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Texas Overhauls Grid Rules to Handle Surging Data Center Power Demand

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The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a framework to group large power requests into a single collective study, dubbed Batch Zero, changing how Texas connects high-consumption data centers to its power grid on Thursday, Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Thursday.

Ercot plans to notify Batch Zero applicants of their official classifications by August 2026, aiming to publish a comprehensive, statewide transmission roadmap in the fall of 2027.

Applications for the next cycle, Batch 1, are scheduled to open in summer 2027, it said.

The regulatory shift comes as tech companies rapidly scale operations, pushing power demands to unprecedented levels.

Ercot is tracking more than 438 gigawatts in large-load requests, with data centers making up nearly 89% of that total volume, it stated.

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DeepOcean secured a contract from BP (BP) to remove subsea infrastructure at the Foinaven field west of Shetland, UK, extending the existing decommissioning partnership, the company said Thursday.The scope of the project includes the removal of 10 flexible process risers, three dynamic subsea umbilicals and a static umbilical from the former floating production, storage and offloading vessel location.DeepOcean will also remove buoyancy modules, riser protection systems, clamps and other equipment linked to the subsea assets as part of the offshore campaign, the company said.DeepOcean said the project will be directed from its Aberdeen office, which will be responsible for engineering, project delivery and offshore operations. The work at sea is scheduled to be carried out using one of the company's advanced subsea construction vessels.The company said the contract is governed by a sale and purchase agreement jointly developed with BP. The arrangement follows the approach adopted for earlier decommissioning campaigns at the Don and Miller fields.Located west of the Shetland Islands, Foinaven was brought on stream in 1997, five years after its discovery. The field lies approximately 190 kilometers offshore in waters between 330 and 530 meters deep.Foinaven generated around 440 million barrels of oil over its operating life before the FPSO was withdrawn in 2021. That figure exceeded initial development expectations by roughly twofold, according to DeepOcean."This award reflects a progressive and commercially innovative approach to subsea decommissioning," said DeepOcean CEO Oyvind Mikaelsen, adding that the commercial framework is designed to improve efficiency, optimize costs and provide greater operational flexibility for both DeepOcean and BP.

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Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Smallish Inventory Build Pushes Futures Price Up

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Commodities

US May RIN Generation Falls From April, Remains Above Year-Ago Level, EPA Says

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