Venezuela and what to expect for energy in 2026 - Energy Gang скачать в хорошем качестве

Venezuela and what to expect for energy in 2026 - Energy Gang

The energy world kicked off 2026 with a geopolitical earthquake: the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In this first Energy Gang episode of the year, host Ed Crooks is joined by Melissa Lott from Microsoft and Amy Myers Jaffe from NYU to unpack what this means for global oil markets, and to look ahead at the places, people and technologies that will shape energy in 2026. Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, but years of mismanagement, looting, and depressurization have left its fields in far worse condition than Iraq's were in 2003. Amy draws on her experience as a former expert on Iraqi oil fields to explain why Venezuela's recovery will be more complex—and why the geopolitical stakes extend beyond oil to regional stability and the threat to Guyana's growing production. But Venezuela is just the beginning. The conversation explores the coming wave of US LNG exports that could double capacity by 2030, creating potential oversupply that might arbitrage away the longstanding price gap between US and European gas markets. The panel debates whether Chris Wright at DOE will accelerate AI infrastructure through federal control, discusses Laura Sweat's pivotal role at FERC in managing data center interconnections, and examines Xi Jinping's AI strategy ahead of China's next five-year plan. They also dive into the commercial debut of Form Energy's iron-air batteries, question whether 100-hour storage hits the right duration sweet spot, and yes—seriously consider whether humanoid robots might finally be ready for energy applications. They explore: Why Venezuela's oil sector challenges are deeper than Iraq in 2003 The near-crisis when Venezuela threatened Guyana that barely made headlines How the US LNG export boom will reshape global gas markets The impact of potential peace in Ukraine on natural gas oversupply Chris Wright's priorities at DOE and the AI-energy nexus Laura Sweat's challenge at FERC over data center interconnection policy Xi Jinping's AI ambitions and China's next five-year plan Form Energy's commercial iron-air battery deployment and the 100-hour question Whether humanoid robots are finally crossing from science fiction to reality Google's acquisition of Intersect Power and the "less talk, more steel" approach In this episode: 0:46 Welcome to Energy Gang - first episode of 2026 3:56 Places to watch: Venezuela - the dramatic weekend news 5:04 Amy's deep dive: comparing Venezuela to Iraq 2003 6:58 The looting of oil field equipment and infrastructure damage 8:14 Venezuela's depressurized fields vs. Iraq's rotating fields 9:39 Heavy oil challenges and Chevron's operations 11:00 Near-term, medium-term, and long-term impacts 12:53 The Iraq 2003 parallel and US oil import dependence 14:12 Heavy crude refineries and the China connection 14:48 The Venezuela-Guyana military crisis that never made headlines 17:19 Ed's place to watch: US Gulf Coast LNG terminals 19:00 The export boom and who will buy all that gas 20:44 How peace in Ukraine could worsen oversupply 21:49 The US gas price advantage being arbitraged away 23:03 Low-cost gas vs. clean tech competition 24:13 People to watch: Melissa picks Chris Wright at DOE 25:38 Ed's person to watch: Laura Sweat at FERC 27:08 The data center interconnection challenge 28:52 Amy's person to watch: Xi Jinping and China's AI strategy 30:11 China vs. US approaches to AI development 31:04 China's upcoming five-year plan 32:03 Technologies to watch: Melissa on energy storage 33:01 Ed's technology: Form Energy's iron-air batteries 34:05 The 100-hour duration question and market fit 35:57 Melissa on diverse storage solutions as tools in the toolbox 37:59 Amy's technology: humanoid robots 39:31 Teaching robots like humans vs. algorithms 40:22 Hyundai's investment and Boston Dynamics 41:48 Ed's skepticism vs. autonomous vehicle success 43:17 First use cases: assembly line applications 44:35 Free electrons: Amy on the San Francisco blackout 45:32 AVs stopped dead and blocked traffic 46:01 Melissa's free electron: Intersect Power and "less talk, more steel" 47:44 Google's acquisition and on-site generation projects 49:16 Ed's free electron: Interchange Recharged 50:29 Thanks and closing thoughts Guests: Melissa Lott – Partner for Energy Technologies, Microsoft (speaking in personal capacity) Amy Myers Jaffe – Director, Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, New York University Host: Ed Crooks – Vice Chair, Americas, Wood Mackenzie Links: Energy Gang on woodmac.com: https://www.woodmac.com/podcasts/the-... Energy Gang on Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... Energy Gang on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GT5BuD... Ed Crooks’ Energy Pulse Blog: https://www.woodmac.com/blogs/energy-...