RBN Energy Blogcast

Shell’s two major September developments mark strategic milestones in its resumption of upstream growth after an extended reshaping of its portfolio since 2020. Today, we analyze Shell’s upstream strategy since then, which has taken a different path from fellow supermajors ExxonMobil and BP.

The Permian, the world’s largest NGL-producing region, is poised for continued growth across the NGL value chain. With domestic demand offering limited room to grow, can downstream infrastructure keep pace? Today, we examine the projects helping turn rising Permian production into global supply.

There’s a horse race among Gulf Coast gas storage developers to provide the tens of billions of cubic feet of incremental space that will be needed by the early 2030s. Out front are the owners of existing salt cavern storage. But which brownfield projects have that special something? 

Devon Energy announced it is selling its Eagle Ford assets to Crescent Energy for $4.22 billion in cash. In today’s blog, we look at why Devon is leaving South Texas while Crescent doubles down, and we preview our detailed analysis of the deal, available on the Novi Intelligence portal.

Freight rates are sky-high. Shipping crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to China on a VLCC cost more than $80 million earlier this month, double what it was in September and 5X a year ago. Today, we look at the unique combination of factors that are helping drive freight rates to record highs.

Building an oil or gas pipeline can be a heavy lift, but getting permission to do it can take even longer. Years of reviews, agency coordination and courtroom battles have delayed projects and driven up costs. Today, we look at the permitting reform bill being considered by Congress and what it would do. 

The volumes of Permian natural gas flowing into the Katy area west of Houston will be increasing sharply, as will gas demand from LNG export terminals near the Texas/Louisiana border. Three new pipelines are being developed to move gas from between Katy and the state line, but will they be enough?

Global refining is entering a new phase. After decades of capacity growth centered in China and the Middle East, the baton is passing to India. Today, we examine India’s long-term goals, the kinds of projects underway, and how the U.S. is playing a role in their development.

The developer of a planned natural gas pipeline across North Dakota has reached FID after securing long-term, demand-side commitments for almost all its 1.4 Bcf/d of capacity. The question is, will WBI Energy’s Bakken East Pipeline leave the Bakken with way too much gas takeaway space?

Over the past 10-plus years, there’s been an extraordinary consolidation among producers in Alberta’s booming oil sands region. Now, with Cenovus Energy’s planned multibillion-dollar acquisition of Athabasca Oil Corp., more than 90% of oil sands production will be owned by only five companies.

ONEOK’s expansion of its Greater Denver refined products pipeline does more than just add 35 Mb/d of capacity to Denver International Airport. The midstream giant has larger ambitions for the 230-mile line that links Denver to Midcontinent and Gulf Coast supplies. 

The Gulf Coast gas storage market today is a different animal, marked by steeper prices, an emphasis on high injection and withdrawal rates, and a looming capacity shortfall. How did we get here, which market players are shaping things the most, and how much new gas storage is likely to get built?

The trade press has become increasingly skeptical about whether Europe can adequately replenish its underground natural gas reserves in time to meet critical storage targets. Today, we explain why Europe, and Germany specifically, finds itself in a precarious situation and what might be done.

Crude oil may get the headlines, but the fuels made from it have delivered some of the market’s biggest surprises of 2026. With supply disruptions, strained trade flows and compliance costs all shaping this year’s numbers, let’s look at what goes into a crack spread and what we can learn from it. 

Far from resting on its laurels, ExxonMobil has weathered multiple industry cycles to drive continual output growth. Today, we analyze how that has unfolded since 2020, where ExxonMobil is investing today, and why the Permian, Guyana and LNG-dedicated assets are defining its upstream future.

The Permian is the country’s largest NGL-producing region, and its output is expected to keep growing. By 2035, the basin is forecast to account for 53% of U.S. NGL production. Handling that growth will require a complex network of pipelines, fractionators and other infrastructure. 

A natural gas pipeline deal that gives privately held Esentia Energy a complete, start-to-finish link between the Permian Basin and Mexico’s Pacific Coast is highlighting a heretofore under-the-radar LNG project being planned at the end of that now-1,400-mile pipeline system.

The big news this week may have been the FID on LNG Canada’s Phase 2. But that announcement will have even larger upstream impacts, including a major expansion to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, more drilling in the Montney Formation, and more condensate production for the Alberta oil sands.

The Permian has up to 11 Bcf/d of new natural-gas takeaway capacity scheduled to enter service through the end of 2029, with still more coming into the early 2030s. The central question is whether natural gas growth from Permian oil development will fill that capacity and, if so, how quickly. 

Just a few years ago, natural gas storage capacity along the Gulf Coast was widely available at low cost, but that has all changed. A storage-capacity shortfall is looming as new LNG export facilities come online, and the competition among storage developers is heating up. There will be winners and losers.

A series of disruptions to global refining capacity and refined-product flows has raised the prospect of a ban on U.S. diesel exports as a way to keep prices in check. Today, we look at where things stand and how a U.S. export ban could result in a number of major unintended and negative consequences.

The North American energy landscape has changed dramatically since our first School of Energy way back in 2013, but the need to understand market fundamentals has not. Today’s blog includes key highlights (and some blatant plugs) for a newly available replay of our recent conference in Houston.

Two vehicles may look identical from the outside, but what’s under the hood can make all the difference. Today, we look at how the same principle applies to crude oil, as barrels that meet the same basic specifications can still behave very differently once they reach a refinery. 

It’s no secret that rising prices for refined products have drawn scorn from consumers, businesses and politicians alike, but the market isn’t stuck indefinitely. Today, we look at how China could play a major role in stabilizing the global refined products market and help bring down prices.

Plains All American is buying Silver Creek’s integrated crude oil gathering system in the Powder River Basin for $585 million. Today, we look at how the deal could reshape flows around the Powder River Basin and strengthen Plains’ ability to move crude toward the Cushing, OK, storage hub.