
JPMorgan flags $1 trillion U.S. power‑grid upgrade spend amid aging infrastructure
The bank warns that the U.S. grid, averaging nearly 60 years old, faces a national‑security risk and projects roughly $1 trillion in upgrades between 2026 and 2035, part of a $5.8 trillion global spend. Rising AI‑driven data‑center demand could add 100 GW of peak load by 2030, intensifying the upgrade need.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Oil majors secure $164M Alaska lease package

President Donald Trump unveiled a $300 billion oil refinery at the Port of Brownsville, the first major U.S. plant built in five decades, partnering with India’s Reliance Industries. The project will process 100% American shale, create thousands of South Texas jobs, and aim to be among the world’s cleanest refineries. Simultaneously, the U.S.–Iran conflict entered its second week, disrupting the Strait of Hormuz and rattling global oil markets, while the administration disclosed $5.2 billion in foreign university funding and new legal limits on ICE crowd‑control tactics.
Researchers from Shenzhen International Quantum Academy and Spain's CSIC have built a superconducting‑qubit quantum battery that charges faster than a comparable classical device under equal energy constraints. The experiment, published in Physical Review Letters, demonstrates a quantum charging advantage using...
Aii has launched a new Benchmarking tool that quantifies process‑level energy use and emissions across apparel factories. The tool provides independent data on energy sources, material types, and processes, allowing factories to compare performance across regions and over time. Early...

Petrobras’ P‑78 FPSO recorded its first gas injection on March 2, 2026, just 61 days after achieving first oil on December 31, 2025. The milestone moves the vessel toward full operational readiness and expands output at the deep‑water Búzios field in Brazil’s Santos Basin. Seatrium...

A Down 2026 for WTI Crude Oil Is Under $57.42; What Stops It? The world's largest energy producer and net exporter's attack on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz provided strong reasons to pump crude oil prices...

Collapsing US, Canada Demand vs. Supply and Energy - The Bloomberg Energy Spot Index (BCOMENSP) has had an exceptional year in 2026, gaining about 30% to March 10. Is it sustainable? My graphic shows top reasons why the 1Q pump...

Bosch introduced the Fuel Cell Power Module C100 at Berlin’s Mobility Move fair, a 100 kW hydrogen system built for roof‑mounted installation on 12‑ to 18‑meter city buses. The low‑profile, 40 cm tall module complements Bosch’s existing truck‑focused FCPM line and includes...

$3.50 Gasoline Spike May Fuel $2 Toward Year-End - The oxymoron of spiking energy and precious-metals volatility vs. a complacent stock market may prove unsustainable, with deflationary implications. Sustainability is a key question from my graphic showing the national average...

Oil prices +2% - here’s the latest: ⚠️ Iran: Says it will target U.S. technology company facilities next, including $AMZN $MSFT $NVDA $IBM $ORCL $PLTR locations in Israel, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi 🛢️ Oil reserve release updates: 🇩🇪 Germany to partially release national...

The European Commission has cleared a €260 million Belgian state‑aid scheme for Air Liquide Large Industry NV and BASF Antwerpen NV to develop the Kairos@C carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Antwerp. The initiative will capture CO₂ from hydrogen, ammonia...
VTT, Finland’s leading applied‑research organization, has inaugurated the FutureGrid facility in Otaniemi, Espoo. The center combines a physical microgrid with a real‑time digital twin, providing a secure environment for testing next‑generation power‑grid technologies. It targets both startups and established firms...
The latest Wide Boundary News episode examines the U.S. and Israeli military offensive against Iran and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of global oil and a significant share of LNG, sulfur...
The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Reactor Innovation Center have launched the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a two‑pathway program designed to fast‑track advanced nuclear technologies. Building on the Reactor Pilot and Fuel Line Pilot programs, the initiative offers...

Repsol announced a €10 billion investment plan for 2026‑28, allocating roughly 34% of its upstream budget to the United States. The U.S. focus includes the Pikka Phase I project in Alaska, the Leon‑Castile offshore Louisiana assets, and unconventional plays in the Marcellus...

Researchers have developed a free‑standing sodium‑ion battery anode that combines bismuth nanoparticles, MoS₂ nanospheres, and a carbon nanofiber matrix with a thin carbon coating. The Bi@MoS₂@C composite delivers a reversible capacity of about 275 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and retains 96 % of...

US political leaders, the oil industry, and traders are waking up to what we advised clients in June: restoring oil and LNG flow in the Strait of Hormuz won't be quick or easy. A load-bearing assumption in global energy is...

TotalEnergies, together with Repsol and Shell, has placed the Lapa South‑West development into production in Brazil’s Santos Basin. The three‑well subsea tie‑back to the existing Lapa FPSO adds roughly 25,000 barrels of oil per day, lifting total field output to...

Eco Atlantic has agreed to acquire the remaining shares of JHI Associates for approximately $52.3 million, issuing up to 96.3 million new common shares that could represent about 21.8% of its post‑transaction capital. The deal grants Eco a 35% working interest in...

Escalating hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran have disrupted LPG shipments to India, prompting Oil Marketing Companies to issue a force‑majeure notice. Borosil Ltd, a major glass maker in Jaipur, said the shortage forced a temporary shutdown of...

Enel has completed installation of 3,730 new electric‑vehicle charging stations in Italy under the first National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) tender, covering five regions and 21 provinces. Each site provides two fast 90 kW chargers accessible through Enel’s app or...
Parameta Solutions and Marex have launched a joint netback pricing service that merges proprietary oil price benchmarks with real‑time freight data. The combined offering lets traders evaluate the total cost of moving crude and refined products, surfacing route‑level economics and...

Pennsylvania is rolling out 12 electric‑vehicle charging projects along its major roadways, backed by $54 million already committed through the federal NEVI program. To date the state has installed 30 public chargers—the highest NEVI‑funded count in the nation—and has 53 more...

The episode focuses on the International Energy Agency's proposal to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from member countries' strategic reserves to counter a sharp price surge caused by the near‑closure of the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian attacks....

Equinor has signed a two‑year agreement to supply ISCC‑EU certified bio‑methanol to Wallenius Wilhelmsen for its new dual‑fuel vessels. The fuel, produced at Tjeldbergodden and blended with biogas certificates, will be delivered at Zeebrugge and Antwerp and claims a 95 % CO₂...

In this episode, Dr. Michael Weber discusses the interplay of engineering, policy, and market forces in the U.S. energy sector, using the shale revolution as a case study of rare alignment that spurred rapid change. He reflects on past forecasting...

Spain's energy minister Sara Aagesen announced that the country will launch its first offshore wind tender this year, targeting 3 GW of new capacity. The tender follows a similar commitment made last year, signaling Spain's accelerated push into offshore renewables. If...

Johnson & Johnson has allocated up to $40 million a year since 2005 to a carbon‑relief fund that finances low‑carbon retrofits, including a 2023 geothermal plant that slashed heating and cooling emissions at a Belgian site by roughly 30%. The company...

ABL Group has secured a marine warranty survey contract for ExxonMobil’s Hammerhead development, the seventh offshore project in Guyana’s Stabroek block. The $6.8 billion venture will install 18 subsea wells and a spread‑moored FPSO, targeting 120,000‑180,000 barrels per day by 2029....
Also, as the IEA releases, member countries are reaching out to China to make sure it doesn't use the opportunity to buy more barrels for its own reserve (as it did in 2022). (...the IEA-Chinese coordinate was last done in 2011...
Hive mind: Has anyone seen (ideally recent) data on the marginal fuel in European countries? The Zakeri and Staffell paper from 2023 gets cited a lot but it's from a few years ago, data for 2021

Indian gas utility GAIL has purchased a cargo of Omani liquefied natural gas for delivery next week, priced between $17 and $20 per million British thermal units. The cargo, loaded on the vessel Orion Hugo chartered by Shell, is slated...
I was interviewed by @AlJazeera on impacts of Middle East crisis on energy markets. We discussed Europe’s structural vulnerability due to fossil fuel imports, broader economic effects of energy price volatility & why this moment should sharpen focus on the energy...

Ex the plunge yesterday afternoon, WTI crude oil has ranged from $82 to $92 since mid-Monday https://t.co/B3lICn2XOe

European consortium SIERRA, backed by €8 million Horizon Europe funding, is developing a nickel‑rich NMC battery pack tailored for electric buses. The project targets Technology Readiness Level 6, demonstrating a lightweight, high‑performance pack with advanced multiscale modelling, one‑shot manufacturing, and integrated cooling....
Iran’s Control of Hormuz Means It’s Exporting More Oil Today Than Before the War https://t.co/UlXJwHN0ld
Why oil matters: conflicts abroad, costs at home - The Story | Podfollow @ACGlobalEnergy #oil https://t.co/tCpybAcB7p

GREW Solar has secured a repeat order worth about ₹500 crore from an independent power producer for high‑efficiency PV modules. The supply will feed the IPP’s upcoming utility‑scale solar projects across several Indian locations. GREW operates a 6.5 GW module plant in...
Gas-fired plants secured almost 60% of capacity in the UK’s latest market auction, underscoring their central role in the energy system even as the country pushes for cleaner power. https://t.co/TtQEhCvrH7

I wrote this piece: "What can make the oil price fall?" on Sunday night because debate around oil had gotten far too one-sided. We've now fallen significantly and - while hostilities continue - I think we'll bounce around in a...
Uranium Energy Corp reported Q2 FY2026 production costs in the low $40s per pound while selling at roughly $101, creating a clear profit margin. The company is establishing a domestic refining and conversion subsidiary, positioning it as the only vertically...
From oversupply to concern of shortages - IEA oil stocks release is coming, sources say https://t.co/ttzyIWK0qw

Meloni says the Italian government could take action on companies speculating as energy prices spike over the war https://t.co/BbvWulpYyD via @donatopmancini https://t.co/mdhE0Kkxk9

The European Commission is evaluating a gas‑price cap to dilute gas’s influence on electricity pricing across the bloc, as announced by President Ursula von der Leyen. The measure is intended to curb soaring power bills for households and industry. Critics...

Powering AI: Europe switches on its first microgrid-connected data center “Microgrids are localized energy systems that can generate, store, and distribute power. The systems are already being widely used in the U.S.” https://t.co/I7IdIAYzTf https://t.co/5arYJMWh1R
MOSCOW, March 11 (Reuters) - The price of Russian oil used for taxation has exceeded the budget target for the first time since January 2025 because of the rise in global prices caused by the Iran war, Reuters calculations showed...

EU weighs a gas price cap to lower power costs amid Iran war https://t.co/3qDLf3s6Jq via @johnainger https://t.co/A2PK57MYOp
More on the IEA reserves: US has only crude Japan has a mix of crude and products Europe has mostly products The mix of the release is as important as the size of the release
When the IEA release is announced, my focus won't be on the headline number (say 300-400m barrels). Ignore that number. The key is the flow, in BARRELS PER DAY, the IEA promises FOR THE FIRST 20-30 DAYS of the stockdraw, and...
Spoke with Bloomberg earlier today about the IEA stocks release plan, the information war on top of the military conflict in the Mideast, the severe pricing dislocations in the oil market, plus the unfolding impact of the continued closure of...

Reaching net zero by 2050 is often framed as a cost burden. The UK Climate Change Committee’s latest analysis suggests the opposite. The real risk is fossil fuel dependency. https://t.co/m4AZokLzFS