NextEra Energy Buying Shale Investor Caliber Resource Partners
NextEra Energy, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is gobbling up companies left and right. Earlier this week, NextEra announced it is buying out and merging with a fellow utility giant, Dominion Energy (see NextEra Energy Buying, Merging with Dominion Energy for $66 Billion). That deal is largely about supplying data centers with power from gas-fired power plants. And now, according to sources whispering to Reuters, NextEra is buying out and merging with oil and gas investment firm Caliber Resource Partners for $1.3 billion. Read More “NextEra Energy Buying Shale Investor Caliber Resource Partners”
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church would happily sell you forgiveness of sins (if you paid), meaning you could keep right on sinning, as long as you could pay. It was called an indulgence. The modern environmental movement is doing the same thing. Big Green is all about Big Money. The scam they run is to convince people that planting a tree, not cutting down a tree, or maybe capturing a little bit of methane seeping out of a landfill, can make up for continuing to use (burn) natural gas. Georgia Natural Gas (GNG) is offering this scam to its customers. Why would anyone willingly pay more for the same thing? Just to feel better about themselves? Apparently so, because 100,000 GNG customers are doing it. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Coal remains competitive for power generation in the central U.S.; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures pull back after string of gains; Tokyo Gas invests in predictive maintenance platform for O&G; Greenwishing – shiny promises fall short; Burgum dismisses US oil export curbs as ‘bad on all accounts’; INTERNATIONAL: Oil falls as Iran deal hopes rise; Would USA allow Iran Hormuz tax in exchange for peace deal?; US gas exporters ask to push back EU methane regulation until 2028. 
Last week, the news broke that Enbridge is exploring a major expansion of its Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline into New England, and had briefed the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council about its plans (see 
A study commissioned by Constellation Energy concludes that the Everett Marine Terminal (EMT) in Massachusetts (LNG import terminal) remains critical to New England’s gas and electric reliability, particularly during peak winter demand. Constellation owns EMT. The report (full copy below) highlights EMT’s role during Winter Storm Fern in early 2025, when it prevented supply shortages and price spikes. Existing contracts with Massachusetts utilities run through 2030, costing ratepayers an estimated $946 million. The report says replacing EMT via pipeline expansion could cost $4.6–$6.1 billion. While consumer and environmental advocates favor demand-side alternatives such as electrification and efficiency, the report is skeptical, calling these strategies high-risk and unverified. 
On March 18, President Trump issued a 60-day waiver pausing the enforcement of the Jones Act (see 
On May 14, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice of violation to Sandstone Development LLC for operating the McKay 7A conventional well as an oil and gas wastewater injection disposal site in McKean County without a state permit. Which may sound like a major, flagrant (intentional) violation. But it’s not. Sandstone holds a federal EPA permit allowing daily injections of up to 10,500 gallons. Sandstone said it was unaware that, in addition to the federal EPA permit, it is also required to seek and obtain a state DEP permit for the same thing. In other words, Sandstone didn’t ask DEP, “Mother, May I?” 
Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest U.S. energy holding companies, serving 8.7 million electric customers and 1.8 million gas customers across six states. While the company dabbles in unreliable renewables like solar and wind, its bread-and-butter, go-to source for new electric power generation is natural gas, which it gets from the Marcellus/Utica. We’ve reported on many of Duke’s announced new gas-fired power plant projects (
In 2025, the U.S. set dual production records, with crude oil output reaching 13.6 million barrels per day and natural gas hitting 118.5 Bcf/d, making America the world’s top producer of both commodities. These milestones represent explosive growth since the early 2000s, driven entirely by the shale fracking revolution. Despite persistent predictions of failure from environmental groups, major publications like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and various analysts, the industry continuously defied skeptics through relentless technological innovation — including longer lateral wells, simultaneous multi-well fracking, and electrified equipment. With no production peak in sight, new records are anticipated for 2026. 
AlphaGen (Alpha Generation LLC) is one of the largest independent power producers in the United States, majority-owned by ArcLight Capital Partners. It owns and operates a massive portfolio of critical power infrastructure—including natural gas-fired and floating power stations—to meet rising energy demand driven by grid electrification and data centers. Yesterday, AlphaGen and ArcLight announced they have acquired Brandywine Power, a 250 MW natural gas combined-cycle generating facility in Prince George’s County, Maryland, from Onward Energy Holdings. The plant is fed by Marcellus/Utica molecules. 
We’re facing a full-blown crisis in building new AI data centers — at least in Pennsylvania (and in many other states). How do we know? Read this story published by the Wall Street Journal yesterday: 
U.S. industrial natural gas consumption is projected to reach record highs through 2027, driven by rising manufacturing activity, particularly in the chemicals subsector. According to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook, consumption hit a record 23.6 Bcf/d in 2025 and will grow by 1.2% in 2026 and 1.7% in 2027. Although low natural gas prices spurred significant mid-2010s expansions that raised demand, recent growth has been relatively flat. Moving forward, steady increases in the natural gas-weighted manufacturing index are expected to outpace ongoing industrial efficiency improvements, ensuring gradual but consistent demand growth, with distinct winter seasonal peaks.