
| June 18, 2026 | |
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| WTI (Jul) $76.60 ▼0.20% · NG (Jul) $3.233 ▲2.80% · RIGS 563 ▲1 · S&P 7,500.58 ▲1.08% · XOP $153.36 ▼1.53% | |
| June 18 close · Gas = Henry Hub July 2026 · Rigs = Baker Hughes (week ending June 18, 2026) |
| 6 |
| grid operators put on a 60-day clock — FERC ordered every RTO and ISO it regulates to defend or rewrite its large-load tariffs |

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| Today’s Menu | |||||||
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| Lead Story |
| 6 grids / 60 days — FERC puts large-load tariffs on trial |
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• FERC issued tailored Section 206 show-cause orders to PJM, MISO, SPP, CAISO, ISO-NE and NYISO. Each has 60 days to defend its large-load tariffs or file reforms, plus a 30-day report on keeping enough generation online to serve those loads. |
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• This isn’t one national rule. After 3,500+ pages of comments, FERC teed up five reform lanes but wrote a separate order per market — regulator-speak for “the fight over who pays happens six times.” |
| The Headlines |
| Gas / M&A |
| ~170 MMcfe/d — Marubeni buys the Barnett-to-AI gas chain |
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• Marubeni acquired all of EagleRidge Energy II, making the Barnett producer a wholly owned subsidiary with ~170 MMcfe/d of gas and NGLs — which it equates to ~1.3 mtpa of LNG, or about 19 cargoes a year. |
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• The buyer named its thesis out loud: AI power demand, rising Texas gas burn, and Gulf Coast LNG pull. It plugs gas near Dallas into Marubeni’s MIECO desk and global LNG book; price undisclosed, funded from the ¥200B GC2027 budget. |
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| Nuclear |
| 1.5 GW — Elementl puts Southeast Ohio nuclear into the PJM queue |
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• Elementl is pursuing up to 1.5 GW in Meigs County, signed an Early Works Agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi for the 300-MW BWRX-300, and is buying the ~700-acre Letart Township site (~100 mi SE of Columbus) from American Municipal Power. |
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• It filed a 600-MW PJM request (response expected later in 2026), targets 2030 construction and 2034 completion, and will privately finance the plant rather than bill ratepayers — subject to FID, NRC and Ohio Power Siting Board approvals. |
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| Carbon Removal |
| $915M — Frontier reloads permanent carbon removal |
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• Frontier committed another $915M to permanent carbon removal — lifting total commitments to $1.8B, with Stripe, Google, Shopify, Salesforce, H&M Group and Anthropic in the coalition — concentrated in ~10–15 projects on 8-to-10-year offtakes, some running to 2040. |
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• The new entry rule is the story: every deal now needs a path to durable demand from compliance markets, industrial regulation or government procurement — not just voluntary buyers. (Seven companies delivered ~23K tons in 2025, ~2x prior; 2026 forecast tops 50K.) |
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| Critical Minerals |
| $725M / 20 years — Energy Fuels gets a conditional rare-earths loan |
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• The U.S. Office of Strategic Capital extended a conditional 20-year, up-to-$725M loan to fund White Mesa Mill expansion in Utah plus a planned domestic rare-earth metals and alloys facility. |
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• It’s a commitment, not cash — still subject to diligence, definitive docs and closing — but it pairs with the planned Australian Strategic Materials buy, whose South Korean metal-and-alloy plants would give Energy Fuels the back half of the chain. |
| Quick Hits | ||||||||
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| Almost Headlines | ||||||
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| The Reading List | ||||
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| Sunya Stories | |
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| Full Archive on Spotify → |
| In Case You Missed It | |||
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Disclaimer: Not financial advice. This newsletter is for education + entertainment — not a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell anything. Do your own research and make your own calls (and talk to a pro when it matters).
