Missing Barrels

61%

Gulf crude and fuel exports fell 61% in the week to March 15 — from 25.13 million b/d to 9.71 million b/d — while floating storage climbed above 50 million barrels.

Today’s Menu

61% / 9.71 mb/d / >50M bbl: Gulf exports fell 61%; floating storage topped 50M bbl; China banned fuel exports through March.

8GW / 1.35GW / 2,250 acres: Nscale acquires AIP and Monarch campus; signs Microsoft LOI for 1.35GW.

$8.6B / $20.7B / 29 mtpa: Venture Global takes CP2 Phase 2 FID.

2.7 GW / 1 GW / 280 acres: Google-DTE clean-energy deal for 1 GW Michigan data center — no new gas.

900 MW / 3,100 MW / $300M: Solaris acquires Genco Power and buys 30 turbine slots; closes new credit facility.

>$650M / 400 MWac / 520 MWdc: rPlus locks financing for Blacks Creek solar in Idaho.

>$1.2B / $500M / $2B target: MidOcean raises fresh equity for its LNG roll-up.

Lead Story

Update: Hormuz shock takes Gulf exports down 61%

The market is no longer trading a headline. It is trading missing barrels, stranded products, and a tighter Asian fuel balance.

• Kpler: ME exports averaged 9.71 million b/d (week to Mar. 15), down 61% from 25.13 million b/d in February. Vortexa’s read: 7.5 million b/d, down 71%. Floating storage above 50 million barrels vs. ~10 million pre-war. UAE output down more than half; Saudi down ~20%; Iraq down ~70%. Analysts peg shut-ins at 7–10 million b/d.

• China banned exports of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel through at least end-March — a $22B/year trade. Asian diesel at $150/bbl, jet at $163/bbl, gasoline at ~$140/bbl. Wood Mackenzie said the disruption could force up to 6 million b/d of crude run cuts across Asia.

The Headlines

AI + Power

Nscale signs to acquire AIP and land West Virginia’s Monarch campus

• Nscale signed to acquire AIPCorp, including the Monarch Compute Campus — 2,250 acres in Mason County, WV, scalable to 8GW+. Initial 2GW by H1 2028; full ~8GW by 2031. Creates Nscale Energy & Power (Houston).

• Separately, LOI with Microsoft for 1.35GW of AI compute at Monarch, deploying NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 systems starting late 2027. Caterpillar G3500 gas gensets at scale. Nscale recently raised $2B at $14.6B valuation.

LNG

Venture Global locks CP2 Phase 2 FID and financial close

• $8.6B Phase 2 financing brings total CP2 to $20.7B — largest standalone project financing in the U.S. bank market. >$19B of commitments; no outside equity.

• CP2 sized for 29 mtpa peak; nearly all volumes contracted to Europe/Asia. Across three LA projects: >49 mtpa contracted. Fifth FID in <7 years; cumulative transactions >$95B.

AI + Power

Google inks 2.7 GW clean-energy deal with DTE for 1 GW Michigan data center

• 2.7 GW of new clean resources for a 1 GW data center on a 280-acre Van Buren Township site (“Project Cannoli”). Mix: 1.6 GW solar, 400 MW 4-hr storage, 50 MW LDES, 300 MW additional clean. No new gas. 20-year contract filed with MPSC.

• Google covers 100% of costs; DTE says deal reduces ratepayer bill pressure by $1.7B over contract life. $10M Energy Impact Fund. Third Google “bring your own power” utility deal after AES/TX and Xcel/MN.

Behind-the-Meter Power

Solaris adds 900 MW via Genco acquisition and turbine-slot buy, closes $300M facility

• Solaris closed the acquisition of Genco Power Solutions (400 MW of gas-fired capacity, 2026–2028) and purchased 30 turbine delivery slots from a private party (500 MW, early 2027–2029). Total capacity reaches ~3,100 MW by end-2029.

• Also closed a new $300 million credit facility to fund growth. Solaris delivers distributed gas-fired power to data center, energy, and C&I clients. Stock up ~13% on the news.

Quick Hits

Bell unveils 300 MW Saskatchewan AI campus — Cerebras and CoreWeave as tenants, $1.7B capex, H1 2027 first phaseAI + Power

DOE opens $1.9B SPARK for reconductoring and grid upgrades — concept papers Apr. 2, selections Aug. 2026Grid / T&D

MidOcean raises >$1.2B for LNG roll-up — $500M from Idemitsu, targeting up to $2BLNG

rPlus locks >$650M for Blacks Creek solar in Idaho — Meta/Kuna data center offtakeRenewables

Eni starts gas delivery from Quiluma — Angola’s first non-associated gas project, 150 mmscf/d initialE&P

APS starts the Palo Verde life-extension run — 4,200 MW to 80 yearsNuclear

Eni finds >1 Tcf offshore Libya — Bahr Essalam South; rapid tie-back potentialE&P

Reliance signs $3B, 15-yr green-ammonia deal with Samsung C&TClean Fuels

Almost Headlines

Macquarie walks away from Kuwait’s oil-pipeline sale — stake worth up to $7B; KPC seeks offers by April 7.

Sunflower advances the Holcomb-to-Sidney 345-kV line — ~360 miles; SPP flagged the need after Uri and Elliott.

Petrobras buys out Petronas in two Campos Basin fields — $450M; ~55,000 b/d.

Spain approves an 11.5M-bbl oil-reserve release — 90 days, first phase within 15 days.

GM and LG pivot a Tennessee EV-battery plant to storage — recalling ~700 workers for LFP production in Q2.

Nebius lines up another $3.75B AI-infrastructure raise — days after its Meta capacity deal and Nvidia backing.

e-STORAGE wins 500 MW / 2,493 MWh data-center-linked battery job — delivery Mar.–Jul. 2027.

The Reading List

ReutersAI power dash transforms clean energy offtake market

ReutersAsia pivots to coal as Middle East conflict chokes LNG supply

FTWhat the world can learn from Ireland’s battle to power data centres

WSJThe Electric Grid Needs Huge Upgrades. No One Knows Who Will Pay for Them.

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