RBN Energy
Early Access
Thursday, 8/21/2025
Wednesday, 8/20/2025
The original Cactus Pipeline was a pioneer in moving large volumes of crude oil from the Permian and the Eagle Ford to the Corpus Christi area, which quickly became a leader in U.S. crude exports. Cactus II, an even longer and larger pipeline that came online in H2 2019, only added to Corpus Christi’s export prominence. But the competition with Permian-to-Houston pipelines is fiercer than ever and negotiated rates on pipelines to the Texas Gulf Coast are under pressure. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the Cactus I and Cactus II pipelines and their significance.
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 Christine Groenewold - Wednesday, 8/20/2025 (1:15 pm)
Report Highlight: U.S. Propane Billboard
The EIA reported total U.S. propane/propylene inventories had a build of 2.63 MMbbl for the week ended August 15, which was more than industry expectations for an increase of 2.2 MMbbl and the average build for the week of 1.5 MMbbl. Total U.S.
By Lisa Shidler - Tuesday, 8/19/2025 (1:15 pm)
Report Highlight: LNG Voyager
Venture Global’s Plaquemines terminal averaged more than 3 Bcf/d of feedgas last week for the first time, as the company makes more progress.
Recently Published Reports
| Report | Title | Published |
|---|---|---|
| NATGAS Billboard | NATGAS Billboard - August 21, 2025 | 5 hours 11 min ago |
| Chart Toppers | Chart Toppers - August 21, 2025 | 8 hours 26 min ago |
| TradeView Daily Data | TradeView Daily Data - August 20, 2025 | 21 hours 48 min ago |
| Crude Oil Billboard | Crude Oil Billboard Weekly - August 20, 2025 | 23 hours 10 min ago |
| NATGAS Appalachia | NATGAS Appalachia Weekly – August 20, 2025 | 23 hours 17 min ago |
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Daily Energy Blog
Wednesday, 8/13/2025
The U.S. refining industry has undergone a number of changes in recent years and more turbulence looks likely as global economic and trade patterns shift and energy transition moves forward. For some refineries, this has led to closures due to weak profits, rising regulatory costs and declining demand for products, particularly gasoline. But other refineries have prospered — and even invested in expansions — while the U.S. industry as a whole has evolved into the most competitive system in the world. Overall, the prospects have been very regionally (and even facility) specific. As detailed in the most recent Future of Fuels report from our Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice, this regional differentiation will continue and shift over the coming years. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss what we expect for the U.S. refining industry — where closures will likely take place, where the industry might actually add capacity, and the reasons for those actions.
Monday, 7/28/2025
It's an integrated energy market that stretches across the North American continent, from Texas and Florida to the mountains of British Columbia and Canada’s industrial heartland in Ontario/Quebec — a cross-border network so deeply connected, it functions as one massive, interdependent system for oil, natural gas and NGLs. That system is undergoing major shifts and challenges, driven not only by changing supply/demand dynamics and evolving infrastructure within the market itself, but also by powerful external forces, including regulatory policies and political pressures. That’s why we couldn’t think of a better time — or a better place — to host RBN’s 19th School of Energy than in Calgary next month. In today’s RBN blog — a blatant advertorial — we’ll highlight how our upcoming conference will dig into how the interconnected energy landscape is changing and why understanding those shifts is more critical than ever. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet!
Friday, 7/25/2025
Expectations for electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the U.S. took a sharp detour into uncharted territory earlier this month when President Trump signed the landmark budget reconciliation bill into law. Known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the law dramatically scales back EV subsidies, eliminates penalties for automakers that don’t meet fuel-efficiency standards, and significantly restricts state-level zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) programs. In today’s RBN blog, we look at why the law is likely to slow the pace of EV adoption and impact forecasts for vehicle sales and gasoline demand — a key topic in the just-published Future of Fuels report from our Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice.
Wednesday, 7/16/2025
The bitter, eight-year battle to control CITGO Petroleum’s three U.S. refineries could soon be coming to an end. A Delaware court has recommended a $7.38 billion bid from Dalinar Energy Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Canadian miner Gold Reserve Ltd. There’s opposition, but a final decision could be just weeks away. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss what a resolution would mean for the three refineries, which have a combined capacity of more than 800 Mb/d.
Tuesday, 7/01/2025
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took several steps in June to slash red tape and speed the construction of natural gas projects in the U.S. interstate and export markets. This is the latest in state and federal efforts to reduce the years-long legal battles around energy infrastructure and quicken the development of vital projects such as pipelines and LNG terminals. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll highlight the recent efforts to remake and improve the permitting process.
Friday, 6/27/2025
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2026-27 did more than just set renewable fuel mandates for the next two years, they included dramatic shifts in the way that imported fuels and feedstocks are handled and raised the likelihood of higher compliance costs during a time in which the federal government has been focused on keeping prices under control. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the critical changes that will affect imported biofuels and feedstocks and the potential cost impact.
Thursday, 5/22/2025
It’s been about a year and a half since Next Wave Energy Partners opened its Project Traveler facility, a milestone in the energy industry. Overall, Project Traveler has exceeded production expectations and proven the innovative approach of combining ethylene and isobutane to produce high-quality alkylate. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at what’s been accomplished so far and dive into what’s ahead for Next Wave.
Thursday, 5/15/2025
Familiar corporate names like Cummins, Freightliner and Waste Management have joined forces with dozens of less-familiar public companies and startups to form what some might call a new U.S. industry. Thousands of commercial trucks powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) are on the roads nationwide, many of them filling up at dedicated fueling stations offering a compressed form of renewable natural gas (RNG), a cellulosic biofuel typically sourced from landfills and dairy farms. In today’s RBN blog, the third and final in our series on the D3 Renewable Identification Number (RIN), we show how this young industry could emerge as a commercial success for cellulosic biofuels, although political and regulatory risk remains.
Thursday, 5/08/2025
The Trump administration’s approach to economic policy — including tariff threats to longtime allies backed by sometimes shifting policy goals — might be a sound tactical move in the long run by keeping negotiators on edge and extracting better deals. But that approach has also heightened the sense of uncertainty about where things are headed, affecting investment and long-term planning. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss how economic policy uncertainty has increased in the past few months and how it’s impacting activity in the energy sector.
Friday, 4/18/2025
The North American energy landscape has undergone significant shifts in production, infrastructure and pricing for crude oil, natural gas and NGLs over the past few years and developments within Canada have strengthened its role in the global energy trade, creating opportunities and reshaping supply chains. Yet, the market is constantly changing and today geopolitics and the potential impact of tariffs weigh heavily on the relationship between Canada and the U.S., North America’s two producing heavyweights. That shifting landscape is the subject of today’s RBN blog and a topic we’ll be discussing at our upcoming School of Energy Canada, set for August 26-27 in Calgary. Fair warning, this blog includes an unabashed advertorial for the conference.
Friday, 4/04/2025
The North American energy landscape has undergone significant shifts in production, infrastructure and pricing for crude oil, natural gas and NGLs over the past few years and developments within Canada have strengthened its role in the global energy trade, creating opportunities and reshaping supply chains. Yet, the market is constantly changing and today geopolitics and the potential impact of tariffs weigh heavily on the relationship between Canada and the U.S., North America’s two producing heavyweights. That shifting landscape is the subject of today’s RBN blog and a topic we’ll be discussing at our upcoming School of Energy Canada, set for August 26-27 in Calgary. Fair warning, this blog includes an unabashed advertorial for the conference.
Tuesday, 3/25/2025
Huge fees may be coming to ships built in China each time they arrive at a U.S. port. During a hearing in Washington on Monday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) heard comments on its January 2025 study that laid out China’s strategy to achieve dominance in the global maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors — a strategy that has worked spectacularly. Since 1999, China’s share of the global shipbuilding market has soared from 5% to 50%. The USTR argues that China’s growing control over the maritime sector poses serious economic and national security risks to the U.S., making immediate action necessary. Proposed measures include imposing port fees from $1 million to $1.5 million per port entry. If implemented, the fees would substantially increase costs for exports and imports using Chinese ships. That could have incredibly disruptive impacts on most oceangoing transport, and energy products are no exception — unless they get an exception! In today’s RBN blog, we explore the background of the USTR’s China port-fee proposal and what it could mean for global energy logistics.
Tuesday, 3/18/2025
The Trump administration announced on February 26 that it is ending Chevron’s permit to operate in oil-rich Venezuela, which will halt U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude by early April. These changes, combined with other recent developments, are likely to significantly impact complex U.S. Gulf Coast refiners relying on heavy crude. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss these impacts — an issue our Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice examined in its recently updated Future of Fuels report.
Friday, 2/21/2025
Globally, government policies have shifted away from petroleum in recent years toward lower-carbon alternatives such as renewable fuels and electric vehicles (EVs), largely driven by worries about climate change. This has pushed down investment in petroleum refining, and RBN’s Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice predicts global net refining capacity will increase by only 2.1 MMb/d, or 422 Mb/d annually, from 2025-29 — the slowest rate in 30 years. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the upcoming refinery closures, proposed projects, and the obstacles new and existing refiners face.
Thursday, 2/13/2025
A primary objective of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) implemented in 2007 was to stimulate the production of at least 16 billion gallons/year of gasoline and diesel made from cellulosic biomass, or non-food crops and waste biomass like corn stalks, corncobs, straw, wood, wood byproducts and animal manure. But the vision of making gasoline from wood chips never materialized and today’s cellulosic biofuel is a whole different ballgame. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the evolution of cellulosic biofuels and the D3 Renewable Identification Number, aka the D3 RIN.