** Diamondback Energy Inc. is in talks to form a power joint venture that would solve some of the shale giant’s own needs in the Permian Basin while also selling electricity to artificial intelligence data centers in West Texas.
** Holtec International, the Florida-based company seeking to bring back online the decommissioned Palisades nuclear power plant in west Michigan, announced a new, additional goal on Tuesday: deploying the first small modular nuclear reactors manufactured and constructed in the United States, with a target operational date of 2030.
** Chevron Corp. is interested in buying Phillips 66’s stake in a chemicals joint venture that activist Elliott Investment Management LP is pushing the oil refiner to exit, according to people familiar with the matter. Chevron is looking to increase exposure to petrochemicals at the right price and could target its Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. JV should Phillips be open to it, said the people, who asked not to be named because the considerations are private.
** Woodside Energy Group Ltd. is preparing to give the go-ahead for its Louisiana LNG project as Australia’s biggest natural gas producer looks beyond its core markets in Asia.
World
** The US and Iraq discussed the resumption of a major pipeline that can transport oil from the Middle Eastern country to global markets, after the link was shut almost two years ago following regional cost disputes.
** Ukrainian drones attacked a major sea port in southern Russia as well as Rosneft PJSC’s Tuapse oil refinery, potentially affecting fuel exports. The Tuapse port on the Black Sea and the refinery with the same name were the targets of the attack by military drones, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said in Facebook post. “At least 40 explosions were recorded in the area of the oil refinery,” the post said, adding that two airfields in Russia-occupied Crimea were also struck.
** Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.’s first-half profit plunged 85% from the year before, as prices for the materials — used in everything from wind turbines to military hardware and electric vehicles — remain in the doldrums. The Australian miner reported net income of A$5.9 million ($3.7 million) for the six months to Dec. 31. That compared with a consensus estimate of A$32.2 million. It won’t pay an interim dividend.
** Indian tax authorities have singled out Volkswagen (VOW3.DE) as the only automaker to wrongly classify its car imports for 12 years to evade $1.4 billion in taxes, even as rival Kia (000270.KS) changed its practice after being pulled up, court papers show.
** Brazilian regulators are cracking down on some offshore drilling by oil giants like Petrobras and Equinor ASA, complicating exploration and production projects at a key moment in the nation’s effort to boost crude output.
