It’s no secret that rising prices for refined products have drawn scorn from consumers, businesses and politicians alike, but the market isn’t stuck indefinitely. Today, we look at how China could play a major role in stabilizing the global refined products market and help bring down prices.
For many, 2026 will be remembered as the year that diesel cracks topped the century mark ($100/bbl) for the first time, surpassing even the post-COVID boom year of 2022. Today, we examine the various factors driving this run-up and what they reveal about the broader physical refined products market.
Global prices for refined products have remained elevated for a number of reasons, with the state of Russia’s refining sector a major, if sometimes overlooked, factor. Today, we look at the conditions in Russia, how trade flows have shifted, and what a post-war recovery might look like.
Refined product prices have remained elevated this summer even as crude oil prices have fallen from their 2026 highs set just a few months ago. In today’s RBN blog, we look at several factors that help explain the seeming disconnect between product prices and crude oil prices.
Louisiana’s refineries process vast amounts of domestic crude oil — much of it from the offshore U.S. Gulf — and imported oil from Canada and other countries. The refineries also play a critically important role in supplying refined product to the Southeastern U.S and the Mid-Atlantic states.
Since early 2026, disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz and shifts in Venezuelan exports have shifted crude oil and product flows from their historical norms. On the U.S. domestic front, closures of West Coast refineries and proposed new pipelines to that region suggest more changes are coming.
Geopolitical developments have resulted in perhaps the most chaotic and unstable energy market in the last 50 years, but sharply lower global crude oil prices and a rollback in U.S. production could be just ahead, two forecasts at the heart of our newly available Future of Fuels report.
Each of Louisiana’s three refining regions has its own sources for crude oil and its own way of delivering that oil to refineries. Today, we look at crude oil flows and supply/demand balances in the southwestern and northwestern parts of the Bayou State — and how the status quo may be in for changes.
Crude oil sourcing for the three refining regions in Louisiana couldn’t be more different from each other. In today’s RBN blog, we examine crude oil flows into and out of the Bayou State, assess supply/demand balances, and explore why is could be increasingly important to understand those balances.
