MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Nov 13, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: EPA head visits WV to talk economy, manufacturing and energy; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Chevron chooses W. Texas for 1st AI data center power project; Stefanik hits Hochul on energy ahead of $800/year utility hikes; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures edge down in choppy trade; RFK Jr. probes health dangers of offshore wind turbines; Six FIDs, $72 billion – U.S. LNG’s record-breaking year; Oil vs. Gas – diverging valuations in the energy patch persist; INTERNATIONAL: Oil sinks as OPEC acknowledges supply surplus; Energy is the foundation of every digital addition.

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION

EPA head visits WV to talk economy, manufacturing and energy
West Virginia Watch/Caity Coyne
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited West Virginia to focus on the state’s energy and manufacturing industries, prioritizing economic interests over traditional environmental concerns. Meeting with Sen. Capito and Gov. Morrisey, Zeldin stressed that the EPA must support the economy and extend the life of power plants. His visit highlighted his administration’s goal to undo Biden-era environmental policies, particularly a rule on coal-fired power plant emissions, which he touts as a “big win” for the state, ensuring that “coal will remain king.” These deregulation efforts, which do not address health concerns, are part of a massive national rollback, sparking worries among EPA staff and advocates about the agency’s politicization. [MDN: Zeldin continues to impress. He’s axing onerous regulations and keeping good regulations. The most important thing he can do is axe the positions of deeply embedded leftists who have corrupted the EPA for years.]

OTHER U.S. REGIONS

Chevron chooses W. Texas for 1st AI data center power project
Bloomberg/Kevin Crowley
Chevron is launching a new business line by planning its first natural gas-fired power project in West Texas to supply a data center, capitalizing on the massive energy demand from the Artificial Intelligence boom. The oil giant, a major producer in the Permian Basin, has the necessary gas supply to make the project highly competitive. Expected to be operational by 2027 with a future capacity of up to 5,000 megawatts and potentially built off-grid, this venture secures future demand for Chevron’s natural gas output. The company expects to make a final investment decision early next year and has partnered with Engine No. 1 to secure turbines for the facility, which also aligns with Chevron’s broader strategy to increase production and free cash flow while reducing capital spending through 2030. [MDN: We’re reading about a lot of new gas-fired power plant projects in Texas. PA, pay attention! You’re about to lose your $92 billion opportunity to become THE AI data center capital of the world. Virginia now holds that title but doesn’t have the natgas supplies to maintain that title. If anyone beats PA to the crown, it will be Texas.]

Stefanik hits Hochul on energy ahead of $800/year utility hikes
Fox News/Charles Creitz
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik blasted New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s energy policies, specifically her “billion-dollar Green New Deal policies” and ban on natural gas fracking, for causing utility costs to surge in the state. Stefanik’s criticism follows state utilities proposing rate hikes ranging from 34% to 48%, which she claims will cost New Yorkers an additional $800 to $1,000 annually. Hochul’s campaign spokesperson, Sarafina Chitika, defended the governor’s focus on affordability and instead countered the accusation by blaming congressional Republicans, including Stefanik, and President Donald Trump’s “expensive tariffs” for being the true cause of the increased energy bills. [MDN: The tariffs haven’t even kicked in for most things. Hochul is lying (again). We sincerely hope Stefanik can beat Hochul in the next governor’s race. We tend to doubt it, given the rot of NYC.]

NATIONAL

U.S. natural gas futures edge down in choppy trade
Wall Street Journal
U.S. natural gas futures settle lower in rangebound trade, with little change in the near-term weather outlook following this week’s cold shot across the eastern half of the U.S. that has driven prices up. National demand is seen easing through the weekend, NatGasWeather.com says in a note. “A colder trending weather system is expected into the Great Lakes and Northeast early next week with lows of 10s-30s for a modest bump in national demand, but not strong with most of the rest of the U.S. still relatively comfortable,” the forecaster says. Nymex natural gas settles down 0.7% at $4.533/mmBtu. [MDN: Hey, “edging down” but a price still above $4.50 is fine with us! It was less than a month ago we were still dipping below $3 gas.]

RFK Jr. probes health dangers of offshore wind turbines
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)/Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.
Offshore wind projects are facing new scrutiny and challenges, including an investigation ordered by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into their health and safety effects on commercial fishermen. Kennedy instructed the CDC and the Surgeon General’s office to conduct this research, which has been stalled by a government shutdown. This action is supported by recent studies warning of potential human health risks from offshore wind, citing the leaching of harmful metals (like aluminum and zinc) from corrosion protection systems and the release of dangerous contaminants (including microplastics and PFAs) from eroding or failing turbine blades, which are linked to increased risks of cancer and heart disease. The findings could further deter investors already wary of the industry. [MDN: It’s about time some REAL science took place around wind and solar energy. Kudos to Bobby for taking the lead.]

Six FIDs, $72 billion – U.S. LNG’s record-breaking year
OilPrice.com/Tsvetana Paraskova
Europe’s drive to reduce Russian gas reliance and Asia’s demand for American energy, often linked to trade negotiations, have spurred a major boom in U.S. LNG export deals, despite increasing liquefaction fees. This year, U.S. developers have signed sales agreements for 29.5 million metric tons per year (mtpa), quadrupling the volume contracted for all of 2024 and marking the second-highest year on record, trailing only 2022’s European surge. Encouraged by market and regulatory support, six major U.S. export projects, including those by Cheniere, NextDecade, and Venture Global, have reached Final Investment Decision (FID) this year, securing record global LNG finance of $72 billion. The U.S. is projected to add significant export capacity by 2026, and although this massive expansion, alongside Qatari growth, raises fears of a future glut, developers are unconcerned and are successfully commanding approximately 15% higher liquefaction fees due to soaring project costs. [MDN: It’s been a great year for LNG projects, thanks to the Trump administration.]

Oil vs. Gas – diverging valuations in the energy patch persist
Forbes/Bryce Erickson
The U.S. upstream sector is operating on a two-speed cycle at the end of 2025, with sharply divergent investor sentiment for oil and natural gas producers. Permian oil producers, despite strong margins and capital discipline, are trading at subdued valuations (median EV/EBITDAX 3.7x) and are viewed as “mature, low-growth cash machines,” facing risks from tight associated gas takeaway capacity. In contrast, Appalachian natural gas producers are being treated as “growth stocks,” seeing significantly higher valuations (median EV/EBITDAX 8.6x) and stock gains. Investors are rewarding the gas sector’s future demand visibility, driven by LNG export growth and electrification, which is further supported by easing pipeline constraints. The market is clearly valuing oil for stability and gas for potential growth optionality. [MDN: Natgas is ascending. It’s a great time to be leased or drilling for natural gas.]

INTERNATIONAL

Oil sinks as OPEC acknowledges supply surplus
Bloomberg/Mia Gindis, Veena Ali-Khan
Oil prices experienced their steepest drop since June, with West Texas Intermediate falling 4.2% to settle at $58.49 a barrel. Brent for January settlement dropped 3.8% to close at $62.71. The decline was fueled by a key market gauge briefly entering a bearish contango structure, signaling an anticipated supply glut. OPEC revised its market estimates, stating that global crude supplies surpassed demand by 500,000 barrels a day in the third quarter, earlier than expected, primarily due to rising US and OPEC production. Analysts cited the lack of clear bullish catalysts, a weak macro backdrop, and selling by trend-following funds as additional factors reinforcing the downward pressure and pointing to rising inventories. However, refined fuels like gasoline saw surging premiums because of numerous refinery outages. [MDN: Try not to read too much into a single day’s price, either dropping or rising. The trend has been (will continue to be) prices in the $60s.]

Energy is the foundation of every digital addition
Rigzone/Andreas Exarheas
At the Web Summit event in Lisbon, Portugal, EDP Innovation CEO Antonio Coutinho warned that energy is the foundation of the digital world and “the new bandwidth,” questioning if power infrastructure can support the exponential growth of artificial intelligence. He highlighted a “hidden cost dependency,” noting that since 2014, AI compute has grown 350,000 times, while energy generation assets have only increased 1.6 times, creating a visible “physical bottleneck.” Coutinho added that a single hyperscale data center requires the power of a medium-sized plant (300-500 megawatts). David Savage, a tech evangelist, echoed this concern, stating that AI’s acceleration is “colliding head-on with a physical force – power,” as every prompt and token generated costs real, finite power. [MDN: The real question or point is how we get all of the power needed for AI. It’s natural gas, which the Euro weenies are reluctant to admit.]