A hefty tax on methane emissions is needed to push the US natural oil and gas industry to fix leaky pipes. Globally, America is now second only to Russia in methane emissions. Since methane’s warming potential is far worse than carbon dioxide, a minimum tax of $1,500 per ton emitted. Continue Reading
Much attention has focused on the pandemic’s impacts on energy demand and CO2 emissions; the impacts on global energy supply and trade are less well-understood but equally profound. Global energy supply saw the biggest drop on record, led (among countries) by the US (and among energy types) by oil. Trade in every fossil fuel fell even more sharply than supply amid the global disruption. Continue Reading
Today’s oil market contains not one, but two prisoner’s dilemmas: traditional OPEC+ policed by Saudi Arabia, and a new one with US shale producers, policed by their investors. This boosts the prize for cooperative behavior but also raises new risks. Continue Reading
The entry of U.S. natural gas into global markets significantly changed the rules of the game. In fact, the open, transparent, competitive dynamic of the U.S. natural gas marketplace is perhaps its most important export. We point to several tangible benefits that go beyond procurement cost. Continue Reading
At a time when several national oil companies and international oil companies are reducing their exposure to refining, many may question Pemex’s purchase of an oil refinery near Houston. But the acquisition is strategic in many respects. Continue Reading
As cyber-sleuths work to unwind the nefarious hack on the Colonial Pipeline, one of America’s most critical pieces of energy infrastructure, the country is getting yet another lesson in the crucial role of energy storage. Continue Reading
Advanced recycling of plastics can help the U.S. achieve sustainability goals and a climate-neutral, circular economy. Policies that consider systems-level impacts can ensure plastics stay in our economy and out of the environment. Continue Reading