We have a new resource to share with you guys!

Infographics: Upstream v. Midstream v. Downstream

Most people are at least somewhat familiar with the idea of drilling for oil and gas. But fewer people understand what happens after they are taken out of the ground. To help explain each segment of the oil and gas industry, we created a few easy-to-understand graphics and brief explainers you can post on social media, on bulletin boards and anywhere else. I hope you find these useful!

View and download: What is upstream?
View and download: What is midstream?
View and download: What is downstream?

Are there other explainers, infographics or resources you’d find useful? Email me directly and share your ideas!

Happy Monday!

-Charlie and the AFPM EMPOWER team

Have ideas for content, comments or questions? You can reach me at charlie@afpm.org.
 

What we’re reading this week

New ad, “Don’t California our cars,” urges Congress to overturn EPA authorization of CA gas car ban - AFPM
AFPM is out with a new ad — Don’t California our cars — urging Congress to overturn EPA’s 2024 rule authorizing California’s ban on sales of new gas, diesel and traditional hybrid vehicles. The ad launch coincides with U.S. House of Representatives and Senate introductions of Congressional Review Act resolutions setting up the overturn of EPA’s issuance of a waiver green-lighting California’s Advanced Clean Cars II. 2024 exit polling showed 67% of voters oppose gas car bans and EV mandates.

Tariffs to Upend US-China Ethane and Propane Trade, Citi Says - Bloomberg
China depends on the US for all of its ethane imports, while roughly 50% of American exports of the feedstock go to the Asian nation, Citi analysts led by Spiro Dounis wrote in a note to clients. With no real alternative markets of China’s size, US producers may be forced to stop separating ethane from natural gas, according to the bank. That could pressure gas prices lower.

$50-a-Barrel Oil Is a Problem for US Trade Deficit - Bloomberg
Thanks to geological luck, engineering prowess, and shrewd capitalism, the shale revolution turned what two decades ago was a nearly $400 billion-a-year oil trade deficit into a $45 billion surplus in 2024. Now, President Donald Trump, in theory the champion of “drill, baby, drill,” risks killing it.

Trump pushes trade partners to buy more U.S. energy as a way to avoid higher tariffs - CNBC
Trump says he wants to slash the U.S. trade deficit and achieve what he calls “energy dominance.” He linked those two goals Monday, demanding that the European Union buy $350 billion of American energy to erase its trade surplus with the U.S. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the U.S. had a goods trade deficit of $235.6 billion with the EU in 2024.

Slotkin's first bill seeks to prevent data-collecting Chinese cars from entering the U.S. - The Detroit News
The move comes amid simmering concerns from national security hawks that sophisticated Chinese technology in increasingly software-heavy consumer vehicles could pose a risk to Americans. Michigan's junior senator has made the topic a focus of her time in Washington.

Cleanup underway of the Keystone oil pipeline spill in North Dakota - Associated Press
The pipeline ruptured Tuesday morning in southeastern North Dakota and was shut down within two minutes by an employee who heard a mechanical bang. An aerial photo released Wednesday shows a black, pondlike pool of oil suspended in a partially snowy field that's traversed by tire tracks.