Foreign Buyers and Private Equity Positioned to Drive a Fourth-Quarter Upstream M and A

U.S. upstream oil and gas mergers and acquisitions are showing renewed momentum heading into the fourth quarter of 2026, with foreign strategic buyers and private equity sponsors emerging as key potential catalysts for a late-year surge. After volatility tied to geopolitical events earlier in the year tempered activity, dealmaking rebounded in the third quarter, and […]

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Permitting Reform Could Impact Consumers on Their Power Bills

America does not primarily have an energy shortage. It has a permitting shortage. A new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposal to streamline expansions of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities highlights both the opportunity and the limits of piecemeal reform. As energy analyst Stuart Turley notes, LNG expansion alone will not lower costs for consumers […]

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The GeoTES Revolution Solving California’s Energy Crisis with Oil and Innovation

In this episode of the Energy Newsbeat podcast, host Stu Turley sits down with David Blackmon (Forbes contributor and Energy Impacts podcast host) and Mike Umbro (energy innovator and founder of California for Energy and Science) to explore a groundbreaking solution to California’s energy crisis. The conversation centers on Geologic Thermal Energy Storage (GeoTES)—a revolutionary […]

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ExxonMobil Signals Soaring Refining Earnings as Downstream Boom Offsets Upstream Pressure

ExxonMobil’s preliminary third-quarter update has put refining front and center for investors. Higher refining margins are expected to add roughly $4.5 billion to downstream earnings compared with the second quarter—on top of the $4.1 billion the company already generated from refining in Q2. That surge comes even as upstream earnings face an estimated $1.3 billion […]

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PJM, ERCOT, and SPP All Set New Summer Peak Electricity Demand Records This Summer

The summer of 2026 tested the U.S. electric grid with record heat and rising demand. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor (based on Form EIA-930 data), three major regional transmission organizations (RTOs) set new peak hourly load records.⁠Eia PJM (serving roughly 65–67 million people across all or parts of 13 […]

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Morgan Stanley Leads Fundraise for $4 Billion Texas Refinery Project as America First Refining Advances Brownsville Plans

Morgan Stanley is leading an equity and debt fundraising for America First Refining’s planned $4 billion oil refinery at the Port of Brownsville, Texas—the first major new U.S. oil refinery in roughly half a century—according to the company. Chief Commercial Officer Tom Ramsey said at a Crude Oil Quality Association conference in Galveston on October […]

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