Data centers, especially those powering AI technologies, have seen such explosive growth that they are taxing utilities beyond what soaring power demand is calling for. Some utilities in the eastern and southern parts of the U.S. are proposing build-outs of new natural gas-fired capacity alongside renewables to support the growth …
Read More »China’s Record Solar Additions in 2023 Top Entire U.S. Solar Capacity
China installed a record-high solar power capacity last year, with additions in 2023 alone topping the current capacity of the entire U.S. solar fleet. China added as much as 216.9 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity in 2023 – a record high, obliterating its previous record of 87.4 GW of …
Read More »Biden Administration Halts Approvals of New LNG Export Projects
The Biden Administration said on Friday it is pausing all pending decisions on U.S. LNG export projects until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations. The move was hailed as a “historic win” by environmentalists and slammed as “a win for Russia” by the U.S. oil …
Read More »U.S. Oil Industry Sets Record with $144 Billion of M&A Deals in Q4
The U.S. upstream oil and gas industry booked its biggest-ever quarter for mergers and acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a total of $144 billion worth of deals, Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) said in a report on Tuesday. The record-setting fourth quarter also pushed the full-year 2023 deal …
Read More »Winter Freeze Shuts in 15% of Gulf Coast Refinery Capacity
The cold spell that began earlier this month has prompted the shut-in of 15% of refining capacity along the Gulf Coast. The data comes from Wood Mackenzie, as quoted by Bloomberg, and translates into 1.5 million bpd in throughput capacity. While the outage is not expected to last for a …
Read More »U.S. Takes First Oil Price Cap Enforcement Action of 2024
The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken its first oil price cap enforcement action of the year, according to a Thursday press release. The enforcement action is against UAE-based shipping company Hennesea Holdings Limited (Hennesea) linked to a price cap violation. Hennesea …
Read More »Offshore Oil is Booming with Vessel Markets Near all-Time High
The U.S. oil and gas sector has kicked off the new year on the backfoot with market sentiment as bearish as it was a year ago. Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have reported that demand pessimism is once again dominating, with traders worried that oil demand will weaken in the …
Read More »Qatar Pauses LNG Shipments via Red Sea after US-led Airstrikes
Qatar appears to have paused sending liquefied natural gas tankers through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after US-led airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen raised risks in the vital waterway. At least five LNG vessels operated by Qatar that were heading toward the passage at the southern end of the Red …
Read More »More Drilling Slowdowns for U.S. Oil, Gas Industry
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell again this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count fell by 2 to 619 this week, compared to 775 rigs this same time last year. The …
Read More »EIA Sees U.S. Setting New Oil Production Record in 2025
The EIA’s first outlook for 2025 shows forecasted U.S. crude oil production reading 13.4 million barrels per day—a new record for the country. The Energy Information Administration’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report published on Tuesday represents the first peek into predictions for 2025. Those predictions include the United States hitting …
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