The North Sea could produce about half of the oil and gas the UK will need in the run up to 2050 – but only if new projects can be developed, industry chiefs have said. As it stands Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said the UK is on track to produce just 4 billion of the 13bn to 15bn barrels of oil and gas the country will need over the next 25 years. However, OEUK argued that by “unlocking additional resources from waters around the coast” this could be increased to about 7bn barrels – a move which the industry body said could be worth £150bn to the UK economy. Speaking as it published its 2025 Business Outlook report, chief executive David Whitehouse said this could only happen if the UK Government consents to new projects. Since Labour came to power the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has maintained it will not issue licences to explore new fields, as it seeks to reduce emissions towards the target of the UK achieving net zero by 2050. Whitehouse however told journalists that while “the bulk of that additional oil and gas” could come from existing fields, it would “require new projects to meet that target” of the UK producing seven billion barrels. He noted that independent advisers at the Climate Change Committee had said to get to net zero by 2050 the UK would need some 13bn to 15bn barrels of oil and gas. The OEUK chief executive stated: “Today, we’re on track to produce only 4bn of those barrels in the UK, but with the right polices to encourage firms to invest we could unlock another three billion barrels and meet half our entire needs.” Such a move would add £150 billion of gross value to the UK economy, he

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today announced the Department of Energy (DOE) has further postponed the implementation of three of the Biden-Harris administration’s restrictive mandates on home appliances. These actions, taken in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, “Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation,” marks a key step in lowering costs, enhancing performance, and expanding options for American consumers. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is taking critical steps every day to help American families prosper,” said Secretary Wright. “By removing burdensome regulations put in place by the Biden administration, we are returning freedom of choice to the American people, ensuring consumers can choose the home appliances that work best for their lives and budgets. This power should not belong to the federal government.” The Department’s notices officially postpone the effective dates for three home appliance rules: Test Procedures for Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Efficiency Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Freezers Efficiency Standards for Gas Instantaneous Water Heaters In addition, under the leadership of President Trump, the Department has officially withdrawn four conservation standards, including standards on electric motors, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, and external power supplies. This continued commitment to the American people will slash unnecessary red tape and regulations that raise prices, reduce consumer choice, and frustrate the American people. ###

North America cut 18 rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest North America rotary rig count, which was released on March 21. Although the total U.S. rig count increased by one week on week, Canada’s total rig count dropped by 19 during the same period, taking the total North America rig count down to 773, comprising 593 rigs from the U.S. and 180 from Canada, the count outlined. Of the total U.S. rig count of 593, 576 rigs are categorized as land rigs, 14 are categorized as offshore rigs, and three are categorized as inland water rigs. The total U.S. rig count is made up of 486 oil rigs, 102 gas rigs, and five miscellaneous rigs, according to the count, which revealed that the U.S. total comprises 532 horizontal rigs, 49 directional rigs, and 12 vertical rigs. Week on week, the U.S. land rig count and offshore rig count remained unchanged, and the country’s inland water rig count increased by one, the count highlighted. The U.S. gas rig count increased by two, its oil rig count decreased by one, and its miscellaneous rig count remained unchanged, week on week, the count showed. Baker Hughes’ count revealed that the U.S. horizontal rig count increased by two week on week, while the country’s directional rig count dropped by one and its vertical rig count remained unchanged during the period. A major state variances subcategory included in the rig count showed that, week on week, Oklahoma added two rigs, Louisiana added one rig, and Texas dropped one rig. A major basin variances subcategory included in Baker Hughes’ rig count showed that the Ardmore Woodford basin added three rigs, the Cana Woodford basin dropped two rigs, and the Granite Wash, Permian, and Williston basins each dropped one rig, week on week. Canada’s

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened a 25% tariff on any nation purchasing oil and gas from Venezuela, ratcheting up his dispute with the Latin American country over immigration with a move that risks roiling the global energy trade. The move aims to cut a major source of revenue for the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas while also putting further pressure on China, which is a major purchaser of Venezuelan crude and already in the cross hairs for 20% tariffs under Trump. The US, meanwhile, is also a core buyer of Venezuelan oil, and Texas-based Chevron Corp. is a key producer.  The tariff would go into affect April 2, Trump said in a social media post, the same day his administration is expected to unveil a wider array of tariffs targeting multiple countries, adding yet another layer to the overlapping duties that have rattled trade partners and risk gumming up the global economy.  US crude futures rose as much as 1.5% after Trump’s post, before pairing gains to 1.1% to trade at $69.02 a barrel as of 12:52 p.m. in New York. Prices have come under pressure in recent weeks due to growing worries about oversupply and a shaky US economic outlook. Meanwhile, Venezuela sovereign bonds slipped across the curve.  Trump referred to the new charges as “secondary tariffs,” a potentially novel use of the trade restriction similar to so-called secondary sanctions imposed on firms or people doing business with targeted entities. Trump has ramped up scrutiny and sanctions on Venezuela since returning to the White House, reversing some easing under President Joe Biden. “Any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country. All documentation will be signed and registered,

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened a 25% tariff on any nation purchasing oil and gas from Venezuela, ratcheting up his dispute with the Latin American country over immigration with a move that risks roiling the global energy trade. The move aims to cut a major source of revenue for the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas while also putting further pressure on China, which is a major purchaser of Venezuelan crude and already in the cross hairs for 20% tariffs under Trump. The US, meanwhile, is also a core buyer of Venezuelan oil, and Texas-based Chevron Corp. is a key producer.  The tariff would go into affect April 2, Trump said in a social media post, the same day his administration is expected to unveil a wider array of tariffs targeting multiple countries, adding yet another layer to the overlapping duties that have rattled trade partners and risk gumming up the global economy.  US crude futures rose as much as 1.5% after Trump’s post, before pairing gains to 1.1% to trade at $69.02 a barrel as of 12:52 p.m. in New York. Prices have come under pressure in recent weeks due to growing worries about oversupply and a shaky US economic outlook. Meanwhile, Venezuela sovereign bonds slipped across the curve.  Trump referred to the new charges as “secondary tariffs,” a potentially novel use of the trade restriction similar to so-called secondary sanctions imposed on firms or people doing business with targeted entities. Trump has ramped up scrutiny and sanctions on Venezuela since returning to the White House, reversing some easing under President Joe Biden. “Any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country. All documentation will be signed and registered,

Dive Brief: The number of data centers operated by hyperscale providers increased to 1,136 last year, up from 992 at the end of 2023, according to research published Thursday by Synergy Research Group. The companies with the broadest data center footprint are the leading cloud providers — Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Together, the three now account for 59% of all hyperscale data center capacity, SRG said. “The average size of newly opened data centers has increased recently and will continue to increase, meaning that total hyperscale data center capacity increases even more rapidly than the data center count,” John Dinsdale, SRG chief analyst, said in an email. Dive Insight: Growing demand for cloud-based AI services continues to shape the data center landscape, as construction crews break ground on new hyperscaler facilities. A race is on to increase cloud compute capacity.  Currently, there are more than 500 facilities in the planning and construction phases, according to SRG. AWS, Microsoft and Google have each committed to pouring tens of billions of dollars into capital expenditures, primarily targeting AI buildouts. SRG expects a reasonably steady addition of roughly 130 to 140 data centers per year moving forward. New construction is only part of the picture. Capacity will grow faster than the number of projects due to the massive size of planned facilities and increases in compute density. Nvidia, a key player in architecting AI-optimized chip technologies, unveiled its Blackwell Ultra platform at the GTC Conference in San Jose, California. The processor is designed to power agentic AI capabilities by more than tripling the compute and memory capacity of the prior generation Hopper chips, the company said in a Tuesday announcement. Large language models are hungry beasts. Model builder OpenAI joined forces with Oracle, SoftBank and MGX to fund the $500 billion AI infrastructure