ReportWire

Tag: Fossil Fuels

  • Report: Utilities make progress fixing gas leaks

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    BOSTON — The state’s aging natural gas pipelines are still riddled with thousands of potentially dangerous and damaging leaks, according to a new state report that says utilities are making progress upgrading their infrastructure to reduce the hazards.

    Massachusetts utilities reported 20,564 gas leaks in 2024, about 4,675 of which were classified as “Grade 1” leaks, meaning they should be repaired immediately, according to the latest data from the state Department of Public Utilities.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Climate setbacks and steps forward from 2025

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    There’s no mincing words: The list of climate records broken and the number of “unprecedented” extreme weather events this year goes on and on. Just in the past few months, at least 1,750 people died in monsoon flooding in Asia that a consortium of climate scientists attributed to human-caused global heating. Related video above: Solar and wind power increased faster than electricity demand in first half of 2025, report saysIn the U.S., investments in renewable, non-polluting energy were rolled back, and policy moves like the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and the Environmental Protection Agency’s reconsidering a key part of the federal government’s legal authority to regulate emissions.However, other nations have continued to make policy progress on prioritizing renewable energy and protecting the environment, and so have some scientists and groups on this side of the Atlantic.Here are a few of the highs and lows of humanity’s effect on our planet this year.The bad news firstGoal of keeping warming to 2.7 degrees no longer realisticHumans have failed to keep global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, long considered the goal following the original Paris climate agreement, according to UN Secretary General António Guterres. “Overshooting is now inevitable,” he said.Scientists widely consider the 2.7 degree goal the point at which climate change will begin hitting its most severe, irreversible damage.“We don’t want to see the Amazon as a savannah. But that is a real risk if we don’t change course and if we don’t make a dramatic decrease of emissions as soon as possible,” Guterres said ahead of the 2025 UN climate summit COP30, urging humanity to change course immediately. COP30 fails to make substantive progressUnfortunately, the outcomes from that UN summit did not live up to the secretary general’s hopes. This summit is an annual meeting where member countries measure their progress on addressing climate change and agree to legally binding goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.However, this final decision coming out of this year’s summit only included new voluntary initiatives to accelerate national climate action. According to commentary from the World Resources Institute, more than 80 countries advocated for a “global roadmap” to guide the transition away from fossil fuels, but negotiators didn’t include it in the final decision after they faced opposition from countries whose economies are built largely on oil and gas extraction and exports.World passes first climate ‘tipping point’This year, the world passed its first climate “tipping point,” meaning a threshold of irreversible change. Warming oceans have caused mass death in coral reefs, which are some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. These reefs support a quarter of marine life and a billion people. Other tipping points, such as the devastation of the Amazon rainforest and melting ice sheets, are also approaching, scientists warn. Record-setting days of heat in major citiesThe world’s major cities now experience a quarter more very hot days every year on average than they did three decades ago, according to a September analysis by the International Institute for Environment and Development.“This isn’t a problem we can simply air-condition our way out of,” said Anna Walnycki, a principal researcher, in a press release. “Fixing it requires comprehensive changes to how neighbourhoods and individual buildings are designed, as well as bringing nature back into our cities in the form of trees and other plants.“Climate change is the new reality. Governments can’t keep their heads buried in the sand anymore.”Where positive action made a differenceGlobal renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time This year, expanding solar and wind power infrastructure led to record shifts away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. Wind and solar farms produced more electricity than coal plants for the first time, a massive shift for power generation worldwide.According to a report from climate think tank Ember, in the first six months of the year, renewable energy overtook the global demand for electricity. The world generated almost a third more solar power in the first half of the year than it did in the same period last year, meeting a whopping 83% of the global increase in demand for electricity.Solar installations were up 64% around the globe after the first half of the year, driven largely by China, whose solar installations more than doubled compared to last year. Solar installations rose in the U.S. by only 4%, however.Pennsylvania children see drop in asthma after a coal plant closedAfter a coking plant closed near Pittsburgh, the population living in the area saw an immediate 20.5% drop in weekly respiratory trips to the emergency room, according to a study published almost 10 years later. Even more encouraging was that over the immediate term, pediatric emergency department visits decreased by 41.2%, a trend that increased as the months went on. The region also saw lower hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth-leading cause of death worldwide.Congestion toll drops emissions in NYC by 22%In January, New York City became the first in the country to put in place a toll on drivers in certain parts of the city during rush hours. The measure was intended to reduce traffic and improve health. During the first six months of the policy, NYC emissions dropped 22%. The city is using the revenue to fund mass transit, including the subway system.

    There’s no mincing words: The list of climate records broken and the number of “unprecedented” extreme weather events this year goes on and on. Just in the past few months, at least 1,750 people died in monsoon flooding in Asia that a consortium of climate scientists attributed to human-caused global heating.

    Related video above: Solar and wind power increased faster than electricity demand in first half of 2025, report says

    In the U.S., investments in renewable, non-polluting energy were rolled back, and policy moves like the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and the Environmental Protection Agency’s reconsidering a key part of the federal government’s legal authority to regulate emissions.

    However, other nations have continued to make policy progress on prioritizing renewable energy and protecting the environment, and so have some scientists and groups on this side of the Atlantic.

    Here are a few of the highs and lows of humanity’s effect on our planet this year.

    The bad news first

    Goal of keeping warming to 2.7 degrees no longer realistic

    Humans have failed to keep global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, long considered the goal following the original Paris climate agreement, according to UN Secretary General António Guterres. “Overshooting is now inevitable,” he said.

    Scientists widely consider the 2.7 degree goal the point at which climate change will begin hitting its most severe, irreversible damage.

    “We don’t want to see the Amazon as a savannah. But that is a real risk if we don’t change course and if we don’t make a dramatic decrease of emissions as soon as possible,” Guterres said ahead of the 2025 UN climate summit COP30, urging humanity to change course immediately.

    COP30 fails to make substantive progress

    Unfortunately, the outcomes from that UN summit did not live up to the secretary general’s hopes. This summit is an annual meeting where member countries measure their progress on addressing climate change and agree to legally binding goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    However, this final decision coming out of this year’s summit only included new voluntary initiatives to accelerate national climate action. According to commentary from the World Resources Institute, more than 80 countries advocated for a “global roadmap” to guide the transition away from fossil fuels, but negotiators didn’t include it in the final decision after they faced opposition from countries whose economies are built largely on oil and gas extraction and exports.

    World passes first climate ‘tipping point’

    This year, the world passed its first climate “tipping point,” meaning a threshold of irreversible change. Warming oceans have caused mass death in coral reefs, which are some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. These reefs support a quarter of marine life and a billion people.

    Other tipping points, such as the devastation of the Amazon rainforest and melting ice sheets, are also approaching, scientists warn.

    Record-setting days of heat in major cities

    The world’s major cities now experience a quarter more very hot days every year on average than they did three decades ago, according to a September analysis by the International Institute for Environment and Development.

    “This isn’t a problem we can simply air-condition our way out of,” said Anna Walnycki, a principal researcher, in a press release. “Fixing it requires comprehensive changes to how neighbourhoods and individual buildings are designed, as well as bringing nature back into our cities in the form of trees and other plants.

    “Climate change is the new reality. Governments can’t keep their heads buried in the sand anymore.”

    Where positive action made a difference

    Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

    This year, expanding solar and wind power infrastructure led to record shifts away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. Wind and solar farms produced more electricity than coal plants for the first time, a massive shift for power generation worldwide.

    According to a report from climate think tank Ember, in the first six months of the year, renewable energy overtook the global demand for electricity. The world generated almost a third more solar power in the first half of the year than it did in the same period last year, meeting a whopping 83% of the global increase in demand for electricity.

    Solar installations were up 64% around the globe after the first half of the year, driven largely by China, whose solar installations more than doubled compared to last year. Solar installations rose in the U.S. by only 4%, however.

    Pennsylvania children see drop in asthma after a coal plant closed

    After a coking plant closed near Pittsburgh, the population living in the area saw an immediate 20.5% drop in weekly respiratory trips to the emergency room, according to a study published almost 10 years later. Even more encouraging was that over the immediate term, pediatric emergency department visits decreased by 41.2%, a trend that increased as the months went on. The region also saw lower hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth-leading cause of death worldwide.

    Congestion toll drops emissions in NYC by 22%

    In January, New York City became the first in the country to put in place a toll on drivers in certain parts of the city during rush hours. The measure was intended to reduce traffic and improve health. During the first six months of the policy, NYC emissions dropped 22%. The city is using the revenue to fund mass transit, including the subway system.

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  • UN climate talks go into overtime as divisions over fossil fuels persist

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    United Nations climate talks in Brazil have gone past their scheduled deadline as countries remain deeply divided over a proposed deal that contains no reference to phasing out fossil fuels.

    Negotiators remained in closed-door meetings on Friday evening at the COP30 summit in the Brazilian city of Belem as they sought to bridge differences and deliver an agreement that includes concrete action to stem the climate crisis.

    A draft proposal made public earlier in the day has drawn concern from climate activists and other experts because it did not contain any mention of fossil fuels – the main driver of climate change.

    “This cannot be an agenda that divides us,” COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago told delegates in a public plenary session before releasing them for further negotiations. “We must reach an agreement between us.”

    The rift over the future of oil, gas and coal has underscored the difficulties of landing a consensus agreement at the annual UN conference, which serves as a test of global resolve to avert the worst impacts of global warming.

    “Many countries, especially oil-producing countries or countries that depend on fossil fuels … have stated that they do not want this mentioned in a final agreement,” Al Jazeera’s Monica Yanakiew reported from Rio de Janeiro on Friday afternoon.

    Meanwhile, dozens of other countries have said they would not support any agreement that did not lay out a roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels, Yanakiew noted.

    “So this is a big divisive point,” she said, adding that another major issue at the climate conference has been financing the transition away from fossil fuels.

    Developing countries – many of which are more susceptible to the effects of climate change, including more extreme weather events – have said they want richer nations to shoulder more of the financial burden of tackling the crisis.

    “So there is a lot being discussed … and negotiators say that this might likely continue throughout the weekend,” Yanakiew said.

    The deadlock comes as the UN Environment Programme warned ahead of COP30 that the world would “very likely” exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7-degree Fahrenheit) warming limit – an internationally agreed-upon target set under the Paris Agreement – within the next decade.

    Amnesty International also said in a recent report that the expansion of fossil fuel projects threatens at least two billion people – about one-quarter of the world’s population.

    In a statement on Friday, Nafkote Dabi, the climate policy lead at Oxfam International, said it was “unacceptable” for any final agreement to exclude a plan to phase out fossil fuels.

    “A roadmap is essential, and it must be just, equitable, and backed by real support for the Global South,” Dabi said.

    “Developed countries who grew wealthy on their fossil fuel-based economies must phase out first and fastest, while financing low‑carbon pathways for the Global South.”

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  • Enbridge $1.4 Billion Project Aims to Boost Canadian Oil Flow to U.S. Refineries

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    Pipeline operator Enbridge ENB 0.51%increase; green up pointing triangle will push ahead with a $1.4 billion expansion of its core network to boost deliveries of Canadian heavy oil and reach key refining markets in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast.

    The Canadian energy company said Friday it reached a final investment decision on the first phase of a project to optimize its Mainline network, which is forecast to add egress capacity from Canada that will support increased production in the country and connect with what it described as the best refining markets in North America.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Robb M. Stewart

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  • Trump Administration Blocks Gunvor Takeover of Russian Oil Assets

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    Gunvor pulled its offer to buy the international assets of sanctioned Russian oil producer Lukoil after the U.S. Treasury Department said it opposed the deal and called the Swiss commodities trader the “Kremlin’s puppet.”

    The move signals the Trump administration is taking a hard-line approach in its recently launched effort to use economic pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Georgi Kantchev

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  • China Is Filling Up Its Oil Reserves Fast

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    China has spent months building up its oil reserves. That might come in handy in the wake of the new sanctions the U.S. recently imposed on Russian crude.

    During the first nine months of the year, the world’s second-largest economy imported on average more than 11 million barrels of oil a day, an amount above the daily production of Saudi Arabia, according to official customs data. Analysts estimate 1 million to 1.2 million of those barrels were stashed in reserves each day.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Rebecca Feng

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  • Halloween pumpkin waste is a methane problem, but chefs and farmers have solutions

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    Don’t let your Halloween pumpkin haunt the landfill this November.More than 1 billion pounds (454 million kilograms) of pumpkins rot in U.S. landfills each year after Halloween, according to the Department of Energy.Video above: Halloween festivities in full swing in Salem, MassachusettsYours doesn’t have to go to waste. Experts told us your pumpkins can be eaten, composted or even fed to animals. Here’s how. If you’re carving a jack-o’-lantern, don’t throw away the skin or innards — every part is edible.After carving, you can cube the excess flesh — the thick part between the outer skin and the inner pulp that holds the seeds — for soups and stews, says Carleigh Bodrug, a chef known for cooking with common food scraps. You can also puree it and add a tablespoon to your dog’s dinner for extra nutrients. And pumpkin chunks can be frozen for future use.”The seeds are a nutritional gold mine,” Bodrug said. They’re packed with protein, magnesium, zinc and healthy fats, according to a 2022 study in the journal Plants.One of Bodrug’s recipes involves removing the seeds, rinsing and roasting them with cinnamon for a crunchy snack or salad topper. Then you can use the stringy guts to make a pumpkin puree for muffins. This version differs from canned purees in grocery stores — which typically use a different type of pumpkin or squash — because carving pumpkins have stringier innards and a milder flavor. A carving pumpkin’s guts can still be used for baking — you’ll just have to amp up the seasoning to boost the flavor.If you don’t want to eat your pumpkins, you can donate them to a local farm, which might use them to feed pigs, chickens and other animals. Edible parts should be collected while you’re carving and before they’re painted, decorated or left on your porch for weeks. Paint and wax aren’t food-safe, and bacteria and mold can grow on the skin in outdoor climates.Once you’ve cooked what you can and donated what’s safe to feed, composting the rest is the easiest way to keep it out of the landfill.”That way, even though they’re not safe to eat, they can still give back to the earth,” Bodrug said. Composting pumpkins keeps them out of methane-emitting landfills and turns them into nutrient-rich soil instead. You can do this at home or drop them off at a local farm, compost collection bin or drop-off site.”A large percentage of what ends up going to the landfill is stuff that could have been composted,” said Dante Sclafani, compost coordinator at Queens County Farm in New York. “So even just cutting down something like pumpkins could really help curb how many garbage bags you’re putting out every week.”Before composting, remove any candles, plastic, glitter, or other decorations — they can contaminate the compost. A little glitter or paint won’t ruin the pile, but it’s best to get it as clean as possible before tossing it in. Then, chop up the pumpkin into 1-inch (2.5-centimeter) pieces so it can break down more easily.”Pumpkins are full of water, so it’s important to maintain a good balance of dried leaves, wood chips, sawdust, shredded newspaper, cardboard, straw — anything that’s a dry organic material — in your compost bin,” Sclafani said. If you don’t maintain this balance, your compost might start to stink.According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a healthy compost pile should include a mix of “greens” — like pumpkin scraps and food waste — and “browns” like dry leaves, straw or cardboard, in roughly a 3-to-1 ratio. That balance helps the pile break down faster and prevents odors.And if your pumpkin’s been sitting on the porch all month? That’s actually ideal. “It’s never too far gone for compost,” Sclafani said. “Even if it’s mushy or moldy, that actually helps, because the fungus speeds up decomposition.””Composting anything organic is better than throwing it out because you’re not creating more refuse in landfills, you’re not creating methane gas,” said Laura Graney, the farm’s education director.Graney said autumn on the farm is the perfect opportunity to teach kids about composting since it gives them a sense of power in the face of big environmental challenges. “Even though they’re little, composting helps them feel like they can make a difference,” Graney said. “They take that message home to their families, and that’s how we spread the word.”

    Don’t let your Halloween pumpkin haunt the landfill this November.

    More than 1 billion pounds (454 million kilograms) of pumpkins rot in U.S. landfills each year after Halloween, according to the Department of Energy.

    Video above: Halloween festivities in full swing in Salem, Massachusetts

    Yours doesn’t have to go to waste. Experts told us your pumpkins can be eaten, composted or even fed to animals. Here’s how.

    If you’re carving a jack-o’-lantern, don’t throw away the skin or innards — every part is edible.

    After carving, you can cube the excess flesh — the thick part between the outer skin and the inner pulp that holds the seeds — for soups and stews, says Carleigh Bodrug, a chef known for cooking with common food scraps. You can also puree it and add a tablespoon to your dog’s dinner for extra nutrients. And pumpkin chunks can be frozen for future use.

    “The seeds are a nutritional gold mine,” Bodrug said. They’re packed with protein, magnesium, zinc and healthy fats, according to a 2022 study in the journal Plants.

    One of Bodrug’s recipes involves removing the seeds, rinsing and roasting them with cinnamon for a crunchy snack or salad topper. Then you can use the stringy guts to make a pumpkin puree for muffins. This version differs from canned purees in grocery stores — which typically use a different type of pumpkin or squash — because carving pumpkins have stringier innards and a milder flavor. A carving pumpkin’s guts can still be used for baking — you’ll just have to amp up the seasoning to boost the flavor.

    If you don’t want to eat your pumpkins, you can donate them to a local farm, which might use them to feed pigs, chickens and other animals.

    Edible parts should be collected while you’re carving and before they’re painted, decorated or left on your porch for weeks. Paint and wax aren’t food-safe, and bacteria and mold can grow on the skin in outdoor climates.

    Once you’ve cooked what you can and donated what’s safe to feed, composting the rest is the easiest way to keep it out of the landfill.

    “That way, even though they’re not safe to eat, they can still give back to the earth,” Bodrug said.

    Composting pumpkins keeps them out of methane-emitting landfills and turns them into nutrient-rich soil instead. You can do this at home or drop them off at a local farm, compost collection bin or drop-off site.

    “A large percentage of what ends up going to the landfill is stuff that could have been composted,” said Dante Sclafani, compost coordinator at Queens County Farm in New York. “So even just cutting down something like pumpkins could really help curb how many garbage bags you’re putting out every week.”

    Before composting, remove any candles, plastic, glitter, or other decorations — they can contaminate the compost. A little glitter or paint won’t ruin the pile, but it’s best to get it as clean as possible before tossing it in. Then, chop up the pumpkin into 1-inch (2.5-centimeter) pieces so it can break down more easily.

    “Pumpkins are full of water, so it’s important to maintain a good balance of dried leaves, wood chips, sawdust, shredded newspaper, cardboard, straw — anything that’s a dry organic material — in your compost bin,” Sclafani said. If you don’t maintain this balance, your compost might start to stink.

    According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a healthy compost pile should include a mix of “greens” — like pumpkin scraps and food waste — and “browns” like dry leaves, straw or cardboard, in roughly a 3-to-1 ratio. That balance helps the pile break down faster and prevents odors.

    And if your pumpkin’s been sitting on the porch all month? That’s actually ideal. “It’s never too far gone for compost,” Sclafani said. “Even if it’s mushy or moldy, that actually helps, because the fungus speeds up decomposition.”

    “Composting anything organic is better than throwing it out because you’re not creating more refuse in landfills, you’re not creating methane gas,” said Laura Graney, the farm’s education director.

    Graney said autumn on the farm is the perfect opportunity to teach kids about composting since it gives them a sense of power in the face of big environmental challenges.

    “Even though they’re little, composting helps them feel like they can make a difference,” Graney said. “They take that message home to their families, and that’s how we spread the word.”

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  • How Chevron Got Caught in the Clash Between the U.S. and Venezuela

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    When Chevron won a new license to drill in Venezuela, it celebrated a return to one of the world’s richest oil regions, where it had operated for more than a century. Three months later, the company is in a bind.

    The Trump administration has amassed the biggest American military buildup in the Caribbean since the 1980s to exert pressure on Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has carried out airstrikes on alleged drug boats, killing dozens. Land targets could come next, President Trump has said.

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    Collin Eaton

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  • U.S. Imposes Substantial New Sanctions on Russian Oil Giants

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    WASHINGTON—President Trump has announced substantial new sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies as frustration in Washington grows over the war in Ukraine.

    The new sanctions, which would be the first direct U.S. measures on Russia during the second Trump administration, target Lukoil and Rosneft as well as nearly three dozen of their subsidiaries. Oil is one of Russia’s largest sources of revenue.

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    Robbie Gramer

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  • Your AI tools run on fracked gas and bulldozed Texas land | TechCrunch

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    The AI era is giving fracking a second act, a surprising twist for an industry that, even during its early 2010s boom years, was blamed by climate advocates for poisoned water tables, man-made earthquakes, and the stubborn persistence of fossil fuels.

    AI companies are building massive data centers near major gas-production sites, often generating their own power by tapping directly into fossil fuels. It’s a trend that’s been overshadowed by headlines about the intersection of AI and healthcare (and solving climate change), but it’s one that could reshape — and raise difficult questions for — the communities that host these facilities.

    Take the latest example. This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that AI coding assistant startup Poolside is constructing a data center complex on more than 500 acres in West Texas — about 300 miles west of Dallas — a footprint two-thirds the size of Central Park. The facility will generate its own power by tapping natural gas from the Permian Basin, the nation’s most productive oil and gas field, where hydraulic fracturing isn’t just common but really the only game in town.

    The project, dubbed Horizon, will produce two gigawatts of computing power. That’s equivalent to the Hoover Dam’s entire electric capacity, except instead of harnessing the Colorado River, it’s burning fracked gas. Poolside is developing the facility with CoreWeave, a cloud computing company that rents out access to Nvidia AI chips and that’s supplying access to more than 40,000 of them. The Journal calls it an “energy Wild West,” which seems apt.

    Yet Poolside is far from alone. Nearly all the major AI players are pursuing similar strategies. Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman toured his company’s flagship Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas — around 200 miles from the Permian Basin — where he was candid, saying, “We’re burning gas to run this data center.”

    The complex requires about 900 megawatts of electricity across eight buildings and includes a new gas-fired power plant using turbines similar to those that power warships, according to the Associated Press. The companies say the plant provides only backup power, with most electricity coming from the local grid. That grid, for the record, draws from a mix of natural gas and the sprawling wind and solar farms in West Texas.

    But the people living near these projects aren’t exactly comforted. Arlene Mendler lives across the street from Stargate. She told the AP she wishes someone had asked her opinion before bulldozers eliminated a huge tract of mesquite shrubland to make room for what’s being built atop it.

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    “It has completely changed the way we were living,” Mendler told the AP. She moved to the area 33 years ago seeking “peace, quiet, tranquility.” Now construction is the soundtrack in the background, and bright lights on the scene have spoiled her nighttime views.

    Then there’s the water. In drought-prone West Texas, locals are particularly nervous about how new data centers will impact the water supply. The city’s reservoirs were at roughly half-capacity during Altman’s visit, with residents on a twice-weekly outdoor watering schedule. Oracle claims each of the eight buildings will need just 12,000 gallons per year after an initial million-gallon fill for closed-loop cooling systems. But Shaolei Ren, a University of California, Riverside professor who studies AI’s environmental footprint, told the AP that’s misleading. These systems require more electricity, which means more indirect water consumption at the power plants generating that electricity.

    Meta is pursuing a similar strategy. In Richland Parish, the poorest region of Louisiana, the company plans to build a $10 billion data center the size of 1,700 football fields that will require two gigawatts of power for computation alone. Utility company Entergy will spend $3.2 billion to build three large natural-gas power plants with 2.3 gigawatts of capacity to feed the facility by burning gas extracted through fracking in the nearby Haynesville Shale. Louisiana residents, like those in Abilene, aren’t thrilled to be encircled by bulldozers around the clock.

    (Meta is also building in Texas, though elsewhere in the state. This week the company announced a $1.5 billion data center in El Paso, near the New Mexico border, with one gigawatt of capacity expected online in 2028. El Paso isn’t near the Permian Basin, and Meta says the facility will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy. One point for Meta.)

    Even Elon Musk’s xAI, whose Memphis facility has generated considerable controversy this year, has fracking connections. Memphis Light, Gas and Water – which currently sells power to xAI but will eventually own the substations xAI is building – purchases natural gas on the spot market and pipes it to Memphis via two companies: Texas Gas Transmission Corp. and Trunkline Gas Company.

    Texas Gas Transmission is a bidirectional pipeline carrying natural gas from Gulf Coast supply areas and several major hydraulically fractured shale formations through Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Trunkline Gas Company, the other Memphis supplier, also carries natural gas from fracked sources.

    If you’re wondering why AI companies are pursuing this path, they’ll tell you it’s not just about electricity; it’s also about beating China.

    That was the argument Chris Lehane made last week. Lehane, a veteran political operative who joined OpenAI as vice president of global affairs in 2024, laid out the case during an on-stage interview with TechCrunch.

    “We believe that in the not-too-distant future, at least in the U.S., and really around the world, we are going to need to be generating in the neighborhood of a gigawatt of energy a week,” Lehane said. He pointed to China’s massive energy buildout: 450 gigawatts and 33 nuclear facilities constructed in the last year alone.

    When TechCrunch asked about Stargate’s decision to build in economically challenged areas like Abilene, or Lordstown, Ohio, where more gas-powered plants are planned, Lehane returned to geopolitics. “If we [as a country] do this right, you have an opportunity to re-industrialize countries, bring manufacturing back and also transition our energy systems so that we do the modernization that needs to take place.”

    The Trump administration is certainly on board. The July 2025 executive order fast-tracks gas-powered AI data centers by streamlining environmental permits, offering financial incentives, and opening federal lands for projects using natural gas, coal, or nuclear power — while explicitly excluding renewables from support.

    For now, most AI users remain largely unaware of the carbon footprint behind their dazzling new toys and work tools. They’re more focused on capabilities like Sora 2 – OpenAI’s hyperrealistic video-generation product that requires exponentially more energy than a simple chatbot – than on where the electricity comes from.

    The companies are counting on this. They’ve positioned natural gas as the pragmatic, inevitable answer to AI’s exploding power demands. But the speed and scale of this fossil fuel buildout deserves more attention than it’s getting.

    If this is a bubble, it won’t be pretty. The AI sector has become a circular firing squad of dependencies: OpenAI needs Microsoft needs Nvidia needs Broadcom needs Oracle needs data center operators who need OpenAI. They’re all buying from and selling to each other in a self-reinforcing loop. The Financial Times noted this week if the foundation cracks, there’ll be a lot of expensive infrastructure left standing around, both the digital and the gas-burning kind.

    OpenAI’s ability alone to meet its obligations is “increasingly a concern for the wider economy,” the outlet wrote.

    One key question that’s been largely absent from the conversation is whether all this new capacity is even necessary. A Duke University study found that utilities typically use only 53% of their available capacity throughout the year. That suggests significant room to accommodate new demand without constructing new power plants, as MIT Technology Review reported earlier this year.

    The Duke researchers estimate that if data centers reduced electricity consumption by roughly half for just a few hours during annual peak demand periods, utilities could handle an additional 76 gigawatts of new load. That would effectively absorb the 65 gigawatts data centers are projected to need by 2029.

    That kind of flexibility would allow companies to launch AI data centers faster. More importantly, it could provide a reprieve from the rush to build natural gas infrastructure, giving utilities time to develop cleaner alternatives.

    But again, that would mean losing ground to an autocratic regime, per Lehane and many others in the industry, so instead, the natural gas building spree appears likely to saddle regions with more fossil-fuel plants and leave residents with soaring electricity bills to finance today’s investments, including long after the tech companies’ contracts expire.

    Meta, for instance, has guaranteed it will cover Entergy’s costs for the new Louisiana generation for 15 years. Poolside’s lease with CoreWeave runs for 15 years. What happens to customers when those contracts end remains an open question.

    Things may eventually change. A lot of private money is being funneled into small modular reactors and solar installations with the expectation that these cleaner energy alternatives will become more central energy sources for these data centers. Fusion startups like Helion and Commonwealth Fusion Systems have similarly raised substantial funding from those the front lines of AI, including Nvidia and Altman.

    This optimism isn’t confined to private investment circles. The excitement has spilled over into public markets, where several “non-revenue-generating” energy companies that have managed to go public have truly anticipatory, market caps, based on the expectation that they will one day fuel these data centers.

    In the meantime — which could still be decades — the most pressing concern is that the people who’ll be left holding the bag, financially and environmentally, never asked for any of this in the first place.

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    Connie Loizos

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  • Opinion | Ukraine is Starving Russia of Oil

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    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has labeled his military’s strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure “the most effective sanctions.” Meanwhile, reports indicate that alongside urging Europe and India to halt purchases of Russian oil, Washington plans to share additional intelligence with Ukraine on Russian refineries, pipelines and other energy infrastructure.

    Most discussions about these “sanctions” have focused on their financial implications for Russia. Vladimir Putin relies heavily on corruption and patronage, with oil and gas serving as key revenue streams. Disrupting the flow could force Mr. Putin to choose between sustaining the war and maintaining the payouts to oligarchs and citizens that secure his political backing—though such an economic squeeze would take some time.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Michael Bohnert

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  • France Detains Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker Suspected in Drone Attack

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    PARIS—French authorities detained crew members of a tanker carrying Russian crude oil and are investigating whether it played a role in last week’s drone incursions in Denmark.

    French soldiers boarded the tanker, which is under Western sanctions, as it was en route to India from Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk. The vessel was traveling south through the Bay of Biscay when it turned east and headed toward Saint-Nazaire, home to Europe’s largest shipyard, according to the ship-tracking service Kpler. Authorities took the tanker’s captain and second-in-command into custody.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Matthew Dalton

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  • The Black Market for Oil Blunts Trump’s India Tariffs

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    Based on what’s happening in the black market for oil, the White House’s new import levy on India is backfiring.

    President Trump last week doubled India’s tariff rate to 50% to punish it for buying sanctioned Russian oil. Indian refineries have become major buyers of Moscow’s crude since the war in Ukraine began.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Carol Ryan

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  • A major fossil fuel group has a plan to sue Denver over its climate-minded building polices

    A major fossil fuel group has a plan to sue Denver over its climate-minded building polices

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    After wildfire smoke and smog smothered Denver in the summer of 2021, the city approved an ambitious plan to tackle its largest source of planet-warming pollution: big buildings.

    Local advocates and climate officials knew the Mile High City wouldn’t reach its lofty climate targets without an aggressive plan for its office towers, businesses and apartment blocks, especially since those types of buildings account for nearly half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

    To help fix the problem, Denver updated its building codes and passed ordinances to reduce natural gas usage. The codes banned gas furnaces and water heaters in new commercial and multifamily buildings starting in 2024. In existing buildings, the rules required property owners to install electric systems whenever replacing gas equipment in 2025. While those regulations don’t prohibit natural gas equipment, any remaining gas-powered furnaces or boilers can only support a primary electric heating system. 

    Denver’s landmark climate policy is now threatened by legal challenges.

    A coalition of landlords and building operators fired the first salvo in April 2024, filing a lawsuit arguing that part of Denver’s building rules ran afoul of a federal energy efficiency law and placed an unfair financial burden on an already beleaguered real estate industry.

    Another potential lawsuit could soon join the fight to dismantle Denver’s climate-minded building policies. A powerful fossil fuel trade group, the National Propane Gas Association, plans to file a separate legal challenge, which could drag the city into a well-funded national effort to stop local governments from limiting gas in buildings.

    A legal strategy laid out in a leaked document

    A meeting agenda obtained by CPR News shows the National Propane Gas Association — an organization representing propane manufacturers, distributors and retailers — recently considered setting aside $20,000 to challenge Denver’s codes in federal court.

    While it’s unclear if the organization approved the funding, the agenda for the Zoom meeting held on May 30 notes the association’s Colorado chapter had already put $7,500 toward the potential lawsuit. The document further reveals the group has retained Baker Botts, a corporate law firm based in Houston, to lead the potential legal challenge. 

    Neither the law firm nor the local chapter of the propane association responded to CPR News’ requests for comment. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the propane group said the organization does not comment on “active, pending or potential lawsuits.”

    But the document suggests the organization has weighed the benefits of suing to block Denver’s climate-minded building codes. In a letter to the executive committee accompanying the meeting agenda, Jacob Peterson, the National Propane Gas Association’s director of state advocacy and affairs, wrote that Colorado’s recent focus on all-electric buildings has turned it “into a problematic state from a marketplace competitiveness standpoint.” 

    While city data show none of Denver’s commercial or multi-family buildings rely on propane, Peterson noted that other Colorado communities have pursued “anti-gas policies” over the last few years. A sustainability advisory board in Golden, for example, recently recommended an all-electric building code for new construction. 

    “If this Denver code goes unchallenged and is allowed to stand, there is concern that other Colorado communities, including areas where our core customers reside, will follow suit,” Peterson wrote to the executive committee. 

    Denver is far from the only Colorado community trying to use local rules to encourage residents to switch from natural gas to all-electric heat pumps and induction stoves. In 2022, Crested Butte became the first Colorado municipality to ban natural gas in new construction. A recently finalized code in Boulder also requires all-electric new buildings starting in December 2024, though it includes narrow exceptions for gas hookups in commercial kitchens and laboratories. 

    Across the country, more than 140 state and local governments have approved measures encouraging residents to ditch gas, according to an analysis by the Building Decarbonization Coalition, a pro-electrification advocacy group. 

    In his letter, Peterson told the National Propane Gas Association’s executive committee he expects the trade group will be a plaintiff in the potential Denver lawsuit — but neither the letter nor the meeting agenda indicate when lawyers might file it.

    The potential lawsuit would expand on a successful case in California.

    The meeting agenda reveals the explicit aim of a potential lawsuit: If filed, the overall goal is to replicate a legal victory in California, which forced the city of Berkeley to stop enforcing its first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas pipelines in new construction earlier this year. 

    Berekely’s 2019 ordinance marked the opening shot in a battle for all-electric buildings. By limiting access to natural gas, the city’s leaders and climate advocates hoped to take full advantage of a grid increasingly powered by zero-carbon resources like wind and solar. 

    The decision to scrap the law followed a successful lawsuit from the California Restaurant Association. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed that the city’s ordinance violated a federal law giving the U.S. Department of Energy sole authority to set efficiency standards for appliances. 

    The National Propane Gas Association’s potential lawsuit would rely on the same argument to challenge Denver’s climate-minded building codes, according to the agenda obtained by CPR News. If a lawsuit is filed and prevails, the court ruling could block similar rules across the Tenth Circuit, which includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. 

    The propane group has backed similar lawsuits in other parts of the country. In October 2023, it sued New York City and New York state to challenge laws banning fossil fuels in new buildings starting at the end of 2025. Recent reporting by The Boston Globe also suggests the propane association’s New England affiliate is considering a lawsuit against Massachusetts over its pro-electrification policies. 

    If any of those lawsuits fail, the propane industry and its allies think it could have a counterintuitive upside: A split between federal court circuits could attract the attention of the majority-conservative U.S. Supreme Court. In a recording obtained by The Boston Globe, a lawyer representing the propane association noted the nation’s highest court could intervene to settle any disagreement, potentially imposing a nationwide prohibition on local gas bans. 

    Meanwhile, environmental advocates doubt the legal reasoning behind the lawsuits. The cases rely on the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, a federal law born from the 1970s oil crisis giving the U.S. Department of Energy sole authority to set appliance efficiency standards. 

    Amy Turner, the director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, said cities aren’t trying to regulate the companies making furnaces or water heaters, but rather shift homes and offices away from a type of energy use driving global warming. 

    “What’s happening is that very well-funded, very well-organized interest groups are taking this law that had a particular purpose — helping protect manufacturers from a patchwork of technical requirements for their products — and using that to push back on state and local climate laws,” Turner said.

    The National Propane Gas Association could have some powerful allies behind its lawsuit against Denver

    In the initial lawsuit filed by Colorado landlords and property owners, the plaintiffs argue federal law invalidates Colorado’s and Denver’s building performance standards, which cap the amount of energy used in existing large buildings. 

    The documents obtained by CPR News suggest the propane industry’s potential lawsuit would rely on the same argument to take on a slightly different piece of the city’s green building policies. Rather than challenging Denver’s building performance standards, it would ask a court to throw out the city’s building codes, which require a shift to electric systems in commercial and multifamily buildings in new construction or during a major renovation project. 

    There’s also no indication the initial lawsuit is linked to the National Propane Gas Association. Andrew Hamrick, a general counsel for the Apartment Association of Metro Denver assisting with the first legal challenge, told CPR News he wasn’t aware of a second potential lawsuit planned by the propane industry.

    That doesn’t mean the propane industry lacks allies. The meeting agenda obtained by CPR News suggests the National Association of Home Builders and the American Gas Association are part of a coalition backing the propane industry’s potential lawsuit. The document, however, doesn’t indicate whether either trade group has pledged any financial support. 

    A spokesperson for the American Gas Association told CPR News the group is “not engaged in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate any Denver building codes and has not provided financial support.” A media representative for the National Association of Home Builders declined to comment. 

    Both groups, however, have a track record of trying to deter climate action and public health initiatives. The home builders group has used its political muscle to block other state and local rules designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce the climate footprint of new homes, including changes to building codes to require wiring to accommodate electric vehicle chargers.

    A recent NPR investigation found the American Gas Association spent decades casting doubt on scientific studies showing gas stoves threaten indoor air pollution. More recently, the trade group has successfully lobbied for state laws to prohibit towns and cities from restricting gas in new buildings. Those prohibitions are now in place in nearly half of all U.S. states, according to an analysis published by S&P Global last year. 

    Despite high-profile opposition to its climate plans, a spokesperson for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who took office last year, insists the city is committed to following through with its buildings policy. Denver attorneys on June 24 also filed a motion to dismiss to the suit from landlords and property owners on Monday, arguing it has clear authority under federal law to move buildings away from fossil fuels.

    “We’ll continue to work closely with the development community to make sure everyone has the resources they need to meet these goals and succeed,” said Jordan Fuja, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.

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    Sam Brasch

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  • Greens push for EU climate neutrality by 2040 in election manifesto

    Greens push for EU climate neutrality by 2040 in election manifesto

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    The earlier target represents a loss for the German Greens who, ahead of a three-day party congress in Lyon this weekend, had pushed for the climate neutrality target to be delayed to 2045, according to amendments seen by POLITICO.

    The election manifesto, which was adopted by a large majority of national delegations, warned that meeting these climate objectives “must not rely on false solutions such as geo-engineering.”

    The Greens are at risk of losing about a third of their seats in the European Parliament at the EU election in June, while a backlash against Brussels’ green agenda has been sweeping across the Continent in recent weeks. The party’s response has been to redouble the push on its core demands for higher climate ambition.

    The final manifesto, for example, calls for the EU energy system to rely on 100 percent renewable sources and to phase out all fossil fuels by 2040, “starting with coal by 2030.” It also calls on the EU to adopt a plan for phasing out “fossil gas and oil as early as 2035 and no later than 2040.”

    That point is another loss for the German Greens, who had pushed for deleting phaseout dates for fossil gas and oil from the manifesto.

    The Greens have also been fighting back against the conservatives’ and far right’s attacks blaming them for farmers’ current struggles and for forcing the green transition to quickly on the sector.

    Over the weekend, the Greens amended their manifesto to respond to farmers’ discontent, saying they will campaign for “a new agricultural model that reduces emissions, protect the environment, and foster social justice.”

    The text insists that “farmers should make a decent income of their work,” and that the Greens will push to “make sure farmers are not exposed to unfair competition from products not respecting the same standards, including those imported from third countries” — which have been key demands of farmers’ unions during the recent demonstrations.



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    Louise Guillot

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  • Shell Earnings Beat Forecasts on Strong Gas Trading; Launches $3.5 Bln Buyback — Update

    Shell Earnings Beat Forecasts on Strong Gas Trading; Launches $3.5 Bln Buyback — Update

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    By Christian Moess Laursen

    Shell’s annual profits fell last year, although by less than the market had expected, as the European energy sector grapples with lower oil and gas prices and weaker refining margins.
    

    Still, the London-based energy giant said Thursday that it would buy back $3.5 billion in shares this quarter and hiked its fourth-quarter dividend by 20% to 34.40 cents a share, in line with its promise of lofty shareholder returns despite slipping commodity prices.
    

    

    The oil-and-gas major posted $20.28 billion in full-year profit measured on a net current-cost-of-supplies basis–a metric similar to the net income that U.S. oil companies report. This compares with $41.56 billion in 2022 when oil and gas prices soared after Russian invaded Ukraine.
    

    For the fourth quarter, Shell’s profit on a net current-cost-of-supplies basis dropped to $1.38 billion from $6.15 billion in the preceding three-month period, reflecting lower refining margins, margins from crude and oil products trading, and higher operating expenses.
    

    However, adjusted fourth-quarter earnings–which strip out certain commodity-price adjustments and one-time charges–rose to $7.31 billion from $6.22 billion in the third quarter, beating a consensus forecast of $6.04 billion, based on a poll of 24 analysts compiled by Vara Research. The increase was driven by higher trading gains from liquefied natural gas, favorable tax movements, and higher production, Shell said.
    

    Market watchers had expected a dip in quarterly earnings, forecasting results across the integrated energy sector to have been hit by lower oil prices and refining margins.
    

    But despite the weaker market environment, Shell’s key integrated-gas unit, which includes its leading LNG business, posted adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $3.96 billion, up from $2.53 billion in the preceding three months.
    

    “As we enter 2024 we are continuing to simplify our organization with a focus on delivering more value with less emissions,” Chief Executive Wael Sawan said.
    

    The company, the second-biggest by market cap on the FTSE 100 index, also booked a $3.9 billion impairment charge, dragging quarterly net profits, which fell to $474 million from $7.04 billion. This was flagged by the company in January.
    

    Cash flow from operations–a measure of the cash a company generates from normal business operations–rose to $12.575 billion in the quarter, topping a consensus forecast of $11.59 billion, from $12.33 billion in the third quarter.
    

    During the fourth quarter, Shell–Europe’s biggest integrated oil company–produced 901,000 oil-equivalent barrels a day, in line with its targeted range, and 7.1 million metric tons of LNG, likewise in line with its guidance.
    

    Upstream production–the extraction of crude oil and natural gas–also met the targeted range at 1.87 million BOE a day.
    

    For the current quarter, Shell expects an output between 930,000 and 990,000 BOE a day of integrated gas, 7.0 million-7.6 million tons of LNG and an upstream production of 1.73 million-1.93 million BOE a day.
    

    Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com
    

    

    

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    Saudi Arabia Halts Oil Production Capacity Increase
    
			
    Saudi Arabia Halts Oil Production Capacity Increase
    
			
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    By Pierre Bertrand
    

    Saudi Arabian Oil Co., commonly known as Saudi Aramco, said that it has been ordered by the Saudi government to keep its oil production capacity at 12 million barrels a day.
    

    The oil and gas company said it received the instruction while it was working to increase production to 13 million barrels per day.
    

    

    “Aramco announces that it has received a directive from the Ministry of Energy to maintain its Maximum Sustainable Capacity (MSC) at 12 million barrels per day,” it said in a statement.
    

    Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com
    

    

    

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    Oil prices jump after drone attack kills U.S. troops, escalating Mideast crisis
    
			
    Oil prices jump after drone attack kills U.S. troops, escalating Mideast crisis
    
			
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    Oil futures popped higher Sunday evening, after a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in northern Jordan, blamed by the White House on Iran-backed militants, marked a major escalation of tensions in the Middle East. 
    

    West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery
    
        CL00,
    
        +1.22%
    

            CL.1,
    
        +1.22%
    

            CLH24,
    
        +1.22%
    
       was up $1.09, or 1.4%, at $79.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March Brent crude
    
        BRN00,
    
        +1.15%
    

            BRNH24,
    
        +1.14%    ,
    
       the global benchmark, gained $1.11, or 1.3%, to trade at $84.66 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
    

    

    Much will ultimately depend on the U.S. response and whether Iran takes action aimed at shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors, told MarketWatch on Sunday afternoon.
    

    “We are on the cusp of this escalating, which could seriously impact the flow of crude oil,” he said. 
    

    Three U.S. service members were killed and more than two dozen injured in a drone strike on a U.S. base in northeast Jordan, according to U.S. Central Command. They were the first U.S. fatalities in months of attacks on U.S. bases by Iran-backed militias since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
    

    President Joe Biden attributed the Sunday attack to an Iran-backed militia group and said the U.S. “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing.” News reports said U.S. officials were still working to conclusively identify the precise group responsible for the attack, but have assessed that one of several Iranian-backed groups is to blame.
    

    Some congressional Republicans called for direct retaliation on Iran.
    

    “We must respond to these repeated attacks by Iran & its proxies by striking directly against Iranian targets & its leadership. The Biden administration’s responses thus far have only invited more attacks. It is time to act swiftly and decisively for the whole world to see,” wrote Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a post on X.
    

    Oil futures rallied last week to their highest since November, but with gains attributed in part to production outages in the U.S. and more upbeat expectations around economic growth.
    

    “Crude already has the wind to its back, so this will only offer further upside,” Chris Weston, head of research at Australian brokerage Pepperstone told MarketWatch in an email.
    

    With the U.S. election later this year, “Biden needs to strike a balance between increasing aggression that potentially puts U.S. serviceman lives in danger and could potentially raise the cost of living…while also showing a defiant stance that shows his resolve against terror,” Weston said.
    

    Oil prices have seen short-lived rallies around developments in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, but have failed to build in a lasting geopolitical risk premium. West Texas Intermediate crude
    
            CL00,
    
        +1.22%
    

            CL.1,
    
        +1.22%    ,
    
       the U.S. benchmark, remains around $15 below its 2023 peak in the mid-$90s set in late September. Brent crude
    
        BRN00,
    
        +1.15%    ,
    
       the global benchmark, pushed back above $80 a barrel last week. 
    

    Attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants on Red Sea shipping have forced a rerouting of tankers and cargo ships. For crude, that’s had implications for the physical market but hasn’t interrupted the flow of crude from the Middle East.
    

    A move by Iran aimed at closing off the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s biggest oil-transportation chokepoint, remains a top worry. 
    

    The strait is a narrow waterway that links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest point, the waterway is only 21 miles wide, and the width of the shipping lane in either direction is just two miles, separated by a two-mile buffer zone.
    

    

              
    

    

    
          
    
            Energy Information Administration
    
          
    
  
    

    

    Around 21 million barrels a day of crude moved through the waterway in the first half of 2023, equivalent to around a fifth of daily global consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
    

    The U.S. stock market has largely looked past Middle East tensions, with the S&P 500
    
        SPX
    
       returning to record territory this month, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average
    
        DJIA
    
       has also set a series of records.
    

    Dow futures
    
        YM00,
    
        -0.20%
    
       were off 94 points, or 0.3% as Asian trading got under way, while S&P 500 futures
    
        ES00,
    
        -0.22%
    
       fell 12 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures
    
        NQ00,
    
        -0.24%
    
       lost 0.3%.
    

    Read: Stock-market rally faces Fed, tech earnings and jobs data in make-or-break week
    

    Away from oil, there were no signs of a significant surge in demand for instruments that traditionally serve as havens during periods of increased geopolitical tension. Futures on U.S. Treasurys
    
        TY00,
    
        +0.21%
    
       saw a modest rise of 0.2%, while the U.S. dollar
    
        DXY
    
       was little changed versus major rivals and gold futures
    
        GC00,
    
        +0.41%
    
       ticked up 0.4%.
    

    Escalating Middle East tensions won’t go unnoticed by traders, but probably doesn’t warrant a “solid derisking,”  Weston said, particularly with investors facing a barrage of major market events in the week ahead.
    

    For U.S.-focused investors, the week ahead features a Federal Reserve policy meeting, earnings from tech industry heavyweights and a crucial December jobs report.
    

    The Middle East situation “won’t take us too far off the rates, growth track, but we have an eye on whether this escalates,” Weston said.
    

    —Associated Press contributed.
    

    

    


    

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    Don’t have a college education and want to make bank and take half the year off? Oil rig work is the hot job for many Americans
    
			
    Don’t have a college education and want to make bank and take half the year off? Oil rig work is the hot job for many Americans
    
			
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    Not many on-the-ground jobs  that offer a salary over $55,000 for just half a year’s work. But that’s the money for those who opt for the rigor of an oil rig,  a hot topic on people’s tongues this week. 
    

    

    According to Google, interest in oil rig jobs is having a moment. Searches for oil rig work reached a five-year high, surging particularly especially in the southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Arkansas, which abut the Gulf of Mexico and its 6,000-plus oil and gas structures, or rigs. A few reasons help explain why more people want in on the job despite deadly on-the-clock risks and increased environmental pollution. 
    

    Good money; no college required
    

    According to research on the impact of oil and gas job opportunities, most jobs in the industry pay well, especially for those who don’t have college degrees. Entry-level oil work only requires a high school diploma or equivalent, which could be tempting for more than half of all Americans over age 25 who don’t have a college degree. Starting salaries average $55,000 per year, according to ZipRecruiter, while those in management positions could pocket well over $100,000 per year, according to oil industry law firm Arnold & Itkin.
    

    According to Amanda Chuan, a professor in labor relations at Michigan State University, the attractive starting pay especially entices college-aged young men, who account for about 20% of the workforce, and are increasingly facing decisions between enrolling in school and risking years of debt and taking a high starting salary that they could pocket much sooner.  
    

    “These are jobs that don’t require a lot of cognizant skill, but you’re paid a lot for the long shifts, living in a camp, being away from home, chemical exposure and high risk of injury,” she said. “It’s extremely exhausting, mentally draining and a lot of people are not willing to do it—so if you are, you’ll make a lot.” It’s a concept called compensating wage differentials, Chuan explained—essentially, paying more for less-desirable work. 
    

    Oil rig workers also face pollution hazards, according to the U.S Department of Labor,  due to spending a lot of time in confined spaces. Petroleum storage tanks, mud pits, reserve pits and other spaces around an oil wellhead can all come with more exposure to chemicals, flammable vapors or gasses that could cause workers to suffocate. 
    

    The cost-of-living crisis, though, is making more people willing to take on the back-breaking work (and fatal risks) of rigs. 
    

    According to a report by the nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition, renters nationwide are struggling to afford housing, with the lowest-income residents in states like Arizona, Texas and Florida most worried about affording housing. 
    

    Boom-bust nature of the industry
    

    Another reason for more labor interest in rigs is just the “boom-bust” nature of the oil industry. During booms, periods of high demand for oil, investors pour in and trigger overproduction, according to the Colorado School of Mines. Busts follow the overproduction, which see lower prices for oil and under-investment by the industry. The bust period of lower prices then triggers more demand for cheap oil, which shifts the price higher again and the cycle continues. 
    

    The current boom that finds oil rig workers in hot demand right now is in part due to global wars, like the invasion of Ukraine and the siege on Gaza, which means the country can’t rely on as much oil coming in. “Because our usual supplies for energy are being cut short right now,” Chuan said, “the country is turning more to domestic production of oil.” 
    

    The boom-bust nature of the industry also affects changes in labor demand, she said, as “during booms, newspapers report thousands of new high-paying jobs,” but “during busts, many jobs vanish, potentially leaving thousands unemployed.” Several such layoffs have occurred as the industry cycles through its high and lower value periods, with 2014 and 2020 as some of the biggest years for bust-fueled layoffs.
    

    Chuan explained that the high starting pays and long vacations are meant to compensate for the risks people assume on the job. For younger workers, the particular risk is that “it leads you away from investing in your human capital, or education and transferable skills, that could help you find future employment that does not depend on the boom-bust cycle.”  
    

    Half a year of PTO—but 12-hour days 
    

    According to Arnold & Itkin’s blog post, many workers face shifts of 14 days on the clock, 21 days off. That  means they work for full-day shifts, which can be up to 12 hours long and include night shifts, for two straight weeks. Then they are rewarded with three weeks off. For those who work on offshore rig sites, “two straight weeks at sea can be a harrowing experience for many, although some rigs are equipped with impressive living quarters for the crew.” 
    

    Living quarters can include “an onsite gym, theater, indoor sports facilities, computers, and more to occupy the time,” the blog says. That can be essential, as many people are not able to return home on their off time due to travel expenses and logistics and end up staying “on the rig the entire time.” 
    

    What would you do on the oil rigs, and what do you risk? 
    

    According to Indeed, an oil rig worker’s main responsibility is to extract, store and process oil—relying on lots of equipment. They find themselves at the helms of drills, cranes, forklifts and more to guide pipes into drilling wells. They gain an understanding of chemical levels to prevent the pipes from corroding and track environmental changes that could affect drilling productivity. 
    

    On risks, Arnold & Itkin states that oil rig crews experience some of the highest rates of injuries and fatalities in the country. 2008 was a particularly deadly year, with 120 oil and gas workers killed on the job. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 470 oil workers died between 2014 and 2019, over 400 of them on the job and 69 of them from cardiac complications. The death rate has also been increasing: In 2019, the rate of oil worker fatalities was about 12%, compared to about 6% in 2017.  
    

    The most common causes of injuries include fires, falls, fatigue, machinery malfunctions, and lack of safety culture on rigs, according to Arnold & Itkin. In one Reddit thread, nearly 100 users shared their most terrifying experiences on oil rigs—describing brutal burns, equipment that maimed people, and witnessing entire coastlines degrade quickly. 
    

    According to several studies, marine ecosystems and communities who live near waters with rigs face threats from water contamination and dying sea animals. Especially dangerous are seismic airguns, which are towed behind ships and used to shoot blasts of compressed air which are 100,000 times more intense than jet engines, to find oil trapped deep underneath the ocean floor. According to Oceana, an international organization that researches oceans, these blasts are repeated about 6 times a minute almost all day at oil rigs for weeks at a time, and can kill marine animals like sea turtles and fish. 
    

    

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     Sunny Nagpaul
    

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    What Biden’s decision to pause new U.S. LNG exports means for the energy market
    
			
    What Biden’s decision to pause new U.S. LNG exports means for the energy market
    
			
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    The Biden administration’s announcement Friday that it’s pausing liquefied natural gas export approvals sparked political backlash, drew cheers from climate activists and stoked uncertainty in energy markets, but is unlikely to see the U.S. give up its title as the world’s top LNG exporter.
    

    The U.S. will delay its decisions on new LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries, allowing time for the Energy Department to update the underlying analyses for LNG export authorizations, the White House said. 
    

    

    Those analyses are roughly five years old and “no longer adequately account for considerations” such as potential cost increases for American consumers and manufacturers or the “latest assessment of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
    

    The Biden administration likely “realizes the role of LNG in foreign policy, but at the same time it needs to show the Democrat base that it is doing something for climate change,” said Anas Alhajji, an independent energy expert and managing partner at Energy Outlook Advisors, pointing out that the announcement comes during a presidential election year.
    

    “Delaying one project or stopping it may not be a big deal, but it is a problem if it becomes a trend,” he said in emailed commentary.
    

    Environmental groups, which have pushed for action, cheered the decision.
    

    The 12 impacted projects in the U.S. “would spew out as much climate-warming pollution as 223 coal plants per year, and they present explosion risks to the communities where they’re located and emit other health-harming chemicals,” the Sierra Club, an environmental group, said in a statement welcoming the decision.
    

    Top exporter
    

    The announcement is particularly important for a nation that became the world’s biggest LNG exporter in the span of less than a decade.
    

    The U.S. became the world’s largest LNG exporter during the first half of 2022 on the back of increases in LNG export capacity, international natural gas and LNG prices, and global demand, particularly in Europe, according to the Energy Information Administration. 
    

    Less than a decade ago, U.S. LNG exports were negligible. The country had only started exporting LNG from the Lower 48 states in 2016, the EIA said.
    

    The country’s exports of LNG climbed to a fresh record in November 2023, with the EIA reporting domestic exports of 386.2 billion cubic feet, up from 384.4 bcf a month earlier. Exports in December 2016 were at just 41.8 bcf. 
    

    

              
    

    

    

    U.S. LNG exports soared after 2016.
    

          
    
            EIA
    
          
    
  
    

    

    With 90% of U.S. LNG going to non-free trade agreement destinations, withholding licensing effectively “halts project development,” John Miller, managing director, ESG and sustainability policy at TD Cowen wrote in a Friday note.
    

    Equities
    

    LNG equities with operating facilities likely won’t benefit from the administration’s announcement, at least not immediately, until the impacts of this pause in export approvals to non-FTA countries becomes more clear, Jason Gabelman, director, sustainability & energy transition at TD Cowen said.
    

    U.S. companies with government approvals that have not been sanctioned, “could have a higher probability of moving forward this year, albeit modestly” as offtakers may be hesitant to sign up to new U.S. projects with LNG development getting “politicized,” he said. Among those, he pointed out approvals for proposed liquefaction units at NextDecade Corp.’s
    
        NEXT,
    
        +2.30%
    
       Rio Grande LNG export facility project in Brownsville, Texas.
    

    At the same time, it would not be a surprise if U.S. LNG companies pursuing growth that do not yet have non-FTA approval see downside pressure, said Gabelman.
    

    LNG projects take around 4 years to build and any delays to project sanctions today will take “multiple years to manifest in the market,” he said. 
    

    Still, the U.S. announcement “introduces the risk of more stringent oversight that could limit new U.S. capacity” more than four years out, Gabelman said.
    

    Companies that supply equipment to LNG liquefaction projects include Baker Hughes Co.
    
        BKR,
    
        +0.59%
    
       and Chart Industries Inc.
    
        GTLS,
    
        -7.54%    ,
    
       said Marc Bianchi, a senior energy analyst at TD Cowen.
    

    Any slowing of approval would create “overhand on order growth,” he said.
    

    Climate change
    

    The White House said Friday that its decision will not impact the ability of the U.S. to continue supplying LNG to its allies in the near term but also acknowledged environmental concerns.
    

    “I think we’ve got to be clear eyed about the challenges that we face. The climate crisis is an existential crisis, and we’ve got to be, I think, really forward leaning into making sure that we’re taking that head on,” said Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser, told reporters Friday.
    

    He added that given the number of approvals already completed, the number of projects under construction are set to double existing capacity with approvals beyond that set to double capacity yet again.
    

    “So there’s a long runway here, and we’re taking a step back and thinking, OK, let’s take a hard look before that runway continues to build out,” he said.
    

    Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise, argued that U.S. LNG exports actually reduce global carbon emissions as natural gas typically “displaces coal to generate electricity in countries such as China and India.”
    

    They also improve global energy security as U.S. natural gas is becoming Europe’s primary energy supplier, replacing Russia, he said.
    

    In a statement Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat and chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that if the Biden administration has facts to prove that additional LNG export capacity would hurt Americans, it needs to make that information public. But if the pause is “another political ploy to pander to keep-it-in-the-ground climate activists,” he said he would “do everything in my power to end this pause immediately.
    

    Manchin plans to hold a hearing on the decision in the coming weeks.
    

    Market impact
    

    The U.S. decision to delay new LNG export permits is unlikely to have an impact on domestic natural-gas supplies or prices, said Energy Outlook Advisors’ Alhajji.
    

    Still, the EIA noted in its Annual Energy Outlook released in March of last year that it remains uncertain as to how LNG export capacity will affect domestic prices, consumption and supply. 
    

    LNG prices and the rate at which new LNG export terminals can be constructed help determine LNG export volumes, the EIA said, and higher LNG exports can result in upward pressure on U.S. natural-gas prices, while lower U.S. LNG exports can pressure prices.   
    

    On Friday, natural gas for February delivery
    
        NG00,
    
        +0.23%
    

            NGG24,
    
        +0.26%
    
       settled at $2.71 per million British thermal units, up 7.7% for the week. 
    

    Meanwhile, the U.S. is likely to keep its position as the world’s top LNG exporter, according to Tortoise’s Thummel.
    

    The U.S. is the currently the largest LNG exporter at almost 12 bcf per day, with Qatar coming in second, he said.
    

    Qatar is expanding its LNG export capacity and is expected to have the ability to export almost 20 bcf per day by 2028, he said. The EIA reported recently that Qatar has averaged 10.3 bcf per day in exports during the last 10 years.   
    

    That would mark sizable growth. But the EIA reported in November that LNG export capacity from North America is likely to more than double from around 11.4 bcf per day to 24.3 bcf per day by the end of 2027.
    

    

              
    

    

    
        
      
    

    The EIA said North America’s LNG export capacity is likely to more than double by 2027.
    

          
    
            EIA
    
          
    
  
    

    

    Given expected growth in U.S. LNG export capacity, the U.S. is likely to “remain the largest exporter of LNG in the world” despite the U.S. announcement, said Thummel.
    

    —Victor Reklaitis contributed.
    

    

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