Trump's Big Oil Witch Hunt, $58 Cracks Spike & California's Refinery Graveyard | BDE 07.03.26
About this episode
The episode discusses the dynamics of oil pricing, refining margins, and the implications of California's shrinking refinery count with guest Arjun Murti.
Gasoline creeps past four bucks and everyone reaches for the same villain, but the real story lives in the refining margin, not the gas station down the street. Arjun Murti of Veriten joins Mark Meyer for a holiday-weekend conversation on why big oil doesn't set your pump price, how refining flipped from the worst business in energy to the best, what California's shrinking refinery count really signals, and the Lee Raymond mindset that still shapes how smart operators ride the cycle. Click here to watch a video of this episode. Join the conversation shaping the future of energy. Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward. Apply today at collide.io Click here to view the episode transcript. 00:00 Welcome and Arjun's background 02:55 Remembering Lee Raymond 10:09 Trump, gas prices, and the price gouging myth 18:17 When energy policy actually got it right 24:09 How refining went from worst business to best 28:21 Barriers to entry and the safety tightrope 32:47 California's refining wall 36:01 The Jones Act and shipbuilding 38:09…
More episodes of Big Digital Energy
- Iran Kills US Troops, Houthis Blockade the Red Sea & Oil Shrugs | BDE 07.21.26
- Trump's $32M Hormuz Toll, Houthis Break Truce & Oil Nears $90 | BDE 07.14.26
- US Bombs 90 Iran Targets, Oil Yawns, & Russia's Diesel Export Ban Detonates Crack Spreads | BDE 07.09.26
- Trump Blinks on Iran, Cushing Hits Tank Bottoms & Warren's Big Oil Shakedown | BDE 06.23.26
- Lee Raymond Dies, Oil's Pavlovian "Deal" Swoon & Gunvor's $300M Enron Sequel | BDE 06.12.26
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Big Digital Energy podcast page.