Recorded December 2, 2025 and October 29, 2025

Episode 146 of the PetroNerds podcast is another heavy-hitting, energy-dense PetroNerds episode to get you caught up on oil and geopolitics. Trisha Curtis, CEO of PetroNerds and host of the PetroNerds podcast, begins this episode with a fresh PetroNerdy update on the market covering Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. meeting with Putin in Russia, Japan–China tensions, U.S. oil production at 13.84 mbd, natural gas prices nearing $5/mcf, and the Fed.

The body of this podcast is Trisha’s keynote address in Houston on October 29th, 2025, at Whitley Penn’s “Fueling the Future” conference. The keynote panel is moderated by Amanda Beabout, Audit Partner at Whitley Penn. This is a timely and prudent discussion covering the gauntlet.

Trisha gets into the state of oil prices and the pessimism surrounding oil prices throughout 2025, Trump in South Korea and his upcoming meeting with Xi, China and rare earths, oil on the water, Saudi Arabia and OPEC Plus, and geopolitical risk. Amanda asks Trisha about her recent opinion piece, “Winning Against China Means Winning on Energy.”

Trisha explains that China is a modern coal power, but the U.S. has more natural gas, oil, and coal than any nation on earth. She talks about U.S. oil production, natural gas production, productivity and longer laterals, and “Drill Baby Drill.” Amanda also asks Trisha to discuss AI as well as the government shutdown.

Trisha talks about China and the U.S. with regard to AI and power generation, and the Fed and the lack of economic data during the government shutdown. She gets into risks in the market and mentions groupthink and cognitive dissonance in the oil and gas industry, risks that the U.S. will produce more than the industry thinks, lack of appreciation of risk with regard to China, and fears surrounding AI.

The keynote address closes with audience questions covering nuclear power, Venezuela, Africa, underinvestment in oil, LNG, U.S. shale, and power and electricity. This is not a podcast you’re going to want to miss. Please share it with your friends and colleagues.

You can reach out to PetroNerds directly on the PetroNerds website here.

You can also find Trisha’s latest opinion piece in the Daily Signal, “Rising Electricity Prices Started Well Before AI.”

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