Palisades Gold Radio · Monday, August 10, 2026
Peter Carlin highlights a critical issue in oil supply: a mismatch between Western refining systems and available crude. Western refineries are designed for 'sour' crude, but much of this supply is now processed in Asia. He notes that Europe's refining capacity has significantly decreased, and the U.S. has not built new refineries in 50 years, leading to a structural problem.
“is we're not lacking so much in oil as we are in the appropriate grade of crude to take into what is called a sour slaked refining system, like we find in the United States and in much of Europe.”
“Now, what the problem we're really having is 50% of the world's sour crude comes from the Gulf, and that is the sour crude that is needed to run the refining systems in the West that produce the diesel and the jet.”
“I think Europe used to produce, used to refine 23% of the world's oil, and now about 10 to 15 years later, it's down to about 14%.”
“Now, 78% of the sour producing middle distillate entities are either in the Gulf, in Asia or in India.”