Energy and Oil Sector
Energy infrastructure is becoming the binding constraint on AI expansion, with gas turbine backlogs forcing data-center delays, while clean energy capex is set to hit record highs and oil majors are locking in long-term supply deals. Meanwhile, battery funding is pivoting toward defense and nuclear projects are advancing in Europe.
Gas turbine manufacturing has become the binding constraint on AI data center expansion, with GE Vernova's backlog reaching 116 GW in Q2 2026—nearly six years of production at current throughput of roughly 20 GW annually, with newest orders slated for 2031 delivery. Siemens Energy holds a 69 GW backlog with lead times exceeding three years; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reported 35 GW of large-frame orders. Combined, the three manufacturers face 220 GW of commitments against global annual production capacity of 60–70 GW, creating a structural shortage that will persist through 2028–2030 even as GE plans to ramp to 30 GW yearly by 2030. Demand is relentless: the International Energy Agency projects data-center electricity consumption will more than double to 945 TWh by 2030 from 415 TWh in 2024, with US capacity alone climbing from 31 GW in 2025 to 66 GW by 2027. Hyperscalers have committed $660–690 billion of capex for 2026 alone, roughly double 2025 levels, yet money cannot compress manufacturing lead times. The constraint cascades: generator step-up transformer lead times exceeded 160 weeks in early 2026; grid interconnection queues stretch to seven years; an estimated 30–50% of large data-center projects scheduled for 2026 have been delayed or canceled, including at least 75 projects worth more than $130 billion halted in Q1 2026. Unable to wait for grid access, hyperscalers have shifted to behind-the-meter generation—private power plants feeding directly into facilities—but those still require the same gas turbines everyone else is fighting for. Turbine prices have surged more than 195% since 2019, and manufacturers now charge reservation fees just to hold a place in the queue. The bottleneck is not temporary scarcity but structural: the speed mismatch between data-center construction (2–3 years) and power infrastructure build-out (5–15 years) means the turbine queue will remain the binding constraint on AI expansion through the end of the decade.
Indian Oil has signed a five-year supply agreement with Mauritius's State Trading Corporation to provide the island nation's entire import requirement of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel. The deal, inked during Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's visit this week, marks the first long-term supply pact an Indian state-owned oil company has concluded outside South Asia in recent years. Mauritius, heavily dependent on imports and hit by West Asia supply disruptions, gains long-term price certainty and energy security; India deepens its strategic footprint in the Indian Ocean and locks in a new customer for refined products. The agreement builds on an energy partnership dating to 2001, when Indian Oil established a subsidiary in Mauritius. India's refineries produce 267 million tonnes of refined petroleum annually across 23 facilities, making it a net exporter already supplying Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Southeast Asia. The pact also covers training, capacity building for Mauritian officials, and biofuels cooperation through the Global Biofuels Alliance, which India launched during its G20 presidency. Commercial terms and volumes remain undisclosed.
SpaceX is hiring a natural gas trader to build and lead a trading team supporting the company's fuel and power needs, according to Fortune. The role, posted for positions in Cape Canaveral or Starbase, Texas, focuses on physical and financial natural gas trading—a move that reflects SpaceX's broader push into energy infrastructure. The company plans to build its own gas-fired power plants to supply electricity for a semiconductor manufacturing facility it is developing in Texas with Tesla, and has signaled plans to construct gas pipelines and drill for natural gas, COO Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC in June. Starship, SpaceX's massive rocket, burns super-chilled methane—the primary ingredient in natural gas—combined with liquid oxygen as propellant. By controlling the supply chain from drilling through propellant production, SpaceX is pursuing the vertical integration Musk has long favored. The hiring underscores how surging power demand from data centers and new factories is forcing technology companies to secure their own energy sources; Meta and OpenAI have recently signaled similar moves into power trading. The postings specify that remote work will not be considered, anchoring the role to SpaceX's operational hubs rather than traditional gas-trading centers like Houston or Stamford.