Jason Lindquist joined RBN Energy, now part of Novi Labs, in September 2021 and has been covering the energy industry since 2011, which followed several years in daily newspapers. As managing editor, he is responsible for the daily blog and is also a regular contributor.
Venezuela’s oil industry spent more than a decade moving in the wrong direction, but 2026 has brought a notable change. Today, we look at the improvements in production and exports in light of Venezuela’s sweeping new deal with the U.S. and also address the prospects for the refining sector.
Construction is underway at Blue Point One (#32 in map below), a low-carbon ammonia plant in Modeste, LA, billed by the joint venture’s partners — CF Industries (40%), JERA (35%) and Mitsui (25%) — as the world’s biggest of its kind. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.4 million MT and is expected to begin production in 2029.
Woodside Energy has placed its Beaumont New Ammonia facility under strategic review and is evaluating its options for the site, the company said during its H1 2026 earnings presentation on August 25. CEO Liz Westcott said the company’s assets “must all compete for capital equally,” and that new energy opportunities must be supported by clear customer demands and commercial markets and compete for capital with other investment opportunities.
Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs will spend $1 billion to modernize the blast furnace at its Middletown, OH, facility, a total that includes a $500 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant originally intended to support a hydrogen-focused decarbonization project, the company said August 21. The revised project will reline and upgrade the blast furnace while installing a cogeneration plant for the Middletown site.
Kinetik said its Q2 2026 earnings call that its Permian operations were boosted by structural tailwinds from gassier production, increased natural gas takeaway capacity and surging power demand.
