The West Coast, particularly California, has been the U.S. region hardest hit by the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, particularly regarding the Golden State’s ability to obtain refined product imports. Today, we discuss the impact of the closure.
Amber Energy has been declared the winner of the CITGO refineries and intends to keep the CITGO brand and operate it with new leadership focused on cost-cutting and operational improvements.
The last three years have seen historic changes in the U.S. octane market. The wholesale value of octane, the primary yardstick of gasoline quality and price, spiked threefold in 2022, followed by another year of high values in 2023. The numbers for 2024 and (so far) 2025 have been more stable, but still historically high. In today’s RBN blog, we look at why retail octane values have risen so high and why refiners have been capturing only a small share of the corresponding increase.
Exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. have moved lower in recent months, a trend that seems likely to continue with the May 27 expiration of Chevron’s permit to operate there. But while a limited extension of that permit appears likely, if not yet official, the development adds new challenges for Gulf Coast refiners that process heavy crude. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll update the situation in Venezuela, assess what it means for Chevron, and discuss the outlook for the heavy crude-capable Gulf Coast refiners.
After a long decline, crude oil production on Alaska’s North Slope is poised to increase, and it’s possible that by the early 2030s production could return to levels not seen since the turn of the century. It’s an exciting development for the 49th state, but where will all that oil go? With refining capacity on the decline in California, which has typically handled a lot of Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude, it’s not an easy answer. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the locations where ANS oil production could land — one of the many essential topics covered in our upcoming Future of Fuels report.
Guyana’s crude oil production is surging, a trend that is expected to continue through the rest of the decade, and with no domestic refining industry its exports are booming. Shipments of Guyana’s medium-density, sweet-ish crude to the U.S. have ramped up and are increasingly making their way to the West Coast, which relies on imports given its lack of easy access to domestic shale crudes and limited regional output. In today's RBN blog, the second in a series, we‘ll examine where Guyana’s barrels are ending up and how they stack up against competing grades.
The federal Renewable Identification Number (RIN) and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) have long served as tools to force renewable fuels like ethanol into the U.S. fuel supply. They are environmental credits that subsidize production of renewable fuels that would not otherwise be economically justified. Nuances embedded in the design of these credit systems have again kicked in to surprise the markets, this time with a hit to renewable diesel (RD) margins. Today’s RBN blog zeroes in on two root causes for that hit.
When the price of the Tier 3 sulfur credit hit a new high of $3,600 in October 2023, the tradable sulfur credit for gasoline moved from the background to center stage in refining circles. And while credit prices have retreated slightly to about $3,400, they still represent a nearly 10-fold increase over two years and translate to a Tier 3 compliance cost of almost $3/bbl, raising concerns from refiners in a highly competitive market. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how refiners are adapting and the investments that could reduce the cost of compliance.
The price of the Tier 3 gasoline sulfur credit hit $3,600 in October, up by a factor of 10 since 2022 and roughly in line with the all-time high reached in 2019. The high price of this important credit is a direct indicator of the true cost of compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standard and has raised some alarm recently in refining and financial circles. In today’s RBN blog, we give some specific examples of how refiners and investment analysts are reacting.
The price of the Tier 3 gasoline sulfur credit hit $3,600 in October, up by a factor of 10 from two years ago and roughly in line with the all-time highs seen in late 2019. This tradable credit allows refiners to sell gasoline that exceeds the sulfur specification on gasoline sold in the U.S. In today’s RBN blog, we examine what’s behind the credit’s steep and steady rise — and why it matters.
