Category: Crude Oil News

US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sites Left Inoperable Under Biden Administration — Trump and Energy Secretary Wright Race t

Clark Savage143

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the world’s largest emergency crude oil stockpile, is facing serious operational challenges after years of massive drawdowns, deferred maintenance, and mismanagement. One of the four primary storage sites has been left inoperable, equipment purchased with taxpayer dollars was left exposed and unusable, and critical infrastructure repairs were neglected. President […]

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WellDatabase Weekly Rig Report for July 18, 2026: US Rig Count Climbs Up 11 with Strong Horizontal and Oil Activity

Clark Savage272

The latest WellDatabase US Rig Report (dated July 18, 2026) shows the U.S. active drilling rig count at 567, marking a solid +11 week-over-week (WoW) increase and +37 year-over-year (YoY) gain. This reflects resilient drilling activity amid a stable-to-rising trend over the past 12 months, with the count holding in the mid-to-high 500s range. Key […]

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ExxonMobil Steps Up to Help Iraq Become Energy Independent from Iran

Clark Savage140

In a development that echoes broader regional efforts to reduce vulnerability to the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, ExxonMobil is emerging as a key partner in Iraq’s drive for energy self-sufficiency—particularly by ending its costly and geopolitically sensitive dependence on Iranian natural gas. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met directly with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods in […]

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Iraq Suspends Crude Loading at All Export Terminals, Impacting ~4 Million Barrels per Day – Incident at Basra Terminals in the Persian Gulf, Not a Strait of Hormuz Closure

Clark Savage186

Iraq has suspended crude oil loading operations at all its southern export terminals following a drone incident at the Basra (Basrah) terminal complex in the Persian Gulf. The move affects a significant portion of the country’s exports, which normally average around 3.3–3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) via these facilities (with some market commentary citing […]

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What are tank bottoms?

Clark Savage116

Crude oil inventories held at storage facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell below 20 million barrels during the week ending June 19 until the week ending July 10, according to our Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Storage facilities for crude oil and petroleum products require a minimum volume of product in their tanks and pipe infrastructure to remain […]

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How is the rebalancing of the oil market handling Russia’s degraded refining capacity, and sanctioned dark fleet?

Clark Savage186

ENB Pub Note: This article originally ran on RHG Phoenix’s site by Randy Green. We will be visiting with them on the podcast soon.   The global oil market is navigating a complex rebalancing act amid geopolitical disruptions, sanctions evasion, and shifting supply dynamics. As of mid-July 2026, Brent crude trades in the low-to-mid $80s per […]

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Goldman Sachs: New Pipelines Could Divert 45% of Strait of Hormuz Oil by 2027 and 60% by 2028 — Iran’s Oil Leverage Nears Irrelevance

Clark Savage195

The Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint carrying roughly 20% of global oil trade (around 20–21 million barrels per day pre-disruptions), is rapidly losing its stranglehold. According to Goldman Sachs analyst Alexandra Paulus, pipeline projects across the Gulf are on track to divert up to 45% of pre-war Persian Gulf oil exports […]

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