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To those we lost, we will never forget you.
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Unimaginable decades ago; undeniable today. America is shaping global energy supplies and will continue to do so as far as the eye can see.
OilPrice.com (9/10/26) reports: "The U.S. Energy Information Administration has raised its forecast for U.S. crude oil production in 2027 to 14.3 million barrels per day, up from 14.2 million bpd in August and 14.0 million bpd in July. For 2026, EIA is still calling for 13.8 million bpd, unchanged from its July and August forecasts. That would top the 13.7 million bpd record set in 2025. U.S. production averaged 13.7 million bpd during the first half of this year, up 300,000 bpd, or 2%, from the same period last year. Most of that increase came from the Permian and the U.S. part of the Gulf of Mexico. The EIA expects Permian production to average 6.8 million bpd this year, 3% above 2025. WTI averaged $84 per barrel through August, up from $65 last year. Producers responding to the Dallas Fed’s March survey put average breakeven prices at $69 per barrel in the Midland Basin and $63 in the Delaware Basin...EIA expects Brent to average $91 per barrel in 2026 and $74 in 2027. Its U.S. crude production forecast rises another 500,000 bpd over the same period."
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When the going gets tough, the world burns coal.
New York Times (9/10/26) reports: "The world is set to burn record amounts of coal this year, in large part because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday. The agency projected that global coal consumption will increase 1.2 percent this year compared to last year, reaching an all-time high of 8.94 billion metric tons. A big reason is that many countries have struggled to procure enough oil and natural gas because of disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. That has led places like Europe, China, Japan and Korea to burn more coal for electricity instead. While coal is highly polluting, it is also abundant and often cheap. At the same time, a powerful global weather pattern known as El Niño is expected to drive up coal use this year in countries like Vietnam and India by increasing demand for air-conditioning and reducing output from hydropower dams, the agency said...To compensate for the loss in gas supplies, many countries are running their existing coal plants more often or finding other uses for coal, which is often widely available in domestic stockpiles all over the globe. China has been using more coal instead of oil to produce chemicals. In South Korea, coal use is expected to jump roughly 6 percent this year because of high domestic natural gas prices..."
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Don't California America, Part 1: This is what happens when you drive refineries out of your state.
Daily Caller (9/10/26) reports: "Diesel prices have climbed so high at some California gas stations that their pumps have hit the highest price they can display. Several stations owned by Arco and Shell listed diesel at $9.99 per gallon across multiple California cities including Serra Mesa and San Jose on Thursday, according to GasBuddy. Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that 3 total locations in the Golden State were showing this price, a figure down from earlier reports. 'MAXXED OUT at $9.999!!' wrote in a Thursday morning X post. 'GasBuddy data showing 5 stations in California that have hit the limit and are selling diesel at the dispensers’ highest possible price: $9.999/gal.'...The reported prices come as California motorists face some of the highest diesel costs in the country. California’s statewide average reached a record $7.81 per gallon over Labor Day weekend, while San Francisco and Oakland averaged $8.23 and $8.02, respectively, according to the San Francisco Chronicle...California’s tax structure adds another layer to the state’s already elevated diesel prices. The state imposes a 48.2-cent-per-gallon diesel excise tax on top of the federal government’s 24.4-cent levy, while retail diesel is also subject to a 13% state sales tax plus applicable local district taxes, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA)...Unlike the fixed excise taxes charged by the gallon, California’s sales tax on diesel rises with the price of the fuel. California imposes a 13% sales tax on diesel before applicable local district taxes are added, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA.). At a 13% rate, for example, $5 of taxable diesel would carry roughly 65 cents in sales tax, while $9 would generate roughly $1.17 before additional local district taxes are factored in... The state’s fuel market is largely isolated from other major U.S. refining centers because California lacks pipelines connecting its market with those regions, making the state more dependent on its own refineries and fuel delivered by ship when supplies tighten, according to the California Energy Commission."
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"Without a backup source to replace refineries, removing crude oil and the refineries that convert it into these products, with no substitute at hand, could be the greatest threat facing the world’s eight billion people — risking rising deaths from disease, malnutrition, and extreme weather among those trying to live without the more than 6,000 products currently made from oil."
– Ronald Stein, P.E.,
The Heartland Institute
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Don't California America, Part 2: AEA leads coalition of 25 groups urging Congress to reject all of the remaining California waivers before they leave town.
AEA (9/4/26) article: "On Friday, September 4, 2026 The American Energy Alliance lead a coalition of 25 other free market advocacy groups, in sending a letter to Congress urging the swift passage of several Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions pertaining to vehicle choice in America. Passing these resolutions would support consumer freedom and the principle that Congress, not a single state’s regulatory board, sets national policy. The full letter is available below.
Dear Members of Congress,
The undersigned organizations write in strong support of Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval targeting Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act preemption waivers granted to California. We urge both the House and Senate to prioritize these companion measures as they return from the August recess.
The resolutions before Congress are:
- 2009 greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles (California’s first GHG vehicle waiver): H.J. Res. 202, introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), and S.J. Res. 206, introduced by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO).
- Advanced Clean Cars I (ACC I) program (criteria pollutant and GHG standards beginning with model year 2015): H.J. Res. 205, introduced by Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), and S.J. Res. 207, introduced by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
- 2022 reinstatement of the ACC I waiver (after an earlier rescission): H.J. Res. 212, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), and S.J. Res. 208, introduced by Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH).
- Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) standards for lawn and garden equipment and similar engines: H.J. Res. 214, introduced by Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA), and S.J. Res. 205, introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
- Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth regulation (shore power or equivalent emission controls for ships at California ports): H.J. Res. 210, introduced by Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA), and S.J. Res. 209, introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
- Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) regulation (tugs, ferries, and other workboats): S.J. Res. 210, introduced by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH). The House companion bill is H.J Res. 213, introduced by Rep. James Gallagher (R-CA).
These actions continue the important work Congress began last year when it disapproved the Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and related waivers. California’s special waiver authority under Section 209 of the Clean Air Act was intended to address unique, localized air-quality problems in that state. It was never intended to turn the California Air Resources Board into a de facto national regulator that dictates vehicle design, engine technology, port operations, and consumer choice for the rest of the country.
The 2009 GHG waiver first authorized California to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from new motor vehicles. The ACC I waiver, and its later reinstatement, were built on that foundation and advanced California’s electric-vehicle mandate. The SORE waiver extends the same approach to lawn mowers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, and other small off-road equipment that millions of American families and small businesses rely on every day. The At-Berth and Commercial Harbor Craft waivers apply the same model to ocean-going ships and harbor vessels serving ports that handle a large share of the nation’s imports. Together, these waivers are the foundation for policies that raise costs, limit choices, and impose California’s policy preferences on Americans nationwide.
Once EPA transmitted these waiver decisions to Congress under the CRA, Congress has the authority to approve or disapprove them. The CRA exists precisely for agency actions with nationwide economic consequences, and these waivers meet that test because they affect the entire motor-vehicle, small-engine, and maritime markets—not merely a single state’s internal enforcement. Passing these House and Senate resolutions would also trigger the CRA’s “substantially the same” prohibition, preventing EPA from simply reissuing similar waivers in a future administration without new congressional authorization. That is a durable, statutory protection for consumer choice and federalism that litigation alone cannot provide.
Support for H.J. Res. 202, 205, 210, 212, 213, and 214 and their Senate companions, including S.J. Res. 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, and 210, is a vote for consumer freedom and for the principle that national regulatory policy is set by Congress, not by a single state’s air board."
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Energy Markets
WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $99.58
Natural Gas: ↓ $2.81
Gasoline: ↑ $4.29
Diesel: ↑ $6.05
Heating Oil: ↓ $496.45
Brent Crude Oil: ↓ $104.30
US Rig Count: ↓ 658 |
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