RBN Energy Blogcast

The U.S. propane market typically follows predictable trends. With much of domestic demand occurring in the colder months, storage builds in the summer and is withdrawn in the winter. But since mid-April, storage levels have increased by only 1.2 MMbbl. Today, we explore what is going on and why.

One of the most discussed and often misunderstood aspects of the midstream world is the pipeline open season. It is how midstreamers go out to the market to test shipper interest and lock in commercial commitments for new projects and can effectively determine whether a project will get built. 

As the Marcellus/Utica became the U.S.’s premier natural gas production region in the 2010s, a larger portion of its output headed out of the Northeast. An increasingly important part of the story has involved greater demand for gas from within the Northeast, especially the power sector.

Launch a company built around energy market fundamentals and rock & roll song titles. Then … give it away for free. Not exactly a textbook business plan. Today we turn the page. Novi Labs has acquired RBN Energy. Today’s blog is all about the logic of this deal and what it means for our customers.

The global oil market has been especially volatile this year, but the United Arab Emirates’ decision to cease its OPEC membership provided another jolt. Today, we dig into why the UAE chose this path and the potential implications for the global market and U.S. producers.

It’s been quite a year already, with energy markets roiled by the Iran war. To survive such swings, you need a deep understanding of market fundamentals so that you can anticipate their effects. That’s today’s subject and the focus of our upcoming School of Energy: Foundations. 

The White House gave the green light on March 18 for foreign-flagged tankers to move crude oil and refined products between U.S. ports by waiving the Jones Act. In less than two months, about 60 waivers have been recorded. Today, we’ll dig into the new patterns that have emerged. 

Just as upstream producers settled into a lower-growth, shareholder-return-focused era, commodity prices moved sharply higher during Q1 2026. Today, we chronicle a massive rebound in profitability and cash flow from a dismal Q4 2025 for the 38 E&P companies we cover.

The competition for upstream assets in the Permian is fierce. It’s a different story in the Anadarko, where production has been flat and some larger E&Ps have been exiting. But there’s been a lot of big-money M&A in the Anadarko lately, most for steady-as-she-goes production assets at reasonable prices.

With their scale and 130-gigawatt pipeline of new large-load customers, the planned combination of electric utility and wholesale power giants NextEra Energy and Dominion may substantially accelerate the buildout of new gas-fired power plants and, with that, the need for more pipeline capacity.

The prospect of procuring steady production assets at reasonable prices has been spurring interest in the Anadarko Basin. In the past few weeks, two privately held producers closed on deals totaling more than $4 billion, with another $1-billion-plus agreement announced this month. What’s going on?

Last year, Alaska produced only 421 Mb/d of crude oil, barely one-fifth the state’s peak output in 1988. But two new projects — one already producing and the other only weeks away from “first oil” — will add a combined 100 Mb/d and a third, even bigger one will contribute another 180 Mb/d by 2030. 

An emergency fuel waiver by the Environmental Protection Agency is allowing refineries and refined product terminals to supply gasoline with a higher Reid vapor pressure this summer than previously permitted. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, the waiver may well increase gasoline supply and improve refinery and blender economics.

A lot of work must be done to revive Venezuela’s crude oil industry, which has suffered from years of poor management and underinvestment. Exports have rebounded sharply in early 2026, but much more could be done. Today, we outline the additional steps that could boost export volumes.

It’s been quite a year already, with energy markets roiled by the Iran war. To survive such swings, you need a deep understanding of market fundamentals so that you can anticipate their effects. That’s today’s subject and the focus of our upcoming School of Energy: Foundations. 

After being in virtual limbo the past couple of years, the U.S. Northeast gas market is reawakening. New pipeline development is, well, no longer a pipe dream. Today, we begin a series evaluating the impacts of these changing fundamentals on the Northeast gas market outlook.

The monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the related surge in crude oil exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast has prompted two big questions: (1) how much oil can the region’s marine terminals reliably send out on a sustained basis and (2) does the USGC need more export capacity.

U.S. crude oil production averaged a record 13.6 MMb/d in 2025, up nearly 1.6 MMb/d from 2023, but crude export volumes remained remarkably stable — at or very near 4.1 MMb/d — until a recent Iran-related surge. A key reason: “capacity creep” expansion projects at several Gulf Coast refineries.

Oil markets have been pushed higher by supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions, while natural gas prices have strengthened on weather-driven demand, reinforcing a powerful near-term earnings tailwind. The question is a familiar one: What will producers do with these additional cash flows?

Nearly all the recent analysis of Venezuela has centered on crude oil and refined products, but its gas reserves shouldn’t be overlooked. Today, we look at those reserves, compare domestic production and consumption, and explain how Trinidad & Tobago could play a role in boosting Venezuelan output.

The U.S. is seeing softer domestic demand for traditional fuels, but pockets of the country remain highly dependent on imported gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Today, we’ll zero in on which PADDs are at the highest risk for shortages and price spikes if the Iran war drags on for an extended period.

Shell’s plan to acquire Western Canadian E&P ARC Resources Ltd. affirms the global energy giant’s new strategic focus, enhances the prospects for Phase 2 of LNG Canada, and supports the view that the Montney Shale may be replacing the Permian as the epicenter of oil and gas M&A.

Natural gas demand is building fast along the Gulf Coast. New LNG export terminals, data centers and power generation — and new pipelines to deliver the incremental gas. That’s all baked in. What’s still far from certain is where all the gas will come from, and how intense the battle for gas supply will become.

It’s been eight weeks since the steady flow of crude oil and refined product tankers out of the Persian Gulf ended, and the impacts on refineries and product suppliers in key parts of the world are becoming clearer. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the state of refining in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

A data center developer’s top priorities are speed, speed, and speed, with cost and other factors coming next. Today, we look at how developers must solve the issues around offtake agreements and power generation and also preview our latest Drill Down Report.