WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an emergency exchange of up to 30 million barrels of sweet crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This action continues DOE’s execution of the 172-million-barrel release President Trump authorized as part of a coordinated release of 400 million barrels from IEA member nations’ strategic reserves. The Department will continue issuing RFPs to deliver on President Trump’s commitment to the coordinated release, addressing global supply disruptions and strengthening energy security for the United States and its allies. The crude oil will originate from the SPR’s West Hackberry site. This action builds on the Department’s two previous Emergency Exchange RFPs, which together quickly moved to award approximately 55 million barrels from the Bayou Choctaw, Bryan Mound, and West Hackberry SPR sites. These earlier exchanges demonstrated the SPR’s ability to rapidly deliver crude oil to the market under emergency authorities. Today’s announcement of the 30-million-barrel exchange leverages the full capabilities of the SPR, alongside the President’s limited Jones Act waiver, to accelerate critical near-term oil flows into the market and strengthen supply resilience. “Today’s action strengthens efforts to move oil quickly to market and address short-term supply pressures,” said Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary of the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office. “With two earlier exchanges, we are building on proven momentum. Thanks to President Trump, we are managing the SPR responsibly, returning premium barrels later to bolster long-term readiness at no cost to taxpayers.” Under DOE’s exchange authority, participating companies will return the borrowed 30-million-barrels with additional premium barrels by next year. This exchange delivers immediate crude to refiners and the market while generating additional barrels for the American people at no cost to taxpayers. Bids for this solicitation are due no later than 11:00 A.M. Central Time on Monday, April 13, 2026. For more information on the SPR, please visit DOE’s website. 

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) issued a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $263 million to SHINE Chrysalis, LLC (SHINE) to support the construction of Chrysalis, a high-volume medical isotope production facility in Janesville, Wisconsin. The production facility will create a supply of reliable and secure medical isotopes made with fusion and fission technology. Millions of patients rely on medical isotopes for life-saving diagnostic imaging and cancer treatments, but most of that supply comes from overseas with limited capacity to meet demand.  Utilizing fusion and fission technology, the facility will establish the only domestic commercial supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). Mo-99 is a life-saving medical isotope essential for diagnostic imaging; its decay product of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is used in over 40,000 medical procedures in the United States each day. “The SHINE Chrysalis project is vital to improving the nuclear supply chain and contributing to a strong next-generation nuclear workforce while onshoring this critical production and improving national security,” EDF Director Gregory A. Beard said. “Using EDF’s loan authority to further commercialize a project long supported by DOE is Trump’s policy at work: ensuring a reliable and secure domestic supply chain while lowering costs.” Thanks to President Trump and the Working Families Tax Cut, today’s announcement highlights the Energy Department’s role in advancing President Trump’s Executive Order, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base, by maximizing the use of uranium through an innovative recycling process. This project will support hundreds of construction and operation jobs, contributing to a strong next-generation American nuclear workforce. SHINE has developed and demonstrated its technology through significant support from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) over the last 16 years. With NNSA funding, the National Laboratories also played a key role in developing SHINE’s technology. “SHINE is the key to

We, the Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, the Hon Madeleine King MP, and Secretaries and senior representatives from the United States, including Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin, Chairman of the U.S. Export Import Bank John Jovanovic, and Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson,  held our inaugural Mining, Minerals, and Metals Investment Ministerial in Tokyo on 14 March 2026, to advance cooperation under the landmark bilateral agreement, the United States–Australia Framework for Securing Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths (the Framework). Under the Framework, Australia and the United States are delivering concrete outcomes to strengthen, secure, and diversify critical minerals and rare earth supply chains. Within six months of agreement of the Framework, we have each taken measures to provide at least USD $1 billion in financing to key critical minerals projects. By mobilising government and private sector capital, these investments support the development of our shared industrial base and strengthen longer term supply for defence, manufacturing, and energy supply chains. To build resilience, enhance stability, and bolster economic security in support of our shared critical minerals interests, Australia and the United States today announce the establishment of the Critical Minerals Supply Security Response Group and commit to deeper cooperation between our key agencies. In line with the Framework, the Critical Minerals Supply Security Response Group, led by senior representatives from the United States Department of Energy and the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources, will cooperate on priority minerals and supply chain vulnerabilities and coordinate efforts to accelerate the delivery of processed minerals under the Framework. Australia and the United States also commit to leveraging shared policy and interagency regulatory tools and, where appropriate, investments to secure critical minerals supply, including through cooperation between Australia’s

We, the ministers and representatives of Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, United States, and Vietnam met in Tokyo, Japan, on March 14–15, 2026, to hold the historic Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum. The forum was co-hosted by the Chair and Vice Chair of the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa Ryosei. We affirm our shared determination to work collectively to ensure stable and secure energy supply in the Indo-Pacific region. To this end, we focused on three key themes: reliable energy for Indo-Pacific growth and security; securing energy supply chains, infrastructure and maritime routes; and enabling trade and investment. To support these goals, Ministers affirm the value of: The necessity of reliable, affordable, secure and dispatchable energy from all sources depending on each country’s situation, in meeting the region’s surging energy demand.  Promoting quality as a key procurement mechanism to mitigate risk of operational liabilities. Protecting against rising cyber threats to the security of the energy grid, critical infrastructure, vehicles, and devices. Investment in comprehensive energy infrastructure that encompasses the entire energy supply chain from upstream development facilities to downstream equipment to support an affordable, reliable, and secure energy supply including baseload electricity.  Continuing to supply affordable and reliable energy sources in the Indo-Pacific region, including through emergency response measures, to benefit both producers and consumer countries. While maintaining strong relations with current partners, expanding and diversifying energy suppliers and fuel types in order to strengthen energy security. Promoting transparent, long-term energy contracts that reduce market volatility. As the global economy expands, so too does demand for energy driven by AI and electrification, we, as countries committed to a free and

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) and Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) today announced a funding opportunity of up to $69 million for technologies or processes that advance the domestic production and refining of critical materials. Projects selected through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will address the greatest technical obstacles to a stronger critical materials supply chain. “This funding will help establish a more secure and affordable supply of the critical minerals and materials that are foundational to American energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy (EERE) Audrey Robertson. DOE is seeking projects that bridge the gap between bench-scale innovations and commercially viable technologies. Selected project teams will form industry-led partnerships and conduct research and development with support from the U.S. national laboratories. The NOFO, which is part of DOE’s Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator Program and jointly funded by CMEI’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and HGEO’s Office of Geothermal, has three primary topic areas: Production and material efficiency for critical materials including rare earth elements Processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing CMEI will host an informational webinar on April 16, 2026, to discuss the NOFO and application requirements. Letters of intent are due on April 21, 2026, by 5 p.m. ET. Deadlines for full applications will be staggered based on topic area, starting in May 2026. For more details on sub-topics and deadlines, visit the NOFO landing page. The Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator is one of several programs developed through DOE’s Critical Materials Collaborative. This NOFO is part of $1 billion in critical materials funding announced by DOE in August 2025, and follows the Manufacturing Deployment Office’s announcement

With geopolitical risk central to conversations about energy, and with long-cycle supply once again in focus, Latin America’s mix of hydrocarbons and export potential drew renewed attention at CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston. Argentina, resource story to export platform Among the regional stories, Argentina stood out as Vaca Muerta was no longer discussed simply as a large unconventional resource, but whether the country could turn resource quality into sustained export capacity.  Country officials talked about scale: more operators, more services, more infrastructure, and a larger industrial base around the unconventional play. Daniel González, Vice Minister of Energy and Mining for Argentina, put it plainly: “The time has come to expand the Vaca Muerta ecosystem.” What is at stake now is not whether the basin works, but whether the country can build enough above-ground capacity and regulatory consistency to keep development moving. Horacio Marín, chairman and chief executive officer of YPF, offered an expansive version of that argument. He said Argentina’s energy exports could reach $50 billion/year by 2031, backed by roughly $130 billion in cumulative investment in oil, LNG, and transportation infrastructure. He said Argentine crude output could reach 1 million b/d by end-2026. He said Argentina wants to be seen less as a recurrent frontier story and more as a future supplier with scale. “The time to invest in Vaca Muerta is now,” Marín said. The LNG piece is starting to take shape. Eni, YPF, and XRG signed a joint development agreement in February to move Argentina LNG forward, with a first phase planned at 12 million tonnes/year. Southern Energy—backed by PAE, YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy, and Golar LNG—holds a long-term agreement with SEFE for 2 million tonnes/year over 8 years. The movement by global standards is early-stage and relatively modest, but it adds to Argentina’s export