THE NUMBER

11.52 GW

Capacity across the 16 power islands Venture Global can now order, against the 4.5 GW it runs or is building at its LNG plants today.

TODAY’S MENU

LEAD STORY

11.52 GW / $17.2B — Venture Global lines up 16 power islands for data centers

•   Frame deals with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes cover up to 16 combined-cycle islands of 720 MW each through 2034. Every order, plus GE Grid’s transformers, costs ~$17.2 billion (8-K).

•   Only reservation fees bind: eight islands and five grid packages, first order by year-end. VG pitches 10 GW of compute by 2034 and names no customer. We ran its Galp loss Oct. 8.

THE HEADLINES

OIL

100 MMbbl — The IEA speeds up the rest of its stock release

•   Members have released ~330 MMbbl under March’s Hormuz action. The board will accelerate the ~100 MMbbl still owed, including 20 MMbbl-plus of diesel as soon as possible.

•   Some members over-delivered, so the total will top the 400 MMbbl pledged. No new volume or country split; producers and refiners were urged to lift diesel supply.

GAS

1.1 Bcf/d — National Fuel spins off its Appalachian upstream

•   The spinco takes ~1.2 million net acres, 1.1 Bcf/d of net output, 5 Tcf of proved reserves and the gathering system. At least 80.1% goes out tax-free; NFG may keep up to 19.9%.

•   What remains is a regulated utility and pipeline company with nearly $5 billion of rate base. Completion targets 2H27. We ran its CenterPoint Ohio close Oct. 1.

POWER

702 MW / $4B — AEP builds Bloom fuel cells for Google in Cheyenne

•   Google buys the output under a 20-year PPA from Cheyenne Fuel Cell, ~92% AEP and ~8% Basalt. Construction starts this year; full operation is due by end-2028. That’s ~$5.7 million per MW.

•   Carbon capture is planned but not built, and AEP gave no PPA price. The site sits outside AEP’s 11-state footprint. It follows Google’s Black Hills deal, which we ran Oct. 6.

OIL

$33.2/bbl — TotalEnergies flags a $2B refining windfall

•   TotalEnergies’ European refining marker averaged $33.2/bbl in 3Q, up from $13.5, and throughput rose 10%. Refining & Chemicals cash flow climbs ~$2 billion quarter on quarter.

•   LNG realizations rose 20% to $12.28/MMBtu. Output should reach 2.45–2.50 MMboe/d, with Middle East disruption now ~5% of output. BP flagged its own refining jump, which we ran Oct. 13.

STORAGE

$850M / 1,200 MWh — Flatiron finances Boston’s Energizar battery

•   The Chelsea, Mass., package spans construction, bridge and term loans, LCs, preferred equity and an ITC transfer. Nord/LB, Santander and SocGen led; COD targets 4Q27.

•   No MW rating given. Flatiron’s 800 MWh Taft raised ~$540 million, so Energizar buys 50% more storage for ~57% more money. An unnamed credit manager wrote the preferred.

QUICK HITS

LNG

6 mtpa / $4.4B — Taiwan’s CPC moves toward Alaska LNG

Taipei says CPC made significant progress on buying 6 mtpa, 30% of output, and would invest up to $4.4 billion. No binding SPA, equity stake or price yet. Supply could start in 2032.

UPSTREAM

23 kbbl/d — BW Energy cuts its 2026 guidance

3Q output fell to 21.5 kbbl/d from 25.3 on a Dussafu ESP workover and pump and compressor trouble at Golfinho. Unit costs rose to $27.7/bbl, and 1.0 MMbbl sits unsold. It had guided to the low end of 24–27.

GAS

67 Bcf — Storage builds to 3,567 Bcf

Stocks sit 45 Bcf above the five-year average and 143 Bcf below last year. South Central salt is the tight spot: 236 Bcf, 15.4% below its five-year average and 21.9% below a year ago.

OIL

8.6 MMbbl — U.S. crude stocks draw 30 times the forecast

Crude fell to 415.6 MMbbl against a 288,000-bbl draw expected. WTI settled $2.88 higher while Brent slipped 14 cents. Washington is weighing letting legal oil move on previously sanctioned tankers.

ALMOST HEADLINES

FUNDS  €150M — Sosteneo’s Fund II holds a first external close, taking the vintage past €450 million; Generali upped its commitment

LNG  50.1% — JERA buys JOGMEC’s shares in its Wheatstone holding company; the 10% upstream and 8% LNG stakes don’t change

POWER  $4.4B — Flex closes EPC Power, with 15 GW-plus deployed; the Axiom spinoff still targets 1Q27

GRID  $250M — DOE backs 84 TVA grid projects across eight states, $581 million with cost share, for ~2.5 GW of capacity

STORAGE  100 MW / 400 MWh — FRV sells its construction-ready Nivala battery project in Finland to Foresight Group

THE READING LIST

WSJ

‘Phantom’ Data Centers Are Demanding More From the Power Grid Than They Need

FINANCIAL TIMES

Investors dump data centre bonds as AI borrowers face ‘Darwin moment’

MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

How much more can nuclear power plants give?

Sunya stories

New · Latest episode

Energy Investing with Dan Pickering

Founder of Pickering Energy Partners on energy markets, capital allocation, and the road ahead.

Listen →

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT