WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today announced nine recipients of the prestigious Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for their exceptional contributions to research and development supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) missions in science, energy, and national security. “This year’s Lawrence Award recipients exemplify the ingenuity and determination that drive America’s leadership in science and technology,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “From achieving fusion ignition to advancing critical materials and high-performance computing, these scientists and engineers are tackling some of our nation’s most complex challenges and translating groundbreaking research into real-world capabilities. Their work strengthens our nation’s energy security, drives American innovation, and ensures the United States remains at the forefront of scientific discovery.” Established in 1959, the Lawrence Award recognizes mid-career U.S. scientists and engineers for groundbreaking achievements across nine scientific and engineering categories. The award is among the longest-running and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. The 2026 Ernest O. Lawrence Award recipients are: Eric J. Schelter, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania) – Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Sciences – Honored for his “fundamental chemical studies of energy-critical metals leading to new methods for their selective and sustainable separations.”  Patrick Chain, Ph.D. (Los Alamos National Laboratory and New Mexico Consortium) – Biological and Environmental Sciences – Honored for his “pioneering work in genomics and microbiome science, including discoveries of new bacterial-fungal interactions and revolutionizing the field by democratizing access to advanced bioinformatics tools.”  Samuel W. Williams, Ph.D. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) – Computer, Information, and Knowledge Sciences – Honored for his “pioneering contributions in performance modeling, hardware/software design optimization, and novel computer architecture for high-performance computing, enabling modeling of complex computational solutions, and increasing analysis speed, simulation accuracy, and computational efficiency.”  Thomas Epps, III, Ph.D. (University of Delaware) – Condensed Matter and

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced plans to lower electricity costs and strengthen grid reliability by supporting the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in funding 84 transmission and distribution projects across eight states. The projects are expected to add approximately 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of grid capacity to help mitigate outages and create greater grid resilience. The TVA award is for approximately $581 million in total, including $250 million in federal funding and about $331 million in applicant cost-share funding. As part of the Resilience Amplified: Multi-Market Grid Interconnection Initiative funding award under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) project, the investments will help ensure 2.58 million families and businesses have access to the affordable, reliable, and secure power they need. The project is estimated to support about 800 jobs. “Since day one, President Trump has recognized that years of misguided energy policies under the previous administration left our bulk power system less robust than it should be,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly. “America is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and some of the most advanced technology in the world, but we must have the generation and transmission infrastructure necessary to support our rapidly growing economy and its electricity needs. These investments with TVA will help reduce congestion, improve efficiency, and make better use of our existing transmission system to lower costs for ratepayers while delivering affordable, reliable, and secure energy essential to American prosperity.” “America’s electric grid cannot become a roadblock to economic growth,” said Office of Electricity (OE) Assistant Secretary Katie Jereza. “By bringing TVA and local utilities together, we’re helping reduce costly outages and deliver more power where it’s needed. That means fewer disruptions for families, more opportunities for businesses, and a stronger foundation for American jobs.” The award builds

Texas Eastern Transmission LP has launched a non-binding open season for its proposed Katy to Gillis Expansion Project, designed to connect the Katy Hub in Texas with markets in southwest Louisiana by early 2031. Developed in collaboration with Mustang Express Pipeline LLC, the project would create a seamless transportation path between Katy and Gillis, La., by combining transportation services on the Mustang Express and Texas Eastern systems. Texas Eastern parent company Enbridge Inc. expects the project to provide up to an additional 2 bcfd of transportation capacity, enhancing access to LNG plants, industrial customers, electric generation markets, and pipeline interconnections along the US Gulf Coast. The Mustang Express Pipeline is owned and developed by ARM Energy Holdings LLC. Final capacity, receipt and delivery points, design, and service structures will be informed by market interest received during the open season, Enbridge said. Its completion and timing are subject to securing sufficient commercial support and obtaining required approvals. The open season will close Oct. 30, 2026. ARM Energy last year took final investment decision to develop the 236-mile, 2.5-bcfd Mustang Express Pipeline, expected to be complete in late 2028 or early 2029.

Disruptions to international energy flows have pushed shipping and insurance costs to unprecedented levels of more than one-third of commodity value, impeding the movement of crude oil and petroleum products and adding inflationary pressure, OPEC+ ministers said following an Oct. 12 meeting in Riyadh. The ministers met on the sidelines of the 17th International Energy Forum (IEF) ministerial meeting and the 25th WPC Energy Congress to review market conditions. They stressed the need to safeguard international maritime routes. Elevated transportation and insurance costs are being passed through the oil value chain, prolonging the financial burden on producing and consuming countries and weighing on global economic growth, they said. The statement, as reported, did not identify the routes or commodities behind the cost estimate or explain how it was calculated. Separately, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said costs had risen five- to tenfold on some routes, citing vessel shortages, military risks, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to decisions adopted at the June 7, 2026, OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting. The group said consultations with all OPEC+ countries would continue through existing mechanisms, including the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and ministerial meetings. Ministers also said they would monitor the situation and work with governments, industry stakeholders, and international organizations, including the IEF and International Energy Agency (IEA), to improve global shipping conditions.

North America’s oil supply outlook is entering a new phase, according to Enverus’ latest long-term analysis. In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, Mikaila Adams, content strategist and managing editor, speaks with Dane Gregoris, managing director at Enverus, and discusses the firm’s conclusion that US shale is “aging, not broken.” While the United States is expected to remain the continent’s dominant producer, Enverus sees growth slowing markedly compared with the past two decades as operators work through increasingly mature inventories and confront geological constraints that are becoming harder to offset through efficiency gains alone. The conversation examines the data behind that assessment, including declining productivity per lateral foot, changing inventory quality, and the methodology Enverus uses to estimate remaining drilling locations across North America’s major basins. Gregoris explains why the firm expects US production to remain relatively stable over the next decade rather than continue the rapid expansion that defined the shale revolution, and why rising marginal supply costs could become an increasingly important market signal. A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the Permian basin, which Enverus still views as the cornerstone of North American oil supply well into the 2040s. At the same time, the report suggests that even the Permian is experiencing the effects of resource maturation. Gregoris discusses evidence that operators are moving down the quality curve and shares his perspective on emerging technologies, including ultra-long laterals, lightweight proppants, and advanced surfactants, that could improve recoveries and alter the industry’s long-term outlook. The report’s second major theme is the growing strategic importance of Canada. As US shale growth moderates, Enverus sees Canada’s oil sands and liquids-rich plays as increasingly important sources of future supply. Gregoris explains why Canada’s resource base offers substantially longer inventory duration than most US plays and

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order to mitigate blackout risks in the mid-Atlantic ahead of a period of elevated demand, a high rate of planned generator outages during the autumn maintenance season, and numerous planned transmission outages. The order directs PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) to dispatch specified units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability and authorizes PJM to direct backup generation resources to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3 or during an EEA 3.  PJM is authorized to call upon its Transmission Owners and Electric Distribution Companies to implement the order as needed. The order was issued pursuant to an application from PJM submitted on October 11, 2026.  “This order will help ensure millions of American families and businesses across the mid-Atlantic have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity by making additional power generation, including backup power, available to use as needed,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “While past leaders’ energy subtraction policies have made the grid more vulnerable to the risk of blackouts when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, this administration remains committed to using every available tool to prevent blackouts.”  DOE estimates more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide.  The order is effective October 13, 2026, through October 16, 2026.