U.S. Weekly Rig Report: WellDatabase, Baker Hughes, and Enverus Compared — Record Production Meets Middle East Supply Shock

The latest WellDatabase U.S. Rig Report dated September 11, 2026, shows 598 active rigs, down 32 week-over-week but up 22 year-over-year. Baker Hughes, which released the same day, reported 591 rigs, up 3 from 588 the prior week and up about 52–54 from 537 a year earlier. Enverus’ daily GPS-tracked count stood near 661 as […]

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Weekly Rig Report: Baker Hughes Flat at 588, WellDatabase at 601 After a North Dakota Reclass, Enverus Still Running Higher

The three major U.S. rig tallies are telling the same structural story and three different weekly headlines. Baker Hughes held unchanged at 588 for a second straight week. WellDatabase printed 601, down 30 week over week but up 23 year over year. Enverus’s GPS-based daily count continues to run well above both weekly censuses, last […]

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The U.S.–Venezuela oil deal does more than reroute barrels. Its second-order effects strike at the heart of China’s two-decade oil-for-loan model in Caracas: who controls production, who prices the crude, who books the cargoes, and who decides whether Beijing ever gets repaid.

President Donald Trump’s late-August 2026 arrangement with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) grants the company 100-year rights over 17 fields in Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco Belt, holding an estimated 65 billion barrels—about one-fifth of Venezuela’s proven reserves. NABEP plans as much as $100 billion in infrastructure investment. The U.S. government receives rights to […]

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Mike Wirth framed Chevron’s new $7 billion Venezuela commitment as a “win-win-win” during a Bloomberg Television interview from Caracas: better heavy crude for U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, stronger energy security, and fresh investment and jobs for Venezuela.

The September 2, 2026 sit-down with Tyler Kendall came the same day Chevron announced updated joint-venture agreements with PDVSA. The company will invest more than $7 billion over five years across three existing ventures, add acreage in the Orinoco Belt’s Carabobo area, and target more than 600,000 barrels per day of production—more than triple the […]

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Chevron, Eni, and a broader group of firms signed energy agreements in Caracas on September 2, 2026, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez present.

The pacts target higher crude output from existing and new acreage under Venezuela’s reformed hydrocarbons law, separate from the larger U.S.-backed North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) arrangement announced days earlier by President Trump. Wright described the package as “tens of billions” in investments and a “transformation for Venezuela.” Rodríguez credited Trump administration efforts for […]

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The White House’s August 31, 2026 fact sheet details a landmark oil agreement that grants North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) 100-year concessions on 17 Venezuelan fields holding roughly 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.

The U.S. government receives a 35% equity stake in NABEP’s corporate parent via the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital, a guaranteed right to buy 20% of offtake at production cost, and a right of first refusal on the remaining 80%. U.S. governance rights include veto power over board appointments, a requirement that a […]

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