The American Oil and Gas Reporter

To power the massive Hyperion data center in Louisiana, Meta plans to underwrite 10 natural gas-fired power plants that collectively generate more than seven gigawatts of power. With an estimated cost of $200 billion, Hyperion represents the largest private investment in Louisiana history. While it is one of the most extreme examples of data centers’ seemingly insatiable appetite for power, it is far from alone.

MIDLAND—The Permian Strategic Partnership, a coalition of 25 Permian Basin energy companies and two university systems, has released its 2025 Annual Report highlighting investments the organization says are strengthening local communities while helping drive American energy production and economic growth nationwide.

Following a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran that could lead to the Strait of Hormuz reopening, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that Brent will average $78 a barrel in 2027. By the fourth quarter of that year, prices could ease to $70. Noting that it expects prices to average $92 in 2026 because of the conflict, Wood Mackenzie says the journey to $70 will be bumpy.

HOUSTON—The newest advances in emissions technologies are increasingly being driven by the same goal that has always shaped oil and gas operations: improving performance. While regulations and methane reduction targets remain important parts of the overall conversation, emissions management experts say operators show the greatest interest in products and solutions that keep equipment running, maximize production and ideally improve profitability.

June 2026 Editor's Choice Field Trial Shows That Vibratory Tool Limits Paraffin, Asphaltenes Asphaltenes, paraffin, and scale have long been accepted as part of the cost of producing oil. They plug flow paths, increase drag on rods, stick plungers, foul ESP stages, and frequently require chemical programs that can be expensive, logistically difficult, and hard to optimize well by well.

June 2026 Cover Story Permian Operators Find Attractive ROIs With Diverse Playbooks With the world waiting to see if there could be a break in the gridlocked Middle East, one American constant is providing relief for nations striving to keep the engines humming and the lights on: the Permian Basin.

Continuing to improve artificial lift is a critical component of the industrywide effort to recover more oil from each well or at least get that oil into the stock tank faster. Today, artificial lift engineers leverage increasingly sophisticated digital tools to keep everything from ESPs to rod pumps running as efficiently and reliably as possible.

BERKELEY, CA.—Between 2007 and 2025, the emergence of shale gas plays has saved U.S. gas consumers at least $3 trillion, according to research by the Energy Institute at Haas, which is affiliated with the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. “Shale gas has saved U.S. natural gas consumers a total of $3.1-$4.3 trillion since 2007.

May 2026 Exclusive Story BLM Lease Sale Reinforces Demand for Delaware Basin Acreage SANTA FE, N.M.—The Bureau of Land Management reports it generated more than $4 billion in total receipts from an oil and gas lease sale in New Mexico and Texas that offered 74 parcels totaling 33,530 acres. According to Efficient Markets, which hosted the online sale for the BLM on May 20, the event broke multiple records, including the record for aggregate high bids, which now stands at $4,007,609,288.

Time flies. Ten years ago, what was then Eclipse Resources began flowing natural gas and condensates from its Utica Purple Hayes No. 1H. With a lateral span of 18,544 feet drilled in 17.6 days using a BHA that was robust enough to complete the entire job in one run, the feat might have made the 10 o’clock news. It certainly turned industry heads. Fast forward to today, and modern drilling techniques have made three- and four-milers run of the mill.