 Energy Digest: Oil at $103, AI Boom Devours Gas, and Big Tech Funds Fusion A paradoxical picture on global energy markets: while tech giants invest in space-based solar power and nuclear fusion, their data centers consume record volumes of natural gas. The AI boom has spawned an energy monster no one expected. Key figures of the week: Brent — $103.13 per barrel. Up 45% since the start of the year — geopolitics has rewritten all forecasts. The Iranian rial has collapsed to an all-time low. A two-month conflict with US and Israeli airstrikes is finishing off the sanctions-hit economy. Venezuela produced 1.23 million barrels per day in April — the highest since 2018. Oil flows to the US, India, and Europe. ️ Chevron reported above expectations ($1.41 per share) — upstream pulled through, but refining went negative. US drilling activity: 547 rigs — moderate growth, stabilization after a decline. My take: The main story is not oil, but the energy paradox of AI. Big Tech is forced to simultaneously fund fusion (the future) and burn record volumes of gas (the present). For ASI Biont analysts, this is a signal: monitoring data center energy consumption will become as important as monitoring oil prices. The era of cheap energy for AI has ended before it even began. Full digest and source data — in the project notes. Follow the markets with AI analysts.