Three oil fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq were attacked by drones on Wednesday, adding to a spate of hits on energy installations in the area this week. Two drones attacked the DNO ASA-operated Peshkabir field around 6am local time, the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism in Kurdistan said in a statement. Another drone hit the Tawke project about an hour later, it said. A third attack was reported at a field in Ain Sifni in the north, the Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources said, adding the strikes caused significant damage to infrastructure. DNO suspended output at its projects, and would restart once an assessment is completed, the company said. Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd., which operates the Shaikan field that produced a little over 40,000 barrels a day last year, shut operations as a precaution even though the assets haven’t been hit, the company said. The Kurdistan region hasn’t been shipping any crude to global markets since an export pipeline to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast was shut over two years ago following a payments dispute. The vast majority of Iraq’s oil production comes from the country’s south.  Attacks on energy infrastructure aren’t uncommon in the north, which the Kurdistan administration often links on Iran-affiliated groups. No one has claimed responsibility for the latest spree. On Tuesday, the Sarsang field operated by US firm HKN Energy was shut after a strike caused an explosion and fire, while another project called Khurmala was targeted by two drones earlier.  The US embassy in Iraq condemned the attacks in a statement on Tuesday. The Tawke field produced 29,153 barrels a day last year and Peshkabir’s output was 49,462 a day, according to DNO’s website.  The Sarsang field pumped about 30,000 barrels a day of oil on average in the first quarter, according

Global oil inventories have swollen at a rapid clip in recent months, but given the bulk of the increase has been in the Asia-Pacific, prices have been able to hold their ground for now, according to Morgan Stanley. While total stockpiles surged by about 235 million barrels in the five months to the end of June, just 10% of that has been in the OECD, the region that’s “critical for price formation,” analysts including Martijn Rats said in a July 15 note, which posed the question “Is the oil market actually tight? Or not?” Global benchmark Brent has gained ground so far this month, after advances in May and June, despite the drag from the US-led trade war and a major unwind of OPEC+ supply curbs. Although there are widespread expectations for a global glut in the coming quarters, crude’s near-term structure — with prompt prices above those further out — suggests current market tightness. “What bridges this apparent contradiction is the uneven regional distribution of global inventory builds,” the analysts said. “Most of the inventory builds have taken place in locations that have less impact on prices, whilst inventories in key pricing centers have remained unusually tight – the builds have been in the Pacific, but Brent is priced in the Atlantic.” Morgan Stanley cautioned that once the peak summer-demand season ends, a sizable surplus would be on the horizon again, although the bank still expected that only a “modest share” would show up in OECD stockpiles. These were seen rising by no more than 165 million barrels over 12 months, returning holdings to 2017 levels, when Brent fluctuated around $65 a barrel, the analysts said. Brent price forecasts were retained at $65 a barrel in the fourth quarter, and $60 for each of the four quarters in 2026.

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the start of a new pilot program to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear reactors and strengthen domestic supply chains for nuclear fuel. The Department issued a Request for Application (RFA) and is seeking qualified U.S. companies to build and operate nuclear fuel production lines using the DOE authorization process. This initiative will help end America’s reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials, while opening the door for private sector investment in America’s nuclear renaissance. Today’s action directly supports President Trump’s executive orders to reform nuclear reactor testing at the Department and deploy nuclear reactor technologies for national security, and establishes a domestic nuclear fuel supply chain for testing new reactors. “America has the resources and the expertise to lead the world in nuclear energy development, but we need secure domestic supply chains to fuel this rapidly growing energy source and achieve a true nuclear energy renaissance,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “The Trump Administration is accelerating innovation, not regulation, and leveraging partnerships with the private sector to safely fuel and test new reactor designs that will unleash more reliable and affordable energy for American consumers.” Background: DOE launched a new reactor pilot program in June 2025 to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs that will be authorized by the Department at sites located outside of the National Laboratories. DOE is currently reviewing potential applicants and anticipates selecting at least three advanced reactor designs later this summer that have the potential to achieve criticality by July 4, 2026. The United States currently lacks the sufficient domestic nuclear fuel resources to meet projected demand. DOE is relying on the same authority used to expedite testing to jumpstart fuel line development and rebuild America’s nuclear fuel production base. Applicants

Dive Brief: Google will spend more than $25 billion to build out data center and AI infrastructure across the Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection power grid in the next two years, the company said Tuesday at the inaugural Pennsylvanian Energy and Innovation Summit hosted by Senator Dave McCormick and attended by President Donald Trump. In addition to expanding its cloud footprint in a region that stretches contiguously across 13 states, including Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia, the hyperscaler committed more than $3 billion to modernizing two hydropower plants located in Pennsylvania and launched an AI skills training initiative called AI Works for America. “Google’s investments announced today will increase energy abundance and empower Americans with the skills needed to thrive in the AI era,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google parent company Alphabet, said. “We support President Trump’s clear and urgent direction that our nation invest in AI infrastructure, technology and the energy to unlock its benefits so that America can continue to lead in AI.” Dive Insight: As enterprises search for a return on investments in generative AI technologies, the major cloud providers are in a race to build AI data center capacity that’s chewing through tens of billions of dollars every couple of months. Google plans to boost its capital investments by more than 40% year over year to $75 billion in 2025, CEO Sundar Pichai said in February, pointing to compute capacity constraints and growing demand for its cloud and AI services. In April, the company made a $3 billion commitment to facility buildouts in Virginia and Indiana, vowing to ramp up capacity “to support customer needs and customer demands,” CFO Anat Ashkenazi said during an earnings call. Google’s investments are feeding a spending spree that’s expected to drive global spending on data centers to just under

Dive Brief: The $6.2 billion deal under which the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Blackrock’s Global Infrastructure Partners would buy Allete, a Duluth, Minnesota-based utility company, should be rejected, an administrative law judge said Tuesday. The deal poses foreseeable risks to Minnesota’s energy transition, Allete’s long-term financial health and ratepayers, ALJ Megan McKenzie said in a recommended decision filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. “On balance, the risks of the deal, as proposed, outweigh the possible benefits.” McKenzie said. Allete — parent to Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power — strongly disagreed with the non-binding recommendation, saying it failed to fully consider the benefits of a July 11 settlement agreement with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. “The ALJ report mischaracterizes the parties, their agreements and plans, and the benefits and risks of the acquisition,” Allete said Tuesday. Dive Insight: The proposed Allete transaction, announced in May 2024, has cleared all required regulatory hurdles, except for approval by the Minnesota PUC. However, ALJ McKenzie agreed with entities opposing the deal — the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General, a consortium of Minnesota Power’s large industrial customers, the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, the Sierra Club and CURE, an advocacy group — that it doesn’t meet Minnesota’s public interest standard. Allete and its buyers failed to adequately support key arguments for completing the deal, such as improving the utility company’s access to capital and expertise, according to McKenzie. “Petitioners have not shown that the acquisition will improve Allete’s access to capital or even whether Allete needs improved access,” McKenzie said. Also, access to CPP Investments’ and GIP’s expertise appears to have limited value because of assurances that they intend to keep Allete’s existing management, staff and business plan, she said. Further, the private equity model offered by CPP Investments

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed its latest U.S. regular gasoline retail price forecast in its July short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on July 8. According to this STEO, the EIA sees the U.S. regular gasoline retail price averaging $3.09 per gallon in 2025 and $3.04 per gallon in 2026. In its previous STEO, which was released in June, the EIA projected that the U.S. regular gasoline retail price would come in at $3.09 per gallon this year and $3.08 per gallon next year. The EIA’s latest STEO forecasts that the U.S. regular gasoline retail price will average $3.11 per gallon in the third quarter of this year, $2.99 per gallon in the fourth quarter, $2.93 per gallon in the first quarter of 2026, $3.12 per gallon in the second quarter, $3.16 per gallon in the third quarter, and $2.96 per gallon in the fourth quarter of 2026. In its previous STEO, the EIA projected that the U.S. regular gasoline retail price would average $3.14 per gallon in the third quarter, $2.97 per gallon in the fourth quarter, $2.95 per gallon in the first quarter of next year, $3.17 per gallon in the second quarter, $3.21 per gallon in the third quarter, and $3.01 per gallon in the fourth quarter. Current Prices In its latest gasoline fuel update, which was released on July 15, the EIA showed that the U.S. regular gasoline price averaged $3.164 per gallon on June 30, $3.125 per gallon on July 7, and $3.130 per gallon on July 14. The July 14 price was $0.366 lower than the year ago price, the EIA fuel update outlined. Of the five Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) regions highlighted in the EIA’s latest fuel update, the West Coast was shown to have the highest regular