Energy and Oil Sector

Centrus Energy signed a definitive supply agreement with X-energy to provide enriched uranium for X-energy's advanced small modular reactors, with X-energy making prepayments to Centrus to fund domestic enrichment capacity. Centrus will supply both low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)—uranium enriched to roughly 15.5% uranium-235—from its American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio to X-energy's fuel subsidiary TRISO-X for fabrication in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The deal locks in demand for a portion of X-energy's initial fuel needs across its 11.5 GW commercial pipeline of Xe-100 reactors, with volumes ramping over years as X-energy's projects advance. Centrus now has $3 billion in total LEU and HALEU backlog, of which $2.4 billion is already locked in under definitive contracts. The prepayments function as non-dilutive capital for Centrus, reducing reliance on debt or equity raises to build out enrichment capacity—a critical advantage given the company is also executing a $900 million Department of Energy HALEU enrichment award. For X-energy, the agreement de-risks fuel supply for its commercial pipeline by securing domestic HALEU production rather than relying solely on government programs like the DOE's HALEU Availability Program, which funded its first Xe-100 project with Dow. The deal reflects concrete demand: X-energy has announced commercial relationships with Dow, Amazon, and Centrica, signaling real customer interest in advanced reactors that require HALEU fuel. Both companies are now the first two U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed HALEU fuel facilities in American history, creating a domestic supply chain for next-generation nuclear that previously did not exist.

Saudi Aramco extinguished a blaze at its Jazan refinery complex after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a targeted drone strike against the facility, according to cnbc.com. The attack caused no reported injuries, but it directly underscores the fragility of regional energy infrastructure during ongoing geopolitical friction. The strike coincides with stalled negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint historically carrying roughly a fifth of global energy supplies. Traffic through the waterway fell 33% on Friday as Tehran demanded the U.S. lift its naval blockade, cancel sanctions, and withdraw regional military forces before restoring full access. Higher geopolitical risk premiums pushed crude futures up on Friday, even as prices dropped over 7% for the week. Brent crude futures gained over 1% to settle at $83.55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose about 1% to $78.18 a barrel. Iranian state media has since published a draft legislative plan that would explicitly ban U.S. and Israeli vessels from transiting the strait.

Halliburton is partnering with nuclear waste startup Deep Isolation to adapt horizontal oil-drilling technology to bury radioactive waste two miles underground, according to fortune.com. The initiative targets more than 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel currently stranded across roughly 80 temporary sites in over 30 states. With federal plans for a centralized repository at Yucca Mountain deadlocked, power producers face a waste bottleneck just as tech firms push for a nuclear expansion to supply power-hungry AI data centers. Deep Isolation bypasses traditional mined repositories by drilling directional boreholes directly near existing power plants. Rigs will drill vertically before curving roughly four degrees every 100 feet, sliding 5,000-pound canisters into rock formations isolated from the surface for a million years. The technology is already proven in oil fields. Halliburton plans to drill its first demonstration test well early next year to prove a crane can lower and retrieve the heavy canisters at depth. The Department of Energy recently named five finalist states—Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah—to host new nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses.