Briefings

China Energy Demand

This briefing tracks China's energy demand and import strategy, covering its rise to the world's largest LNG importer in 2021, continued reliance on coal, evolving gas and pipeline infrastructure incentives, and its pursuit of…

11 publications

Crude Exports and Petroleum Infrastructure

Since the U.S. crude export ban was lifted in December 2015, exports have grown to over 4 million barrels per day, with roughly 1.4 million flowing to Europe, though limited planned pipeline capacity through…

28 publications

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico and Offshore Governance

The Gulf of Mexico is a major U.S. offshore oil and gas province spanning federal, state, and Mexican waters, where deepwater exploration and post-Macondo regulatory decisions on drilling moratoria carry significant consequences for domestic…

9 publications

Energy Security Doctrine and Institutions

This briefing examines the evolving framework of U.S. energy security (spanning import dependency, efficiency, affordability, and infrastructure vulnerability) and the shift toward an active-sovereignty doctrine, tracking the institutions and events that shape national energy…

17 publications

European Gas Security and Russian Supply

Since mid-2022, U.S. LNG has displaced collapsed Russian pipeline gas in Europe, with U.S. LNG exports rising to 11.7 BCF/d and the European share climbing to 81%; the January 2025 expiry of Ukrainian transit…

49 publications

Fuel Economy and Vehicle Standards

This briefing examines U.S. vehicle emissions and fuel-economy standards (CAFE requirements, California's EV mandate, and regulatory credits) alongside evidence that new U.S. light- and medium-duty vehicles account for a modest, declining share of global…

34 publications

Gasoline Markets and Fuel Prices

This briefing tracks U.S. gasoline and refined-product prices and the factors driving them: crude costs, Renewable Fuel Standard compliance credits (RINs), regional formulation rules, and supply disruptions such as the Strait of Hormuz closure,…

42 publications

Grid Reliability and Resource Adequacy

During peak demand events, dispatchable generation carries the load: in the June 2025 heat dome, generation across five U.S. grids peaked at 401,000 MW (nearly 55% of national output), while Winter Storm Fern saw…

31 publications

Iraq and Middle East Oil Supply

This briefing covers Iraqi and broader Middle East oil supply, including sanctions on Iranian exports of roughly 1.5 million barrels per day, OPEC+ production management, and the security of tanker traffic through the Red…

8 publications

Keystone XL and Canadian Oil Sands

Canada supplies roughly 2.8 million barrels per day of crude to U.S. refineries, nearly all its exports; this briefing covers the oil sands, Keystone XL pipeline access to Gulf Coast refineries, and the cost…

20 publications

Mexico Oil and Gas

Mexico is an integral part of the North American petroleum platform, supplying 780,000 barrels per day of crude to U.S. refineries, while its own oil reserves and PEMEX-led production face structural decline and policy-driven…

24 publications

Net Zero and the Energy Transition

This briefing examines the feasibility and pace of net-zero pathways, comparing projected U.S. emissions contributions from new gas-fired plants and vehicles against global totals, and assessing grid reliability, electrification costs, and hydrocarbons' persistent role…

44 publications

North American Shale and Tight Oil

Shale and tight oil have made the United States the world's largest oil and gas producer, with per-well productivity rising sharply even as rig counts and operational leases decline, though producer breakeven WTI costs…

61 publications

Nuclear Power

Nuclear power supplies steady baseload electricity at scale, providing 60 to 80 percent of France's intra-day generation from a 63-gigawatt installed base; this briefing tracks global capacity trends, construction pipelines, cancellations, and relicensing.

8 publications

Oil and Gas Taxation and Regulatory Reform

This briefing covers federal oil and gas leasing, royalty, and taxation policy, including onshore versus offshore royalty trends and foregone tax revenues projected at $57.4 billion through 2024.

22 publications

Oil Production Outlook and Peak Oil Debate

This briefing examines U.S. and global oil production trajectories and the recurring peak oil debate, including shale efficiency gains that tripled Lower 48 output on 25% fewer federal leases since 2015, upstream underinvestment, and…

24 publications

OPEC and Global Oil Markets

This briefing tracks OPEC and OPEC+ production management, sanctions on Iranian and Russian crude, and Middle East conflict risk to tanker traffic, alongside U.S. production dynamics: the interacting forces that set global crude prices…

27 publications

Russia-Ukraine Energy Disruption

The war has severed Russian energy flows to Europe: pipeline gas fell from a 2019 peak of 15 BCF/d to under 1 BCF/d, Ukraine ended Russian transit on January 1, 2025, and sanctions plus…

25 publications

Strait of Hormuz and Oil Chokepoints

The crisis has entered a new phase, and the market's April–June de-escalation has reversed. On July 7 the U.S. revoked a license permitting Iranian oil sales and struck targets inside Iran; three tankers came…

31 publications

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, tapped for a record 220-million-barrel drawdown between November 2021 and March 2023, fell to roughly half of capacity and has since been further depleted following the 2026 Hormuz Strait…

18 publications

The Renewable Fuel Standard and Ethanol

This briefing examines the Renewable Fuel Standard's compliance costs, which EPRINC estimates add roughly 27 cents per gallon of transportation fuel (nearly $53 billion annually to U.S. consumers) alongside its effects on refiner margins,…

35 publications

US LNG Exports and Asian Gas Markets

U.S. LNG export capacity in operation reached 18 BCF/d as of December 2025, with another 15 BCF/d under construction; Asian markets remain exposed to supply disruptions such as a Strait of Hormuz closure, which…

64 publications

US Power Demand Growth

US electricity production grew 2.4% annually from 1981 to 2002 before plateauing at 0.5% from 2003 to 2023; this briefing examines demand growth now driven by AI data centers and manufacturing, and the dispatchable…

35 publications

US Refining Industry

U.S. Gulf Coast refineries account for 55% of national refining capacity and remain optimized for medium and heavy sour crudes, sustaining reliance on imports from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela even amid abundant domestic light…

29 publications

Venezuela Oil

This briefing examines the U.S. crude oil trade with Venezuela, which fell from 730,000 barrels per day (9.25% of imports) before 2019 sanctions to about 170,000 barrels per day since 2023, and the sector's…

7 publications