Citgo Petroleum Corp., Houston, achieved record quarterly crude runs and distillate production rates across its three US refineries in third-quarter 2026, the company said Nov. 12. Total refinery throughput averaged 904,000 b/d, up 10% from the second quarter, while average crude utilization reached 103%. Combined crude runs set a system-wide quarterly record of 855,000 b/d, with the operator’s 167,000-b/d refinery in Corpus Christi, Tex., setting a site-specific average quarterly throughput rate of 176,000 b/d. Combined distillate production also reached a quarterly record of 365,000 b/d, led by Citgo’s 479,000-b/d deep-conversion refinery along the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Lake Charles, La., which set a site production record of 208,000 b/d, according to the operator. Citgo reported third-quarter net income of $2.2 billion, compared with $936 million in the second quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were $3.008 billion, while adjusted EBITDA was $2.958 billion for the quarter. Citgo said year-to-date adjusted EBITDA at the end of third-quarter 2026 was $4.713 billion, exceeding the operator’s previous full-year earnings record set in 2022. Refining, commercial developments Citgo said its third-quarter capital spending included $50 million for turnaround and catalyst work and $128 million for capital projects. The operator’s crude fractionation and yield improvement project at Corpus Christi, was expected to be mechanically complete in December, with startup planned for early January 2027. The company’s reported throughput compares with 820,000 b/d in the second quarter, when turnaround work and unplanned outages affected runs. Average crude utilization rose from 97% in the previous quarter. Commercial developments during the third quarter included increased US Gulf Coast distillate exports to Europe, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Citgo also said it became the first shipper to move gasoline from the Chicago area to New York over the bi-directional Laurel Pipeline. Gasoline loading on the pipeline began

Listen to the article 6 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Edward Burgess is a partner at Current Energy Group. The debate over the impacts of new data centers on customers’ electricity bills is only intensifying. On the one hand, many people blame data center companies for triggering new grid costs that others will pay. On the other, data centers hold great promise to lower customer bills. For the latter, the theory is that, as high-utilization infrastructure users, data centers can absorb a large share of fixed costs that would otherwise be charged to existing customers. To their credit, nearly 200 data center companies have signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, committing to pay their fair share of costs. However, achieving this commitment depends on cooperative action by local utilities to update their rates accordingly. This raises an important question: Are investor-owned utilities willing to share the benefits of large-load growth with existing customers? Recent evidence suggests otherwise in some cases. Edward Burgess To fully understand this problem, let’s revisit the fundamentals of electricity ratemaking. New rates are typically proposed by utilities but ultimately approved by state utility regulators. When utilities propose new rates, the core calculation is based on two key inputs: 1) utility costs in the numerator, and 2) utility sales in the denominator. If the denominator increases more than the numerator (i.e., sales increase more than costs), then customer rates should decline on average. But in the era of hyperscale load growth, the specifics of these inputs — how they are defined and when relative changes occur — matter a great deal. In several recent cases, utilities have simply neglected to increase kWh sales from new data center load in their rate proposals, while still including related cost increases. For example,

Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: The U.S. electric power sector will generate almost 4,390 billion kWh this year, up 2.7% from 2025 — a new production record driven by “rising demand from the commercial sector and increased cooling needs from warmer-than-average summer temperatures,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its November Short-Term Energy Outlook published Tuesday. Rising electricity demand “is met primarily by increasing generation from renewable energy sources,” EIA said. Although the rate of generation growth is expected to slow next year, the share of total U.S. generation supplied by utility-scale solar plants will rise from 7% in 2025 to 8% in 2026, reaching nearly 10% in 2027, according to the report. Wind generation’s share is expected to rise from 11% in 2025 to 12% by 2027. EIA also expects the utility sector will install more than 25 GW of battery storage next year, reaching 91.7 GW of installed capacity by the end of 2027 — an increase of nearly 40% over expected 2026 totals. Dive Insight: Solar and wind generation are expected to add new capacity of about 72 GW and 20 GW, respectively, this year and next, EIA said. “Generation from other energy sources is likely to remain relatively flat or decrease,” it added. While commercial and industrial sector demand will continue to see robust growth next year, that could be “offset somewhat by lower residential electricity demand resulting from forecast milder summer weather next year,” EIA said. The federal government’s energy data arm is forecasting U.S. gas generation’s share of the electric power generation mix to hold relatively steady at an average of about 40% in 2026 and 2027, and nuclear’s share to average 18%. Coal’s share of generation will likely decline from 17% in

@import url(‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@100..900&display=swap’); .ebm-page__main h1, .ebm-page__main h2, .ebm-page__main h3, .ebm-page__main h4, .ebm-page__main h5, .ebm-page__main h6 { font-family: Inter; } body { line-height: 150%; letter-spacing: 0.025em; } button, .ebm-button-wrapper { font-family: Inter; } .label-style { text-transform: uppercase; color: var(–color-grey); font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.75rem; } .caption-style { font-size: 0.75rem; color: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 60%, transparent); } <!–> Vår Energi has selected SLB as its main integrated drilling services supplier for the Transocean Barents and Deepsea Bergen rigs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. ]–> <!–> –> June 18, 2026 <!–> The energy technology company said the selection covers an initial 4-year period, with 4 additional 1-year extension options that could extend the scope through 2034. Two harsh-environment semisubmersibles will continuously drill exploration and development wells during this period. The selection expands SLB’s relationship with Vår Energi across drilling, digital well and field development planning, and subsea production systems.   ]–>

Global crude oil prices are expected to remain near $100/bbl through yearend 2026 as continued Middle East supply disruptions, tanker attacks, and constrained shipping capacity keep oil markets tight, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its November Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). EIA forecasts Brent crude oil spot prices will average about $100/bbl in November and December before gradually declining in 2027 as Middle East production recovers and global inventories rebuild. Brent is projected to average $97/bbl in 2026 and $86/bbl in 2027, falling to $77/bbl by fourth-quarter 2027. Brent averaged $124/bbl in October, up $10/bbl from September and the highest monthly average since July 2022 on an inflation-adjusted basis. Prices rose for a third consecutive month as declining inventories, tanker attacks in the Middle East and Black Sea, and higher shipping costs disrupted global oil flows. However, Middle East exports increased slightly in October following the restart of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, according to Vortexa vessel-tracking data cited by EIA. Continued shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, supported by ship-to-ship transfers along Oman’s coast, also helped ease supply constraints. Brent fell below $100/bbl on Nov. 4. Middle East crude oil production shut-ins averaged an estimated 2.5 million b/d in October, down sharply from a peak of 10.9 million b/d in May. EIA expects disruptions to remain near 2.5 million b/d through fourth-quarter 2026 before declining to 1.9 million b/d in first-half 2027 and 1.3 million b/d in the second half. EIA assumes most Middle East production outside Iran will return to pre-conflict levels by mid-2027, supported by pipeline bypass routes, ship-to-ship transfers, and additional pipeline capacity in the United Arab Emirates. Iranian exports, however, are expected to remain constrained throughout the forecast period. Global oil inventories declined by an estimated 1.2 million b/d in third-quarter 2026 but are

Salt Creek Midstream LLC has ordered long-lead equipment for a fourth cryogenic natural gas processing plant at its Pecos Processing Complex in Reeves County, Tex. Slated for final investment decision by yearend 2026, the proposed Pecos IV train project, if approved, would add up to 300 MMcfd of capacity and enter service in second-half 2028, the operator said in a release Nov. 11. Depending on a final capacity decision for the project, the expansion could lift the company’s overall installed Permian gas processing capacity to as much as 900 MMcfd. With the Pecos site designed for further expandability up to 1.2 billion bcfd from its current 600-MMcfd capacity, Salt Creek said it has also now secured grid power to support that potential buildout. The proposed project follows customer and volume growth across Salt Creek’s Delaware basin system, which the company said will exceed its existing system’s 600 MMcfd of processing capacity in first-half 2027. To support its planned Permian growth program, Salt Creek confirmed it has also secured strategic offloading contracts to provide firm processing capacity as a bridge to the planned expansions. Those offloads are scheduled to enter service by the end of first-quarter 2027, according to the operator. Salt Creek reported the addition of nearly 300,000 acres dedicated across the Permian’s eight core counties, following additional acreage commitments signed earlier in the year. The dedications cover more than 20 unidentified customers. The operator said it expects about 75% of anticipated 2027 throughput to come from investment-grade counterparties, while customer volume commitments to support about 35% of projected volumes. The company’s acreage position includes about 40,000 dedicated acres in the liquids-rich core of the Woodford fairway, along with additional exposure to prospective areas. Salt Creek estimated Woodford volumes to exceed 200 MMcfd by yearend 2027 based on more than