Instability rocks Houston energy summit as Iran war, AI jolt oil markets

Energy industry leaders gathering at CERAWeek in Houston this week are grappling with twin shocks: an Iran war destabilizing oil markets and an AI boom straining power infrastructure, leaving investment decisions and consumer costs in flux. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance described the oil market as "a bit unstable," while Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been working the conference to reassure the industry that the Iran conflict will be short-lived—despite no clear end in sight. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado pitched her country's oil reserves to a standing ovation, but Lance dismissed recent Venezuelan oil reforms as "woefully inadequate." On the AI front, Alphabet's Ruth Porat warned that the U.S. isn't moving fast enough on data center energy needs, while Nvidia is unveiling new nuclear and flexible data center initiatives with Microsoft and others. The disconnect between optimistic AI-driven energy storage deals and protesters' criticism of fossil fuel dependence underscores the conference's deepening uncertainty about which investments will pay off.