US struggles with global energy security champion role
The country faces a very particular version of the ‘energy trilemma’
The so-called energy trilemma—finding a balance between security, affordability and sustainability in how we access and use energy—has filled many column inches in recent years, while the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine have brought a renewed focus on the first of the three pillars in recent months. In Washington, the Biden administration faces an especially challenging version, in that its contribution to energy security is increasingly required to be global, while its actions have ramifications on the crude price benchmarks against which most of the world’s oil sales are indexed. And President Biden must navigate these global roles while satisfying a domestic environmental lobby that in
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”






