CenterPoint adds $1.2B chasing Texas mega-loads
Plus: a $100B Kentucky data campus, Permian deals stacking up, and rig counts climbing
🔥 The Big One
CenterPoint Tacks On $1.2B as Houston Large-Load Demand Explodes
CenterPoint Energy just raised its 10-year capital plan to $65.5 billion, and two-thirds of the new $1.2 billion is driven by large-load interconnection requests. The utility has 17 GW of large-load proposals sitting in front of ERCOT, with 14 GW likely to qualify for the new Batch Zero approval framework between 2027 and 2031. That's roughly $800 million in targeted system upgrades plus a downtown Houston substation relocation, real work for linemen, substation crews, and civil subs. If you work T&D or substation builds in the Houston market, this is your pipeline through the decade.
Read the full breakdown →✍️ Editor's Take
Rig counts are climbing for a second straight week, CenterPoint just tacked another $1.2 billion onto its capex plan chasing 14 GW of large loads, and Granite's data center backlog tripled in a year. Three separate signals, same direction: oil and gas and data center power buildouts are now competing for the same civil, electrical, and E&I crews. Add in Texas equipment rental penetration hitting a record 59.5% and the subs who lock in gear and crews now beat the ones who wait for Q4 pricing. Alberta is the one to watch closely, Athabasca's $55 million in prep work is sitting on hold until the province's fiscal framework clears, so don't bank on that FID just yet.
FieldNews Staff
This Week in 60 Seconds
- Athabasca Spends $55M, Waits on Alberta Before Pulling Trigger
$55M in Corner SAGD site prep is moving, but sanction is stuck until Alberta's fiscal framework clears.
- Canadian Rig Demand Jumps 22% as Oil Prices Hold
Precision Drilling posted an 11% revenue jump as Canadian rig activity climbed 22% year over year.
- $2.2B Deal Builds a Permian Royalty and Surface Giant
Blackbeard's drilling took Waddell Ranch from 3,000 to 35,000 bpd, now it's merging into a $2.24B company.
- Heat Rules Pile Up State by State as OSHA Stalls
Seven states now enforce their own heat standards while the federal rule slips past 2027.
- Talos Buys Into Deepwater Mexico Block Holding 200 MMboe
Talos will pay up to $50M for a 50% stake in Repsol's Block 29, targeting FID in 2027.
📍 Where the Work Is
- Permian Basin, Texas 🔥 HOT: Enterprise is adding gas plants, Exxon says new pipelines are clearing takeaway bottlenecks, and a fresh $2.2B royalty and surface merger is centering activity on the Central Basin Platform.
- Houston / Texas Gulf Coast 🔥 HOT: CenterPoint's capex jump, Sentinel Midstream's new GulfLink terminal, and Cheniere's final Corpus Christi train are stacking years of civil, electrical, and marine work along the coast.
- Alberta / Western Canada: Athabasca's oil sands prep work and a 22% jump in Canadian rig activity signal a slow-building recovery, though fiscal uncertainty is holding back final sanctions.
- British Columbia: Allseas' subsea pipelay contract and Ksi Lisims LNG's new Uniper supply deal keep BC's LNG export buildout on track for the end of the decade.
🟢 Open Windows
Bids, packages, and decisions with a clock on them.
September 15, 2026
Wayne National Forest lease sale. BLM auctions 2,840 acres across 41 parcels in Ohio, opening the Marietta Unit to horizontal drilling and fracking.Fall 2026
Dulles Airport $20B expansion. A $4.5B-$5B design-build package goes out for RFP, with construction targeted to start spring 2027.
👷 Crew Market: BuildForce Canada projects a construction labor gap of 34,000 workers by 2035, with retirements outpacing new entrants across the country.
📈 The Number
$100B
A former uranium enrichment site in Paducah, Kentucky is becoming a $100 billion power-and-compute campus pairing 4.6 GW of dedicated generation with 1.2 GW of compute capacity. That's years of civil, electrical, and mechanical subcontracting work lined up before full build-out in 2032.
Rigzone
On Your Radar
- Sep 2026NVMA Safety Awards, Lake Tahoe. 27 mine operations and 5 contractors honored on 2025 MSHA data
- Dec 2026OSHA supplemental heat rule proposal due. Federal heat standard still stuck in rewrite
- Oct 2027OSHA target for final heat standard. ISHN calls the deadline 'widely considered impossible'
- Q1 2027Entergy targets Cottonwood gas plant deal close. Pending Louisiana PSC approval amid bill-impact concerns
Get The Field Report
The week in oil & gas and heavy construction: market data, the big story, and where the work is. Every Sunday, in 60 seconds.
You're in. The Field Report lands Sunday.
Look for it in your inbox Sunday morning.
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.