Capitol Crude: The US Energy Policy Podcast

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...