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…

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…

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 …

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 weak…

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 cou…

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 …

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 t…

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 oth…

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…

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 managin…

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…

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 po…

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. Jos…

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 req…

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 …

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 Seawr…

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…

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 a…

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 …

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 thr…

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 …

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 al…

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…

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 endang…

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 …

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 u…

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…

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, energy analyst and founder of the new consultancy Evans on Energy, joined the podcast to discuss OPEC’s production policy, the group’s objecti…

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 …

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 Ene…

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 Obermuell…

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 …

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 G…

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, ev…

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…

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 Tea…

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 CE…

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 ambit…

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…

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…

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 relat…

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 tot…

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 …

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 …

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 Petrole…

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 mark…

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 retail…

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 bil…

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 co…

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, meani…