WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy December, readers! I, for one, can’t believe it is already the final month of the year. Time is just flying by. For those of you who celebrate, we hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and some much-needed rest before the crazy few weeks leading up to the New Year.
Kicking off that craziness, there’s quite a few hearings, conferences, and panel discussions we have our eyes on this week in the District. We’ll be on the ground at the North American Gas Forum, so be sure to connect with us if you are in town. You can find the rest of the events we are following at the bottom of today’s newsletter.
With some help from our editor Joe Lawler, today’s edition of Daily on Energy takes a look at new projections for how much power data centers will need in the next 10 years. Plus, we have the latest on the drama with Venezuela and its plea to OPEC.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS UNDER WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES: The first day of winter may be a few weeks away, but the holidays have ushered the first winter storm for New England and much of the mid-Atlantic region.
The details: The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center issued warnings early this morning that travel would be hazardous due to snow and ice Monday night through Tuesday night across the Appalachian Mountain Range.
Forecasters have predicted that the heaviest snowfall will hit the Poconos through Downeast Maine, where there would be 5-10 inches of snow. Freezing rain across southern and central Appalachians is expected to create slippery and dangerous roadway conditions.
Later this afternoon, the weather service warned that specific snow totals remained uncertain, but that there would be more than six inches accumulating north and west of the I-95 corridor.
A sign of what’s to come: Some forecasters are saying this first storm, and the snow it’s bringing, is an indication that the U.S. could be in for a snowy winter.
“This is a preview of winter, and I guess it’s good if you like snow,” meteorologist Rich Otto with the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center told Reuters.
‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’ UPDATE…GAS UP, RIG COUNT DOWN: The oil and gas industries are seeing mixed success from the Trump administration and its efforts to increase drilling thus far, seeing some major wins including soaring gas exports.
Boosted LNG: Preliminary data from financial firm LSEG obtained by Reuters today show that the U.S. saw exports of liquefied natural gas hit an all-time high in November, for the second month in a row. Last month, the U.S. reportedly exported 10.9 million metric tons of LNG, up from 10.1 million metric tons in October.
Some of the biggest drivers of the increased exports were Cheniere Energy and Venture Global LNG, both of which saw their shipments increase or hold steady.
Dipping rig count: It’s not all on the up, however. On Wednesday, data released by Baker Hughes revealed there was a massive dip in the number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the U.S. ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Baker Hughes reported that there were 10 fewer rigs than the week prior, bringing the total count to 544.
Of the 10 rigs that were dropped, nine were located on land and one was located offshore. Broken down further, the data showed that 12 oil rigs and one miscellaneous rig were actually dropped in the week, however three gas rigs were added, bringing the total lost to 10.
AVERAGE GAS PRICES FALL BELOW $3: Drivers are continuing to see relief at the pump, as new data compiled by GasBuddy shows the national average price of gasoline has fallen below $3 per gallon.
The details: GasBuddy reported today that the average price of gas dropped 8.5 cents over the last week, landing at around $2.95 per gallon – the lowest level since 2021. This is based on more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the U.S.
The biggest weekly declines were seen in Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, where prices dropped as much as 19 cents per gallon. The highest prices continue to be seen in California, Hawaii, and Washington, where gas averages over $4 per gallon.
“A few dozen stations are already offering gas under $2 per gallon, and we could see that number grow as we move further into the holiday season,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “It couldn’t come at a better time for Americans—with relief arriving just as the holidays kick off.”
Other estimates: AAA is reporting similar savings, estimating that the national average price of gas dropped by around seven cents over the last week. AAA, however, is still reporting that the national average price is $3.001 per gallon.
DOE OFFERS $134M FOR RARE EARTHS FROM WASTE: The Department of Energy’s newly rebranded Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation announced today that it will be putting out a notice of funding opportunity for $134 million for projects for recovering and refining rare earth elements from “unconventional feedstocks,” such as mine waste and e-waste.
“We have these resources here at home, but years of complacency ceded America’s mining and industrial base to other nations,” Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.
The funding opportunity is the latest in a series of steps taken by the administration to promote the domestic production of rare earth elements that are crucial for tech and defense applications and are currently dominated by China in terms of supply
DATA CENTER POWER DEMAND SURGES: Large load facilities like data centers which are being used for artificial intelligence advancements, will be needing much more power than previously estimated, with demand expected to surge to more than 100 gigawatts in 10 years.
The details: BloombergNEF projected today that data-center power demand should hit around 106 gigawatts by 2035 – a 36% jump from the previous outlook published just seven months ago (around 78 gigawatts).
For reference, one gigawatt is roughly equivalent to the amount of power generated by a single large nuclear reactor, and is typically enough to power around 750,000 homes.
BloombergNEF estimated that this massive growth rate in demand is related to both the surge in data center projects coming onto the pipeline as well as these project sizes. Of the nearly 150 new data center projects the research firm added to its tracker in the last year, nearly a quarter will demand 500 megawatts.
VENEZUELA WATCH – MADURO ASKED OPEC FOR HELP: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked fellow members of OPEC to counter the threats from President Donald Trump as the prospect of some sort of military intervention looms larger.
Al Jazeera reports that Maduro said in a letter yesterday that Trump intended to seize Venezuelan oil assets. He wrote, “I hope to count on your best efforts to help stop this aggression, which is growing stronger and seriously threatens the balance of the international energy market, both for producing and consuming countries.”
Following a buildup of ships and resources in the coast off Venezuela, Trump ramped up the rhetoric this weekend, including by warning all airlines to avoid Venezuelan airspace. He is reportedly set to hold a meeting later this afternoon to discuss the next steps for Venezuela.
ICYMI – EPA FINALIZES DELAY OF BIDEN METHANE RULE: Last week, the Trump-led Environmental Protection Agency formally finalized its delay of the Biden administration rule meant to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas facilities.
Some background: The rule in question was finalized under former President Joe Biden in 2023, requiring oil and gas operators to use technology to detect and control methane leaks from well sites. The rule required drillers to also stop routine flaring within two years.
New details: Last weekend, the EPA cemented the interim final rule delaying the Biden-era regulation by 18 months. The EPA had initially issued the interim rule in July. The agency has said the delay will provide operators with “more realistic timelines.” The delay will apply to compliance deadlines for installing certain emissions reductions technologies, as well as state timelines for creating plans to reduce methane emissions.
“The previous administration used oil and gas standards as a weapon to shut down development and manufacturing in the United States,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. “By finalizing compliance extensions, EPA is ensuring unrealistic regulations do not prevent America from unleashing energy dominance.”
While the administration insisted the delay will help boost domestic energy supply, environmentalists have warned that it will lead to increased pollution. Methane emissions are widely considered to have a greater impact on atmosphere warming, as they are 80 times more potent than CO2 and can leak into the atmosphere at any stage of the gas production, export, and operation processes.
A LOOK AHEAD:
Dec. 1 – 3 The North American Gas Forum is being held in Washington D.C. and will feature remarks from Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Dec. 2 The U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s New Nuclear Capital Summit is taking place in New York City featuring remarks from Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman David Wright.
Dec. 2 The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining is holding a legislative hearing.
Dec. 2 The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on Energy will be holding a hearing looking at cyber and physical threats to the electric grid, featuring testimony from executives with Xcel Energy, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Idaho National Laboratory and more.
Dec. 2 The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands is holding a legislative hearing.
Dec. 3 The National Petroleum Council is releasing key findings and recommendations to reform oil and natural gas infrastructure permitting in response to a request from Secretary Wright.
Dec. 3 The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a confirmation hearing for Lee Beaman to be a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors and Douglas Weaver to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dec. 3 The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is holding an oversight hearing titled, “Unleashing American Energy Dominance and Exploring New Frontiers.”
Dec. 3 The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries is holding an oversight hearing focused on sea lion predation in the Pacific Northwest.
Dec. 4 Leadership Connect and Sonatype are hosting a webinar titled Securing Software Supply Chains: Critical Infrastructure Priorities for 2026.
Dec. 4 The Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting Energy Information Administrator Tristan Abbey for a discussion on the future of the independent agency.
Dec. 4 The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development is holding a webinar called “Gaining a Competitive Edge: Building Climate-Resilient Supply Chains.”
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