U.S. oil refiners' margins smash records, but few plan to build more plants

May 23, 2022
"Crack spreads" are higher than ever. But investors aren't interested in dumping money into fossil fuel expansion.
A "COVID hangover" is keeping the price of gas high, one expert says.
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Rising oil prices fuel a windfall for the industry

Apr 29, 2022
Outsize profits and stock buybacks are inviting more scrutiny from policymakers and environmental advocates.
Exxon Mobil reported quarterly profits of $5.5 billion and plans significant stock buybacks. Above, prices at a Southern California gas station in 2008.
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What does the current energy crisis mean for the clean energy transition?

Apr 28, 2022
The war in Ukraine is forcing the U.S. to reconsider its dependence on oil.
"We have seen this scenario time and time again, where oil is proving to be an unstable factor in our economy," said Mark Brownstein at the Environmental Defense Fund. "And now we have the opportunity to move to a different future."
David McNew/Getty Images

Biden administration restarts oil and gas leases on federal lands

Apr 18, 2022
The move shows the president is trying to bring down prices, but he also appears to be going back on his word to curb oil and gas production.
It may take six months to a year before any oil is produced from new leases on federal lands. Above, pump jacks in California.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Even if we manage to stop using oil as fuel, plastics made from oil will be harder to give up

Mar 24, 2022
Plastics are regarded as "Plan B" for the fossil fuel industry.
It's cheaper to make more plastic than recycle it. And that's what the oil industry is relying on as we move toward electric options.
Phillippe Lopez/AFP Getty Images

Oil prices soared, then dropped. But gasoline is still expensive. Why?

Mar 15, 2022
A barrel of crude topped $130 last week and now sells for less than $100. Gas prices follow oil quickly on the way up, slowly on the way down.
Though the cost of a barrel of oil has dipped back below $100, consumers aren't feeling much relief at the gas pump yet.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Pressure mounts on Biden to use Defense Production Act, but it's not a "magic wand"

Mar 14, 2022
Those bipartisan calls from Congress follow the president's ban on Russian oil and other energy imports.
Though pressure is building for President Joe Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act to boost domestic oil production, some say the situation is not a national emergency — a requirement for tapping the act.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Frackers face labor, equipment and materials shortages as they try to capitalize on high oil prices

Mar 11, 2022
The people and equipment they need are already hard at work.
Fracking for oil is a two-stage process. First, you drill the well. Then you complete it by injecting sand and water to force the oil out. Above, fracking equipment at a well in Culberson County, Texas.
Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images

Could U.K. fracking wean Europe off its addiction to Russian gas?

Mar 10, 2022
The government says it is mulling the possibility of lifting the fracking suspension to ease the energy crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine.
The United Kingdom shut down fracking for safety and environmental reasons in 2019; the wells were due to be filled with concrete as early as next week. Above, a Cuadrilla fracking site in Preston, England.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Domestic oil could increase supply, but it won't be cheap — or quick

Mar 9, 2022
"The harsh reality for U.S. oil markets is that there is no switch that anyone can flip to suddenly turn on oil production overnight," one expert told us.
It might take six to nine months for domestic oil producers to substantially ramp up production.
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