Written on: May 4, 2026
By Tucker Perkins
President and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council & Host of the Path to Zero podcast.
Originally written on April 28, 2026
Oil prices are typically talked about in the news in relation to futures contracts. The holders of those contracts are likely to never see a physical barrel of oil; they’re simply buying and selling to turn a profit. If you want to put your hands on a physical barrel of oil, then you need to buy that 42-gallon drum for significantly more. On April 10, as an example, Brent crude futures were trading at $95.51 per bbl. Dated Brent crude, however, which is reflective of the spot market, was priced at $144.00 per bbl – a 49% increase.
During CERAWeek in Houston, I interviewed seven prominent thinkers in the energy space (THANK YOU to the list below!) for the Path to Zero podcast. They worried about oil prices as well and left me with a few big takeaways:
First, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz is going to cause a slow-rolling shock wave to hit the U.S. Dan Yergin, founder of CERAWeek, believes that the world’s energy “nightmare scenario” begins at about the 1-month mark (we have already passed this), an opinion he reinforced with his remarks at the conference.
Second, natural gas is an ace in the hole for the U.S. That of course is interesting to me given well over 70% of the propane produced in the U.S. is derived from natural gas refinement.
Finally, the massive energy user coming at us is AI. AI is reshaping energy demand the likes of which we have not seen before. The collision of higher energy prices with AI’s appetite for power is like an immovable object meeting an irresistible force. No surprise that the IEA coordinated its largest-ever strategic reserve release — 400 million bbls — during the conference. The everyday consumer is likely to get smushed between the two.
CERAWeek Path to Zero podcast conversations:
Sophia Cunningham, Incoming Executive Director, Houston Energy Transition Initiative – on Houston’s role in managing power growth, carbon, and energy innovation
Dr. Shirley Meng, Professor, University of Chicago – on next-generation battery materials and the future of energy storage
John M. Dabbar, Executive Director, National Petroleum Council – on modernizing energy infrastructure and integrating oil, gas, and electricity systems
Robert Stout, Senior Advisor, Natural Gas Innovation Network – on methane reduction and the role of natural gas in decarbonization
Bill Shireman, CEO, Solution Citizen – on bridging political divides and building durable, bipartisan climate solutions
Jeremy Harrell, CEO, ClearPath – on market-driven clean energy policy and private-sector innovation
Manas Pathak, CEO, Grid8 – on AI-driven energy demand and the future of grid infrastructure
Dr. Mrinal Sen, University of Texas – on the emerging role of quantum computing in energy systems
I encourage you to check out these interviews on your favorite podcast app, YouTube or at propane.com.
