Kenya has renewed a contract to purchase fuel on credit from three state-owned Gulf firms by 24 months and renegotiated lower margins. Saudi Aramco, Emirates National Oil Co. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. will continue to supply gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel under a 180-day credit plan, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director-General Daniel Kiptoo said in an interview in the capital, Nairobi. The two-year extension will kick in “toward the end of the year” once the East African nation completes imports of previously agreed shipments, Kiptoo said. Volume uptake was hampered by neighboring Uganda’s decision to directly source its own fuel products, he said. “The plan has helped stabilize the currency. It also gives us security of supply even in the event of supply shocks,” Kiptoo said. “The structure is working and even other countries are coming to Kenya to replicate it.” Freight and premium costs will drop 11 percent to $78 per metric ton of diesel, 7 percent to $84 for gasoline and 13 percent to $97 for jet fuel. Prices for the products are based on S&P Global Platts benchmark, Kiptoo said. The arrangement saves local oil marketing companies the hassle of sourcing dollars for imports, according to Kiptoo. It is the second time authorities are renewing the contract first drawn up in 2023 as part of a strategy to ease pressure on forex reserves and to support the shilling. Market Distortions The extension is a change of heart for Kenya, which pledged “to exit the oil import arrangement, as we are cognizant of the distortions it has created in the foreign exchange market,” according to a Treasury letter to the International Monetary Fund published in November. It also highlighted “the accompanying increase in rollover risk of the private sector financing facilities supporting it and remain committed to

The U.S. Department of Energy has identified 16 federal locations for potential construction of data centers and associated energy resources. The agency on Thursday published a request for information for stakeholders, including grid operators, about the potential for projects that could be online in less than two years. “The global race for AI dominance is the next Manhattan project, and with President Trump’s leadership and the innovation of our National Labs, the United States can and will win,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a statement. DOE “is taking important steps to leverage our domestic resources to power the AI revolution.” Data centers today account for about 4.5% of U.S. electricity consumption, but could reach 12% by 2028, the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project noted in a recent report. The RFI aligns with plans Trump announced in January to accelerate power plant development for co-located artificial intelligence data centers using an energy emergency declaration. It is also similar to an executive order former President Biden signed in January, targeting development of AI data centers powered by clean energy. The RFI, however, does not specify clean energy will be used in powering data centers. Responses to the RFI are due within 30 days of its publication in the Federal Register. DOE “seeks to assess industry interest in developing, operating, and maintaining AI infrastructure on select DOE owned or managed lands, along with information on potential development approaches, technology solutions, operational models, and economic considerations,” according to the RFI. It also “seeks input from grid operators that serve DOE sites on opportunities and challenges associated with existing energy infrastructure and potential co-location of data centers with new energy generation.” The RFI seeks input on a range of subjects, including data center “power needs, timelines, and approaches to co-locating energy sources with data

It is unlikely that enough power supplies can be built in time to meet near-term rising electricity demand in the Southwest Power Pool’s footprint, according to Lanny Nickell, SPP president and CEO. As a result, SPP will need to turn to demand response programs to help bridge that supply-demand gap, Nickell said Thursday during a meeting held by WIRES, a trade group focused on transmission issues. SPP expects its excess capacity will fall to 5% in 2029, down from 24% in 2020, according to Nickell. “Excess generating capacity is dwindling, and it’s dwindling to a point where it’s becoming dangerous,” he said. A lot of generation has to be added quickly to meet a one-day in 10-year loss of load expectation, according to Nickell. “I don’t think it can be added that quickly,” he said. “So what does that mean? Means we’re going to have to rely a lot more on demand response to help us meet this challenge.” SPP is developing a “comprehensive” demand response policy that includes more effective DR options, Nickell said. SPP expects that its peak load could grow to 97 GW by 2035 from 56 GW last year, driven by data centers, home heating electrification and electric vehicles, according to Nickell. SPP operates the grid and wholesale power markets in 14 states from northern Texas to Montana. The grid operator’s interconnection queue has about 135 GW of potential capacity, including nearly 23 GW of gas-fired generation, according to Nickell. “That is by far the most gas generation we’ve ever seen in our generator interconnection queue, by far, and it’s going to be valuable, because it’s going to provide that dispatchability that we need to offset the solar and the wind,” Nickell said. “The storage will be very helpful, too.” Last year, wind farms provided about

Oil tumbled to a four-year low, following a surprise output increase by OPEC+ and a rapidly escalating global trade war that’s also rattling commodities markets from metals to gas. Oil’s rout was triggered Thursday by US President Donald Trump deluge of tariffs, which threaten the global economy and energy consumption. Hours later, OPEC+ tripled a planned output hike for May, in what delegates called a deliberate effort to lower prices to punish members that were pumping above their quota. West Texas Intermediate futures have fallen about 14% in just two days — settling near $61 a barrel in a move similar to steep losses seen during the pandemic — while Brent also ended the day at the lowest since 2021. The declines were exacerbated on Friday by China’s retaliation against the US duties, including a 34% tariff on all imports from the US starting within a week. Other commodities also slumped as wider financial markets took a hit and fears mounted about weaker demand for raw materials. Copper slid as much as 7.7% to the lowest since January, while benchmark European natural gas futures at one point tumbled more than 10%. Glencore Plc shares plunged more than 9%, with fellow major miners BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group also sliding. Oil’s retreat represented a dramatic breakout from a price band of about $15 that has paralyzed trading and spurred bets on low volatility for much of the last six months. During that period, OPEC+ supply curbs were seen to put a floor under the market, while the group’s ample spare capacity acted as a ceiling. This week’s unexpected production increase raises questions about whether the alliance will continue to defend higher prices. The dual hit from OPEC+ and tariffs has prompted a rush by traders and Wall Street banks to

A group of investors led by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP agreed to acquire Colonial Enterprises Inc. in a deal that values the operator of the biggest US fuel pipeline at about $9 billion. Colonial’s five owners are selling their entire stakes to Brookfield, including a Shell plc unit that will transfer its roughly 16 percent interest for $1.45 billion, according to a statement Friday.  Colonial Pipeline operates one of the most important fuel conduits in the US, hauling more than 100 million gallons (2.5 million barrels) of fuel a day from Gulf Coast refineries to the Northeast. It was shut down for five days in 2021 after a cyberattack, leading to fuel shortages across the region.  The deal to buy it comes as a glacial federal permitting process and political opposition continue to make building new pipelines in the US exceedingly difficult – despite US President Donald Trump’s push to expand domestic energy infrastructure. Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners fell 4.6 percent in New York Friday amid the broader market sell off.  Shell’s Midstream Operating unit will sell its stake to a Brookfield unit called Colossus AcquireCo. Colonial’s other owners are the industrial conglomerate Koch Inc., with 28.1 percent, a unit of private equity firm KKR & Co., with 23.4 percent, Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, with 16.5 percent, and infrastructure owner IFM Investors Pty with a 15.8 percent share.  Brookfield has already invested in global pipeline assets. It owns a controlling stake in Brazil’s NTS pipeline that spans more than 2,000 kilometers. The asset manager was also part of a consortium that bought a $10.1 billion stake in Abu Dhabi’s natural-gas pipelines in 2020. Colonial is in the midst of a fight with oil majors and trading houses including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Trafigura that ship fuels along its

Amy Akers is a senior counsel at Clark Hill. Throughout the last five years the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has made significant efforts to increase power supply while managing the consumer price tag through transmission reform.  Beginning in June 2021, under docket RM21-17, FERC invited public comment on three specific topics (1) reforms for longer-term regional transmission planning and cost-allocation processes that take into account anticipated future generation, (2) rethinking cost responsibility for regional transmission facilities and interconnection-related network upgrades, and (3) enhanced transmission oversight over how new transmission facilities are identified and paid for.  In April 2022, after resounding industry support, in the same docket, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the resiliency and reliability of the electric grid through regional transmission planning and cost allocation, and generator interconnection.  However, motivated by the excessive interconnection queue in 2022 of over 2,000 GW of potential generation and storage capacity across the nation represented by over 10,000 active interconnection requests, FERC issued a NOPR in June 2022 under docket RM22-14 on the single question of reforming and streamlining generation interconnection processes and procedures.  FERC approves transmission, interconnection reforms Maintaining its momentum of reducing the interconnection backlog, FERC issued Order 2023 in July 2023, which among other requirements, ensures interconnection access to new technologies. Nearly a year later, in May 2024, under docket RM21-17, FERC issued Order 1920 requiring transmission providers to conduct long-term planning over a 20-year horizon for future regional transmission facilities including the cost-effective expansion of transmission being replaced and determining how it will all be paid for.  As is common practice, FERC issued rehearing orders for Orders 2023 and 1920 respectively titling them 2023-A and 1920-A, each largely providing clarifications to the original orders.  New initiatives Continuing its effort to improve grid efficiency, FERC issued an advance