Charlie Garcia stops by the Energy News Beat Channel, and he is a RockStar! Welcome back to Energy News Beat Podcast. Today we’re diving deep into a perfect storm that’s reshaping global markets, and most people have no idea it’s coming. We’re talking about the diesel crisis that’s quietly becoming the inflationary tax on everything—from […]
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The United States is not short of crude oil. It is short of spare refining capacity, spare distillate inventory, and spare time. Diesel is the pressure point. National retail diesel is printing all-time highs near $6.40 a gallon. California is above $8.30. Midwest pump prices are breaking state records after ExxonMobil’s Joliet refinery in Illinois […]
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On September 16, 2026, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75–4.00 percent, its first hike since July 2023. The decision was unanimous. Chair Kevin Warsh and the FOMC cited elevated inflation and said the move would support a “timelier return” to the 2 percent goal. Economic activity […]
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The Federal Reserve can raise rates. The Treasury can issue bills. Neither institution can weld a crude distillation unit back together after a drone strike, add inches to a California products pipeline, or refill Gatun Lake. That is the story of September 2026: crude is still findable; diesel is not. The constraint has moved downstream, […]
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Governor Gavin Newsom’s California has perfected a special skill: taking ordinary life and making it more expensive, less reliable, and more bureaucratic—all in the name of climate virtue. The latest exhibit is the California Energy Commission’s unanimous approval of the nation’s first efficiency standards for replacement tires. These rules, effective in phases starting in 2029 […]
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The U.S. diesel crack spread—the premium of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) futures over West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude—has shattered every historical record. On Monday, August 17, 2026, it surged to an intraday all-time high of $102.20 per barrel and settled in triple digits for the first time, hovering around $100 the following day. For context, […]
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$6 gas and refinery fears collide with California’s climate ambitions By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters The Chevron refinery in Richmond is located behind a nearby neighborhood on Feb. 21, 2024. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California is considering handing oil refineries and other […]
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In a sobering Bloomberg TV interview highlighted in a widely shared X post today, Eric Nuttall — Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Ninepoint Partners — warned that the world is experiencing the biggest energy crisis any living person has ever seen. With Middle East oil production slashed by approximately 14 million barrels per day […]
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s policies are giving the moving industry a major boost—especially U-Haul. While Texas surges as the top destination for people and businesses, Illinois continues to bleed residents, jobs, and tax revenue. A recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece highlights how high taxes, heavy regulation, and aggressive climate mandates like the Climate and […]
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In just six weeks, the global energy paradigm has flipped. What a decade of climate summits, net-zero pledges, and green industrial policy could not achieve, Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—and the raw reality of AI’s insatiable power hunger—has done in a flash. Energy security is no longer a side note; it is […]
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