Oil and Gas Watch

09/01/2026

AI boom makes U.S. top builder of new gas-fired power plants

According to an analysis by Global Energy Monitor, the U.S. has 189 gigawatts of gas-fired either proposed or under construction to provide power directly to data centers for the artificial intelligence industry. Counting all proposed or under-construction gas power plants, the U.S. has 378 gigawatts of capacity in the lineup. China, the country with the second-most gas-fired capacity in the pipeline, has 132 gigawatts of capacity announced, awaiting construction, or under construction.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/ai-boom-makes-u-s-top-builder-of-new-gas-fired-power-plants



Public Citizen Texas Panhandle 1st Coalition, NAACP, SELC

08/31/2026

U.S. leaves oil imports out of tariff hike on Canada

When the White House imposed a 50 percent tariff on a range of Canadian products last week, it left out one of the country’s largest exports to the U.S.: crude oil. The U.S. buys the vast majority of Canadian oil exports – 90 percent in 2025, according to Yahoo Finance. The U.S. also imports more crude oil from Canada than any other country, with Canadian crude account for 63 percent of all U.S. imports last year.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/u-s-leaves-oil-imports-out-of-tariff-hike-on-canada



Council on Foreign Relations, World Economic Forum, Reason Foundation

08/28/2026

Virginia lawmakers passed a new law in April to curb air pollution from new and expanding data centers with diesel generators by requiring the strongest possible standards for nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and soot.

The new requirements kicked in on July 1. But data center developers saw the deadline coming and raced to beat it, with 19 applications filed this spring that were submitted in time to take advantage of the older, dirtier, and cheaper standards. Nearly two thirds of the applications for diesel generators, including by Amazon, Google, and Vantage, flew in just before the deadline in the final two weeks of June, according to public records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

“Filing an application right before a more health-protective standard takes effect shows that these data centers do not intend to be good neighbors,” said Dr. Mary Finley-Brook, a professor at the University of Richmond who also leads a coalition called Data Center Defiance that is working to support communities fighting a wave of data centers in Central Virginia. “It shows they’re not thinking about the community, but rather, what’s easiest for them and their profit margin.”

Learn more: https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/data-centers-raced-to-beat-virginias-new-clean-air-law



Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Virginia League of Conservation Voters Environment Virginia Virginia Mercury

08/27/2026

Permit issued for gas storage facility expansion in southern LA

On Aug. 13, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the final permit for an expansion project at the Egan Gas Storage Facility in Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The project would expand the facility's natural gas storage capacity by 16 billion cubic feet. The project would create two additional underground natural gas storage caverns and add three natural gas-fired reciprocating engines, among other changes. The project would be built over two phases, with the first phase providing an additional 8 billion cubic feet expected in service by 2030, and the second phase providing the remaining 8 billion cubic feet in 2033.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/27e293de-a50e-496e-912a-d8448426d0b7



Sierra Club - Delta Chapter (Louisiana) , KLFY News 10, KATC-TV 3: Acadiana's Newschannel, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), NOLA.com

08/26/2026

Public comment period open on 16-mile pipeline in TX for coal-to-gas conversion

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting comments until Oct. 2 on the pending application for the Welsh Pipeline Lateral Project. The proposed 16-mile pipeline would be in Titus County, Texas, and would provide over 270 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to the existing Welsh Power Plant, to support its plan to convert existing coal-fired units to run on natural gas.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/0c6b55f4-a164-4598-8f2f-8d55b7761cc9



Environment Texas, KFXK FOX51, KETK NBC, Tri-County Press

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

Company seeks permits for six gas power plants to run data center in western Utah

In rural Millard County southwest of Salt Lake City, a company is planning to install more than 400 natural gas-fired engines to produce power for a 4,000-acre data center. Combined, these power plants could emit up to 5.2 million tons per year of greenhouse gases, roughly equivalent to more than 1 million cars and trucks driven for a year. They could also emit more than 4,100 tons per year of health-harming “criteria” pollutants that form smog and soot.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/company-seeks-permits-for-six-gas-power-plants-to-run-data-center-in-western-utah



HEAL Utah, Moms Clean Air Force, Utah Rivers Council, Millard County Chronicle Progress

08/25/2026

Public comment period open on 42-mile natural gas pipeline in northeast KY

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting comments until Sept. 10 on the anticipated environmental impacts of the Maysville Project, a proposed 42-mile natural gas pipeline through Rowan, Fleming, and Mason Counties, Kentucky. The pipeline would have the capacity to transport up to 340 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to the East Kentucky Power Cooperative's Hugh L. Spurlock Power Station.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/86cf8f94-8976-4561-8074-6c69d464a6a3



Kentucky Resources Council, Appalachian Voices, Kentucky Sierra Club, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Kentucky Conservation Committee

08/25/2026

White House reviewing sweeping changes to oil and gas methane rule

According to E&E News, the White House is considering major changes backed by industry to 2023 standards meant to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is the main component of natural gas. The standards require companies to do more to find and fix methane leaks, install better pollution controls, and end routine flaring at wells.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/white-house-reviewing-sweeping-changes-to-oil-and-gas-methane-rule



Environmental Defense Fund, Earthworks, Citizens Climate Lobby, 350.org, Sunrise Movement, US Climate Action Network (USCAN)

08/24/2026

Public meetings planned Aug. 25-26 on Venture Global LNG expansions in southwest LA

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting comments until Sept. 11 on the potential environmental impacts of a proposed expansion project at Venture Global's CP2 LNG Terminal and CP Express Pipeline in southwest Louisiana. The projects would entail increasing the terminal's liquefaction capacity by 11.7 million metric tons per year and increasing the pipeline’s natural gas transport capacity by 1.9 billion cubic feet per day.

FERC will also hold two public meetings to receive feedback on potential environmental impacts:
- Aug. 25, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. CDT, at Cameron Parish Police Jury Multi-Purpose Building, 122 Recreation Lane in Cameron, Louisiana.
- Aug. 26, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. CDT, at Buna Bridle Club Event Center, 520 County Road 726 in Buna, Texas.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/9858b8fd-11b1-43c8-87e8-c044f16aa742



For a Better Bayou, FISH - Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage, The Vessel Project of Louisiana, Micah Six Eight Mission