Why America Exports the Diesel It Needs

Diesel hit a record 6.53 a gallon while U.S. exports hit a record 1.9 million barrels a day. Why does the fuel leave the coast that needs it? Deep Draft follows one barrel of diesel from a Houston refinery through its three exits: the Colonial Pipeline, a Jones Act tanker to New York, or a foreign tanker to Europe. It explains what a netback is, why a Jones Act waiver in place since March moved only about a tenth of what the East Coast burns, and how Europe's lost supply from the Strait of Hormuz and Russia pulled Gulf Coast diesel across the Atlantic. Freight rates, supply chain, and the price that decides where fuel goes. Chapters: 0:00 Three Records, One Month 0:40 The Common Story 0:59 Three Regions, One Week 2:43 One Barrel, Three Doors 5:02 Two Lines, Opposite Directions 6:24 Who Lost a Supplier 7:28 Into Heating Season Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, 22 September 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly U.S. Exports of Total Distillate, weeks ending June–September 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Petroleum Status Report, weeks ending 28 August and 18 September 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, September 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration, East Coast (PADD 1) refinery capacity, product supplied, and distillate imports by origin, 2025–2026 Ag Bull Trading, "Diesel Exports Hit a Record as U.S. Distillate Stocks Sink Further Below Normal", 5 August 2026, and "Diesel Gets a Small Reprieve, but Refinery Slack Is Nearly Gone", 2 September 2026 Transport Topics, "U.S. diesel exports surge to record", 5 August 2026 Forbes, "Why Diesel Is On Track To Set A 2026 Price Record", 9 September 2026 S&P Global Commodity Insights, "Middle East diesel exports to Europe head for six-year low in September", 21 September 2026 AGBI, "Gulf refinery disruption sends diesel margins to record highs", August 2026 (Kpler and IEA data) Reuters via Roic News, Russia diesel export ban extension, 21 September 2026; CNN Business, 9 July 2026 Baltic Exchange weekly tanker report, 4 September 2026 (via The Edge Malaysia) American Action Forum, "The Jones Act Petroleum Waiver: Assessing Flows and Cost Savings", 2 September 2026 Cato Institute, Jones Act Waiver Tracker, 2026 U.S. Maritime Administration waiver voyage data, via Energy News Beat, 28 September 2026 Colonial Pipeline, Our Operations, 2026; McKinsey Energy Insights, Colonial pipeline reference; Pipeline & Gas Journal, Line 2 allocation notice, October 2024 Weekly Diesel, U.S. diesel price history 2026 Deep Draft explains how global shipping actually works. New video every week. No politics, no opinions, just how it works. #shipping #oil #tankers #redsea #supplychain