The U.S. refining fleet depends heavily on imported heavy and medium crude. Combined, Canada and Mexico make up the biggest portion, but additional sources are still required. Venezuela once supplied a substantial 630 thousand barrels per day.
Due to rising humanitarian and political concerns, In November 2019 the first Trump administration placed sanctions on Venezuela, quickly driving imports to 0.
In October 2023, the Biden administration negotiated some liberalization of the country and release of political prisoners in return for sanctions relief. Cautiously some oil began flowing again, however the optimism was short lived. Maduro refused to leave office after losing the democratic 2024 elections, and the situation has remained unchanged until recent U.S. military action to depose Maduro.
The Energy Policy Research Foundation (EPRINC) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Distinguished Fellows: Dominick Blue and Dr. Kang Wu . These accomplished professionals bring extensive expertise in global energy markets, infrastructure resilience, and emerging technologies to EPRINC’s research initiatives.
Dominick Blue brings a unique blend of technical expertise and leadership experience to EPRINC, where his research focuses on energy resilience, reliability, and the secure integration of emerging technologies into the power sector. His work examines critical intersections of AI and data center demand, grid modernization, nuclear sector revival, and gas-to-power infrastructure. Before joining EPRINC, Dominick held senior leadership roles in infrastructure, technology, and risk management, and served as a U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Two in CBRN Defense.
Dr. Kang Wu joins EPRINC with decades of experience in energy demand, supply, trade, and policy across the oil, gas, petrochemical, and power sectors. Based in Singapore, Dr. Wu has held senior positions at S&P Global Energy, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), and the East–West Center, among others. His research expertise spans global macroeconomic trends, market outlooks, and energy transition dynamics, with particular emphasis on the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and global energy security.
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Dr. Wu and Dominick to our team of Distinguished Fellows. Their complementary expertise—spanning global energy markets, emerging technologies, and infrastructure resilience—will significantly enhance EPRINC’s capacity to provide timely, rigorous analysis on the most pressing energy policy challenges facing decision-makers today. The addition of these Distinguished Fellows underscores the Energy Policy Research Foundation’s commitment to expanding its research portfolio and delivering actionable insights across the full spectrum of energy policy issues, from traditional markets to the energy transition and next-generation infrastructure needs.
Read more about the members of EPRINC’s team, or review their full bios below.
Dominick Blue, Distinguished Fellow
Dominick Blue is a Distinguished Fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation (EPRINC), where his research focuses on energy resilience, reliability, and the secure integration of emerging technologies into the power sector. His current work examines the intersection of advanced computing, infrastructure planning, and national energy security. Dominick’s research portfolio includes analysis of AI and data center electricity demand—forecasting regional load growth, reliability implications, siting dynamics, and market coordination. He also leads studies on grid modernization and energy security, assessing resilience investments, interconnection constraints, and federal–state coordination under higher load scenarios. His additional work explores the revival of the U.S. nuclear sector, financing and licensing pathways for advanced reactors, and rebuilding domestic manufacturing capacity to support the nuclear supply chain. Further research areas include gas-to-power infrastructure, pipeline and turbine capacity, and the role of gas in maintaining reliability within a diversified generation mix. Across these topics, Dominick focuses on translating complex technical findings into accessible policy insights for decision-makers at DOE, FERC, and state regulatory agencies. Before joining EPRINC, Dominick held senior leadership roles in infrastructure, technology, and risk management, including Managing Partner and Director of Client Innovation for private investment and global critical infrastructure firms, respectively. A former U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Two in CBRN Defense, he brings a mission-driven perspective to energy resilience and safety. He holds a Masters of Business from the University of Southern California and has completed graduate studies in Computer Science at Georgia Tech, with research interests in AI systems, resilient infrastructure, and energy transition security.
Dr. Kang Wu, Distinguished Fellow
Dr. Kang Wu has decades of research and consulting experience spanning energy demand, supply, trade, policy, energy transition, and energy security—particularly in the oil, gas, petrochemical, and power sectors. Based in Singapore, he currently collaborates with JLC Network Technology Co., Ltd., the National University of Singapore, and other organizations on cross-commodity and energy transition research, with a particular focus on global macroeconomic trends as well as oil and gas market outlooks. From 2018 to 2025, Dr. Wu worked at S&P Global Commodity Insights (renamed S&P Global Energy in November 2025), holding vice president and other senior roles with responsibility for global macroeconomics, oil demand, market risk assessment, and Asia-focused energy analytics. Before that, he served as Director of Markets & Industrial Development and Senior Research Fellow at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, where he led research on global oil, gas, and coal markets and industrial development, with a particular focus on the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa. Earlier in his career, Dr. Wu was Vice Chairman for Asia at FGE, an international energy consultancy, and spent two decades as a Senior Fellow and Research Leader at the East–West Center in the US. In these roles, he conducted extensive research on economic development, oil and gas markets, energy security, power sectors, decarbonization, and other environmental issues across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Western Hemisphere, and other regions, all within a global context. Dr. Wu is a frequent speaker at international conferences, forums, workshops, seminars, webinars, and training programs. He is the author or co-author of numerous research papers, analytical reports, project studies, journal articles, books, book chapters, and other publications. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Residential electricity prices went up in most states between August 2024 and August 2025, but the size of the increase was very different across the country.
Energy Policy Research Foundation President Lucian Pugliaresi has been asked to speak at the Worshipful Company of Fuellers’ Duke of Edinburgh Future Energy Conference on December 2, 2025. This is the fourth conference in this series, and will cover a wide range of issues. From the Fuellers’ website:
“Chaired by the Master Fueller, the conference features a dynamic programme of keynote speeches and high-level panel discussions tackling the most pressing issues shaping the future of energy. Held under the Chatham House Rule, the forum welcomes senior leaders from across the energy, finance and technology sectors, both from the UK and internationally, alongside members of the Fuellers and other City of London Livery Companies. As with the Fuellers’ membership itself, the conference is open to anyone with a professional or personal interest in energy.”
More information about this event and the RSVP link can be found here.
Energy Policy Research Foundation Distinguished Fellow Francois Baird has been published in American Greatness, in a piece entitled “American Energy Diplomacy Can Spur Human Flourishing in Africa and Counter Beijing and Moscow”. This article can be found on the American Greatness website, here.
On October 8, 2025, Energy Policy Research Distinguished Fellow Ash Shastri was installed as Master of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers in the United Kingdom. The ceremony culminated with a well-attended event and dinner in Drapers’ Hall in London.
More about the Worshipful Company of Fuellers is on their website, and a writeup of the event can be found here and on their LinkedIn page here.
The Energy Policy Research Foundation congratulates Ash and is very excited for him to be taking on this important position at a critical time. EPRINC president Lucian Pugliaresi is set to be a keynote speaker at an upcoming Worshipful Company of Fuellers workshop in London.
Energy Policy Research Asia Policy Research Analyst Dominic Pugliaresi has published the second installment of his Letter from China series. Dominic is based in Nanjing, China, and has spent time researching and analyzing China’s energy policies across a range of issues. This short document focuses on the rise and trending fall of the small scale “Teapot Refiners” in China’s crude refining apparatus.
Read the letter here, or Dominic’s first letter from August.
One of the perennial questions we ask at EPRINC is “What contributes most to electricity prices?” Bad policies, generation mix, or rising demand? This week’s chart takes a closer look at this question by comparing the 20-year increase in average electricity prices across all sectors in the 50 states. This interactive chart answers this question.
On Friday, The Trump Administration cleared the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), in line with the Administration’s policy of aggressive leasing of federal lands, codified in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Around the time of the budget reconciliation process, EPRINC prepared a report modeling how much revenue an increase in federal leasing could bring to the US government. At a static oil price forecast of $70/barrel, the estimated increase in revenue was $100 billion over 10 years, primarily coming from the Continental Lower 48 and Gulf of America.
Read the full report here, or check out EPRINC’s testimony on the matter.
On October 23, 2025, Research Director Max Pyziur presented EPRINC’s research on the reliance of Central European states on Russian petroleum products and implications for the war and post war rebuilding. Pyziur emphasized that despite large European initial reliance on Russian fuels, US maritime exports have played a critical role in displacing Russian products. A swift return of Russian refining capacity any time soon remains unlikely, and Russia is likely to remain with transportation fuel shortages due to wartime interruptions.
The presentation can be found here.
On September 25, 2025, Energy Policy Research Foundation’s President Lucian Pugliaresi provided the scene-setting speech at the Heritage Foundation’s workshop, “Unlocking Affordable Energy: The Plan to Solve America’s Energy Crisis.” “Power markets represent the challenge to the energy trilemma–they’re no longer affordable, reliable, and sustainable,” remarked Mr. Pugliaresi. “Fixing our electric power system is job No.1. I encourage you to join our Power Vision 2030 program.”
Link to the recording of the event can be found here.
His slide deck can be accessed here.
On September 4, 2025, Energy Policy Research Foundation Distinguished Fellow Michael Lynch was published in Forbes. His article, entitled “Shale Oil Pessimism Could Be Overdone“, included a quote from another Distinguished Fellow, Trisha Curtis, in her piece “US Shale Oil Dynamics in a Low Price Environment” published by the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies.
The Energy Policy Research Foundation has written on this topic before, and has released several pieces discussing how forecasting, particularly oil supply forecasting, is fraught with underestimates. A slide from a recent EPRINC presentation that covers this can be found here.
Energy Policy Research Asia Policy Research Analyst Dominic Pugliaresi has penned a “Letter from China (August 2025): China Revises Incentive Structure for LNG Receiving Terminals and Oil and Gas Pipeline Networks“. Dominic is based in Nanjing, China, and has spent time researching and analyzing China’s energy policies across a range of issues. This short document focuses on LNG and oil and gas pipelines in China, as well as the impacts of the U.S.-China Trade War tariffs on both countries.
Get the latest news and updates on energy economics and policy issues.
A series of short executive briefings providing essential background information on often challenging debates on energy and security policy.
A list of personal publications by EPRINC trustee Larry Goldstein
Energy Policy Research Foundation Distinguished Fellow Ashutosh Shastri’s perspectives on energy in Europe
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