Solar and wind keep getting cheaper — but they show up in fits and starts. And AI data centers need power that's "on, 24 hours a day, no interruptions." The result: demand for natural gas and gas turbines has exploded all over again. The order queue for turbines now stretches past 2030, and gas is being called a "bridge fuel" that carries us across to a clean-energy world — or maybe a trap that drags us back into fossil fuels for another 30 years.
Trump signs Russia sanctions bill, granting tariff authority over countries buying Russian oil
US President Trump signed the Russia sanctions bill into law on the 18th. The law grants the president the authority to impose tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil products. It allows the president to impose a 500% tariff on Russian goods imported into the United States, and to impose an additional 100% tariff on the top five energy-importing countries, countries importing Russian crude oil and natural gas, and countries that help evade sanctions. This tariff authority expires after five years. The top five buyers of Russian oil products include China, India, and US ally Turkey, and they could be subject to a broad range of new tariffs. The law also extends the application deadline of the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act to 2031, imposing secondary economic sanctions on non-US companies that trade with Iran; it had been due to expire this year. The Russian presidential administration said on the 17th that the US Congress's passage of the bill was an "unfriendly" move and warned it could affect negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Trump Signs Russia-Iran Sanctions Law, Authorizing Tariffs of Up to 100%
US President Donald Trump signed into law a Russia sanctions bill on Friday, September 18. The law grants authority to expand sanctions, impose customs duties and various prohibitions against Russia, while renewing existing sanctions on Iran. The law, named the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, imposes sanctions on Russian officials, Russian banks and vessels used to transport energy from Russia, and gives Trump the authority to levy tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five countries that import the most oil or natural gas from Russia. It also extends the Iran Sanctions Act for another five years to maintain sanctions targeting Iran's energy and weapons sectors. The US House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday, September 16, after the Senate approved it on August 7. The law is a major achievement carrying on the legacy of Lindsey Graham, the former senator who championed the bill and died in July after a sudden illness. However, the bill faced more division in the House than in the Senate, with three Democratic members of the House saying in a joint statement recently that the law may do more harm than good because it greatly increases Trump's power to set tariffs but does not compel him to impose sanctions on Russia.
Eknat Unveils Energy Restructuring Plan, Reserving 10,000 Megawatts of Rooftop Solar for the Public
Energy Minister Eknat Prompan has unveiled a major energy restructuring plan, under which the government will reserve 10,000 megawatts of rooftop solar generating capacity specifically for the public, set at roughly 5 kilowatts per household, to spread the right across households nationwide. Under the new approach, the state will buy back surplus power and apply it as a discount on the same billing cycle's electricity bill. A 5-kilowatt system can generate about 600 to 700 units per month, worth roughly 2,000 baht or more, and the state will provide a subsidy of 50,000 baht, with the income from the generated power used to pay it off. The equipment is expected to be fully paid off in about 7 to 10 years. On cutting permitting steps, coordination will be handled solely through the distribution utilities, with a target of about 1 week for inspection and acceptance in self-consumption installations, and no more than 1 month in cases of selling power back. For the new Power Development Plan, or PDP, three goals are set: cleanest, most stable, and fairest. It targets raising the share of clean energy from the current level of just over 20% to close to 50% within 10 years, and no less than 65% in the long term, while reducing reliance on spot-market LNG in favor of long-term contracts, and opening the door to future technologies including hydrogen, geothermal, solid oxide fuel cells, and small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. Meanwhile, the public electricity cost that has been embedded in the power tariff structure for 30 to 40 years amounts to a burden of about 18 billion baht per year. The government has removed this burden from the structure and has already implemented a measure capping the first 200 units of household electricity at 3 baht per unit.
Rabobank Raises Eurozone Inflation Forecast on Energy Shock
Rabobank strategists Bas van Geffen and Elwin de Groot say sharply higher oil and natural gas forecasts will lift headline Eurozone inflation by about 0.5 percentage points in 2026 and 2027. The revision reflects an energy shock that the strategists say is reshaping the outlook for the currency bloc. The higher headline inflation path is tied directly to the bank's upgraded assumptions for oil and natural gas prices. The strategists did not specify how the energy-driven increase might affect core inflation or European Central Bank policy.
Alliant Energy Plans $13.4 Billion Investment Through 2029
Alliant Energy is planning nearly $3 billion of infrastructure investment in 2026 and $13.4 billion through 2029, an approximately 12% compound annual growth rate in investment across generation, transmission and distribution. The company said the spending, including allowances for funds used during construction, is expected to support 5-7% earnings growth through 2029. Alliant has secured 3.4 gigawatts of contracted large-customer demand, which it expects to support nearly 60% growth in projected electricity demand by 2031, and it signed a 370-megawatt Iowa electric service agreement, with additional opportunities of 2-4 gigawatts progressing. The company recently received final permits to proceed with construction of the 720-megawatt Bobcat Energy Center in Marshalltown, Iowa, a natural gas-fired facility intended to add flexible generation capacity. For comparison, PPL Corporation plans to invest about $23 billion through 2029 to support approximately 10.3% average annual rate-base growth, while FirstEnergy plans $36 billion of capital investments through 2030 under its Energize365 program.
ExxonMobil Projects Advantaged Assets to Reach 65% of Upstream Production by 2030
ExxonMobil expects the share of production from its advantaged assets, including the Permian Basin, Guyana and LNG, to keep growing, reaching roughly 65% of upstream production under its 2030 plan, up from 59% in the 2026 year-to-date period. The company had previously cautioned that its Middle East production would be affected if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a full quarter, but its longer-term production outlook remains bright, with West Texas Intermediate hovering close to the $100 per barrel mark amid continued shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. On refining, management said in its latest earnings call that it expects elevated refining margins to persist, as market tightness is projected to take time to normalize even after conflicts end, and ExxonMobil intends to maximize throughput across its refining system to capture stronger margins. Refining markets have tightened further since the start of the conflict in the Middle East due to damage to refining infrastructure there, attacks on Russian refining facilities and lower Chinese exports. Shares of ExxonMobil have gained 47.4% over the past year compared with the industry's growth of 49.3%, and the stock trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA of 9.11X, above the broader industry average of 5.87X.
Carlyle's Avenrock to Acquire Parallax Energy in Roughly C$1 Billion Deal
The Carlyle Group's Avenrock Energy, a newly formed company backed by the Carlyle International Energy Partners platform, has agreed to acquire privately held Parallax Energy, expanding Carlyle's Canadian energy footprint. Financial terms were not disclosed, though sources valued the transaction at roughly C$1 billion, with Parallax producing about 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day across approximately 300,000 acres in Alberta's East Shale Duvernay, weighted toward light oil and natural gas liquids. It is Carlyle's second Canadian energy acquisition in 12 months, following its roughly C$1.4 billion purchase of Kiwetinohk Energy in 2025, and Carlyle said the deal is intended to build a significant Western Canadian light-oil platform. Carlyle reported $485.5 billion of AUM and $334.4 billion of fee-earning AUM as of June 30, 2026, with its Infrastructure & Natural Resources strategy holding $25.7 billion of AUM, including $12 billion through NGP Energy and $6.5 billion in International Energy. Reuters reported that Trans Mountain is operating at full capacity after its expansion, with planned projects potentially lifting capacity from roughly 890,000 bpd to 1.19 million bpd by the end of 2028, and that Brent stood at $108.75 on September 15 amid supply disruptions.
Meta Raises 2026 Capex Guidance to $130 Billion to $145 Billion
Meta Platforms raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to a range of $130 billion to $145 billion, including principal payments on finance leases, narrowed from a prior $125 billion to $145 billion range in its Q2 2026 report on July 29, 2026. The forward guidance nearly doubles Meta's full-year 2025 capex of $72.215 billion, and Q2 capital expenditures alone reached $31.1 billion, driven by servers, data centers, and network infrastructure. To fund the build, Meta ended Q2 with $90.3 billion in cash and marketable securities and $83.7 billion in debt, and announced a strategic venture with BlackRock to develop a one gigawatt data center in El Paso, Texas. CFO Susan Li said Meta is demand constrained today, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is receiving quite a number of offers at a meaningful premium over what we paid for the compute, framing direct compute sales as one leg of a portfolio that also includes APIs, business agents, productivity tools, and subscriptions. The strain is visible in the quarterly numbers: Q2 free cash flow was $784 million, down 91.31% year over year, and operating margin compressed to 31% from 43%, even as Q2 revenue reached $60.801 billion, up 27.96% year over year and above the $60.286 billion consensus, with advertising revenue of $59.4 billion, up 27%.
Diesel at all-time high of 644 threatens company earnings, JB Hunt warns
Diesel prices have hit an all-time high of 644 and gasoline is about 10 cents off its May peak, raising the question of whether energy costs will start shocking company earnings. JB Hunt warned earlier this week that its bottom line is being hit by the swift rise in diesel prices, saying it expects a quarter-to-quarter profit decline of 5 to 10 percent because pricing cannot be adjusted quickly enough. PNC Asset Management Group CIO Amanda Agati said she does not expect energy costs to crack the trajectory of earnings growth, noting positive revisions coming into the end of the third quarter remain positive and largely broad-based. Agati said companies are scrambling to hedge in this environment and that margins have been impressive for years, but warned that if energy prices remain elevated a year from now, the story would be very different. The discussion comes as diesel sits just pennies away from an adjusted inflation record.
Caterpillar Expands Robot Trucks to Two More Virginia Quarries
Caterpillar announced on September 15 that its self-driving haul trucks at a Luck Stone quarry are moving large tonnage, with expansion to two more Virginia quarries, Boscobel and Bealeton, including the first autonomous deployment of Cat 775 trucks. The company disclosed no order value, truck count, or profit contribution from the autonomy milestone, and autonomy was named on the earnings call only as a source of higher SG&A and R&D expenses inside Resource Industries. In the second quarter of 2026, revenue reached $20.5 billion, up 24% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $8.17, up 73%, while backlog climbed to $72 billion, up roughly $35 billion versus a year earlier. Power & Energy is the engine, with segment sales up 17% to $8.2 billion and power generation sales up 72% on large gensets and turbines for data centers, and gas prime orders extend toward the back half of 2028 and into 2029. Caterpillar trades at $798.51 against a consensus analyst target of $975.61, a trailing PE of 34x, and full-year tariff costs of around $2.2 billion for 2026, with expected IEEPA tariff recoveries of approximately $400 million.
Bernstein Defends GE Vernova as GLJ Sell Rating Centers on Valuation
Bernstein analyst Sunaina Ocalan defended GE Vernova as "wired to win," noting that data center orders accounted for only 38% of electrification orders, or $5 billion in H1 2026, while the remaining 62% was utility-driven. Bernstein maintains a Buy rating on the stock with a $1,298 price target, and nearly 80% of analysts covering GE Vernova also carry a Buy rating. The defense follows an 8.5% decline in GE Vernova shares triggered by GLJ Research's new Sell rating, in which analyst Gordon Johnson argued the company is "a cyclical gas turbine manufacturer priced as a secular compounder" trading at roughly 38.9x forward EV/EBITDA. Johnson's model estimates 2027 EBITDA at $7.42 billion, 22% below Wall Street consensus, partly due to the timing of turbine orders placed in 2024 for 2027 delivery. Hedge fund ownership of GE Vernova fell from 118 funds at the end of the first quarter of 2026 to 106 funds at the end of the second quarter of 2026, while short interest remained modest at 3.29% of float as of August 31, 2026. In a separate development, GE Vernova announced a wind turbine supply agreement with Eurus Energy Holdings in Japan.
PTT Advances LNG as an Option, Aiming to Become the Region's Physical LNG Delivery Hub
Mr. Bandit Thammaprachit, Chief Operating Officer of the Upstream Petroleum and Natural Gas Business Group at PTT Public Company Limited, or PTT, disclosed that amid the energy transition, natural gas continues to play an important role both as a transition fuel and a destination fuel, especially in Asia, where energy demand is still trending upward, driven by the power sector, the industrial sector, and new sources of demand such as data centers and AI. He also noted that LNG procurement models are shifting from a point-to-point LNG system to a connected flexible network that links supply sources, shipping routes, infrastructure, and destination markets together. PTT therefore places importance on developing both gas and LNG infrastructure and its LNG portfolio in parallel, with two key approaches: first, developing infrastructure to be more connected and flexible, moving from having capacity to having connectivity and flexibility through enhanced storage, reload, re-export, break-bulk, and ship-to-ship capabilities, as well as a virtual inventory approach; and second, building a diversified and flexible LNG portfolio by spreading diversity across supply sources, regions, sellers, contract types, transportation, and destination markets, while balancing long-term contracts that serve as the foundation of supply security with short-term and spot market procurement. Through the development of connected infrastructure alongside a flexible LNG portfolio, PTT aims to elevate Thailand's potential to become the region's physical LNG delivery hub, in order to strengthen the security and flexibility of the Thai energy system.
BMI raises power demand forecasts for Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam on AI and data centre demand
BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said on Thursday 17 September that capacity constraints across Asia's power grid systems are tightening steadily, as rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence technology and data centres puts heavy pressure on power systems. In a report, BMI Country Risk and Industry Research said the firm had raised its electricity consumption forecasts for several markets, including Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, driven by data centre investment and the expansion of AI computing workloads. It expects electricity consumption to grow at an average annual rate of 2.9% in Thailand, 3.3% in Malaysia and 5.6% in Vietnam over the next 10 years. The report also said tighter regulation in Thailand, Malaysia and Australia is limiting growth in demand for power connected to transmission systems, and regulators are expected to keep scrutiny strict to protect grid stability. BMI also expects a recovery in thermal power plants, particularly in emerging markets, as policymakers turn to dispatchable generating capacity amid strong demand and tightening grid conditions.
PTT signs long-term LNG deals with GS Energy and Equinor at Gastech 2026
The PTT Group is pressing ahead in the global energy market by signing liquefied natural gas, or LNG, sales and purchase agreements and reaching cooperation agreements with international business partners at Gastech 2026, in a move to strengthen its capabilities and increase flexibility in sourcing and managing energy from various sources around the world. The first agreement is a long-term LNG sales and purchase contract between PTT International Trading Co., Ltd., or PTTT, and GS Energy Trading Singapore Pte. Ltd., or GSETS, a leading energy company from the Republic of Korea. It marks the first long-term LNG sale by PTTT to GSETS. Dr. Kongkrapan Intarajang, Chief Executive Officer and President of PTT Public Company Limited, and Mr. Yongsoo Huh, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GS Energy Corporation, witnessed the signing. PTTT also signed a cooperation agreement with Korea East-West Power Co., Ltd., or EWP, to seek cooperation opportunities in the LNG business, covering efficiency improvements in management, joint investment in upstream businesses, and other areas aligned with the future business goals of both parties. In addition, PTTT signed a long-term LNG sales and purchase agreement with Equinor ASA, or Equinor, another leading energy company, from the Kingdom of Norway. This strategic cooperation reflects the PTT Group's potential to connect energy sources from around the world and supports its goal of becoming a Global LNG Player, in order to grow sustainably on the international stage.
Generac Secures Amazon Backup Power Deal Worth $2.4 Billion
Generac Holdings has secured a major long-term supply agreement with Amazon to provide backup power generators for Amazon data centers, sending its shares up 18.3% to close at $207.23. In a regulatory filing, Generac disclosed that initial deliveries are expected to total $2.4 billion across 2027 and 2028, and it issued Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC a warrant to acquire up to 1,693,745 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $200.9266 per share. Of the total warrant shares, 307,954 vested immediately, while the remainder will vest in tranches contingent on aggregate gross payments, net of certain offsets, received by Generac and its affiliates from Amazon and its affiliates for backup power generators, extending up to a total of $8 billion of qualifying payments. The agreement adds scale and visibility to a data center business that is emerging as Generac's key growth engine, after the company generated more than $100 million of data center revenues in the second quarter and reported a data center backlog of $1.6 billion as of July 2026, including roughly $1 billion of new orders in the prior 90 days. Management also raised its 2026 data center revenue expectation to roughly $450 million, and Generac is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.40 per share on revenues of $1.32 billion in its upcoming report.
National Energy Policy Committee approves new Ft reduction, expands public solar scheme to 10,000 megawatts
The National Energy Policy Committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, approved two key measures: reducing the electricity burden for the September–December 2026 billing period and expanding the public solar programme. Energy Minister Akanat Promphan said the Energy Regulatory Commission approved a retail Ft rate of 16.23 satang per unit, with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and PTT Public Company Limited temporarily absorbing accumulated arrears on behalf of the public, and will use 16.127 billion baht recovered from excess benefits to help reduce electricity costs through the Ft rate. It also set the price of natural gas for power plants supplying the three state electricity utilities at the actual price but capped at an average controlled price estimate of 363.53 baht per million BTU, with the difference between the actual gas price to be collected gradually from the May 2027 billing cycle onward. On public solar, the meeting approved expanding the total power purchase target to 10,000 megawatts, including the original 500-megawatt target, covering rooftop, ground-mounted and floating installations under a Net Billing model, with offered electricity capped at no more than 5 kilowatts per meter and an excess power purchase rate of 2.20 baht per unit for 20 years. Participants in the original projects under the Energy Policy Administration Committee resolution of 24 December 2018 and the National Energy Policy Committee resolution of 24 January 2019, as well as projects under the National Energy Policy Committee resolution of 29 April 2026 under the 500-megawatt target, will also have their purchase period extended from 10 years to 20 years. The committee assigned the Energy Regulatory Commission to issue and amend related regulations, announcements and criteria, and directed the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and the Provincial Electricity Authority to send real-time electricity sales and purchase data from renewable energy producers to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand so it can manage the power system with stability.
Eknat Says Gastech 2026 Generated Business Deals Worth at Least 20 Billion Dollars
Energy Minister Eknat Prompan revealed that hosting Gastech 2026 in Bangkok from September 14-17, 2026 generated negotiations and business deals worth a combined total of at least 20 billion US dollars over the four days of the event. The event was held at the BITEC exhibition and convention center in Bangkok, with around 50,000 participants from 150 countries, more than 1,000 executives and speakers, and over 1,000 leading companies exhibiting, including energy ministers from 15 countries and leaders of 5 international organizations. The energy minister stated that the benefits were not limited to natural gas and electricity, but that having many sellers and partners in the same place helped increase options for negotiating long-term energy contracts, reduce risks from energy procurement in the volatile spot market, and build long-term confidence in Thailand. During the event, he chaired roundtable discussions with executives of key energy organizations, including the International Energy Forum and the International Energy Agency, as well as ministers and executives from the United States, Russia, Singapore, neighboring countries, and Africa. Gastech is considered one of the world's leading energy industry events, rotating between the United States, Europe, and Asia, with Thailand having last hosted it in 2008 before it returned to Bangkok this year.
EGCO acquires 45.0549% stake in the 615 MW Astoria Energy II gas-fired power plant in New York
Electricity Generating Public Company, or EGCO, announced the indirect acquisition of a 45.0549% stake in the Astoria Energy II natural gas combined-cycle power plant, or AE II, with a capacity of 615 megawatts, in New York City, United States, through its wholly owned subsidiary EGCO New York, LLC. The company signed a share purchase agreement with Gulf Pacific Power, LLC, or GPP, a private equity fund managed by Harbert Power, the energy investment arm of Harbert Management Corporation, on 16 September 2026. This investment is part of EGCO's Asset Recycling strategy, which channels capital from the rotation of fully matured assets into premium infrastructure assets that are already in commercial operation. The AE II plant is located in Queens, less than 2 miles from LaGuardia Airport, within the Zone J load center of the New York Independent System Operator, or NYISO, and sells electricity under a long-term tolling agreement with the New York Power Authority, or NYPA, the largest state public power organization in the United States. This gives EGCO stable revenue and cash flow that is not subject to fuel price volatility. Thawatchai Samranwanich, President of EGCO, said the investment will be integrated with the company's existing US asset portfolio, including the Linden Cogen power plant, the Compass Portfolio, and the Apex Clean Energy and Pinnacle II renewable power plant groups, to serve growing electricity demand from AI and data center technologies, as well as the transition to clean energy in the United States, which is the company's second growth base.
Trump and Xi to discuss trade in Washington, with agriculture, energy and rare earths in focus
US President Donald Trump is set to hold trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on September 24, with trade in agricultural goods, energy and rare earths among the key issues both sides have used as bargaining chips in the trade war and which are likely to be raised again. On agricultural goods, one of the major US exports to China worth 29 billion dollars in 2024, China agreed to buy 25 million tonnes of soybeans a year from the United States through 2028, according to the White House, and US officials said China also agreed to buy an additional 17 billion dollars of other agricultural products during Trump's visit to Beijing in May. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on September 3 that incentive measures to promote US agricultural sales to China could be announced. On energy, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, September 15, that energy tariffs could be part of a 30 billion dollar reciprocal tariff reduction package, which was signalled after the May summit but has not yet been implemented. Meanwhile, US energy imports between 2020 and 2024 were worth between 7.5 billion dollars and 12 billion dollars a year. As for rare earths, where China controls production and has restricted exports to the United States, the issue has not been fully resolved. Reuters reported that US officials have demanded China honour its commitment to maintain continuous deliveries of these critical raw materials, and ahead of this summit the United States signalled the possibility of lifting some sanctions while threatening to impose additional ones. Trump said he would consider lifting some sanctions after the visit to Beijing.
Baker Hughes Wins Major LNG Compression Order for Venture Global's Plaquemines Facility
Baker Hughes has received a large order for gas compression and liquefaction systems tied to Venture Global's Plaquemines LNG facility and the Cloud Connector Pipeline project. The award covers one of the largest single deployments of LNG feed gas compression equipment for transportation use in the United States. The deal expands Baker Hughes' role across the natural gas value chain and deepens its relationship with Venture Global for future LNG capacity. Baker Hughes, a US based energy services provider with a market cap of $55.9b, said the order feeds its Industrial & Energy Technology backlog, where it competes with peers including Siemens Energy and GE Vernova. Analysts flag heavy reliance on LNG and gas build out, despite potential policy shifts, as a key risk in the investment thesis.
Shell-led LNG Canada to reach final investment decision on Phase 2 expansion as early as next month
The partners behind LNG Canada, the liquefied natural gas production venture in Canada led by British oil major Shell, may reach a final investment decision on a second-phase expansion as early as next month, according to three people familiar with the matter. The expansion plan would add 14 million tonnes per year of export capacity at the facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, doubling the project's total export capacity to 28 million tonnes per year. In a statement to Reuters, Shell said it is working with its joint venture partners to examine a path toward a possible Phase 2 expansion, and that a final investment decision is contingent on each joint venture participant independently meeting commercial, financial, regulatory and governance requirements, with the aim of making an investment decision by the end of the year. Behind this is the growing emphasis among LNG buyers, particularly customers in Asia, on securing stable supply, as the industry is buffeted by conflict in the Middle East, shipping disruptions in the Red Sea, and rising uncertainty over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. LNG Canada is the country's first large-scale LNG export terminal, led by Shell with backing from Malaysia's state oil company Petronas, China National Petroleum Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation, and ranks among Canada's largest private investments. The export terminal is located on Canada's Pacific coast, giving it a locational advantage over U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals that transit the Panama Canal, with shorter shipping routes to major Asian markets.
Yuanta Says AI Capex Still Expanding, Recommends 11 Thai Stocks and 8 DRs to Benefit
Yuanta Securities said AI Capex investment is likely to keep expanding over the next one to two years. Although elevated US bond yields will remain a drag, growth in Enterprise AI that is driving cloud and compute demand will offset it. Returns on GPU leasing investment remain high, with payback within 2.2 to 3.1 years, and hyperscalers have the financial strength to invest at least another 2 trillion US dollars in AI infrastructure. The Data Center industry in the APAC region is set to grow at a 25.2% CAGR in 2025 to 2030, the second fastest in the world after North America at 26.8% CAGR, and excluding China it can still grow at 22.9% CAGR. Thailand stands to benefit from its infrastructure readiness and geopolitical neutrality, while the Thai economy is starting to see positive effects through AI-related exports and continued growth in FDI. Thai stocks that Yuanta sees as likely to outperform the market under this theme are divided into the AI Export group, namely DELTA, HANA, SMT and EPG, and the AI and Data Center Deployment group, namely GULF, GUNKUL, AMATA, WHA, STECON, BBL and SCB, for a total of 11 stocks. Foreign companies that stand to benefit include NVDA19, GOOGL19, AMZN19, LITE80, MRVL80, BE80, JPMUS19 and GSUS06, for a total of 8 DRs.
Yuanta raises 2026-2027 Dubai oil price targets to 90 and 75 dollars, picks BANPU as top stock
Yuanta Securities raised its Dubai crude oil price assumptions for 2026-2027 to 90 dollars per barrel from 85 dollars per barrel, and to 75 dollars per barrel from 70 dollars per barrel, respectively, after Middle East tensions dragged on longer than previously expected, with the situation having been expected to gradually ease in the second half of 2026. Instead, tensions re-escalated from early September after the United States and Iran resumed attacks on each other following a ceasefire that had held since July, and the conflict also spread to Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group, which attacked refineries and the East-West Pipeline that carries roughly 4-5 million barrels per day, or 4-5% of global supply. Saudi Arabia said it could restore partial operation of about 50% within the next few days, but a full return to capacity may take around six weeks. The research team raised its 2026-2027 net profit forecasts for PTTEP by 5-12% to 77 billion baht and 72 billion baht, respectively. It maintained its investment weighting for the energy sector at "equal to market" and sees upstream energy stocks PTT, PTTEP and BANPU as the main choices for investment at this time, with BANPU as the top pick with a "buy" rating and a fair value of 19.00 baht, driven by its gas business in the United States, which is supported by the data center industry, and its coal business, which benefits from demand substituting for LNG in a region strained by war. Meanwhile, risk-averse investors can invest in PTT with a "buy" rating and a fair value of 45.00 baht, based on its integrated business with lower volatility and consistently high dividend payouts.
PTT Group Joins Gastech 2026, Highlights LNG's Role in Becoming a Regional Energy Hub
PTT Group co-hosted the global energy conference and exhibition Gastech 2026, hosted in Thailand, with PTT Group executives taking the stage to present their vision covering natural gas and LNG, energy security, and sustainability. Dr. Kongkrapan Intarajang, Chief Executive Officer and President of PTT Public Company Limited, or PTT, said in a panel discussion titled "LNG in the age of electrification" that the energy transition must balance energy security, affordable prices for the public, and sustainability, with natural gas and LNG regarded as destination fuels that will play a role in the long-term energy system, serving demand from the industrial sector, rising electricity use, as well as AI and data centers. Mr. Bandit Thammaprasitjit, Chief Operating Officer of the Upstream Petroleum and Gas Business Group at PTT, said that PTT aims to develop natural gas and LNG infrastructure from LNG receiving, storage, and regasification to gas pipeline systems and connections with downstream markets, while building a diversified and flexible LNG portfolio and seeking to extend Thailand's potential to become the region's physical LNG delivery hub. Meanwhile, Mr. Jaturong Worawitsurawatthana, Senior Executive Vice President of the International Trading Business Unit at PTT, noted that energy security does not depend solely on the volume of LNG supply, but also on buyers' ability to access LNG at appropriate price levels, and that long-term contracts should be more flexible in terms of volume, delivery schedules, destinations, and price structures. Mr. Rattakorn Kampanatsanyakorn, Senior Executive Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at PTT, disclosed that PTT is developing I-SPARK in the Map Ta Phut area of Rayong Province, which is expected to attract more than 5 billion US dollars in investment, generate more than 3 billion US dollars in economic value, create more than 13,000 new jobs, and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 9 million tons per year by 2035, supporting the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Brokerage recommends "buy" on GULF, maintains 2026 revenue and EBITDA growth target of 12-15%
A securities analysis recommends "buying" GULF shares, expecting operating results in the second half of 2026 to continue growing, and maintains guidance for 2026 revenue and EBITDA growth of around 12-15%. This is supported by roughly 700 MW of new capacity in the second half, including 623 MW of renewable power plants expected to generate additional profit of about 600 million baht per year, and the 10 MW Chiang Mai community waste-to-energy plant expected to generate profit of about 120 million baht per year. Meanwhile, the LNG Import and Optimization business is expected to generate profit of about 1.5 billion baht this year. On the US side, the Jackson power plant has already benefited from a Capacity Payment increase from 270 to 329 dollars per MW-day, driven by demand from data centers in the PJM market. As for GSA01, with a capacity of 25 MW, customers have used full capacity since June, allowing full profit recognition in the second half of 2026. The first roughly 200 MW of data centers that have already been committed are expected to be fully operational in 2027, before capacity expands to approximately 1,000 MW by late 2028. The company continues to expand its Digital Infrastructure to be fully integrated, with plans for equity investment of approximately 130-140 billion baht over five years, allocating about 10% to GULF Edge, which could rise to 15% depending on data center growth. On sentiment, the view is that the price decline over the Singtel share overhang issue is nearing resolution, after Singtel sold 416 million GULF shares, or 2.8% of total shares, in June 2026, reducing its stake from 7.73% to 4.95%, with a lock-up condition barring further sales of the remaining shares for 90 days, which will expire around September 21-22. On technical factors, the stock tested and held its psychological support at 60.00 and reversed upward with a positive signal candlestick, with resistance at 61.25 and 63-63.25. For those holding the stock, the recommendation is to hold or buy more; for those without the stock, the recommendation is a short-term buy, focusing on holding support at 60/59 and it should not fall below that.
Musk Predicts Solar Will Crush All Other Energy Sources Below 0.1%
Elon Musk doubled down on his solar thesis on Tuesday, predicting on social media platform X that "the solar power exponential will continue until all other energy sources are <<0.1%," and adding in a separate post that "Solar is so obviously the future." Texas is offering a real-world example of the shift, though ERCOT data does not project anything close to Musk's 99.9%-plus scenario: solar supplied 10.4% of ERCOT electricity in 2024, overtaking nuclear at 8.4%, while wind supplied another 24.2%, and installed solar capacity rose from 698 MW in 2016 to 37,443 MW in 2025. The Energy Information Administration said solar's share of ERCOT generation climbed from 4% in 2021 to 12% in 2025, with utility-scale solar generating 45 TWh in the first nine months of 2025, up 50% year over year, and wind and solar together meeting 36% of grid demand; a May EIA forecast projected ERCOT utility-scale solar generation would reach 78 billion kWh in 2026, topping coal's 60 billion kWh for the first time annually. Musk is putting corporate money behind the thesis: Tesla Inc. is considering a $10.1 billion vertically integrated solar-cell plant in Fort Bend County, Texas, and Musk recently said Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. are each building toward 100 GW per year of solar-production capacity, while acknowledging that "natural gas will still be needed to supplement and bootstrap solar for several years." Solar also sits at the center of SpaceX's broader plans, with the company envisioning large solar arrays powering orbital AI infrastructure.
Generac Surges 18% on $8 Billion Amazon Data Center Generator Deal
Generac agreed to supply up to $8 billion worth of backup generators for Amazon's data centers, sending its shares up 18% and making it the top performer on the S&P 500. The company also issued a warrant for a stake in itself, according to a securities filing, and analysts said the stock could double in price over the next 12 to 18 months. The broader market closed higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding about 300 points, or roughly 0.6%, the S&P 500 gaining about 86 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rising about 1.7%. Intel shares climbed more than 7.5% after South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix said it might team up with the company, following a Reuters report that it could lease part of Intel's long-planned Ohio chip facility or form a venture, though SK Hynix said no decision has been made. Among decliners, Paramount Skydance fell more than 4.6% as a Barclays analyst argued its proposed merger with Warner Brothers could introduce massive financial and operational risks and predicted the company would eventually split up, while Fluence Energy tumbled 15% after cutting its revenue forecast, which analysts attributed to production issues at its Houston facility.
Shell Warns 36 Million Lost LNG Tons Are Draining Market Buffers
Shell warned that the global energy market is running through its remaining cushions after losing roughly 36 million metric tons of LNG and 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil and condensates since the Middle East conflict began. The company's chief economist said weaker Chinese demand, inventory drawdowns, flexible shipping, spare pipeline capacity and rising production from the Americas helped soften the first wave of disruption, but that protection is thinning. Even if key energy routes reopen, damaged infrastructure and supply-chain bottlenecks could keep the market tight well into 2027, while Europe heads toward winter with unusually low gas inventories. Shell's LNG portfolio, shipping reach and global trading network could gain strategic value in that environment, though high prices cut both ways, as Asian buyers have already shifted toward coal, nuclear power and domestic gas. Shell's U.S. shares were nearly flat at $95.51, a 15.21% premium to a GF Value estimate of $82.90.
Crusoe Raises $3.9 Billion Series F at $30.9 Billion Valuation
Crusoe announced the initial closing of its anticipated $3.9 billion Series F funding round at a $30.9 billion post-money valuation. The oversubscribed round was co-led by Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital, and Valor Equity Partners, with backing from new and existing investors including Founders Fund, GIC, NVIDIA, Qatar Investment Authority, Radical Ventures, and TPG. The company said the capital will help it scale existing programs and build out its own AI factories, from large-scale vertically-integrated campuses to modular Crusoe Spark units, fueling growth of Crusoe Cloud. Crusoe reported over $140 billion in total contracted value across its vertically-integrated platform and more than 6 GW of gross contracted capacity across data centers and cloud, including 1 GW of gross capacity delivered and operational today. The company also cited 20x-plus year-over-year growth in Crusoe Cloud bookings year to date and over $100 million in contracted ARR for Crusoe Managed Inference, launched late last year.
Delta Integrates Power and Cooling Infrastructure for NVIDIA DSX AI Factories
Delta Electronics announced development work to speed deployment of AI factories built on the NVIDIA DSX AI Factory Platform, integrating power and cooling infrastructure from onsite energy through to the AI rack. The company said it bridges energy availability and compute productivity by connecting onsite energy, facility power, row and rack-level power and cooling, and chip-level solutions, aiming to help customers accelerate token production and generate higher AI yield from every available megawatt. Delta's 800 VDC power architecture reduces conversion stages between facility power and compute and delivers up to 98% power conversion efficiency, while high-density In-Row systems deliver up to 800 kW in a single power rack; at the board level, its 800 VDC DC-DC power distribution technology steps down directly to 50 VDC or 12 VDC with peak efficiency up to 98.5%. On the thermal side, Delta's portfolio spans 2.4 MW and 3 MW liquid-to-liquid cooling distribution units, In-Rack cooling, and thermal solutions for next-generation AI racks. Delta also applies prefabrication and modular design, with its Prefabricated AI Modular Data Center Solution integrating 800 VDC In-Row Power and 3 MW of liquid-cooling capacity into infrastructure blocks assembled and tested in the factory. Austin Tseng, President of Delta Electronics Americas, said power quality, GPU load transients and heat must be engineered together all the way into the rack, while Vladimir Troy, vice president of AI infrastructure at NVIDIA, said Delta's expertise in 800 VDC power delivery and liquid cooling will help customers deploy AI factories based on NVIDIA DSX faster.
Generac Soars 19% on $2.4 Billion Amazon Data Center Generator Deal
Generac struck a deal with Amazon to supply backup power generators for its data centers, with initial deliveries expected to total $2.4 billion between 2027 and 2028, and also granted Amazon the right to buy up to $340 million worth of its stock. Generac shares soared 19% on the news, while Amazon's stock moved 1.3% higher. Fluence Energy shares tumbled 14% after the battery storage maker cut its full-year guidance, now expecting $2.4 billion in revenue for 2026 versus its prior guidance of $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion, and anticipating a loss of $200 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, more than its previous guidance range of $30 million loss to $10 million EBITDA. Workday rose 5% after CNBC's David Faber reported that efforts to gain financing for a bid to take the cloud-based human resources software platform private are continuing, citing unidentified sources. Tower Semiconductor rose almost 9% after agreeing with privately-held New Photonics to a high-volume shipment of laser-integrated optical engines designed to meet growing demand for high-bandwidth, energy-efficient optical interconnects in AI infrastructure, and Vital Farms climbed 9% after Axios said the Austin, Texas-based pasture-raised egg and butter producer is exploring strategic alternatives, including privatization.
Nvidia Commits $2 Billion to Brookfield AI Infrastructure Fund
Nvidia Corp. has committed $2 billion to Brookfield Asset Management's global artificial intelligence infrastructure fund, according to investor documents that revealed the size of a previously disclosed investment. The AI giant is an anchor investor for the Brookfield Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund, alongside the Kuwait Investment Authority, Brookfield said last year. The fund focuses on the AI buildout, backing factories, dedicated behind-the-meter power solutions and compute infrastructure. Brookfield is raising $10 billion for the AI infrastructure fund as part of a broader plan to raise around $50 billion for the infrastructure group over the next two years, with AI featuring in every strategy. Brookfield is also part of an Nvidia consortium committing to financing AI computing deals totaling more than $500 billion.
ExxonMobil Opens Preliminary Talks on Venezuela Oil Return
ExxonMobil has entered preliminary talks with Venezuelan authorities about a potential re-entry into the country's oil sector, while also taking part in newly announced US Vietnam trade agreements that include energy cooperation with Vietnamese partners. Management is assessing Venezuela alongside wider Latin American options as it weighs long-term upstream opportunities in the region. The Venezuela discussions would add long-life upstream sources alongside Guyana and the Permian Basin, though they also sharpen exposure to regulatory and contract uncertainty in politically complex regions. The Vietnam agreements extend ExxonMobil's LNG and gas value chain into a growing Asian demand hub, with potential integration with projects such as Golden Pass LNG. The company operates a global oil and gas portfolio spanning exploration and production of crude and natural gas across the US, Canada, and a wide set of international basins.
Equinor Targets 10-15 Million Tons of LNG Supply Annually by Early 2030s
Equinor ASA plans to grow its liquefied natural gas supply portfolio to 10-15 million metric tons per year by the early 2030s, up from an expected level of around 7 million tpy in 2030 once U.S. supplies ramp up. The Norwegian integrated energy company is in talks with counterparties in India and parts of Southeast Asia seeking new sources of supply, focusing on state-owned energy companies and fertilizer producers, and is expected to announce a second LNG supply deal with an Asian buyer this week. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of total global energy flows, have affected LNG exports from Qatar and the UAE, pushing Asian buyers toward alternative sources and lifting European benchmark natural gas prices well above year-ago levels. Equinor loaded its first U.S. LNG cargo in August 2026 from the Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana, operated by Cheniere Energy, and is evaluating additional supply from the U.S. East Coast, Canada's West Coast, South America and Africa as it builds a diversified portfolio and diversifies pricing exposure. Equinor currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
National Fuel Gas Board Targets October 15 to Finish Separation Review
National Fuel Gas said Thursday its board expects to complete a review of plans to split into two publicly-traded companies by October 15. The separation would create a 100% rate-regulated company holding natural gas utility and interstate pipeline and storage assets across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, while the Integrated Upstream and Gathering business would become an independent public company focused solely on its Appalachian upstream and gathering natural gas business. CEO David Bauer said that with the expected closing of the Ohio gas utility acquisition next month, each business will be a scaled platform with distinct strategic priorities, organic growth opportunities, capital needs, and investment profiles. National Fuel Gas shareholders would own shares in both National Fuel and the Integrated Upstream and Gathering business. Earlier this week, Reuters reported the company is weighing strategic options for its integrated natural gas business in a deal that could value the unit at ~$5B.
ExxonMobil Low-Carbon Units Seen Adding $1 Billion a Year by 2030
ExxonMobil plans to invest roughly $20 billion in lower-emission projects between 2025 and 2030, and management expects newer business segments including carbon capture and storage, lithium, carbon materials, and Proxxima products to generate more than $1 billion in annual earnings by 2030, with roughly $13 billion in potential annual earnings by 2040 assuming supportive policies and sufficient market development. The company already holds contracts covering roughly 9 million metric tons of CO2 annually from industrial customers, and its first commercial carbon capture projects are now operating, which should give management enough commercial activity by 2027 to offer investors better visibility into what carbon capture can contribute financially. The bet is framed against a shifting oil demand picture: more than 20 million electric cars were sold globally in 2025, about one-quarter of all new-car sales, and the International Energy Agency expects EVs to approach 29% of global car sales in 2026, with the existing EV fleet displacing roughly 1.7 million barrels of oil demand per day in 2025 and potentially around 5 million barrels per day by 2030. ExxonMobil is also developing carbon-capture-enabled data center projects that would use natural gas to generate electricity while capturing the resulting emissions. The prediction is that 2027 is when ExxonMobil's low-carbon investments start showing up more clearly in guidance.
Generac Jumps on $8 Billion Amazon Backup Generator Deal
Generac shares surged 31% after the company and Amazon executed a long-term supply agreement for backup generators for Amazon's data centers, a deal worth up to $8 billion that includes initial deliveries totaling $2.4 billion in 2027 and 2028 and warrants allowing an Amazon subsidiary to buy Generac shares through 2033. CoreWeave kicked off a fresh round of fundraising that includes a $3 billion convertible bond issue and an at-the-market offering program allowing it to sell as many as 35 million shares from time to time, saying the program will provide financing flexibility and help migrate its credit profile toward investment grade. Lockheed Martin moved on news that the Pentagon and the company struck a framework agreement for a multi-year production contract for the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, or JATM, which is still in development but close to entering production and would become the most advanced air-to-air missile in the US arsenal, a role long held by RTX's advanced medium range air-to-air missile since 1993; the new missile program is receiving a $2 billion boost in the Trump administration's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting October 1. Boeing faces hard months ahead as CEO Kelly Ortberg and the CFO laid out challenges that surprised investors, including additional testing for the 777X that will spill into next year and a more muted cash outlook.
Cummins Sees Truck Demand Rebound, Data-Center Orders Stretching to 2028
Cummins executives said North American truck demand is recovering and data-center power demand remains exceptionally strong, with orders for its QSK95 generator now stretching into the second half of 2028. Speaking at Morgan Stanley's Laguna Conference, James Hopkins, Cummins' vice president of financial planning, capital management and investor relations, said the truck market has improved over the last six months on stronger fleet profitability and greater clarity around 2027 emissions rules, and that the higher 2027 cost structure supports continued demand into the second half of 2026. Hopkins said the Environmental Protection Agency's semi-final rule gives the industry flexibility in 2027, letting manufacturers sell historical powertrains with a non-conforming penalty or offer new powertrains meeting the 35 mg/bhp-hr NOx requirement, though end-user costs are expected to rise either way. Nick Arens, Cummins' executive director of investor relations, said supply constraints on the larger engine are pushing customers to smaller 78-liter, 60-liter and 50-liter options, and he reaffirmed confidence in the company's target of more than $9 billion of data-center-related exposure by 2030, largely supported by diesel standby demand. Cummins expects 55 gigawatts of high-horsepower engine capacity by 2030, plans limited prototype production of its 130-liter natural-gas prime-power product in the second half of 2028 ahead of a ramp in 2029 and 2030, and said a battery energy storage system application for data centers should contribute revenue in the low hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years while diluting overall margins.
Expand Energy Prices $500 Million 2031 Notes, Reassigns Turco to LNG Role
Expand Energy Corporation has completed the pricing of a US$500 million offering of 5.659% senior unsecured, callable notes due September 15, 2031, with proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes. Alongside the financing, the company reassigned Executive Vice President Dan Turco to focus on LNG and gas marketing integration tied to the Twin Eagle acquisition, a move that signals an emphasis on expanding commercial capabilities around gas and LNG. The new long-term funding adds liquidity but does not appear to alter the near-term focus on execution around volumes, costs, and commercial uplift. The company's narrative projects $11.6 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring a 3.6% yearly revenue decline and a $0.9 billion earnings decrease from $3.2 billion, while the most bearish analysts assume revenues could fall to about US$8.8 billion and earnings to roughly US$1.4 billion.
Generac surges on $8 billion Amazon data center generator deal
Generac Holdings surged 33.7% in premarket trading after announcing a long-term agreement with Amazon to supply industrial backup generators for the technology giant's global data centers. The agreement calls for initial deliveries worth about $2.4 billion across 2027 and 2028, while the total value of the arrangement could reach as much as $8 billion. Amazon will also receive a warrant to purchase about 1.69 million Generac shares at an exercise price of approximately $200.93 per share, representing nearly 3% of the company's shares outstanding. Nebius Group NV rose 11.1% in pre-open trading after notifying customers of broad-based price increases across its on-demand GPU cloud services effective Oct. 1, with prices rising approximately 17% for H100 instances, roughly 21% for the latest Nvidia B300 GPU, and 25% for AMD EPYC Genoa CPU rates. BCB Bancorp fell 4.9% in premarket trading after pricing an underwritten public offering of 11 million common shares for gross proceeds of $85.25 million and disclosing it is marketing approximately $210 million of problem loans, while expecting a net loss of between $126.2 million and $136.1 million for the third quarter of 2026.