ExxonMobil’s preliminary third-quarter update has put refining front and center for investors. Higher refining margins are expected to add roughly $4.5 billion to downstream earnings compared with the second quarter—on top of the $4.1 billion the company already generated from refining in Q2. That surge comes even as upstream earnings face an estimated $1.3 billion […]
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The Iran war that began around February 28, 2026, with U.S.-Israeli strikes and subsequent Iranian responses, has reshaped OPEC+ crude production and, more sharply, refined product exports. Pre-war levels (roughly February 2026) represented a relatively stable baseline after earlier OPEC+ quota management. Current output remains under significant stress from Strait of Hormuz disruptions, infrastructure attacks, […]
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As of mid-October 2026, U.S. drilling activity continues to firm. Baker Hughes reported its closely watched weekly rotary rig count at 603 for the week ending October 9 (up 5 week-over-week and up 56 year-over-year from 547). WellDatabase’s U.S. Rig Report dated 10.14.2026 showed 608 total rigs (up 6 week-over-week and up 52 year-over-year). Enverus’ […]
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On October 14, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that “Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland.” He added that experts claim the amount of easily available oil is far greater than that of almost any land anywhere in the world, and that […]
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Houston-based Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) delivered its customary pre-earnings operational and realizations snapshot on October 13, 2026, via an 8-K filing of “Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Considerations.” As Reese Energy Consulting noted in a LinkedIn post the same day, it functions as the trailer before the full movie—the formal Q3 results scheduled for after-market close […]
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Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, made landfall near Destin in the Florida Panhandle on the evening of October 9 as a Category 2 storm. It prompted extensive precautionary shut-ins of offshore oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of America before tracking eastward and largely sparing major refining centers. […]
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As of mid-October 2026, U.S. drilling activity is firming. Baker Hughes reported its closely watched weekly rotary rig count at 603 for the week ending October 9 (up 5 week-over-week and up 56 year-over-year). WellDatabase’s operator-level U.S. Operator Rig Report dated 10.11.2026 showed 606 total rigs (down 5 week-over-week but up 32 year-over-year). Enverus’ daily […]
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A Kern County oilman briefed two Cabinet secretaries on a plan to store sunlight as heat in old California oil fields for weeks at a time. The physics is real, and a national lab study backs storage on a terawatt-hour scale. But the only funded test is a 100-kilowatt pilot, and some of the biggest […]
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Isaias had 110 mph winds at 7 a.m. CDT Friday, on the cusp of major-hurricane strength, and is expected to come ashore between Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle tonight or early Saturday. It has already shut in 62.9% of Gulf oil output. Here is what the next one to three weeks could mean at the […]
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After the $58 billion Coterra merger, a $4.2 billion South Texas sale buys time—not a full reset—in a $90-plus oil market. Hat tip to Reese Energy Consulting and Steve Reese for highlighting this, and we will be covering this on a podcast with him soon. Devon Energy’s February all-stock combination with Coterra Energy closed in […]
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