Free Republic

Europe paid around €7.88 billion for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Arctic energy project in the first nine months of 2026, a record 12.18 million tonnes reaching European ports between January and September this year. This comes at a time when Europe's gas storage levels are at a record low, and the bloc faces a brutal energy crisis. European LNG imports from the Russian Yamal project rose 9.5% year-on-year between January and September, with EU ports receiving 85% of Yamal’s recorded deliveries. France received nearly three-quarters of September’s EU deliveries, with the Dunkirk and Montoir ports receiving 571.716 million...

"Americans could pay far more to heat their homes with oil this winter than last, a new analysis reviewed by Axios shows, as volatile energy markets and the Iran War deepen the affordability crisis. Why it matters: Heating bills are eating into household budgets before winter sets in, with stark divides between fuel types. By the numbers: Families that heat with oil could pay about 50% more this winter than last, according to estimates from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), up from its 31.3% projection in mid-September. The average cost of heating a home with oil is expected...

For all the griping we hear about our state — healthcare, education, crime, economic opportunity — there sure has been a lot of talk lately about ownership of our assets. (Turn the page for opinions about the Sandia Mountains.) Last week, Texas lawmakers met to study the possibility of the Lone Star State annexing “one or more contiguous counties” in southeastern New Mexico because of the region’s conservative leanings and oil production. It’s been a fantastical debate for several years, as southeastern New Mexico residents on paper align more closely to the culture of West Texas than Santa Fe. While...

It’s looking unlikely that southeastern New Mexico will become part of the Lone Star State any time soon. Texas lawmakers announced they intended to explore absorbing New Mexico’s oil-rich southeastern counties this spring, drawing predictable ire from elected officials in the Land of Enchantment. Late Wednesday night, the Texas House of Representatives did end up discussing the subject at a meeting of its Governmental Oversight Committee in Austin. Lawmakers admitted the issue was a bit of a joke, but acknowledged the issue could be a way to broach some concerns on both sides of the state line. New Mexico state...

SpaceX's plan to build the world's largest facility -- 100 million square feet in Grimes County, Texas, near Houston -- to do advanced computing and also manufacture, test and package silicon chips for its own use and by other Elon Musk-owned companies, will be self-powered using a gigawatt-scale natural gas power plant and battery storage, according to the company.The operations "are not expected to use electricity from the grid," the company said in a tax abatement agreement it entered into with the county in June.

Restaurants and other businesses have lost their challenge to Denver ordinances that forbid them from using natural-gas appliances, as a judge has found they are not preempted by federal law. The Restaurant Law Center and the National Association of Home Builders were among the trade associations that sued Denver in July 2024, arguing rules passed in Denver this decade were preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Judge Philip Brimmer disagreed in an Aug. 7 ruling granting the city’s motion to dismiss. Preemption only applies to energy use requirements on manufacturers before the appliances reach consumers, Brimmer wrote....

The Fifth Circuit has set aside Biden-era energy efficiency standards for stoves and cooktops, ruling that the Energy Department illegally refused to withdraw the rule after states raised objections requiring ordinary notice-and-comment rulemaking. Judge Oldham accused the Biden administration of trying to “dodge” controversy, said DOE’s interpretation made a “mindless hash” of Congress’s scheme, and called its concession that CA, MA, and NY do not fairly represent the states “the understatement of the day.” The ruling could significantly limit DOE’s use of direct final rules. The Fifth Circuit held they are for consensus regulations, must be withdrawn when objections provide...

The Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court's ruling, which will allow gas trade associations to continue their legal challenges against Biden-era restrictions on consumer furnaces powered by natural gas. The efficiency rules finalized during the Biden administration would make non-condensing furnaces, which account for approximately 55% of natural gas furnaces on the market, illegal in 2028, according to the American Gas Association, a trade organization. The rules, they said, would drive up home heating costs. “Their removal from the market would saddle families with costly renovations or eliminate gas as a home heating option all together,” the industry...

New York is strong-arming 18 industrial-scale solar power plants into rural communities across the state despite strong opposition from locals. Schuylerville farmer Alexandra Fasulo had just settled into the idyllic acreage she purchased in 2023 when Gov. Kathy Hochul’s bulldozers came roaring in, poised to thrash 1,800 acres of protected grassland to build a 100-megawatt-capacity solar energy complex in nearby Fort Edward, NY. Worried that chemical runoff and contamination may affect her farm, Fasulo attended a town meeting last fall to voice concerns to developers and state authorities. “We were like serfs coming before a king. It was so much...

IRAN AWARDS ENERGY BIDS TO WESTERN MAJORS NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran has decided to award energy development contracts to Western majors. An Iranian state oil firm said the Oil Ministry would grant Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Repsol upstream development contracts in the South Pars gas field in the Gulf. The Pars Oil and Gas Co. said the three Western contractors would develop phases 11 and 13 of South Pars. France's Total was expected to be awarded the contract to develop Phase 11 of South Pars, regarded as the largest reservoir of natural gas in the world. Iran wants Total...

Several Trump administration officials helped break ground on a new natural gas pipeline in New York that could be an energy grid saver for millions who have suffered from the impact of stupid Democrat energy policies.The 2019 New York Climate Act is driving up fuel and energy prices in the blue state and setting it up for rolling blackouts and grid reliability collapse. Obviously, Democrats will never solve the problems they caused, so it is up to the Trump administration to take action, as it is doing. Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared in an April 14 press release, “For decades,...

The Trump administration will celebrate the groundbreaking of a controversial new natural gas pipeline in New York City on Tuesday — with the project set to run off the coast of the city to boost the region’s energy supply. President Trump strongly backs the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline and used his influence to persuade Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to approve the permits allowing the project to proceed, despite fierce opposition from anti-fossil fuel environmentalists. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Secretary Lee Zeldin will attend the event at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, hosted by Williams...

Published in the April 3 edition of the Santa Fe New Mexican. Below text from NMOGA website I grew up in Carlsbad. I went away for college, but I came back as quickly as I could. Coming home was always the goal, and I’m proud to be back. I love this state. I love its people, its landscape and its stubborn independence. The oil and gas industry I represent is made up of people just like me: New Mexicans who were born here, who raised families here, who chose to build their lives and livelihoods here. So, I’ll confess that...

Asian nations - most recently the Philippines - have been particularly keen to reach agreements as their economies are heavily reliant on energy from the Gulf. In recent weeks - several Asian countries including Pakistan, India and the Philippines - have made agreements with Tehran to let some ships pass through the strait safely. China has also acknowledged that their vessels have also used the channel. Questions remain over the scope of these assurances and just how lasting these agreements with Iran will be. The Philippines imports 98% of its oil from the Middle East and was the first country...

Major disruptions in Qatar (15% of global LNG) and Australia have triggered a severe natural gas shortage, far worse than the oil shock. Gas prices have spiked sharply (Asia +143%, Europe +85%), with physical availability becoming a bigger issue than pricing. Countries are reverting to coal, Europe faces energy security risks, and rising gas costs could drive fertilizer shortages and food inflation.

Damage to a critical Qatari facility is threatening to keep energy prices high around the world even if the war in Iran ends soon in what some analysts are calling an “Armageddon” situation. Qatar’s Las Raffan plant supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, which is used for electricity, heating and cooking – but Iranian strikes have damaged the facility, worsening what is already the largest-ever energy supply disruption. “I woke up this morning and thought, ‘No, please no,’” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, former head of gas analysis at BP now at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told...

AI-driven power demand is surging far faster than expected, but a shortage of heavy-duty gas turbines is creating a bottleneck.Turbine makers like Siemens, GE Vernova, and Mitsubishi are ramping up production, but expansion projects could take up to 5 years.Without enough gas capacity, AI growth could slow or grids may turn back to coal, potentially delaying coal plant retirements.The surge in electricity demand in the world’s AI hotspots has prompted a comparable surge in demand for reliable supply. That surge was not expected. There are not enough gas turbines to secure that supply. This means the AI revolution would either...

With roughly two-thirds of the United States under some form of winter weather alert, energy experts are warning that a surge in heating demand could deplete America's natural gas reserves. Why It Matters The United States relies on natural gas as its primary residential heating fuel and as a major source of electric power, so an extreme cold blast can simultaneously push up demand and constrain supply, creating rapid drawdowns from storage that help balance the system. Analysts said the expected demand surge, combined with possible production declines from freeze-related disruptions, could produce one of the largest weekly declines in...

The U.S. Geological Survey said a new assessment shows the Permian Basin in Texas contains an estimated 1.6 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 28.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Woodford and Barnett shale formations. The findings highlight major untapped energy potential deep beneath West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. According to the USGS, the two formations could also yield about 813 million barrels of natural gas liquids. At current consumption levels, the oil alone would supply the United States for roughly 10 weeks, while the natural gas could meet national demand for about 10...

At first blush, Trump’s insistence on Greenland sounds outlandish, but recall over 20 yrs ago I began warning of foreigners aggressively claiming Arctic resources and waterways - while America slept. Russia was flagging underseas energy sources, our inventory of icebreakers dwindled to ONE reliable (against DOZENS of foreign-flagged vessels), and DC ignored my concerns of countries hogging new transportation routes that would screw us over. In explaining Alaska’s strategic location (30% of which is in the #Arctic) I was mocked for ringing the warning bells… but really I was just before my time. So now that attention is finally paid,...