As demand for data centers accelerates, developers continue to search for locations that offer the best combination of several factors, starting with the availability of uninterrupted (and affordable) power. Those variables have led to a data-center buildout in several parts of the U.S., such as Northern Virginia, Texas and California’s Silicon Valley, but Canada has its own set of positives to lure developers. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the state of data-center development in Canada, how the factors that affect site selection differ from the U.S., and how Canada is working to become a bigger player in the global market.

The original Cactus Pipeline was a pioneer in moving large volumes of crude oil from the Permian and the Eagle Ford to the Corpus Christi area, which quickly became a leader in U.S. crude exports. Cactus II, an even longer and larger pipeline that came online in H2 2019, only added to Corpus Christi’s export prominence. But the competition with Permian-to-Houston pipelines is fiercer than ever and negotiated rates on pipelines to the Texas Gulf Coast are under pressure. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the Cactus I and Cactus II pipelines and their significance.

A crude oil leak last Tuesday at the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal disrupted regional flows and caused crude differentials to move higher over the course of the week. While the spill was swiftly addressed by terminal owner Enterprise Products Partners, it still affected inbound and outbound operations for a few days. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the role of the ECHO terminal and show how even an isolated incident can quickly have an impact on the market.

A few months ago, Enbridge unveiled its plans to expand its massive Mainline and smaller Express/Platte crude oil pipeline systems into the U.S. Midwest/Great Plains. We blogged about those plans, and followed up with a look at how the incremental volumes of Western Canadian crude on the Mainline and Express/Platte might move south from PADD 2 to where they’re wanted most: the Gulf Coast. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss efforts to piece together a more direct pipeline route from Alberta to Cushing and on to the Texas/Louisiana coast.

The build-out of the Permian’s midstream infrastructure over the past 10 years has created extraordinary opportunities for startup companies, most of them backed by private equity. Each of us could cite several examples of midstreamers that, with a combination of guile and grit, developed gathering systems, gas processing plants, pipelines and other infrastructure to serve the fast-growing needs of producers and shippers. In many cases, the assets they constructed were later sold — often at a hefty profit — to much larger firms. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, even in the midst of sector consolidation, the entrepreneurial spirit of smaller Permian midstreamers continues.

Odds are there’s never been a busier, more frantic time for natural-gas-related infrastructure development in Texas and Louisiana than right now. Construction is underway or imminent at no fewer than seven Gulf Coast LNG export terminals with a combined capacity of 16 Bcf/d. Big-tech firms and midstreamers are touting the potential for several Bcf/d more in gas-fired power demand for data centers in the two states. And developers are advancing a slew of inter- and intrastate pipeline projects aimed at bringing Permian, Haynesville and other gas to where it will be needed.

The U.S. refining industry has undergone a number of changes in recent years and more turbulence looks likely as global economic and trade patterns shift and energy transition moves forward. For some refineries, this has led to closures due to weak profits, rising regulatory costs and declining demand for products, particularly gasoline. But other refineries have prospered — and even invested in expansions — while the U.S. industry as a whole has evolved into the most competitive system in the world. Overall, the prospects have been very regionally (and even facility) specific. As detailed in the most recent Future of Fuels report from our Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice, this regional differentiation will continue and shift over the coming years. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss what we expect for the U.S. refining industry — where closures will likely take place, where the industry might actually add capacity, and the reasons for those actions.

Data centers are a buzzy topic in the energy industry, and while there is still a lot of fuzziness about what will actually get built and how much natural-gas-fired power will be needed to support these projects, there’s no doubt that major technology companies are well along in planning a number of massive data centers across the country. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll offer a snapshot of the plans announced by tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook).

The oil and gas industry is always working to develop the most efficient methods for unlocking more hydrocarbons. To cut costs and maximize output from their acreage, some companies are rolling out more creative well designs, such as U-turn (aka “horseshoe”) and J-hook wells, which use dramatic, 180-degree underground turns to access more oil and gas from each location. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the benefits of these approaches and the technical hurdles associated with drilling these deep bends underground.

Any number of things can impact the price of specific types of crude oil at various locations — supply interruptions, takeaway constraints and refinery outages, to name just a few. Every so often, the stars align and just about all those factors narrow the differential between, say, Western Canadian Select (WCS) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at the U.S. Gulf Coast to near-record levels. Well, that’s happening now, for the first time in five years. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the shockingly small WCS/WTI differential and what’s driving it.