In this wide-ranging Energy Realities Round Table discussion, hosts David Blackmon, Dr. Tammy Nemeth, and Stu Turley dive deep into the forces reshaping global energy markets. Triggered by record-breaking quarterly earnings from major oil companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP—the conversation expands to reveal a complex web of interconnected challenges: a critical global refining capacity shortage, […]
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Germany’s wholesale electricity market delivered a textbook lesson in the limits of intermittent renewables in late October 2026. Day-ahead prices collapsed to an average of roughly €13 per megawatt-hour (MWh) on October 25 amid strong wind and solar output, with many 15-minute intervals clearing near zero. Four days later, on October 29, the average hit […]
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Green energy companies in wind, solar, and storage have shown a sharp split in recent results. A few pure-play or hybrid firms have turned profitable or posted strong growth, while many continue to struggle with execution, pricing pressure, subsidies dependence, and Chinese competition. Utilities have delivered consistent, regulated profitability with rising margins as they invest […]
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The United States has solidified its position as Europe’s top crude oil supplier. According to Eurostat data highlighted in a recent analysis by commodity markets observer Jack Prandelli, the US accounted for 18.8% of the EU’s petroleum oil imports by value in the second quarter of 2026. That marked a rise from 15.1% in 2025 […]
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Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) has agreed to acquire LyondellBasell’s former Houston Refinery site for $320.5 million and plans to restart 165,000 barrels per day (bpd) of light sweet crude processing capacity by the end of 2027. The deal, announced October 30, 2026, expands Valero’s Gulf Coast refining footprint adjacent to its existing Houston plant […]
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Japan is on track to reclaim the title of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer in 2026 for the first time since 2022, narrowly ahead of China. Analysts at ICIS and Kpler both forecast a slim Japanese lead driven by weak Chinese spot buying amid high prices, full storage, and structural shifts toward […]
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Crude is not scarce. Diesel out of the Atlantic basin is — and the refineries that could make it are not where the barrels are, or configured to run them. American margins are near records while Asian margins have collapsed, and that gap is doing more to set the price at your pump than the […]
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As of early November 2026, U.S. drilling activity shows modest weekly stability or small declines depending on the source, set against a solidly higher year-over-year base. Baker Hughes reported its closely watched weekly rotary rig count at 603 for recent weeks ending in late October (unchanged week-over-week and up roughly 53 from about 550 a […]
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Chevron is sharply increasing its exploration budget by roughly 50%, targeting more than $1.5 billion in 2026 compared with just under $1 billion in 2025. The move, driven by Vice President of Exploration Kevin McLachlan (recruited from TotalEnergies), marks a deliberate return to high-impact frontier basins after years of heavier focus on the U.S. Gulf […]
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On the night of October 30–31, 2026, Ukrainian long-range drones struck the Bashneft refining complex in Ufa, in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan, roughly 1,400–1,600 kilometers from the front lines. The attack came as Russian forces simultaneously hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of households without power as winter approaches.BloombergKyivpost Bloomberg reported that Ukraine […]
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