RBN Energy
Early Access
Friday, 9/26/2025
Thursday, 9/25/2025
The popularity of weather derivatives has ebbed and flowed since their introduction in the late 1990s but trading activity has rebounded in recent years as the trading community has increasingly begun to reassess the need to hedge weather-related risks — everything from high temperatures and rainfall levels to power prices and cooling demand. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the role of weather derivatives, how they are used to hedge risk, and why they may be becoming increasingly important to the energy industry.
Analyst Insights
Analyst Insights are unique perspectives provided by RBN analysts about energy markets developments. The Insights may cover a wide range of information, such as industry trends, fundamentals, competitive landscape, or other market rumblings. These Insights are designed to be bite-size but punchy analysis so that readers can stay abreast of the most important market changes.
By Jeremy Meier - Friday, 9/26/2025 (3:00 pm)
US oil and gas rig count climbed to 549 rigs for the week ending September 26, an increase of seven rigs vs. a week ago and the largest gain since July according to Baker Hughes data.
By Jason Lindquist - Friday, 9/26/2025 (10:00 am)
Report Highlight: Hydrogen Billboard
Low-carbon steel that utilizes green hydrogen in the production process will be used in Microsoft data centers under an agreement announced this week with Swedish steelmaker Stegra.
Daily Energy Blog
Wednesday, 9/11/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Fast-changing dynamics in Gulf Coast natural gas, electricity and LNG export markets are increasing the value of gas storage in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — or, more specifically, the merit of quickly injecting and withdrawing gas to respond to market swings. As a result, interest in developing gas storage projects with high “deliverability" rates has taken off, with billions of cubic feet of new storage capacity already coming online and a lot more in the works. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll begin a look at why so many market participants — power generators, LNG operators/offtakers, midstreamers, marketers and traders — are chasing the “extrinsic” value of gas storage and where the new storage projects are being built.
Tuesday, 9/10/2024
Category:
Natural Gas Liquids
Since 2011, U.S. natural gas liquids (NGL) production has more than tripled, while domestic demand has grown only modestly. Consequently, the only way NGL markets could balance was a dramatic increase in exports. Today, over 70% of U.S. propane production is exported, with the majority going to overseas markets, while other NGLs see varying export levels: 40% for butanes, 25% for natural gasoline, and 18% for ethane. Although U.S. NGL production growth is slowing, we still project an increase of 1.5 MMb/d over the next decade and a half, with 85% of that growth coming from the Permian Basin. As U.S. ethane and LPG production continues to rise, nearly all the export growth is expected to head to the Asia/Pacific region, with a significant portion going to one country: China. But is this outlook for U.S. NGLs realistic? And do we have adequate infrastructure — ranging from gathering systems to processing plants and fractionators, and from export terminals to the right kind of ships — to handle all of these volumes? In one of his hit tunes, Toby Keith clearly identified the problem for us: “Where You Gonna Go? And What Ya Gonna Do When You Get There?” These are key NGL market themes that we'll be exploring at our upcoming NACON conference on October 24 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston and that we’ll introduce in today’s RBN blog.
Monday, 9/09/2024
Category:
Hydrocarbons
The hype around low-carbon-intensity (LCI) hydrogen that captivated many energy transition fans over the past four years has lost some momentum of late as industry players recalibrate their investment plans in the face of spiraling costs. Still, the U.S. government is moving full speed ahead — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021) and Inflation Reduction Act (2022) promise to flow billions of dollars into LCI hydrogen infrastructure via tax credits and other incentives. Which raises this question: Will LCI hydrogen make economic sense or not? In November 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) asked the National Petroleum Council (NPC) to take a deep dive into the topic. In today’s RBN blog, we begin a review of the issues at hand.
Friday, 9/06/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
In just a few years’ time, the Agua Dulce Hub in South Texas has become an increasingly busy, complex and important crossroads for natural gas pipelines. Every day, more than 7.5 Bcf of gas flows through the hub’s inbound and outbound pipes, linking Permian and Eagle Ford supplies to gas demand centers along the Texas coast and in Mexico — LNG export terminals, power generators and industrial, commercial and residential customers. And if you think Agua Dulce is big now, just wait. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our in-depth look at Agua Dulce with an analysis of the growing gas volumes into and out of the hub, the pipelines handling those flows, and the key sources of incremental demand.
Thursday, 9/05/2024
Category:
Refined Fuels
Californians love their cars. Be it a lemon-yellow Lamborghini whizzing around Los Angeles freeways or a Jeep cruising the Pacific Coast Highway, getting behind the wheel is not just about coming of age — it’s a life goal in the Golden State. California also typically has the costliest gasoline in the U.S. (except when Hawaii holds that title), exacerbated by occasional price spikes and supply squeezes. The state responded in 2023 with a new law — SB X1-2 — designed in part to increase gasoline price transparency and assess potential ways to ensure consistent and affordable supply. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) first assessment of the law’s impact.
Wednesday, 9/04/2024
Category:
Financial
One of the most compelling Greek myths is the story of Sisyphus, a man condemned by the gods to eternally push a giant boulder to the top of a mountain, only to have it crash back down to the valley just short of his goal. His plight is not a bad metaphor for the long-term historical trend of U.S. E&Ps, which neared pinnacles of financial stability in 1999, 2008, 2014 and 2020 — just before price drops sent returns plunging. Producers seem to have ducked out from under the curse recently, recording record post-pandemic profits in 2021 and 2022, then settling into an extended period of stable, elevated returns. However, deteriorating gas realizations have at least paused the boulder’s climb for all E&Ps and sent it rolling back for gas-weighted producers. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the overall positive returns for Oil-Weighted and Diversified producers and the more dramatic impact of low pricing on the Gas-Weighted E&Ps.
Tuesday, 9/03/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has long been a hotspot for crude oil and natural gas production, but technological advancements have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in deepwater operations, opening previously inaccessible reservoirs. Chevron is the first to deploy new equipment capable of handling the more extreme pressures found very deep below the seafloor. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll highlight the project — known as Anchor — and explore how this new technology is paving the way for similar developments.
Monday, 9/02/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Over the past decade, the only significant growth market for U.S. crude oil and NGLs has been exports, with over 90% departing from the Gulf Coast. Exports via Gulf of Mexico ports have surged from about 1 MMb/d in 2016 to over 6 MMb/d last year. Great news for PADD 3 export facilities, right? Well, it’s not that simple. The distribution of barrels has been wildly uneven, resulting in significant winners, forlorn losers, and everything in between. And export volumes are still ramping up, as is the competition among marine terminals for crude and NGL export market share, with far-reaching consequences for producers, midstreamers and exporters. This is one of the core themes at our upcoming NACON conference, which is all about PADD 3 North American Crude Oil & NGLs and scheduled for October 24 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll delve into the highly competitive liquids export landscape, consider some of the important factors driving flows one way or the other, and — fair warning — slip in some subliminal advertising for the NACON event.
Friday, 8/30/2024
Category:
Financial
Through a pair of newly announced, multibillion-dollar acquisitions, ONEOK is following up on its game-changing purchase of Magellan Midstream Partners by gaining additional scale, significantly increasing its role in NGLs and adding a huge crude oil gathering system in the Permian. The new deals are designed in large part to help ONEOK “feed and fill” its gas processing plants, takeaway pipelines and fractionators. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the details and implications of ONEOK’s newly announced plan to acquire EnLink Midstream and Medallion Midstream.
Thursday, 8/29/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Crude oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is poised for a growth spurt through 2030 even as producers brace for a host of challenges, not least from forecasts that global oil demand will subside in the long term. But while the GOM’s supply accounts for a relatively small portion of total U.S. production, exploration and production companies (E&Ps) haven’t lost interest, in part because the Gulf offers key crude grades in high demand. In today’s RBN blog, we examine what is stoking the renewed interest in developing the GOM.
Wednesday, 8/28/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Enterprise Products Partners, already a leading provider of “well-to-water” or “well-to-market” midstream services out of the Permian, recently announced a deal to acquire private-equity-backed Piñon Midstream for $950 million in cash. But this isn’t just another bolt-on. Over the past few years, Piñon has been building out its one-of-a-kind Dark Horse system, which gathers and treats “sour” associated gas in a highly prolific, crude-oil-saturated part of the northern Delaware Basin and permanently sequesters the resulting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the impending Enterprise/Piñon acquisition, what Dark Horse does and how it gives Enterprise access to what may be the next hot production area in the Permian.
Tuesday, 8/27/2024
Category:
Natural Gas Liquids
For a few days last week, Canada experienced a nationwide shutdown of its rail transportation network — the backbone of its economy. Of the literally thousands of items railed across Canada to consumers and for export to the U.S. and overseas, we consider three important liquid energy commodities — crude oil, propane and butane — that are transported by rail to provide some perspective on the volumes and dollar values that could have been jeopardized by an extended shutdown. In today’s RBN blog, we summarize the short-lived disruption to Canadian and international commerce and tally the impacts that could have been.
Monday, 8/26/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Utilities in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, all anticipating rapid growth in electricity demand through the 2030s, have ambitious plans for renewables but are acknowledging that solar and offshore wind will need to be backed up by a lot more natural gas-fired generation. Fortunately, the new Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and planned expansions to it and the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) system are providing utilities in the three-state region with enhanced access to Marcellus/Utica-sourced natural gas, albeit at premium prices to gas users closer to that production. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our look at rising demand for electricity and gas in Virginia and the Carolinas with a review of what the largest utilities there are planning.
Friday, 8/23/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
Every year, the biggest wild card regarding Gulf of Mexico (GOM) crude oil production is the severity of the Atlantic hurricane season. A season generally free of major storms in offshore production areas will likely have only a minimal impact, but a summer and early fall with even just one or two powerful hurricanes along certain paths can cause output to plummet, sometimes for extended periods. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at GOM production gains over the years, the degree to which hurricanes and other issues have reduced output in the past, and the new production expected to come online later this decade.
Thursday, 8/22/2024
Category:
Power
In Texas, rising power demand, increasing dependence on variable-output renewables, and declining availability of dispatchable fossil-fired plants to back up wind and solar have left the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid in a pickle. As part of its response, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) adopted a tool called the Performance Credit Mechanism (PCM) to help ensure the grid will be able to meet a yet-to-be-defined reliability standard. But while key metrics for the PCM have been identified, the details will determine which dispatchable resources will be supported with additional revenue, how much the whole approach will cost, and how effective it might be. In today’s RBN blog, we explore the debate ahead of the PUCT’s August 29 meeting — where it is expected to finalize rules around the PCM — and explore the difficulty of compensating generators annually so that they are also there for those once-in-10-year events.