Chevron will fuel a massive Microsoft data center in West Texas with natural gas under a 20-year agreement, the oil major announced Monday.
The data center, called Project Kilby, is expected to consume nearly 2.7 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to the power needed to run about 2 million homes.
A majority of the electricity will come from large gas turbines supplied by Chevron's partner, GE Vernova . Caterpillar will also provide turbines. The power infrastructure will be located at the data center site.
Project Kilby has not started construction in Reeves County. Chevron expects to make a final investment decision on the project later this year. The data center would start receiving power in 2028.
Microsoft's partnership with Chevron comes as it undertakes a massive buildout of data centers to power artificial intelligence applications. It plans $190 billion in capital expenditures this year, 61% more than in 2025.
Microsoft's embrace of natural gas through a partnership with the oil industry shows a willingness to invest in fossil fuels to meet its electricity needs.
The rapid growth of AI "requires energy infrastructure that can scale quickly and reliably," Noelle Walsh, Microsoft's president of cloud operations and innovation, said in a statement Monday.
For its part, Chevron is positioned to quickly and reliably deliver natural gas from the Permian Basin, located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, to data centers at a competitive cost, said Jeff Gustavson, Chevron's president of new energies.
Microsoft has invested primarily in renewable energy to offset carbon-dioxide emissions from its data centers. But now it's also searching for alternative power sources than can more reliably meet the 24/7 demand of its data centers. It turned, for example, to nuclear power in 2024 by investing in the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/22/chevron-cvx-microsoft-msft-natural-gas-data-center.html
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jun 22, 2026, 6:00 PM CDT
Oil prices have continued to whipsaw since the U.S. and Iran announced last week signed a deal to make a deal as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is anything but straight and not expected to normalize within days. Contradictory messaging from Iran and the United States on the navigability of the chokepoint have intensified during the weekend amid a difficult start to the (delayed) talks in Switzerland. Shippers and insurers, who were already very cautious about returning to the Persian Gulf and its key trade lane, are wary of an operating environment they have described as an “hour to hour” risk assessment in a war zone.
Merely hours after the U.S. and Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran on Saturday declared the chokepoint closed again, due to the continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The result was traffic thinning to assess the new threats to navigation.
The U.S., however, claims that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and millions of barrels of oil are exiting the Persian Gulf.
Hours after Iran said it is closing the Strait, U.S. Central Command said on Saturday that “Safe passage through the international waterway remained intact today as 55 merchant ships transited, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets.”
On Sunday, maritime intelligence firm Windward said that “Iran's re-closure of Hormuz is already measurable in the data.”
Transits dropped to 12 vessels on Sunday, down from more than 21 on Saturday, according to the firm, which noted that neutral and European commercial tonnage was absent from the traffic and that five out of eight inbound vessels were traveling in a dark mode.
“The MOU-driven recovery that began June 18 has stalled within 24 hours of the announcement,” Windward said.
“The current traffic profile: dark, sanctioned, Iranian-linked, resembling the late-blockade baseline more than a functioning open strait.”
Traffic at Hormuz continues by fits and starts with risk remaining elevated and uncertainty how much oil is actually leaving the Persian Gulf.
This uncertainty is not reassuring for the oil market, where bears had hoped last week that the imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will be the beginning of the normalization of oil trade.
It appears that any normalization is weeks away, at best, and shippers and insurers are not racing to test the fragile ceasefire and contradicting messages about how open the Strait really is.
As early as last week, Jakob Larsen, Chief Safety and Security Officer at BIMCO, the largest international shipowners’ association, warned that the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding “raises several questions and does not offer sufficient information regarding key aspects such as safe routes, measures to separate traffic, sequencing of ships leaving the Gulf, reporting procedures, ship security procedures, procedures for naval protection and emergency response.”
Larsen noted that “The next step is for shipowners to be reassured that transiting the Strait of Hormuz is not only permitted but also safe.”
Security around the Strait is volatile, and “It’s from day to day, hour to hour,” Evan Greenberg, chief executive at shipping insurer Chubb Ltd, told Fox News on Sunday.
“We’re talking more about a war zone environment,” Greenberg said, noting that not all of the channels to pass through Hormuz are open.
“Only a narrow channel is really being used to transit, and so it limits the number of ships that can actually go in and out,” the executive added.
“The Navy has been working to open up a broader set of channels, and as that happens, then shipping will increase.”
Everyone has hoped for more than three months for shipping to increase, but the precarious security situation in the Middle East and the high risks to tanker traffic continue to keep the oil markets on edge.
June 23, 2026
Ken Griffin’s Citadel has transformed its commodities business into one of the firm’s most significant profit engines, evolving from a financial trader of commodity derivatives into a major participant in physical energy markets, according to a report the Financial Times.
Originally recognised for its multi-strategy hedge fund operations, Citadel has spent more than two decades expanding its presence in commodities, with the business now spanning physical energy assets, power trading and commodity merchandising alongside its traditional trading activities.
A key milestone in that evolution came in the aftermath of Enron’s collapse in 2001, when Citadel recruited a number of the energy company’s quantitative analysts and market specialists. The hires provided the foundation for Citadel Commodities, formally established in 2002, and helped the firm develop a data-driven approach to energy trading that has since become a defining feature of the business.
The division has benefited from structural changes across global commodities markets, particularly the retreat of investment banks from physical commodity trading following the global financial crisis. As banks scaled back their activities in response to tighter regulation, Citadel expanded into areas traditionally dominated by large financial institutions and specialist commodity merchants.
Today, the firm’s reach extends well beyond financial markets. Through Citadel Energy Marketing, the company buys, sells and transports natural gas, electricity and other energy products across North America. Regulatory filings indicate the business traded volumes equivalent to roughly 11% of total US natural gas consumption during 2025, placing it alongside some of the world’s largest commodity trading houses.
Citadel has also expanded into upstream energy production through a series of acquisitions. The purchase of Paloma Natural Gas in 2025, subsequently renamed Apex Natural Gas, significantly increased the firm’s ownership of drilling assets in the Haynesville Shale, making it one of the basin’s largest operators. Additional acquisitions of natural gas assets have further strengthened its position in one of the US’s most important gas-producing regions.
International expansion has accompanied this domestic growth. Recent acquisitions in Japan and Germany, alongside the establishment of an Australian trading hub, have broadened Citadel’s exposure to global power markets as it seeks to build a larger international commodities franchise.
Technology and data analytics remain central to the firm’s strategy. Citadel has invested heavily in quantitative models, weather forecasting, satellite data and engineering resources to support trading decisions across power, natural gas, oil and agricultural markets. The commodities platform now employs more than 260 investment professionals supported by around 100 engineers.
The business has delivered substantial returns, particularly during periods of elevated market volatility. Strong performance during the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine helped cement commodities as one of Citadel’s most profitable divisions, although profits have moderated over the past two years as energy markets have stabilised and competition has intensified.
Despite its success, the firm’s growing involvement in physical commodities has raised questions about the risks associated with owning and operating energy assets alongside managing investor capital. Market participants note that increased exposure to infrastructure, regulatory oversight and politically sensitive energy markets introduces operational and reputational considerations that differ markedly from traditional hedge fund investing.
Competition is also increasing, with several multi-strategy hedge funds and proprietary trading firms expanding their own commodities capabilities. Nevertheless, Citadel continues to invest in new teams and markets, signalling that Griffin views physical commodities as a long-term strategic pillar of the firm’s diversified investment platform rather than simply another trading strategy.
https://www.hedgeweek.com/citadel-builds-commodities-empire-beyond-hedge-fund-roots/
Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured after an explosion at Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural (LNG) gas complex which occurred as workers were restarting operations halted after an Iranian attack in March.
Authorities said a ‘technical accident’ occurred at the Barzan local gas supply facility on Sunday evening.
Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. military base, has come under repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the Iran war, which trapped around 20% of global LNG supply in the Gulf before some shipments began to resume recently.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Qatar’s Energy Ministry Saad al-Kaabi said 13 people had died and 66 were injured. Those killed in the blast were all from India and Pakistan, he said.
“This was an accident and not a sabotage or hostile in nature…Plant production was intentionally completely stopped since December 2025 due to urgent maintenance requirements, it was first restarted again only two days ago,” he said.
There is no risk to the environment and the plant’s export capabilities were unaffected, he said, adding that an investigation had started into the blast, which was felt across central Doha, panicking residents more than 70 kilometers away.
Ramp-up Challenges
The incident highlights the challenges Gulf producers face in ramping up oil and gas production from facilities shut in during the Iran war.
Qatar has been among the hardest hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as it has no alternative routes to export its LNG.
Restarting LNG operations is a particularly complex process due to a deliberately slow cooldown to avoid thermal shock. LNG trains cannot restart simultaneously and must be brought back in sequence.
In the liquefaction process – which turns gas into a liquid state by cooling it down to approximately minus 162 degrees Celsius (minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit) – the cooldown is the most critical step.
The plant where the blast occurred, the Barzan gas supply facility, is part of Ras Laffan Industrial City, QatarEnergy’s vast LNG production and export site with an annual production capacity of 77 million metric tons.
Barzan supplies pipeline gas for local industry and power generation and can also produce liquefied petroleum gas and other products for export.
An Iranian missile attack in March struck two of Ras Laffan’s gas-processing units, slashing about 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity which QatarEnergy’s CEO told Reuters would take three to five years to repair.
The war also forced the company to evacuate about 10,000 workers from offshore rigs and onshore processing plants. The company reported no injuries during the March missile attack.
(Reporting by Mills, Alaa El-Din, Ahmed Tolba and Marwa Rashad; additional reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Tala Ramadan, and Emily Chow; writing by Maha El Dahan; editing by Jason Neely)
https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2026/06/22/338385.htm
The US government has announced that it will pay USD765m to power project developer Invenergy in order to facilitate its withdrawal from four offshore wind leases, in exchange for redirecting investments toward fossil fuel and geothermal projects in the United States instead (US Department of the Interior statement, 17/06/2026).
Under this agreement, Invenergy will allocate the refunded capital to the development of gas-fired power projects across several Midwestern states, including Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. The company will also pursue the development of geothermal power projects in the western part of the United States.
Previously, Invenergy held offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, and off the coast of central California. The agreement results in the termination of four leases, which together represented several GW of potential offshore wind capacity across these regions.
This transaction is the latest in a series of similar measures announced by the administration in 2026, as part of a broader effort to halt the development of US offshore wind projects, which it considers costly and inefficient.
Earlier in June, seven US states filed a lawsuit against the administration over a separate payment of nearly USD800m made to France’s TotalEnergies to cancel an offshore wind lease off the coast of New York. The states argued that the administration did not follow proper administrative procedures and misused a government fund intended for legal settlements, despite the absence of litigation between the parties.
This payment approach follows the administration’s unsuccessful attempts to shut down other projects nearing completion, citing concerns that wind turbines could interfere with military radar systems. However, federal judges dismissed these arguments, allowing construction to proceed.
U.S. generating capacity for onshore wind farms
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Survey, April 2026
The SunZia Wind Project, the largest wind farm in the United States, is slated to begin commercial operations this month. The wind farm, located in New Mexico, has a total net summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts (MW) and is composed of 916 wind turbines. SunZia’s capacity is more than three times larger than the next two largest wind farms, Alta Wind in Southern California (1,098 MW) and Great Prairie in northern Texas (1,027 MW). The SunZia Wind Project works with a high voltage transmission line to deliver the wind power generated to Arizona and California.
Pattern Energy started construction of the SunZia Wind Project in 2023, after almost two decades of permitting and planning. The wind farm spans three counties. The northern part of SunZia located in San Miguel and Lincoln counties has 242 turbines, while the southern part in Lincoln and Torrance counties has 674 turbines. By April 2026, some of the wind turbines were producing power and contributing to the grid during a testing phase.
Before the SunZia Wind Project came online, net summer wind generating capacity in New Mexico totaled 3,997 MW. The new capacity from SunZia will bring total wind capacity in New Mexico up to 7,647 MW. With this addition, wind accounts for 45% of the capacity mix in the state, followed by 19% from solar and 19% from natural gas capacity.
Most of the electricity generated at SunZia will be exported to Arizona and to Southern California. To be able to export the power generated by this project, Pattern Energy also built the SunZia Transmission Project—a 550-mile high voltage direct current transmission line that goes from the SunZia Wind Project site in central New Mexico to south-central Arizona. Of the SunZia transmission line’s 3,021 MW of power capacity, 2,131 MW will be delivered and consumed in Southern California via the Palo Verde Substation.
Generation from the SunZia Wind Project is reported by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in EIA's Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. On May 15, 2026, CAISO reported 7,122 MW of hourly wind generation, which is 20% higher than the previous annual record of 5,922 MW in 2024.
Anglo Asian appoints Worley to advance copper deposits towards production Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock
Anglo Asian Mining Plc (LSE:AAZ, OTC:AGXKF, FRA:A4A), the AIM-listed gold and copper producer operating in Azerbaijan, has appointed Worley Europe Limited to conduct feasibility studies on its Xarxar and Garadag copper deposits, moving the company closer to development of two significant assets that together host over one million tonnes of copper metal.
Worley, a global resources engineering firm headquartered in Australia, will assess processing options for both deposits, focusing on heap leach and solvent extraction-electrowinning technology.
This approach would produce marketable copper metal directly on-site, rather than lower-grade concentrate for export and smelting, a first for both the company and Azerbaijan.
The feasibility study for Xarxar is targeted for mid-2027, with Garadag following in the first half of 2028. Anglo Asian is currently finalising its contract with Worley and has already begun core drilling at Xarxar with two rigs operating, with drilling at Garadag expected to commence in the third quarter of 2026.
The company has launched a 90,000 metre drilling programme spanning 2026 and 2027 to support the feasibility work and exploration.
The programme splits into approximately 55,000 metres of exploration drilling targeting extensions at existing deposits and new discoveries across the company's licence areas, and 35,000 metres of infill and geotechnical drilling directly supporting the feasibility studies.
Exploration drilling will focus on extensions at Xarxar and Garadag, follow-up work in the Gedabek contract area, and targets at Demirli and Demirli South. Underground drilling at Gilar will target upper and deeper levels of that deposit.
Stephen Westhead, vice president of Anglo Asian Mining, said the Worley appointment followed a rigorous selection process and signalled the company's commitment to its growth strategy.
The feasibility studies and associated drilling would enable the company to construct the mines, he added, positioning Anglo Asian for transition towards a mid-tier multi-asset producer focused on copper and gold.
The appointment marks a significant milestone in de-risking the company's development pipeline. With two substantial copper deposits entering the feasibility phase and an aggressive exploration programme running in parallel, Anglo Asian is moving from purely production-focused operations towards a growth-stage company with multiple development options.
The company's licence areas still contain unexplored prospective ground, providing potential for additional discoveries to support the mid-tier producer ambition
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/anglo-asian-appoints-worley-advance-071000473.html
SMM, June 22 –
The most-traded SHFE lead 2608 contract opened at 16,420 yuan/mt during the day. The morning session saw small fluctuations around the intraday moving average before the futures fluctuated downward, touching a low of 16,315 yuan/mt. In the afternoon, the futures gradually recovered and rebounded, steadily approaching the moving average. Near the close, it moved sideways within the 16,370–16,400 yuan/mt range, eventually settling at 16,385 yuan/mt, forming a small bearish candlestick, down 65 yuan/mt, or 0.4%. Trading volume for the SHFE lead 2607 contract reached 29,824 lots, with open interest of 43,541 lots; the 2608 contract saw volume of 31,280 lots and open interest of 69,530 lots. The contract rollover of the most-traded SHFE lead contract was formally completed for the 2608 contract. Currently in China, primary and secondary lead smelters are entering a concentrated maintenance period, generating strong expectations of tightening lead raw material supply and providing upward support for the futures. Following the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, downstream battery factories have gradually resumed production, creating short-term rigid restocking demand. However, at the mid-year point, large downstream battery enterprises are entering their semi-annual accounting and inventory review period, which will temporarily slow down concentrated procurement of lead ingots. The bullish impetus from rigid demand is relatively limited. With both supply and demand remaining weak, it is difficult for the supply-demand dynamics to consistently boost lead prices. Lead prices are expected to remain in the doldrums in the near term.
Data source declaration: Data not originating from publicly available information has been processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and internal SMM database models and is for reference only. It does not constitute any decision-making advice.
Steel furnace ©Adobe Stock Images
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) shares fell 2.4% in premarket trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the steelmaker to Equalweight from Overweight, while modestly increasing its price target to $12.50.
The brokerage’s more cautious stance comes despite a stronger outlook for steel prices, with analysts arguing that much of the recent improvement is already reflected in the stock’s valuation.
Higher Steel Price Forecasts Support Near-Term Outlook
Morgan Stanley analyst Carlos De Alba raised the firm’s steel price expectations, citing a rally driven largely by supply-side constraints.
The bank now expects steel prices to remain elevated through the second half of 2026 before moderating in 2027 and 2028 as domestic production and imports gradually respond to stronger pricing conditions.
Morgan Stanley increased its forecast for hot-rolled coil steel prices to $1,200 per short ton for both the third and fourth quarters of 2026, representing increases of 21% and 25%, respectively, from previous projections.
The firm now expects average hot-rolled coil prices of $1,112 per short ton in 2026, $1,012 in 2027 and $900 in 2028.
Valuation Seen as Reflecting Strong Market Conditions
Although the steel market backdrop has improved, Morgan Stanley believes investors have already factored much of that optimism into Cleveland-Cliffs shares.
“We believe expected high steel prices are already reflected in equities and thus downgrade CLF to EW,” De Alba wrote in a research note.
The downgrade follows a strong rally in the stock, with Cleveland-Cliffs shares gaining approximately 50% since April 1.
Supply Constraints Have Driven Recent Gains
The recent advance in Cleveland-Cliffs has been supported by improving expectations for U.S. steel prices.
Analysts pointed to supply limitations in the domestic market and disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed up import costs and reduced the availability of foreign steel.
These factors have strengthened pricing conditions for North American producers and boosted sentiment across the sector.
Risk-Reward Profile Viewed as More Balanced
Morgan Stanley raised its target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $12.50 but argued that the stock now offers a more balanced risk-reward profile.
The firm said its revised view places Cleveland-Cliffs alongside other Equalweight-rated steel producers, including Steel Dynamics and Nucor.
Commercial Metals remains Morgan Stanley’s only Overweight-rated steel stock in North America.
Potential Catalysts Remain
Despite the downgrade, the bank highlighted several factors that could support further upside.
Morgan Stanley noted that Cleveland-Cliffs could outperform expectations if it secures a favourable agreement with POSCO under a previously announced memorandum of understanding.
The firm also said the shares could benefit if steel prices remain elevated for longer than currently anticipated, providing additional earnings support beyond existing forecasts.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/cleveland-cliffs-shares-slip-morgan-124558675.html
ArcelorMittal Executive Chairman Lakshmi Mittal stated on Thursday that India is poised to become a primary driver of worldwide steel demand in the years ahead, fueled by extensive infrastructure projects, urban expansion, and energy-transition-related investments.
In a video address to participants at the World Steel Dynamics Global Steel Dynamics Forum 2026 in New York, delivered before ArcelorMittal's 20-year milestone on July 31, Mittal remarked that the global steel sector is moving into a fresh era. He anticipates India will assume a function comparable to what China fulfilled during the previous two decades.
The last twenty years were marked by China's extraordinary expansion, Mittal noted. Now, he said, India's opportunity has come, with plans for substantial infrastructure development, swift urban housing growth, and energy-transition infrastructure all in progress.
Looking back at the 2006 merger of Mittal Steel and Arcelor, which formed the largest steel producer globally, Mittal observed that the union enhanced the enterprise through increased scale, variety, and robustness. This, he explained, enabled the organization to manage significant worldwide upheavals such as the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. He characterized both occurrences as black swan events, noting that the financial crisis's aftereffects persist and the pandemic's consequences have been equally profound. He affirmed his conviction that the firm handled these disruptions more effectively as a combined entity than it could have individually.
Mittal pointed out that the steel industry has grown considerably more international, technology-oriented, and data-heavy compared to two decades ago. He highlighted that businesses now contend with swifter market shifts and heightened environmental and regulatory demands. Despite persistent difficulties, he voiced optimism about the sector's enduring prospects, pointing to rising demand in emerging economies, infrastructure upgrades in advanced nations, and investments tied to decarbonization and the energy shift.
He further emphasized the growing significance of national industrial policies in influencing steel markets and stressed the necessity of preserving a competitive and robust steel sector. After half a century in the steel business, Mittal declared he would rather be nowhere else, adding that although the industry will encounter unexpected hurdles, its long-term foundations stay solid.
https://www.indexbox.io/blog/india-set-to-drive-global-steel-demand-says-arcelormittal-chairman/
In May this year, Germany’s crude steel output went up by 7.3 percent year on year to 3.20 million mt, according to the information provided by the German Steel Federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl). In the first five months of this year, crude steel production in Germany rose by 8.8 percent year on year to 15.70 million mt.
In the given month, Germany’s pig iron output amounted to 1.96 million mt, up by 6.9 percent, while in the January-May period it increased by 9.8 percent to 9.89 million mt, both on year-on-year basis.
In May, the country’s hot rolled steel output fell by 0.4 percent to 2.65 million mt, while rising by 4.9 percent to 13.42 million mt in the first five months this year, both compared to the same periods of the previous year.
The federation stated that despite the positive developments seen in recent months, it is still too early to declare a full recovery. Annualized crude steel production currently stands at 37.7 million mt, remaining below the 40 million mt threshold generally considered necessary for adequate capacity utilization across the steel industry.
Japan-based steelmaker Nippon Steel has submitted plans to Slovak authorities to build an electric arc furnace at its Košice steelworks in eastern Slovakia, according to local media reports.
The planned electric arc furnace will have an annual steel production capacity of 1.5-2.1 million mt, depending on the use of scrap and hot briquetted iron. While the investment will replace part of the site’s coal-intensive production with lower-emission technology, the plant’s overall annual steelmaking capacity is expected to remain unchanged at 4.5 million mt.
Nippon Steel’s project is expected to reduce carbon monoxide emissions at the Košice plant by 56 percent, while nitrogen oxide emissions may fall by around 25 percent. Total industrial emissions at the site could decline by nearly one third, depending on the pollutant measured.
The value of the investment has not been disclosed. Previous plans prepared under US Steel, which included two electric arc furnaces, were estimated at more than €1.25 billion. Construction of the new facility is scheduled to begin in 2027, with operations expected to start by 2030, while existing production continues.
