Iraq is pushing aggressively to more than double its oil production capacity, targeting 8–10 million barrels per day (bpd) within six years—up from roughly 4 million bpd before the recent Iran-related regional conflict disrupted Strait of Hormuz shipping. On August 21, 2026, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the goal at the Baghdad Dialog conference and […]
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The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) aims to finish Governor Greg Abbott’s comprehensive verification and audit of data center and large-load projects by December 2026. The review, ordered on August 3, pauses advancement of new data center interconnections until projects demonstrate compliance with state law, Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) rules, and ERCOT […]
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The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the Department of Energy (DOE), issued a temporary emergency fuel waiver on August 20, 2026, allowing an early transition to winter-grade gasoline blends. This move aims to boost domestic supply and ease pressure on pump prices amid ongoing disruptions tied to the Iran conflict and […]
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Nigeria is positioning itself at the forefront of a global shift in oil and gas investment, targeting up to $50 billion in new offshore projects that could help diversify supplies away from the world’s most vulnerable maritime chokepoints. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has highlighted that new incentives for offshore oil and gas […]
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Oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin are driving electricity demand skyward in West Texas, even as technology companies race to site data centers in the world’s most prolific shale play. The dual surge—from electrifying drilling, fracturing, and production operations, plus hyperscale computing loads—is straining the regional grid and prompting warnings of potential reliability […]
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On the morning of August 21, 2026, Ukrainian drones struck the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Russia’s Perm Krai, more than 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Thick black smoke rose over the facility, one of Russia’s 10 largest refineries with a design capacity of around 13 million metric tons of crude per year (approximately 262,000 […]
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In an August 20, 2026, Bloomberg Opinion column, Javier Blas argued that “choking Iran’s economy is the least bad way to end the war.” Drawing on firsthand observations of sanctions-induced collapse in Iraq, Venezuela, and Cuba—worthless currencies, skyrocketing inflation, and soaring unemployment—Blas noted that pure economic pressure has historically failed to force political change. U.S. […]
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The prolonged drought and structural water deficit in the Colorado River Basin are no longer just a threat to farms, cities, and ecosystems—they are increasingly a direct driver of higher electricity costs across the American West. As detailed in Duggan Flanakin’s August 15, 2026, Townhall column “Western Water Fight Also Impacts Power Generation,” critically low […]
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Oilfield services giant SLB (formerly Schlumberger) is preparing to reactivate as many as 15 idle drilling and workover rigs already located in Venezuela, a move that could help ease one of the primary bottlenecks constraining the country’s crude production recovery. Executives outlined the plans at an industry conference in Houston on August 19, 2026. William […]
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Hat tip to Claire Coutinho (then Energy Secretary, now Shadow Secretary of State for Energy) and the think tank Onward with modeling by Transira Energy. This article was first published on the Energy News Beat Substack. Britain’s electricity prices rank among the highest in the developed world—frequently the highest for industrial users among IEA countries and […]
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