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USA EIA Raises WTI Oil Price Forecast

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot price forecasts for 2025 and 2026 in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released last week. According to that STEO, the EIA sees the WTI spot price averaging $70.68 per barrel this year and $64.97 per barrel next year. […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot price forecasts for 2025 and 2026 in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released last week.

According to that STEO, the EIA sees the WTI spot price averaging $70.68 per barrel this year and $64.97 per barrel next year. In its previous STEO, which was released in February, the EIA forecast that the WTI spot price would average $70.62 per barrel in 2025 and $62.46 per barrel in 2026.

In its latest STEO, the EIA projected that the WTI spot price will average $71.25 per barrel in the first quarter of this year, $70.50 per barrel in the second quarter, $71.50 per barrel in the third quarter, $69.52 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $67.50 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $65.50 per barrel in the second quarter, $64.50 per barrel in the third quarter, and $62.50 per barrel in the fourth quarter.

The EIA’s previous STEO saw the WTI spot price coming in at $73.62 per barrel in the first quarter of this year, $71.00 per barrel in the second quarter, $70.00 per barrel in the third quarter, $68.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $64.97 per barrel in the first quarter of next year, $63.33 per barrel in the second quarter, $61.68 per barrel in the third quarter, and $60.00 per barrel in the fourth quarter.

In a report sent to Rigzone by the Macquarie team on March 12, Macquarie projected that the WTI price will average $64.75 per barrel in 2025 and $58.38 per barrel in 2026.

Macquarie sees the commodity coming in at $70.00 per barrel in the first quarter of this year, $62.00 per barrel in the second quarter, $63.50 per barrel across the third and fourth quarters, $58.50 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026, $56.00 per barrel in the second quarter, $57.50 per barrel in the third quarter, and $61.50 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the report.

A Standard Chartered Bank report sent to Rigzone by Standard Chartered Bank Commodities Research Head Paul Horsnell on March 11 showed that Standard Chartered expected the NYMEX WTI basis nearby future crude oil price to average $72 per barrel in the first quarter of 2025, $70 per barrel in the second quarter, $74 per barrel in the third quarter, $79 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $82 per barrel in the first quarter of 2025, and $80 per barrel in the second quarter of next year.

Standard Chartered sees the NYMEX WTI basis nearby future crude oil price averaging $82 per barrel overall in 2026, $83 per barrel overall in 2027, and $89 per barrel overall in 2028, the report showed.

A research note sent to Rigzone by the JPM Commodities Research team on March 7 revealed that J.P. Morgan expected the WTI Crude price to average $70 per barrel in the first quarter of this year, $73 per barrel in the second quarter, $69 per barrel in the third quarter, $65 per barrel in the fourth quarter, $60 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026, $59 per barrel in the second quarter, $55 per barrel in the third quarter, and $53 per barrel in the fourth quarter.

The note showed that J.P. Morgan saw the commodity coming in at $69 per barrel overall this year and $57 per barrel overall in 2026.

A BMI report sent to Rigzone by the Fitch Group on March 14 outlined that BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, sees the front-month WTI Crude price averaging $73.00 per barrel in 2025 and $72.00 per barrel in 2026.

To contact the author, email [email protected]

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Bad data in, bad data out: Protecting your investment in ADMS

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EPA to end environmental justice programs, monitoring tools

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SUSE expands AI tools to control workloads, LLM usage

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Goldman Cuts Oil Forecasts on Slow USA Growth, OPEC+ Policy

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Murphy Buys BW Pioneer FPSO for $125 Million

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Tokamak Energy to expand nuclear fusion partnerships with Eni, Japanese strategics

UK fusion technology developer Tokamak Energy plans to expand its global partnerships as it commercialises nuclear fusion based power generation. In an exclusive interview with Energy Voice, Tokamak Energy chief executive Warrick Matthews stressed the need to “get the right partnerships on board”. Matthews, who joined the company in 2022 from Rolls-Royce where he was chief procurement officer for the civil aerospace division, said such partnerships will be instrumental in the growth of the business and commercialising its core technology. Tokamak Energy has already partnered with a raft of companies as part of its work on a UK government-backed programme to develop nuclear fusion at scale. Its partners on the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme include Italian energy supplier Eni, nuclear manufacturer Westinghouse, and engineering companies AtkinsRéalis and Momentum. Matthews said it could expand its partnership with Eni in the future in connection with its role as an energy supplier. “We’re partnering to bring value to the STEP programme in the UK,” Matthews said of the partnership with Eni. “It’s a public-private partnership, so it’s actually looking to industry players to come together in consortia and be a large part of developing the technology; but also, building the supply chain so you can roll out these devices in the future. That’s where we’ll be working together strongly.” “And we’re looking at more broadly at wider partnerships, but for the future,” he added. “Eni is a partner, so we would work together.” Going global Matthews indicated that Tokamak and the Italian energy supplier could partner on a possible rollout of fusion technology in Europe. “Eni is very proactively investing in fusion and developing technology. It wants to operate fusion plants in the future and it doesn’t want to operate a black box. They want to be an expert.” Tokamak Energy is also

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NRG Energy Invests $2.5 Million in Equilibrium Energy

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Choosing decommissioning over deals in the North Sea

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How thermal batteries unlock a more flexible, reliable and efficient grid

Noah Long is director of state and regulatory affairs at Antora Energy. Electric grid operators and utilities around the world must adapt to a rapidly changing energy landscape. Electricity generation is undergoing its biggest shift since the dawn of the grid, as falling costs of wind and solar bring record-breaking deployments of variable renewables online. Meanwhile, rising demand, rapid electrification and new opportunities for load flexibility and responsiveness present both new challenges and new tools. As these changes lead to increasing variability and market volatility, new approaches are needed to manage supply and demand, support existing infrastructure and continue new investments in our energy system. An emerging opportunity to help manage and balance the changing grid comes from thermal energy storage. Thermal batteries store electricity as heat, soaking up energy during periods of high generation and low demand. They use that heat to power always-on industrial energy loads in industries ranging from chemicals to food to steel. Because of their long duration, low cost and rapid charging capabilities, they are uniquely suited to enable a more efficient and reliable grid in the face of these emerging challenges. In addition to providing clean energy for nearly every industrial sector, thermal batteries have the potential to serve as a linchpin for a reliable low-emissions grid, mitigating the variability of renewable generation and electrifying industrial heat loads without increasing peak demand or raising costs for ratepayers. Variable, low-cost resources are transforming electricity markets As more wind and solar are deployed on the grid, their variability increasingly leads to market conditions that would be unheard of in a fossil-dominated grid. With zero marginal cost generation, renewables fare well in competitive markets during times of high electricity demand. However, when renewable production is high and demand is low, or when low-cost production is stuck behind

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IBM laying foundation for mainframe as ultimate AI server

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VergeIO enhances VergeFabric network virtualization offering

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Podcast: On the Frontier of Modular Edge AI Data Centers with Flexnode’s Andrew Lindsey

The modular data center industry is undergoing a seismic shift in the age of AI, and few are as deeply embedded in this transformation as Andrew Lindsey, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexnode. In a recent episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, Lindsey joined Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent and Senior Editor David Chernicoff to discuss the evolution of modular data centers, the growing demand for high-density liquid-cooled solutions, and the industry factors driving this momentum. A Background Rooted in Innovation Lindsey’s career has been defined by the intersection of technology and the built environment. Prior to launching Flexnode, he worked at Alpha Corporation, a top 100 engineering and construction management firm founded by his father in 1979. His early career involved spearheading technology adoption within the firm, with a focus on high-security infrastructure for both government and private clients. Recognizing a massive opportunity in the data center space, Lindsey saw a need for an innovative approach to infrastructure deployment. “The construction industry is relatively uninnovative,” he explained, citing a McKinsey study that ranked construction as the second least-digitized industry—just above fishing and wildlife, which remains deliberately undigitized. Given the billions of square feet of data center infrastructure required in a relatively short timeframe, Lindsey set out to streamline and modernize the process. Founded four years ago, Flexnode delivers modular data centers with a fully integrated approach, handling everything from site selection to design, engineering, manufacturing, deployment, operations, and even end-of-life decommissioning. Their core mission is to provide an “easy button” for high-density computing solutions, including cloud and dedicated GPU infrastructure, allowing faster and more efficient deployment of modular data centers. The Rising Momentum for Modular Data Centers As Vincent noted, Data Center Frontier has closely tracked the increasing traction of modular infrastructure. Lindsey has been at the forefront of this

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Last Energy to Deploy 30 Microreactors in Texas for Data Centers

As the demand for data center power surges in Texas, nuclear startup Last Energy has now announced plans to build 30 microreactors in the state’s Haskell County near the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The reactors will serve a growing customer base of data center operators in the region looking for reliable, carbon-free energy. The plan marks Last Energy’s largest project to date and a significant step in advancing modular nuclear power as a viable solution for high-density computing infrastructure. Meeting the Looming Power Demands of Texas Data Centers Texas is already home to over 340 data centers, with significant expansion underway. Google is increasing its data center footprint in Dallas, while OpenAI’s Stargate has announced plans for a new facility in Abilene, just an hour south of Last Energy’s planned site. The company notes the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area alone is projected to require an additional 43 gigawatts of power in the coming years, far surpassing current grid capacity. To help remediate, Last Energy has secured a 200+ acre site in Haskell County, approximately three and a half hours west of Dallas. The company has also filed for a grid connection with ERCOT, with plans to deliver power via a mix of private wire and grid transmission. Additionally, Last Energy has begun pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an Early Site Permit, a key step in securing regulatory approval. According to Last Energy CEO Bret Kugelmass, the company’s modular approach is designed to bring nuclear energy online faster than traditional projects. “Nuclear power is the most effective way to meet Texas’ growing energy demand, but it needs to be deployed faster and at scale,” Kugelmass said. “Our microreactors are designed to be plug-and-play, enabling data center operators to bypass the constraints of an overloaded grid.” Scaling Nuclear for

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Data Center Jobs: Engineering and Technician Jobs Available in Major Markets

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Amid Shifting Regional Data Center Policies, Iron Mountain and DC Blox Both Expand in Virginia’s Henrico County

The dynamic landscape of data center developments in Maryland and Virginia exemplify the intricate balance between fostering technological growth and addressing community and environmental concerns. Data center developers in this region find themselves both in the crosshairs of groups worried about the environment and other groups looking to drive economic growth. In some cases, the groups are different components of the same organizations, such as local governments. For data center development, meeting the needs of these competing interests often means walking a none-too-stable tightrope. Rapid Government Action Encourages Growth In May 2024, Maryland demonstrated its commitment to attracting data center investments by enacting the Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act. This legislation provides a clear framework for the use of emergency backup power generation, addressing previous regulatory challenges that a few months earlier had hindered projects like Aligned Data Centers’ proposed 264-megawatt campus in Frederick County, causing Aligned to pull out of the project. However, just days after the Act was signed by the governor, Aligned reiterated its plans to move forward with development in Maryland.  With the Quantum Loop and the related data center development making Frederick County a focal point for a balanced approach, the industry is paying careful attention to the pace of development and the relations between developers, communities and the government. In September of 2024, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater revealed draft legislation that would potentially restrict where in the county data centers could be built. The legislation was based on information found in the Frederick County Data Centers Workgroup’s final report. Those bills would update existing regulations and create a floating zone for Critical Digital Infrastructure and place specific requirements on siting data centers. Statewide, a cautious approach to environmental and community impacts statewide has been deemed important. In January 2025, legislators introduced SB116,  a bill

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Microsoft will invest $80B in AI data centers in fiscal 2025

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John Deere unveils more autonomous farm machines to address skill labor shortage

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Self-driving tractors might be the path to self-driving cars. John Deere has revealed a new line of autonomous machines and tech across agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. The Moline, Illinois-based John Deere has been in business for 187 years, yet it’s been a regular as a non-tech company showing off technology at the big tech trade show in Las Vegas and is back at CES 2025 with more autonomous tractors and other vehicles. This is not something we usually cover, but John Deere has a lot of data that is interesting in the big picture of tech. The message from the company is that there aren’t enough skilled farm laborers to do the work that its customers need. It’s been a challenge for most of the last two decades, said Jahmy Hindman, CTO at John Deere, in a briefing. Much of the tech will come this fall and after that. He noted that the average farmer in the U.S. is over 58 and works 12 to 18 hours a day to grow food for us. And he said the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates there are roughly 2.4 million farm jobs that need to be filled annually; and the agricultural work force continues to shrink. (This is my hint to the anti-immigration crowd). John Deere’s autonomous 9RX Tractor. Farmers can oversee it using an app. While each of these industries experiences their own set of challenges, a commonality across all is skilled labor availability. In construction, about 80% percent of contractors struggle to find skilled labor. And in commercial landscaping, 86% of landscaping business owners can’t find labor to fill open positions, he said. “They have to figure out how to do

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2025 playbook for enterprise AI success, from agents to evals

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for enterprise AI. The past year has seen rapid innovation, and this year will see the same. This has made it more critical than ever to revisit your AI strategy to stay competitive and create value for your customers. From scaling AI agents to optimizing costs, here are the five critical areas enterprises should prioritize for their AI strategy this year. 1. Agents: the next generation of automation AI agents are no longer theoretical. In 2025, they’re indispensable tools for enterprises looking to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. Unlike traditional software, agents powered by large language models (LLMs) can make nuanced decisions, navigate complex multi-step tasks, and integrate seamlessly with tools and APIs. At the start of 2024, agents were not ready for prime time, making frustrating mistakes like hallucinating URLs. They started getting better as frontier large language models themselves improved. “Let me put it this way,” said Sam Witteveen, cofounder of Red Dragon, a company that develops agents for companies, and that recently reviewed the 48 agents it built last year. “Interestingly, the ones that we built at the start of the year, a lot of those worked way better at the end of the year just because the models got better.” Witteveen shared this in the video podcast we filmed to discuss these five big trends in detail. Models are getting better and hallucinating less, and they’re also being trained to do agentic tasks. Another feature that the model providers are researching is a way to use the LLM as a judge, and as models get cheaper (something we’ll cover below), companies can use three or more models to

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OpenAI’s red teaming innovations define new essentials for security leaders in the AI era

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More OpenAI has taken a more aggressive approach to red teaming than its AI competitors, demonstrating its security teams’ advanced capabilities in two areas: multi-step reinforcement and external red teaming. OpenAI recently released two papers that set a new competitive standard for improving the quality, reliability and safety of AI models in these two techniques and more. The first paper, “OpenAI’s Approach to External Red Teaming for AI Models and Systems,” reports that specialized teams outside the company have proven effective in uncovering vulnerabilities that might otherwise have made it into a released model because in-house testing techniques may have missed them. In the second paper, “Diverse and Effective Red Teaming with Auto-Generated Rewards and Multi-Step Reinforcement Learning,” OpenAI introduces an automated framework that relies on iterative reinforcement learning to generate a broad spectrum of novel, wide-ranging attacks. Going all-in on red teaming pays practical, competitive dividends It’s encouraging to see competitive intensity in red teaming growing among AI companies. When Anthropic released its AI red team guidelines in June of last year, it joined AI providers including Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, and even the U.S.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which all had released red teaming frameworks. Investing heavily in red teaming yields tangible benefits for security leaders in any organization. OpenAI’s paper on external red teaming provides a detailed analysis of how the company strives to create specialized external teams that include cybersecurity and subject matter experts. The goal is to see if knowledgeable external teams can defeat models’ security perimeters and find gaps in their security, biases and controls that prompt-based testing couldn’t find. What makes OpenAI’s recent papers noteworthy is how well they define using human-in-the-middle

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