energy
18 briefs
Trump Wants to Suspend the Gas Tax. The Industry That Runs on Gas Does Not.
Gas is up 50% since the Iran war started. An 18-cent relief would cost the highway fund $30 billion and the trucking lobby is already fighting it.
China Just Made US Sanctions on Iran Unenforceable. Legally. In Writing.
Beijing issued a formal ban ordering Chinese companies not to comply with US sanctions on five Chinese refineries buying Iranian oil. This is not defiance through inaction. It is defiance by decree.
Trump Pays $2 Billion in Taxpayer Money to Kill Wind Farms
The administration is using federal funds to buy out offshore wind contracts it could not cancel legally, turning a policy reversal into a taxpayer liability.
UAE Quits OPEC After 60 Years, and Saudi Arabia Has No Answer
Abu Dhabi's defection doesn't change oil prices today, but it signals that the cartel's era of shared discipline is over.
The UAE Walks Out of OPEC
The second-most important oil producer in OPEC just quit. The Iran war made it possible. The math made it inevitable.
OPEC's Loudest Quitter
The UAE just left OPEC after 59 years. Saudi Arabia now runs a cartel where the most capable member is gone and three others are watching to see if they should follow.
The Oil Clock: Iran Has Until Mid-May Before the Blockade Becomes Irreversible
Iran's onshore storage fills in roughly 20 days. After that, the regime must shut wells it cannot restart. The decisive variable is not the US Navy. It is whether China keeps buying.
Russia's Oil Unlocks Europe's Money for Ukraine
The Druzhba pipeline resumed flowing Russian crude through Ukraine, which unblocked Hungary's veto on a $105 billion EU loan to Kyiv. The pipeline is the lever that connects everything.
The EU's Toughest Russia Sanctions Required Letting Russian Oil Flow First
Package 20 is the harshest restrictions on Russia in two years. Hungary and Slovakia unlocked it only after Ukraine reopened the Druzhba pipeline. The oil is the price of the loan.
Hormuz Is Open. The Oil Isn't Flowing.
Commercial traffic through the Strait stopped cold on Monday after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship. The IEA says full energy recovery will take two years.
The US Is Funding Russia's War While Ukraine Bombs Russia's Oil Refineries
Washington extended a waiver allowing Russian oil sales on April 17. Within hours, Ukrainian drones struck five Russian refineries. Kyiv is now running a unilateral sanctions policy against its own ally's policy.
Oil Companies Celebrated Trump. Now They Are Watching WTI Drop 9% in a Day.
Energy Secretary Wright admitted gas might not fall below $3 until 2027. WTI crude dropped 9.6% Sunday. The 'drill baby drill' coalition is discovering that war in the Middle East and Trump's tariff-driven recession fears are worse for energy markets than any Biden regulation.
The Sanction That Keeps Not Expiring
Three days after Treasury Secretary Bessent said the Russian oil sanctions waiver would not be renewed, Treasury renewed it. The gap between the statement and the action is where US Russia policy actually lives.
The Waiver Is Gone. India Is Next.
Bessent just ended the sanctions relief that let India buy Russian and Iranian oil. He also threatened secondary sanctions on the banks that helped them do it.
The First State to Say No to AI
Maine just passed the nation's first statewide moratorium on AI data centers. The governor hasn't signed it yet, and that's where the real story begins.
The Toll Booth at the End of the War
The ceasefire is two weeks old. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. Iran is charging ships for the privilege of passing through.
The Ceasefire Happened. The Ships Are Not Coming Back.
Maersk, Norwegian shipowners, and every major tanker operator say the ceasefire is not enough to resume Strait of Hormuz transits. The gap between 'political agreement' and 'safe passage' is where the energy crisis lives.
China and Russia Kill the Hormuz Lifeline
Beijing and Moscow didn't veto a resolution protecting shipping. they vetoed the idea that the UN Security Council has any authority over a war they're quietly backing.