U.S. Rig Count, SPR Solicitation, Hydrogen Funding: Your Daily Energy News

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

PRODUCTION
U.S. Energy Firms Add Rigs - U.S. energy firms last week added the biggest number of oil and natural gas rigs in a week since September, with the oil rig count also rising to its highest in six months, energy services firm Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) (Houston, Texas) said. The oil and gas rig count rose by seven to 629 in the week ending March 15. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose six to 510 last week, their highest since September, while gas rigs rose one to 116. (Reuters)

HYDROGEN
U.S. Grants $750 Million for Clean Hydrogen Projects - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said it is granting $750 million to projects across 24 states that are building capacity to produce and use clean hydrogen. The funding for 52 projects in states from Rhode Island to Oregon comes from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The projects are working on six aspects of the hydrogen industry, including research and development on production of electrolyzers, securing supply chains for the machines, and recycling critical materials used in hydrogen production, such as iridium. (Reuters)

TERMINALS
U.S. Seeks More Oil for SPR as Maintenance Winds Down - The U.S. is seeking to buy 3 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), as one storage site winds down maintenance that had tempered the pace of replenishing the stockpile, the DOE said on last week. The oil, if purchased, is expected to be delivered in August and September, the department said. The department issued a solicitation on Thursday for 1.5 million barrels for the Bayou Choctaw, Louisiana, site that has undergone maintenance this year. Another solicitation for the same amount at Bayou Choctaw will be released on March 21, the department said. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) can click here for more details on the project. (Reuters)

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About IIR Energy
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).