** U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the opening of an oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas and thanked Indian energy company Reliance for its investment. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, saying the America First Refining project would “fuel U.S. Markets, strengthen our National Security, boost American Energy production, deliver Billions of Dollars in Economic impact, and will be THE CLEANEST REFINERY IN THE WORLD.”
** The U.S. is considering coordinating sales of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve with releases from other countries as prices soar during the war on Iran, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday.
** Los Angeles drivers now have to deal with some of the highest fuel costs, as well. With so much uncertainty surrounding oil as global tensions continue to rise overseas, one Los Angeles gas station actually started charging people $8.21 a gallon to fill up.
** SK Battery America Inc. lays off nearly 1,000 workers at its Atlanta EV battery plant, citing market instability.
** Maine lawmakers advance a bill that would put a moratorium on new data centers larger than 20 MW until October 2027.
** Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro plans to encourage data centers to pay for their own power sources by offering expedited permitting to those who comply; advocates say the plan will only work if it includes enforcement mechanisms.
** Eight communities in upstate New York vie for the chance to host an advanced nuclear plant Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to have built.
WORLD
** Saudi Arabia privately warned Tehran that ongoing Iranian strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure could force Riyadh to grant U.S. forces access to Saudi military bases.
** Ships anchored in the Gulf or transiting the Strait of Hormuz are changing their tracking data to boast links to China in an attempt to evade Iranian attacks, according to data from shipping tracker Marine Traffic analysed by AFP.
** International oil majors Chevron and Shell are closing in on the first big oil production deals with Venezuela since the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January, five sources close to the negotiations told Reuters. The deals would allow both companies to boost production in coveted oil regions in the South American country.
** Russia has turned to its so-called “shadow fleet” to carry out a roughly $29.3 million “semi-dark” ship-to-ship oil transfer in the Gulf of Oman, deliberately sidestepping Western sanctions, according to reports.