What a week in the oil and gas markets. We have Dark Fleet Tankers over the weekend rolling up on Venezuela to be filled up, and Michael Tanner and Stu Turley talked about it on the Sunday release of the Energy News Beat Stand Up. Stu points out that President Trump needs to pay attention, as if he does not enforce the sanctions, we might as well ignore OPEC and the pricing models.

Sure enough, on Tuesday, President Trump rolls out the blockade, and DRW on The Hot Take of the Day has a great article on his Substack. Stu has reached out to get him scheduled for another interview.

Throw on a good Gavin Newsom problem this week with Oregon, Washington, and more refineries, and we have a wild ride forming up like a thunderstorm in Q1 2026.

1. The situation in Venezuela and the potential impact on oil supply and prices. Stu discusses how the U.S. actions against Venezuela could affect global oil markets.

2. The possibility of an upcoming commodity bull run, particularly in the oil market. Stu cites an article suggesting that oil could be the next commodity to see a major price increase.

3. The tensions between global energy companies like ExxonMobil and European regulations, with Stu discussing how stricter EU policies could prompt ExxonMobil to exit the European market.

4. The importance of energy infrastructure projects like the Western Gateway Pipeline to ensure energy security on the U.S. West Coast.

5. New regulations in New York requiring greenhouse gas reporting, which the host suggests could lead to oil and gas companies leaving the state.

6. The progress on the Alaska LNG pipeline project, which the host sees as a positive development for U.S. energy exports.

Time Stamps:

01:10 DRW talks about Venezuela Oil and Chris Wright

03:17 ExxonMobil and Chevron to benefit

03:50 Is President Trump's team listening to Energy News Beat

04:45 Will Oil be the next in the commodity markets?

06:01 The EU's worst legislation ever

08:00 Phillips 66 Pipeline to the West - Could be a help to California in a few years

10:20 New York Needs to Learn from the EU - New Climate Regulations

12:25 Alaska LNG gets green lights

Buckle up, we are in for a wild 2026.

Stories Covered in the Stand UP

1. Venezuela Isn’t Escalation — It’s Supply Management

2. Will Oil Be the Next in the Commodity Bull Run?

3 .The EU’s Worst Piece of Legislation, According to an Exxon Top Executive May Force Exxon Out of the EU

4 .Phillips 66 Sees an Opportunity to Supply the West Coast with the Western Gateway Pipeline: A National Security Imperative

5. New York Releases Regulation Requiring Mandatory GHG Reporting for Large Emitters from 2027

6. Alaska LNG Pipeline Gets Final Approvals Ahead of Schedule

Check out the full Transcript on https://energynewsbeat.co/

and https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/

It's been a wild time in the markets; there are many questions in the oil and gas markets. Will the Trump Administration stop the dark fleet tankers from filling up 4 million barrels this weekend, as they did with the one they confiscated last week?

1. The Trump administration’s actions against Venezuela, including the capture of a “dark fleet” oil tanker. We discuss whether this is more about oil or a show of force against the Venezuelan government. Stu chimes in that Panama is not renewing their “Belt and Road” initiative with China, so did taking the Tanker last week prove that this is more about the Monroe Doctrine?

2. The potential impact on the oil and gas markets if there is a regime change in Venezuela, including the possibility of increased foreign investment and production.

You have to ask the question Who has the most oil reserves?

Then you have to ask which companies produce the most oil, as energy policies and profits matter. If you have huge reserves but you can’t get the oil and gas out of the ground because of corruption, you might as well not have the natural resources.

3. The European Union’s decision to freeze Russian central bank assets in response to the war in Ukraine, and the potential retaliatory actions Russia could take by restricting energy exports to Europe.

4. The growth of AI data centers in Texas and concerns about the ability of the Texas power grid to handle the increased electricity demand.

5. A comparison of electricity prices between Democratic and Republican-leaning states, with the transcript suggesting Democratic states tend to have higher electricity rates.

Time Stamp for Chapters:

00:20 Regime Change in Venezuela will change the markets

04:39 Dark Fleet has 2 tankers in Venezuela, will President Trump intercept?

08:16 EU seizes Russian money, and it won’t end well.

18:16 Blue states’ energy is higher due to policies

25:24 The world is healing

1.Regime Change in Venezuela Will Change the Oil Markets

2.Dark Fleet Oil Ships Dock in Venezuela, Showing Challenge for US

3.What Are the Impacts to the EU Should They Seize Russian Monetary Assets?

4.Ukrainian Drone Strikes Escalate: Afipsky Refinery Hit Amid Wave of Attacks on Russian Oil Infrastructure

5.Is the AI Data Center Build Out in Texas a Home Run or a Potential Bust?

6.Blue States, High Rates

https://energynewsbeat.co/invest/

Substack: https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/p/regime-change-in-venezuela-will-change

Wasif Latif, Co-Founder, President & Chief Investment Officer at Sarmaya Partners, stops by the Energy News Beat and Energy Impacts Podcasts - With Stu Turley, and David Blackmon for an in-depth look at the global oil and gas financial markets.

1. The performance and investment strategy of the Sarmaya Partners ETF called "Lens". Wasif Latif, the co-founder and CIO of Sarmaya Partners, discusses how the Lens ETF has performed very well since its launch, up over 50%, by investing in stocks and commodities related to the "return to tangibles" investment theme.

2. The outlook for the energy and commodities markets, including oil, natural gas, copper, and precious metals like gold and silver. Latif believes there is a looming supply deficit in these commodities due to underinvestment, which will lead to higher prices in the coming years.

3. The challenges and limitations of the renewable energy transition, particularly the reliance on technologies like lithium-ion batteries that have significant constraints. Latif argues the transition to renewable energy will take much longer than commonly projected.

4. The geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions impacting energy and commodity markets, such as the recent incidents involving tankers and oil platforms. Latif discusses how these short-term events are often "noise" that don't change the underlying supply and demand fundamentals.

5. The broader macroeconomic and policy environment, including high inflation, rising interest rates, and increased government intervention, which Latif believes will be favorable for tangible assets and commodities over the long term.

00:00 Intro Return to Tangibles

01:11 ETF LENS is by Sarmaya Partners

03:35 Is the world oversupplied with oil

06:10 Geopolitical Risk to Oil

07:09 Shale Boom and Break-even for Oil

10:06 Companies looking for exploration locations

11:38 Policy impacting prices

16:58 Market Cycles

20:21 Markets like Copper

23:42 Global Markets and deindustrialization

27:15 Grid complexities of AC vs DC

28:56 Renewables impact on Energy

37:30 Investing and day trading

41:45 Recycling and Copper

48:20 Nuclear and AI

Follow Wasif on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/wasiflatif/

Check out https://sarmayapartners.com/

Check out the Substack: https://sarmayakar.substack.com/

Check out the full Transcript on https://energynewsbeat.co/

and https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/