Author: Erick Parel

Exxon, Chevron Warn Fuel Prices to Endure as War Knocks Refining Capacity

Energy News Beat High fuel prices are likely to persist even if crude oil prices ease in the coming months. Global refining capacity remains critically constrained by the ongoing wars involving Iran (including the Strait of Hormuz disruption under Operation Epic Fury) and Russia-Ukraine, according to warnings from the chief executives of ExxonMobil and Chevron. […]

Tanker Carrying Qatari LNG Struck While Transiting the Strait of Hormuz

Energy News Beat A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker loaded with Qatari cargo was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz overnight, marking another escalation in attacks on critical energy shipping and raising fresh alarms about supply security for the world’s second-largest LNG exporter. Security consultancies Vanguard Tech and Marisks identified the […]

Data Center Alley Crisis Averted, But Sends A Huge Warning

Energy News Beat Hat Tip to NBC4 Washington and the LinkedIn post by Bethany Boo, which highlighted the story. We covered this on the Energy News Beat Substack. Just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, electricity flickered on and off for roughly 10 minutes across a vast stretch of the eastern United States—from […]

NextDecade Snags $4.6B Financing for Rio Grande LNG Growth

Energy News Beat HOUSTON — NextDecade Corporation has locked in approximately $4.6 billion in financing tied to its Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) project in South Texas, strengthening the balance sheet for Phase 1 while advancing expansion plans. The moves, detailed in the company’s second-quarter 2026 business update released July 30, 2026, refinance existing construction debt […]

Texas Holding Consumers Hostage for $33 B in a High-Voltage Heist

Energy News Beat Texas ratepayers are on the hook for a $33 billion high-voltage transmission expansion that critics call a classic power grab—funneling guaranteed returns to transmission monopolies, condemning thousands of acres of private land, and primarily enabling more intermittent wind and solar that many of today’s assets won’t economically or physically outlast another decade. […]

President Trump Should Look at the Refinery Costs Prior to Ordering an Investigation

Energy News Beat In late June 2026, President Donald Trump publicly singled out ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP, accusing the “big Oil Companies” of failing to lower gasoline prices at the pump in line with falling crude oil costs. In comments to the media and on Truth Social, he argued that with oil prices dropping […]

US Drillers Post Modest Gain of One Rig as Activity Holds Steady

Energy News Beat U.S. oil and gas drillers added a single active rig in the latest weekly tallies, signaling continued capital discipline and steady rather than accelerating activity heading into late summer 2026. According to the WellDatabase US Rig Report dated July 31, 2026 (published in partnership with Energy News Beat), the national active rig […]

OIl Ignores Prices Ignore Physical Costs – 10 Big Stories on the Energy News Beat Standup

Energy News Beat In this explosive episode of the Energy News Beat Daily Standup, host Stu Turley breaks down ten major stories that expose a widening chasm between what financial markets are signaling and what’s actually happening on the ground in global energy infrastructure. From a $40-50 disconnect between paper oil prices and physical barrel […]

ExxonMobil and Chevron Post Huge Profit and Revenue: Implications for Consumers and Investors

Energy News Beat In the second quarter of 2026, ExxonMobil and Chevron delivered blockbuster earnings, fueled by elevated oil prices stemming from the ongoing Iran conflict and associated supply disruptions in the Middle East, including pressures around the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea. These results highlight the resilience of the U.S. majors’ integrated portfolios […]

The Tale of Two UK Oil Companies – how will they end up?

Energy News Beat “The Tale of Two UK Oil Companies” could be the title of an old book, movie, or play. But sadly, it is a real-life story of how a once great country is imposing a self-imposed death spiral of deindustrialization and financial collapse. The very same death spiral the Blue / Net Zero […]