Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. surpassed profit expectations as higher oil production helped offset the blow from lower crude prices.  The titans of the US oil industry expanded output from the US Permian Basin, Guyana and other regions. For Exxon, full-year production hit a 40-year high while Chevron benefited from the integration of its $48 billion takeover of Hess Corp. The outperformance comes as major US drillers face growing pressure to assist in the Trump administration’s aspiration to revive the Venezuelan oil sector after the ouster of strongman Nicolas Maduro.   Chevron intends to finance a 50% increase in its Venezuelan oil production with cash from oil sales rather than committing new capital to the country, Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner said during an interview.  As the only major oil explorer with ongoing operations in the South American nation, Chevron has a leg up on rivals that departed years ago during a nationalization campaign by Maduro’s predecessor, the late former leader Hugo Chavez. Late Thursday, The Trump administration took steps to begin relaxing some of the punishing sanctions that have isolated the Venezuelan energy industry. The move gives other US companies the go-ahead to work with the state-controlled oil producer, with restrictions such as a prohibition on transactions with Chinese-tied entities.   Exxon’s adjusted fourth-quarter net income of $1.71 a share was 2 cents higher than the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Chevron earned $1.52 a share, 14 cents higher than expected. For both companies, debt ratios crept higher during the final three months of 2025. Exxon shares fell 1% at 9:35 a.m. in New York. Chevron rose 1.1%. “We’re capturing more value from every barrel and molecule we produce and building growth platforms at scale,” Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said in a statement. The strategy is “creating a

In 2026, the electric utility sector faces unprecedented load growth that is challenging the physical infrastructure of the grid and the regulatory and market structures that have guided its development for decades. Federal and state authorities are at odds over who will manage this growth as officials come under pressure over rising costs. At the same time, the Trump administration has moved to exert more direct control over the power system under the banner of “energy dominance.” The stories in our 2026 outlook series below comprise a road map to the year ahead, including what to expect from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the impacts of new federal policy on renewables and other resources, and technological advances that promise to unlock new efficiencies. We’re tracking the biggest trends rewriting the rules of how the U.S. produces and delivers power heading into what is sure to be a defining year for energy. 

Listen to the article 16 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Rising energy demand, inflation, grid investment, extreme weather and volatile fuel costs are increasing the cost of electricity faster than many households can keep up, and there are no easy fixes, experts say. Mitigating the problem would require threading a needle of policy alternatives, but even with the right policies, it will take time to reduce customer energy burdens. The U.S. Energy Information Administration puts the national average residential price per kilowatt hour in 2026 at 18 cents, up approximately 37% from 2020. “I don’t see hidden costs that can be suddenly squeezed out of the system,” said Ray Gifford, managing partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer’s Denver office and former chair of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. “You are talking about an industry where most of the costs are fixed, and the assets are long-lived.” Energy affordability has recently become politically salient, but for many low-income people, “the energy affordability crisis is not new,” said Joe Daniel, a principal on the Rocky Mountain Institute’s carbon free electricity team. In 2017, 25% of all U.S. households — more than 30 million — faced a high energy burden, defined as paying more than 6% of income on energy bills, according to a report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. For the poorest, it can be much higher. Households making less than 30% of area median income paid about 11% of their income for electricity alone, according to data from the Department of Energy covering the years 2018 to 2022.  The Department of Energy’s Low-Income Energy Affordability Data Tool shows households’ energy burden in the lower 48 states and Washington, D.C. The data is based on the American Community Survey 5-year Estimates for 2018-2022. Retrieved from

Secretary Wright extends four emergency orders to stabilize grids in the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic, deploy backup generation, save lives, and lower costs ahead of the second major winter storm in a week. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) overnight extended four emergency orders to mitigate the risk of blackouts in the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic ahead of extended winter weather, with below freezing temperatures projected over the weekend and into early next week. Pursuant to Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, two orders were issued to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC and Duke Energy Progress (collectively, Duke Energy) and two were issued to PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM).  Duke Energy and PJM requested these extensions because the emergency conditions will persist beyond the term of the original orders. The original orders were issued on January 24, 2026 and January 26, 2026.  “Winter Storm Fern proves that decisive action by the Trump Administration is crucial to reversing the dangerous energy subtraction agenda of the previous administration,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Those policies weakened the grid and left Americans more vulnerable. We are doing everything in our power to reverse those reckless decisions. The Trump Administration is committed to using every available tool, and unleashing all available power generation, to keep the lights on and Americans safe.” 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 blackouts. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), “Winter electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in recent years,” while the premature forced closure of reliable generation such as coal and natural gas plants leaves American families vulnerable to power outages. The NERC 2025 – 2026 Winter Reliability Assessment further warns that areas across the

Listen to the article 5 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Reliability risks are spreading across the bulk electric system, driven by soaring peak demand forecasts and lagging resource additions, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said Thursday in its annual Long Term Reliability Assessment.  Summer peak demand across the bulk system is forecast to grow by 224 GW over the next 10 years, a more than 69% increase over the 2024 LTRA forecast and a 24% increase from 2025 peak demand, NERC said. New data centers account for most of the projected increase. Winter demand growth is even higher, with 246 GW of growth forecast over the next decade. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, PJM Interconnection, Electric Reliability Council of Texas and parts of the Pacific Northwest all face a high risk of insufficient reserve margins or exceeding unserved energy criteria at some point within the next five years, according to the report.    Dive Insight: “The system is changing faster than the infrastructure needed to support it,” John Moura, NERC’s director of reliability assessments and performance analysis, said in a call with reporters. We are “in a period here where future electricity supply has never been more uncertain.” From 2024 to 2025, existing capacity from fossil-fueled generators fell by 21 GW, while bulk power system capacity for peak demand hours from battery, wind, and solar resources increased by 23 GW, according to the report. Bulk power system capacity “fell short of projections this year,” said Mark Olson, NERC’s manager of reliability assessments. “And that was the case last year as well,” he added. Delays in connecting new resources and unanticipated generator retirements are the cause of the miss. In a change from last year’s LTRA, NERC said solar PV is no longer the

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) revealed its latest preliminary crude oil and natural gas production figures, which were for October last year, in a statement posted on its website recently. The preliminary reported total volume of crude oil in Texas in October 2025 was 125,078,417 barrels, according to the statement, which showed that the preliminary reported total volume of natural gas in the state during the same month was 957.0 billion cubic feet. The RRC noted in the statement that crude oil and natural gas production for October 2025 came from 157,228 oil wells and 84,019 gas wells. In its statement, the RRC highlighted that crude oil production reported by the RRC is limited to oil produced from oil leases and does not include condensate, which the organization said is reported separately by the RRC. The RRC also pointed out in the statement that preliminary figures are based on production volumes reported by operators and said they will be updated as late and corrected production reports are received. The RRC’s statement showed that the updated reported total volume of crude oil in Texas in October 2024 was 149,680,107 barrels. The preliminary reported total volume was 122,145,230 barrels, the statement highlighted. It showed that the updated reported total volume of natural gas in the state came in at 1.12 trillion cubic feet in October 2024. The preliminary reported total volume was 898.8 billion cubic feet, the statement outlined. According to the RRC’s statement, the county in Texas with the highest preliminary crude oil production figure in October 2025 was Martin, with 19,906,130 barrels. Midland ranked second, with 18,076,141 barrels, Loving was third, with 8,545,374 barrels, Upton was fourth, with 8,436,384 barrels, Reeves was fifth, with 6,374,887 barrels, Karnes was sixth, with 5,797,349 barrels, Reagan was seventh, with 5,603,608 barrels, Howard was