HOUSTON — A huge, plush international gathering on the oil industry's home turf will mix elation and concern about Trump 2.0 decisions that are reshaping strategies across the energy landscape.

Why it matters: The CERAWeek by S&P Global conference — the Super Bowl of U.S. energy events — opens today as policy evolves at breakneck speed.

• "So much is happening so fast, that partly CERAWeek will be an effort to just assimilate how much has changed, and what is the impact going to be," S&P's Dan Yergin, the energy historian and CERAWeek emcee, tells Axios.

The big picture: The exclusive, $10,000-per-head event is many things: big-name onstage interviews with CEOs and Cabinet heads, closed-door government-industry huddles, sideline dealmaking, and more.

• Today, Energy Secretary Chris Wright is slated to have a private meeting with execs of major energy companies, Axios has learned.
• And while CEOs of oil giants take center stage today, the conference is far wider, spanning power, finance, mining, and a clean tech wing with startups galore.

Reality check: Yes, oil and gas firms are psyched about President Trump's anti-regs, "energy dominance" approach.

• But execs are worried about Trump's whiplashing trade policies and their effect on demand and project costs. (How overtly they're willing to complain is another question.)
• This year's conference opens just days after crude prices hit three-year lows before regaining a little ground. And C-suite concerns extend far beyond the oil patch.

"There's going to be a lot of discussion about tariffs and trade and supply chains," Yergin said.

Here are a few other themes we'll be watching...

🔀 The climate reset: "One of the big themes of CERAWeek 2025 is going to be the rethinking and recalibration of energy transition," Yergin said.

• The shift goes beyond just Trump as fossil fuel demand keeps rising and corporate and government climate targets slip further out of reach.
• "The gap between objectives and actually how things are playing out is just so striking," Yergin said.
• Expect lots of eyes on BP CEO Murray Auchincloss just two weeks after his firm ditched plans to curb oil and gas production.

💻 Data centers and AI: This year's conference is packed with events about data center power growth and how to meet it.

• One of the opening sessions is about this with Google president Ruth Porat and NextEra Energy president John Ketchum.

🪫The U.S. clean energy vibe: It's a window into how companies large and small assess Trump's assault on Biden-era low-carbon policies, which is already slowing or halting some projects.

• Organizers expect 250 startups this year, far more than last year. So it's a nice window into how they see the world.

What's next: Things get rolling this morning with Wright, the CEOs of Saudi Aramco, Chevron, Shell, United Airlines and more.

HOUSTON — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who heads the new White House energy "dominance" council, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright dined with an international group of CEOs last night ahead of CERAWeek's opening.

State of play: The wide meeting included the CEOs of TotalEnergies, Freeport-McMoRan, Occidental Petroleum, and EQT, based on who I saw and a participant granted anonymity to discuss the private event.

• Reuters has other names.

What they're saying: Dinner conversation touched on permitting, nuclear power, energy production, the new White House council that Wright vice-chairs, and more, attendees said.

• "What struck me was energy and enthusiasm. We're going to get stuff done. That's what you want to hear from government officials," the participant said.
• "There was a lot of discussion about the AI race between China and the U.S.," the person said.

The intrigue: Multiple attendees said tariffs were not a focus, but trade is certainly on the minds of execs this week.

The bottom line: There's a lot of C-suite interest in the Trump 2.0 agenda.

• The gathering also underscores how CERAWeek is concentric circles of exclusivity, ranging from onstage interviews and panels to private, off-the-record events.

CERAWeek covers the whole landscape, but crude is always a big focus.

• This chart is a reminder that White House policies have limited sway on output, though they can help set longer-term trajectories.

In a sign of congressional pushback on cuts to NOAA, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked the Commerce Department for detailed information on how the top federal weather and climate agency has been affected.

Why it matters: The letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — provided first to Axios — puts pressure on the department to defend the layoffs' legality based on existing statutes and recent court rulings.

• Van Hollen is ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee with jurisdiction over NOAA.

NOAA also is preparing plans to lay off about 1,000 more employees as part of a "reduction in force" the White House called for from federal agencies, two people familiar with the matter told Axios.

• These additional cuts may affect multiple agency missions, from fisheries surveys to climate research.

Zoom in: Van Hollen's letter seeks detailed information on how the agency's functions have been affected by the cuts.

• Van Hollen also expressed concern over the possibility that government leases for NOAA facilities have been canceled or are being considered for cancellation "without considering the impact to bureau missions."

Meanwhile... House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) announced on X Friday that a NOAA facility in his district that had been on a list for lease termination will stay open.

What they're saying: NOAA has declined to comment on personnel matters but said its mission is unchanged.

• "NOAA remains dedicated to providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation's environmental and economic resilience," NOAA told Axios last week.

Read more

⚖️ The Climate United Fund is suing EPA and CitiBank over what the nonprofit calls illegal withholding of money under the IRA's $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

• Why it matters: The fund is a pillar of Biden-era climate grant efforts. Full complaint ... NYT coverage.

⚛️ The World Bank is weighing whether to end its decades-long prohibition on nuclear project funding, and U.S. pressure is growing, the FT reports.

• Why it matters: Development advocate Todd Moss explores the crosscurrents on his "Eat More Electrons" Substack. He sees bipartisan concern that Russia and China will dominate the next wave of nuclear tech exports.
• What we're watching: It could help World Bank head Ajay Banga please multiple stakeholders as Trump officials weigh their stance toward various multinational allegiances, Moss notes.

👋 The U.S. has left the board of UN's "loss and damage" fund, an effort to help compensate poor nations for climate harms they've played very little role in creating, Reuters and the Washington Post report.

"Since President Donald Trump's inauguration, more than a dozen violent or destructive acts have been directed at Tesla facilities," the Washington Post reports of moves against showrooms, chargers and more.