”

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Politico – May 29, 2026

Oil money is taking center stage in the California governor’s race

Oil companies are making a cash splash to back Xavier Becerra in the final stretch of California’s race for governor. And Tom Steyer wants you to know it. Chevron’s contribution early in the campaign to Steyer’s top primary opponent, Becerra, was already a controversial wedge issue. Then this month, California Resources Corporation, the state’s largest oil and gas producer, contributed $500,000 to an independent committee backing Becerra. Chevron did the same last week.

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Fortune – May 29, 2026

The ‘imminent’ oil crisis isn’t at the pump—it’s under your hood

Prices at the pump have surged and global fertilizer shortages are spreading because of the war in Iran, but the most immediate supply chain crisis hitting consumers may be one that arrives every 5,000 miles: the routine engine oil change. The Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association has warned of a “global base oil supply crisis” and an “imminent shortage” of low-viscosity motor oils—the most common grades used in newer vehicles today. “[Auto shops] are being warned by their suppliers that availability will be a problem in June, and certain types of oil will become more scarce,” said Michael Chung, senior director of market intelligence for the Auto Care Association. “They’re actually expecting a huge [motor] oil price increase in June.”

Chung told Fortune that more people are expected to delay oil changes as prices rise, triggering a temporary dip in demand. Even so, the situation hasn’t yet reached a point where shops cannot perform the service. “People are doing the things that are urgent, but waiting on things that aren’t so critical. I just feel like the consumer is a punching bag these days,” Chung said. “It’s inflation from all sides and the stress of everything that’s going on in the world. Customers have basically been absorbing costs.”

 

KUHF NPR – May 29, 2026

Here’s how we’re coping with high gas prices, according to Costco and Walmart

In the hunt for cheaper gas, people are going out of their way for discounted fuel at Costco and Walmart — many of them visiting for the first time. Drivers also are now filling up more often, but topping up with fewer gallons at a time. As the U.S. war in Iran continues to drive up gas prices, Costco’s gas stations have been selling record amounts of fuel, executives told investors on a call Thursday. In fact, Costco had never sold as much gas as it did between April and mid-May, CEO Ron Vachris said, with stations having to get multiple daily gas deliveries to keep up. People have been willing to drive further and wait in line longer to buy cheaper gas.

“A lot of members are increasing their frequency of visiting the gas station to top up in between what would have normally been a gap between getting the tank to empty because of the concern about what might the gas price be tomorrow,” said Gary Millerchip, Costco’s finance chief.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

San Antonio Express-News – June 1, 2026

CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza leaving city-owned utility to run Austin river authority*

CPS Energy President and CEO Rudy Garza is leaving the city-owned utility to take on the general manager role at the Lower Colorado River Authority. Garza, who has led the organization since becoming the interim CEO in November 2021, delivered his notice of intent to retire on Monday, the utility announced.  “It has been the honor of my lifetime to work with the talented and dedicated team at CPS Energy,” Garza said in a statement. “I am proud of the fantastic leaders in this organization and the work we have done together as one team to build out long term strategies to power the Greater San Antonio community now and into the future.”

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KUHF NPR – June 1, 2026

As data centers flock to Texas, ERCOT tries to decide which projects are feasible

Texas power grid operators are preparing for an influx of data centers In the first quarter of this year alone, nearly 200 proposed data centers and other large energy users requested to join the grid. Currently, data centers and other high energy users, such as cryptocurrency miners and industrial facilities, are seeking a combined 438 gigawatts of power in Texas. That’s more than five times the amount of electricity used to power the entire state during record-breaking demand.

But that number is likely inflated by proposed facilities that will never be built. “I haven’t really believed the numbers for two years now,” University of Texas research scientist Joshua Rhodes said. Texas has the fastest-growing data center market in the country and could lead the nation in this sector in the coming years. As these facilities flock to Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, also known as ERCOT, is trying to understand which data center projects are actually feasible — and what infrastructure is needed to build them.

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Texas Observer – June 1, 2026

Texas Nights Are Getting Hotter, and the Power Grid Isn’t Ready

Texas is heading into summer 2026 with a power grid under pressure from two directions. Data centers and large computing facilities are adding enormous, continuous electricity demand. At the same time, summer nights are getting warmer, reducing the overnight cooling the grid once relied on, keeping residential air conditioners running long after dark. Regulators are still writing the rules for those new industrial loads, but Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) planning documents already show where the pressure is building: in the evening hours, when solar output fades but demand does not. That is where cooling homes that cannot cool down and data centers that never switch off collide, and it is exactly where the grid is most exposed.

There is a moment in a Texas summer night, usually around 2 a.m., when you expect the heat to finally relent. For most of the 20th century, that moment was reliable. Engineers built demand curves around it. Rate structures were calibrated to it. But that moment is becoming less reliable.

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Reuters – June 1, 2026

SEG Solar announces third US solar panel factory in Texas*

U.S. solar panel maker SEG Solar on Monday ​announced plans for a third ‌major factory in Texas to serve demand for American-made clean energy ​equipment.

• The Houston-area facility will ​support SEG’s transition to high-efficiency ⁠heterojunction (HJT) solar technology.
• The factory ​will bring SEG’s U.S. module production ​to 10.6 gigawatts.
• The third factory is expected to begin production in ​May 2027. The company’s second ​facility will open in August of ‌this ⁠year.
• SEG is evaluating U.S. locations for an HJT solar cell factory.
• The facility’s products are aimed ​to ​serve demand ⁠for solar panels that comply with federal ​laws barring Chinese companies from ​claiming ⁠clean energy subsidies.
• Houston-based SEG is planning a solar wafer and ⁠ingot ​facility in Indonesia ​to serve its U.S. factories

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Axios – May 31, 2026

AI is turning energy into the hottest business in America

The AI boom is pushing companies across the economy — from tech giants to automakers — deep into the energy business. The scramble for electricity has become the gold rush beneath the AI boom, creating enormous financial value and enormous risk if demand falls short. Electricity — long treated as a cheap, abundant commodity — is suddenly emerging as one of the most valuable strategic assets in business.

“Everyone to some extent is either dependent on energy as a core input or they see energy as a huge opportunity,” said Brian Janous, who was Microsoft’s first energy hire 15 years ago and is now co-founder of data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. Ford unveiled earlier this month its expansion into energy storage for data centers and other large power users.

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The Conversation – May 28, 2026

Blackout risks are rising – why neighboring power grids can’t just send extra electricity where it’s needed

Extreme weather is posing a growing threat to the power supplies Americans rely on. In 2021, a fierce winter storm left millions of Texans without electricity and water for days. Hurricane Helene in 2024 knocked out power to about 5 million customers across the U.S. Southeast. Beyond the immediate human and economic toll, major blackouts like these often leave behind the same unsettling contrast: One region goes dark while nearby places still have power. This raises a question: If electricity is still available somewhere nearby, why can’t it be sent where it is needed most?

The U.S. bulk power system is not one seamless national grid, but three major grid regions known as interconnections – the Eastern, Western and ERCOT – Electric Reliability Council of Texas – systems. There are very few transmission lines between them, so if one has too little power, the others may not be able to help much. That limited connectivity made the 2021 Texas blackout far more severe: As the storm knocked out gas lines and power generators, ERCOT was forced into the largest deliberate electricity shutoff in U.S. history. Operators cut power to millions of customers to avoid a total grid collapse.

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Utility Dive – May 28, 2026

MISO pushes back on utility complaint over competitive transmission bidding

Utilities are overstating how much time competitive solicitations can add to the transmission development process, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator told federal regulators on Wednesday in response to a complaint filed by incumbent companies seeking exclusive rights to build certain power lines. “MISO disagrees with the exaggerated length of the delay alleged in the Complaint as MISO’s actual experience differs from the alleged 16-20-month timeframe,” the grid operator said in a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Although MISO challenged assertions in the complaint, it stopped short of taking a position on whether FERC should grant or deny the utilities’ requested relief. Looking ahead, the dispute at FERC could affect who gets to build regional transmission projects in MISO and the Southwest Power Pool and could spill over into other regions.

 

Regulatory

 

The Hill – May 31, 2026

‘Climate hushing’ or ‘kitchen table’? Democrats must decide: Andreas Karelas, Climate Change writer

I want to let you in on a secret: The throughline for much of the chaos and turmoil we’re witnessing in the world is the climate crisis and the global energy transition. Yet we barely hear about it. We see it with our own eyes. We feel it at the gas pump and when we pay our electric bill. We see our military invade yet another oil-rich country. We see more than a million Americans lose power when a record-breaking winter storm collides with a woefully neglected electrical grid.

We roast through the hottest March ever recorded. We watch the EPA proclaim allegiance to the polluting industries it is supposed to regulate instead of to human lives.  And we witness ungodly amounts of fossil fuel money being pumped into politics, with corruption spanning from utility commissions to the White House.   Still, the silence remains. “Climate hushing,” as it’s now being called, is the cowardly act of not talking about climate out of fear that it’s not going to win you any political points. However, to halt the freefall we find our country in, we must muster the courage to speak about climate and energy — simply, plainly and honestly.

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Texas Energy Report NewsClips

Monday June 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

Oil prices rose Monday after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon, renewing concerns that clashes with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group could threaten a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

WTI added 2,76% to $89.77 per barrel.

Brent crude futures gained 2.43% to $93.33 per barrel.

The escalation in hostilities, which followed the U.S.-brokered Israeli-Lebanon talks in Washington on Friday, dimmed hopes that Washington and Tehran were nearing an extension of their ceasefire arrangement.

The U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh blows over the weekend, with the U.S. attacking what it said were air-defense radar and drone sites and Kuwait coming under attack after Iran said it was retaliating.

The exchange of fire came as the two foes were working to hammer out a deal to wind down the fighting. President Trump indicated a deal was close ahead of the weekend, but mediators have said issues like nuclear commitments and the timing and scale of any financial relief remained unresolved.

 

Top Stories

 

Reuters – May 30, 2026

Record-low U.S. shale well backlog curbs fast output gains amid export surge*

U.S. shale producers have the lowest stock of drilled-but-uncompleted wells on record, limiting their ability to move quickly to boost crude output and replace rapidly depleted oil inventories after exports and refinery ​processing jumped to plug the shortfall in supply caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Producers in the United States have increased exports to Asia and Europe since the conflict ‌began and Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, bottling up most Middle Eastern oil supply.

That has led to a rapid fall in U.S. stockpiles of oil. U.S. crude inventories fell 12.4 million barrels in the week to May 22 to 806.8 million barrels, according to government data, as exports and refinery intake surged to push stocks to their lowest since January 2025. Stocks are down 52 million barrels since the start of the war. Shale’s short production cycle means wells can ​be turned on and off quickly. Drilled-but-uncompleted wells, known as DUCs, are among the fastest ways to raise output, with production coming online in six to nine weeks, compared with three ​to nine months for new wells.

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Reuters – May 29, 2026

Devon Energy gets $8 billion offer for Marcellus position, sources say*

Devon Energy has received a roughly $8 billion offer from money manager Stone Ridge Asset ‌Management for its Marcellus shale assets, four people familiar with the matter said. The move comes as Devon reviews its business in the wake of closing its $58 billion merger with Coterra Energy earlier this month, a combination which created one of the largest independent oil and gas producers in the United States, with a presence in a half-dozen regions led by the Delaware portion of ​the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico.

Stone Ridge submitted its Marcellus offer as a way to initiate conversations about a deal with Devon, ​said the sources, who noted that Devon had not made any decisions on the future of the natural gas-focused position, which ⁠previously belonged to Coterra and covers 190,000 net acres in Pennsylvania. There is no guarantee that the Stone Ridge offer would lead to a sale of the ​Marcellus position, or even a consideration of a sale by Devon, the sources said. They also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

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The New York Times – May 29, 2026

Why Green Investors Are Backing Republican Candidates*

A group of clean energy investors won a major victory in Texas this week after it spent more than $1 million to help defeat one of the country’s biggest opponents of renewables. Now the investors say they have $15 million on hand and hope to flex their political muscles nationally — including by helping Republicans who support wind and solar energy stay in power. “This is an effort to shape a pro-clean-energy majority in the Congress, regardless of party,” said Thomas Matzzie, a renewable energy executive who is leading the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC.

The group is funded by renewable energy developers and philanthropists and is heavily backed by Chris Larsen, the billionaire co-founder of the cryptocurrency platform Ripple. On Thursday, they were openly gloating because Representative Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, lost a runoff for his party’s primary for Texas attorney general. Mr. Roy led the fight last year to abolish manufacturing tax credits for wind, solar, electric vehicles and other clean energy production that Democrats had passed during the Biden administration. Mayes Middleton, a conservative state senator who won the primary, attacked Mr. Roy for lacking sufficient loyalty to President Trump. The clean energy coalition helped amplify that message by spending $1.1 million on ads highlighting Mr. Roy’s clashes with Mr. Trump and arguing the congressman was “not MAGA enough for Texas.”

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The Wall Street Journal – May 29, 2026

Robotaxis Are Spreading Across the U.S.—and So Is the Backlash*

The autonomous vehicle space is expected to account for around 30% of the U.S. rideshare industry by 2032, according to Morgan Stanley. But delivering safer-than-human transit depends on solving what the industry calls edge cases: rare, unusual incidents beyond everyday driving. Those edge cases cause the biggest headaches. Waymo vehicles in December froze up during a San Francisco blackout, blocking traffic when they were unable to navigate traffic signals; in March, a Waymo vehicle in Austin, Texas, briefly blocked an ambulance responding to a mass shooting. The vehicles also faced a backlash in Austin for passing stopped school buses.

In April, an unoccupied Waymo became stuck after it drove into a flooded street in San Antonio, Texas, leading the company to recall all 3,800 vehicles with a software update. In its recall report, Waymo said vehicles traveling at higher speeds might slow but not stop when confronted with “a potentially untraversable flooded lane.” A month later, after the software update, two Waymo vehicles in Atlanta got stuck in flooded streets. Last week, the company also halted rides on freeways in some cities for a few days to tweak how the vehicles responded to construction zones. Many of the robotaxi issues being reported involve Waymo, in part because the company accounts for the overwhelming majority of self-driving taxis on the road today. But it isn’t alone.

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Houston Chronicle – May 31, 2026

Data centers have a major water problem. Texas oil companies think they have the solution.*

Using the waste stream as a water source is a solution that not only allows data center development to move forward more freely in Texas as water supplies dwindle, but could also solve an existential problem for oil companies. Their oilfields are drowning in wastewater. The longstanding practice of injecting this water underground has turned into a critical problem for Houston’s oil companies as a rash of earthquakes, leaking wells and toxic geysers prove the wastewater they are sending underground is not staying put. State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, is aiming for a “twofer,” as he advocates for cleaning and reusing the wastewater for data centers and agriculture, and for recharging drying rivers – instead of injecting it underground into “pore space.”

 

The Latest TERse Tips

Ukrainian drone strikes caused fires at more Russian oil facilities overnight into Saturday, Russian officials said, in what appeared to be the latest attack on Moscow’s vital oil industry — WPRI

Japan’s call to maintain “impeccable” defenses on its northern frontier reflects Tokyo’s deepening concern over growing Russian military activity in the region, analysts say — South China Post

After more than two years in the works, Liberty Energy celebrated the completion of its new building in Odessa’s Leeco Industrial Park — Midland Reporter-Telegram*

Texas government relations, lobbyist and O&G veteran William Phelps has passed away — see the obituary

Beverage and snacks giant PepsiCo and filtration products and solutions provider Donaldson Company have joined the list of power off-takers of the 815-MW Sequoia solar project in Texas, Enbridge announced — Renewables Now

Research Update: Kinetik Holdings Inc. ‘BB+’ Ratings Affirmed On Continued Expansion; Outlook Positive — S&P Global

Chevron Corporation announced Friday that Austin appellate lawyer and former Texas solicitor general Scott A. Keller will be the Houston energy giant’s new general counsel starting July 1 and will take over as chief legal officer when current chief legal officer, R. Hewitt Pate, retires next year — see the press release

Focused Energy, the world’s leading laser fusion company, has raised $240 million in a Series A financing round, making it the largest fully secured Series A financing in the global fusion industry to date — see the press release

Oil & Gas Texas

 

Oil Price – May 29, 2026

US Drillers Add More Rigs In Response to Higher Prices

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 562,  down just 1 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 4 to 429 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 22 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs stayed the same at 125, which is 16 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig stayed the same at 8.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during week ending May 15. US crude oil production averaged 13.702 million bpd during the reporting period—just 160,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending May 15 by 5 again this week, reaching 184 crews—the highest level since last June.

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Investing – May 30, 2026

Battalion Oil finalizes joint development deal in Texas

Battalion Oil Corporation (NYSE American:BATL) announced today the execution of definitive documentation for a Joint Development Agreement in Monument Draw, Ward County, Texas, according to a press release statement. The announcement comes as the company’s stock trades at $1.54, with a market capitalization of $33.06 million, down roughly 26% over the past week. The agreement covers up to an eight-well drilling program, with initial development focusing on a four-well pad scheduled to begin drilling in late Q2 or early Q3 2026. The development targets the 3rd Bone Spring, Wolfcamp A, and Wolfcamp B formations.

Battalion will operate the wells and retain a majority working interest in the program. The agreement provides a carry structure for the company while accelerating development of its inventory. The development is expected to prove out over 100 additional drilling locations in the Wolfcamp B and 3rd Bone Spring formations. The program transitions the company’s operations to cube development across its primary benches.

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Houston Chronicle – May 29, 2026

Greg Abbott and other Republicans back Bo French after warning he’d ‘wreck’ Texas oil and gas

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Midland Reporter-Telegram – May 30, 2026

SM Energy continues testing Woodford-Barnett*

The company recently completed a three-well package in Upton County that produced 3,516 barrels. A spokesperson for SM said the new wells, brought online in February, continue the operator’s work in the Woodford-Barnett that began in 2022. “Production from those new wells is a strong validation of the play and we remain committed to testing high-quality landing zones in that area,” the spokesperson told the Reporter-Telegram by email.

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KCBX NPR – May 29, 2026

California lawmakers demand answers from Sable Offshore over Santa Barbara oil restart

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff and Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal are demanding answers from Sable Offshore Corporation over the company’s restart of offshore oil production near Santa Barbara. In a letter sent Thursday to Sable CEO Jim Flores, the lawmakers—including nine other California Democrats—accused the company of working with the Trump Administration to bypass California environmental laws and coastal protections.

The lawmakers launched what they described as an oversight inquiry into Sable’s communication with the Administration and demanded records related to the company’s request for federal intervention under the Defense Production Act. The legislators say that law is traditionally used during national security emergencies. The letter demands the company preserve all internal records and communications tied to the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit oil operation along the Gaviota Coast.

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Texas Tribune – May 29, 2026

With limited options, Corpus Christi focuses on delaying – not avoiding – its looming water crisis

Related: Corpus Christi, TX Series 2026 GO Improvement Bonds Assigned ‘AA’ Rating; Outlook Is Negative — “the city’s physical risk is elevated…because of the historic drought the city is facing” — S&P Global

Related: Corpus Christi Water COO seeks drought rule change for reservoir releases. A letter to City Manager Peter Zanoni says the city wants to pause some freshwater releases from reservoirs while lake levels remain critically low — KIII

Five straight years of record heat, sporadic rainfall and divided leadership has Corpus Christi in danger of becoming the first U.S. city to run short of water. Only rain — lots of it — can keep the coastal city from that grim fate. Accessible sources of short-term water, including newly drilled wells, have already been tapped. A controversial desalination plant with the ability to filter seawater — rejected last year over cost and environmental concerns — is back on the table but years away from producing. Building a new lake-size reservoir is another option, but that would take even longer.

Corpus Christi is bracing for demand to exceed water supplies by next summer, leaving far too little time to dodge a crisis by building new infrastructure, said Kenneth Dees, a water resources engineer based in Fort Worth. At this point, he said, “the only thing that you could do is stop using water.” City leaders are left searching for ways to delay, not avoid, the looming emergency through conservation efforts, such as mandatory water restrictions and higher fees for exceeding limits.

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Louisiana Business Report – May 29, 2026

State and Exxon reach an agreement over coastal damages

Louisiana reached a deal with ExxonMobil over “coastal land disputes,” Gov. Jeff Landry announced on social media Thursday. Landry said a large part of the agreement includes ExxonMobil partnering with the state to address coastal orphan wells. “This is huge for Louisiana, our Coast, and our environment! ExxonMobil has been in Louisiana for 115 years and we want them to be here for another 115 years! Shout out to Office of the Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, her team and CEO Darren Woods!” Landry’s post on X reads.

Murrill confirmed the agreement but said there are documents that need to be drawn up and signed. “Any settlements in the coastal cases are under seal by court order, but I am happy that we were able to find common ground with Exxon and look forward to a great future together, where we are committed to energy independence for our State and nation, as well as preserving our coast and coastal communities,” Murrill said in a social media post.

 

Oil & Gas National & International

 

Reuters – May 29, 2026

Analysts hike oil forecasts again as energy flows face slow recovery: Reuters poll*

Analysts have increased their 2026 oil price forecasts for the third time since the Iran war began at the end of ​February, as they cite a months-long timeline for energy flows to normalise to pre-conflict levels, a monthly Reuters poll ‌showed on Friday. The survey of 33 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude would average $90.44 per barrel in 2026, versus $86.38 projected last month. U.S. crude was seen averaging $84.63 per barrel, up from April’s view of $80.07.

The latest forecasts represent increases of about 40% from February estimates of $63.85 for Brent and $60.38 for WTI futures, published ​a day before the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on February 28. Brent and WTI have hit four-year highs of over $126.41 ​and $119.8 respectively since the war began, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused large-scale disruption ⁠of energy supplies. Prices though remain below record highs of more than $147 a barrel reached in 2008.

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The Guardian (UK) – May 30, 2026

Why $1bn in Balkans energy contracts are going to an obscure company connected to Donald Trump

On a graffitied Sarajevo backstreet, a path leads past an overgrown patch of garden to a white door. Beyond is the registered office of a company that is on the brink of winning contracts worth more than $1bn.

AAFS Infrastructure and Energy is close to securing a concession to build and operate a pipeline across the Balkans to allow fossil gas shipped from the US to replace supplies that come from Russia. “This could be the most important infrastructure project ever in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” says one of the country’s top officials, who, like others, asks to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive negotiations.

The company has no record of even attempting anything close to this scale. What it does have is personal connections to Donald Trump. One of AAFS’s representatives is a Washington lawyer who has acted for the Trumps in political cases. The other is the brother of the president’s former national security adviser. Both were part of a campaign that is close to Trump’s heart: the effort to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

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Reuters – May 29, 2026

US crude production largely steady on the month in March, EIA says*

U.S. crude production was largely steady in March at 13.7 million barrels per ​day, according to the Energy Information Administration on Friday. Crude ‌production in Texas fell to 5.78 million bpd, marking a four-month low, while output in neighboring New Mexico was steady on the month ​at 2.31 million bpd. Texas and New Mexico are home ​to the prolific Permian Basin, which accounts for roughly ⁠half of U.S. crude output.

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Bloomberg – May 31, 2026

An LNG Glut Is On Its Way: Javier Blas*

Get ready for a glut of liquefied natural gas. It may sound counterintuitive. After all, the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. The world’s largest LNG plant is idled and Qatar says repairing it will take at least three years. And yet, the contours of a long-term surplus are already starting to emerge. The outlook for LNG prices is crucial in Europe and Asia, where the commodity is either burned to generate electricity and heat, or used as feedstock to produce chemicals and fertilisers. In those regions, where LNG prices go so goes inflation.

The war in Iran has sent benchmark LNG prices sharply higher — although far below the all-time high set after Russia invaded Ukraine. In March, the Asian benchmark known as JKM briefly rose to about $30 per million British thermal units, up from less than $11 in February. For comparison, it jumped eight-fold jump in 2022, nearing $70. Unless the peace talks between Washington and Tehran fall apart and Hormuz remains closed beyond July, LNG prices are set to drop again — and remain low for an extended period.

To understand why, we need to delve into the plumbing of the industry. The beauty of LNG is that once the gas has been super-cooled to about minus 160 Celsius, it transforms into a liquid that can be loaded into tankers and shipped around the world, very much like oil. Thus, LNG can reach any global customer, breaking the historical limitation of gas pipelines. Building those liquefaction plants requires huge upfront investments, with some costing between $20 billion and $30 billion. As a result, LNG companies only give the go-ahead on new facilities when they have secured enough clients to convince their banks a project is safe. That mechanism helps to keep the market relatively balanced, with supply expansion matching demand growth.

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The Wall Street Journal – May 29, 2026

BP Chairman Sparred With Director and Ex-CEO Before Ouster*

BP’s ousted chairman clashed with a fellow director earlier this year over the handling of sensitive talks about a potential deal, a sign of simmering boardroom tensions months before Albert Manifold’s abrupt dismissal this week. In private conversations, Manifold accused nonexecutive director Simon Henry, a former finance chief of BP rival Shell, of overstepping his authority and cutting other board members out of communications, according to people familiar with the dispute.  Henry denied any mishandling of talks, the people said. He argued that Manifold was mischaracterizing conversations among directors, executives and BP’s internal deals team, and needed to listen more to colleagues. The outside company’s identity couldn’t be learned but wasn’t Shell, the people added. Within weeks, Manifold said BP was streamlining its board. Among the changes: Henry wouldn’t be standing for re-election at the April shareholder meeting.

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The Wall Street Journal – May 29, 2026

The U.A.E.’s Secret Role in the War Involved Dozens of Strikes on Iran*

The United Arab Emirates carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iran beginning in the early days of the war and continuing through the day after the April cease-fire was announced, people familiar with the matter said, a deeper involvement than was previously known in the air campaign led by the U.S. and Israel. The extent of the strikes is further evidence of the country’s growing willingness to protect what it sees as its strategic interests, setting it apart from some of its neighbors in the Gulf region, which have taken a far more cautious approach to the threat from Iran. The attacks were conducted in coordination with the U.S. and Israel, both of which provided intelligence, the people said. They included targets on Qeshm and Abu Musa islands in the Strait of Hormuz; Bandar Abbas; the oil refinery on Lavan island in the Persian Gulf; and the Asaluyeh petrochemical complex, some of the people said.

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The Wall Street Journal – May 29, 2026

Ships Are Sailing ‘Dark’ to Sneak Out of Strait of Hormuz*

The Strait of Hormuz isn’t open, but thanks to intrepid shipowners—some working in collaboration with the U.S. military—it isn’t quite closed either. In recent weeks, clumps of ships, some of them the world’s largest tankers laden with oil and liquefied natural gas, have traversed the dangerous crossing, creating a tiny relief valve for the global economy. Some ships are sailing “dark,” as it is known in the industry, turning off lights and traveling without navigational beacons known as AIS, or Automatic Identification Systems, that help prevent collisions. Turning off the service makes ships harder to spot electronically and less prone to Iranian attacks. To navigate the strait, some ships stay in contact with U.S. military officials, who use radar, drones and other tools to monitor traffic and help them transit safely. The U.S. advises them when to go dark and how to respond to Iranian threats, according to shipowners and U.S. officials.

 

Utilities, Electricity & Renewables

 

KWTX – May 29, 2026

Data center developer files lawsuit over ‘illegal’ moratorium in Hill County, Texas

A proposed 1,200‑plus megawatt data center in rural Hill County is now at the center of a federal lawsuit, as both the county and the City of Hillsboro debate how tightly to regulate the fast‑growing data center industry. RCM Hill, LLC, a Texas developer, has filed suit in federal court in Waco against Hill County, County Judge Shane Brassell, and Commissioners Jim Holcomb and Larry Crumpton over the county’s “illegal” data center moratorium.

The moratorium, approved 3–2 on May 12, imposes a temporary pause—up to one year—on starting new large battery storage, power generation and data center projects in unincorporated parts of Hill County while officials study their impact. … Projects already under active construction as of the effective date are exempt, along with routine maintenance, repair work and agricultural operations.

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KXAS – May 30, 2026

Lawsuit filed against Atmos Energy following fatal apartment explosion kills 3

A law firm filed a lawsuit against Atmos Energy on behalf of Onecimo Ponce Mendoza, a resident of the Dallas apartment complex that exploded after a natural gas pipeline was damaged. Houston-based catastrophic injury law firm Kherkher Garcia, LLP filed the suit on May 29. The complaint alleges that Mendoza was asleep in his apartment when he was awoken by a loud noise.

Exiting his bedroom to investigate, he was met with searing heat and thick smoke, soon realizing the roof had caved in leaving him trapped within a massive fire. It states Ponce Mendoza immediately located his roommate so they could escape together during which he suffered severe burns, smoke inhalation and other serious injuries.

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Heatmap – May 29, 2026

Funding Friday: Of Stellarators and SPACs

Nuclear is once again a dominant theme this week, with fusion startup Thea Energy landing a $100 million Series B that will help it expand its magnet manufacturing capabilities. While $100 million is nothing to scoff at, it somehow sounds modest alongside some of this year’s other deals, which include a $450 million Series A for Inertia Enterprises and $240 million for Shine Technologies. This week also brought the news that small modular reactor startup Newcleo plans to go public via SPAC later this year, bringing to mind the exuberance of the 2021 SPAC boom, in a deal expected to net a cool $429 million.

Elsewhere, gridtech company Utilidata raised fresh capital after (surprise!) pivoting to the data center market, while a standalone battery storage developer and operator is betting there’s still plenty of money to be made in the increasingly crowded ERCOT market. Thea Energy officially joined the growing ranks of fusion companies to surpass $100 million in total funding this week, raising a $100 million Series B round led by the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund to scale its magnet manufacturing operations as it targets a demonstration reactor by 2030. Thea is a part of the Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, which seeks to accelerate efforts for commercial fusion power. In January, the DOE certified Thea’s preconceptual pilot plant design, making it the first of the program’s eight awardees — who will split $46 million in federal funding — to see its reactor architecture validated.

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Energy News Beat – May 30, 2026

Ford Launches a $2 Billion Energy Business Stepping Up as a Hyperscaler

The AI power crunch is creating unlikely heroes across the energy landscape. While hyperscalers scramble for gigawatts that the grid simply cannot deliver fast enough, traditional energy giants have already stepped up with gas-fired generation, carbon capture, and behind-the-meter solutions. Now Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has joined the fray in dramatic fashion. Earlier this month, Ford officially launched Ford Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary backed by a $2 billion investment. The new unit will manufacture U.S.-assembled lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage systems (BESS) — think giant shipping-container-scale batteries — targeted squarely at utilities, large industrial customers, and, most importantly, AI data centers hungry for reliable on-site power.

Production will ramp at a repurposed Kentucky battery plant (originally tied to Ford’s EV efforts), with first customer deliveries slated for late 2027 and a targeted minimum of 20 GWh annual deployments. The company has already secured framework interest, including reports of a multi-year deal structure with EDF Power Solutions for up to 20 GWh.

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Houston Chronicle – May 29, 2026

Erin Brockovich launches map tracking Texas data center complaints*

It was only a matter of time before famed environmental activist Erin Brockovich weighed in on Texas’ growing data center boom. As the state races to become the data center capital of the world, Brockovich has launched a new website mapping data center development and amplifying concerns from residents living near major projects—across Texas and the nation.

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electrek – May 27, 2026

Most big US solar projects don’t spark backlash after all, study finds

Despite the impression that large solar farms are constantly sparking local fights, a new study from researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that most large-scale solar projects in the US move forward with relatively little public opposition. The study, published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, looked at 686 utility-scale solar projects that came online between January 2022 and November 2023. Researchers found that 56% of the projects fell into “no” or “low” conflict categories, while just 19% experienced high levels of conflict.

The findings push back against the idea that opposition to solar development is widespread across the US. “All I saw in the news was conflict, conflict, conflict over solar,” said lead author Juniper Katz, assistant professor of public policy at UMass Amherst. “But there was really very little research that operationalized what conflict means and looked at it from a national scale to understand if the appearance of conflict was as prevalent as it seemed.”

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Utility Dive – May 29, 2026

Entergy’s gas projects are one-third of MISO’s fast-track interconnection process

Entergy power projects — all gas fired — make up nearly a third of the roughly 28 GW in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s fast-track interconnection queue, according to a Utility Dive analysis of the updated list released on Wednesday. About 70% of Entergy’s proposed capacity additions, spread across Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, are designed to serve planned data center complexes, according to MISO’s summary of the projects in its Expedited Resource Addition Study process.

Entergy expects its retail sales will grow by 8.5% a year through 2030, partly driven by industrial load growth, according to the New Orleans-based company’s April 29 earnings presentation. The utility company said it expects to spend about $27 billion on new generation and $7 billion on renewables and storage through 2029.

 

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JD Supra – May 20, 2026

Investment in next-gen power assets is a boon for leveraged investors:White & Case

Demand for data centers and consolidation in the US power industry is generating a steady flow of new-money deals in an otherwise volatile market. M&A dealmaking in the US power industry is surging, with investors moving to consolidate a fragmented industry and scale as power demand increases. The total value of all M&A activity in the US energy sector exceeded US$103.4 billion in 2025, an almost threefold increase from the prior year (US$38.1 billion) and the highest annual total on Mergermarket record.

Several major deals have been announced so far in 2026. In January, Texas-based power generator Vistra agreed to acquire Cogentrix Energy, comprising 10 natural gas-fired power plants, in a US$4.7 billion deal. Also, in January, Houston-based Talen Energy announced its agreement to acquire three power generation assets in Ohio and Indiana from Energy Capital Partners in a deal worth almost US$3.5 billion. In March, LS Power Equity Advisors agreed to acquire a power generation portfolio—comprising 4.4 gigawatts of predominantly natural gas-fired generation capacity in Delaware and Pennsylvania—from Constellation Energy for US$5 billion.