China is once again withholding refined products from the global market, layering fresh stress onto an already strained diesel complex. On October 1, 2026, trade sources reported that Chinese refiners have suspended oil-product exports for October to destinations other than Hong Kong and Macau, pending new guidance from Beijing. State-owned major PetroChina has canceled planned […]
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On March 17, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security issued the longest and broadest Jones Act waiver since at least 1950, covering energy commodities and fertilizer inputs. The waiver was extended twice and now runs through November 15, 2026, with a narrower product list and voyage-by-voyage review after August 17. The Cato Institute’s Jones Act […]
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A diesel export ban is the kind of policy that polls well and trades poorly. With the AAA national average at about $6.53 a gallon as of September 22, 2026 — a record — and California well above $8, the political impulse is obvious: keep more barrels at home. That impulse misunderstands how U.S. refining […]
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Crude is still moving out of the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the bottleneck is no longer just barrels of oil. It is the world’s ability to turn those barrels into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel—and to deliver the finished products where they are needed. Labor Day weekend is supposed to mark the seasonal turn lower […]
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This is a Joint Podcast with David Blackmon, and Stu Turley on both podcast platforms. The Jones Act: America’s Self-Inflicted Economic Wound In this episode of the Energy Newsbeat Podcast, hosts Stu Turley and David Blackmon sit down with Colin Grabow, Associate Director of the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, […]
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We cover shipbuilding and even the implications of the Jones Act. Dr. Beatriz Canamary stopped by the Energy News Beat podcast, and we had a great discussion about energy, exports, and our maritime industry, including shipbuilding and the Jones Act. I am going to just be brutally honest for a moment, and say that I […]
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In a notable development underscoring shifting global energy trade flows amid ongoing Middle East tensions, a cargo of crude oil drawn from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is heading to California for the first time ever, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. The shipment involves approximately 460,000 barrels of Bayou Choctaw Sweet crude destined for […]
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The numbers don’t lie. In just the first ~50 days after the Trump administration’s March 17, 2026, Jones Act waiver for energy products and fertilizer, 45 voyages moved cargo on 35 foreign-flagged vessels across more than 30 U.S. ports and a dozen-plus cargo types. This wasn’t foreign ships stealing work from American ones. The Jones […]
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In an era of global energy volatility—exemplified by the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis and surging U.S. oil and LNG exports—true energy security isn’t just about drilling and producing at home. It’s about controlling the vessels that carry American energy to the world. President Donald J. Trump’s administration has made this crystal clear: Energy dominance […]
Continue ReadingThis was a crazy week on the news desk. Check out the Energy News Beat Substack on the Alaskan Summit we put out this morning. Trump to Hold Off Hiking China Tariffs Over Russia Oil Purchases – Straight to Peace Treaty The crazy part about Germany\’s Net Zero plans is that the UK, the EU, and […]
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