Capitol Crude: The US Energy Policy Podcast: Recent Episodes
S&P Global Commodity Insights
In-depth weekly analysis of US energy policy news from S&P Global Commodity Insights senior editors covering the Capitol. Hosted by Jasmin Melvin.
Nigeria's Dangote refinery, built at a cost of $20 billion and is Africa's largest, has started exporting naphtha to North Asian markets at a time when the clean tanker market is witnessing prolonged firmness. The naphtha flow from Dangote is adding to the ton-mile demand in the clean tanker sector and this could be boosting the clean tanker market in the short- to medium term.
Associate editorial director for Asia Freight, Pradeep Rajan, discusses about West African naphtha flow and its impact on the clean tanker market with Sameer Mohindru, senior editor, Asia clean tanker market, and associate editor Zoey Ng, who covers Asia naphtha market.
Economic power-house China has set out 10 targets for 2024, which is pro-growth for oil demand, keen on energy security, and prioritizing accelerated industry modernization and development of new productive forces.
In this episode of Platts Oil Markets podcast, Managing Editor for refined oil products, Wanda Wang has invited China experts Grace Lee, Asia analyst from the AltView team, Sijia Sun, Associate Director, China Oil Market, and Oceana Zhou, Oil Market Specialist, to discuss the oil-market related highlights following China’s “Two Session” meetings -- the biggest annual political gathering in the country, which happened over March 4-11.
After several great years, Capitol Crude is coming to an end. We want to thank all our listeners for tuning in and supporting us over the years. Going forward, you can find Jasmin and Kate contributing to other S&P Global Commodity Insights podcasts, including Platts Oil Markets, Commodities Focus, and Future Energy.
For our last episode, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers joined the podcast to give the rundown on the policies and rulemakings that could have the biggest impact on the oil sector. He also shared how the sector is coping with the elections frenzy and how who ends up in the White House for the next four years could shape the industry’s future.
The Environmental Protection Agency last April pitched its strongest-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and trucks. But reports have surfaced that the EPA may be planning to soften that regulation.
Dave Cook, senior vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined the podcast to share why he believes any weakening of the car rule would be a bad idea. He pushed back on critics’ assertions that the proposal was unachievable and gave his take on the importance of vehicle electrification for meeting broader climate goals.
Stick around for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Related content:
AFPM latest to launch lobbying effort over new US EPA emissions standards
EPA sends auto emissions rule for White House review, signaling progress toward final rule
The US Department of Energy in late January hit “pause” on its work issuing key LNG export permits. About 30 million mt/year of probable export capacity additions in the US and Mexico are at risk because of the permitting hold.
Climate activists have celebrated the White House decision as a massive win, while industry groups have warned that it could endanger future LNG projects and undermine the role of the US as an LNG exporter. But Arvind Ravikumar, co-director of the Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab and a professor within the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, believes this is the wrong debate to be having.
S&P Global Commodity Insights Americas LNG reporter Corey Paul caught up with Ravikumar for the podcast. And Ravikumar shared his perspective on the way we should be thinking about the future of US LNG exports.
Stick around for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Related content: We are having the wrong debate about Biden’s decision on liquefied natural gas: Arvind Ravikumar
White House declares pause on key US LNG export permits, policy review
US producers tout LNG growth outlook despite regulatory uncertainty
US Senate weighs long-term impact of Biden's LNG permitting pause (subscriber content)
Under settlement agreements with environmental groups and Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management is taking another look at that the Uncompahgre Resource Management Plan, which guides the management and use of nearly a million acres of public lands and mineral estate in western Colorado. Among the amendments it is considering to the Trump-era plan are alternatives that would reduce the number of acres open to oil and gas leasing.
Melissa Hornbein, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, joined the podcast to discuss the RMP amendment process, including how it came about and what environmental groups want to see happen. She also gave her take on how the interests of the oil and gas industry are weighed against conservation goals and what a change in administration could mean for the RMP process.
Stick around for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Threats to the flow of crude supplies have worsened in recent weeks with oil and petroleum products tankers among targets struck by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Foreign policy and international energy specialist Brenda Shaffer, a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School, joined the podcast to discuss not only the latest developments in the Red Sea but how we got here. She spoke about the Houthi rebels’ origins, their impact on global oil supplies and prices, and the US posture towards their sponsor – Iran.
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin and Kate Winston in Washington.
Learn more about our guest speaker: Brenda Shaffer (@ProfBShaffer)
Related coverage: US, UK sanction four top Houthi military officials involved in attacks on Red Sea shipping Conflict with Houthis likely to get worse before it gets better, experts say DOE eyes SPR purchases into summer driving season but door also appears open for drawdowns
The ethanol industry is angling to be a bigger part of the US decarbonization strategy, but so far, the Biden administration has sent some mixed signals on the issue. For instance, the Treasury Department has made some policy decisions that could provide some big opportunities for ethanol, but the Environmental Protection Agency is slow walking other policies the industry has called for.
Brian Jennings, the CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol, joins the podcast to discuss the administration’s recent policy decisions, and outline additional actions the industry is seeking.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
The Biden administration in December signed off on a plan to conduct the fewest oil and gas lease sales in history, with just three auctions in the Gulf of Mexico planned in the next five years. Now, oil and gas companies are changing their bidding strategies to scoop up leases when they are available.
George Laguros, a technical research principal with S&P Global Commodity Insights, spoke with Starr Spencer, senior editor for oil news at S&P Global Commodity Insights, to discuss the recent lease sale, and what might be next for leases after the election.
Stick around for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, oil and gas deals topped $271 billion in value in 2023, more than doubling the value of deals made in 2022.
Bruce On, EY’s US West region energy strategy and transactions leader, joined the podcast to discuss this wave of consolidation, whether it will continue and just how the oil sector is managing to pull off these deals in uncertain economic times. He also gave his take on how the surge in dealmaking will play out and the role politics could play as the US gears up for a major election.
Stick around for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
In October, the US agreed to ease sanctions on Venezuela in exchange for progress toward a fair election next year. But Venezuela has not fully held up its side of the US sanctions deal, and now it is threatening to annex the oil-rich Essequibo region of neighboring Guyana.
David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies LLC, joins to podcast to discuss the status of US sanctions on Venezuela and what comes next.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
Capitol Crude is taking a break for the holidays. We'll be back with new episodes in January.
There are more than two dozen cases filed by US cities and states pending, with allegations that Big Oil knew about the dangers of burning fossil fuels and actively hid that information from consumers and investors.
Lauren Varnado, an oil and gas trial lawyer and Houston office managing partner at the law firm of Michelman & Robinson, joined the podcast to talk about this new form of climate litigation and its impacts on the oil industry.
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Heading into this winter, relatively mild weather is forecast, but utility regulators have warned that an extended bout of extreme winter weather could stress infrastructure and present problems once again. Though progress has been made enhance winter preparedness, the interconnected nature of the gas and power industries remains a key concern.
Jose Costa, president and CEO of the Northeast Gas Association, joined the podcast to discuss the gas and power interplay. He spoke with S&P Global Commodity Insights reporter for The Energy Daily Tom Tiernan about infrastructure and pipeline capacity issues compounding the challenge of gas and power interdependence, NGA’s role in helping to aid gas and power sector coordination, and efforts underway to both reliably and affordably meet energy needs beyond just electrification, including gas transportation alternatives, geothermal pilot projects and other solutions that will require natural gas to remain a part of the fuel mix into the future.
Stick around for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The climate impact of fossil fuels is in the spotlight as world leaders prepare to head to the COP28 climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates. Environmental impacts arise from many steps in the oil and gas production process, including the underground mapping that must be done before companies can drill wells. The seismic survey process requires tree cutting that can fragment forests, as well as equipment that emits greenhouse gases.
OptiSeis Solutions is a company in Canada that is developing a new technology that reduces the environmental impact of the seismic survey process. Andrea Crook, the CEO of OptiSeis, joins the podcast to tell us about the technology, which can be used not only for oil and gas development, but also for geothermal and carbon capture and storage.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
With this year’s elections barely in the rear-view mirror, the 2024 US elections are just one year away. Already, there are questions about how energy policy, climate change and prices at the pump will play into this election cycle.
Capitol Crude spoke with a Democratic and a Republican strategist for their take on these issues. Last week, Antjuan Seawright weighed in with the Democratic perspective. And this week, you will hear from Tom Hassenboehler, who discussed the GOP’s thinking.
Hassenboehler is a partner at CO2EFFICIENT, a Washington DC consultancy that specializes in energy and environmental policy. He joins the podcast to talk about the role that climate change and energy prices play in elections, and the chances that Republicans and Democrats can find common ground on energy issues.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
It’s November, and that means US elections are just one year away. But how will energy policy, climate change and prices at the pump play into this election cycle?
Capitol Crude spoke with a Democratic and a Republican strategist for their take. We’re going to present their views over two episodes. First up this week, you’ll hear from Antjuan Seawright for the Democratic perspective, and Tom Hassenboehler will be on the podcast next week to weigh in on the GOP’s thinking.
Now, Seawright is a CBS News political contributor and Democratic strategist as well as founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy, a political consulting firm based in South Carolina. He joins the podcast to talk about environmental justice, bringing balance to the energy transition and whether recent turmoil in the House could have more voters turning blue.
Stick around for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Capitol Crude and Energy Evolution join forces to co-host today's episode, all about artificial intelligence being deployed in the energy and mining sectors. This week's guests are some of the journalists from the S&P Global Commodity Insights newsroom who worked together to write an expansive series of articles on the impact of AI. The pieces look at predictions around how much electricity demand AI will generate, the ways AI is improving productivity, resource discovery and trading, and more.
In addition to the co-hosts and regular contributors to Energy Evolution, the podcast features Commodity Insights reporters Jared Anderson and Kip Keen.
Stick around for Chris van Moessner Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Some 50 years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the oil markets are again bracing for potential disruptions after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza.
ClearView Energy Partners managing director Kevin Book joined the podcast to discuss the possible impacts to global oil supplies from the Israeli-Hamas fight and how its links to Iran could play out with regards to sanctions and a change in Washington’s posture toward Tehran. He also touched on potential difficult decisions ahead for President Joe Biden as he enters an election year where voters will be assessing his actions to mitigate climate change and looking for relief at the pump that hinges on keeping more barrels in the global market.
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Oil and gas production, transport and processing account for almost 15% of total energy-related greenhouse gas emissions globally, and the use of the oil and gas results in another 40% of emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Powering upstream oil and gas facilities with low-emissions electricity is one way to cut emissions from the sector, the IEA said.
James Walker, CEO of Nano Nuclear Energy, and Jay Yu, founder and executive chairman of Nano Nuclear Energy, joined the podcast to discuss the possible use of micro reactors to reduce emissions in the oil and gas sector.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
In about two months, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is expected to formally approve a new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, putting a five-year offshore leasing plan back on the books after the country’s previous program expired over a year ago.
As one could imagine, the oil industry was not pleased to hear that only three lease sales for acres in the Gulf of Mexico would be conducted over the next five years. American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers joined the podcast to share the industry’s perspective on the new offshore leasing plan, its impact on broader supply and demand dynamics and next steps.
Stick around for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Fossil fuels used for power and vehicles have been in the spotlight as the Biden Administration seeks to reduce economy-wide carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. But the US industrial sector is also a key source of carbon emissions, accounting for one-third of all energy related domestic greenhouse gas emissions, according to the US Department of Energy.
Carbon emissions from industrial processes like cement and concrete manufacturing can be difficult to abate because emissions come from many different steps in the process. Marty Ozinga, the CEO of concrete company Ozinga, joins new Capitol Crude co-host Kate Winston on the podcast to discuss some of the opportunities available to decarbonize the cement and concrete sector.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
Compared with 2014, the last time oil prices surged to the triple digits, the top 50 US oil and gas companies analyzed by EY more than tripled their earnings last year, according to EY’s annual E&P benchmarking study and earnings analysis. And improved efficiency of exploration and production operations and a commitment to capital discipline are allowing for continued shareholder value.
Patrick Jelinek, EY’s oil and gas leader for the Americas, and Bruce On, EY’s West region energy strategy and transactions leader, joined the podcast to offer some context on the payouts shareholders saw last year, expectations for the future and how US producers are navigating both market and political realities.
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
On Sept. 6, the Biden administration took steps to fulfill the president’s campaign promise to block oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, cancelling the last remaining oil and gas leases within ANWR. But the holders of those leases -- Alaska’s state-owned development finance corporation, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority -- is not taking this lightly.
AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro joined the podcast to talk about the lease cancellation, the organization’s planned lawsuit and why oil development and protecting the environment do not pose an either-or proposition as he sees room for both to coexist. He also touched on AIDEA’s views on rising oil prices and recent predictions about peak oil demand.
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Interior Department is set to hold Lease Sale 261 on Sept. 27, but oil and gas producers are not happy with the leasing terms and stipulations that Interior has put forth for this sale. Their main issue is with a voluntary settlement agreement the Biden administration entered into with environmental groups in July intended to protect the endangered Rice’s Whale. The settlement puts restrictions on oil and gas vessels and prompted the department to take millions of acres off the table for leasing.
Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, joined the podcast to discuss the upcoming lease sale and hurdles the oil industry faces in acquiring the federal acres he says are needed to boost domestic production and help lower oil and gasoline prices. He also touched on the obstacles the offshore wind industry could face from delays in oil and gas leasing as the Inflation Reduction Act created new links between renewable and fossil fuel development.
Stick around for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The G7-led coalition’s price cap imposed on Russian crude is set to be tested as oil prices rise. At the same time, the greenback’s supremacy in global oil trade is being challenged.
Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and global consulting firm Horizon Engage’s senior advisor on sanctions, delves into the sanctions and currency impacts on the oil markets on the podcast. She gives her take on the fate of the Russian oil price cap, the effects of price competition among sanctioned entities and whether we’re going to see the end of King Dollar anytime soon.
Stick around for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
A new report from the Energy Industries Council found that energy supply chain bosses are not seeing all the hype and ambitious net-zero pledges translate into consistent and profitable work on green projects.
EIC CEO Stuart Broadley contends that at the end of the day, if the volume and profitability metrics for net-zero solutions aren’t showing up in order books, energy supply chain businesses will have no other choice but to focus on the booming oil and gas space. He joined the podcast to discuss how these realities on the ground are playing out for the oil and gas sector, what it means for the already wide gap between green ambitions and actions, and the policy challenges and needs going forward.
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The country’s emergency crude stockpile -- called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR -- played heavily in President Joe Biden’s strategy last year for curtailing global oil supply shortages and bringing down domestic fuel prices. The Biden administration has now turned its attention to refilling the SPR, which has seen some progress as well as some hiccups.
Skanda Amarnath, executive director of the macroeconomic policy think tank Employ America, joined the podcast to discuss the crude buyback effort and actions the Department of Energy might pursue in the coming months. He also gave his take on how the SPR could best be put to use, legislation backed by Republicans to put some checks on the DOE’s authority over the SPR and how last year’s unprecedented drawdown impacted US ties with major oil producing countries on the world stage.
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OPEC on Aug. 4 renewed production cuts that are expected to tighten global oil supplies and in turn keep upwards pressure on oil prices which have seen several consecutive weeks of gains recently.
Tim Evans, founder of the new consultancy Evans on Energy, joined the podcast to discuss OPEC’s production policy, the group’s objectives and what that means for oil prices. He hit on the economics as well as the politics behind some of the OPEC+ alliance’s decisions, possible tensions brewing within the alliance and whether the US can combat their desire for a tighter physical market and subsequent higher prices.
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Mentions of artificial intelligence and the metaverse may conjure images of the latest video game or social media platform, but the technologies are increasingly being deployed across a wide range of industries including the energy sector. And AI is becoming an increasingly talked about issue among the federal government, with even the White House jumping in to try to start laying a framework for both seizing this opportunity and managing its risks.
However, companies like Nokia are confident that the opportunities outweigh the risks and argue that AI, the metaverse and so-called digital twinning have a wide range of applications for the energy sector. S&P Global Commodity Insights senior power editor Kate Winston spoke with Thierry Klein, president of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia Bell Labs, and Dominique Verhulst, global head of the utilities vertical at Nokia, about these very issues.
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With the rise of millennials as a formidable social force, the effectiveness of anti-oil-and-gas activism and the growing attention paid to environmental justice, the oil and gas sector’s old playbook to simply “educate and engage” the public must be thrown out and replaced with a more proactive and constructive mindset, according to Adamantine Energy Founding CEO Tisha Schuller.
Schuller, who previously served as president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, joined the podcast for a conversation with S&P Global Commodity Insights senior reporter Bill Holland about fundamentally changing the way the oil and gas industry engages with a skeptical public.
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The Bureau of Land Management held a federal oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming on June 29. It marks the second onshore lease sale for the state since President Joe Biden took office and the first to take place in the state since the Inflation Reduction Act instituted higher oil and gas royalty rates and leasing costs for development.
Pete Obermueller, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, joined the podcast to discuss the lease sale results. He spoke with S&P Global Commodity Insights senior editor Starr Spencer about the emerging unconventional Powder River Basin which featured prominently in the auction, the impact of the IRA, and how the Biden administration’s actions are affecting industry behavior and interest.
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An aborted rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group last month, although short-lived, highlighted potential political instability within the Kremlin and resurfaced energy security concerns after a softening of prices had allowed for some complacency among oil importers. Geopolitical experts have said it would be naïve to think the turmoil in Russia is over.
Claudio Galimberti, North America research director at Rystad Energy, joined the podcast to discuss the oil market’s response to the mutiny, what could come if further attacks to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power materialize and how that could impact prices at the pump here in the US. He also shared lessons learned when past geopolitical events stressed major oil producing nations and gave his take on whether the Biden administration can curtail some of the supply-side risk and keep gasoline prices in check.
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A bipartisan group of senators recently wrote the Treasury Department to push for the use of the most accurate and up-to-date lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions analysis as the department fine-tunes the methodology for calculating new tax credits for sustainable aviation fuel.
John Fuher, vice president of government affairs for the ethanol group Growth Energy, joined the podcast to discuss how implementation of the SAF tax credit is faring and challenges that could impede progress towards meeting the ambitious SAF production targets set by the Biden administration, including concerns that outdated modeling could shortchange the effectiveness of SAF incentives. He also touched on the impact new biofuel blending requirements issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and broader geopolitics are having on the outlook for this low-carbon fuel.
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The Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law injected an historic level of government funding and tax credits into the clean energy marketplace, but enacting those laws has been far from drama free. Initially, some countries, including allies and trade partners, were left scratching their heads as to what it would mean for them, even spurring talk of a potential “transatlantic trade war” though that rhetoric proved to be overblown.
But countries around the world are stepping up their game in response to the US’ foray into massive climate and clean energy spending. Akshay Honnatti, the leader of EY’s sustainability tax and incentives practice, joined the podcast to discuss initiatives going on in Canada and elsewhere to level the playing field, and how investors are weighing whether to take their clean tech projects to the US or Canada. He spoke about the potential for crossborder partnerships and what’s needed for the growing interest in green energy subsidies around the world to not turn hostile and create geopolitical divide.
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This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
US sanctions and export controls against Russia have centered on a dual mandate of squeezing the Kremlin’s oil export revenues and ensuring the continued flow of Russian oil supplies to the global market. With that in mind, price caps were devised as a carve out for EU and G7 maritime service providers to continue aiding with the seaborne transport of Russian fuels, as long as they are sold at or below cap levels set by a coalition of countries.
The US Treasury Department recently heralded the price caps on seaborne exports of Russian crude and oil products a success, pointing to the Kremlin's falling oil revenues despite the country’s export volumes being up. However, most of the decline reflects lower global oil prices rather than the cheapening of Russian crude values.
Rick Joswick, head of near-term oil market insights and research at S&P Global Commodity Insights, joined the podcast to discuss the shifts in trade flow patterns that followed US and EU sanctions prohibiting imports of Russian crude and oil products and the impact that’s had on freight rates and refining margins.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin also asked several oil market experts to weigh in on one question: Is the global price cap on Russian oil a sustainable policy mechanism for achieving the US' dual mandate, particularly if oil supplies get tighter and prices begin to rise again?
We heard from: • Ben Cahill, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (6:42) • Kevin Book, director or research at ClearView Energy Partners (8:02) • Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (10:28) • Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risk service at Rapidan Energy Group (12:31) • David Goldwyn, chairman of the Atlantic Council's Energy Advisory Group (14:57) • Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical adviser for S&P Global Commodity Insights (17:30)
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How can we heat and cool homes in a safe, non-emitting and affordable way? Well, one nonprofit says networked geothermal systems are the answer.
Networked geothermal uses ground source heat pumps to heat and cool buildings without fossil fuels in neighborhoods or city blocks, cutting down on methane leakage. The nonprofit Home Energy Efficiency Team is working with natural gas utilities and state policymakers to transition gas utilities to use more networked geothermal systems.
Zeyneb Magavi, the group’s co-executive director, joined the podcast to discuss current efforts to transition more of the country from gas to geo. She spoke with S&P Global Commodity Insights reporter Tom Tiernan about projects in the works, policies that are aiding the move to geothermal and the costs both utilities and utility customers could expect from transitioning to a networked geothermal system.
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Streamlining the federal permitting process is key to both deploying more renewable and carbon-free energy and ensuring needed fossil fuel production for US and global markets. But how and when to update US permitting laws is the sticking point.
S&P Global Commodity Insights industry editor Molly Christian spoke with Alex Herrgott, president and CEO of the Permitting Institute, on what leading permitting reform proposals before Congress could do for the energy sector and what else may be needed to improve the permitting process. Despite bipartisan agreement on key areas, including the need to limit timeframes for project reviews, the complexity and abundance of permitting laws mean Congress may have its hands full on this issue for years, Herrgott says.
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Momentum for electric vehicles is on the rise as policy, industry investment and market perspectives are aligning for a potential EV revolution. But challenges also remain plentiful.
Darcy Bisset, a partner at Hogan Lovells specializing in renewable energy and energy transition transactions, joined the podcast to discuss what’s needed to meet ambitious policy goals for EV adoption. She touched on the regulatory uncertainty facing the EV industry as well as her expectations for a very bright future once certain hurdles are cleared. She also shared why she thinks this bright future for EVs does not mean dark days ahead for the oil sector.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US Supreme Court recently decided it would not weigh into a dispute between oil companies and local governments over the appropriate venue to hear lawsuits seeking damages for adverse impacts allegedly caused by the oil and gas industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. These climate liability lawsuits are now poised to proceed in state courts across the country.
Phil Goldberg, special counsel for the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project, joined the podcast to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court action and what to expect going forward as these cases are litigated. He also delved into what’s at stake not just for the oil industry but for consumers and businesses, and why he views climate lawsuits as a “lose proposition for everybody,” especially those of us that regularly need to fill up at the pump.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
With the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump, and with the prospect of more to come, the political waters of the country appear to be at their best muddied, at least for the Republican camp that has been a key backer of the oil and gas industry for decades.
S&P Global Commodity Insights senior journalist John Siciliano spoke with Dan Eberhart, the CEO of Canary, the fifth largest installer of wellheads in the US, about how the 2024 presidential race is shaping up. On the podcast, Eberhart also delves into his concerns about challenges at the local level as more states are upping restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, which could make it harder to operate in parts of the country where Canary has seen the most success. He also addresses the future of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and provides his insights on the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released clean car rules.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
OPEC+ surprised market watchers with plans to make more than 1.6 million b/d of voluntary oil supply cuts, starting in May.
On the podcast, Ben Salisbury, director of research and head energy policy analyst at Height Capital Markets, delves into some of the producer bloc’s motivations for pursuing crude oil production cuts while prices remain relatively high and what it could mean for US drivers at the pump as well as the Biden administration’s plans to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Salisbury also hit on implications for the already strained US-Saudi relationship as calls for retaliation have again been floated and whether the price cap on Russian crude could withstand any potential supply constraints.
Stick around after the interview for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
US Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 259, held at the end of March, was closely watched as the first oil and gas auction offered in that area since November 2021. And given that expectations weren’t too high, the auction actually turned out quite well. It attracted 353 bids across 313 blocks and captured $264 million in apparent high bids – the highest total in six years.
S&P Global Commodity Insights senior editor Starr Spencer spoke with George Laguros, a senior research analyst with S&P Global, about the some of the “surprising” results of the offshore lease sale and some interesting, if not unusual, bidding patterns pursued by some of the participants.
Stick around after the interview for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Comments are due later this month on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to grant a fuel policy shift that would clear a path for eight Midwest states to offer a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol year-round. While ethanol producers were furious that the proposed policy change wouldn’t go into effect in time for this summer, some oil refiners insist even the 2024 planned implementation date is too soon.
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Senior Director of Fuel and Vehicle Policy Patrick Kelly joined the podcast to lay out challenges the group sees with this call for a new Midwest gasoline blend. He also provided his take on calls for emergency waivers and legislation to address the provision of E15.
Stick around after the interview for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
A global banking meltdown rattled the oil market in recent weeks and sent crude futures plummeting.
OANDA senior market analyst Ed Moya was optimistic that relief was in store for the oil sector from the banking turmoil but he also warned of the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the market as risks remain. On the podcast, he discussed the lingering impact the banking crisis would have on energy sector investments and project financing, prospects for intervention by OPEC, and implications for US oil production. He also touched on how current market dynamics may impact prices at the pump and US plans for replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Sentiment suggesting continued bearishness in the crude complex is being challenged by the potential for a tightening market in the second half of the year. Russia continues to be a wildcard and concerns are rising over Iran, just as Chinese demand looks to shoot back, OPEC seems intent on supply cuts and the US aims to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at the PRICE Futures Group and a Fox Business Network contributor, joined the podcast to share how events taking place around the world are playing into oil prices and gave his take on how geopolitics are impacting oil industry investment decisions.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The war in Ukraine has raged on for over a year now with no signs of Russian President Vladimir Putin backing down despite the onslaught of sanctions that continue to hit the Russian economy. A major target has been the Kremlin’s oil and gas revenues, but efforts to cut that income source are complicated by Russia’s outsized role in global oil markets.
Brian O’Toole, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, joined the podcast to discuss oil sanctions policy and how the US strategy against Russia is faring. He also addressed the upcoming review of the price cap on Russian seaborne crude and provided an update on where US oil sanctions policy may head in Venezuela and Iran.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently put forth a proposal approving Midwest governors’ petition for a fuel policy shift that would allow their states to sell a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol year-round. But ethanol producers are livid that the agency’s proposal would delay implementation of the new rule until 2024, leaving E15 retailers in the Midwest to wonder if they’ll be able to sell that fuel this summer.
Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper joined the podcast to lay out the importance of E15, delve further into the petition from the Midwest states and urge Congress to advance a permanent, nationwide legislative fix to the summertime ban on E15 sales in conventional gasoline markets.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Biden administration is working to reduce US aviation emissions by 20% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions for the sector by 2050. To meet this goal, the administration launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge to catalyze the production of at least 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year by 2030 and 35 billion gallons per year of SAF by 2050.
Gevo is currently the third largest worldwide supplier of SAF and has committed to delivering 1 billion gallons per year of SAF and other renewable fuels by 2030. Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber joined the podcast to discuss the policies and market dynamics needed for the significant boost in SAF production envisioned by the administration. He also addressed pain points to deploying SAF projects and sought to debunk some false narratives surrounding the SAF industry.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Accommodating the growth of renewable energy needed to meet ambitious climate goals will require the US to expand the power grid. And according to Princeton researchers, those grid investments could cost upwards of $2 trillion if the US is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
So who’s going to foot that bill? Well, ultimately, it’s electricity consumers that pay for new transmission, and federal policies in play right now could have a big impact on the final price tag of grid expansion.
The Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition has argued that if the US wants to meet its climate goals and lower the price of energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cannot abandon transmission competition, which the group contends can reduce the cost of grid projects by as much as 40%.
The coalition’s chairman, Paul Cicio, joined S&P Global Commodity Insights senior editor Kate Winston on the podcast to discuss why competition matters and what changes the group is seeking to a FERC proposal on the topic.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
As the operator of the Texas electric grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is familiar with high stakes. But it’s not extreme weather that has the grid operator on its toes this time. It’s litigation before the Texas Supreme Court over whether ERCOT is in fact a division of state government and thus protected by sovereign immunity, meaning it can’t be sued. Merchant power developer Panda Power and San Antonio public utility CPS Energy are leading the charge against ERCOT, and market participants and consumers alike are wondering what it will mean for their wallets.
S&P Global Commodity Insights senior editor Mark Watson caught up with K&L Gates partner Maria Faconti for her take on the case after oral arguments were held Jan. 9. She laid out the consequences for the grid operator, market participants and Texans, and what happens next if either Panda or CPS prevails in their lawsuits against ERCOT.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US has dozens of offshore wind projects in the pipeline as the Biden administration has set its sights on deploying 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. And 11 coastal states have already set procurement targets that exceed 50 GW through 2035 and surpass 75 GW by 2045.
But if the industry wants to build the up to 200 GW of capacity necessary to decarbonize power grids and become a staple in federal waters like the oil and gas sector, early and frequent planning must be a priority. What’s more, a new report from The Brattle Group -- commissioned by the American Council on Renewable Energy, known as ACORE, and other clean energy advocacy groups – found that proactive transmission planning over the next several decades could save at least $20 billion in transmission costs associated with reaching the country’s offshore wind goals.
S&P Global Commodity Insights power news editor Kassia Micek spoke with José Zayas, ACORE’s executive vice president of policy and programs, about the state of the US offshore wind market, steps needed to achieve development goals, and where the wind, oil and shipping industries link up.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is starting the new year with a 2-2 partisan split after former Chairman Richard Glick was forced to bid adieu to the agency after his renomination stalled out. The divide could complicate action on some of the thornier issues before the agency, and there is a risk of 2-2 deadlocked votes that could stall project authorizations.
S&P Global senior editor Maya Weber joined the podcast to break down what’s happening at FERC and what its agenda could mean for natural gas producers and other stakeholders. She also shed light on climate actions being pursued by the Biden administration that could impact the gas sector and provided some clarity on whether President Joe Biden is really trying to ban gas stoves.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
After substantial recovery in 2022 from the low crude prices and oil demand brought about by two years of the coronavirus pandemic, 2023 appears beset with uncertainties. Russia’s war with Ukraine, wobbly oil prices and heavy Chinese fuel demand have dampened what was earlier hoped to be a sanguine oil patch in the new year. With inflation gobbling up what are likely to be low-double-digit capital spending increases and E&P operators signaling flattish 2023 activity, US oil and gas producers seem determined to "lay low" while waiting for greater visibility on near-term energy market fundamentals.
Rene Santos, manager of North American supply and production for Platts Analytics, joined Starr Spencer on the podcast to share his thoughts on what may be awaiting the US upstream sector in 2023 as it prepares for a new year of drilling and production and waits for the lifting of clouds cast by events beyond its control.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
What will 2023 have in store for the oil sector?
EY principal Pat Jelinek is expecting healthy oil prices next year, increased investment in oil companies’ traditional businesses and adjacent lower carbon options and “a pretty good outlook” for US oil and gas producers in the near term. Jelinek, EY’s oil and gas leader for the Americas, joined the podcast to give his take on what’s to come for the US oil industry as it contends with continued geopolitical instability, the uncertainty of domestic politics and dueling forces to promote energy security and decarbonization.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has pitched raising the amount of renewable fuel that US refiners must mix with gasoline and diesel over the next three years. Ethanol producers generally applauded the agency’s latest proposal for the Renewable Fuel Standard program, but the biodiesel sector was dismayed and accused the EPA of lowballing the renewable volume obligations for biomass-based diesel, undermining biodiesel and renewable diesel’s growth potential.
Kurt Kovarik, vice president of federal affairs at Clean Fuels Alliance America, which represents the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industries, joined the podcast to share his thoughts on the EPA’s proposed RFS rule, its potential impacts on clean fuel projects in the pipeline and the likelihood that the EPA will, in his words, “course-correct,” in the final rule due in June.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Policy and culture in the US have aligned to paint Big Oil as the bad guy, and its time the industry started fighting back, according to Ellen Wald and Jacqueline Plunkett, who launched Washington Ivy Advisors to advocate for the necessity of legacy energy.
Wald, who serves as chief industry officer at the firm, and Plunkett, the firm’s chief strategy officer, want to put an end to the combative rhetoric that pits fossil fuels against renewables so the resources can work hand in hand, with fossil fuel investment spurring on clean energy investment. They joined the podcast to explain the social equity need for legacy fuels and how the anti-fossil fuel cultural barrage could be doing more harm than good to the energy transition movement. They also shared how leveraging new techniques that combine energy expertise, digital marketing and brand management could help the oil and gas sector change the narrative to showcase the industry’s value to a reliable energy ecosystem and role as a force for good in the world.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
As Canada’s main oil-producing province, Alberta has rarely let go an opportunity to defend its constitutional rights and pick a fight with the federal government when it comes to developing its abundant natural resources. Over the past few years, the mood overall in Western Canada, led by Alberta, has been of disenchantment, with a significant amount of the ire being directed towards the federal government. With Danielle Smith coming to power as the leader of the United Conservative Party and new premier of Alberta, these tensions are coming to a head with the proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act.
Greg Stringham, president of GS3 Strategies and a Canadian oil and gas industry veteran, as well as S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Calgary stringer Ashok Dutta joined the podcast to discuss this legislation that would allow Alberta to basically ignore federal laws and policies that it disagrees with and gave their insights on what’s currently going on in the Alberta oil sector.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The 2022 US midterm elections featured partisan clashes over energy policy, with accusations traded over whether the Biden administration’s climate policies or what some saw as profit-hungry oil companies were to blame for high prices.
With the possibility that divided government or slim margins for either party in Congress will result from the midterms, S&P Global senior editor Maya Weber spoke to Sasha Mackler, executive director of the energy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center, about the election and areas that might be ripe for bipartisan action in Washington.
Mackler also gave his take on how energy prices play into election outcomes and what President Joe Biden’s options for relieving pain at the pump may look like with a new Congress in place.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
High energy prices and inflation have played a front-stage role in US election politics this season, with control of the US House and Senate at stake in the Nov. 8 voting. S&P Global senior editor Maya Weber caught up with American Exploration & Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury after the annual North American Gas Forum organized by Energy Dialogues to discuss what the election results could mean for the US natural gas sector.
Bradbury discussed the “pretty robust” energy package Republicans are working on, laid out what could be on the horizon for Republican oversight of Biden energy regulation and gave her thoughts on whether exporters should worry about rumblings of China hawkishness in Congress.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The pace of drilling and well completions activity in US oil and gas fields has slowed in late 2022 from the ramp up seen earlier in the year as premium equipment and crews to run it have become increasingly tight.
But overall, 2023 should be a year of growth, although much depends on upstream operators’ capital budget decisions this year as well as a host of uncertainties, from inflation to the duration of the Russia-Ukraine war. And one of the biggest uncertainties for 2023 is the availability of hydraulic fracturing equipment, since limited frac crews and equipment could affect the domestic output profile.
S&P Global senior editor Starr Spencer spoke with Matt Johnson, CEO of Primary Vision Network, a consultancy that tracks the hydraulic fracturing count, about these issues facing the upstream patch in the coming months, including labor scarcity. Johnson pointed to the frac count as a major uncertainty for oil market growth although he expects it to be resolved early next year. He believes that at $80-$100/b -- the current oil price range -- the E&P sector should continue to see modest growth over the next 12 months.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US Supreme Court recently held oral arguments in a case that the oil and gas industry is hoping will end some of the back-and-forth regulatory scramble over whether certain wetlands and water sources fall under federal jurisdiction. The high court is examining whether the Waters of the US regulation, or WOTUS, uses the proper test when evaluating wetlands.
In Sackett v. EPA, the Supreme Court could clarify how WOTUS is defined, with that determination potentially affecting pipelines and other energy projects. And the Supreme Court’s eventual decision will likely affect the Biden administration’s work on rulemakings to finalize a more detailed WOTUS definition.
S&P Global editor Ellie Potter spoke with Ashley Peck, a partner with the law firm Holland & Hart, about the case, what stood out from the oral arguments and the ramifications for the energy sector. Peck also gave recommendations for how companies should approach project permitting in the face of such legal and regulatory uncertainty.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
There has been a lot of back and forth lately over whether political factors motivated the recent OPEC decision to cut crude oil production. One thing that’s for certain is that supply risks to the global oil markets are running high, and the coming EU ban on seaborne Russian crude and G7 implementation of a price cap on Russian exports are adding another layer of uncertainty and potential volatility as no one knows what the market dislocation will be from these unprecedented events.
Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the PRICE Futures Group and a Fox Business Network contributor, joined the podcast and shared how an about-face by the Biden administration on energy policy could help moderate fuel prices and shore up global oil supplies. He also gave his take on OPEC’s decision making, the souring of US-Saudi relations and the harms shortsighted, retaliatory actions against Saudi Arabia could have on US strategic priorities.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
OPEC and its allies slashed production targets for the next 14 months by 2 million b/d, signaling that the bloc is set on managing global production in a way that maintains a higher oil price, according to market analysts. At higher prices, oil companies are continuing to produce enormous amounts of free-cash-flow, and that bodes well for long-term investors in the sector like Equinox Partners, according to Sean Fieler, the company’s president and chief investment officer.
Fieler joined the podcast ahead of the Oct. 5 OPEC meeting, but reports were already circulating that a production cut was coming. He gave his take on the role OPEC is playing in the oil market, where he sees oil prices heading in the near- and long-term, and how geopolitics and domestic policies, including the growing ESG movement, are impacting the investment outlook for the oil industry. Spoiler: he thinks “it’s a great time to be an equity investor” in this sector.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Rotting food, farm waste and sewage don’t sound all that appealing, but they’re the bread and butter of the biogas industry – an industry that believes it has a pivotal role to play in providing green solutions to address the energy crisis spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impending food crisis.
Danish company Nature Energy touts itself as the largest producer of biomethane in the world, and has ambitions to invest in new large-scale biogas plants throughout Europe and North America. Alexis Glick, CEO of its North American business, joined the podcast to give her take on the growth outlook for biomethane and how, by turning waste into power, the industry can combat climate change and help countries bolster both their energy and food security. She also discussed how the Inflation Reduction Act is paving the way for new projects in the US, and what other policies are still needed to maximize the potential for green gas.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Development of the Greater Sunrise gas and condensate fields, first discovered in the Timor Sea in 1974, has been stalled for decades. With a maritime border dispute between the Southeast Asian island country of Timor-Leste and Australia solved, the project continues to be held up over a disagreement on whether the gas should be piped to Timor-Leste or Australia for processing and eventual export.
The head of Timor-Leste’s national oil company recently came to Washington to garner both technical expertise and strategic support from US policymakers. While in town, Timor Gap President and CEO Antonio de Sousa joined the podcast to share his hardline position that gas from Greater Sunrise must be pumped to Timor-Leste; his optimism that a path forward is within reach, as a deadline has been set to finalize a legal framework and production sharing contract for the offshore project; and his outlook for future growth in the LNG market.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Texas is one of the largest emitting states in the US and stands to become ground zero of the carbon management industry. But unlike other states, Texas law provides no clarity on ownership rights of pore space -- the empty underground cavities where companies can pump and permanently store captured CO2. While surface rights and mineral rights are crystal clear, Texas hasn’t defined who owns those underground pore spaces.
Carbon Neutral Coalition Executive Director John Colyandro joined S&P Global reporter Brandon Mulder on the podcast to share his insights on the issues surrounding pore space ownership, how it could be holding back the industry, and ways it could be resolved in the upcoming legislative session.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Voters will head to the polls November 8 where control of the US House and Senate are at stake along with the potential to flip the leadership in several states. The outcome of those contests will shape the second half of President Joe Biden’s term and influence the pace of change in US energy and climate policies.
S&P Global Commodity Insights editors Maya Weber, Ellie Potter and Kate Winston joined the podcast to share how these federal and state contests may weigh on the future energy mix.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Oil and natural gas industry groups were not pleased with the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law Aug. 16, despite some positive elements for the sector, including provisions to ensure more oil and gas lease sales and expand carbon capture tax credits.
Among their main objections are the new 15% corporate minimum tax; the expansion of Superfund excise taxes to crude oil and petroleum products; a methane fee; and increased fees tied to federal oil and gas leasing.
So what do these provisions actually equate to in terms of costs to the industry and production impacts? S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Rene Santos, manager of North America supply analytics, joined the podcast to discuss just that.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The oil and gas sector and policymakers in Texas and New Mexico are on high alert over a notice posted to the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory agenda that they fear could have a crippling impact on domestic oil production.
That notice revealed that the EPA is considering redesignating portions of the Permian Basin as ozone nonattainment areas under the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standard. A redesignation could impose new requirements on producers and even cause some facilities to shut down in a region responsible for nearly 40% of US oil production.
Chris Colclasure, an attorney with the law firm Beatty & Wozniak, joined the podcast to shed some light on the notice, its potential impacts to the oil industry and how it might align with the EPA’s proposed new methane rules. He also spoke about the potential timeline for action, what companies should be doing now and pushback the EPA may face if it decides to proceed down this path.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
So far this summer, power demand in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market has set 11 new all-time records as the grid has faced weeks of 100-plus degree temperatures. With that has come power scarcity conditions and high power prices, both affected by state policymaker actions.
S&P Global senior editor Mark Watson spoke with Alison Silverstein, an Austin-based independent energy market consultant and former advisor to chairmen of both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. She offered unique insights into how the situation developed that prompted state regulators to take a more hands-on approach to the Texas power market, encouraging the operation of the grid with a higher capacity reserves requirement and supporting the deployment of administrative price adders well before scarcity conditions arise. Silverstein also tackled how energy efficiency could enhance reliability in situations where market incentives have been producing significantly higher prices for energy consumers without addressing key reliability concerns.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 would make available $369 billion in energy security and climate change spending over the next decade. The bill offers a mixed bag of wins and losses for an array of stakeholders. But the biofuel industry feels they made out pretty well.
Growth Energy Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher joined the podcast to weigh in on how the ethanol industry could put the new funding and tax credits for renewable fuels to use, if the legislation passes. He also tackled questions on potential hurdles in the bill’s language, competition with EVs and what he’d like to see Congress do that wasn’t included in the Senate deal.
Senators were gearing up to likely work through the weekend, as this podcast was being produced, with votes on the bill set to begin Aug. 6 and Republicans promising to make the process “hell” for their Democratic colleagues.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
So, what exactly would a climate emergency declaration free the Biden administration to do?
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin posed that question to Liz Craddock, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm. She joined the podcast to explain what authorities President Joe Biden would newly have at his disposal, the key energy statutes that could possibly come into play and the potential political pitfalls as well as legal risks and challenges the administration would face from taking such action.
This interview took place before Senator Joe Manchin’s deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a party-line budget reconciliation package with clean energy and climate provisions was announced. But Craddock’s take raises some interesting points on a climate emergency and the options Biden may still need to weigh if the climate package falls through or concerns are raised that he hasn’t gone far enough to address climate change ahead of midterm elections.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration is contemplating ways to starve the Russian economy of revenues, the bulk of which come from Russian oil and energy exports.
As part of that effort, the US Treasury Department has been lobbying European and Asian leaders to support a price cap on Russian oil. Details of how that would be structured and enforced have been scant, but the idea is that a price cap would allow Russian crude supplies to continue to flow to the global marketplace but at a low enough price that Russia would not reap any benefits.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin asked several oil market experts to weigh in on one question: Can the West enforce a global price cap on Russian oil, and will it result in lower prices?
We heard from:
• Helima Croft, head of commodities strategy at RBC Capital Markets (2:29)
• Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners (3:40)
• Giovanni Staunovo, commodity strategist at UBS (5:00)
• Christof Rühl, senior research fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (6:37)
• Brenda Shaffer, senior energy adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (10:24)
• Ben Cahill, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (12:43)
• Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical adviser for Platts Analytics (14:03)
Stay tuned after the interview for a special message from Capitol Crude host Meghan Gordon, and for the Market Minute with Starr Spencer.
US President Joe Biden just wrapped up a trip to the Middle East with a closely watched visit to Saudi Arabia. His national security director signaled that the success of his oil diplomacy will be judged in the coming weeks, not immediately.
So will OPEC+ agree to increase production at its Aug. 3 meeting to help ease global prices?
Ellen Wald, president of Transversal Consulting and senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, spoke with senior editor Meghan Gordon about the debate around Saudi Arabia's spare oil capacity, US-Saudi relations, and how Russia likely loomed over the talks.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The International Energy Agency, in its road map for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, set a near-term target for the deployment of carbon capture capacity at 1.7 billion metric tons by 2030, a level that is more than 40 times the global capacity in 2021. The most significant action the US has taken towards reaching that goal has been to provide funding for various types of carbon management technologies and infrastructure through the bipartisan infrastructure law. Specifically, the bill gives the Department of Energy $12.1 billion for carbon projects.
S&P Global reporter Brandon Mulder spoke with Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Brad Crabtree, whose office is tasked with allocating that $12 billion to help jumpstart the carbon capture industry. They spoke about the DOE’s priorities, the new Carbon Negative Shot initiative and possible enhancements to the federal 45Q tax credit.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
Consulting firm ScottMadden’s latest energy industry update, fittingly titled “Under Pressure,” outlines how rising post-pandemic energy demand, ambitious decarbonization targets, soaring commodity prices, and geopolitical tensions have all combined to put immense pressure on the global energy industry.
As a result, the US power sector is seeing its resolve to hold to more aggressive climate goals challenged. With the run-up in natural gas prices, coal generation has risen; wind and solar projects are being held up by the long and growing backlog of projects sitting in interconnection queues across the country; and some wonder if the clean energy transition will need to hit the brakes, at least temporarily, to ensure that utility customers can continue to afford their electricity bills.
S&P Global editor Ellie Potter spoke with ScottMadden partner Cristin Lyons, who leads the firm’s energy practice, about market dynamics and challenges facing the power sector as it seeks to meet the administration’s goal to decarbonize by 2035, as well as some recent actions taken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that could help bring renewable projects online more quickly.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
Global energy markets have gone through dramatic shifts since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the risks around high prices and tight supply are not expected to ease anytime soon.
Atul Arya, chief energy strategist for S&P Global Commodity Insights, spoke with senior editor Meghan Gordon about those challenges.
They discuss how the war has changed the pace of the energy transition away from fossil fuels, whether the focus on energy security is on the rise, and how today's energy crisis compares to the oil shocks of the 1970s. They also look at the long-term impacts of Europe severing economic ties with Russia and the latest outlook for US oil supply growth.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
The Texas Railroad Commission -- which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, not railroads -- just went through perhaps its highest profile election.
Chairman Wayne Christian faced oil and gas lawyer Sarah Stogner who posed tough questions about his enforcement record and the commission's response to the 2021 Texas blackout. Christian won with 65% of the vote, but the campaign raised the profile of the arguments against him.
Now he's facing Democrat Luke Warford in the November general election. Senior editor Meghan Gordon spoke with Warford when he was in Washington, DC, recently.
We also reached out to the Christian campaign but didn't hear back.
Warford argues the commission's poor oversight of the industry deserves blame for the 2021 grid failure and that the regulators have done little since then to ensure that the grid is ready for the next round of extreme weather. He's also campaigning on cutting down on flaring exemptions, which he calls economically wasteful as international demand soars for Texas gas and climate concerns increase.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, which looks at the current lack of oil and gas investment and questions around meeting long-term demand.
This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
The new geopolitical scene is shaking up the outlook for LNG globally. The club of LNG suppliers has greatly expanded, with the US and others looking to increase their export capacity. This has created an environment for more favorable prices and contracts for importers as the desire for energy transition and energy security is boosting global demand, including in countries that have historically not had natural gas, according to AG&P CEO Joe Sigelman.
AG&P is a private LNG and infrastructure solutions platform based in Singapore. The company is focused on fast-tracking development of LNG import terminals, and was able to turn around a major import facility in the Philippines from conception to commissioning in 17 months. Sigelman joined senior editor Jasmin Melvin on the podcast to give his take on the future demand picture for LNG and share his thoughts on how geopolitics and US domestic policies are playing into business decisions for those operating in the sector.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney recently made the rounds in Washington, talking to lawmakers and State Department officials about the role Canada, and specifically Alberta’s oil sands, can play in ensuring North American energy security and easing American drivers’ pain at the pump. And his frustration with the lack of proactive outreach by the Biden administration to Alberta, which accounts for over 60% of US oil and gas imports, was clear.
Kenney joined senior editor Jasmin Melvin on the podcast to share his concerns and hopes for future collaboration between the US and Canada. He discussed Alberta’s ability to increase its crude exports to the US as well as federal policies in Canada and the US that he worries will inhibit resource development.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
As the US and Europe move to cut methane emissions, will the demand pull for cleaner LNG spread to price-sensitive Asia?
Ben Cahill, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published a report this month looking at how concerns about methane emissions might spread elsewhere in the world, and how the focus on methane could reshape the LNG market.
Cahill argues that it will take some time before the market -- and Asian buyers in particular -- start paying a premium for cleaner gas. But he does believe demand for this so-called differentiated LNG will develop eventually.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at the stabilizing US rig count and other trends from first-quarter earnings calls.
This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
As Europe aims to phase out Russian oil imports within months, attention is starting to shift to whether the US will impose secondary sanctions on Russian oil customers.
Edward Fishman, who was the Russia and Europe sanctions lead at the State Department during the Obama administration, argues the US should take that step.
Fishman, nonresident fellow at Columbia's Center for Global Energy Policy, outlines how escrow accounts can be used to keep oil revenues from going to Russia without threatening a shock to global energy supplies. He draws on Iran sanctions history to make the case that China and India would have incentive to comply with US secondary sanctions.
Fishman was a member of a Stanford University working group that outlined steps the Biden administration could take to expand sanctions on Russian energy, transportation, insurance and banking.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
The shipping sector faces a massive challenge in decarbonizing to meet global climate goals.
To accelerate those efforts, leaders at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow last year agreed to develop at least six green shipping corridors by 2025 and many more by 2030. The Biden administration has fully supported the plan and is urging private industry to also get on board.
One of the more significant corridors to emerge is between the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere, and the Port of Shanghai, the world's largest port.
Christopher Cannon, chief sustainability officer at the Port of Los Angeles, spoke with senior editor Meghan Gordon about how plans for the Los Angeles-Shanghai green shipping corridor are shaping up.
They discussed the role fuel producers will play and which alternative fuels look most promising. Cannon also gives an update on efforts to ease West Coast port congestion and predicts another possible port backup when Chinese cities emerge from pandemic lockdowns.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute looking at how workforce issues in the rail sector could affect shipments of oil feedstocks, ethanol, coal, grain and other commodities.
This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
The energy sector has found itself in the crosshairs of what’s been called a rare and dangerous state-sponsored malware threat capable of disruption, sabotage, and potentially physical destruction of energy assets, with LNG and electric facilities believed to be the initial target.
Meanwhile, a collaboration between oil and gas companies and the R&D arm of the Department of Homeland Security, called The Linking the Oil and Gas Industry to Improve Cybersecurity program, is working to bolster the level of cybersecurity in critical systems of interest to the oil and natural gas sector. The program is behind a recent study that takes a look at how a software bill of materials, or SBOM, can be used to manage cybersecurity risks to industrial control systems software from third-party components introduced as part of vendor solutions.
Schneider Electric Vice President and Deputy Product Security Officer Cassie Crossley joined the podcast to discuss the risks vendors introduce to oil and gas operators, the cyber defenses available to the sector and how SBOM development and use could aid the oil and gas industry. Senior editor Jasmin Melvin also asked her about the new malware threat to the energy sector and Schneider Electric’s efforts to thwart it.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
President Joe Biden’s executive order on tackling the climate crisis, among other things, launched a review of existing fossil fuel leasing and permitting practices. Climate and conservation groups had hoped the review would drill down into federal oil and natural gas leasing activity’s impact on climate change, but the report issued Nov. 26 was mostly silent on climate. Now, groups represented by the Western Environmental Law Center are suing Interior to find out if the report was scaled back to court political favors.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with WELC executive director Erik Schlenker-Goodrich about Interior’s report, what groups hope to achieve from their lawsuit and how prices at the pump and geopolitical pressures are playing into this debate.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
This podcast was produced by Jasmin Melvin in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission will soon get an infusion of four new voices, as the Senate voted March 28 on nominations that will bring the derivatives regulator back to a full complement of five members. Some hope this will jumpstart action at the agency after a year of being relatively quiet on energy derivatives regulation.
Tyson Slocum, energy program director at Public Citizen, is among stakeholders pushing the agency to engage publicly on the implementation of its regulation setting federal speculative position limits on physical commodity markets. He also recently authored a letter urging the CFTC to reject any bailouts for commodity traders, in light of wild price swings in energy, metal, and agricultural commodity prices that have stressed the markets.
He joined senior editor Jasmin Melvin on the podcast to discuss that letter and what he’d like to see from this latest composition of the CFTC. He also gave his take on the new US-EU task force working to send more US gas to Europe and the Biden administration’s latest efforts to ease pain at the pump for US consumers.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Global food security, just like energy security, has emerged as a major risk from Russia's war in Ukraine.
Today we're looking at the shakeup in agriculture markets with Peter Meyer, S&P Global's head of grain, oilseed and feedstock analytics.
He explains the role of Russia and Ukraine in growing wheat, corn and other crops for the world, how major buyers like China are reacting, whether US farmers will be able to meet any of these new demands, surging fertilizer costs and how farmers are navigating these risks.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
US oil supply is expected to increase this year, and new tools tracking upstream emissions will bring interesting new insights.
Deb Ryan, head of low-carbon market analytics for S&P Global Commodity Insights, explains her team's monthly carbon-intensity estimates, which rank upstream emissions from 104 oil fields around the world.
She's watching what will happen in the Permian Basin as drillers potentially respond to higher prices but face challenges with gas takeaway capacity.
The US Energy Information Administration estimates US oil supply growth at 850,000 b/d in 2022, and S&P Global raised its outlook to 930,000 b/d to account for higher sustained prices.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The oil markets’ reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been dramatic to say the least as global oil and gas supplies, already struggling to keep up with the strong post-pandemic recovery in fuel demand, were further tightened as countries pulled away from Russian resources. And the Analytics team at S&P Global Commodity Insights has said “there are not sufficient sources of incremental supply to cover a substantial prolonged loss of Russian oil.”
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with foreign policy and international energy specialist Brenda Shaffer about what’s needed to shore up global energy supplies and bring down prices, as well as whether sanctions remain the right tool for dealing with geopolitical conflicts.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
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The Russia crisis has upended the energy world in significant ways, posing massive new risks for supply, demand and prices.
Joe McMonigle, secretary-general of the International Energy Forum, joined us to discuss some of those important shifts.
He doesn't see actual oil supply disruptions stemming from the Russia crisis so far, and he continues to view insufficient upstream investment as the top risk to energy markets ahead. We also asked him about current dynamics between OPEC+ and oil-consuming countries, and whether the Russia crisis changes the scope or timeline of the energy transition.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Tell us more about your podcast preferences so we can keep improving our shows. Take our two-minute survey here: https://bit.ly/plattspod22
Will US oil drillers respond to triple-digit oil prices after months of restraint?
Scott Sheffield, CEO of top Permian driller Pioneer Natural Resources, tells Capitol Crude that his commitment to slow growth could soon shift as a result of the Russia crisis. He said Pioneer could ramp up to 10% growth for a few years if there's a global effort to replace Russian exports.
S&P Global Commodity Insights recently raised its outlook for US oil supply growth to just under 1 million barrels per day for 2022 to account for higher sustained prices.
Sheffield also addresses potential demand risks from high oil prices, the Biden administration's approach to US oil supply, the future of the OPEC+ alliance, and how the Russia crisis is rewriting the energy transition timeline.
Tell us more about your podcast preferences so we can keep improving our shows. Take our two-minute survey here: https://bit.ly/plattspod22
Using satellite data from 2019 and 2020, a team of French and US researchers created the first systematic estimate of large methane leaks that can only be seen from space. They detected about 1,800 so-called “ultra-emitters” over the two years, of which roughly 1,200 came from oil and gas facilities. Those high-emitting events, which are normally undetectable and not accounted for in national greenhouse gas inventories, represented as much as 12% of global methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, according to their study.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with Antoine Halff, co-founder and chief analyst at Kayrros, a French data analytics company that supplied the data that the study was based on, about the prevalence and causes of oil and gas “ultra-emitters” and the climate benefits as well as business opportunities that could come from greater use of satellites to detect and address these emissions.
Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Tell us more about your podcast preferences so we can keep improving our shows. Take our two-minute survey here: https://bit.ly/plattspod22
The International Maritime Organization has set its sights on slashing the global shipping industry’s total emissions in half by 2050, with an interim target of cutting the carbon intensity of all ships by at least 40% by 2030. S&P Global Platts Analytics expects momentum to build for ammonia-fueled ships as companies strive to meet these ambitious goals, and sees the potential for more than 2,500 vessels to be powered by ammonia by 2030 under an aspirational case, while its reference case is more conservative at 469 vessels.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with Carbon Neutral Consulting President Steve Crolius about potential applications for ammonia in a sustainable energy economy and what is needed for the fuel to take off within the maritime industry.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Tell us more about your podcast preferences so we can keep improving our shows. Take our two-minute survey here: https://bit.ly/plattspod22
Where is US oil production headed with prices at $90/b and some analysts seeing triple digits ahead?
We're digging into the US upstream outlook from several angles, with:
• Mitch Fane, Ernst & Young's Americas energy leader, on what's driving capital decisions, uncertainty around ESG disclosure requirements, and the state of industry consolidation and digital transformation (3:16).
• Nathan Hasbrook, analyst for S&P Global Platts Analytics, who shares the outlook for 2022 supply and a longer view of US shale's future (1:04).
• Starr Spencer, Platts senior editor for Americas oil news, with the Market Minute on the demand for premium drilling rigs, an example of cost pressures hitting the industry (16.45).
Tell us more about your podcast preferences so we can keep improving our shows. Take our two-minute survey here: https://bit.ly/plattspod22
This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Derek Sands in New York.
Russia's standoff with the West over Ukraine continues to stir anxieties across global energy and commodity markets about possible new sanctions.
Brian O'Toole, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former senior sanctions official at the US Treasury Department, joined Platts senior editor Meghan Gordon to discuss the penalties the US and EU might impose if Russia invades. He predicts a "broadening and deepening" of the Western sanctions leveled in 2014.
They also discuss how the sanctions might differ if there's a perceived lesser threat like a cyberattack and how the backdrop of rising energy prices makes the stakes so high.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Russia-Ukraine standoff has significant implications for the global gas and LNG markets, given Europe's reliance on Russian supply.
It's peak winter demand season, and European gas inventories have been falling daily. Gas in storage stands at about 40% full, versus 53% full at the same time a year ago.
The Biden administration said last week it was working with European allies to find additional natural gas supplies from North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the US in the event military conflict breaks out and Russian flows get disrupted.
Platts Atlantic LNG senior editor Harry Weber spoke with Charif Souki, executive chairman of US liquefaction terminal developer Tellurian, about the current state of the LNG market and whether the US dialogue can make a difference.
Souki co-founded and formerly served as CEO of Cheniere Energy, the biggest US LNG exporter. At Tellurian, he is developing Driftwood LNG, an up to 27.6 million mt/year export facility in Louisiana.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Countries around the world committed to keeping the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius at the last United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. But when looking at the world’s aggregate performance across key indicators of clean energy innovation, a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation found "a global lack of urgency." And without an immediate surge in effort by countries working with the private sector, the report suggests chances for mitigating the worst impacts of climate change will slip away.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with the report's author, ITIF senior policy analyst Hoyu Chong, about her work analyzing the health of the global clean energy innovation system and what it means for the global fight against climate change.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
As you heard in last week's episode, geopolitical events have the potential to move energy markets in a big way in 2022.
Today we're looking at three key geopolitical angles that have some common ties: the Russia-Ukraine tensions, the recent unrest in Kazakhstan, and fuel subsidies in general.
Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical adviser for S&P Global Platts Analytics, joined senior editor Meghan Gordon to discuss how each of these issues could impact oil and other energy markets this year.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Global oil markets are starting 2022 with a number of factors that could make for another volatile year.
OPEC is continuing its monthly supply increases but taking a cautious approach so far given uncertain demand. A return of Iran barrels is not a sure thing as the nuclear talks stretch into a second year.
The US tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a big way at the end of last year, but that did little to soften prices.
Russia-Ukraine tensions are at the forefront geopolitically, and they have potential to exacerbate European and global energy prices.
We asked several oil market experts to weigh in on the same question: Will OPEC allow oil prices to reach $100/b in 2022?
We heard from:
• Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets (1:32)
• Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group (3:57)
• Rachel Ziemba of Ziemba Insights (6:54)
• Dan Pickering of Pickering Energy Partners (7:52)
• Jacques Rousseau, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners (9:43)
• Ellen Wald, president of Transversal Consulting (10:44)
• Nareeka Ahir, geopolitical analyst for S&P Global Platts Analytics (13:18)
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute on how US producers are looking at the year ahead.
US oil refiners are pushing back against the Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to deny small refinery exemptions and other aspects of the latest biofuel mandate. They argue the policy will force some plants to close and increase gasoline prices further at a time the Biden administration is looking to ease pain at the pump for US drivers.
In its long-awaited Renewable Fuel Standard proposal, EPA adjusted down blending volumes for 2020 and 2021 to take into account the severe drop in transportation fuel demand resulting from coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
Refiners report gasoline and diesel demand inching back up to over 90% of 2019 levels, but a full recovery is not expected until late in 2022.
Platts senior writer Janet McGurty spoke with Derrick Morgan, senior vice president for federal and regulatory affairs at the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, about the small refinery waivers, RIN market volatility and how refiners view the latest blending targets.
A broad cross section of the energy industry has been in battle with the Federal Communications Commission over a band of airwaves, called spectrum, that tech and telecom companies gained the right to operate their mass-market wireless devices on last year. Because this spectrum is finite, it is allocated by the federal government, with the FCC managing commercial spectrum licenses.
But the energy sector has argued that the FCC doesn’t consider criticality as it’s doling out those airwaves. And this has created a situation in which power, oil and gas companies contend that the FCC has taken actions that could harm their ability to bolster grid and pipeline reliability.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with American Public Power Association CEO Joy Ditto about the implications of an FCC order that was adopted last year despite vocal opposition from almost every major power and gas trade group and pushback from both the Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The pandemic interrupted a steady surge in global air travel demand, when passenger numbers tripled in just over 20 years.
Jet fuel demand remains below pre-pandemic levels and is not expected to fully recover until late 2025 or 2026, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. Yet the race is still on to limit aviation emissions growth because there are no quick fixes for decarbonizing this sector.
The International Energy Agency expects aviation emissions to be 12% above pre-pandemic levels in 2030, even if airlines and governments meet their announced sustainability goals.
Rep. Sean Casten, Democrat-Illinois, spoke with Platts senior editor Meghan Gordon about the policy outlook for sustainable aviation fuel, whether the US can meet the Biden administration's supply and emission targets, and some of the challenges could stand in the way.
They spoke a day after Casten joined the CEOs of United Airlines and Marathon Oil, along with other officials, on the first passenger flight fueled by 100% SAF.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Reducing carbon emissions has been a central tenet of the Biden administration’s climate agenda. But methane is over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide emissions in terms of global warming potential. Roughly a quarter of the warming occurring now is driven by methane, and the oil and gas sector is the single largest source of those emissions in the US.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that methane garnered a lot of attention at the global climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland last month. And domestically, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tougher methane regulations while Congress is weighing the imposition of a fee on methane emissions above certain emissions intensity targets.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with Kyle Danish, a climate lawyer and Clean Air Act expert, about the proposed methane regulations and a pending Supreme Court case that could send shockwaves through US climate policy.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The year is nearly over and the US Environmental Protection Agency has yet to formally propose biofuel blending requirements for 2021, and will miss the Nov. 30 deadline to finalize Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements for 2022 as well. The Biden administration has also already missed a Nov. 1 deadline to issue a multi-year rule setting renewable fuel volumes for 2023 and beyond.
The country’s leading association of biofuel producers has put the EPA on notice that this is unacceptable. Growth Energy gave the EPA 60 days to meet its statutory obligations, after which it plans to sue the agency. That clock started running Nov. 2.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor about the group’s notice of intent to sue and the impacts of this delayed action on ethanol producers and consumers.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The latest US inflation data showed energy costs jumping 30% in the 12 months through October. The trend is expected to continue through the winter, as home-heating costs rise across the board.
The US Energy Information Administration predicts propane will see the biggest price spike in percentage terms, with heating costs surging 46%, compared with 39% for heating oil, 29% for natural gas and 6% for electricity.
Senior editor Meghan Gordon spoke with Andrew Neal, manager of global NGLs for S&P Global Platts Analytics, about some of the dynamics behind the higher prices.
They talked about strong global demand for US propane exports, the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline controversy in Michigan, and calls by some in Washington to limit US energy exports in the face of high domestic prices.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
US gasoline prices remain high well after the summer driving season. Domestic oil production isn't coming back fast as investors remain wary. And now President Joe Biden has struck out asking OPEC to put more oil supply on the market to help ease prices.
OPEC+ decided Nov. 4 to stick to its original plan of increasing its production quotas by 400,000 b/d in December.
Senior editor Meghan Gordon spoke with Herman Wang, managing editor for OPEC and Middle East news, about the meeting's outcome and its implications for global oil supply and demand heading into next year. They spoke about US oil diplomacy, the possibility of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve release and the outlook for OPEC+ spare capacity.
Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, has been hailed as the world’s best last chance to get a handle on the climate crisis. In the US, groups like the Electric Power Research Institute are working on climate solutions and advancing energy technologies to meet increasingly ambitious decarbonization goals set by companies and governments. As part of that effort, EPRI, along with its natural gas counterpart, launched the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative, an international R&D collaborative aimed at finding an energy carrier suitable for a decarbonized, sustainable future.
Senior editor Jasmin Melvin spoke with Neva Espinoza, EPRI’s vice president of energy supply and low-carbon resources, about the organization’s work on deep decarbonization and progress towards deployment of low-carbon fuels of the future.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
With tight supplies and strong demand helping create large swings in global gas prices, Japanese utility JERA is staying the course.
The world’s largest LNG buyer is focused on its supply procurement and trading strategy.
Sunao Nakamura, a senior managing executive officer at JERA and chief of the Japanese company’s optimization department, spoke with Platts Senior Editor Harry Weber about the gas-pricing environment, where the market could be headed and how JERA is responding. He also addressed how the energy transition affects the decision-making process.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Asphalt, the heaviest part of crude used in road and home construction, could see a surge in demand as the $1 trillion infrastructure bill would provide record amounts of funding for highway improvements. But all that depends on the bill making it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
That legislation also includes critical language that would provide five years of funding stability for the federal-aid highway program and other surface-transportation programs that are soon set to expire. Reauthorizing surface transportation programs was not easy, even before things got so polarized on the Hill. And in this go-around, the stakes are even higher as the Highway Trust Fund used to reimburse states for road projects is running out of money, so simply kicking the can down the road is not as viable an option.
Jasmin Melvin spoke with Jay Hansen, executive vice president for advocacy at the National Asphalt Pavement Association, about the potential influx in federal dollars for highway projects and the impact of political infighting on the asphalt industry.
Stick around after the interview for Jeff Mower with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Amid a crowded field of US liquefaction projects, Commonwealth LNG is looking to build momentum for its proposed 8.4 million mt/year facility in Louisiana as it targets a final investment decision in late 2022 and shipping its first LNG in 2025.
Senior editor Harry Weber spoke with Commonwealth LNG CEO Paul Varello about the state of the global market, the status of commercial efforts to support his project, and the impact that the run-up in spot prices in Asia and Europe is having on US aspirations to one day become the world’s biggest exporter of the super-chilled power plant fuel.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Last week brought another major development in the outlook for the US adoption of electric vehicles, with Ford Motor Co. and South Korea's SK Innovations announcing an $11 billion project to manufacture EVs and lithium-ion batteries in Kentucky and Tennessee starting in 2025.
A lot of uncertainties still surround the outlook for EV adoption in the US, including government incentives like those in President Biden's Build Back Better proposal, the cost comparison with gas-powered cars, and scale-up of charging infrastructure.
Senior editor Meghan Gordon spoke with Karen Felton, EY's head of Americas power and utilities, about what she sees for the electrification of US transportation.
Stick around after the interview for Senior editor Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Global oil demand will still be significant for years, even under the most ambitious energy transition. So which basins will continue to produce, and which others will be abandoned?
Offshore E&P company Kosmos Energy has answered those questions by halting its frontier exploration and selling those assets in the past two years. Its oil portfolio is now focused on two areas: West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico, and it aims to increasingly shift to natural gas.
Senior editor Meghan Gordon spoke with Mike Anderson, senior vice president for external affairs and sustainability at Kosmos Energy.
They talked about how offshore drillers are confronting the energy transition, the carbon intensity of different crude streams and the implications for the lack of investment happening right in the Gulf of Mexico.
They also looked at the energy disparity between developed and developing countries, and how world leaders might approach those tensions at COP26 in November.
Stick around for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The American Gas Association has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and believes that natural gas utilities are well-positioned to help the Biden administration achieve the ambitious climate goals laid out by the president, though they’re not on board with some proposals floated on Capitol Hill, including the methane fee. Jasmin Melvin spoke with Richard Meyer, AGA’s vice president of energy markets, analysis and standards, about the administration’s climate agenda and what natural gas utilities are doing about their carbon and methane footprints. Stick around after the interview for Chris Van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Chris Midgley, global director of analytics at S&P Global Platts, shares his latest outlook for global oil demand heading into the third year of the pandemic and takes stock of the tension between climate ambitions and economic growth.
Midgley explains why US shale drillers continue to hold back despite relatively higher oil prices, whether the US and Iran will likely reach a nuclear deal to remove oil sanctions, and how US Gulf Coast producers and refiners are recovering after Hurricane Ida.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
As August comes to a close, Washington, DC, is ramping up again with energy issues before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
On the natural gas side, the commission could start answering longstanding questions about how it will evaluate pipelines and LNG facilities in the face of opposition and pressure to weigh climate change impacts.
In terms of electric markets, FERC recently kicked off a new proceeding that could revamp its transmission policies to help connect more renewable energy sources to the grid. The commission will also examine PJM’s proposed “focused” minimum offer price rule, a contentious proceeding aimed at limiting the exercise of buyer-side market power.
Additionally, there have been several recent noteworthy actions pertaining to the US Department of the Interior’s pause on new federal oil and gas leasing.
Platts senior editor Maya Weber and editor Ellie Potter join DC bureau chief Chris Newkumet to discuss some of the major debates before FERC and the potential implications of an evenly split commission.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute with Chris van Moessner for a look at near-term oil market drivers.
President Joe Biden took a strong stance against fossil fuels right away, essentially canceling the long-simmering Keystone XK Pipeline and implementing a moratorium on all new oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and waters.
Since then though, his administration has refused to oppose other key crude oil pipeline projects, such as the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the nearly completed Line 3 replacement pipeline from Canada.
Also, while his campaign promised to cancel new oil and gas permits on federal lands, those permits have kept flowing during the ongoing leasing moratorium that's currently being fought in courts.
Supporters say he's taking a balanced approach for a country that still needs oil and gas as it transitions toward more renewables, while critics have called his administration hypocritical or, at best, intentionally inconsistent.
Energy law professor James Coleman joins S&P Global Platts senior editor Jordan Blum to discuss the many legal and policy issues at play under the new administration.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute with senior editor Starr Spencer, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Representative Sean Casten, Democrat-Illinois, has not been shy in sharing his belief that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will be essential in combatting climate change and pivotal to achieving the US’ ambitious clean energy and decarbonization goals.
To get the message across and garner support for legislation aimed at granting FERC greater authority to facilitate the shift to a clean energy economy, the congressman has put his spin on Megan Thee Stallion and Fergie hits while delivering remarks on the House floor.
Jasmin Melvin spoke with Casten, a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and a former energy industry executive, about his tactics, FERC and climate policy.
They talk about the need for power market design reforms, biofuels’ role in reducing carbon emissions, and concerns that Congress is not acting with the urgency the climate crisis demands.
Stick around after the interview for Jordan Blum with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The Biden administration is racing to adopt its energy and climate policy priorities before the pressures of the 2022 midterm elections limit what the White House can do.
Meghan Gordon spoke with Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, about a few of the policies set to make a big impact on the US economy, energy producers and market dynamics.
They talk about the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's effort to assess climate risks to the financial system, and the threat high pump prices have on President Joe Biden's green agenda.
Stick around after the interview for Chris van Moessner with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Many of the key moments in the oil markets still echo today and are useful in looking at the challenges ahead for producers, consumers and markets during the energy transition away from fossil fuels.
We spoke with Adi Imsirovic, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and former global head of oil at Gazprom Marketing & Trading, about his new book, "Trading and Price Discovery for Crude Oils."
We talk about the role of governments and regulators in markets, what the pandemic tells us about the energy transition, the future of the OPEC+ alliance, and which producers will left standing.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US Department of Energy’s newly rebranded Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management aims to fund the research and technology deployment that will help the US reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
We spoke with Acting Assistant Secretary Jennifer Wilcox, head of the office and a carbon capture expert, about some of the promising technologies to curb US dependence on fossil fuels and cut emissions. We talked about harder-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation, shipping and long-haul trucking, as well as a proposal to expand the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Silos within the energy industry are coming down as companies confront the need to dramatically cut carbon emissions.
The so-called energy convergence is the idea that companies, policy makers and regulators need to be more collaborative across the energy spectrum.
Joe Brettell is a partner for strategic engagement at Prosody Group, which consults on energy, agriculture and financial services. We asked him about the rising importance of US regulators, climate-related investor pressures, and the changing focus of the US energy capital Houston as it adapts to the energy transition.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil-market drivers.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are locked in a dispute over how to ease oil-production limits as global demand recovers from the pandemic.
Nareeka Ahir, a geopolitical analyst at S&P Global Platts Analytics, tells us about the oil market risks that could emerge from the fight.
She also shares the latest geopolitical risks from the Iran nuclear talks, Iraq's widespread power outages, Nigeria's oil facility attacks and Libya's volatile oil output.
Freeport LNG CEO Michael Smith joined us to talk about the state of the market, his company's expansion plans, climate concerns and the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Activity has started picking up for US developers of new liquefaction terminals after a two-year lull in firm commercial deals that predated the coronavirus pandemic.
For existing exporters, global gas and LNG forward prices are trending strong and relatively stable, pointing to a long runway for exporters to enjoy healthy netbacks on deliveries to Europe and Asia, buffeted by cheap feedgas costs due to low US Henry Hub prices.
Feedgas deliveries to US LNG export terminals have recently been averaging over 11 Bcf/d, implying utilization of over 90%. Later this year, a seventh major US LNG export terminal could start up and a sixth train at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass could begin production.
As extreme weather events continue across the US, they're disrupting energy supplies and demanding more planning for the future.
Texas and California have both in recent weeks asked residents to conserve electricity to avoid power grid failures, only a few months after crippling power outages during Texas' deep freeze. And the Gulf Coast just started what looks to be an active hurricane season.
Today's guest believes the conversation about the energy transition away from fossil fuels has not focused enough on energy resilience.
Economist and energy expert Paul Sullivan says our society and energy systems are a lot more brittle and vulnerable than most people think. Sullivan is the lead of the Energy Industry Study at the National Defense University and a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches a class on energy and environmental security.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
It's no secret that the power sector is undergoing dramatic changes.
Market dynamics and ambitious decarbonization goals set by the Biden administration are driving a transition away from fossil fuels and toward more renewable energy and electric vehicles.
Consumers and investors are also expressing new expectations for sustainability and a cleaner energy economy.
Utility executives have acknowledged a need for new digital technologies and a digitally savvy workforce, but a new survey by Ernst & Young found that the utility sector is falling behind in this digital transformation.
Nearly 90% of utility executives say they do not have enough workers with the right skills to take advantage of digital technologies, and many lack a plan to proceed.
We spoke with Ryan Levine of Ernst & Young about the report and what it means for the power sector going forward.
Venezuelan sanctions and the Maduro regime have been a backburner issue so far for US President Joe Biden. When he was elected, many energy analysts predicted he would grant some sanctions relief on humanitarian grounds.
Fernando Ferreira, director of Rapidan Energy Group’s Geopolitical Risk Service, predicts we'll start to see the White House's direction on Venezuela later this year. We asked him about the ban on diesel-for-crude swaps, Chevron's waiver extension, the status of opposition leader Juan Guaido and the future of Venezuela's oil production.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US and Iran are entering a sixth round of indirect talks in Vienna aimed at restarting the 2015 nuclear deal.
S&P Global Platts Analytics still expects the sides to reach a deal in the coming months, with the Biden administration removing sanctions on Iran's oil, petrochemical, shipping and other sectors by September. This sanctions relief would allow Iran to boost crude and condensate exports to 1.5 million b/d by December, from 600,000 b/d in May.
We spoke with Henry Rome, senior analyst at the Eurasia Group, about the main sticking points to reaching a deal. He also walks through some of the domestic political dynamics in Tehran and Washington and gives his prediction for when higher Iranian oil exports will start to flow.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
Related stories:
US State Department sees longer road ahead for Iran talks, lifting sanctions
Infographic: Iran's oil industry eyes end to sanctions
Investors are proving they have climate change and the energy transition on the their minds.
Last week, activist investors got at least two seats on the ExxonMobil board of directors, and Chevron's shareholders approved Scope 3 emission targets, both which could lead to lower oil and gas production ahead.
The popularity of ESG (environmental, social and governance) investments is soaring. But what does it even mean for a company to adopt that label, and how do we weigh one ESG pledge against another?
Jonathan Chanis, managing member of New Tide Asset Management, believes ESG priorities are here to stay. He thinks regulators have a role to play to make sure these ESG labels mean something but he sees potential risks from regulators getting these reforms wrong.
The Biden administration surprised many last week in granting a sanctions waiver to the company building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
The move allows work to continue on the almost-finished project, despite long-standing US opposition on the grounds that it will increase Germany's dependence on Russian gas supplies.
We spoke with US Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican-North Dakota, who introduced a bill to reinstate the Nord Stream 2 sanctions.
The pipeline is expected to be completed this summer, possibly before the next State Department report is due to Congress in mid-August.
Cramer also gives his outlook for North Dakota oil production, the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Interior Department’s leasing ban.
The White House and Democrats in Congress are looking at a number of ways to increase taxes and federal revenues from the oil and gas industry as part of their climate and clean energy agenda.
They're looking at higher royalty rates on federal lands and eliminating deductions like intangible drilling costs and percentage depletion.
We spoke with Dan Naatz, executive vice president for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, about how his group is engaging on this issue. We also talked about where he sees the Interior Department's leasing ban headed and the impact of Congress restoring Obama-era methane emissions.
S&P Global Platts Analytics predicts the leasing moratorium eventually could lower US onshore production by more than 1 million b/d in the next five years, while risks to offshore production will not show up for at least 10 years. Total US oil production is projected to grow by at least 200,000 b/d in 2021 and by 1 million b/d in 2022, but it won't reach its pre-pandemic peak of nearly 13 million b/d until at least 2023.
We're sizing up some of the top geopolitical factors influencing oil markets with Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical adviser for S&P Global Platts Analytics.
The US and Iran entered a fourth round of indirect talks in Vienna this month. Sheldon explains why he still sees good odds of a framework deal emerging within weeks and what that would mean for the US easing sanctions on Iran's oil, petrochemical, shipping and other sectors.
Sheldon also previews OPEC's June 1 meeting, looks further out at the durability of the OPEC+ alliance, and gives his outlook for any easing of Venezuela sanctions.
Will the cyberattack that forced the largest US oil pipeline to shut down for days be a wake-up call for the industry to rapidly shore up its cyber defenses?
On this special episode, we have two interviews from cybersecurity experts. Both say they were not entirely surprised by the attack on the Colonial Pipeline, as they have witnessed the oil and gas sector be slower to adopt cyber security programs than counterparts in the utility sector.
Leo Simonovich, global head of industrial cyber at Siemens Energy, returns to Capitol Crude after joining us last year, when he made the case that the industry's digital transformation was being accelerated by the pandemic and that it was compounding cyber risks.
John Cusimano, vice president of industrial cybersecurity at aeSolutions, explains the challenges that pipeline networks face in guarding against attacks.
Just how realistic are the ESG goals being set each quarter by US energy producers in the face of rising pressure from investors, banks and the government to become more environmentally sustainable?
The Biden administration has ushered in new climate priorities across the government, including the Environmental Protection Agency reviewing methane limits, the Federal Reserve weighing climate risks to the economy, and the Securities and Exchange Commission examining climate disclosures in public markets.
We spoke with Andrew Logan, director the oil and gas program at Ceres, an investor network focused on making financial markets and companies more environmentally sustainable.
He sized up President Biden’s climate policy progress so far, how oil and gas producers are responding to these pressures, whether carbon capture solutions are being oversold, and what rapid decarbonization could mean for the energy sector.
The US Interior Department has approved more than 500 drilling permits on federal lands and waters since January, despite the Biden administration's halt to new lease sales. The agency has not said when it might resume leasing, other than canceling any sales through June.
Producer-state senators contend that this pause will turn into a permanent ban. Senator John Hoeven, Republican-North Dakota, made that case on yesterday's Capitol Crude podcast. We took a look at how the leasing review is actually impacting US oil production.
Ash Singh, S&P Global Platts manager of supply and production analytics, shares the latest outlook and gives his prediction for how leasing might resume. He also gets into the current economic climate for US drillers and how capital discipline is playing out in the early stages of pandemic recovery.
The Dakota Access Pipeline returns to court today for a pivotal hearing. The Biden administration has been asked by the federal judge in the case to disclose whether it supports an immediate shutdown of the pipeline while the Army Corps of Engineers conducts a new environmental review.
We spoke with Senator John Hoeven, Republican-North Dakota, about the risks to the state if Dakota Access has to shut down.
We also asked him about the Interior Department's federal leasing ban, carbon capture tax incentives, Congress' competing infrastructure packages and US/OPEC relations.
North Dakota's oil production plummeted last year from a peak of 1.5 million b/d in November 2019 to a low point of 864,000 b/d in May 2020, losing its status as the second top oil-producing state to New Mexico for a few months. It pumped 1.1 million b/d in February, putting it back ahead of New Mexico by a thin margin.
Louisiana sits at the crossroads of US climate policy, from experiencing some of the earliest effects of rising sea levels and changing weather patterns to depending on fossil fuels for economic growth.
We spoke with US Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican-Louisiana, about how the Biden administration's climate policies are playing out in his state.
He contends the White House's climate ambitions ignore just how dependent the US is on fossil fuels given the pace of cleaner alternatives.
We also asked Cassidy about the Interior Department's leasing moratorium, how offshore drillers are shifting assets out of Louisiana, and what he expects on US-OPEC relations under the Biden White House.
Argentina's oil production has been on the rise this year, recovering from the demand and price impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oil output climbed to 492,000 b/d in February, up from 446,000 b/d in May. While that was still down from 520,000 b/d in March 2020, market watchers appear confident that production will fully recover by the end of 2021.
Argentina's current administration has been keen on boosting production, primarily from the Vaca Muerta shale play, which is said to hold roughly 1 billion barrels of oil -- but unlocking those reserves will require changes to Argentina's regulatory and tax environment, and a shift to transparent oil prices.
We talked with Maria Garcia, S&P Global Platts senior editor for Latin American crude, and Charles Newberry, Platts' Argentina correspondent, about what's happening.
Opportunity zones are tax-advantaged investment vehicles that grew out of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to bring economic redevelopment to impoverished areas.
For the oil and gas industry, opportunity zones can benefit producers and investors.
US Energy Development, a small upstream producer, recently added an opportunity zone to its portfolio in New Mexico called the Shetland project.
We talked with Matthew Iak, executive vice president at US Energy, about opportunity zones, the company's strategy and the Sheltland project.
The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico came to power with the promise to undo the energy reform of his predecessor, which opened the private sector to investment.
During the last 18 months, the government has issued agreements, decrees and regulations in its strategy to benefit the state utility.
We spoke to Victor Ureta of Acclaim Energy, a Mexico-based consultancy, about those legal moves, the impact on the industry, and what we can expect from those processes.
The dearth of newly sanctioned LNG export projects in 2020 and so far in 2021 — especially in North America, which has been responsible for the majority of new LNG supply globally over the last five years — is a worrisome sign for the market that could lead to more price volatility in the future.
In North America, there was only one new liquefaction project sanctioned last year — Sempra Energy’s Energia Costa Azul project on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. More than a dozen other developers in the US, Canada, and Mexico are actively pursuing projects of their own, although the field is dwindling amid ongoing contracting and financing challenges.
Exelon-backed Annova LNG recently canceled its LNG export project in Texas. Analysts expect more US greenfield projects to drop off the board.
We spoke with Tellurian CEO Octavio Simoes about the developer’s continued efforts to secure commercial support for its proposed Driftwood LNG facility in Louisiana.
Environmental, social and governance considerations have becoming pressing issues among refiners in today's net-zero carbon world.
While other refiners and oil companies are starting to embrace ESG, it has been a key part of Meridian Energy's strategy since 2013, when the company was formed.
We talked with Meridian CEO Bill Prentice about building an ESG refinery in North Dakota.
Mexican production of crude oil has declined continuously since reaching a peak in 2004. Since then, the government has tried to bring back production while keeping revenues steady.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has embarked on a new quest to rescue Pemex, whose waning revenues have been needed to help develop Mexico for the last seven decades.
We spoke with Marco Cota, a former Pemex executive and now
head of Talanza Energy, a Mexico City consultancy, about Pemex's
chances to become the engine for economic development that the government wants, as well as the impact on Mexico of the USMCA free trade agreement and a renewed US focus on clean energy.
Conversations at this year's CERAWeek by IHS Markit, held virtually this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, were wide ranging, although energy transition was often the main topic.
As the shortest route from the US Gulf Coast to East Asia, the Panama Canal has emerged as a key fixture in global trade flow dynamics.
We spoke with Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, who has been working to reduce congestion of the canal, which has grown in part because of LNG shipments from the US.
For the past several days, much of the producing states of Texas and Oklahoma have been gripped by sub-freezing temperatures, ice storms and snow.
Today we talk with Parker Fawcett, North American supply analyst for S&P Global Platts Analytics, to discuss the impact of the severe weather on US oil and gas production, and other consequences of the winter storms.
The Uinta Basin in Utah is the producing area of the US Rocky Mountains. Its production has declined in recent years for two reasons: the region's isolation and the gooey, waxy crude produced from it.
We spoke with Mark Hemphill, senior vice president for the Rio Grande Pacific Corp. He is project manager for the Uinta Basin Railway, an 85-mile, $1.5 billion project to bring Uinta Basin crude to a connecting point with two Class I railroads near Kyune Pass, Utah.
US President Joe Biden make good on his campaign promises and rejoined the Paris Agreement upon taking office, a move that has huge implications for Mexico in particular, given the current energy strategy of the government, which focuses on fossil fuels.
We spoke with Aldo Flores-Quiroga, senior adviser for energy and natural resources at FTI Consulting. He formerly served as secretary-general of the International Energy Forum.
Apart from simple supply and demand, nothing impacts oil markets as much as geopolitics.
Former President Donald Trump did everything he could to load up sanctions on countries like Iran and Venezuela in order to cut down on their crude exports. Now we'll see what President Joe Biden might do and whether those moves lead to more barrels coming back on oversupplied markets.
We spoke with Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical adviser for S&P Global Platts Analytics, about the Biden presidency and the potential impact on global oil markets.
President Joe Biden's inauguration was particularly momentous, including for energy companies and markets. A flurry of executive actions were signed just hours after Biden took the oath of office, and against that background there are big changes underway in federal policy. Oil, natural gas and energy transition will all be impacted by these early moves.
Today we are looking at oil storage trends. Oil storage sits at the heart of oil pricing, and a lot has happened in this arena over the last year, mirroring crude and product markets.
Ahead of S&P Global Platts' Oil Storage Virtual Conference, to be
held January 21, we talked with two experts in the field: Richard Redoglia, CEO of Matrix Global Holdings; and Steven Barsamian, Chief Operating Officer of the Tank Tiger.
Today we are examining the outlook for new North American liquefaction projects to be sanctioned in 2021 amid a virtual standstill in 2020.
The recent runup in the Platts JKM has buoyed developers, but challenges remain.
S&P Global Platts natural writer Harry Weber spoke with Charif Souki, co-founder and executive chairman of Tellurian, which is proposing to build an export facility in Louisiana. Souki also co-founded Cheniere Energy, the biggest LNG exporter in the US.
The 2020 US elections were arguably the most consequential of our time. Among the many issues that drove voters to choose one candidate over another was energy. Oil, natural gas and the energy transition all were at play, and now the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden will be expected to deliver on promises made.
Jasmin Melvin and Maya Weber of S&P Global Platts and Ellie Potter of S&P Global Market Intelligence discuss the challenges and opportunities for Biden in his first 100 days and what that could mean for energy markets.
Earlier this year the oil market suffered a historic price collapse as pandemic-blunted demand left the world awash in crude.
Against this background, the OPEC+ group in April agreed to is deepest-ever production cuts. The agreement was largely successful in fostering a recovery in oil prices throughout the summer and fall, but oil demand outlooks have again come under pressure. The group reached a compromise agreement December 3 to scale back production quotas and to meet monthly to fine-tune output as conditions warrant.
Today we talk with Ed Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, to discuss what the OPEC+ deal means for market volatility, its impact on rebounding US crude production, and what effect the incoming Biden administration could have on the group's thinking next year.
US crude output fell this year in response to low demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
Production has held at around 10.5 million b/d to 11 million b/d since late October, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
But that is down roughly 2 million b/d on the year, and many analysts expect little change for 2021.
However, some oil industry leaders are much more bearish on production.
Adam Waterous is one of them.
Waterous, managing partner and CEO of North American private equity firm Waterous Energy Fund, believes the Permian Basin in particular has already peaked. Investors have been burned by low
returns and are not likely come back in force, according to Waterous.
He joins us today to discuss the implications of what he describes as a major structural shift in the industry, and where it is headed.
The presidential election is over, and the results are being certified. President Donald Trump may keep contesting votes in court, but we’re expecting the beginning of the Biden administration come January.
Today we look at the state of the midstream oil sector amid an ongoing pandemic and an upcoming Democratic White House that won’t be as friendly toward putting new pipe in the ground.
The never-ending fight over the Keystone XL pipeline hangs in the balance, as does the fate of the 3-year-old Dakota Access Pipeline that’s fighting for its life in court.
But, in much of the continent, the industry is overbuilt with weaker global crude demand and falling US oil exports.
We spoke with Katie Bays, managing director of FiscalNote, about what the midstream sector should expect in 2021 and beyond concerning regulations, pending projects, M&A and more.
California and its clean car ambitions had a lot riding on the US presidential election.
The state's Air Resources Board spent the Trump presidency fighting with the US Environmental Protection Agency about its rollback of Obama-era tailpipe standards, which were set to increase average fuel economy of the US passenger vehicle fleet by 5% annually from 2021 to 2026. The Trump administration slashed these targets to a 1.5% annual increase.
Trump's EPA also moved to revoke California's long-held waiver to set tougher air quality standards than the national limits, and it is still battling that in courts.
The incoming Biden administration, however, means a smoother ride for California's clean car goals.
In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an ambitious target to phase out new sales of gasoline-powered cars and passenger trucks by 2035. This zero-emission vehicle policy also set a 2045 goal for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
We have two interviews today on California's clean car ambitions:
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Jennifer McIsaac, lead analyst of emissions and clean energy for Platts Analytics' Future Energy Outlook Service, on the market, policy and logistical challenges ahead.
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John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART, a clean transportation nonprofit, about the results of a recent study showing that auto suppliers want policy makers to set strong standards in this area.
Stick around after both interviews for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The US oil and gas sector is facing several huge transitions all at once: the immediate crisis brought on by the pandemic and a longer-term energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Today we're looking at a third shift confronting the US upstream: digital transformation and the need for the oil and gas workforce to catch up in this area.
A new survey by Ernst & Young found a major digital skills gap among the oil and gas workforce, and the pandemic is increasing the urgency to close it.
About 92% of oil and gas executives surveyed believe their companies need to change the way they operate coming out of the downturn, but less than half said they have a robust plan to reskill staff and capture the value of digital transformation.
Tim Haskell, EY's US oil and gas people advisory services leader, tells us some other findings from the survey and how the industry's response to this challenge will determine future growth.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a near-term look at oil market drivers.
Joe Biden is now officially president-elect after securing a win in natural gas-rich Pennsylvania despite the fight over fracking we've heard so much about these last long weeks.
S&P Global Platts Analytics predicts a muted production impact if Biden bans new federal drilling permits, putting up to 1.1 million b/d of oil output and 3.7 Bcf/d of gas output at risk by 2025.
On this special episode, we take a look at the implications ahead for energy and climate policy with Washington analyst Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners.
We go through two key scenarios: what a Biden White House will try to accomplish if he has the cooperation of a Democratically controlled Senate and how he might have to narrow that down if Republicans hold onto power in the chamber.
Book walks us through the many policies that Biden can tackle through executive action. And we ask him if he expects Biden to end new federal drilling permits, yank the Keystone XL heavy crude pipeline permit, cancel leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and strike a quick interim Iran deal that brings sanctions relief.
Dozens of highly consequential energy issues are at play in this week’s US elections, ranging from who will occupy the Oval Office for the next four years, to who will fill the last open seat on the Texas Railroad Commission.
But overhanging all of this is a US economy crippled by the ongoing pandemic.
Beth Ann Bovino, US Chief Economist for S&P Global Ratings, helps explore this unique interplay.
It's Election Day in the US, and at a lot is at stake in the energy sector for the next four years.
We're revisiting three key policy areas that could shift direction depending on today's vote:
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US policy in the Middle East and Washington's relationship with OPEC, with Amy Myers Jaffe, research professor and managing director of the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University's Fletcher School.
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US oil sanctions toward Venezuela and Washington's so-far failed attempts to remove the Maduro regime from power, with Raul Gallegos, director of Control Risks and author of Crude Nation.
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Expected climate policy in the next presidential term, with Jeff Berman, director of emissions and clean energy analytics at S&P Global Platts Analytics.
A victory by Joe Biden in the US presidential election could have a big impact on the US-Mexico relationship and might even force the Mexican administration to change course on its energy goals.
Mexico's energy policy is currently focused on fossil fuels, despite having international commitments to move toward green sources of energy and the legal framework to do so.
We spoke with Guillermo Zuniga about how a Biden White House would change this dynamic and how he sees Mexico's path forward on climate policy.
US oil and gas producers were already facing a tough investment climate by the time this spring's price crash and demand plunge decimated capital spending plans. Layered on top of this near-term crisis is a much bigger, longer-term threat: climate change.
A recent Commodity Futures Trading Commission report argues climate change could pose a major risk to the stability of the US financial system. It backs an economy-wide carbon price and recommends that banks pilot the use of stress tests -- both of which could have big impacts on the US energy sector.
We spoke with Kyle Danish, a partner at Van Ness Feldman and a nonresident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies about the report and its potential impacts for the US oil, natural gas and power sectors.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers with Platts senior editor Jordan Blum.
For the global oil market, one of the biggest wildcards of the US presidential election is Iran sanctions relief under a Biden administration. This would return more than 2 million b/d to an already very oversupplied oil market.
Today we have two predictions for how this would play out and how quickly.
Nareeka Ahir, geopolitical analyst for S&P Global Platts Analytics, argues that Biden will want to strike a quick interim deal with Tehran. She sees Iranian crude exports growing annually by 750,000 b/d starting in 2022.
She also briefly touches on what the election means for US-Middle East relations and Venezuela oil sanctions under a Biden White House, and gives an update on Libyan supply.
In the second interview, Henry Rome, senior Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, predicts an interim agreement between the Biden administration and Iran could bring no more than 700,000 b/d next year, with a broader deal not coming until late 2021 or 2022.
He doesn't see an Iran deal being at the top of Biden's priorities, and he walks us through some of Tehran's limitations in quickly ramping up oil exports.
Stick around after both interviews for the Market Minute with Chris van Moessner, a look at near-term oil market drivers.
The coronavirus pandemic has rapidly accelerated the digitization of US energy companies, moving operational technology and corporate networks into workers' homes.
Leo Simonovich, vice president and global head of industrial cyber and digital security at Siemens Energy, says this has heightened the need for oil, gas and power companies to increase their cyber defenses. With more point-to-point connections as a result of remote working, energy companies face the potential for more cyberattacks.
We ask Simonovich about the cybersecurity implications of actions at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and how the energy transition and use of new technologies could compound cyber risks across the energy system.
Stick around for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers with Platts editor Chris van Moessner.
The US presidential election could have far-reaching implications for the global oil market.
Chris Midgley, global head of analytics for S&P Global Platts, takes us through the biggest potential impacts for supply, demand and price. He covers Iran sanctions relief scenarios, the outlook for OPEC+ cohesion, the US upstream forecast under Biden drilling restrictions and the future of US trade relations after a chaotic four years.
Stick around after the interview for the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers for this week with Jordan Blum, Platts senior editor for US oil news.
In Part 2 of our look at the US presidential candidates' evolving energy platforms, we examine how progressive Democrats have pushed former Vice President Joe Biden further left on climate and environmental policies.
Glenn Schwartz, director of Rapidan Energy Group's Energy Policy Service, shares his latest prediction for how far Biden will go in restricting oil and gas drilling, and why running mate Kamala Harris' views on fracking and climate remain important in predicting the future of the Democratic energy platform.
Part 1 featured an interview with Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and CEO of Canary, a Denver-based drilling services company, on Trump's evolving energy platform. It also debuted the Market Minute segment, a look at near-term oil market drivers with Platts editor Chris van Moessner.
In this two-part episode, we look at how both US presidential candidates' energy platforms have evolved since the start of campaigning.
They have had to respond to massive market shifts, a string of natural disasters signaling a changing climate, and waning poll numbers in key states.
In Part 1, we look at President Donald Trump's platform with Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and CEO of Canary, a Denver-based drilling services company.
We ask Eberhart about Trump's recent actions to ban drilling offshore Florida, placate biofuel producers in the Midwest, distance himself from the climate concerns surrounding this year's wildfires and hurricane seasons, and lend rhetorical support to oil and gas producers.
We also debut the Market Minute segment, a look at near-term oil market drivers with Platts editor Chris van Moessner.
Watch for Part 2 on Democratic challenger Joe Biden's move to the left with Rapidan Energy Group's Glenn Schwartz.
How much will November's presidential election actually influence the outlook for US oil and gas production?
Artem Abramov, head of shale research for Rystad Energy, makes the somewhat contrarian case that whoever is in the White House come next year will not greatly sway US production either way.
Rystad predicts a federal drilling ban, as proposed by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, would have hardly any impact on oil and gas production in the medium term, given drillers' ability to shift to comparable private acreage.
Abramov sees US oil output starting 2021 at 11 million b/d, then declining to an average of 10.7 million-10.9 million b/d for the year. Longer-term light oil growth will be very gradual, although WTI prices above $55-$60/b could drive production back to record levels of 13 million b/d set before the coronavirus pandemic.
Crude analyst Parker Fawcett also shares S&P Global Platts Analytics' outlook for US production and the election stakes for drillers.
The November presidential election adds to risks for natural gas pipelines, which link production to demand centers but increasingly face opposition from those seeking to phase out fossil fuels.
For interstate gas pipelines, the federal government remains an important gatekeeper for permitting.
If Democratic nominee Joe Biden is elected president, a change in leadership at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission raises questions about whether federal approvals would still be as predictable.
In a recent boom cycle, gas pipeline capacity approved by FERC quadrupled between 2013 and 2017 to reach 30.7 Bcf/d before coming off that peak.
Rob Rains, senior energy analyst with Washington Analysis, joined us to share whether he thinks federal approvals of gas projects will continue apace in the next presidential term.
A victory in November for former Vice President Joe Biden in November could influence oil and gas companies' decarbonization plans, given Biden's climate and clean energy proposals.
European oil majors tend to outpace their US counterparts in terms of climate goals, likely due to the European Green Deal,
but could a Democratic victory this fall encourage companies to adopt stricter emission reduction targets?
We spoke with John Thieroff, senior analyst with Moody's Investors Service, to help us understand how the US oil and gas
sector might respond.
Global oil supply far exceeds demand right now as the coronavirus pandemic keeps travel restrictions in place and commuters working from home.
Commodities analysts Leigh Goehring and Adam Rozencwajg, managing partners of Goehring and Rozencwajg, argue that the pandemic and current oil market conditions will be a catalyst for a coming global energy crisis. They think we're not far from a global oil shortage because of the lack of investment happening today and the rapid depletion of the best US shale resources.
While some analysts expect shale production to keep global oil markets in a perpetual surplus, Goehring and Rozencwajg argue that the age of shale has largely passed.
They project US oil production to fall by as much as 2 million b/d in the second half of 2020 and by as much as 1.5 million b/d in 2021. They see global demand rebounding steadily, which will lead to a spike in prices and an eventual drilling boom five years or so down the road.
Guyana is one of the most promising new sources for non-OPEC oil production growth, and the country just emerged from a chaotic five-month election drama. Opposition leader Mohamed Irfaan Ali was sworn into office as the country's new president last week.
The small South American country is home to the biggest oil discovery in recent years. In January, ExxonMobil boosted its reserves estimate for the Stabroek Block to more than 8 billion barrels.
Tristan Reilly of S&P Global Platts Analytics shares a quick history of the discovery, some of the next production targets expected and what oil prices would be needed for additional development.
Lisa Viscidi, director of the Inter-American Dialogue's energy, climate change and extractive industries program, gets into more detail about the disputed election, the newly inaugurated president and the implications for Guyana's oil future.
She also took us through some quick hits on the other top oil stories in Latin America: Venezuela's collapse, Mexico's attempts at self-sufficiency, and Brazil's double struggle with the oil price collapse and the coronavirus.
US oil producers have started bringing some shut-in wells back online since this spring's price crash.
S&P Global Platts Analytics expects the nearly all the shut-in volumes to come back by October. But US oil output will continue to decline as a result of some $41 billion in capital expenditure cuts announced by drillers this year.
Ash Singh, manager of non-OPEC supply at Platts Analytics, expects US production to decline around 500,000 b/d year on year in 2020 and more than 1.5 million b/d in 2021. That would put US output about 3.4 million b/d below Platts' pre-price collapse forecast by end-2021.
We asked Singh about which US basins would come back first, how a potential Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown would impede the Bakken's return, and what's happening with other non-OPEC producers outside of the US and Canada.
Singh also shares his outlook for US crude exports and whether second-wave coronavirus outbreaks or rising US-China tensions will alter that picture.
A massive regulatory shift could occur if US President Donald Trump loses the White House in November.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has embraced energy and climate priorities that swing further left than many of the Obama administration’s, as evidenced by his recently announced four-year, $2 trillion climate plan focused on clean energy infrastructure and jobs.
We spoke with David Livingston, senior analyst at the Eurasia Group, to help us understand the potential shift that is in store. He said that while some regulatory changes could burden companies, Biden's proposals could also offer opportunities for the sector.
US President Donald Trump has used the phrase "take the oil" many times, both as a candidate to criticize previous administrations' strategies in Iraq and while in the White House when discussing Syria.
The idea is rooted in the belief that countries have gone to war in the past to grab natural resources, especially oil.
This week's guest scrutinized that idea in her new book, "The Oil Wars Myth." Emily Meierding, an assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, analyzed more than 600 international military disputes between 1912 and 2010, and determined that classic oil wars are a myth.
She argues this myth creates a collective intellectual blind spot that continues to shape contemporary foreign policy choices.
We talk about how the idea of oil wars shapes US foreign policy, how the global shift toward oil supply abundance changes this debate, and how current low oil revenues could pose security risks and increase regional aggression.
Last week delivered some huge news on the pipeline front that highlights the challenges ahead for the US midstream sector and the fate of future efforts to build multi-state energy projects.
First Duke Energy and Dominion Energy announced they were canceling the Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline after already spending more than $3 billion on it.
Then a federal judge ordered Energy Transfer to shut down the Dakota Access crude pipeline and empty it of oil by August 5 while the Army Corps of Engineers conducts a more extensive environmental review.
Finally, the Supreme Court said the Army Corps can resume a fast-track permitting process called the Nationwide Permit 12 -- on all pipelines except for TC Energy's Keystone XL heavy crude pipeline from Canada, extending the more than decade-long uncertainty for that project.
James Coleman, an energy law professor at Southern Methodist University, joins us to walk through the possible scenarios for Dakota Access in the next month, as well as the broader uncertainty hanging over the midstream sector and the major shift in US pipeline regulation expected if Joe Biden beats President Trump in November.
The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and a host of other global tensions and trade conflicts brewing in recent months have heightened geopolitical risks to energy trade.
Harvard University professor Meghan O'Sullivan shares what she sees as the top geopolitical themes likely to persist beyond the pandemic.
O'Sullivan is the director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She was a special assistant to former US President George W. Bush and a deputy national security adviser.
She sees three main themes dominating: global energy abundance, the interconnectedness of oil markets and efforts to accelerate the energy transition.
We also talked about whether a stunted US shale sector will weaken the impact of US sanctions and other foreign policy, the US' role around OPEC+ talks, and a potential decoupling of the US and China.
US oil and gas drilling has slowed to a crawl since global oil demand crashed this spring and prices tumbled with it.
Now that WTI has crept back up into the high $30s/b and potentially above $40/b, have we seen the worst of this drilling slowdown?
Ted Hall, a vice president at Kayrros, shares his views on current activity, bolstered by satellite and other geo-tracking. We talk about what the drilled-but-uncompleted well count means for future production and whether the US will ever return to the peak set in November 2019.
Hall also shares Kayrros findings on how gasoline and diesel demand are recovering as commuters and long-haul truckers get back on the road after April lockdowns.
Rapidan Energy Group predicts sweeping changes for the energy sector if former Vice President Joe Biden beats US President Donald Trump in November.
Biden's policies would have global implications for energy trade, altering US/China relations, the pace of Iran's oil recovery, trans-Atlantic climate action and other factors.
In the US, a Biden White House would likely sharply limit oil and gas production on federal lands and waters, impose new climate-focused financial regulations that could restrict the industry's access to low-cost capital, and block major infrastructure projects to fulfill the campaign's climate goals.
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, and Glenn Schwartz, director of Rapidan's Energy Policy Service, tell us why these changes are most likely and could have the biggest impact.
Biden began the race for the Democratic primary as one of the most moderate candidates on energy polices but has been pushed by the progressive wing to embrace more aggressive climate actions. McNally predicts Biden will not abandon those views if he makes it to the Oval Office.
US oil producers have started announcing plans for putting shut wells back online. But just how sustainable are these plans at current prices and with the uncertain global demand outlook?
And how are OPEC and its allies going to view this returning US shale production as they're deciding how long to keep their massive oil supply cuts in place?
Jason Modglin, the new president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, tells us how drillers in the top US oil-producing state are weighing the market uncertainties as they start to put wells back into service.
Shin Kim, head of oil supply and production analytics for S&P Global Platts, predicts how high oil prices can go before OPEC starts to worry about stimulating US shale.
The global oil demand shock is accelerating what was already coming to US shale, argues Adam Waterous, CEO of Waterous Energy Fund.
Waterous argued in January on Capitol Crude that US unconventional production had peaked, and the industry's unstable financial footing set it up for massive capital flight and a prolonged downturn.
Now Waterous predicts US shale output will sink by 3 million-4 million b/d from the peak of 13 million b/d if oil prices eventually return to $55/b. He thinks sustained higher prices of at least $70/b WTI will be required to bring investors back to the US shale sector and rebuild capacity that will be lost in the next 18-24 months.
We also talked about what will differentiate the drillers that survive this crisis and the geopolitical consequences of a diminished US oil sector.
The US House of Representatives has passed the $3 trillion HEROES stimulus package with barely a mention of the energy sector. The legislation is going nowhere in its current form after Senate Republicans dismissed it out of hand and President Trump promised to veto it.
So where is the financial aid that the White House promised the oil and gas sector?
Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, tells us how Republicans and Democrats might find energy-sector tradeoffs to include in a future compromise stimulus package.
We spoke about the fate of the administration's efforts to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We look at who came out ahead in the 2015 tradeoff that opened the door for US crude exports. And Kevin talks about how the November election is looming over these negotiations in Washington.
Plunging demand, collapsing prices and a reeling global economy are creating an extremely tough climate for the US upstream oil and gas sector.
US Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican-Alaska, argues another factor is basically kicking the sector while it's down.
Sullivan says some of the largest US banks are no longer willing to lend the sector money -- not because of these economic concerns -- but because of their environmental impact. He and 15 other US senators asked the White House to investigate this practice, which they argue is unfair because the banks are benefiting right now from Congress' coronavirus relief packages.
We also asked Sullivan if Arctic oil is still needed, how Alaskan operations are faring, and his campaign to increase US pressure on the Saudis for the recent oil price war.
US President Donald Trump has promised relief to the ailing oil and gas sector, and it's not yet clear if the recently expanded Federal Reserve lending program is the full extent of that aid.
Democrats easily blocked the administration's first attempt to help drillers in the form of buying US crude at low prices to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The incident underscored just how hard it would be to get any kind of fossil fuel relief through Congress.
A recent survey by the Brunswick Group found little support among Americans for granting federal relief to the US oil and gas sector -- unless that aid is tied to emissions reductions or other environmental benefits.
The survey also found little support for banning foreign crude imports to boost domestic prices.
Brunswick's Stephen Power argues that there is a path for the oil industry to build a support among the public and in Congress for bipartisan federal aid. But it's going to require some give-and-take with Democrats and a willingness to consider their energy policy priorities such as federal aid to renewable sector.
A surge of Saudi crude is heading for US ports, the result of the OPEC heavyweight slashing its April selling prices during the thick of its price war with Russia last month.
Oil-state senators are calling on the White House to impose tariffs or other trade barriers to stop the deliveries. So far President Trump has not addressed the looming imports, but Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette called it a case of free-market trade that happens to benefit US refiners.
We spoke with two officials from AFPM, the trade group in Washington that represents those refiners. They've been lobbying the White House to resist pressure for tariffs on crude imports.
Derrick Morgan, AFPM's senior vice president for federal affairs, explains the case they made to the White House against blocking foreign oil imports and why US refiners need this particular crude, even though the country already has a glut of domestic barrels searching for storage.
We also look at the rough economic conditions for US refiners right now as gasoline demand has been cut in half and the timeline for states lifting stay-at-home orders remains uncertain.
Susan Grissom, AFPM's chief industry analyst, tells us how US refiners are retooling their yields to focus less on gasoline than they have in the past and how that could be a long-term shift.
With the world locked down for the coronavirus, global oil demand is seeing its sharpest plunge on record.
Current estimates have 2020 oil demand contracting by as little as 6.8 million b/d, as predicted by OPEC, to as much as 9.3 million b/d, according to the International Energy Agency.
Still further downgrades are possible based on when economic activity starts to return. But so much is unknown about that timeline all across the globe. So how does an oil analyst predict future demand in the face of so much uncertainty?
Claudio Galimberti, S&P Global Platts Analytics' head of demand, refining and agriculture, shares some of the potential recovery scenarios and what factors will influence whether the 2020 oil demand outlook stabilizes or sinks further.
President Donald Trump once saw gasoline prices below $1/gallon one of his greatest assets in his re-election campaign,
but low oil prices have pushed US shale and American energy dominance to the brink of collapse and his views have changed.
On this week’s podcast, Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, talks about the new OPEC+ agreement, the damage the price war may have had on US-Saudi relations, and where the “new normal” for global oil demand might be after global coronavirus restrictions are eased. McNally also talks about why Trump, a major fan of low gasoline prices and outspoken OPEC critic, now sees that oil prices can fall too low and why his view of the market has shifted on the fly.
McNally is a former White House energy adviser and author of the book "Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of
Boom-Bust Oil Prices."
OPEC, primarily Saudi Arabia, has found blame for the recent price collapse, with calls from the US Congress for tariffs, import bans and sanctions. To start this week’s Capitol Crude, Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, talks about his views on how the Saudis are trying to crater prices and destroy the US shale industry.
But how much can OPEC really do to stem the recent oil price collapse? Why was OPEC’s role as a swing producer unable to offset the demand impacts of the spread of the coronavirus? Is there anything OPEC can do to stabilize the market?
On this week’s episode, Andrew Stanley an oil market analyst at The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center or KAPSARC, a global think tank in Riyadh, and Kaushik Deb, the acting Director of the Markets and Industrial Development program also at KAPSARC, discuss OPEC’s function in today’s
world oil market.
US lawmakers from oil-producing states are trying to increase pressure on the White House to do something to help drillers getting hammered by plummeting prices -- from aggressive diplomacy to banning crude imports.
We spoke with US Senator Lisa Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She expects producers in her home state of Alaska to take an immediate hit from current prices. Additionally, she said operations could be scaled back significantly after a case of coronavirus was confirmed this week on the North Slope.
The consequences of this will likely last years. In the midst of a price war, global oil demand is in a free fall. The spread of the coronavirus has left 3 billion people worldwide unable to get on a plane, drive to work or go anywhere, really, at all.
In response, global oil demand is plummeting. The International Energy Agency says as much as 20 million b/d of oil demand may be lost this year.
On today’s Capitol Crude podcast, Sarah Ladislaw, senior vice president and director and senior fellow of the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ energy security and climate change program, answers a few questions about where the US oil sector is headed.
What is the Trump administration doing to bail out the struggling shale industry? They say they’re pressing the Saudis to work to stabilize the market, but how serious is that effort? And with Texas regulators contemplating oil alliances with Saudi Arabia, has the US oil industry entered a new, unpredictable chapter?
As oil prices dipped to levels not seen in nearly two decades, US shale operators slashed budgets and rig counts and braced for a hellish few months, if not years. Is even a modest price rebound possible in the near term? Will Saudi Arabia and Russia return to talks over a new supply cut? Has the price collapse forever altered US oil sanctions policy?
On today's Capitol Crude Helima Croft, managing director and global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, talks about the path forward for US shale, the potential for a US import embargo and why resurrection of a global supply cut may be possible.
"The question is: Did the Russians know that they were signing up for the current price environment?" Croft asks.
US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette joined Capitol Crude hours after his department announced it was seeking an initial 30 million barrels of US crude oil to store in the country's emergency stockpile.
This is part of President Donald Trump's pledge to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve "right up to the top."
We spoke with Brouillette about how this attempt to help US oil producers will work. We asked him about the fate of US production and exports and where he ultimately sees global oil demand bottoming out.
The fallout from the coronavirus and the collapse of the OPEC+ supply cut agreement have dealt US shale producers a massive blow. How the sector ultimately fares might depend on where US oil exports are headed.
US crude exports climbed above 4 million b/d in the last week of February, but will that represent a peak for this year and beyond?
Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge joined Platts senior editor Jordan Blum in Houston to talk about how US exporters are weathering this storm.
The relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is ... complicated. For decades, the US has depended on the Saudis for crude oil exports and the Saudis have depended on the US for military protection. But US shale oil growth has changed all that.
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Ellen Wald talks about the state of US-Saudi relations, how that relationship may change further if there is a Democrat in the White House, and what low oil prices are doing to Saudi Aramco shares and the kingdom’s 2030 vision.
Wald is president of Transversal Consulting, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and author of the book "Saudi, Inc."
Seemingly long-term US sanctions on oil flows out of Iran and Venezuela, a blockade in Libya with no end in sight, and even more production cuts from the OPEC+ coalition expected this week are adding up to a loss of roughly 6% of global supply -- but prices are cratering.
Demand, specifically weakening demand caused by the effects of the coronavirus, is far outweighing even unprecedented declines in supply.
On this week’s podcast, Fernando Ferreira, Rapidan Energy Group’s director of geopolitical risk service, talks OPEC+, Iran, Venezuela, Iraq and Libya, and where world oil supplies are headed.
Can a supply shock even rattle the oil market anymore?
As investors and consumers demand more focus on sustainability, the oil industry is feeling the pressure.
What will an energy transition mean for liquid fuel use, and will oil refiners be able to respond to radical shifts in demand in the coming decades?
We spoke with Madhav Acharya, the technology to market adviser at the US Department of Energy's independent Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy.
Even with the Democratic candidate still uncertain, this November’s US presidential election presents two distinctly divergent paths forward for global oil policy, David Goldwyn says on today’s Platts Capitol Crude podcast.
Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies and chair of the Atlantic Council’s energy advisory group, says a Trump victory will allow the Trump administration to fully implement its plans to expand US oil and gas production and cut environmental regulations. A Democrat victory will lead to the launch of a national climate policy and strict new limits on energy infrastructure permitting and drilling on federal lands and waters. Oil policy could also swing November’s election, particularly in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Goldwyn says.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney hopes to end his government's oil production curtailments this year as rail and pipeline capacity expand to handle the full supply.
The province posted record-high oil production in December despite the curtailments, as exemptions for crude-by-rail shipments allowed producers to boost output. Curtailed operators have added 30 rigs year on year as they move capital back into growth projects.
Kenney believes the cuts, which he inherited from the previous government, saved the Alberta oil industry.
He also spoke about his outlook for Canada's three delayed pipeline projects, the federal carbon tax, the rapid acceleration of climate concerns, the impact of slowing US oil production, and demand risks from the coronavirus.
After more than a year of crippling US sanctions, Venezuela’s once-thriving oil sector is a shell of its former self: its output just a fraction of its peak, its state-run oil company toxic to international investors, its pipelines crumbling, its refineries closed.
A new report from the Inter-American Dialogue argues that Western oil companies will be needed if Venezuela’s oil sector can be revived. The report details interviews with eight of the largest Western oil companies, some that have left Venezuela and some that remain, about the major hurdles facing the country’s oil sector, including US sanctions uncertainty, high taxes, and a shortage of workers and working infrastructure.
The authors of the report, Lisa Viscid, director, and Nate Graham, associate, of the Inter-American Dialogue’s energy, climate change & extractive industries program, stop by the podcast to discuss their findings.
When it comes to total shareholder return, oil and gas companies have performed the worst of any industry over the past five years, according to a new report from the Boston Consulting Group. Oil price and geopolitical uncertainty, mistrust of management and the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels have all contributed to investor wariness, the report states.
How can these companies, from supermajors to small E&Ps, rebuild investor confidence and improve shareholder returns?
Rebecca Fitz, senior director with the Boston Consulting Group, discusses the report’s findings and recommends the sector’s path forward.
Record supply disruptions in an already well supplied market may have contributed to the departure of a true risk premium in the oil market, Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical advisor with S&P Global
Platts Analytics tells Platts Capitol Crude. On this week’s podcast, Sheldon says the risk premium could return following a major supply disruption or a flare up in military tensions between the US and Iran.
As rising US oil production allows the Trump administration to rewrite foreign policy, what if projections for its continued growth are wrong?
Adam Waterous, CEO of Waterous Energy Fund, thinks North American oil and gas producers face severe capital flight risks in the coming years that could result in US crude output falling by 2 million b/d or more. He says the sector is experiencing a prolonged downturn unlike anything it as has seen before – not another typical boom/bust cycle of the past.
Waterous thinks the sector is in only the second or third inning of consolidation that will be required to improve rates of return and please capital markets.
Crude prices have surged, Iran has vowed revenge and analysts expect another attack on energy infrastructure in the Middle East, potentially impacting global oil supply significantly in the near term.
On this Platts Capitol Crude we talk to Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and an Iran expert, on the policy and market impacts of the US killing of Iran’s top military commander, General Qassim Soleimani, in airstrikes in Baghdad.
Taleblu says Iran will likely target more infrastructure, both onshore and off, similar to the Abqaiq attacks in September, as Soleimani’s death has compounded the escalation between the US and Iran. Taleblu also talks about the likelihood of a military conflict between the two nations, the Trump administration’s evolving endgame with its Iran policy, and why US shale and relatively steady oil prices may have emboldened the White House’s strategy towards Tehran.
Carbon-capture projects are economically unviable at the moment and will need a major increase in government spending for wide-scale deployment, says John Minge, former chairman and president of BP America.
On today’s Platts Capitol Crude, Minge talks about the policy changes needed, including expansion of federal tax incentives, to build out the carbon-capture technology that many point to as one path to address the release of greenhouse gases from growing oil and natural gas development.
Development is complicated, Minge says, as infrastructure to accommodate movement of an equivalent of 13 million b/d of oil will need to be built and there’s no clear evidence that widespread carbon-capture projects would ever turn a profit. Minge led the development of the National Petroleum Council’s recent carbon capture, use and storage report, an 18-month study requested by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
The oil market is closing out 2019 with a smaller geopolitical risk premium despite the September attack on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq facility exposing a staggering supply vulnerability.
Greg Priddy, Stratfor's director of global energy and Middle East, argues the oil market can no longer hold onto a risk premium, between hedging and the responsiveness of US shale production. He said a sharp premium would only return in the event of a major and prolonged oil supply disruption.
Priddy walked us through other potential geopolitical hot spots next year, including a tinderbox in the Middle East, OPEC's oversupply woes, the "festering" US/China trade dispute, and the US presidential election.
US oil producers seem to be at an inflection point, where efficiency gains are waning, output growth is slowing and capital is drying up, Antoine Halff tells Platts Capitol Crude.
On this week’s episode, Halff talks rig counts, well completions and flaring, the likely impact of deeper OPEC cuts, and he forecasts the path forward for US oil output.
Halff also talks about why lagging government data may be selling a false narrative that the US is a swing producer and details his working theory on why OPEC needs volatile oil prices.
Halff, the founder of Kayrros, a data analytics firm, was previously chief oil analyst at the International Energy Agency and lead industry economist at the US Energy Information Administration.
OPEC, Russia and its nine other oil-producing allies have agreed to fresh supply cuts, but how much compliance will they achieve in the next three months? Former Capitol Crude host Herman Wang returns with details of the deal struck Friday in Vienna. The contentious talks featured a walkout by Angola and hardball by Iraq and Russia. Saudi Aramco’s massive initial public offering hung over the events, but US President Donald Trump’s oil tweets stayed home.
The US shale oil boom has been heralded as an economic windfall for small towns from New Mexico to North Dakota. But it has also strained local public services, putting a toll on education, infrastructure and housing, while leaving many communities moresusceptible to the boom and bust nature of oil prices.
On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude podcast, we talk with Daniel Raimi, a senior research associate at Resources for the Future and a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, on what the federal government should do to help local communities impacted by oil price volatility.
Raimi is co-author of a recent study, Economic Volatility in Oil Producing Regions: Impact and Federal Policy Options.
As US crude oil exports surge above 3 million b/d, is the US-China trade dispute inhibiting growth? Can US crude oil exporters survive without access to the world's biggest demand market?
On today's Platts Capitol Crude, we talk to Jacques Rousseau, managing director with ClearView Energy Partners, about the impact of the trade dispute on exports and the state of US export infrastructure. Are tariffs impacting investment decisions on ports and pipelines?
On today’s Platts Capitol Crude, Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, says Bakken oil output will continue to break records into 2020, but enforcement of gas capture rules will hinder growth, potentially for years.
Helms, North Dakota’s top oil and gas regulator, talks about why state regulators can no longer allow operators to exceed flaring limits and what is preventing growth of gas capture capacity in the state.
Sami Yahya, a senior energy analyst with S&P Global Platts Analytics, also stops by to talk about the path forward for Bakken output, breakeven prices, the state of well efficiency in North Dakota and why flaring rules will be a major challenge for the shale play.
After the Abqaiq attack, OPEC+, trade fights, and the ongoing record growth of US shale, oil prices are, basically, right where they were a year ago. Are supply and demand aligned? Is the oil market actually balanced, or at least as balanced as it will ever be? At the US Association for Energy...
US oil producers are bracing for a tough end to 2019: flat prices, falling rig counts, slower drilling permits and fewer well completions. Karr Ingham, a petroleum economist from Amarillo, Texas, and the executive vice president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, says those factors will not...
The 2020 fight over energy policy is just getting started, and investors already have a bad case of heartburn over Democratic presidential candidates' proposals to ban all fracking in the US. Katie Bays, who advises institutional investors as co-founder of Sandhill Strategy in Washington, joins us...
The future of Citgo and its three US refineries hangs on this weekend's deadline for the interim Venezuelan government to make a massive bond payment that it can't likely pay. The Guaido administration's ad-hoc PDVSA board could lose control of Citgo because the loan is backed by a 50.1% stake in...
On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude we talk with Keisuke Sadamori, the International Energy Agency’s director for energy markets and security, about the US’ changing role in the global oil market and necessity of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The SPR wasn’t tapped...
Venezuela is in the midst of an economic collapse, its political future remains uncertain and Citgo appears unlikely to be able to pay a more than $900 million bond payment due later this month. Could creditors soon seize Venezuela’s core foreign asset, including three major crude oil...
International buyers of US crude exports are increasingly seeking specific grades that once made up the blended pool of West Texas Intermediate. Buyers can request these "neat" barrels, thanks in part to new pipelines from the Permian to the Texas Gulf Coast that allow shippers to separate...
The September 14 attack on Saudi oil projects took 5.7 million b/d of crude supply off the global market, but, ultimately, had little impact on oil prices. That’s partly due to the growth of US oil production. But what is global demand from US crude and how much can be exported? On this...
A week after attacks on Saudi oil facilities shut down nearly 6% of the global oil supply, Brent futures prices are up less than $5/b. The market reaction has been wrong, though, giving Saudi estimates that output will quickly return far too much credibility and significantly undervaluing an...
Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield sees Permian production growth slowing next year, but he still thinks the basin will eventually pump a staggering 8 million b/d. In an interview with Capitol Crude at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Sheffield shared his views on breakeven oil prices,...
Columbus Oil operates 27 oil wells in rural Oklahoma which each produce an average of just 8 to 10 b/d of oil equivalent. On this week’s Capitol Crude, Darlene Wallace, Columbus’ president, CEO and owner, talks about all the cost-cutting she’s had to take to make a profit --...
On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude, we look at the impact of the US shale boom on the US economy as the Trump administration continues to push the narrative that a recession is not imminent. Mine Yucel and Michael Plante with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas call in to talk about the...
Last week, the Trump administration held its latest auction for oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The sale generated high bids of less than $160 million, drawing interest in less than 1% of the total acreage offered. But could those bids be nullified? On today’s podcast, Brettny...
Alberta oil producers are in the eighth month of mandatory production curtailments. Have they worked? On today’s Capitol Crude, Rory Johnston, a commodity economist at Scotiabank, talks about the impact of the curtailments on prices, supply and investment in Western Canada’s oil...
Tariffs, retaliatory tariffs and currency fights, the US and China are locked in a trade war with massive consequences for the global economy. What impact will this fight have on US crude oil exports and ongoing US sanctions on oil exports out of Iran and Venezuela? Could disputes over tariffs...
With their output shattering records, US oil producers are flaring an unprecedented amount of unwanted gas. On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude, Ali Oktay, a senior pricing specialist with S&P Global Platts, talks about why flaring is increasing in the Permian and Bakken and why...
On today's Platts Capitol Crude, Fernando Ferreira, a senior analyst with Rapidan Energy Group, discusses a new report that forecasts the oil market impact of Iran successfully blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the world's busiest oil chokepoint. Rapidan's report, "Battlespace & Barrel Flow: Oil...
On this week's Platts Capitol Crude, we take a closer look at rising tensions between the US and Iran, tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's dwindling oil exports, and China's future as Iran's top importer. Brian Hook, the US State Department's special representative for Iran, talks about...
The Barrel Brothers are back! US Energy Information Administration petroleum analysts Jeff Barron and Mason Hamilton talk: the price impacts of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery explosion and closure; the state of East Coast gasoline supply and demand; global oil demand; and surprises in...
OPEC, Russia and other producing partners agreed to extend their 1.2 million b/d supply cut agreement for another nine months as Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih outlined OPEC’s new role as a reactionary force to US shale growth. On today’s Platts Capitol Crude podcast, Herman...
While the peak oil theory is dead, the industry faces a very real prospect of peak demand -- and sooner than you might think. Helen Currie, ConocoPhillips' chief economist, talked with Capitol Crude about where the major US oil producer sees global demand heading. She explains her outlook for US...
After weeks of uncertainty, OPEC and its allies will meet July 1 and 2 in Vienna and the fate of the 1.2 million b/d production cut agreement will be the key item on the agenda. On today’s Platts Capitol Crude, Spencer Dale, BP’s chief economist, discusses the impact of the OPEC+...
The Trump administration took a message of abundant US energy exports to the G-20 energy meetings in Karuizawa, Japan, over the weekend. We spoke with Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who represented the US delegation along with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew...
Oil tanker attacks have the International Energy Agency "seriously concerned" about oil supply security, and yet oil demand growth concerns have tempered the price reaction for now. Platts Capitol Crude spoke with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol on the sidelines of the G-20 energy ministerial...
In the thick of its trade dispute with China, the Trump administration threatened last week to start yet another tariff fight with a major trading partner: Mexico. This one would have hit Gulf Coast refiners hard, potentially making it uneconomical to import the key Maya heavy crude grade. Capitol...
Some view the Trump administration’s push to expand offshore oil and gas drilling to most federal waters as a failure. But with plans for oil and gas lease sales for the Atlantic and Arctic on an indefinite hold, amid court battles and leadership changes, the industry continues to push for...
A movement to reduce plastic use has led to bans worldwide on shopping bags, straws and other single-use items, but no noticeable impact on demand for crude oil and other feedstocks used to make plastic. Petrochemical and plastic demand is forecast to increase at as much as four times the rate of...
As tighter US sanctions against Iran continue to change global oil flows, Asian refiners are testing a new grade of lighter crude flowing from the Permian Basin. West Texas Light has an API gravity averaging 48, compared with traditional WTI at 38-44 API. Laura Huchzermeyer, managing editor of...
On this week’s podcast we speak with Henry Rome, an Iran analyst with the Eurasia Group, about why the global oil market is not as stable and well-supplied as the Trump administration wants the world to believe. Rome sees a supply crunch only getting worse and a $5/b increase looming ahead...
The US is producing more than twice the oil it was a decade ago, with about a third of the workers needed to do so, according to Jamie Webster, a senior director at the BCG Center for Energy Impact. On this week’s Capitol Crude, Webster, also a fellow at Columbia University’s Center on...
The Trump administration will not extend its Iran sanctions waivers to China, India and other buyers in an attempt to push Iran exports to zero. But Sara Vakhshouri, president of SVB Energy International, argues on today’s Platts Capitol Crude that even with strict US sanctions coming into...
Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman arrived in the US a year ago to help write a new chapter in US-Saudi relations, but following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, have relations been irreparably strained? On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude, Matt Reed, vice president of Foreign Reports, says...
A bill in Washington state could shut down 150,000 b/d of Bakken rail traffic through the Pacific Northwest, boost oil imports from Alaska and Asia through Puget Sound and increase North Dakota shipments to the US Gulf Coast. On this week’s Capitol Crude, we look at the bill, aimed at...
Nine years ago, President Barack Obama signed a regulation into law requiring oil, gas and mining companies to publicly report all payments made to governments, an effort aimed at curbing decades of corruption, but President Donald Trump has repealed that regulation and the US has since departed a...
A month from now, waivers which have allowed Iran’s biggest crude oil and condensate buyers to keep buying Iranian oil are set to expire. Analysts fully expect the administration to extend the waivers, but fissures have emerged within the administration, arguing that the US cannot drive...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Frank Verrastro and Andrew Stanley with the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ energy and national security program talk about the state of Venezuela’s oil sector, the impact of US sanctions on PDVSA and what recovery might look like....
Platts Capitol Crude was in Houston last week talking with S&P Global editors about three stories shaping the domestic oil market. Laura Huchzermeyer, managing editor, Americas crude, and Catherine Wood, associate editor, Americas dirty tanker markets, talk about skyrocketing US crude exports...
After years of complaints from US policymakers that OPEC was having undue influence on global oil prices, has US foreign policy become the major manager of the world crude market? With sanctions, tweets from President Trump and trade disputes, the US may now be the prominent driver of Brent prices....
On this special edition of Platts Capitol Crude from CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston we’re talking about the shifting global flows in crude grades. Demand for heavy crudes, due largely to US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, is growing as production of light oil reaches historic highs....
On this early edition of Capitol Crude, we predict the top themes of next week’s CERAWeek, the mega-conference where US shale producers, US government officials and OPEC ministers rub elbows. We spoke with American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers about surging US oil...
Have record US oil production and crude exports changed the US role in global maritime security? How can oil flows calm the brewing feud between the US and China? Is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz a credible threat? On this week’s podcast, Dennis Blair, the former US Director of National...
Sanctions have been imposed and reimposed, US oil production continues to shatter records, but WTI and Brent prices have yet to blink. Are the days of oil climbing over $100 or below $30/b over? On today’s podcast, Ed Morse, Citigroup’s global head of commodities research, and John...
Is the looming IMO 2020 deadline for cleaning up marine fuels the Y2K of today's oil market? The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers say US refiners are well prepared to meet the stricter sulfur standards by January 1 after having a dozen years to prepare. The group joined the Coalition...
It’s been two weeks since the Trump administration unveiled sanctions on PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, and questions remain over where US Gulf Coast refiners will find replacement, heavy barrels, where Venezuela might ship its displaced supply and just how quickly oil...
Rampant oil consumption in Middle East nations is undermining their energy export economies and subsidy reform is desperately needed, Jim Krane argues in his new book “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf." On this week’s Capitol Crude, Krane talks about the...
Global gasoline demand is stagnating and stronger fuel economy standards and the rise of electric vehicles could soon push demand down. But jet fuel demand is rising relatively dramatically and could soon be the key driver of world oil consumption, according to a new report by ClearView Energy...
The US Environmental Protection Agency is running out of time to deliver on President Donald Trump's promise to approve 15% ethanol blends by this summer’s driving season. US Senator Mike Rounds, Republican-South Dakota, joined Capitol Crude to tell us why this is such a big issue for Midwest...
The Trump administration is pushing to expand oil and gas drilling to nearly all federal waters while weakening offshore safety rules developed in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. On this week’s Capitol Crude, David Hayes, a deputy Interior secretary during both the Obama and...
On this week’s Capitol Crude podcast we look at Alberta’s recent decision to cut crude oil output by 325,000 b/d. David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies, says the Canadian production curtailment may be more severe micromanagement of the oil market than OPEC has done....
A month after reimposing sanctions on Iranian crude oil exports, the Trump administration has no clear policy end game. What are the administration’s goals? Will sanctions waivers really be just temporary? Could high prices cause the administration to weaken its stance on Iran? Did the...
US President Donald Trump is putting unprecedented pressure on Saudi Arabia to keep oil prices low as OPEC ministers arrive in Vienna this week. Trump spent the past month working to soothe US-Saudi relations, as criticism over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi grew louder, largely due to...
With its reserves shrinking, Colombia recently set a goal to double its oil output. But the country’s oil production has fallen and with attacks on pipelines and legal fights over fracking it remains unclear which direction output in the South American nation is headed. On this week’s...
Far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro has been elected Brazil's next president, a victory widely viewed as good for the country's oil sector. What does the election of the man dubbed the "Tropical Trump" mean for Petrobras, its subsidiaries, fuel subsidies, and Brazil's deepwater prospects? On this...
Big questions remain about the outlook for Mexico's oil sector as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador takes office December 1. Duncan Wood, director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, joins Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid to talk about some of the factors to watch. Will the new...
The global crude oil market is in the final countdown before US sanctions on Iranian crude exports snap back on Monday. The US is expected to announce potential waivers from sanctions as soon as Friday, but what countries may get them? Amos Hochstein, a senior vice president with Tellurian and the...
Foreign governments cannot believe how much the US spends to store government-owned gasoline. The Department of Energy no longer plans to establish a dedicated marine terminal to ship out its emergency crude. And despite record-breaking US oil output, there is still a need for millions of barrels...
Looming Iran sanctions, the ongoing collapse of Venezuela’s oil sector and increased uncertainty surrounding output out of Nigeria and Libya indicate that a historic global oil supply crunch could be nearing. On this week’s Capitol Crude podcast, we look at future production out of...
With control of Congress at stake in next month’s US midterm elections, we look at the three possible scenarios and oil policy consequences after all the votes have been counted. Kevin Book, managing director with ClearView Energy Partners, walks through what happens to everything from Russia...
With oil prices on the rise, the Trump administration is ramping up criticism of OPEC, with US President Trump pressing Saudi Arabia to do much more to push oil prices down and the State Department telling S&P Global Platts that it wants OPEC and other producers to start developing spare...
On today’s Capitol Crude we look at the ongoing trade war between the US and China and whether US crude oil exports could be subject to retaliatory tariffs. Frank Verrastro with the Center for Strategic and International Studies discusses why Chinese oil demand and looming Iranian sanctions...
In just over a month, California voters will decide whether to repeal a recent 12 cents/gallon gasoline tax increase and prevent state lawmakers from increasing gas taxes in the future. The potential change could have a major impact on California’s 43 millions gal/d gasoline market. Sam Ori,...
On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude we look at a plan by Congress to lease unused space in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to private companies and foreign governments. We talk to Congressman Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and...
President Donald Trump recently signed into law expanded powers for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The inter-agency group led by the Treasury secretary reviews outside investment in US companies for potential national security threats. Refineries, upstream oil and gas...
Out with NAFTA, in with the US/Mexico trade deal. The agreement reached last week between Washington and Mexico City appears to include a provision the US oil and gas industry saw as critical to protecting investments in the newly opened Mexican upstream. Joshua Zive, a lawyer and trade expert at...
US Senator Tina Smith, Democrat-Minnesota, joins Capitol Crude to share how President Donald Trump’s biofuel policies and trade wars are playing in the Midwest ahead of the November midterm elections. In Iowa this summer, Trump said he would approve year-round E15 sales “very...
US lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have proposed a raft of new sanctions to counter Russian interference in US elections and alleged use of banned weapons. Most of the bills target energy trade or investment, whether it's Russian joint ventures with western oil companies or the Nord Stream 2...
Colorado voters will decide in November whether to expand land setbacks for oil and gas wells. We spoke with Dan Eberhart, CEO of Denver-based oilfield services company Canary, about how the proposed rule could limit the state’s production potential. Eberhart, whose company manufactures...
Criminals used to evade US energy sanctions. Now, longtime US allies and trading partners likely will, Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, tells the Platts Capitol Crude podcast. In Part 2 of our interview with Nephew, he...
On today’s S&P Global Platts Capitol Crude, we’re talking about the impact of Iran sanctions on oil prices and future global supply. Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, talks about how Iran may mitigate the price...
The US is on the verge of becoming a net oil exporter, a market shift unthinkable just a few years ago. On this week's Capitol Crude, John Auers, an executive vice president at Turner, Mason & Company and a refining sector expert, talks about the changing path towards US energy independence and...
The US Energy Information Administration expects Venezuelan oil production to sink below 1 million b/d by the end of this year and fall to 700,000 b/d by the end of 2019. EIA analyst Lejla Villar, who developed those forecasts, joins Capitol Crude to talk about the staggering collapse of...
The clock is ticking down on the return of US sanctions against Iranian oil customers, but the messages coming out of Washington still seem to be in flux. Will all countries have to cut their imports to zero if they want to continue to have access to the US financial system? Or will some waivers be...
Will US President Donald Trump agree to weaken or lift sanctions during an historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin? Only Trump likely knows. On this week’s Capitol Crude, Daniel Fried and Bill Richardson discuss the likelihood of sanctions negotiations at the upcoming summit....
A major US driller delivered a message to OPEC last week in Vienna, urging the oil ministers to increase production to prevent a price spike that would damage both groups and trigger yet another boom-and-bust cycle. Scott Sheffield, chairman of Pioneer Natural Resources, said the conditions are set...
Ahead of this week's OPEC meeting, we talk to the last US official to attend an OPEC meeting. Kent Hance, a member of the Railroad Commission of Texas and a former US congressman, attended an OPEC meeting in Vienna 30 years ago. He thinks Trump administration officials should look to working with...
What will impact the global oil market more: the collapse of Venezuela’s oil sector or the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal?On this week’s Capitol Crude, Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk with Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ energy security and...
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has called energy trade a rare bright spot in trade relations with China and has called for a nearly sixfold increase in American energy exports. Is that realistic?This week, Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk with Jane Nakano, a senior fellow with the energy...
Faced with staggering oil costs, the US Navy once launched an effort to innovate how it fuels its fleet with biodiesel and other alternatives.But without $100/b oil, the innovation effort may never get serious, according US Navy Admiral Jonathan Greenert. On the latest Capitol Crude, Greenert, who...
Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz back in 2012. Now that the US is exiting the Iran nuclear deal, will the threat to shut downthe world’s busiest oil chokepoint return?On the latest episode of Capitol Crude, US Navy Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operationsfrom...
On today’s Capitol Crude we’re talking oil piracy, sanctions busting and petroleum’s black market in international waters.Ian Ralby, founder and CEO of I.R. Consilium, and David Soud, head of research and analysis at I.R. Consilium, talk with Brian Scheid about the state of...
US sanctions against Iranian oil buyers go back into force in early November, and the Treasury Department has instructed countries to make significant cuts to their imports in the next six months to be considered for potential sanctions relief. But much is unknown about how the Trump administration...
California, 16 other states and the District of Columbia have sued the Environmental Protection Agency challenging the Trump administration’s move to weaken fuel economy standards for 2022-2025 model year cars and light trucks.John Gioia, a member of the California Air Resources Board, joins...
Iraq is working to sharply expand its oil export capacity despite its agreement as part of OPEC to hold back supply. Those ambitions could get an unexpected boost from US President Donald Trump’s exit from the Iran nuclear deal, if reimposed sanctions take Iranian barrels off the market.Iraq...
Geopolitical risks are flaring up across the globe, raising the prospects of oil supply disruptions. Has the market priced in these risks adequately? And what role is US shale supply playing?Veteran analysts Joe McMonigle of Hedge Risk Management and Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners weigh in...
Jeff Barron and Mason Hamilton, petroleum markets analysts with US Energy InformationAdministration, talk about New Mexico, America’s new oil powerhouse. Why is New Mexico moving up the US’ oil output rankings? What’shappening with Alaska, North Dakota and Texas? US crude is also...
Why are US gasoline exports to Mexico breaking records? Why are Canadian crude exports to the US Gulf Coast climbing? What about Keystone XL?Mason Hamilton and Jeff Barron, petroleum markets analysts with the US Energy Information Administration, join the podcast to discuss North American oil and...
As the US government continues to sell off hundreds of millions of barrels from its crude oil stockpile, a new report argues that the Trump administration should start building reserves of gasoline, jet fuel and other refined products.Phillip Cornell, the author of the study, joins the podcast to...
On this week’s podcast, Matt Reed, vice president of Foreign Reports, tellsMeghan Gordon and Brian Scheidabout the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trip to the US. Can Saudi Arabia be allies with both the US and Russia? What will happen to the Iran nuclear deal with a May 12...
Venezuela’s oil sector is in freefall, but where will it stop?On this week’s podcast, Francisco Monaldi, the Latin American energy policy fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, tells Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid that Venezuelan output may decline another...
How has the growth of US oil production impacted US diplomacy? On the sidelines of CERAWeek in Houston, Capitol Crude talked with government officials and analysts on how the United States’ evolving role in the global oil market is changing how it views the rest of the world and how the rest...
It's Day 2 of CERAWeek by IHS Market and we’re again talking Permian. The shale play is seeing the most explosive growth in the world, but could a lack of pipeline and port capacity hinder future output?On this special episode of Capitol Crude, Neil Atkinson, the head of the International...
Capitol Crude is live from CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston. On this special episode, we’re talking Permian output, which the International Energy Agency said Tuesday will fuel 40% of global oil supply growth over the next five years.S&P Global Platts senior editor Brian Scheid is joined...
On this week's Capitol Crude podcast we interview Ellen Wald author of the new book 'Saudi, Inc.: The Arabian Kingdom’s Pursuit of Profit and Power.' Wald talks about Saudi Arabia’s modest beginnings in the global oil market, the US role in developing Saudi's oil resources and the...
US oil refiners consider this year to be their best shot in a decade at reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard, and they are holding up a Philadelphia refinery as a poster child of what is wrong with the biofuel mandate.Two sides of the RFS reform debate go head-to-head in this week's Platts Capitol...
The Trump administration is considering sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports, but is worried they could bankrupt a refinery along the US Gulf Coast, a top energy adviser to President Donald Trump tells Platts Capitol Crude.On this week’s podcast, George David Banks, who stepped down as White...
It was chaos in the White House when George David Banks arrived at the White House, he tells Platts Capitol Crude. Banks, who stepped down as White House Special Assistant at the National Economic Council and National Security Council last week, talks Trump’s domestic energy policy, including...
US oil output is already shattering records and, fueled by dramatic growth in the Permian, is expected to exceed 11 million b/d by late this year. But hurdles, from pipeline and port constraints to refining differences, remain, Kenneth Medlock tells the Platts Capitol Crude podcast this week....
US oil output has exceeded 10 million b/d for the first time since 1970. What does this mean for diplomacy, sanctions and trade policy? Where is the US production ceiling now?On this week’s Platts Capitol Crude podcast, Sarah Ladislaw, director of the energy and national security program at...
Why Florida?On this week’s podcast, Senior Editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid look at the Trump administration’s plan to open nearly all federal waters to oil and gas drilling and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s sudden and unusual decision to exempt Florida from the...
On this week's Capitol Crude podcast we look at the implications of China’s first ever crude oil futures contract, expected to be launched in late March. The contract could bolster the standing of China’s currency and increase global oil market transparency while weakening the...
Gary Ross, founder of PIRA Energy and head of global oil analytics for S&P Global Platts, says oil at $80/b is possible in the near term.S&P Global Platts senior editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk to Ross about the impact the Trump administration is having on the global oil market,...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Senior Editor Brian Scheid looks at one of the greatest mysteries in the US oil industry.In 1986, Chevron, BP and two Alaska Native corporations drilled a single well about 15 miles from the remote Alaska village of Kaktovik. More than three decades later, it...
Where are oil prices, supply and demand heading in 2018? And how will Washington policy shape oil markets?Capitol Crude talks with three experts about where they think oil prices will be at the end of 2018, what factors will influence the market and what US oil policy issues will dominate.The...
US producers continue to fight against federal rules limiting methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations. The Trump administration has put an Obama-era methane rule on hold until 2019 as they draft another, likely weaker rule, but a major industry group has launched a methane emissions...
Capitol Crude gets a crash course in geology to understand the potential for Permian Basin operators to use recycled water when drilling wells.Pioneer Natural Resources is building a pipeline network to haul produced water that comes up from the drilling process to frack new wells. It hopes to...
Capitol Crude has an exclusive interview with Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s oil minister, who sees a major crude supply crunch looming in the global market as investments dry up and US shale is likely to decline soon.Senior oil editor Brian Scheid shares more from the...
Is peak oil demand a myth? Capitol Crude goes to Georgetown University to debate how electric vehicles, technology, policy and petrochemicals (and more) will influence whether demand for crude oil will peak around 2030.Senior oil editor Brian Scheid fields arguments about the economics, policy...
This week’s Capitol Crude looks at efforts by congressional Republicans to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. After decades of debate, drilling in ANWR appears closer than ever, but there are a lot of open questions and moving parts.Senior oil editor Brian...
We know US oil drillers can react quicker these days to rising prices and put new production online. But for the first time, a study has quantified US shale drillers' price responsiveness.Richard Newell, the study's lead author and former chief of the Energy Information Administration, spoke with...
Will Venezuela's oil sector — including PDVSA and Citgo — will be a help or hindrance as the country tries to restructure some of its crippling debt while also dealing with sanctions?Senior oil editor Brian Scheid talks with Risa Grais-Targow, director, Latin America, at the Eurasia...
Dan Eberhart thinks WTI, not Brent, should be the global benchmark for oil prices. Eberhart, CEO of Canary, a Denver-based drilling-services company, thinks the rationale which turned Brent into the world-leading oil benchmark is now outdated.He speaks with senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and...
The fate of the Iran deal has essentially been punted to the US Congress, so what is likely to happen (and not happen) as lawmakers evaluate a situation that could have impacts for global oil markets?Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon speak with John Hughes, former head of the State...
The 100-year-old Jones Act got a lot of attention after a brutal hurricane season, but could its role within the US energy industry change as crude oil and LNG exports increase?Senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid hear from US Representative John Garamendi, Democrat-California, about...
Investment cycles can give clues about future oil market shifts, and recent slow investments are pointing toward a global crude shortage and price upticks, Jonathan Chanis tells senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon.Chanis is senior vice president for policy at Securing America’s...
What happens if the US reimposes sanctions on Iran's oil sector without the support of Europe, China and Russia — all big players in the international energy landscape? Elizabeth Rosenberg, director of the energy economics and security program at the Center for New American Security, talks...
Capitol Crude's senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon speak with Meghan O'Sullivan, author of the new book ‘Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power.’ O'Sullivan talks about US energy independence, how Rex Tillerson...
The US will produce an average 9.25 million b/d this year and the number will continue to grow over the next few years, according to the US Energy Information Administration. When will US oil producers reach 10 million b/d? And what will determine whether — or how — that benchmark is...
Ahead of a possible United Nations Security Council vote Monday on an oil embargo to North Korea, Capitol Crude sits down with William Brown, an adjunct professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and an expert on North Korea.Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon talk with...
The US Energy Information Administration is losing its top career official, and senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid spoke with Howard Gruenspecht before he departed. Gruenspecht, the acting administrator since January and deputy administrator since 2003, is departing for the MIT...
Capitol Crude celebrates its 150th episode with part two of a talk with Amos Hochstein, President Barack Obama's top energy diplomat. Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon focus on the future of the Iran nuclear deal — which Hochstein helped develop — and the radical changes...
US energy sanctions are back in the news with Russia and Venezuela, so senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon talk to someone who's been there, done that: Amos Hochstein, President Barack Obama's top energy diplomat. Hochstein, who served as Obama’s special envoy and coordinator of...
Keystone XL faces a final regulatory hurdle in Nebraska, and there are still concerns whether the crude oil pipeline makes economic sense for TransCanada. Senior oil editor Meghan Gordon delves into whether recent news events and an ever-changing supply and demand situation will justify the...
If the US follows through with sanctions on Venezuela, it can affect a slew of issues for US Gulf Coast refiners and the global markets for crude and refined oil products. Senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk with John Auers, executive vice president with Turner, Mason &...
The US Congress is working to put new oil sanctions into place against Russia and the Trump administration is poised to impose new sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector — sanctions which could include an embargo on Venezuelan crude imports into the US.As the Russia sanctions legislation...
Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, speaks to Capitol Crude about the future the Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuels and the big topics at the pump in the era of Trump.Dinneen speaks with senior oil editor Brian Scheid about the proposed Renewable Volume Obligations and...
The Trump administration is looking to expand drilling in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, Arctic and even the Pacific oceans. To learn more about the prospects of expanded offshore oil and gas production, senior oil editor Brian Scheid and Gary Gentile, chief editor of Platts...
Talk about the US' need for energy independence evolved into a discussion about energy security, and now energy dominance has risen to the forefront. But what does that mean and what are the Trump administration's plans to achieve it? Senior oil editor Brian Scheid talks with Kevin Book, managing...
Newly proposed US sanctions on Russia target energy projects, like pipelines and crude oil production, and also provide new sanctions on mining, metals and other parts of the energy industry. But big questions remain about whether the sanctions will be passed into law or imposed.Senior oil editor...
President Trump no longer wants to rip up NAFTA; he wants to renegotiate with Canada and Mexico. But the oil and gas sectors in all three countries have changed dramatically since 1994 when the landmark trade deal went into force. What impact will these upcoming trade talks have on oil and product...
Andrew Holland, director of studies and a senior fellow at the American Security Project, joins Capitol Crude to talk about how "energy is still a strategic, valued commodity" and key to national security.Holland also speaks with senior oil editor Brian Scheid about the security implications of...
Capitol Crude talks to Ali Zaidi, who served for eight years in the Obama administration, about an area where the economic and environmental concerns collide for the oil and gas industry: offshore. Zaidi, senior advisor at Morrison Foerster, most recently served the Obama administration as the...
The Trump administration has reopened a review of 2022-2025 fuel economy standards, which have a major impact on the vehicles automakers produce and, arguably, a modest impact on petroleum demand in the future.Senior oil editor Brian Scheid talks with Drew Kodjak, executive director of the...
US crude exports are in their nascent stages, relative to the rest of the world. But data about the exports reveals how the crude is entering the market. Mason Hamilton, petroleum markets analyst with the US Energy Information Administration, joins senior oil editor Brian Scheid and global director...
Capitol Crude talks to some top players in the energy economics game to consider whether oil's perpetual quest for balance is possible and how it affects production and prices.John Kemp, senior market analyst, commodities and energy at Thomson Reuters, and Ross McCracken, managing editor at Platts...
When OPEC reached its historic supply cut deal last year, Brent oil was trading for about $49/b ... and it still is. So has the deal been a failure, and what should the market expect from OPEC now?Senior oil editor Brian Scheid is in London, talking with the Platts OPEC team ahead of the Vienna...
Capitol Crude takes an environmentalists vs. industry look at President Donald Trump's first 100 days with Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, and Bob Deans, director of strategic engagement for the Natural Resources Defense Council.Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan...
Have refiners' hopes for a quick rollback of the US biofuel mandate by the Trump administration fizzled out? The industry judged two early appointments as signs of the president's willingness to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard. But with the administration's first 100 days nearly over, no policy...
How much of an impact are President Donald Trump's policies having on day-to-day trading within oil markets? And what about future regulations? Brian Scheid has a conversation with the S&P Global Platts oil futures team: Geoffrey Craig, Jack Laursen and Jeff Mower. They discuss where oil prices...
Low oil prices and a lack of upstream spending are fueling a looming, worldwide supply crisis for the 2020s, some oil industry experts say. Adam Sieminski, former head of the US Energy Information Administration, and Michael Cohen, head of energy markets research at Barclays, speak with Brian...
President Donald Trump came into the White House promising a new revolution for domestic fossil fuel producers. But have his policy efforts, including last week’s Energy Independence Executive Order, lived up to the hype? Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon break down...
Capitol Crude looks to Mexico, where reform is upending the energy sector at a time when its relationship with the US could be on the cusp of a change. Senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk with Lourdes Melgar, Mexico's former deputy secretary for hydrocarbons and currently the...
How safe are US pipelines seven years after the fatal natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California, and the 20,000-barrel heavy crude spill in Marshall, Michigan? Regulations designed in response to the accidents moved so slowly in the Obama administration that they never reached...
Capitol Crude looks at whether the landmark crude oil supply cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers may be undermined by growth of US shale oil supply.Spencer Dale, BP’s group chief economist, and Lynn Helms, North Dakota’s top oil and gas regulator, talk to senior oil...
During the second presidential debate, Ken Bone asked a question that brought somewhat dormant energy policy to the forefront. Capitol Crude asks Bone, the man behind the internet's most famous red sweater, about President Donald Trump's energy policy path so far.Bone, who works in the energy...
Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon talk with Jana Morgan, director of Publish What You Pay - US, on the likely fate of an anti-corruption rule with impacts on multinational oil, gas and mining companies.The rule, requiring companies to report bribes to foreign governments, was...
The Texas Gulf Coast is gearing up to handle more US oil production and a potential rise in crude exports, but pipeline capacity already outstrips the area's refining capacity.Sandy Fielden, director of oil and products research at Morningstar Commodities & Energy, talks with senior oil editors...
On February 3, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lost its quorum when Chairman Norman Bay announced he had "gone fishin’" and left the agency in regulatory chaos.Chris Newkumet, DC bureau chief and chief editor of Inside FERC, and Maya Weber, editor of Inside FERC, join senior oil...
Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson has started his new job at the State Department, where he could still have a big impact on energy and commodity issues around the globe. Senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid look at how Tillerson might approach the long-simmering tensions in the...
President Donald Trump has moved in to the White House and has already begun what many believe will be a major shift in US energy policy. But will Trump’s policy changes erase the Obama administration’s efforts to combat climate change?Jason Bordoff, a former top energy adviser to...
Capitol Crude travels to Texas to discuss the impact President Donald Trump may have on US crude oil supply and gasoline demand. Laura Huchzermeyer, an associate editor who covers Americas shale crude and US West Coast crude, and Jeff Bair, managing editor, US gasoline, LPGs and naphtha, talk to...
Robert McNally, author of the new book 'Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices' joins senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid to talk about the history — and future — of crude oil prices.McNally, a former White House energy advisor and president...
About two weeks before he plans to step down, Adam Sieminski, the head of the US Energy Information Administration, sits down with Capitol Crude to talk future oil prices, the path of US production and the outlook for global demand. Sieminski, EIA’s administrator since 2012, talks to senior...
Many are watching US oil producers after the deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers and Donald Trump's election, and John Hess, CEO of Hess Corporation, shares his thoughts about the future of US shale.Hess talks with senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid about how quickly American...
Energy independence is a goal for many when it comes to US energy security, and the future of both is influenced by both politics and complicated global energy markets. Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon talk to Robbie Diamond, president and CEO of Securing America's Future Energy,...
Total renewable fuel is slated to be more than 10% of the US fuel supply in 2017, breaking through the so-called blend wall. But how will a new presidential administration affect targets for the Renewable Fuel Standard?Senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk to ClearView Energy...
In a special episode of Capitol Crude, senior oil editor Brian Scheid calls former podcast co-host Herman Wang in Vienna to get all the details of OPEC's historic decision Wednesday to cut production. Wang is our London-based OPEC reporter, and he explains whether the deal is actually a cut or a...
What are the best and worst scenarios from the upcoming OPEC meeting for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Russia, the US and other crude producers? Matthew Reed, vice president of Foreign Reports, joins senior oil editor Brian Scheid to consider the likely outcomes and country-by-country consequences for...
It's alive! After being buried in the White House policy graveyard last year by President Barack Obama, the Keystone XL pipeline is back from the dead following Donald Trump's election win. TransCanada is considering applying again for a permit for the 1,700-mile pipeline and Trump has vowed to...
Capitol Crude looks at how President-elect Donald Trump might handle US sanctions against Russia, given indications during the campaign that he would take a softer stance with Moscow.Will Trump ease these sanctions that are restricting Western oil companies’ operations in Russia? Moscow-based...
In a special post-election episode of Capitol Crude, senior editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon look at what impact Republican Donald Trump’s victory will have on US oil policy. Geoffrey Craig, oil futures editor with Platts, stops by to talk about the immediate oil price reactions and...
Venezuela has more proven crude oil reserves than any other country, yet hundreds of thousands of people are unable to buy necessities and are marching in the streets of Caracas. Senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk with Raúl Gallegos, senior analyst with Control Risk and...
Former US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson joins senior oil editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid to detail the changing role of OPEC in the global oil market and oil diplomacy. Richardson, who was also governor of New Mexico and a former presidential candidate, was seen as a key player in what...
The fight in the US between oil and gas producers and environmentalists has taken on a more urgent tone lately, in part due to the country looking ahead to a new president. Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon speak with Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, about the...
This week’s episode of Capitol Crude looks at the fallout from OPEC’s Algiers meeting and the prospects for rebalancing global oil supply and demand.Platts senior editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid talk to former Capitol Crude co-host Herman Wang about his time chasing oil ministers...
It’s Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and crude oil on this week’s Capitol Crude, as Platts senior editors Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid look at what the race for the White House means for US oil policy and global supply and demand.Congressman Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican and...
Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon look at the spike in earthquakes in Oklahoma and neighboring states, areas that contributed to the US oil and gas boom.Justin Rubinstein, deputy chief of the US Geological Survey's Induced Seismicity Project, explains how injection wells can...
Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Meghan Gordon take you back to the 1970s with John Kingston, director of global market insights for S&P Global. It was an era of low US crude oil production, high prices, long gasoline lines and disco, and saw the advent of policies that shaped topics at...
Low oil prices and less invested in exploration has squeezed crude production in the US, but Gulf of Mexico production is expected to grow -- even as regulators are growing increasingly concerned about another major spill or loss of life from offshore safety.Platts senior editors Meghan Gordon and...
Capitol Crude is back from summer vacation and taking a trip back to the mid-1990s in the US, when Hanson was on the radio, Seinfeld had new episodes and slickwater fracking was being developed. Nick Steinsberger revolutionized the production of oil from shale and unintentionally set in motion the...
In the 100th episode of Capitol Crude, Platts senior editor Brian Scheid talks with Adam Sieminski, administrator of the US Energy Information Administration, on the state of the global oil market. Sieminski discusses where oil prices are heading, when the market may reach balance, the diminishing...
The Obama administration unveiled final regulations for drilling in US Arctic waters, but questions remain about the future of oil production there. Will the Arctic be pulled out of the administration's upcoming five-year leasing plan, and will environmental opposition and unfavorable economics...
A new technical report on US fuel efficiency targets says the vehicle fleet may fall short of a goal of 54.5 miles per gallon. Senior editor Brian Scheid parses the key points of the report and talks with Sam Ori, executive director at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago,...
Fracking helped unleash a flood of new US oil and gas production, but regulating it is no simple task. The Obama administration has not embraced the environmental movement to keep all fossil fuels in the ground and the topic has become a wedge issue in this year's presidential race. Given that a...
Capitol Crude co-hosts Brian Scheid and Herman Wang couldn't get tickets to the Tony Award-winning musical "Hamilton," so they perform their own rap musical -- on oil policy, of course.Their tale of oil policy topics over the past few years is also Herman's final episode before he heads off to...
Taking their cues from Conan O’Brien, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang take Capitol Crude into the future – all the way to the year 2020, with predictions about Taylor Swift, 3-D printers, and a potential global oil supply shortage.Analysts and market watchers have...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Brian Scheid and Herman Wang take you along on a recent tour of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. With pipes corroding and tank floors failing, the US Department of Energy says the world’s largest stockpile of crude oil may be nearing the end of its service...
Preparing to drive to that summer vacation? Gasoline is one of the most recognizable oil products to Americans, yet what drives the market is unknown to many. Senior oil editor Brian Scheid shares a few drinks with Jeff Bair, managing editor for US light ends, to take stock of high blendstock...
Now that the breaking news is winding down, Capitol Crude analyzes what the June 2 OPEC meeting means for the global oil market, US policymakers and US crude producers. Herman Wang is in Vienna with details of the meeting, which will likely be remembered as the first for Khalid al-Falih in his new...
Recent complaints out of Tehran that the nuclear deal has yet to yield tangible benefits leaves questions about the future of the deal and what it would mean for oil. Senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang delve into the hand-wringing by some, despite efforts of the Obama administration to...
Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been hard hit by the oil price plunge of late, but it is attempting to pull its oil industry out of the shadows and toward legitimacy. Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid are joined by Ben Lando, founder and editor-in-chief of the Iraq Oil...
Saudi Arabia last week made a change in its oil leadership, naming former Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid al-Falih to the post of energy minister, replacing the long-serving Ali al-Naimi. Naimi, who regularly moved markets with his pronouncements on oil supply and demand, had been in charge of Saudi oil...
The state of the oil industry in Venezuela and its ailing PetroCaribe program are having effects on the market in other parts of the 'neighborhood' -- like the US, Caribbean and Central America. The Obama administration last week hosted the US-Caribbean-Central America Energy Summit in Washington,...
Oil prices have been on the rebound in recent weeks, with many market watchers saying that fundamentals appear improved. Some are predicting that the market will see supply and demand rebalance by the end of the year. Senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang look closer at the market's green...
Iran's planned post-sanctions oil production path is colliding with crude market realities, keeping the country's production and exports from ramping up to meet initial expectations. Platts senior oil editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid discuss the obstacles Iran is encountering,including factors...
Alaska has long been a bastion of the US' oil production, even giving dividend checks to residents from oil revenues. But oil price woes are having a major effect on a state that has no state income tax or state sales tax, and crude production on Alaska's North Slope in 2015 fell to its lowest...
On this week's Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wanglook at the growing opposition to oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, says in an interview that the Obama administration is...
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's proposal to ban US imports of Saudi Arabian crude appears unfeasible, but is the plan already damaging fragile ties with the Saudis and other overseas allies? Platts senior oil editor Brian Scheid looks at the market impacts of Trump's views of...
While much of the US has its eyes glued to March Madness, the oil industry is wondering if there could be a big upset in store from a summit of OPEC and major non-OPEC producers in Doha, Qatar, on April 17. The oil producers will be meeting to finalize a plan to freeze output at January levels, and...
As President Barack Obama leaves for his historic trip to Cuba, Platts senior oil editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid look at what the potential end to the long-standing trade embargo means for US crude oil and petroleum products exports. Obama will be the first president to visit Cuba in nearly...
Since 2014, the US and its coalition allies have engaged in an intensive air strike campaign against Islamic State oil facilities, aiming to stamp out one of the terrorist group's vital sources of funding. The US has also announced sanctions on IS officials and warned of punitive actions against...
There's been a lot made of prices and economics when it comes to the US exporting crude oil, but what about the actual logistics and capabilities to export? Platts senior oil editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid talk with Luciano Battistini, Platts managing editor of Americas crude, about the fine...
Rusty Braziel, CEO of RBN Energy and author of "The Domino Effect," stops by to talk with Platts senior oil editor Brian Scheid about some of the biggest influences on US shale producers at the moment, as well as questions about the future of crude oil.Would OPEC members or other big producers give...
The US is likely to raise its gasoline octane standard over the next decade or so, which has the ethanol industry shifting into high gear its fight to become a preferred blendstock. Platts senior editor Herman Wang talks with Jeff Bair, Platts' managing editor for light ends, at the National...
What does it mean for American oil supply and the policies around the oil industry when US crude producers are losing billions of dollars? Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid talk with Starr Spencer, senior editor for oil news, to learn about how earnings are going down for upstream...
More than a month after longstanding limits on US crude exports were lifted, some unintended consequences of the policy shift are emerging. While American crude has started to trickle out on to the world market, cargoes of crude grades the US hasn't seen in years are beginning to appear in domestic...
Europeans have embraced many American exports, like McDonald's Big Macs and Jazzercise. Will US crude oil be the next big hit across the pond? The first cargo of freely traded US crude oil has reached European shores, with the tanker Theo T arriving in Europe last week. Is it the first of an...
This week, Capitol Crude looks at tyranny, autocrats, violent coups, and a big question: Who really owns oil? Senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang talk to Leif Wenar about his new book, "Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence, and the Rules that Run the World."Wenar, the chair of philosophy and law at...
Implementation Day of the Iran nuclear deal is potentially just around the corner, when the US and EU will lift sanctions on Tehran's oil sector. But don't be fooled by the name. With that opportunity comes risk, as many other sanctions -- notably a US trade embargo -- will remain in place.With...
During the final Capitol Crude episode of 2015, Platts senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang take a look at the effect of US crude oil production, consumption, and exports on climate goals.Michelle Patron, the former White House special assistant to the president and senior director for...
Congress has agreed to a potentially landmark deal which includes an end to limits on US crude exports, and for the first time in 40 years, US oil producers could soon have access to the global market.In a special breaking news episode of Capitol Crude, senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Herman...
When the world is awash with crude oil and prices have cratered over the past 18 months, can any federal policy make a difference to US producers? Platts senior editor Brian Scheid talks to Christopher Guith, a senior vice president for policy at the US Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st...
Following last week’s controversial and drama-filled OPEC meeting, Platts senior editors Herman Wang in Vienna and Brian Scheid in Washington detail the twists and turns that led to an announcement Friday that there wouldn’t be a cut to the oil production ceiling nor a rollover.What led...
On this week's Capitol Crude, George David Banks drops in to talk about the impact US oil production and export policy is having on diplomatic relations with China and the South China Sea territorial dispute.How can US shale production alter global trade relations? Could a shift in export policy...
It's the Marcia, Marcia, Marcia moment: Everyone's talking about the Paris climate talks and their impact on power markets, but what about oil markets? Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid look at how the upcoming talks could be seen as "extremely, extremely disruptive to future oil...
This week, Capitol Crude becomes Capitol Crude Conundrum, America's favorite US oil policy game show. Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang welcome special guests, like Brent from West Texas, and take on some of the latest issues in the American oil industry.From the Keystone XL...
From deep in the heart of Texas, Platts' Brian Scheid talks with Matt Cook, head of Platts' Americas crude and fuel oil markets team, about US crude oil and condensate exports and Houston sprawl.The US Gulf Coast is a hotspot for exports, and Cook shares what market participants are saying about...
Just like the world's petrostates, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang are feeling the pinch from lower oil prices brought on by the US shale boom. While Brian and Herman bemoan the cutbacks they've been forced to make and fret about their loss of clout, they examine how the surge in...
There are no Ewoks in this third installment, but Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang complete their trilogy on US offshore oil and gas policy by examining the cancellation of future US Arctic lease sales.Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, talks...
The US' Jones Act and its impact on offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is causing federal agencies to go public with their concerns. Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid take a deep dive into how the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Coast Guard are...
Capitol Crude takes a look at the US EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, issued October 1, which sees the air pollution limit lowered from 75 ppb to 70 ppb, drawing protests from the oil and gas industry and environmental groups alike.The administration said...
Another potential relationship fizzling with the end of the summer: After seven years and $7 billion, Shell has decided to abandon pursuing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, despite its offshore Alaska activity just this summer. In an exclusive interview with Platts senior editors Herman Wang and...
The majestic bald eagle may be the emblematic bird of the United States, but the bizarre greater sage grouse is the poster-bird for the relationship between the US oil and gas industry and undeveloped land. Take a trip to the American West and the sagebrush sea with Platts senior editors Brian...
The debate over US crude oil exports has been rife with policy-focused arguments on supply and demand fundamentals, but could a Republican bill and recent White House opposition turn the issue as just another piece of political theater? Are crude oil exports at risk of becoming the next Keystone XL...
Producers and consumers alike are becoming more attuned to the impact of goods of all sorts, and it's no different when it comes to a barrel of oil. Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid talk to two of the developers of the first-ever index measuring the climate impacts of individual...
It's Brian Scheid v. Herman Wang on Platts Capitol Crude Court this week, as the co-hosts duel over the notion of idled US shale oil wells contributing to global spare capacity. Brian argues that drilled and uncompleted wells and laid-down rigs represent a de facto source of spare capacity, since...
North Dakota's Bakken Shale embodies much of the best of the US' oil revolution and has been a success in spite of global oil market fundamentals. Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang are joined this week by Congressman Kevin Cramer, North Dakota's only member of the US House of...
Plenty of artists have penned songs about California - from Tupac to the Beach Boys to Katy Perry. But the one aspect of California that every singer seems to leave out is its Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a potentially game-changing program to clean up transportation fuels. LCFS credits have spiked in...
After the unveiling of President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, it's an appropriate time to take stock of whether the administration's climate goals are at odds with the ongoing shale boom. Platts senior editor Brian Scheid asks whether history will remember Obama as the climate change president...
On this week's Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang slide tackle their way into the bipartisan, comprehensive US energy bill passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week. The bill is expected to be the first major US energy policy bill out...
Which anniversary includes the traditional gifting of a barrel of crude oil? On the 50th episode of Capitol Crude, Platts senior oil reporters Brian Scheid and Herman Wang look back at their year in podcasting and revisit some of the hottest oil topics to see what's changed and what's new. What...
After the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, what should the world expect from its oil industry? Platts senior oil editor Brian Scheid digs into the big questions: How much Iranian crude could hit the world market and when? Where will it go? What does it mean for prices in an already over-supplied...
Time is of the essence when it comes to opening up US oil exports . . . or is it? Platts senior editor Brian Scheid details why a vote to end long-standing restrictions on US crude oil exports is likely coming this fall. On opposites sides of the debate, George Baker, the head of Producers for...
It was a year of Star Wars, funk, Reggie Jackson and Saudi Arabian crude arriving in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. From 1977 until today, the US' place in the oil market has come a long way. Platts senior oil editor Brian Scheid talks to Melanie Kenderdine, a top US Department of Energy...
You can come out of your tinfoil bunker: The Obama administration's recently announced plans to regulate commercial aircraft emissions, but any effects would likely be years in the future. Platts senior oil editors and Herman Wang and Brian Scheid wonder if this is part of a government conspiracy...
Did the Obama administration turn a T-Rex of a problem into an Indominus Rex of a problem, by requiring electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on oil trains? After watching Jurassic World, the much-hyped sequel to Jurassic Park, Brian Scheid and Herman Wang break down the administration's...
The US isn't a part of OPEC, and no government officials attended the OPEC meeting in Vienna last week, but the US and its shale oil boom were still on people's minds at the conference and summit. Platts senior editors Herman Wang -- who was in Vienna -- and Brian Scheid recap the conference and...
Is a new plan by Congress to sell 64 million barrels of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve like a get-rich-quick scheme that's just too good to be true? Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang look at whether this plan could lead to an actual profit or just a convenient way to...
Summer is starting, and while Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang start thinking of sunscreen and sunglasses, Shell is planning to drill offshore Alaska. The plan has received conditional approval from the Obama administration, but it's drawn fierce opposition from environmental...
Senator Lisa Murkowski is the featured guest on this week's Capitol Crude, as Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang interview the Alaska Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee about her efforts to lift the US' longstanding restrictions on crude...
Venezuela was once the largest source of US oil imports, but when that relationship soured, the Latin American powerhouse turned to a new relationship with China. But as Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang explain, that partnership is not quite what was expected. Matt Ferchen,...
You've got questions? Capitol Crude has answers. Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang dip into their mailbag and answer some burning questions about crude oil policy. What can we expect at the upcoming June 5 OPEC meeting in Vienna? How will a bill recently passed by the US Senate...
There's no sure way to tell when the drop is coming, but take a ride with Platts senior oil editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid on the Peak Oil Peaker, a virtual roller coaster built entirely on oil market speculation. When will low prices and falling rig counts cause US production — and...
Forecasting oil prices is a tough game, and Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang ask whether there's any value to long-term oil price forecasts or if there's too big of a chance of a fumble. The US Energy Information Administration recently projected crude oil prices to be between...
In this week’s Platts Capitol Crude, senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang put their conflict resolution skills to the test as they stage an intervention between President Barack Obama and lawmakers in Congress, skeptical over his administration’s nuclear negotiations with Iran....
Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang are joined by John Kingston, president of the McGraw Hill Financial Institute, for a pretty ... pretty ... pretty interesting discussion of US crude policy. Drawing on their favorite moments from the HBO hit 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' the three draw...
Pull up a chair in the interrogation room and join Platts senior editor Brian Scheid as he asks questions about the Obama administration's new hydraulic fracturing rules and their impact on US oil and gas producers. Blasted by industry as overkill and environmentalists as ineffective, these...
For the first time, Platts Capitol Crude goes on the road to Platts’ New York office for a deep look into the crude oil futures market and its impact on US policy. Platts senior editor Brian Scheid talks to James Bambino, managing editor of Platts’ Oilgram Price Report, and Platts oil...
The debate over expanding US crude exports comes as the American fossil fuel industry finds itself in the midst of a "body swap" movie: policy has not kept pace with a radical change. Platts senior editor Brian Scheid gives a rundown of latest US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee...
The US oil industry and Obama administration are preparing for a duel over strict new safety rules governing shipments of crude by rail. Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid present a saga of the industry's tough encounters with regulators, lawmakers and the Knights Who Say...
Creepy backgound music, ominous foreshadowing, cocky attitudes: in a movie, these cues will let you know disaster is about to strike, but what clues would have let us know oil prices were about to tank?Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang wade into the world of climbing crude...
The US Environmental Protection Agency's Chris Grundler may not be a member of Depeche Mode, but to Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang his appearance at the recent National Ethanol Conference unfolded like the seminal British electronic goth band's discography.Grundler, whose office...
On this week’s episode of Capitol Crude, Platts senior editor Brian Scheid discusses the disappointing launch of the US condensate export market and how it's similar to the 1984 NBA Draft.Carlton Dole with Green Lake Fuels and Platts editor James Bambino join Brian to discuss how narrow crude...
The oil industry is rife with controversial topics, but the "third rail" of US energy politics is the Jones Act, which spells out shipping standards for goods (including oil) transported by water between American ports.Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid dive into how the Jones Act...
This week on Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid compare the ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program with trashy reality television. With a little help from Kevin Book at ClearView Energy Partners, Herman and Brian explain what high stakes global...
Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid go ringside for the big fight over the oil industry between the Obama administration and the Alaska congressional delegation, led by Senator Lisa Murkowski. The administration recently angered Alaska lawmakers by designating portions of the state...
US crude-by-rail rules have not been updated in decades, and recent train accidents have rattled communities across North America. Platts senior editor Herman Wang takes a deep dive into efforts to revamp the rules, including from the Department of Transportation, which last summer unveiled its...
In this week’s Capitol Crude, Platts senior editor Herman Wang gets Serial (and serious) about the Renewable Fuel Standard and the battle between the biofuels and oil industries. When will the Environmental Protection Agency finalize the 2014 rule? What volume of biofuels will it mandate? And...
Can you choose your own US export adventure if you choose your own name? Self-classifying and self-proclaiming can be a tricky business, but when it comes to condensates, the US Commerce Department appears to be encouraging companies to decide for themselves whether their product is eligible for...
On the first Capitol Crude of 2015, Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid take a cue from Marty McFly and look to the future of 2015. Tune in to hear their personal policy predictions as they tackle the big questions of the US oil industry: Will Keystone XL get approved? Will Shell...
Ever feel like you're living the same scenario over and over and over again? On this week's episode of Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang talk with Platts Energy Week host Bill Loveless about how crude oil prices and policy are a lot like "Groundhog Day." The...
North Dakota oil producers are finding themselves in a tough spot, caught between calls for stabilizing crude for transportation safety and mandates to cut down on natural gas flaring in the Bakken. As Platts senior oil editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang explain, with the help of some Barbra...
Global oil benchmarks fell nearly 20 percent in November after OPEC maintained its output targets, and now there are lingering questions about the long-term effects of OPEC's decision on US policy and oil prices. Platts senior oil editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid explain how as companies...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid talk about the late nights, early mornings and crowded press conferences at the latest OPEC meeting in Vienna, where confirmation that the group would simply roll over its 30 million b/d crude oil output ceiling...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid talk about how Friday’s decision to punt the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard into next year was a lot like Reebok’s disastrous Dan vs. Dave campaign ahead of the 1992 Olympics. Listen as they break down...
It's a story at the heart of US-Russia relations: A once-beloved American underdog versus an egomaniacal Russian tyrant. Is it the plot of a Rocky movie, or the current political status of the countries, which involves jabs at the oil and natural gas industries?This week, Platts senior editors...
From Mad Men to Seinfeld to Roseanne, we've all seen TV shows where different actors have played the same part from season to season. Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang look at the impact a Republican controlled Senate and an expanded Republican House majority will have on crude oil...
On this week’s Capitol Crude podcast, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang talk about why US condensate exports are like a box of chocolates. How much processed condensate will the US be exporting and where will it end up?Check back every Monday for the latest analysis of US oil...
On this week’s Capitol Crude podcast, Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid ask if the hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil stashed away by the US government may indicate a hoarding problem. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, hidden away in Louisiana and Texas, was born of...
What does a plan by Saudi Arabia have to do with bad basketball? This week, on Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang compare the OPEC powerhouse's possible plan to assert its leading role in the world oil market to the strategy by the Philadelphia 76ers to lose games...
Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid answer US crude policy questions submitted from listeners. Will the first Alaskan crude export in a decade push a change in US export policy? What’s the deal with the Jones Act and who’s pushing for an exemption to it? How are plunging...
Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid launch a new dating show for crude-by-rail regulations on this week's Capitol Crude. Can the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration find anything to like in the companies and trade groups that are jostling for favor as a new rule is...
On this week's Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang look at what advanced baseball statistics can tell us about US crude oil production data.Sabermetrics led to a statistical revolution in Major League Baseball; are new production metrics on domestic production needed...
On this week's Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid look at the ongoing fight over the Renewable Fuel Standard and compare it to the central conflict within history's most famous vampire romance teen literature, Twilight. Indeed, the US Environmental Protection Agency's...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang compare the ongoing campaign to allow exports of US crude oil to some of the most successful beer marketing campaigns. Despite a glut of US crude and domestic refining constraints, lawmakers are slow to act on...
On this week’s Capitol Crude, Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang explain how the US Congress is looking to lay the groundwork for future crude oil policy, meaning it's a perfect time to start paying attention to it, despite its reputation for being stuck in a cycle of dead-end...
This week, Brian Scheid and Herman Wang play a couple of rounds of Name That Crude in an attempt to figure out the exact qualities of Bakken crude, a question that the North Dakota Industrial Commission will review during a hearing September 23.Then the Platts senior oil news reporters review the...
Platts senior oil news editors Herman Wang and Brian Scheid take a trip down memory lane to look at the future of condensate splitters in the US, which were encouraged by the abundance of domestic light crude oil.Additionally, propane prices spiked significantly this past winter, and now some are...
The end of this week is the deadline for comments on the next five-year oil and natural gas leasing plan, which will serve as a guide for offshore drilling from 2017 through 2022. It's also comments time for the Department of Transportation's phasing out of the DOT-111 tank car, the current...
In the inaugural edition of this podcast, Platts senior oil news editors and Capitol Hill newshounds Herman Wang and Brian Scheid discuss the possible political motives for a tanker of Kurdish crude to idle off the Texas coast as well as how companies are trying to unravel oil condensate processing...