Data centers tip US gas demand past supply by 2028

Source: BloombergNEF, Bloomberg Terminal’s MAP , DC Byte 1Q 2026 data. Note: Colors may appear “mixed” due to a single data center with capacity in multiple stages at once. Power demand from information technology (IT) load is expressed in units of megawatts capacity.

THE NUMBER

3.6x

What CVR is paying for the Marathon business’s trailing EBITDA, which CVR says reflects favorable market conditions.

LEAD STORY

$4.2B — CVR buys two Marathon refineries with Trafigura’s help

•   CVR gets St. Paul Park (105,000 b/d), Mandan (72,000 b/d) and a marketing arm supplying up to 590 branded sites, lifting capacity to ~384,000 b/d. Working capital comes on top.

•   Trafigura buys $800 million of non-voting preferred at $53.37 a share and becomes exclusive crude supplier for 10 years. Icahn commits up to $500 million; secured debt and cash do the rest.

THE HEADLINES

LNG

$1.45B — Shell sells its North West Shelf stake to ADNOC’s XRG

•   Shell sells its 16.67% non-operated interest for $1.45 billion plus a milestone payment. XRG takes on decommissioning and posts security. Reuters says it’s XRG’s first Australian asset.

•   The deal is effective Jan. 1, 2026, and closes in 2027. Shell says NWS is moving to processing third-party gas as its old fields decline. It still targets 4–5% annual LNG sales growth.

LNG

$3.1B — Blackstone and Canadian pensions back Mitsubishi’s LNG Canada stake

•   The group buys 49.9% of the Mitsubishi unit holding its 15% of LNG Canada. CPP Investments, OMERS, IMCO and PSP join Blackstone’s credit arm. Mitsubishi keeps control and all its offtake.

•   The Globe and Mail says $1.6 billion buys the equity and $1.5 billion funds the expansion. Phase 2 doubles Kitimat to 28 mtpa. We ran the Phase 2 FID Sept. 29.

MIDSTREAM

1.2 Bcf/d — Energy Transfer sanctions a $1.6 billion Mississippi pipeline

•   The 215-mile, 36-inch line has long-term demand contracts behind it and targets 2030. Energy Transfer expects to own ~51% and operate it. A binding open season sets the final size.

•   Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 31% to $5.03 billion, and the 2026 guide rises to $19.7–19.9 billion from $18.8–19.1 billion. Growth capex runs ~$7 billion in 2027.

POWER

~5,500 MW — Vistra closes its Cogentrix gas fleet purchase

•   The 10 plants sit in PJM, ISO New England and ERCOT and take Vistra to nearly 50,000 MW. Vistra priced the January deal at a net ~$4.0 billion, or ~$730/kW and 7.25x 2027 EBITDA.

•   Net means after ~$0.7 billion of expected tax benefits. Before them, $2.3 billion of cash, $0.9 billion of stock and $1.5 billion of assumed debt work out to ~$855/kW, by our math.

DATA CENTERS

£20B-plus — Drax, Brookfield and Radiant plan a Yorkshire AI campus

•   Phase 1 is up to 100 MW on grid power from early 2028, at ~£2.5 billion. The aim is 500 MW by 2028–31, then more than 1 GW. Radiant is Brookfield’s neocloud.

•   Brookfield says total spend could top £20 billion, chips included. A tenant, planning and grid approvals and final investment decisions are all still outstanding. Drax rose 8.8% early.

QUICK HITS

OIL

$36.25B — Aramco’s profit rises 34% despite attacks on its plants

Revenue rose to $140.5 billion on higher crude and product prices, offsetting lower volumes. The base dividend rises 3.5% to $21.9 billion. Quarterly capex fell to $10.5 billion from $12.6 billion.

OIL

$20B — Exxon sets its 2027 buyback as refining earnings more than double

Adjusted Energy Products earnings rose to $9.05 billion from $4.10 billion in 2Q. Operating cash flow hit $25.7 billion and free cash flow $19.1 billion. Gulf Coast crude units ran at 100%.

LNG

53 months — Plaquemines Phase 1 reaches commercial operations

That’s FID to the Oct. 31 start of sales to Phase 1’s long-term buyers. Venture Global calls it one of the fastest greenfield LNG builds ever. Shell lifted the first cargo after the start.

MIDSTREAM

9.4 Bcf — Williams announces a Clay Basin gas storage expansion

3Q adjusted EBITDA rose 6% to $2.04 billion, tracking toward the upper half of its $8.3–8.5 billion guide. It placed 413 MMcf/d in service on four projects and added 84 MMcf/d to Garden Connector.

ALMOST HEADLINES

GAS  345 MMcf/d — ADNOC takes FID on its Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas project, starting in 2029 with room for 1 Bcf/d

AI  2 uses — ADNOC signs OpenAI and G42 for AI field planning and barrel valuation; it expects plans in hours rather than months

OIL  $6B — BP closes its 65% Castrol sale to Stonepeak; the after-tax sum includes ~$0.8B of prepaid dividends on BP’s 35%

MIDSTREAM  300 MMcf/d — Matador’s San Mateo will build a new Marlan processing plant on a large Delaware producer’s commitments

DATA CENTERS  $115B — Marvell agrees to buy Lumentum in stock; Lumentum holders get 4.5 shares each and ~33% of the company

OIL  Lukoil — A Todd Boehly-led group is preparing a securities swap for Lukoil’s foreign assets, Reuters reports

THE READING LIST

FINANCIAL TIMES

Why America is struggling to power the AI boom

FT ALPHAVILLE

What the increasingly awkward data centre construction delays mean for investors

WALL STREET JOURNAL

Anthropic investors push for cautious valuation closer to $1.5 trillion

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