As President Donald Trump seeks to boost U.S. investment in Venezuela’s oil fields, Mexico is poised to export less heavy crude to Gulf refineries, creating an opening for Venezuelan oil.
Energy
In-depth reporting on oil, gas, renewable power, and policies shaping the future of energy in Texas from The Texas Tribune.
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2026 Texas Elections
How to spot AI-generated images and online content during the 2026 primary elections
Identifying falsified or digitally enhanced videos, photos and ads takes attention and awareness, but helpful tools are out there.
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Energy
Momentum is building to meet electricity demand in Texas with small nuclear reactors
The first small modular nuclear reactor could be powering an industrial plant in Texas early in the next decade. And the state is pushing to become the leading site for testing and building the technology.
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Economy
Texans are demanding their local governments push pause on data centers. Can they?
Texans from Waco to Harlingen are raising concerns over how much energy and water data centers are poised to use. Local officials, some enticed by a tax boon, say they have little power to stop the rush.
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2026 Texas Elections
In a contest to regulate Texas’s oil and gas industry, one Republican wants to talk DEI and China
Jim Wright, the GOP incumbent, and several other Republican candidates dismissed Bo French’s campaign rhetoric as distracting from the Railroad Commission’s mission.
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Environment
“A disaster waiting to happen”: How the fracking boom put an oil field in the Guadalupe River floodplain
Lack of a state floodplain policy enabled oil companies to build in parts of Texas hit by an epic inundation less than 30 years ago.
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2026 Texas Elections
Texas Railroad Commission primary: Who is running and what to know
The Railroad Commission regulates energy infrastructure across Texas. Here’s a look at who’s running in the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries and where they stand.
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Energy
In the West Texas oil patch, companies plan gas power plants to run new data centers
The developer of one project, in Pecos County, calls it the largest power project in the U.S. Data centers are sparking a surge of gas power plant construction in Texas.
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Energy
Texas’ power grid weathered another winter storm. Is it ready for the future?
Five years after Winter Storm Uri caused catastrophic blackouts that killed hundreds, the electric grid has changed significantly, but increasing demand means it will have to adapt even more.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Why a Panhandle businessman wants to take over the region’s electric utility
Salem Abraham claims Minnesota-based Xcel Energy has not lived up to its promise of protecting the region from wildfires. The company vehemently disagrees.