RBN Energy Blogcast

While most of the discussion about Venezuela involves crude production, it’s important to know that the country was also once a major refiner before it began a decade-long downturn. Today, we look at the history of Venezuela’s refining sector and the prospects for a turnaround.

A lot of attention has been paid to the massive volumes of crude oil and LNG currently trapped in the Persian Gulf. What’s sometimes overlooked, however, is that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also major exporters of refined products, and that they and Qatar also send out copious amounts of LPG.

The U.S. LNG industry has experienced monumental growth and there’s a hefty slate of additional projects somewhere along the path to a final investment decision, each with its own hurdles and timelines. Getting across that FID finish line can be quite arduous. 

The White House has issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, which will allow foreign tankers to move crude oil and refined products between U.S. ports in a bid to cool gasoline prices. Today, we dive into what the waiver could mean for U.S. refiners, consumers, and other market participants.

Today, we detail U.S. plans to release 172 MMbbl from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, examine how it compares with U.S. actions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and why the SPR could drop to levels not seen since the Reagan administration.

It’s been a busy few years for big-money M&A in the oil and gas industry. Now, having acquired their targeted assets — often running up debt in the process — several E&Ps have been selling off non-core holdings and, with those deals, zeroing in on the shale basins they see as the keys to their success.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine not only led to the demise of Russian pipeline gas supplies to Europe and caused prices to spike, but it also helped create new arbitrage opportunities for U.S. LNG shippers. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the different approaches the U.S. upstream has adopted in response.

Despite ongoing efforts by Pemex to boost production of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, the Mexican market still depends on imports from the U.S. for just over half of its refined product needs. And moving nearly 700 Mb/d of transportation fuels to population centers south of the border is no easy task.

There’s no shortage of debate around ethanol and gasoline with the summer driving season just around the corner. Farm and biofuels groups are pushing hard for policies favoring expanded ethanol use, while refiners are lobbying for changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard to make it less complex and unpredictable.  The current spike in fuel prices adds another (though likely short-term) componen...

With Canadian crude oil production continuing to grow, the industry and politicians are considering options to add pipeline export capacity out of Western Canada. In today’s RBN blog, the second of a series, we review the major pipeline projects that have expanded markets for Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin crude oil since 2010, and how those expansions lined up with supply growth.

A major theme under the second Trump administration has been “energy dominance,” with a focus on expanded drilling, increased oil and gas production, and an easier path to project approvals. Today, we explain why the goal of “energy dominance” doesn’t mean going it alone, especially when it comes to the refining sector.

“Location, location, location” doesn’t just apply to residential and commercial real estate. It also holds true for natural gas storage, which is in high-and-rising demand along the Texas/Louisiana border, where a slew of new LNG export capacity is coming online — new gas-fired power plants, too.

Propane has powered Olympic kitchens, lifted hot-air balloons across the English Channel and helped turn a quiet patch of southeastern Texas into the center of the NGL universe. It has also had many larger-than-life “wild” characters push the business forward. 

The world is hungry for more natural gas. But where will it come from and what are the biggest issues facing the market? Those are among the major questions addressed at GasCon 2026 and the focus of today’s RBN blog. 

New and expanded natural gas storage facilities near the Texas/Louisiana border are coming online and being planned, mostly in response to the ongoing buildout of LNG export capacity along the Gulf Coast and new gas pipelines to those terminals.

U.S. exports of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to Mexico have been mostly rising the past 15 years. Over that same period, the Mexican government’s policy on the import-related roles of state-owned Pemex and private companies has zigged and zagged, slowing efforts to develop new midstream infrastructure.

Houston and Corpus Christi dominate crude oil exports, but the balance between the two hot spots has been shifting in interesting ways recently. In Houston, Enterprise could extend its lead and in Corpus Christi, South Texas Gateway is fighting for the top spot after adding a new pipeline connection last fall. 

For E&Ps, differences in financial performance often stem from accounting methodology, specifically from whether a company uses the Full Cost (FC) or Successful Efforts (SE) method to account for its oil and gas properties. Today, we examine why this seemingly mundane topic really matters.

Canadian crude oil production has reached highs and is expected to continue growing. But, in an area where steep price discounts have been a frequent problem, and in a world that is seemingly awash in crude, what does that mean for Canadian producers, and how will all this supply get to market? 

New LNG export capacity near the Texas/Louisiana border, rising natural gas production in the Haynesville (and the West Haynesville), and new pipelines transporting that gas south to the Gulf Coast have spurred a lot of interest in gas storage — and storage developers are responding.

This year will be a tale of two halves for the Permian. Natural gas production and pricing figure to remain fairly stable until the back half of this year, when more than 5 Bcf/d of new pipeline capacity comes online, giving the basin room to grow for the first time in a long time.

Northeast Texas is increasingly a key conduit for natural gas supply pushing toward rising Gulf Coast LNG demand. The region’s supply is poised to surge over the next decade, driven by new inflows from the Permian and rising local production, including from the emerging Western Haynesville play.

One of the biggest questions surrounding Venezuela centers on its now-moribund oil sector, which has suffered from decades of neglect. It’s widely understood that a recovery will take time, but there are some concrete steps that could boost production in the short, medium and long term. 

The U.S. is on the brink of a major transformation in refined products. New pipelines into the Desert Southwest and connecting out to California, along with refinery shutdowns along the West Coast, are poised to usher U.S. refiners into a new era shaped by consolidation, efficiency and market power. 

Utah legislators seeking to lower the state’s at-the-pump tax on gasoline and diesel have proposed a tax of up to 24 cents on every gallon of motor fuel produced at Utah’s five refineries. That has raised the ire of refiners and out-of-state consumers of Utah-sourced fuels, who cite several reasons why the move would be a mistake.