WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued an emergency order to mitigate the risk of blackouts in the Carolinas amid hot weather conditions. Issued pursuant to Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the order authorizes Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (Duke) to dispatch specified units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability. The order also authorizes Duke, in collaboration with its Transmission Owners, to direct backup generation resources to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3 or during an EEA 3. This order was issued pursuant to an application from Duke submitted on September 3, 2026. “Thanks to this emergency order, Americans will not have to worry about losing access to affordable power this Labor Day weekend,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “The previous administration’s energy subtraction policies weakened the grid, leaving Americans more vulnerable during events like this. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring that hardworking American families and businesses in the Carolinas’ have continued access energy to power and cool their homes.” On day one, President Trump declared a national energy emergency after the Biden administration’s energy subtraction agenda left behind a grid increasingly vulnerable to the risk of blackouts. The order is in effect beginning on September 3, 2026, through September 8, 2026. 

WASHINGTON—This Labor Day, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is celebrating the hardworking men and women who power America with the release of the 2026 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER). The annual report highlights strong job growth across critical energy sectors at the heart of President Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda. America’s most reliable energy sectors are adding jobs and powering industries across the country. These critical sectors deliver the affordable, reliable, and secure energy that American families, businesses, and industries depend on. After years of decline under the previous administration, America’s coal and nuclear power workforces are growing again under President Trump’s leadership. “Energy is the sector that enables every other sector of our economy, and America’s energy workers make it all possible,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “These hardworking men and women keep our lights on, our factories running, and our economy growing. President Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda is putting them first and delivering the affordable, reliable, and secure energy America needs.” Energy careers are also delivering bigger paychecks for American workers. The median energy-sector salary reached $63,000—24% higher than the U.S. median salary. America’s growing energy needs are creating the jobs of the future. The 2026 USEER’s new Future Outlook chapter highlights rising demand for skilled energy workers and growing competition for talent across energy and other expanding industries. These trends are opening new pathways to high-paying, skilled careers for American workers. As energy demand grows, America’s energy workforce will power the next generation of American industry, innovation, and economic growth. Highlights from the report include:  •    The median energy-sector salary was $63,000, 24% higher than the national median salary of $51,000. •    Natural gas transmission and distribution added 12,500 workers, growing employment by 5%. •    Nuclear power added 2,300 workers, growing employment by 4%. •    Coal power generation added 2,800 workers, growing

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO), in collaboration with the Office of Technology Commercialization, today announced a Request for Information (RFI) seeking stakeholder input on opportunities to better connect private capital and public-private partnership programs with coal, oil and gas, and geothermal energy technologies.  The RFI supports President Trump’s American Energy Dominance agenda by strengthening connections among American energy innovators, industry and private capital to accelerate commercialization, lower energy costs, strengthen reliability and energy security, and power American prosperity. This effort builds on the recently announced Small Business Investment Company-Energy (SBIC-E) Initiative, announced by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to mobilize private capital for American energy technologies and businesses.  “President Trump has made American energy innovation and dominance a priority, and connecting promising technologies with the right technical expertise, industry partners and sources of capital is critical to delivering on that vision,” said DOE Acting Assistant Secretary for the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office Curt Coccodrilli. “Through this Request for Information, we would like to hear directly from investors, innovators and industry about the opportunities and challenges they see in commercializing coal, oil and gas, and geothermal energy technologies.” “Too often, promising American technologies face barriers between development and commercial deployment,” said Anthony Pugliese, DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization. “We want to better understand where those barriers exist and how DOE can work with the private sector to create stronger pathways to market, helping more American energy technologies scale, compete, and succeed.”  DOE is soliciting feedback from investors, industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies and other stakeholders to better understand investor interest, barriers and opportunities related to the development and commercialization of subsurface energy technologies.   Areas of interest include, but are not

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office today established a Geothermal Center of Excellence (CoE) to advance President Trump and Secretary Wright’s commitment to delivering affordable, reliable, and secure energy.  The Center will unite expertise and world-class capabilities from across DOE’s National Laboratories to accelerate the discovery and development of gigawatt-scale geothermal energy, resource discovery, and commercial development.  The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) will lead the consortium, with support from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).  “America has vast geothermal resources beneath our feet that can provide reliable, around-the-clock energy while strengthening our energy dominance,” said DOE Under Secretary for Energy Kyle Haustveit. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Geothermal Center of Excellence will leverage the world-class scientific and engineering expertise of our national laboratories in partnership with industry to unlock gigawatt-scale power generation, expand American energy production, and deliver more affordable, reliable, and secure energy to the American people.” DOE formally launched the Center at NLR’s campus in Golden, Colorado, bringing together DOE leadership, elected officials, NLR and NETL leadership, laboratory staff, and industry representatives to advance the Center’s vision and priorities.  “The Geothermal Center of Excellence marks an important step in our work to accelerate gigawatt-scale geothermal energy on the U.S. grid,” said DOE Acting Assistant Secretary for the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office Curt Coccodrilli. “By driving innovation and enhancing lab-industry collaboration, the Center will help us achieve our goals to enhance reliable baseload power, strengthen grid reliability, and improve long-term energy security.” The Center will also serve as industry’s main entry point to DOE’s National Laboratories. An Industry Advisory Board will provide objective insight into industry-relevant geothermal research needs, accelerate industry-lab partnerships, and advise on Center priorities.  For more information, contact geo.centerofexcellence@nlr.gov.

The remaining $400 million will be contributed by the consortium’s shareholders: Pan American Energy, YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy, and Golar LNG. The 472-km, 36-in. OD San Matías Pipeline, which will originate at Tratayén, one of Vaca Muerta’s main gas hubs, is designed to transport 27 million cu m/d (MMcmd) of natural gas, aligned with the gas requirements of the two FLNG units. Hilli Episeyo will have LNG production capacity of 2.45 million tonnes/year (tpy) and will require about 11.5 MMcmd of feed gas. Esperanza, previously known as MKII, will add another 3.5 million tpy and require close to 16 MMcmd of feed gas. Hilli Episeyo is expected to begin operations in 2027, followed by Esperanza in 2028. The project also will include a compressor station with about 46,000 hp of installed capacity to maintain required pressure and flow across the system. Pipeline construction has been awarded to the SICIM-Víctor Contreras consortium, while OPS will be responsible for the Allen compressor station. IEB Construcciones was selected to manage and coordinate the project’s different construction fronts. In August, the first 36-in. line pipe manufactured in India began arriving at the Port of San Antonio Este. Construction is scheduled to begin in August 2026, with completion targeted for mid-2028. The project was admitted to Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) in June and has environmental impact approvals from Neuquén and Río Negro provinces.

Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) is closer to adding production from Búzios oil field offshore Brazil, with the P-80 and P-82 floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units entering the final phase of module integration ahead of their departure from a Singapore shipyard and planned startup in 2027. The units are expected to sail to Brazil in the coming weeks to operate in Santos basin pre-salt. P-80 (Búzios 9) will be the first to leave the Seatrium’s Tuas Boulevard Yard. The P-80 process modules were manufactured in Brazil at the Seatrium BrasFELS shipyard in Angra dos Reis. The P-82 modules were manufactured at the Seatrium Aracruz shipyard in Espírito Santo. Construction work for the FPSOs also took place in China, Singapore, and Indonesia. Subsequently, the modules were transported to Singapore for final integration. Each platform has capacity to produce 225,000 bo/d and process 12 million cu m/d. Together, P-80 and P-82 are expected to add 450,000 b/d, an approximate 34% increase to the installed production capacity at the field when operational. Each vessel also has water injection capacity of about 250,000 b/d. P-80 and P-82 each have oil storage capacity of about 2.5 million bbl. Petrobras President Magda Chambriard said the units “make up a new cycle of six units with high production capacity, started with the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, which operates in Búzios above the project capacity, with record production of 270,000 bo/d.” Subsequent to the P-80 and P-82, the operator expects to complete P-83, P-84, and P-85, which will operate in fields Búzios, Atapu, and Sépia, respectively.  Búzios, which lies in 1,900-2,200 m of water, will produce from eight FPSOs with the addition of P-80 and P-82. The field has already surpassed 1.2 million b/d of oil produciton.