NextEra Energy, Blackstone: Your Daily Energy News

News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

PRODUCTION
Baker Hughes: U.S. Rig Count at Lowest Since December 2021 - U.S. energy firms last week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a third week in a row to the lowest since December 2021, energy services firm Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) (Houston, Texas) said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count fell by four to 576 in the week ending January 24. Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by six to 472 this week, their lowest since December 2021, while gas rigs rose by one to 99.

POWER
NextEra to Build Natural Gas-Fired Plants - The world's largest renewable power company, NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida), is partnering with GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) (Cambridge, Massachusetts) to develop natural gas-fired power generation projects across the United States that will mainly feed AI data centers and other large electricity users, NextEra said on Friday. NextEra's agreement with GE Vernova comes as natural gas-fired power becomes an increasingly popular electricity option for Big Tech's data centers, while federal support for renewable power is uncertain under the new Trump Administration. (Reuters)

Blackstone to Buy $1 Billion Virginia Power Plant - The unit of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) (New York, New York) dedicated to investments in the energy industry has agreed to acquire the Potomac Energy Center in Virginia, the asset manager told Reuters on Thursday, in a deal symbolizing the allure to investors of power plants sited near data centers. Blackstone Energy Transition Partners has agreed to buy the 774-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Loudoun County in northern Virginia, according to a statement. The statement gave no financial details, but sources familiar with the matter said Blackstone is paying around $1 billion for the facility. Fellow investment firm Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) (Los Angeles, California) has owned the plant since 2021. The Potomac Energy Center is situated in the area of northern Virginia outside of Washington D.C. which is estimated to have around a quarter of the current U.S. data center capacity. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant Database can click here for the plant profile. (Reuters)

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Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the commodity-trading community. We are the number one source for information about power plant outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).