US exports of petroleum products at a record high; SPR at a 43 year low; supplies of oil + petroleum products at a 23 year low

US oil production at an eight month high; Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest since April 1983; total US supplies of crude oil plus petroleum products, including the SPR, at the lowest since June 27th, 2003; total exports of all petroleum products were at a record high; gasoline supplies at a thirty-two week low; largest distillates inventory draw in five months, imports of distillates at a thirty-seven week low

US oil prices finished higher for the first time in five weeks after Trump declared the Iran war ceasefire was over and the US resumed airstrikes on Iran, prompting Iranian retaliation against US bases in the Persian Gulf…after falling 0.8% to $68.69 a barrel last week after Trump touted progress in peace talks in Qatar, even after Iranian officials refused to meet with his representatives and denied everything ​h​e had attributed to them, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for August delivery dropped nearly 1% on global markets on Monday after the OPEC+ alliance agreed to boost production targets starting in August, while reviving exports through the critical Strait of Hormuz signaled a steady return of global supply, and remained range bound ​during US trading after Saudi Arabia cut ​i​ts official selling prices, and settled 14 cents lower at $68.55 a barrel as Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling prices, OPEC+ approved another production target increase, and exports ‌through the Strait of Hormuz recovered further.​..oil prices edged higher in early Asian trading on Tuesday, ​b​ut the gains remained limited as traders looked beyond easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and turned their attention to supply increases and demand prospects, but began to gain momentum on global markets after a report of an Iranian attack on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz, then rallied during US trading as a Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were damaged after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had fired missiles at ships in the waterway overnight, and settled $1.89 or about 2.8% higher at $70.44 a barrel after a second attack within a week on a laden tanker in the Strait of Hormuz sent geopolitical premium for oil soaring anew, and then extended those gains to more than 5% post-settlement, after the U.S. revoked the general ‌license authorizing sale of Iranian crude, and then later launched new strikes against Iran….oil prices surged by more than 5% during Asian trading on Wednesday, after US President Trump announced the end of the truce with Iran and launched extensive strikes against them, triggering a wave of retaliatory attacks that Tehran stated were targeting US bases in the Gulf region. and had jumped by as much as 7% before midday in New York after Trump declared that the ceasefire with Iran had ended, describing the Iranians as “liars.” and warned that the United States was likely to launch new strikes following Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf, before​ erasing some of those gains and settl​i​ng $3.08 or 4.4% higher at $73.52 a barrel after President Trump said he did not believe a full-fledged conflict would restart in the wake of those military strikes from both sides….oil prices edged lower on Asian markets Thursday as traders reassessed the impact of US strikes on Iran and the uncertainty surrounding oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, then retraced a little more than half of its move from a low of $67.04 to a high of $76.08 during the US session as the market weighed the impact of the renewed U.S. strikes against Iran on the potential peace talks and ​on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, before settl​i​ng $1.44 or 2% lower at $72.08 a barrel on worries that rising inflation and other economic concerns could weigh on global oil demand, despite continuing supply constraints, as the new U.S.-Iran conflict had delayed ​a full reopening of Strait of Hormuz…oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Friday, as concerns that ‌accelerating inflation could soften oil demand weighed on the market and pressured prices, but edged up in early London trading as traders continue to focus on the situation in the Middle East, then steadied during early US trading despite a projection by the International Energy Agency that global oil demand would drop by 1 million bpd year-on-year in 2026, amid a bearish sentiment driven by renewed military action in the Middle East and over the Strait of Hormuz, and settled 67 cents lower at $71.41 a barrel as traders grew hopeful that shipping would eventually resume in the Strait of Hormuz, but still finished 4.0% higher for the week…

meanwhile, natural gas prices finished lower for a second week after two advances on a larger than expected injection of gas into storage and on a maintenance related drop in LNG demand….after falling 2.5% to $3.196 per mmBTU last week as a growing surplus of natural gas in storage muted the impact of the eastern US heatwave, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for August delivery opened a penny lower on Monday, then stepped gradually higher into the morning session, as traders balanced updated forecasts for late-month cooling demand and waning production, and settled 4.9 cents higher at $3.245 mmBTU on a decline in output and an increase in flows to LNG export plants...natural gas prices opened 4.4 cents lower on Tuesday, but traded higher soon thereafter. as traders assessed the impact of elevated cooling demand later this month, and settled 2.0 cents higher at $3.265 per mmBTU as forecasts maintained widespread late-July heat across much of the United States, even as ​considerable supply fundamentals limited the advance and kept prices confined to their recent trading range…natural gas prices opened 4 cents higher on Wednesday, then proceeded to step lower throughout the session, as traders eyed the impending storage injection, renewed uncertainty with Iran, and an increase in forecasted cooling demand, and settled 5.3 cents lower at $3.212 per mmBTU as traders sized up sizzling weather patterns, choppy production readings, geopolitical uncertainty and expectations for a seasonally bearish storage print… natural gas prices opened lower and continued falling ahead of the storage report Thursday, as bearish sentiment dominated the market, ​then tumbled after the report to settle 20.0 cents lower at $3.012 per mmBTU in the wake of a bearish government inventory print, an unexpected LNG-related maintenance event, and cash market weakness…natural gas futures extended their sell-off early Friday as an unexpected drop in Freeport LNG demand added fresh pressure to a market already seeing disappointing upside from summer cooling, and were still​ trading lower at midday amid healthy supply and weakening demand, even though two-week forecasts remained mostly bullish, and settled 7.2 cents lower at $2.940 per mmBTU as robust supply intersected with un​p​lanned maintenance work at Freeport LNG that curbed demand, leaving natural gas prices 8.0% lower for the week…

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending July 3rd indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 61 billion cubic feet to 2,983 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 15 billion cubic feet, or 0.5% below the 2,998 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on July 3rd of last year, but 185 billion cubic feet, or 6.6% above the five-year average of 2,798 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 3rd of July over the most recent five years….the 61 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage for the cited week was more than the 57 billion cubic foot injection into storage that the market was expectingly ahead of the report, and it was more than the 53 billion cubic foot of gas that were injected into natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2025, and was also more than the average 51 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage that had been typical for the same late June ​- early July week over the past five years…

The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA

US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending July 3rd showed that even after an increase in our imports and a 2nd large decrease in our oil exports, we still needed to pull oil out of our stored crude supplies for a record eleventh consecutive week, and for the 33rd time in fifty-eight weeks, as ​it took another large draw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve ​to ​cover an increase in our commercially available oil supplies…. Our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 351,000 barrels per day to average 5,629,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 291,000 barrels per day during the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by an average of 746,000 barrels per day to average 3,262,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to an import average of 2,367,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending July 3rd, an average of 1,097,000 more barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week... At the same time, transfers to our oil supplies from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils were 11,000 barrels per day more than the prior week at 393,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 50,000 barrels per day higher at an eight month high of 13,860,000 barrels per day.  Hence, our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil, from transfers, and from domestic well production appears to have averaged a total of 16,620,000 barrels per day during the July 3rd reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 17,024,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending July 3rd, an average of 173,000 fewer barrels per day than the amount of oil that our refineries reported they were processing during the prior week, while over the same period, the EIA’s surveys indicated that an average of 453,000 barrels of oil per day were being pulled out of the supplies of oil stored in the US… So, based on that reported & estimated data, the crude oil figures provided by the EIA appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil from storage, from net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending July 3rd averaged a rounded 49,000 more barrels per day than what our oil refineries reported they used during the week.  To account for the difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [ -49,000 ] barrel per day figure onto line 16 of the weekly U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet, in order to make the reported data for the supply of oil and for the consumption of it balance out, a fudge factor that they label in their footnotes as “unaccounted for crude oil”, thus indicating there must have been a error or omission of that amount in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed.... Since 404,000 barrels per day of oil supplies could not be accounted for in the prior week’s EIA data, that means there was a 453,000 barrel per day difference between this week’s oil balance sheet error and the EIA’s crude oil balance sheet error from a week ago, and hence the changes to supply and demand from that week to this one that are indicated by this week’s report are somehow off by that much, and therefore pretty useless.... However, since most oil traders react to to the figures in these weekly EIA reports as if they were gospel, and since these weekly figures therefore often drive oil pricing and hence decisions to drill or complete oil wells, we’ll continue to report this data just as it’s published, and just as it’s watched & believed to be reasonably reliable by most everyone in the industry…(for more on how this weekly oil data is gathered, and the possible reasons for that “unaccounted for” oil supply, see this EIA explainer….also see this March 2023 twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had once hoped to do about it).

This week’s 453,000 barrel per day average decrease in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 453,000 barrels per day were being added to our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while 881,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the fifteenth consecutive Iran war related withdrawal from the SPR, including the four largest in SPR history, which left the SPR at 319,489,000 barrels, the lowest since it was initially being filled in April 1983…As the result of those recent draws on the SPR and on commercial supplies, and with total fuel inventories tracking near multi-year lows, our Total Supplies of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products, including the SPR, fell to 1,517,075,000 during the week ending June 19th, the lowest since June 27th, 2003….

Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicated that the 4 week average of our oil imports fell to 5,403,000 barrels per day last week, which was 11.4% less than the 6,095,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year, while the four week average of our exports fell to 4,067,000 barrels per day last week, which was still 18.8% more than the 3,423,000 barrel per day average that we were importing last year year at this time... This week’s crude oil production was reported to be 50,000 barrels per day higher at 13,810,000 barrels per day as the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 35,000 barrels per day higher at 13,440,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 15,000 barrels per day higher at 420,000 barrels per day...US crude oil production had reached a pre-pandemic high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 5.8% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also 42.9% above the pandemic low of 9,700,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the third week of February of 2021.

US oil refineries were operating at 95.8% of their capacity while processing those 17,024,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending July 3rd, down from 96.6% the prior week, but still a bit higher than normal for this time of year….the 17,024,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined that week were 0.1% more than the 17,006,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending July 4th of 2025, but were 2.4% less than the 17,438,000 barrels that were being refined during the pre-pandemic week ending July 5th, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 94.7%, which was near the pre-pandemic normal utilization rate for this time of year…

With the decrease in the amount of oil that was being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was also lower, decreasing by 233,000 barrels per day to 9,736,000 barrels per day during the week ending July 3rd, after our refineries’ gasoline output had increased by 481,000 barrels per day during the prior week... This week’s gasoline production was 1.6% lower than the 9,899,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending July 4th of last year, and 6.5% less than the gasoline production of 10,418,000 barrels per day seen during the prepandemic week ending July 5th, 2019….at the same time, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 1,000 barrels per day to 5,187,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had decreased by 42,000 barrels during the prior week.  But with those modest decreases, our distillates output was still 1.8% more than the 5,093,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending July 4th  of 2025, while 3.2% less than the 5,358,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending July 5th, 2019....

With this week’s decrease in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week fell for the 18th time in twenty-one weeks, decreasing by 1,904,000 barrels to a thirty-two week low of 212,062,000 barrels during the week ending July 3rd, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 2,333,000 barrels during the prior week.  Our gasoline supplies decreased again this week even though the amount of gasoline supplied to US users fell by 286,000 barrels per day to 8,845,000 barrels per day, because our imports of gasoline fell by 216,000 barrels per day to 423,000 barrels per day and because our exports of gasoline rose by 10,000 barrels per day to 1,026,000 barrels per day…  After forty-nine gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past seventy-two weeks, our gasoline supplies were 7.6% lower than last July 4th’s gasoline inventories of 229,468,000 barrels, and about 6% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of year…

After this week’s decrease in distillates production, our supplies of distillates fell for the tenth time in twenty-three weeks, decreasing by 4,980,000 barrels to 108,599,000 barrels during the week ending July 3rd, the largest draw in five months, after our distillates supplies had increased by 2,483,000 barrels during the prior week... Our distillates supplies fell sharply this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, rose by 693,000 barrels to 4,307,000 barrels per day, and because our exports of distillates rose by 352,000 barrels per day to 1,679,000 barrels per day, and because our imports of distillates fell by 21,000 barrels per day to a thirty-seven week low of 87,000 barrels per day... But after 28 additions to distillates inventories over the past 53 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 0.8% higher than the 102,797,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on July 4th  of 2025, while they are now about 12% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…

In addition to rising exports of gasoline and distillates, our exports of ethanol, jet fuel, propane and other petroleum products have also remained elevated, and as a result our total exports of petroleum products were at a record high this week, increasing by 1,476,000 barrels per day to 8,730,000 barrels per day during the week ending July 3rd, beating the prior record by 506,000 barrels per day..

Finally, after the increase in our imports and the big decrease in our oil exports,, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage rose for the 13th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 24th time over the past year, increasing by 2,998,000 barrels over the week, from 408,359,000 barrels on June 26th to 411,357,000 barrels on July 3rd, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 3,775,000 barrels to a ninety-three month low over the prior week….After this week’s increase, our commercial crude oil inventories were about 6% below the recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, while they were still abut 18% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the first weekend of July over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the difference between those comparisons arising because it wasn’t until early 2015 that our oil inventories had first topped 400 million barrels. After our commercial crude oil inventories had jumped to record highs during the Covid lockdowns in the Spring of 2020, then jumped again after February 2021’s winter storm Uri froze off US Gulf Coast refining, but then fell sharply due to increased exports to Europe following the onset of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze-offs, changes in our commercial crude supplies had been less extreme up until the onset of the Iran war...However, after falling sharply over the prior three months, our commercial crude oil inventories as of this July 3rd were 3.4% below the 426,021,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on July 4th of 2025, and were 7.6% less than the 445,096,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on July 5th of 2024, and 10.2% less than the 458,128,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on July 7th of 2023…

This Week's Rig Count

The US rig count was up by one over the eight days ending July 10th, as the number of rigs targeting oil and the count of rigs targeting natural gas were both unchanged, while miscellaneous rigs were up by one…for a quick snapshot of this week's rig count, we are again including below a screenshot of the rig count summary pdf from Baker Hughes...in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of July 10th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (July 2nd) and this week’s (July 10th) count, the third column shows last week’s July 2nd active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Friday and the number running on the Friday of the same week of a year ago, and the 5th column shows the number of rigs that were drilling at the end of that reporting period a year ago, which in this week’s case was Friday, the 11th of July, 2025…

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Save Ohio Parks raises serious questions about Steubenville plan to frack historic park - by Cathy Cowan Becker - Recently Save Ohio Parks was contacted regarding a plan by the mayor and city council of Steubenville to lease 19 parcels totaling about 157 acres, including 99 acres of historic Beatty Park, for fracking. In looking into this proposal, we found:

• The city passed an ordinance authorizing leasing public lands for fracking in October 2025 after being approached by several oil and gas companies.
• The city tried to bid out four parcels including 99 acres of Beatty Park and several acres of Jim Wood Park in December 2025, but got no bids. 
• In April, the city tried again with 19 parcels and got two bids -– one from Ascent Resources – Utica for $1.1 million, and one from Pike Petroleum for $249,000.
• The city held a public hearing on June 2. Dozens of people showed up and expressed concerns. 
• The city was supposed to vote on whether to accept one of these bids on June 11 but delayed the vote to July 14.

In light of this upcoming vote, Save Ohio Parks has numerous questions about the city of Steubenville’s plan to lease Beatty and Jim Wood parks for fracking.

1. City leaders say there will be “no surface use”- – meaning the fracking pads will be located outside the city parks. But how far outside?  The air pollution, noise, and lights from fracking travel for miles and do not stop at park boundaries. Even if fracking is happening outside the parks, it will still greatly affect the parks.
2. Each frack well is typically allowed to take 100,000 gallons of fresh water per day from nearby streams, rivers, and lakes, for a total of 40 million to 60 million gallons per well. Where will the water to frack Beatty and Jim Wood parks come from?  Has any hydrologist examined how that would affect water flow within the parks?
3. All the water, sand, and chemicals used in fracking operations must be brought in truckload by truckload. Then the resulting frack waste must be carried back out truckload by truckload. This amounts to thousands of truck trips each way per well. Can Steubenville’s roads handle this kind of consistent and heavy truck traffic?
4. Fracking injects water and sand laced with toxic chemicals at high pressure into wells to free oil and gas. When this mixture comes back up, it brings radioactive elements Radium 226 and Radium 228. These are bone-seeking and cancer causing.  How will Steubenville oversee disposal of tens of millions of gallons of toxic and radioactive frack waste per well fracking these 19 parcels?
5. The only households notified of the plan by letter were those within 500 feet. However, in leases to frack Salt Fork State Park, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources required frack pads be at least 1000 feet from the park border. Why did Steubenville notify people only within 500 feet and not 1000 feet or one mile?
6. The areas around Beatty Park and Jim Wood parks are highly residential. Many are likely to have fracking occurring under their homes whether they consent to it or not. Are homeowners aware they can be forced into fracking? Is Steubenville city government prepared for homeowners who do not want their land to be fracked?
7. Union Cemetery – Beatty Park is on the National Register of Historic Places, which is maintained by the National Park Service. That means there is a federal interest in Beatty Park.  On the state level, whenever there is a federal interest in land nominated for fracking, that land is required to go through the National Environmental Policy Act process. This happened with Zepernick and Leesville wildlife areas. Will Steubenville allow Beatty Park to go through a NEPA process?
8. Why were the citizens of Steubenville, who own and have used Beatty Park for decades, not given an opportunity to comment on the proposal to frack this historic park before oil and gas bids were solicited? On the state level, Ohio citizens are informed of nominations to frack public land and given 45 days to comment before a decision is made to seek bids. Decision makers are required by law to consider comments and objections from Ohio citizens, along with criteria such as environmental impact, geological impact, compatible use, and effects on visitors. Did the city of Steubenville consider any such criteria before soliciting bids?
9. On the state level, any payments from oil and gas companies from fracking public land go into a special State Land Royalty Fund, where money is allocated for purposes designated by the state legislature. Will the city of Steubenville deposit any revenue from fracking Beatty and Jim Wood parks and the other parcels into a special fund so that how this money is used can be transparently tracked?  Or will this revenue go into the general city budget  where it is mixed into the broader municipal funds, making it impossible to track how this money is used?
10. The posted lease document contains contradictory information regarding injection wells that take tens of millions of gallons of toxic, radioactive fracking waste. Page 10 grants the lessee the right to drill wells for the disposal or injection of fracking waste on the leased property. But page 13 says the lessee is not granted any right to use the leasehold for construction and operation of disposal or injection wells. So which is it?  Will the oil and gas company fracking Beatty Park be able to put an injection well for toxic and radioactive fracking waste wherever they want, or not? Is the city of Steubenville prepared to oversee and regulate such injection wells?
11. Research by Save Ohio Parks and FracTracker finds the oil and gas industry in Ohio experienced almost 2000 accidents and incidents from 2015 to 2023 – an accident or incident every 1.5 days. Is Steubenville prepared to deal with leaks, spills, gas releases, fires, explosions, and truck rollovers that regularly come with fracking?
12. In soliciting bids to frack public land, did the city of Steubenville require oil and gas companies to include a certificate of insurance? If so, did the city require the insurance be up to date, and require liability insurance of at least $5 million, as is required by Ohio state law? Will the city make these insurance certificates public, as the state does for companies selected to frack public lands?

Given that the state of Ohio is charging ahead with plans to frack its own state parks and wildlife areas – despite thousands of public comments that run 98% to 100% opposed – it is no surprise that some cities now want a piece of the oil and gas pie.  But that doesn’t make it right. Parks were set aside in the public trust and meant to be protected – not subjected to industrial oil and gas extraction. Save Ohio Parks finds it alarming that the city of Steubenville would proceed so quickly to frack its most treasured and historic park with so many questions unanswered. In months of city council meeting minutes, one would be hard pressed to find any city leader express any concern about the environment, the park, or what their own citizens want. We urge Steubenville city leaders to step back from this ill-thought-out plan to frack Beatty and Jim Wood parks, and instead find other sources of revenue.

Ohio Earned $314M (So Far) From Leasing State Lands for Fracking --  Marcellus Drilling News -- Ohio’s program to lease state-owned land for fracking beneath it (never on top) has been an astonishing success. Ohio has earned $314 million from leasing roughly 22,000 acres of state parks and wildlife areas for fracking. Most came from signing bonuses: $62 million for 6,200 acres under Salt Fork State Park and $238 million for Jockey Hollow and Egypt Valley wildlife areas. Royalties have also begun flowing—Infinity Natural Resources has paid $11.3 million from Salt Fork production since October 2025.

New legislation proposed to prevent another Twinsburg Township home explosion - (WOIO) - Ohio State Senator Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) has said publicly he and his staff are working on new legislation for additional safety requirements for underground installation of utilities. This is in response to the June explosion of a Twinsburg Township home, which destroyed three homes and damaged at least 36 others. The home that exploded on Hiram Lane and its two neighboring homes were destroyed. Debris was thrown throughout the neighborhood. One resident was even blown out of his chair but was not injured. The residents of the home that exploded were not home at the time. Twinsburg Fire Chief Earl Wilson said firefighters were called to the area around 3:20 p.m. Thursday, June 25, due to a smell of gas. Firefighters arrived on scene, immediately noticed the smell, and called Enbridge Gas Ohio. “And that happened within two minutes of them [gas crews] arriving. I mean two minutes of them getting out of the vehicle... and that explosion happened,” said Wilson. Two people were hospitalized. One was hospitalized for medical treatment and the other for injuries from the blast. Both victims have been treated and released. After the explosion, fire from the house of origin spread to the two nearby homes and firefighters immediately began battling the blaze and evacuating the area. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said the gas leak was caused by a contractor drilling. Hudson Councilman Kyle Brezovec said it is believed a Kinetic fiber contractor hit a gas line while expanding the network. “While this did not occur in Hudson, and was not a Velocity Broadband crew, there were a number of gas line strikes in previous weeks here in Hudson,” said Brezovec. Chief Wilson added they may never know what triggered the explosion due to the gas leak, because there are so many possibilities, including, light switches. The Ohio State Fire Marshal is assisting in the investigation.

Rules for digging could change in Ohio after Twinsburg gas explosion - (WJW) — Weeks after a catastrophic natural gas explosion destroyed three homes and damaged dozens of others on June 25, an Ohio lawmaker is now pushing for tighter regulations on broadband internet installations to prevent future disasters.  State Sen. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, told FOX 8 he is working on a bill aimed at strengthening drilling and digging rules after the incident on Hiram Lane in Twinsburg Township where a crew installing fiber-optic cables struck a gas line. The explosion was powerful enough to be felt in neighboring Hudson, part of Weinstein’s 28th District. “This could’ve happened anywhere. So, we want to ensure that it doesn’t,” Weinstein said. “Let’s learn the lesson from this and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.” He noted that it’s a miracle that no one was severely hurt in this incident, but there’s no guarantee that would be the case if another explosion were to happen elsewhere. Weinstein’s proposal will focus on utilizing existing state broadband expansion funds to provide grants to local communities. The funding would allow communities to adopt advanced, safer installation technologies. Weinstein explained that the other option includes water drilling, which he said is less likely to puncture underground utility lines, and advanced radar technology to accurately map underground infrastructure rather than relying solely on physical markers that may sometimes be inaccurate. Shampoo recalled nationwide after bacterial contamination detected “What this ultimately boils down to is ensuring that communities are able to implement the absolute best practices and safeguards and put them in place to protect homeowners,” Weinstein said. The proposed bill will also include provisions to hold prime contractors legally accountable for the actions of any sub-contractors they hire. Additionally, it would mandate that utility companies fully restore private properties to their original condition once digging is complete. Weinstein told Fox 8 he hopes to file the legislation in the next month and quickly get it into hearings when lawmakers return to session in the fall. He noted that it’s late in the current General Assembly, and if it doesn’t get completed it will become a top priority of his in the next one. “We have this opportunity now to ensure that every single home where we’re going to have fiber installs being done… is done with the utmost regard to safety,” Weinstein said. Cleanup efforts remain ongoing on Hiram Lane, where the street remains closed to the public The investigation into what ignited the gas and the specifics of how the line was struck remain under investigation. A spokesperson for the State Fire Marshal’s Office said the investigation is ongoing.

Twinsburg home blast tragedy could bring years of litigation | Akron Beacon Journal-- Around 3:30 p.m.June 25, a sub­con­tractor work­ing on behalf of Uniti Group struck an under­ground gas line while installing fiber-optic cable for Kin­etic. Upon smelling nat­ural gas, the crew imme­di­ately called 911. Shortly after, the Twins­burg Fire Depart­ment issued a shel­ter-in-place notice for the res­id­ents of Hiram Lane, Hiram Square and Dor­set Lane, all streets within the Wood­lands devel­op­ment. At around 4:40 p.m., something as simple as the flip of a light switch or the activ­a­tion of an air con­di­tion­ing unit — although the exact action is unknown — ignited the nat­ural gas, cre­at­ing an explo­sion that des­troyed three homes and dam­aged nearly 36 oth­ers. Mira­cu­lously, only two people were injured from the blast and are expec­ted to make full recov­er­ies. Ohio loves cook­ing with gas Only a hand­ful of other states love “cook­ing with gas” more than Ohio, with 3.5 mil­lion house­holds in the state rely­ing on it every day for heat, cook­ing and dry­ing clothes, accord­ing to the Amer­ican Gas Asso­ci­ation. To make this pos­sible, beneath our feet lies an under­ground net­work of more than 122,000 miles of dis­tri­bu­tion, trans­mis­sion, gath­er­ing and ser­vice lines that require con­stant mon­it­or­ing, main­ten­ance and replace­ment. Now, pre­tend for a moment that you’ve just accep­ted a job installing fiber-optic cable. Before dig­ging, you sub­mit an 811 ticket to ensure the gas lines can be marked and avoided. But those mark­ings aren’t always accur­ate and can be affected by out­dated records, inac­cur­ate read­ings from spe­cial­ized loc­at­ing equip­ment and human error. Even with the 811 sys­tem in place, accord­ing to data from the Com­mon Ground Alli­ance, an aver­age of over 500 under­ground util­ity dam­ages were repor­ted each day in the U.S. in 2024 — close to 197,000 for the year. Of these repor­ted cases (and not every incid­ent is repor­ted), roughly one-third are attrib­uted primar­ily to excav­a­tion errors, another third to inac­cur­ate loc­at­ing or mark­ing by the util­ity com­pany or the con­tractor they’ve hired, and about one-quarter to dig­ging that began without first sub­mit­ting an 811 request. If you wanted to be extra care­ful, you could use ground-pen­et­rat­ing radar, but with pri­cing upward of $40,000 for pro­fes­sional mod­els, if you work for a smal­ler com­pany or were sub­con­trac­ted, it’s unlikely you have access to that equip­ment in the first place. And so, you dig and hope for the best. While it may be true that “the first hole’s the hard­est,” as Mag­net says to Stan­ley in the movie “Holes,” even­tu­ally, your fear fades away — the detach­ment less an act of care­less­ness and more one of exist­en­tial accept­ance. Do this for long enough, and you might start to believe your safety has less to do with you and more with the work and record­keep­ing of people whom you’ll never meet. Though con­tract work is neces­sary for the larges­cale fiber-optic install­a­tions occur­ring across Ohio, for both util­ity and tele­com­mu­nic­a­tions com­pan­ies, much like a game of tele­phone, each han­doff intro­duces another oppor­tun­ity for com­mu­nic­a­tion, doc­u­ment­a­tion or exe­cu­tion to break down. A recent state­ment from Uniti Group says as much, cit­ing “inac­cur­ate mark­ings of under­ground util­it­ies by a third-party util­ity loc­at­ing ser­vice” as the believed cul­prit of this dis­aster. Com­pound­ing this tragedy could be years of lit­ig­a­tion, with the chain of com­pan­ies involved poten­tially con­sum­ing them­selves like an ouroboros as Enbridge, their con­tract­ors, Kin­etic, Uniti Group, insurers and oth­ers argue over who bears fin­an­cial respons­ib­il­ity.

Gas line struck at Six's Corner construction site prompts evacuation, road closures in Tiffin— A gas line was struck Thursday morning at the Six’s Corner construction site, prompting emergency crews to close roads, evacuate a nearby business and reroute traffic for several hours, according to a Tiffin Police Department media summary. The incident was reported around 9:59 a.m. July 2 near 265 N. Washington St. Dispatch notes said a truck at Pit Stop doing an inspection could hear gas hissing, and Columbia Gas was contacted shortly after crews arrived. Tiffin Fire/Rescue, police, the city street department and Columbia Gas responded to the area. Crews began setting up barricades near North Sandusky Street, Apple Street, Second Avenue, West Davis Street and other nearby streets as officials worked to secure the area. By about 10:15 a.m., dispatch notes indicated crews were “closing this whole area,” including access near Circle K. The street department later placed road-closed signs and cones at West Davis and Short streets, while officers stood by near North Sandusky Street and Apple Street until additional barricades were in place. Dollar General was evacuated around 10:54 a.m., according to the media summary. Officials also contacted ODOT for truck-route signs, and the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office was advised of the closure. The city’s CERT team was called to assist with traffic control near Hudson and North Sandusky streets and was on scene by about 12:38 p.m. Dispatch notes listed several barricade locations, including Sandusky Street at First, Second, Apple and Hudson; Davis Street at Minerva and Jackson; and other points around the affected area. A truck detour was later routed from Second Avenue to Wall Street to Miami Street and back to Sandusky Street. The leak was contained by about 2:19 p.m., though fire officials and Columbia Gas remained on scene. Around 2:29 p.m., fire officials advised that crews could begin reopening State Route 53, and the street department was contacted to collect the barriers.

Ohio Natural Gas Power Plant Facing Delay After FERC Rejects Turbine Swap --The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC) has denied Chestnut Run Energy’s request to swap turbine models at its planned 1,300 MW natural gas plant in Ohio, likely delaying the fast-tracked project by about two years. At a Glance:
Waiver denial risks 2-year delay
PJM warned of study ripple effects
Turbine backlog led to waiver request

Ohio has bipartisan models for changing course on data center tax breaks -  Ohio needs to curb the data-center tax break that cost $2 billion in state and local revenue last year. If the billions being given out to Amazon, Google, Meta and others can’t be easily reined in, legislators should approve other taxes to fill in for some of the losses.Recent action in other states shows that it can be done – and that this is not a partisan issue.In Virginia, home to the nation’s largest number of data centers, the Democratic-majority legislature approved a tax on data center electricity use that is set to raise up to $600 million a year in revenue. In Texas, the second largest in data centers, Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has called for a repeal of the state’s data center sales-tax exemption.That’s just the beginning of action to slash or pause these tax breaks that benefit some of the world’s wealthiest companies. In Pennsylvania, where legislative control is split, both the Senate and House have separately approved repeal of the exemption, with large majorities in both chambers.In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, has approved a two-year moratorium on the tax break, while in Arizona, the Republican legislature and Democratic governor approved a three-year pause as part of its state budget. A bill New York approved with a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data center development is now awaiting action from the governor.Other states, from Massachusetts to Oklahoma, are taking steps to pause or limit the tax break. In state after state, the data center industry and its defenders have argued that ending or reducing the exemption will hurt the business climate and mean the state is “not open for business.” But now, with states all over the country cutting back on the exemption – including most of those that have the largest concentration of data centers – the fallacy of this has been exposed. Even Lydia Mihalik, Ohio’s development director, said of the exemption: “I don’t think it’s as much of a deciding factor going forward.”   Ohio’s General Assembly voted a year ago to repeal the tax break, although this repeal would only cover new agreements. Importantly, that leaves existing tax breaks for big data center operators undisturbed, even for new facilities they build. News that the tax break was costing a fortune prompted Governor Mike DeWine, who had previously vetoed the repeal, to put a temporary pause on such new approvals. But before breaking for the summer, the General Assembly failed to pass a data center bill that would have limited – weakly – the break to 50% for new agreements. Some legislators thought that didn’t go far enough. They’re right. It didn’t. Like people across the country, Ohioans aren’t crazy about the noise, pollution, water and electricity use the data center boom is bringing to their communities, and especially the secretive process that often accompanies their development. More guardrails for them are badly needed. Providing giant tax incentives for largely unregulated projects that most people don’t want is not just bad policy — it’s a huge waste of precious resources. If Ohio can’t find a way to end these outlandish breaks, it should follow Virginia’s example, and approve a data-center tax to make up the revenue. One such tax would be a tax on data center equipment. The Ohio General Assembly should come back from its break and deal with this issue.

Ohio lawmakers tackle foreign influence in data center debate - — In May, Gallup polling showed that seven in 10 Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities, but some have questioned where exactly that opposition comes from. During hearings before the Ohio Legislature’s Joint Data Center Committee, it’s been suggested that the data center backlash is driven, at least in part, by foreign influence on social media, particularly by the Chinese government. At one June hearing, committee co-chair Sen. Brian Chavez (R-Marietta) notably asked a data center opponent where he was from and whether he was being paid to testify. “Several of the witnesses made it clear that they’re not funded by anyone, and I take them at their word,” Chavez said after the hearing. “There’s a lot of forces pushing back on a lot of different things. There’s geopolitical forces at work here.” More than once in those hearings, local and state officials, union leaders, and lawmakers have raised the question of foreign influence. Rep. Adam Holmes (R-Nashport), who co-chairs the committee with Chavez, said the committee has seen no direct evidence of such influence in Ohio, but that it’s a reasonable concern. “They can post a website or post opinions from a nonverified source and put that into the social media to just add debate to the narrative,” Holmes said. “That is the definition of information operations which is part of all military organizations. They’ve been involved in that, as we have, for decades.” Holmes also warned there are economic and military incentives for foreign adversaries to blunt American technological industries, including Ohio’s data center boom. “Whoever has an advantage with data management and information management in the future is really going to have a lot of advantages in the economic and finance sectors and currency exchanges and trade,” Holmes said. “It is a very urgent competition and support of data centers really helps us retain that leadership role.” The evidence for the existence and effectiveness of a foreign influence campaign on data centers is murky. Last month, OpenAI announced it had identified clusters of Chinese accounts spreading negative content about data centers. The company referred to this as a “bandwagon” campaign because it was mostly amplifying existing opposition. As Roxana Vatanparast, a digital infrastructure expert at Capital University, pointed out, that opposition is not new. “We already know that this debate has been ongoing for several years,” Vatanparast said. “This has not just started in 2026 as the result of any sort of ostensible foreign interference or operation.” According to Vatanparast, it is important to take note of where foreign influence accusations come from, and it’s important for leaders to be careful about suggesting opponents are being influenced by a “foreign plot.” “I don’t think a state data center bill is the place to really address this kind of potential issue that, again, we’re not seeing evidence of, and it’s certainly not a reason to dismiss people voicing their concerns,” Vatanparast said. “They’re essentially telling people that their institutions aren’t really listening to them and their concerns, and I think that could cause a loss of trust that could be corrosive to a lot of our public institutions.”

Big Tech sues tiny Ohio town after residents reject massive AI data center - A small Ohio city has become the latest flashpoint in the AI infrastructure boom after a widely shared X video highlighted a local fight over a proposed data center. In Urbana, residents helped stop plans for a massive AI facility, but the conflict did not end with the vote.The developer is now suing, reported Yahoo.. Urbana, which has fewer than 12,000 residents, first saw its city council reject the large project after locals raised concerns. The city later approved a 12-month moratorium tied to the proposal, and developer Thor Equities responded by taking the matter to court. The post says: "Big Tech is suing a tiny Ohio town of Urbana after its city council listened to the residents and voted no on a massive AI data center." The creator added, "Urbana only has a population of about 11,000, but they're going up against a $20 billion company." It also says the proposed facility would use "eight times the entire town's current annual electricity usage," cover 565 acres, and consume "up to hundreds of millions of gallons per year" of water. Why does it matter? For smaller communities, a large data center can raise worries about electricity demand, water consumption, constant noise, and pressure on local infrastructure. Those concerns are becoming more common as cloud computing and AI drive a rapid buildup of such facilities across the United States, even as supporters argue they can bring innovation and economic activity.      Training and running AI models can drive major power and water consumption, put more pressure on local grids, and create risks tied to misuse, security, and unintended consequences such as rising energy bills. Across the country, towns are weighing promised investment against environmental and quality-of-life tradeoffs. In Urbana, that broader debate has now turned into a legal battle between a small municipality and a major developer.   Online reaction has been split. Some commenters echoed residents' concerns, saying a data center of that size could hurt nearby property values or make the area less appealing. Others argued the project could instead boost home values over time and bring economic benefits.

What happens when a city changes its mind about a data center? -Cleveland.com --- A small Ohio city spent a year courting a $1 billion data center, then reversed course. Now a federal judge may decide whether it waited too long to change its mind.  Thor Equities, a global real estate development and investment firm, is suing the City of Urbana in U.S. District Court. It wants a judge to declare Urbana’s data center moratorium unconstitutional and require the city to consider its application under the zoning rules that were in place when it filed for approval. The lawsuit is rooted in the specific steps Urbana took over 14 months, but it could become an important test for when developers acquire legal rights to proceed with a project the community no longer wants.

Cleveland gave developer the OK to pitch hyperscale data centers in the city, letter shows — Long before the city rejected a developer’s pitch to build a controversial data center in Slavic Village, officials with the city’s electric utility had given the company the green light to seek out data center operators and scout potential sites in Cleveland, records show. City-owned Cleveland Public Power Commissioner Ammon Danielson sent developer Lakeland Equity Group a letter of support, dated June 25, 2025, telling the company it “may use this letter of support to communicate to prospective national data center operators and stakeholders CPP’s willingness to work with LEG” — and potentially provide up to 125 megawatts of power if they chose to locate in the city.  The letter raises new questions about whether Mayor Justin Bibb and City Hall were caught off guard when Lakeland submitted plans in May for a $1.6 billion, 150-megawatt data center on a 35-acre site in Slavic Village that was quickly rejected by the city.

Ohio’s AI data center boom is fueling a natural gas power rush - cleveland.com -- Across Ohio, energy companies are racing to build gas-fired power plants that will never send a single watt of electricity to your home.  That’s because these plants—ten of them, proposed or already under construction—are being built for one customer: data centers running artificial intelligence. A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit that tracks industrial pollution nationwide, found that if all 10 plants operate at full capacity, they could emit 75 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.

Big Tech data centers are driving up power bills at America's Rust Belt factories  (Reuters) - For years, electricity costs for the Belden Brick Company in Sugarcreek, Ohio, had been relatively stable. Last year, they surged by 90% — largely because of rising power demand from data centers in the region. The 141-year-old brick manufacturer, whose products can be found in iconic buildings including the Texas Alamo and Notre Dame University, is seeing power bills rise mainly from a monthly capacity charge, which recently jumped from $1,600 a month to $12,000. Belden Brick is among many manufacturers across America’s heartland where costs are rising as power-hungry data centers serving the artificial intelligence industry ‌proliferate. Factory electricity bills, a core expense, are rising faster than for many homes and other businesses, according to a Reuters review of U.S. energy data and interviews with nearly a dozen manufacturers and industry advocates. Federal, state and local governments responding to consumer anger and grid-stability concerns are pushing Big Tech to pay more for their expected demand. But some of their proposals lump in smaller factories with tech giants such as Meta and Amazon, whose power needs can dwarf even large manufacturers by a factor of 50. Meta declined to comment. Amazon did not respond to a comment request. Capacity charges are designed to compensate power generators for ensuring the grid has enough electricity for peak usage and to spur development of new supply. They generally account for about 10% of residential bills but can represent up to three times that for manufacturers, according to interviews with manufacturers, attorneys and energy experts. Such fees have soared in the 13-state region covered by grid operator PJM Interconnection due to stagnant supply and demand from data centers, where one server warehouse can use as much electricity as a mid-sized town. "That capacity charge just jumped off the page," said company ⁠president Brad Belden, part of the fifth generation working at the company. Despite such capacity-charge hikes, PJM was forced to take emergency steps last week, including asking some users to curb electricity use, to prevent rolling blackouts as searing temperatures pushed peak demand to a new record. The rising costs and regulatory uncertainty threaten some factories’ viability at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is prioritizing domestic manufacturing, advocates and policy experts say. These businesses are considering raising prices, slowing growth, or in some cases relocating. Belden has raised brick prices by 4% and profits have still shrunk. If bills keep rising, he said local manufacturers may quickly reach limits on cost-cutting or price-hiking. "There are going to be some companies that are on the razor's edge," said Belden. The White House said in a statement that Trump has taken action to cushion the blow on manufacturers, citing his hosting of tech companies signing a "ratepayer protection pledge" earlier this year and directives to build more power plants in PJM, paid for by tech companies. Data center advocates say the industry’s rapid expansion is driving long-overdue investments in America’s electric grid and cite other factors driving up costs, including power-plant retirements and transmission constraints. Data-center growth is “making us finally grapple with the difficult decisions that we were always going to have to face,” said Aaron Tinjum, vice president of energy for Data Center Coalition, a trade group. PJM, the largest U.S. grid operator, covers a Mid-Atlantic and Midwest manufacturing belt from New Jersey to northern Illinois and as far south as Tennessee that has become attractive to data center developers. Of the eight U.S. states considered emerging data center hubs, five are in the Rust Belt, according to Synergy Research Group data. The clash of old manufacturers and new data centers in the same region weighs heavily on costs and grid reliability. Data centers, said PJM spokesperson Jeff ‌Shields, “can be built ⁠faster than the generation needed to serve them, driving up demand faster than supply." PJM sets capacity prices paid to power generators based on forecasted supply and demand, and manufacturers often pay an outsized share once capacity charges filter down to customers. PJM’s capacity prices jumped from $28.92 per megawatt-day in 2024 to the current $329.17 per megawatt-day — a 1,038% rise — driven primarily by data center growth. That helped push up electricity prices more quickly for industrial users in big manufacturing states that are also becoming data center hubs in PJM’s region, according to Reuters calculations using U.S. Energy Department data on electricity prices. Average industrial electricity prices were up 31% in Pennsylvania and 26% in Ohio as of December 2025 from 12 months earlier, compared with a 7% rise nationwide for industrial users. Residential customers in those two states saw increases of 14% and 9%, respectively. Even a 1% or 2% power-cost increase can stretch factory owners, who often operate on thin margins and use lots of electricity, economists and industry officials say. "This can have short- ⁠and long-term impacts on whether or not these facilities can continue to operate," said Paul Cicio, president of the trade group Industrial Energy Consumers of America.

Columbus-area data centers used 1.2 billion gallons of water in a year - Columbus-area data centers – including those serving tech giants Amazon, Meta and Google – used about 1.2 billion gallons of the city's water in a 12-month period, according to information provided exclusively to The Dispatch in response to a public records request.

Amazon's Data Centers Keep Catching Fire – Small-Town Fire Departments Pay the Price -- Firefighters in Jerome Township, Ohio roll up to an Amazon data center with lights flashing and full gear ready. Then they wait. Facility security can hold crews at the gate for up to an hour while Amazon grants authorization to enter, according to Daily Dispatch reporting. Whatever's burning keeps burning. Two Amazon data centers under construction in this small township have generated 84 emergency calls since 2021 — roughly two per month, often requiring lights-and-sirens response, according to Data Center Dynamics. This isn't a statistical blip. It's the invoice for America's AI boom, and small-town fire departments are picking up the tab. A single Amazon data center fire burned for 30 hours, caused $50 million in damage — and the company pays zero property taxes on the site. In April 2025, a two-alarm fire at the Industrial Parkway Amazon site occupied firefighters for approximately 30 hours and caused an estimated $50 million in damage, according to Data Center Dynamics. That exceeds the duration of most industrial fires handled by rural crews across an entire year — and it was a single incident at one address.Amazon reportedly secured 100% property tax abatements for ten years on each Jerome Township site, according to Daily Dispatch. The township still funds every emergency response. In nearby Hilliard, three data center campuses surround roughly 37,000 residents, and approximately $2 million in tax revenue has reportedly been diverted from emergency services since construction began around 2015. Jerome Township Fire Chief Douglas Stewart put it plainly: data center responses "That taxes our resources every time we go."Here's what Ohio's data center boom actually costs locally, by the numbers:

• 84 emergency calls to Jerome Township since 2021 — roughly two per month, often lights-and-sirens
• $50 million in damage and 30 hours of firefighter time in the April 2025 Amazon site fire alone
• ~$2 million in tax revenue reportedly diverted from emergency services in Hilliard since construction began around 2015
• 100% property tax abatement for ten years, per site, granted to Amazon in Jerome Township
• 10–35% electric supply price increases for many Ohio consumers in June 2025, partly driven by grid upgrades for data center demand

Ohio law lets data center operators withhold power plant blueprints from the firefighters expected to protect them. State laws fast-tracking private power projects have created a dangerous blind spot. The Norwich Township fire chief has raised alarms that companies classify on-site power plant designs as "trade secrets," blocking first responders from accessing detailed facility plans, according to Fire Rescue 1. A single hyperscale facility can consume as much electricity as 100,000 homes. Dense electronics, massive battery banks, proprietary layouts — these rank among the most complex fires any crew can face. That complexity doesn't clock out at 2 a.m.US data centers consumed about 176 TWh of electricity in 2023 — roughly equal to Ohio's entire annual usage — with that share projected to reach 9% of national consumption by 2030. Companies plan to invest up to $40 billion more in Ohio data centers by decade's end, with AWS alone targeting approximately $7.8 billion in the state. Hilliard's fire chief captured the tension directly: "We're not a huge fan of the data centers, but Hilliard controls economic development, and data centers bring in business," according to Daily Dispatch. Economic development officials argue these facilities diversify local tax bases and signal participation in the AI economy — but consumer advocates and fire chiefs counter that they deliver few permanent jobs while shifting safety burdens onto under-resourced local agencies.Ohio's utility commission has approved a Data Center Tariff requiring large facilities to paying too much for at least 85% of their contracted electricity capacity for up to 12 years. That's a meaningful step on the power-cost side. The harder question remains unanswered: who funds the training, equipment, and staffing for the fire crews protecting the servers that run your internet?

I Want More – As Data Centers Come to More Northeast States, Natural Gas Market Prepares for Growth | RBN Energy --A number of states have been early movers in the data center world, but several in the Northeast — while not yet major data center hubs — are laying the groundwork for a much bigger role. On top of that, a few states may turn out to be real surprises. There are also a handful of states intentionally shying away from the data center spotlight that could be wildcards. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the plans of several Northeastern states and how they could impact the region’s natural gas market.After being in virtual limbo for the past couple of years, the Northeast gas market is reawakening, which we’ve detailed in several previous blogs and our latest Drill Down Report, Wake Me Up. Pipeline projects to expand connectivity between Appalachia and demand centers are moving forward for the first time in years, including into the previously off-limits New York/New Jersey and New England market areas. Regional flow dynamics are poised to shift as expansions debottleneck production and pathways out of the Appalachia producing region, deepening seasonal patterns.At the same time, structural changes, such as coal retirements and new data centers, are driving additional gas demand, and we’re already seeing more gas-related projects in areas where data centers are planned or under construction. In our most recent blog, we turned our attention to the states with already-giant data center footprints — including Virginia and Ohio — that receive gas from Appalachia and how pipeline developers are responding. Today’s blog shifts the focus to several states flying under the radar.Let’s start with the area known as the Chesapeake-Delaware Corridor (green-shaded area in Figure 1 below) Maryland (medium-green area) is emerging as a key up‑and‑coming data center market, with spillover from Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley (see Sweet Virginia) combining with a growing roster of large campuses. Key operators include QTS Realty Trust, Digital Realty, COPT Data Center Solutions and Aligned Data Centers, the last of which is building a roughly 264-MW, four‑building campus in Frederick County (light-green area to right at bottom of Figure 1). Much of the momentum centers on the Quantum Loophole data center, a 2,100‑acre redevelopment of the former Alcoa Eastalco site that hosts Aligned’s Quantum Frederick campus and other hyperscale builds. Big projects like TeraWulf’s planned 1,000-MW Chesapeake Data campus in Charles County, Atmosphere’s 300-MW Dickerson Data Center in Montgomery County, and the 150-MW Security Land Baltimore project, along with existing footprints from Amazon and Meta, add up to multi-gigawatt sites. These could change Maryland from a niche market to a secondary data center hub. Policy‑wise, Maryland is still crafting rules around data-center growth. Some counties are developing data-center-specific frameworks after community pushback, and there is growing talk of more cohesive statewide oversight as power demand ramps up.On the power and gas side, Maryland is leaning on new gas‑fired capacity, transmission build‑out and grid imports to support rising data center load. Constellation, a regulated utility there, has proposed more than 700 MW of new gas‑fired generation as part of a larger package of generation and storage. Maryland is part of the PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that manages the power grid and wholesale electricity markets, which has approved high‑voltage projects such as the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project and a new 765-kV transmission line into Frederick County to move more power into central Maryland as coal plants retire. Legacy gas pipeline and power‑plant sites such as Dickerson are being reimagined as data-center-plus-gas platforms.Delaware (dark-green area in Figure 1) also in PJM, is taking a very different approach. Most of its current facilities serve the Philadelphia-Wilmington corridor; as of mid-2026, there have been no publicly announced projects by the major cloud providers. One very large colocation‑style project is on the drawing board, although it faces an uncertain path forward. Starwood Digital’s proposed Project Washington, which would include about 6 million square feet of data-center space over an 11-12 building campus between New Castle and Delaware City, is considered a test case for how the state’s Coastal Zone Act applies to big data centers. (The law, enacted in 1971, bans new heavy industry along the state’s 115-mile coastline.) Regulators have ruled that the site’s diesel-heavy design constitutes prohibited heavy industry in the coastal zone, a decision now affirmed on appeal, so the project’s future is uncertain.Next, we look at the southern New England states (purple-shaded area in Figure 1) tied to ISO‑New England: Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Boston area is the region’s primary data center hub, and a leading AI market, but the rest of Massachusetts (medium-purple area) has yet to see the same level of growth. Major operators in the Boston area include CoreSite, Digital Realty and Iron Mountain Data Centers, and several communities in western Massachusetts are evaluating larger data center proposals, including projects around Westfield (near Springfield).Local opposition and zoning debates are becoming more common, but development interest is spreading. Western Massachusetts, especially the Westfield area and Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, is drawing attention, including a proposed campus that could exceed $3 billion and include up to 10 buildings, backed in part by state tax incentives. Smaller proposals are also emerging in Greater Boston.Connecticut (dark-purple area in Figure 1) is not yet a major hyperscale data center state, and its current data center load is likely in the tens of megawatts rather than the hundreds. Most operating sites are small, nestled around Stamford, Hartford, New Haven and Trumbull. One of the largest is the 365 Data Centers facility in Trumbull (about 30 miles northeast of New York City), where the company is evaluating a roughly $200 million data center complex. The bigger story in Connecticut is the slate of proposed projects. The flagship is the NE Edge Millstone Data Center Campus in Waterford, a planned 300-MW facility near the Millstone nuclear plant. Other proposals include Atlas Capital Group’s data center concept in Bloomfield, at roughly 1 million square feet, and the Gray Wolf/ReNew Colchester AI and high‑performance computing facility. Governor Ned Lamont has been publicly promoting data centers, particularly in the Fairfield County and Millstone areas. Rhode Island (light-purple area in Figure 1) is the smallest of the three, with very few data centers today. A developer has floated a large data center project in Smithfield, paired with a commercial solar installation. The idea has drawn local pushback and remains in its early stages.A number of relatively small gas pipeline projects are in the works that could help meet rising demand in southern New England. Algonquin Gas Transmission’s (AGT) Reliable Affordable Resilient Enhancement (RARE) project would upgrade existing AGT facilities and add about 75 MMcf/d (0.08 Bcf/d) of incremental capacity to the system, improving deliverability on peak days. The Western Mass Reliability Project is a short intrastate pipeline and new delivery point that will shore up local infrastructure and make it easier to support incremental gas‑fired generation in the Springfield‑Longmeadow area.Northern New England (blue-shaded area in Figure 1) has a distant relationship with data centers. Maine (dark-blue area) is still a small, regional data‑center market, with roughly a dozen modest facilities scattered across places like Portland, Brunswick, Bangor, Lewiston and Millinocket and no true hyperscale cloud or AI campuses in operation. Policymakers have focused their debates on larger sites using more than 20 MW of power. The state is just beginning to grapple with how big data center loads fit into a constrained grid.The flagship project is the planned conversion of the former Androscoggin paper mill in Jay (see icon on dark blue-shaded area) into a large data‑center campus backed by JGT2 Redevelopment, anchored by an 82-MW allocation from Central Maine Power. There’s potential for the site to grow into the 200+ MW range. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved a first‑of‑its‑kind statewide pause on new data centers over 20 MW, but Governor Janet Mills vetoed the moratorium, arguing it would chill projects like Jay. She created a Data Center Advisory Council to study grid, cost and environmental issues and recommend new legislation by early 2027.In New Hampshire (medium-blue area of Figure 1), there are a small number of enterprise and colocation sites serving the Boston region. There are no major hyperscale campuses at this time. The state has just a handful of documented projects that are all quite small — facilities of less than 10 MW for Consolidated, FirstLight, Liberty Mutual and others. Vermont (light-blue area) doesn’t have any major data centers. There are legacy, on‑premise corporate data centers but these are not counted as distinct, large‑scale facilities in the national trackers. And there is nothing big planned.A number of projects are in the works or have been completed that would help gas flow in northern New England. Around 2008, Maritimes & Northeast’s Phase IV Expansion nearly doubled capacity into Maine, boosting the line’s ability to move gas from about 0.4 Bcf/d to roughly 0.8 Bcf/d through new looping and compression and later the system was adapted to move some gas north. Project Beacon, another Algonquin expansion, would increase New England’s capacity by around 0.3 Bcf/d — just under 10% of Algonquin’s existing capacity, addressing reliability concerns by helping meet growing data‑center power needs.Finally, we should note the importance of West Virginia (orange area in Figure 1), which has only a modest data‑center footprint today but sits atop abundant gas reserves and legacy coal‑to‑gas infrastructure, with high‑voltage lines and major pipelines nearby. Those fundamentals make it a logical candidate for greenfield data center‑plus‑gas‑plant complexes, even if the in‑state market is still emerging.Two large developments show how quickly things could change. In Berkeley County’s eastern panhandle (light-green area to left at bottom of Figure 1), Penzance Management’s Bedington Campus, billed as a “High Impact Intelligence Center,” is planned on 548 acres with up to $4 billion in capital investment. Even more ambitious, the off‑grid Monarch Compute Campus, now owned by Nscale (see They’ve Got the Power), is designed as an 8-GW natural‑gas‑powered project; Microsoft has agreed to deploy 1.35 GW of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) there, with the first 2 GW targeted for 2028 and a full buildout by 2031.Gas‑pipeline expansions are being tailored to this emerging demand. TC Energy’s $1.5 billion Appalachia Supply Project would add up to 800 MMcf/d initially — and possibly as much as 2 Bcf/d by 2030 — across its Columbia Gas Transmission system, explicitly to serve new data centers and power projects in states including West Virginia. Additional capacity tied to the MVP Boost Project, which will raise MVP’s capacity from 2 Bcf/d to 2.6 Bcf/d by mid‑2028 through added compression in West Virginia and Virginia, further enhances the region’s ability to support large‑scale, gas‑fueled data‑center complexes. While the Northeast’s biggest data center markets continue to grab the headlines, the region’s next wave of growth may come from states that until recently attracted little attention. From Maryland's rapidly expanding hyperscale pipeline to West Virginia's gas-powered AI ambitions, and from southern New England's emerging projects to Maine's cautious approach, these markets are beginning to reshape expectations for both electricity and natural gas demand. Not every proposal will reach the finish line, but together they underscore a broader trend: data centers are becoming a powerful new force in Northeast energy markets, driving pipeline expansions, power infrastructure investments and long-term gas demand well beyond the region's traditional growth centers.

The ‘time-consuming’ permits dozens of data centers are skipping - By the time Krista Meredith learned last winter that an AI data center was coming to her community in the suburbs of Canton, Ohio, the site was already dotted with construction equipment. A nurse practitioner who has lived in the area for two decades, Meredith is concerned about how the project could affect water and air quality around the Rust Belt city that was once defined by steel mills and now houses a mix of affluent and working-class neighborhoods. But unbeknownst to her — one of hundreds who signed a petition against the data center — the only required federal permit was issued last August. And there was no chance for the public to weigh in. As a tidal wave of sprawling energy- and water-guzzling data centers are proposed across the country, opponents are finding that one of their strongest levers for challenging projects has all but disappeared. That’s thanks to a 2023 ruling from the Supreme Court that dramatically shrank the number of streams and wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act. Once one of the most important permits that virtually all construction projects needed, now everything from subdivisions to oil pipelines to data centers can be built without federal water pollution permits if the streams and wetlands they are filling in or contaminating fall outside the law’s scope. Other projects that are still covered by the law, like the data center near Canton, are newly eligible for perfunctory approvals that the general public often doesn’t know about. “I didn’t expect it to be a very reckless fast procedure to get this done,” said Meredith. “You should allow everyone to have a voice.” Located where Canton’s suburban outskirts transition to open space and small farms, the Amazon-backed project is one of at least 26 data centers being built nationwide in sensitive streams and wetlands with streamlined water pollution permits, according to a POLITICO analysis of 95 Army Corps of Engineers documents and permit records from January 2024 to this past June. Dozens more data centers are going up in states like Texas, Utah and West Virginia without a wetlands permit, the analysis found. In arid states, the Clean Water Act now covers so few waters that developers may not even be making contact with regulators at all, industry experts say. Even just figuring out which water features required a federal permit used to “take an incredibly long time and then the determination of actually getting the permit is time consuming as well,” said Wayne D’Angelo, a partner at the law firm Kelley Drye whose clients include energy and manufacturing companies. But thanks to the three-year-old court ruling, he said, “all that can likely be avoided by a number of projects just because of where they’re situated now outside of federal jurisdiction.” The massive scale-back of the water permitting process has been a major enabler for the lightning-fast build-out of data centers across the country. While hyperscale projects still have to navigate state and local regulations on everything from zoning to fire safety, the federal water permits were once seen as the most onerous part of the permitting process. Now, data center projects are often flying through the environmental review process — and, at the same time, shrinking their vulnerability to lawsuits from community activists, green groups and federal pollution regulators. The Trump administration is greasing the skids. After EPA last year told on-the-ground regulators to take an even narrower approach to the Supreme Court’s ruling, developers of a data center linked to the $500 billion Stargate venture withdrew their permit request. Located in rural Milam County, Texas, OpenAI, Oracle and SB Energy’s project site spans over 600 acres, but the Army Corps concluded a permit was not needed anymore because wetlands on the site were no longer federally regulated, according to public records obtained by POLITICO. A spokesperson for the project confirmed no permit was needed. In response to questions about the Canton project, Amazon spokesperson Brandon Scheller said the company tries to site projects in a way that avoids impacts to streams and wetlands. “We identify natural resources early and work intentionally to keep them undisturbed,” Scheller said in an email. As the federal government relinquishes oversight of millions of acres of wetlands and streams, it’s also losing its ability to go after companies for damages from data center construction in those areas — — leaving it to states to enact and enforce regulations. But the trend has left community members feeling squeezed out at a time when concerns over quality of life, energy and water use and health impacts are turbocharging local opposition in communities from Wisconsin to Arizona.. “Part of getting a permit is you’re letting the public know that this activity is planned for this place,” said Sara Gonzalez-Rothi, a law professor at Pace University who served as a senior water official under the Biden administration. “As you’re moving forward on completing infrastructure that’s going to be there pretty darn permanently — and the effects on the waters are pretty long-term and significant — there is no recourse.” For the better part of the past half-century, federal regulators at the Army Corps of Engineers took a sweeping approach to water protections, requiring anything more than minor construction across the American landscape to seek a federal permit. That process gave nearby residents, green groups and state environmental officials a window into developers’ plans for everything from strip malls and highway off-ramps to petrochemical facilities and coal mines — as well as a powerful tool for challenging them. The Clean Water Act permits don’t relate to the amount of water a data center uses, which is the subject of state and local rules. Instead, they are aimed at minimizing harms to creeks, marshes and other features on the landscape and offsetting any damage that is done. The process is especially salient for wetlands, which can absorb extraordinary amounts of water during floods and help filter pollutants out of drinking supplies, even though they may only look like a soggy spot in a grassy field. Now, the booming data center industry is reaping the benefits of the Supreme Court’s shrunken approach to which waters get federal protection as well as the Trump administration’s efforts to further restrict it, according to POLITICO’s analysis. The administration is proposing to only regulate wetlands and streams that physically touch a larger waterbody — like a major lake or river — and are brimming with water for at least part of the year. Some legal experts say that standard would go beyond what the high court required, but EPA officials say it’s legally sound. Since the start of 2024, there have been at least 27 data center sites where Army Corps regulators found wetlands, streams or other water resources, but determined that no federal dredge-and-fill permit was needed because the waters fell outside the reach of the Clean Water Act. The scale of those projects was hardly modest, ranging in size from 15 acres — more than 11 football fields — to nearly 2,000 acres, or roughly 3 square miles. And while some of those projects would have only a minimal impact on waterways, in other cases the waters affected are vast, according to the agency’s records. For instance, federal regulators found 27 acres of streams on a nearly 2.5 square mile data center site outside Reno, Nevada, but because they usually only flow after rain events — as is the case for the overwhelming majority of waterways in the arid West — the Army Corps determined that none were subject to federal regulation. That meant the project didn’t need a Clean Water Act permit. In northern Texas, near the Oklahoma panhandle, a planned data center and renewable energy campus was found to impact over 63 acres of streams, wetlands and other water features. It also didn’t need a permit because none were jurisdictional. POLITICO found just three projects in the arid Southwest — two in Nevada and one in Utah — that had even asked the Army Corps for a review since early 2024. There were no records of any developers seeking reviews in Arizona, where more than 160 data centers have taken root around Phoenix and community pushback last month led the state’s Republican-led Legislature to pass the country’s longest freeze on tax incentives for the industry in a budget deal with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. “From our experience in Arizona, I am not aware of any of the major data center projects we have supported having pursued Section 404 permits through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Steven Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, said in an email. Through a public records request, POLITICO also identified 26 data centers since January 2024 that the agency said qualified for a streamlined permit, usually a nationwide permit that the public doesn’t learn about until after it’s issued, if they do at all. In fact, only 26 of the 95 projects POLITICO reviewed were required to obtain a more comprehensive permit, called an individual permit, which is posted publicly in advance so interested parties can weigh in before it is issued. Army Corps spokesperson James Lalino defended the agency’s permitting decisions, saying that the Army Corps can’t require a permit if there are no federally protected waters on a site. “If a jurisdictional determination determines there is no jurisdiction, USACE and any federal agency under the Clean Water Act has no authority to require a permit at all.”

Wilmington City Council delays decision on data centers -  (WDTN) – At the Wilmington City Council meeting on Thursday, the city had a big decision on the table: whether to add data centers into the mix of what people can build within the city. At the recommendation of the deputy law director, the council voted 5-1 to only have the second reading of this ordinance, meaning no change involving data centers has been made. “I think there’s additional discussion that needs to be had with the law director as well before moving forward with that one,” said Deputy Law Director Brooke Horan.  After deciding at the last council meeting that there would be a vote to amend certain sections of the planning and zoning code for the city, the deputy law director said more conversations needed to be had with attorneys on all sides before it should move forward. Amazon has purchased land off of U.S. 68 to build a data center, with some residents against it due to the impact it could have on the land. However, others say it could help the community, including the mayor. “Traditionally, a major project like a new safety building would be funded by taxpayers’ money, putting a heavy financial burden on our residents,” said Mayor Patrick Haley. “To avoid this, the city has asked Amazon for financial help with the new safety building, which is estimated to cost about $28 million.” 4th of July travelers brave heat wave at Indian Lake park However, the deal is not yet finalized, meaning millions from Amazon remain in the balance. “The goal is to secure the full $28 million upfront to fund the project,” said Haley. “Negotiations are still ongoing. No agreement has been finalized, and contrary to some of the comments on social media, the city has not received any funds from Amazon.” The council will hold the third reading of the ordinance regarding data centers at its next meeting on July 16.

Judge weighs challenge to Amazon's $4 billion Ohio data center -— A legal battle over a proposed $4 billion Amazon Data Center project in Wilmington, Ohio, has resumed for a second day at the federal courthouse in Cincinnati. A group of homeowners who live next to the 472-acre Amazon site argues the City of Wilmington pushed forward a series of zoning changes and ordinances last year, without properly notifying or giving the public a fair chance to weigh in. Attorneys for the City of Wilmington disputed those claims during the first day of arguments in an evidentiary hearing on Tuesday. Ohio's open meetings law requires local governments to hold public hearings before most zoning changes. The law also requires the government to notify nearby property owners by mail at least 30 days before the hearing, to allow residents an opportunity to learn about the proposal and voice their opinions. Wilmington’s Public Service Director Michael Crowe and Deputy Director Samantha Ison testified Tuesday — both acknowledged signing non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with Amazon months before the public became aware of the project. Crowe testified that he held secret negotiations with Amazon about the project code-named "Apollo." Elected leaders also moved forward with zoning and ordinance changes in 2025 favorable to the project, without informing the public of Amazon's intent to build. Attorneys for the city argued Tuesday that elected leaders rezoned a former farm to light industrial use and lifted noise restrictions on diesel-powered generators in the interest of public safety, economic development and the public interest, not solely to benefit Amazon. Attorneys for Amazon defended the use of NDA's saying they protect the company from competition, foreign actors and trade secrets. They also argued Wilmington homeowners are seeking "death by process," saying they are trying to delay the development through litigation and red tape. Attorneys for Amazon and the city argued the case should be thrown out on the merits. Federal Judge Jeffrey P. Hopkins was skeptical of that argument and of how an injunction could delay Amazon's project timeline. "It would take 30 days if you did it again," Hopkins said, who is considering a preliminary injunction. The federal judge said the city could simply repeal and redo the zoning changes and ordinances without further litigation. Attorneys for Amazon said they weren’t opposed to that while arguing against an injunction. The company wants to begin site grading this September to meet its four-year project timeline. Arguments in the case resumed at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati. Judge Hopkins is expected to consider a preliminary injunction and whether the case should continue. While the case is argued in federal court, a grassroots group of Wilmington residents is also working to bring comprehensive data center regulations to the November Ballot.

Grassroots effort pushes for data center regulations in Wilmington - — A federal judge in Cincinnati is hearing arguments Tuesday, that could delay or halt a proposed $4 billion Amazon data center project in Wilmington, Ohio. The case centers around whether Wilmington City leaders followed the proper procedures when clearing the way for the project. A group of Wilmington homeowners alleges that city leaders did not provide proper notice or time to weigh in before approving zoning changes at a former 500-acre farm purchased by Amazon. Advertisement The tech giant wants to build a 1.9-million-square-foot hyperscale data center at the site. The project is expected to bring more than 100 permanent jobs and tens of millions of dollars in private upgrades to city infrastructure. However, homeowners who joined the suit and residents have raised concerns about noise, air pollution, water usage, and government transparency. The project has been shrouded in secrecy after elected leaders signed non-disclosure agreements, barring them from discussing much of the proposal publicly. While the case is argued in federal court, a grassroots group of Wilmington residents are also working to bring comprehensive data center regulations to the November Ballot. Quintin Koger Kidd is one of the residents leading the effort, which must garner 321 signatures from registered voters in Wilmington to reach the ballot. "Communities across Ohio are grappling with how to handle the rapid growth of data center development," Koger Kidd said. "Wilmington residents deserve a direct voice in that conversation, and this initiative gives them one." Koger Kidd says he and others have pleaded with city leaders to set limits on massive developments, but says they didn't act. The proposed initiative would set rules on data center developments based on their size. It would set noise limits to protect nearby homes, require setbacks or buffer zones for building near homes or schools, air quality protections, and financial guarantees for future site cleanup after a data center reaches its end of life. "This isn’t about stopping data centers from coming to Wilmington," Koger Kidd said. "It’s about making sure that if they do come, they’re built and operated under rules that actually protect our neighborhoods, our schools, our water, and our quality of life. Right now, those rules don’t exist. This initiative gives Wilmington voters — not just City Council — the chance to decide whether they should." Koger Kidd says he's confident organizers will get the signatures required to place the issue before Wilmington voters in November. WLWT reached out to Wilmington's Mayor Patrick Haley and all eight council members for comment; they did not respond.

City plans major data center in Piqua near i-75 exit 78 -The city of Piqua approved plans earlier this year for a large-scale data center, a project officials say represents more than $1 billion in planned private investment. The data center is part of the city’s long-term plan to develop the I-75 Exit 78 Business and Industrial Park, a more than 1,200-acre area near Interstate 75 that city officials have identified for industrial growth for years. The proposed data center campus would occupy approximately 607 acres within the larger business park. City commissioners are considering a 40-year contract with AES Ohio to provide electrical services to the data center campus, with a vote on that expected in August. Since the project was announced, it has drawn significant public scrutiny. Residents have raised questions during public meetings about issues including water usage, electric demand, environmental impacts, traffic, the use of tax incentives, transparency during negotiations and the project's compatibility with nearby residential and agricultural areas.    Anti-data center signs are common throughout Piqua, including this one on Wednesday, July 8 in flower beds in front of North Star Coffee Station on North Main Street. City officials have responded by publishing frequently asked questions, project documents and presentations outlining the city's rationale and projected benefits. Here are some of the project’s major details: The project area is south of Sherry Industrial Park, around Interstate 75 Exit 78, extending west from the County Road 25A corridor to the north and south of Farrington Road. The specific data center site is north of Farrington Road and east of Washington Road. The city says the area has long been identified for industrial growth. Its 2007 Comprehensive Plan designated the County Road 25A corridor as an Economic Expansion Area suitable for industrial development. According to the city, the site fits long-range planning goals for industrial development. Approximately 1,200 contiguous acres were annexed into the city between 2020 and 2025, creating a large area for economic expansion. The location offers access to transportation corridors and existing utility infrastructure. What economic impact does the city project? The city's estimates include: More than 50 permanent full-time jobs with average annual salaries exceeding $100,000. More than 400 contracted service jobs supporting operations. More than 1,000 construction jobs annually during the estimated three- to five-year construction period. More than $180 million in projected community revenue over 30 years. Annual operations expected to contribute approximately $46 million to regional GDP and $212 million in economic output across Piqua and west-central Ohio. The city says the project will fund: Approximately $76 million in water, wastewater, electric and roadway infrastructure improvements. Additional infrastructure improvements funded through an estimated $78 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue generated by the project. Road widening and intersection improvements along the Washington Road and Farrington Road corridors. The Piqua Municipal Water System will provide water. The city says the facility will use a closed-loop cooling system that requires an initial fill and only occasional replenishment afterward, with most daily water use limited to domestic needs such as restrooms and sinks. Wastewater will be treated through the city's wastewater system. During construction, electricity will be supplied by the Piqua Power System, while AES Ohio is expected to provide long-term transmission service for operations. Backup generators would be used only during emergencies and are subject to Ohio EPA regulation.

Data center debate prompts monitoring discussion in Martins Ferry - The Times Leader - - As AI data center development draws growing scrutiny across the region, Martins Ferry may be moving to get ahead of potential impacts by exploring preemptive monitoring measures and discussing how to protect local environmental and public health conditions. The discussion also comes as data center-related development continues to surface elsewhere in the region, including in Warwood, where recent proposals tied to the former Centre Foundry property have drawn public attention and concern. In Belmont County, separate reports have also pointed to early-stage data center campus concepts, further fueling regional debate over energy use, environmental impact and long-term community benefits. Martins Ferry Councilman Andrew Smay said, while it later clarified as a facility intended to manufacture modular components for data centers rather than a full-scale data center, recent conversations about possible data center projects on both sides of the river warrant closer attention, even if current proposals are outside the city's jurisdiction. "There have been talks of data centers being out in the old Centre Foundry in Warwood. This is obviously out of our jurisdiction so there's very little we can do, it's a different state, different county, different city," Smay said, pointing out the city is just 1,400 feet from Warwood. Smay said concerns seen in other communities include noise, light, air quality and wastewater impacts, including issues tied to large-scale cooling systems used by data facilities. "Noise pollution which includes both audible and infrasound, light pollution, wastewater pollution, air quality concerns that have been documented in other places where data centers have been built," he said. Smay said he recently attended a town hall in Warwood and met with local and state officials, including West Virginia Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, regarding ongoing discussions about potential development near the river. "Because of the discussion I had with her I am even more at ease with how this will progress into the future," he said. He added that while state legislation in West Virginia is expected to increase oversight of data center development, Martins Ferry should consider its own long-term monitoring strategy. "One idea to take into consideration by the city in the future is to place audio sensors around the city at different locations," Smay said. "Other types of sensors, air quality sensors, things of that nature... If we establish a baseline before any data center goes in then we would have the ability to have evidence that their data center or facility was in fact impacting the quality of our environment." Service Director Andy Sutak asked whether funding sources might be available to support such monitoring equipment, indicating the city may pursue potential grant programs and other state and federal funding opportunities as part of broader environmental and infrastructure planning efforts. Councilman Gus Harris expressed strong opposition to data center development, citing concerns over resource use and community impacts. "Those data centers are the worst thing that can happen in this county," Harris said. "They use millions of gallons of water to cool their centers... They take up thousands of acres. They tax our resources and they give nothing back... All they do is take, take, take." He added that other communities have expressed regret after allowing similar facilities. "There's other states that let them in and they regret it," Harris said. "Communities are getting sick. [There's ] hearing pollution, air pollution." Harris questioned whether baseline monitoring would even be necessary if impacts were not expected. "If they were legit, why would we even be talking about our health or baseline data?" he said. The discussion comes amid broader national debate over AI-driven data center expansion, which has sparked increasing public backlash due to high energy and water consumption, infrastructure strain, and limited long-term employment benefits. Several projects across the country have been delayed or reconsidered as communities weigh economic development against environmental and quality-of-life concerns. No formal action was taken in Martins Ferry regarding a monitoring plan , but the conversation signals a growing interest in preparing for potential regional development before projects are fully proposed or constructed.

Canton Sets Hearing on Proposed Zoning Changes Addressing Data Centers – WHBC - – It will be a well-attended meeting no doubt. The public hearing on data centers in Canton. It happens Monday July 27 at 7 p.m. in council chambers. City council gave first reading last week to changes in the city’s planning and zoning code, defining large data centers and smaller similar facilities. The changes provide setback requirements, especially from schools, residential areas, hospitals and more. Developers would also be required to run sound checks. The requirements could be finalized on the night of the public hearing.

For 18 months, Alliance won't permit new data center construction - Canton Repository - ‒ No new data centers will be built in Alliance for 18 months after City Council approved a moratorium at its July 6 meeting. The temporary ban − not to exceed 18 months − was approved by a 5-1 vote. Councilmembers will have time to study data center impacts. The legislation denies permits for any "AI data centers" within city limits. Councilman Phillip Mastroianni voted against the legislation. Councilwoman Jennifer Kiko was absent. Mastroianni repeatedly has said he opposes moratoriums, saying they stifle economic growth. The ban comes as Mayor Andy Grove recently revealed that at least one company has interest in bringing a data center to the city. The ban also follows separate legislation council approved in mid-June to restrict future data centers to I-2 industrial zones. The issue of large data centers has become a growing concern for communities across the country, because of the strain they can have on water use, power grids and noise. There also are concerns with tax breaks and long-term effects on neighborhoods. Councilwoman Sheila Cherry pushed for the temporary ban, saying on June 30 that she wanted to make sure residents were protected, to separate facts from rumors and amend the I-2 restrictions to include conditional uses. A new sub-committee on data centers was formed to have future workshops and public discussion, led by Mastroianni and Cherry. The sub-committee will create conditional uses. Cherry said she wants all council members to participate in the research and create the conditions. She said she would support dropping the ban before 18 months if the work is done. But she said she wanted 18 months on the ban because "things come up in this administration and everything doesn't run like clockwork." Cherry said she wants to come back to the public fully educated on the industry and make sure there are no flaws in the city's regulations. "I want to make sure I've done all, everything I could, get all the information I can, so I can stand on my truth., she said.

Massillon officials add amendments to data center zoning proposal -– City Council has agreed to a series of changes to proposed zoning legislation that would allow data centers to operate in the city.By adding new amendments, members are delaying their final vote on new overall zoning rules for such structures by at least two weeks, as legislation reverts back to first reading. The zoning measure was up for third and final reading on July 6. The move also allows council more time to review conditions and limits, and corresponds with a separate but related 60-day extension of a data center stay approved by members in mid-June.City Council is scheduled to meet for a work session July 13 and continue to discuss zoning options for data centers.Massillon's proposed zoning legislation — as amended on July 6 — looks to define smaller-scale data centers as 100,000 square feet or less per parcel, and larger ones as 100,000 square feet or more.Council wants to assign any data center to heavy-industrial (I-2) zoning regions only, mainly because I-2 parcels are farther from residential areas. Light industrial (I-1) zoning was a previous option that has been eliminated.Setbacks from residential districts for large and small data centers will be at least 400 feet, according to the city's zoning proposal. Earlier language included 200 feet setbacks.In addition, developers will be required to prove in their site plan that a data center has adequate water, electric and wastewater capacity available prior to construction, as well as having peak noise and decibel level certifications.Allowing the city's site plan review committee to revisit any utility-related changes that may arise after initial approval or construction of a data center is another zoning addition."The theme here is to provide some post-construction comfort (to residents) should issues arise," said Development Director Ted Herncane, who explained the series of amendments to City Council.Planned data centers have been a concern to many residents of Stark County, as one is underway in Perry Township. Perry Township trustees on March 24 voted 2-1 to approve a 30-year property tax abatement for a planned data center site off Faircrest Street SW, despite opposition by numerous residents. Canton City Council approved the abatement May 18, as it relates to an existing Joint Economic Development District with Perry. Stark County commissioners voted 2-0 to approve the deal on June 10.A data center developer also has eyes on the Massillon Technology and Energy Park ― the former site of Republic Steel ― as a potential location down the road. That area is zoned heavy industrial.

Everyday Americans are fighting to take down data centers - Growing up in Brown County, Ohio, Karley Baurichter learned to appreciate the land her family descended from. Her grandfather, whom she affectionately called “Papaw,” would take her to nearby paylakes and teach her how to catch and clean fish. He’d tell stories of shooting possum and digging for frogs when he didn’t have any other food, his grandfather who played the fiddle and rode the rails, and how the family’s milk and moonshine business allowed them to buy the 100 acres in Brown County Baurichter would spend Christmases and Easters on.That’s the Appalachian landscape that Baurichter, a writer and stay-at-home mother in Higginsport, yearned to return to after a stint in Cincinnati for college. It’s also the environment that large corporations want to take over with the construction of hyperscale data centers that are at the forefront of the artificial intelligence bubble.“These big companies use the same playbook everywhere,” she said. “They assume that rural folk are dumb. They assume that rural folk are not going to resist, and they’re wrong.”Baurichter is a volunteer who manages internal communications for the ConserveOhio campaign, a grassroots effort springing out of rural, southwest Ohio proposing an amendment to the state constitution that would ban the creation of data centers that use more than 25 megawatts of energy per month. For reference, 25 megawatts can power an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 homes. Private-practice attorney Nick Owens and Austin Baurichter, a practicing lawyer and Karley’s husband, began drafting the ConserveOhio petition in March to fight back against local plans to build large-scale data centers across the region.Though they didn’t expect to collect enough signatures to get the proposed amendment on the 2026 ballot, the petition committee has set a new goal of allowing Ohioans to vote on the future of data centers in their state in the November 2027 general election. They’re confident they will make it, with a swath of supporters from across the political spectrum and more than 105,000 signatures from all 88 Ohio counties collected in just three months since the campaign launch.“I firmly believe that the stakes are as high as they just about can get with all this, in terms of the sanctity of the environment, the sanctity of our government, our communities [and] our resources,” Austin Bauricther, who is also a petition committee member, told Salon. “The time to act is right now, and I’m not sure we’re going to have another chance.”“The time to act is right now, and I’m not sure we’re going to have another chance.”Ohio ranks sixth in the country for the highest number of data centers and is on track to become the second-largest data center hub in the Great Lakes region, with 77 more facilities slated for construction by 2030. Of the 224 throughout the state, 140 populate central Ohio, dotting the city center through to the edges of suburban cities like New Albany and Dublin, according to Data Center Map. An investigation from The Columbus Dispatch found that Columbus-area data centers used about 1.2 billion gallons of the city’s water between May 2025 and May 2026, the equivalent of about 21,000 central Ohio households of three to four people in the same span.In rural areas, residents fear the worst. Karley Baurichter said she worries that building hyperscale data centers in Brown and Adams counties will exhaust natural water systems, mislead rural workers into believing data center jobs will bring long-term prosperity, disrupt the ecosystem with noise, light and excess heat, and expose rural communities to greater surveillance. The centers’ likely usage for AI concerns her as an artist, while the companies’ erasure of cultural landmarks in the construction process upsets her as a longtime resident.“The hyperscale site that is proposed in Adams…They’re calling it the Buck Canyon site, but you want to know what that place actually is? Carter’s Holler. People were born and raised in Carter’s Holler, and people have written poems about Carter’s Holler,” Baurichter said, tearing up. “So I’m seeing a depressed area being further squashed because they can’t even get the name right, and I have a sneaking suspicion it might be because they might have to feel something about destroying a place if they get the name right.” ConserveOhio was born out of existing, smaller community efforts in southwest Ohio to track an Amazon data center in Adams County along the Ohio River and unearth plans for the use of 1,000 contiguous acres in Brown County. When county residents went to a Mount Orab Village Council meeting in January to learn about why houses were being torn down for a secret project, the council and mayor told them they couldn’t share details because they had all signed non-disclosure agreements. As Owens, the Baurichters and other petition committee members like realtor Jessica Baker began searching local deeds, filing information requests with the county and researching the company, they learned the land was likely to be used for a hyperscale data center and began raising the alarm in local Facebook groups.

Why Ohioans (and Everyone Else) are Fighting About Data Centers - Great Lakes Now - Video - Around the country, more and more communities are having difficult conversations about whether or not they want to allow data centers in their backyards. In an interview with Zaria Johnson, environment reporter for Ideastream Public Media, we explore how those conversations are playing out in Ohio.

Why should Ohioans pay tech billionaires' energy tab? Tom Bullock - cleveland.com  - Ohio keeps picking up the tab, and now it’s for data centers used by tech billionaires.  The latest example: The Ohio legislature rushed off to its summer break without passing House Bill 646 to create a separate energy rate class for data centers and shield everyday Ohioans from footing the electricity bill of some of the wealthiest corporations in the world. Ohioans were left holding the bag again.  Disappointing? Absolutely. Surprising? Not even a little.

How AI Data Centers Lost the PR War; Dems Swear Off Using AI -Marcellus Drilling News -  A rare bipartisan backlash against AI data centers has emerged, with more than 70 state and local governments passing restrictions or moratoriums due to concerns about water use, electricity consumption, noise, and utility rate hikes. Critics span the political spectrum, from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to conservatives like Pennsylvania State Treasurer (and Republican candidate for Governor) Stacy Garrity. Public relations experts blame the industry’s failure to build trust, communicate transparently, and engage communities early, comparing tech companies’ top-down approach to the tobacco industry’s playbook. The consequences are mounting: 25 data center projects were canceled in 2025 — quadruple 2024’s total — while roughly 99 of 770 planned projects face local opposition. Pennsylvania is at risk of forfeiting some $92 billion in private investments (see Pittsburgh Energy Event Truly Mind-Blowing, $92B+ Investments for PA).

Ohio Regulator Criticizes PJM Data Center Plan - Ohio's top utility regulator is arguing PJM Interconnection's plan to grapple with surging energy demand, fueled largely by data centers, doesn't go far enough. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chair Jenifer French outlined that view in a letter as the regional transmission organization navigates an expedited rulemaking effort to connect data centers to the grid without causing resource shortages. Current proposals in the mix would establish a reliability backstop procurement plan to plug an expected energy shortfall and see PJM partnering with state-led programs to manage the grid during times of stress. French, in a letter to the PJM Board of Managers, voiced support for utilizing PJM's critical issue fast path process "in response to unprecedented regional load growth." But relying on states to do the heavy lifting in allocating curtailment risk to retail customers through voluntary programs, she argued, could create a patchwork of programs across the 13-state territory and remains "insufficient to meet the moment." "A robust regional response is necessary to ensure that large loads can quickly and reliably interconnect to the grid, set a framework to appropriately allocate costs and curtailment risks to the entities who caused them, and preserve affordability for those who did not," she wrote. She encouraged PJM to reconsider its earlier proposal for a PJM-managed effort, creating a uniform approach across the organization's footprint. “Importantly, this structure also serves to incent each [new large load] to bring its own capacity to avoid curtailment, a mechanism vital to address the resource adequacy needs of the region,” French wrote. “PJM should not shy away from this endeavor and should partner with states on necessary reforms.” French asked the board to consider whether the proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement auction accounts for “restructured states” such as Ohio that bar utilities from owning or planning generation resources to meet load. “The market must deliver sufficient generation resources, and the RBP must be paired with strong incentives for [new large loads] to bring new capacity,” she wrote. Other entities have also provided feedback on PJM's proposal, including the Data Center Coalition and the Virginia State Corporation Commission. DCC President and CEO Josh Levi and VSCC Chair Kelsey Bagot jointly wrote that they plan to develop model retail tariff structures to protect existing customers when new large loads connect to the grid and establish load reduction programs. “By targeting reductions from large commercial and industrial customers before implementing widespread feeder-level outages, this approach can significantly reduce the likelihood that residential customers are interrupted during the most severe reliability emergencies,” they wrote.

What's the state of data center legislation in Ohio? | OSU Extension -- The Ohio State University -- We’ve talked about data centers extensively over the past few months.  We’ve shared numerous blog posts, and data centers were our topic for our last Farm Office Live Ag Law & Policy Roundtable.  If you missed that discussion, it is available to watch here.  When we hosted that discussion, the Ohio House was signaling that it might come back to consider House Bill 646, which appears to be main vehicle for data center legislation. That did not come to pass, and now both chambers of the General Assembly are on recess until November. How would the current version of H.B. 646 address data centers?  H.B. 646, available here in its current form, has gone through many changes since it was first introduced in January by Representatives Click (R-Vickery) and Deeter (R-Norwalk).  Its first iteration, which we discussed here, would have created a Data Center Commission with 13 appointed members. The Commission would have been tasked with looking at the impacts of data centers and submitting its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly. However, that version of the bill was scrapped in May when the Select Committee on Data Centers, with members from both chambers, was created. After the Committee held hearings in May and June, a new version of H.B. 646 was introduced. The current version of H.B. 646 would place restrictions on data centers built and operated in Ohio.   One of the main focuses of the bill is electric use by data centers. It requires any data centers with a monthly maximum electricity demand of 250 megawatts or greater to supply its electricity using sources that offset its consumption from the electrical grid. Furthermore, it requires all direct costs for retail electric services be paid by the data center operators and prohibits other Ohio customers from paying for these costs. Further, the bill would create a separate electric rate class for data centers. The amount of water used and discharged by data centers is often cited among those worried about the environmental impacts of the tech hubs. H.B. 646 would require data center owners or utilities that solely supply power to data centers to measure and report the data center’s consumptive use of water. The bill also requires data centers to implement best industry practices for water conservation and water-use efficiency in the design, construction, and operation of the facility. Data centers would also have to report their water usage annually to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and their water quality measurements quarterly to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). ODNR and OEPA, in turn, would be required to file an annual report on data center water usage and quality to the legislature. H.B. 646 contains language that would make nondisclosure agreements subject to public records requests. Thus, it would allow citizens to look up nondisclosure agreements made between data centers and individuals, local governments, etc. Finally, the most recent version of H.B. 646 would address tax breaks for data centers.  The bill limits property tax exemptions for data centers in certain situations, and requires local governments granting property tax exemptions to obtain a security in the form of a surety bond or cash, certificates of deposit, or government securities from data center developers. The bill also excludes data centers from qualifying for megaproject tax incentives. Most notably, the bill would also limit sales tax breaks for data centers. Governor DeWine did pause the 100% sales tax break for data centers in May, and H.B. 646 would change it to 50%.  This 50% sales tax break appears to be one of the reasons that the General Assembly did not pass H.B. 646 before the legislative recess. Reportedly, some lawmakers wanted the tax break eliminated altogether. As a result, the bill remains in the Senate Energy Committee until lawmakers return to Columbus in November. We will have to wait until then to see if there are any changes made to the bill, including the 50% sales tax break. Other data center bills:

• H.B. 646 was fast tracked by the legislature and seems as though it is the data center legislation most poised to pass when they return in November. With that being said, there are several other bills addressing data centers that we have been following. It appears some ideas from these bills have found their way into the newest version of H.B. 646. It’s possible additional pieces of these bills could be incorporated into H.B. 646 when the General Assembly returns, or that they could pass on their own.
• House Bill 695—While this bill, sponsored by Representatives Bird (R-New Richmond) Stewart (R-Ashville) does not address data centers directly, it does target local elected officials who could have knowledge of such developments. The bill would prohibit county commissioners, township trustees, and village mayors and council members from knowingly entering into nondisclosure agreements that prohibit “disclosing, discussing, describing, or commenting on” matters related to official duties, a repeated complaint of citizens. Note that H.B. 646 would address nondisclosure agreements regarding data centers in a different way—by making them subject to public records requests. H.B. 695 had its third hearing in the House Local Government Committee on June 3.
• House Bill 706—H.B. 706, sponsored by Representatives Rader (D-Lakewood) and Thomas (R-Jefferson) focuses on the infrastructure impacts of data centers. The bill aims to “ensure costs of new infrastructure and grid upgrades needed to serve these facilities are not shifted onto existing Ohio ratepayers.”   The bill would require long-term service agreements of at least 12 years with electric utilities for data center customers, require the Public Utilities Commission to create standards for interconnection practices, load study deposits, and milestone requirements. It would also prohibit utilities from recovering data center costs from other customer classes, set minimum billing standards, and require financial assurance prior to facility construction. H.B. 706 had its third hearing in House Energy on June 3.
• House Bill 784—Sponsored by Representatives Cockley (D-Columbus) and Lett (D-Columbus), H.B. 784 would require any data center that withdraws from waters of the state to submit monthly and annual data center water consumption reports to the Division of Water Resources.  The bill also contains non-disclosure prohibitions similar to H.B. 695. H.B. 784 was referred to the House Energy Committee in March.
• Senate Bill 381—Introduced by Senator Weinstein (D-Hudson), S.B. 381 would require interconnection approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio prior to connecting a data center with a monthly maximum demand of more than 25,000 kilowatt hours. The bill was referred to the Senate Public Utilities Commission in March.

We will continue to closely monitor data center legislation in Ohio when the General Assembly returns this fall!

28 New Shale Well Permits Reported for PA-OH-WV Jun 29 – Jul 5 --  Marcellus Drilling News -   The Marcellus/Utica region received 28 new drilling permits last week, June 29 – July 5, down 3 from two weeks ago. Last week, Pennsylvania issued 18 new permits. Ohio issued 4 new permits. And, West Virginia issued 6 new permits. The drillers who received new permits included: Antero Resources (6), CNX Resources (10), EOG Resources (4), EQT (1), Expand Energy (3), and Range Resources (4). Bradford County | Greene County (PA) |  Tuscarawas County | Tyler County | Washington County |  Westmoreland County

EQT Sets New U.S. Onshore Record for Deepest & Longest Shale Well -Marcellus Drilling News -  EQT Corporation, the largest driller in the Marcellus/Utica (based on M-U production), recently achieved two records with the same Marcellus well. EQT drilled not only the "deepest" shale well in the continental U.S. (by "measured depth"), but also the longest horizontal shale well (by lateral length). EQT's Longwell 9H well, located in Wetzel County, West Virginia (near the Pennsylvania border), eclipses a record set by Expand Energy in 2025 in Marshall County, WV.

EQT drills longest lateral well in continental U.S. near Pennsylvania border - EQT Corporation completed the Longwell 9H in Wetzel County, West Virginia (near the Pennsylvania border), setting two continental U.S. records. It reached a total measured depth of 37,610 feet (7.1 miles) and boasts a record lateral length of 29,070 feet (5.5 miles). [1, 2, 3]  The massive feat eclipsed a previous onshore record set in 2025 by Expand Energy in neighboring Marshall County, WV. According to EQT Corporation's Instagram Post, drilling the Longwell 9H required immense precision—the lateral path was completely within the target zone, and the operation utilized a wide range of partners including Halliburton, Patterson-UTI, and Scientific Drilling. [1, 2] Because longer laterals enable producers to tap into larger gas inventories with fewer surface well pads, EQT's CEO Toby Z. Rice has heavily championed "super laterals" as a tool to unlock America's energy potential and improve well economics. [1, 2, 3, 4]  The natural gas producer completed the well June 12 after months of planning and modeling.

EOG Resources' Future Well Inventory Is 16 Years Onshore US - Hart Energy - EOG Resources has at least 27,000 miles of horizontal wells left to drill in its U.S. shale leasehold, according to findings in a Novi Labs analysis. EOG Resources' production in its U.S. shale leasehold ranks third behind ConocoPhillips and Devon Energy.

DOE Sec. Wright Says Constitution Pipeline Project a “No-Brainer” -  Marcellus Drilling News - The Trump administration and its officials continue to aggressively push the Williams 125-mile Constitution Pipeline project, which would stretch from the prolific shale gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA, into and through New York State, to Schoharie County, NY, to move Marcellus gas into New York State and New England. In June, Trump EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited Binghamton to advocate for reviving the long-stalled project (see EPA Admin. Zeldin Stops in Binghamton to Push for Constitution Pipe). Last Thursday morning (July 2nd), Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright appeared on the Fox Business program Mornings with Maria (Bartiromo) to discuss the current state of energy here at home and around the world (including the Iran war). It was a question that Bartiromo posed to Wright near the end of the interview that piqued our interest.

No Pipeline? No Problem! Trucked CNG Can Feed New Data Centers -  Marcellus Drilling News -- We spotted a press release from Hexagon Agility that the company has secured its largest-ever single order for “Mobile Pipeline” modules from Certarus, valued at about $100 million, with an option for up to $25 million more by 2028. It triggered a “connect the dots” moment for us. Mobile pipelines are another term for virtual pipelines, which is a euphemism for trucking natural gas via CNG (mostly) and sometimes LNG. The Hexagon press release indicates strong new demand for such technology in the AI data center market. No pipeline? No problem! Just truck it in via a virtual pipe instead.

U.S. Propane Inventories Post Rare Early-July Draw | RBN Energy -Total U.S. propane/propylene inventories posted a counter-seasonal draw of 845 Mbbl during the week ended July 3 (red bar in Figure 1), about 3 MMbbl below industry expectations and 2.6 MMbbl below the average build of 1.7 MMbbl for the reporting week (green bar). It was the largest draw for the same reporting week since 2019. Total U.S. inventories are now at 90.5 MMbbl (red line in Figure 2), leaving stocks 12.1 MMbbl, or 15%, above the same week in 2025 (blue line), 19.3 MMbbl, or 27%, above the five-year average (green dashed line), and 6.7 MMbbl, or 8%, above the previous five-year maximum. The counter-seasonal draw in total U.S. propane/propylene inventories was driven by PADD 3 (Gulf Coast), where inventories posted a draw of 1.9 MMbbl during the week ended July 3, marking the largest draw for the same reporting week since our record-keeping began in 2011. Total PADD 3 inventories are now at 56.9 MMbbl (red line in Figure 3), leaving stocks 8.8 MMbbl, or 18%, above the same week in 2025 (blue line), 5.1 MMbbl, or 10%, above the previous five-year maximum, and 15.9 MMbbl, or 39%, above the five-year average (green line). The draw coincided with U.S. propane exports averaging 2.6 MMb/d, just shy of the record set in May. The combination of the largest draw for the same reporting week in PADD 3 and near-record export volumes highlights the strength of Gulf Coast propane demand.

CBF Supports Antis in Lawsuit to Block Dominion Va. Peaker Plants -Marcellus Drilling News -  Over the years, we have chronicled the far-left Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) lawfare against fracking, gas-fired power plants, and pipelines (see our stories here). So it comes as no surprise that CBF is once again attacking a gas-related project in Virginia, Dominion Energy’s $1.47 billion natural gas plant in Chesterfield County. In February, the far-left Southern Environmental Law Center, representing three radical nonprofits, appealed the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) approval of the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (see Radical Groups File Lawsuit to Block Dominion Va. Peaker Plants). CBF has just filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the SCC’s lawfare against the project

Supreme Court Rules President Can Remove Commissioners, Like FERC -  Marcellus Drilling News - – Over the past two weeks, just prior to heading out on summer vacation, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a number of extremely important decisions. One of them was Slaughter v. Trump, a 6-3 decision in which the Supremes overturned the 91-year-old Humphrey’s Executor precedent, granting the president broad authority to remove members of independent federal agencies for any reason. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the president must have trusted subordinates to ensure accountability, though the Court exempted the Federal Reserve to preserve its independence. This ruling permanently solidifies President Trump’s earlier removals of Democratic appointees, significantly expanding executive control over critical regulatory bodies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Trade Commission, and most importantly for MDN readers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

U.S. LNG Feedgas Continues to Soar | RBN Energy -  U.S. LNG feedgas demand rose last week as Golden Pass LNG restarted following a brief shutdown. Feedgas demand averaged nearly 18.9 Bcf/d last week, up 0.2 Bcf/d week-on-week with most terminals at full operations. All Gulf Coast terminals are operating at or above full contracted level, while Cove Point and Elba Island are both just below full operations, according to our LNG Voyager Weekly report. After briefly shutting down the week prior, Golden Pass restarted last week, and feedgas demand at the terminal was around or above 0.5 Bcf/d for most of the week, about 0.1 Bcf/d higher than the average intake before the shutdown.  At full operations, Train 1 will require around 0.8 Bcf/d of feedgas, so the terminal’s intake will continue to increase. Early commissioning work has also begun at Train 2 but it is not yet taking feedgas. ExxonMobil has said that it expects Train 2 to be mechanically complete by the end of the year and then begin producing LNG next year.

US LNG Feedgas Stabilizes After Sabine Pass-Led Pullback - A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers.  North America LNG Export Flow Tracker showing July 8, 2026 feed gas deliveries, LNG terminal utilization rates and daily export volumes across US facilities.

• 18.2 Bcf/d: US LNG feedgas demand pulled out of a downward spiral Wednesday despite ongoing maintenance at Sabine Pass. Nominations landed at 18.2 Bcf/d, according to NGI's Entropic Analytics data. Nominations recovered from a Tuesday dip but held slightly below the seven-day average of 18.6 Bcf/d, weighed down by two days of compressor maintenance at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. Nominations to the facility were cut to 3.9 Bcf/d Tuesday, the lowest since at least early May. Elsewhere, Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG continued to run essentially full at about 3.9 Bcf/d, and Freeport climbed to a summer high of 1.7 Bcf/d.
• 2.21 Mt: Weekly US LNG exports fell in the week ended July 5 to around 2.21 Mt, according to Kpler data, retreating about 19% from the prior week's 2.73 Mt. The weekly results followed a choppy June, with terminals sending out 2.22 Mt in the week of June 15 and 2.61 Mt in the week of June 8. The latest total was roughly 12% below the prior three-week average, cooling from what had been the strongest week/week pace since late February. US exports were about 4% higher than the same week in 2025. Asia led all destinations during the week at 0.86 Mt, ahead of Europe's roughly 0.72 Mt.
• 0.49 Mt: While overall US LNG shipments continued to flag, power demand and winter storage refilling in South America and the Caribbean is offering demand support. Shipments to Latin America climbed to 0.49 Mt the week ended July 5, marking the highest weekly total for the region in at least two years. Brazil, Colombia and the Dominican Republic each took a full cargo from US terminals during the week, while Puerto Rico received a partial cargo and another 0.15 Mt from vessels without a confirmed origin, according to Kpler data. The cargoes capped a busier June for intra-Americas trade that also saw US deliveries to Argentina and Chile early in the month.
• $15.608/MMBtu: French nuclear outages tied to the Central European heat wave are adding another layer of support for European LNG demand, as weaker reactor availability, a worsening Nordic hydroelectricity balance and lower wind output raise risks on the grid, according to European trading firm Mind Energy. Prompt Title Transfer Facility futures also strengthened through the period, rising to $15.608/MMBtu Tuesday from $14.569 on June 30 after a brief dip on July 1. The broader heat-driven support for European natural gas prices comes as storage lags behind year-earlier levels and continued aggression in the Middle East this week threatens further price spikes.

Freeport LNG Feedgas Eases Ahead of Major Maintenance --Freeport LNG plans to kick off a major maintenance turnaround at its Texas export facility on Friday, contributing to a further downturn in US feedgas demand until late August. This Entropic Analytics chart shows Freeport LNG feedgas deliveries by pipeline from May to July 2026, with total feedgas recovering to nearly 2.0 Bcf/d. At a Glance:
Maintenance seen finished by late August
Interstate deliveries fell to 1.6 Bcf/d
National feedgas averaging 18.5 Bcf/d

EIA Sees Record Power Burn, Soaring LNG and yet Lower Natural Gas Prices in 2027  The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has upwardly revised its natural gas price forecast for this year, though it still expects a downward trajectory in 2027 as ample production outweighs rising demand. Chart compares US natural gas prices, including Henry Hub bidweek prices, residential prices and forward forecasts through 2027 using NGI and EIA data. At a Glance:
EIA raises 2026 Henry Hub forecast
Inventories seen ending October at 3.97 Tcf
Production growth weighing on price forecast

AccuWeather Trims Storm Outlook, but Market Focus Remains on Fundamentals  - AccuWeather slightly lowered its 2026 Atlantic hurricane forecast as strengthening El Niño conditions continue to favor a quieter-than-normal season, but the private forecaster maintained its outlook for direct US impacts, suggesting the risk to Gulf Coast natural gas and LNG infrastructure remains largely unchanged. Chart comparing average Atlantic named storms and hurricanes during El Niño, neutral and La Niña ENSO phases, showing higher tropical cyclone activity during La Niña. At a Glance:
Storm outlook trimmed
US impact unchanged
Forward curve steady

IGU Warns Structurally Pricier Henry Hub Could Test Next Wave of US LNG - The economic landscape for the next wave of US LNG export projects could be increasingly competitive as developers face more expensive Henry Hub natural gas prices, according to the International Gas Union’s (IGU) latest report.NGI chart shows Henry Hub forward natural gas prices through July 2030, with seasonal winter peaks above $4.50/MMBtu and summer lows near $3.00/MMBtu. At a Glance:
US holds 34.8% of pre-FID capacity
$5 Henry Hub implies $10-plus Asia spot
January 2029 marks curve-wide high at $4.746

Why Super El Niño is a ‘Very Big Deal’ for Natural Gas Traders - A historically potent and long-lasting El Niño event is looking increasingly likely over the coming months, with potentially major implications for natural gas demand and prices. NOAA ENSO outlook shows rising odds of moderate to very strong El Niño conditions through winter 2026-2027. At a Glance:

• Super El Niño Odds at 63%
• Phenomenon seen strengthening into winter
• Pattern favors quieter hurricane season

El Niño occurs when equatorial sea surface temperatures (SST) exceed the historical average by at least 0.5 degrees Celsius, while a very strong or “super” El Niño entails a 2 degree Celsius difference.The phenomenon is associated with mild winters in the Lower 48’s coldest climes, which can mean substantially less consumption of natural gas for space heating. In its latest monthly El Niño-Southern Oscillation update published Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said that, “Since mid-April 2026, above-average equatorial SSTs have gradually increased across the central to eastern Pacific Ocean.” El Niño conditions “are expected to strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27,” forecasters explained. They added that, “There is a 63% chance of a very strong El Niño during November-January that would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950.”So what does it all mean for the natural gas market?“Very strong El Niño usually points to a wetter, cooler South and a warm and dryer North with fewer Atlantic hurricanes,” said NGI Senior Vice President of Business Development and Client Support David Dutch. “This at a macro level paints a bearish tenor on the winter since it is cold and wet in the wrong places. The October/January NYMEX spread is where a lot of traders will be expressing this trade through summer as we see how things develop.” Dutch spent 24 years as a natural gas trader based in Houston. During strong El Niño years, he explained that, “as I was not a Henry Hub futures trader but more of a regional trader, I always asked, ‘Does this help or hurt my trade?’ For example, if I was very long the upcoming winter with a long SoCal basis position, this could be a bit supportive for me as it gives SoCal a better chance at a colder winter.” For Henry Hub futures and options traders, Dutch said that a strong El Niño “is a very big deal, and if they are already bearish this is highly supportive for them … for those Henry Hub futures traders with a long bias, this will make them reevaluate their position sizes.” Polar vortex disruptions such as Winter Storms Fern, Enzo and Uri have been the defining feature of recent North American winters, causing production freeze-offs and massive inventory draws, leading to skyrocketing natural gas prices in both the cash and futures markets.While major cold snaps can still occur during strong El Niño years, they tend to be less severe and occur earlier in the season, according to DTN Long-Range Meteorologist Stephen Strum. “Generally, polar vortex disruptions are much less frequent during strong El Niño patterns,” Strum told NGI. “The greatly enhanced Pacific flow tends to limit the development of significant pools of Arctic air across central and southern Canada, which means extreme cold is usually less frequent across the Lower 48 during these winters.”He added, “The best chance for significant cold anomalies across the Lower 48 during a strong El Niño is often from late October into early December, before the traditional strong El Niño flow pattern fully settles in. Several stronger El Niño winters have produced cold outbreaks during that early-season period, while the remainder of the winter usually averages warmer than normal across much of the country.”In the nearer term, Strum said that, “El Niño favors a quieter overall Atlantic hurricane season this year. But that does not mean we cannot still see a highly impactful storm; it simply means the overall risk is lower because there are likely to be fewer storms than in recent years.”He noted that, “It only takes one major storm hitting a vulnerable section of coastline to make a season memorable. The classic example is 1992, when only six named storms developed, but one of them was Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, which struck South Florida and later Louisiana.”National Weather Service forecasters predicted a below-normal hurricane season this year in the Atlantic Basin, due in large measure to expectations for a strengthening El Niño pattern.

Permian Gas Production Holds Steady Despite More Takeaway | RBN Energy --In the latest edition of the NATGAS Permian report, the Permian supply forecast and near-term historical revisions incorporate the latest available data from Novi Labs. The updated forecast combines Novi Labs' AI-driven energy intelligence and upstream analytics with RBN's assessment of current market conditions and planned pipeline buildout. Last week, Permian production ranged from 21.9 Bcf/d to 22.3 Bcf/d, averaging 22.1 Bcf/d, which is down slightly from the week prior. With the Gulf Coast Express expansion now online, the basin has some breathing room which has allowed prices in the basin to rebound above zero. So far, despite the new takeaway capacity online, production has been relatively flat, as shown in the orange line in the graph below. However, the rig count is up by 15 since the end of March indicating production growth is coming.  Outflows from the Permian were slightly higher last week, driven by higher outflows to the East. Outflows to the East averaged 13.3 Bcf/d, up 0.2 Bcf/d week-on-week. Reported flows on Gulf Coast Express were up last week, particularly deliveries to Tennessee Gas Pipeline in the Agua Dulce area, which was one of the new points that was placed into service with the expansion on June 9. Outflows on the other greenfield pipelines to the East are strong as well, although reported flows on Whistler, which also goes to Agua Dulce, have been down slightly since the Gulf Coast Express expansion came online.

Power outage at Marathon refinery in Detroit prompts controlled gas burning -   Officials are monitoring air quality in and around the Marathon refinery in Detroit after a power outage at the site resulted in a controlled burning of gases, the energy company said Sunday.Marathon said on its website, "Due to a power outage the operating conditions at Marathon's Detroit refinery have made flaring necessary."Flares, according to the company, are safety devices that allow for the safe combustion of extra gases under certain conditions. Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a written statement that visible smoke from the flaring had residents concerned.The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and refinery personnel are monitoring air quality both at the site and in surrounding neighborhoods, according to Sheffield. She added that, as of Sunday night, monitoring "has not detected gas readings of concern."Officials in Melvindale, a city near the refinery, said in a social media post Sunday afternoon that the state agency had identified "a very light sulfur reading," but that there was "nothing to be alarmed about."Schaefer Road between Interstate 75 and Dix Road is closed as a precaution, Sheffield said.Marathon's Detroit refinery, located on the city's southwest side, processes crude oils into gasoline, distillates, asphalt, natural gas liquids and petrochemicals, propane and heavy fuel oil, according to the company.

WTI Crude-to-Gas Ratio Moves Closer to Year-Ago Levels | RBN Energy -  The WTI crude-to-gas ratio for July 2026 to date — shown by the green bar in the chart below — has declined to 21.40, down from 25.39 in June. July crude is averaging $68.65/bbl, while Henry Hub gas is averaging $3.21/MMBtu. By comparison, the ratio stood at 20.30 in July 2025 — shown by the red bar — when crude averaged $67.17/bbl and gas averaged $3.32/MMBtu. After reaching a peak of 36.61 in April 2026, the ratio has declined for three consecutive months and is now just 5% above year-ago levels.

Jambalaya on the Bayou – More on Louisiana Refineries and How They Get Their Crude Oil | RBN Energy  -Louisiana refineries don’t pipe in all the crude oil they need from the Houston and Nederland, TX, areas or the U.S. Gulf, or ship it in from abroad. Some in northwestern Louisiana (and nearby southern Arkansas) depend on crude piped in from Longview, TX, and others get at least some of their oil from Capline, a large-diameter pipe that moves both heavy and light crude south from the hub in Patoka, IL. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our series on Louisiana’s refineries and the sourcing and delivery of their crude, this time focusing on the pipelines that move crude in from Longview and Patoka — and out from St. James, LA. In Part 1, we said the 14 refineries in Louisiana and two just over the state line in Southern Arkansas account for almost one-fifth of total U.S. refining capacity and can consume more than 3 MMb/d of crude oil from a wide range of domestic and foreign production areas. We also noted that the sourcing of that crude has been shifting over the past few years, with the pace picking up as more U.S. Gulf production flows to Texas (and less flows to the Bayou State), new pipeline projects increase eastbound and southbound flows into Louisiana, and refineries modify their crude slates to optimize their economics. Today, we turn our attention to Louisiana and Southern Arkansas’s other major crude oil pipelines, namely those that move oil from Longview (TX) and Illinois (Capline), as well as pipes that shuttle oil out of the St. James hub — the all-important terminus of the Bayou Bridge, Capline, LOCAP and Zydeco pipelines. (The Bonefish Pipeline, too.) We’ll start with the pipelines that transport crude from the Longview hub to several of the green-highlighted refineries in Northwestern Louisiana and Southern Arkansas. According to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) released this morning, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) recorded its 13th consecutive weekly draw for the week ended June 19, reducing stocks to levels not seen since 1983. First up is the Caddo Pipeline, an 80-mile, 12-inch-diameter conduit (dark-purple line in Figure 2 below) owned by a joint venture of Plains All American and Delek Logistics Partners that transports up to 80 Mb/d from Plains’ Atlas Terminal in Longview to Finney, LA (southeast of Shreveport). Caddo receives its crude from Plains’ Red River Pipeline (light-green line), a 350-mile, 16-inch-diameter pipe that can move up to 235 Mb/d from the crude oil hub in Cushing, OK, to the Atlas Terminal.The Caddo Pipeline supplies Calumet Specialties’ 35-Mb/d refinery in Shreveport. The pipe also hands off oil to Delek Logistics’ Magnolia Pipeline (pink line), which in turn flows into Delek Logistics’ El Dorado Pipeline (light-purple line), the “last-mile” pipe to Delek US’s 83-Mb/d El Dorado refinery in Southern Arkansas. Those flows are supplemented by Delek Logistics’ SALA crude oil gathering system (not shown), which moves locally produced oil to El Dorado. (Delek Logistics is a master limited partnership formed by Delek US in 2012 to own and operate its midstream assets.)  Another major pipeline flowing into Northwestern Louisiana from Longview is Energy Transfer’s Mid-Valley Pipeline (red line), which runs about 1,000 miles from the company’s Longview Terminal all the way up to Samaria, MI. The pipe’s capacity in the first portion of that run is 250 Mb/d. Mid-Valley can supply Calumet’s Shreveport refinery as well as Delek US’s El Dorado facility, the latter via the Magnolia and El Dorado pipelines we just mentioned.And then there’s Energy Transfer and ExxonMobil’s Permian Longview and Louisiana Extension, a pipeline better known as PELA (for Permian Louisiana; dark-yellow line). PELA, with a capacity of 120 Mb/d, runs about 750 miles from the Permian’s Midland Basin in Midland, TX, to Anchorage, LA (near Baton Rouge), passing through Energy Transfer’s Longview Terminal (aka Texoma Terminal) and the Shreveport area along the way. (The Longview-to-Anchorage section is a reversal of part of ExxonMobil’s old North Line, which used to flow northwest.) The Longview terminal also is connected to Energy Transfer’s West Texas Gulf (blue line) and Permian Express (dark-orange line) pipelines. PELA can deliver crude to Shreveport-area refineries as well as Delek’s El Dorado refinery (via the Magnolia and El Dorado pipelines) and Exxon’s 546-Mb/d refinery in Baton Rouge. One last thing to emphasize about crude oil deliveries to refineries in Northwestern Louisiana and Southern Arkansas — at least for now (we’ll discuss the facilities in greater detail in upcoming blogs): As we said earlier, these refineries also receive crude by rail and by truck (from local production).The next pipeline on our list is Capline (dark-blue line in Figure 3 below), a different animal if there ever was one. As we have chronicled in our blogs over the years, Capline — co-owned by Plains (~54%), Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC; ~33%) and BP (~13%) — is a 632-mile, 40-inch pipeline that for most of its first 50 years of operation (1968 to 2018) had the capacity to transport up to 1.2 MMb/d of imported crude and offshore Gulf production north from St. James to the oil hub in Patoka; from there, the oil was piped to a long list of Midwest refineries. Capline’s capacity was highly utilized for decades. But as we first discussed in Draggin' the Capline and later in Livin’ on the Edge, by the early 2010s the Midwest refineries connected to the Patoka hub had gained access to increasing volumes of crude from Western Canada and the Bakken. As a result, they simply didn’t need Capline’s northbound flows as much as they used to, and volumes on the pipe slowed to less than half and then less than a third of its capacity. Ultimately, the pipeline’s owners shut it down and soon thereafter undertook a project to enable southbound flows on Capline from Patoka to St. James. Those flows started in 2021.

U.S. Crude Fundamentals Show Early Signs of Rebalancing | RBN Energy - The EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) for the week ended July 3 pointed to a notable softening in U.S. crude market fundamentals, marking a shift away from the news-driven market tightness that characterized recent weeks during the Iran conflict. Commercial crude inventories posted their first build in 11 weeks, supported by lower refinery utilization, stronger crude imports, and weaker exports. As discussed in this week's Crude Oil Billboard, coupled with a decline in exports to 3.3 MMb/d (far right of chart below), net imports rose 1.1 MMb/d to 2.4 MMb/d, the highest number since the end of March. At the same time, the flattening WTI forward curve and deteriorating Gulf Coast export economics signaled easing prompt market tightness.  Over the past several months, bullish sentiment and elevated volatility have been driven primarily by headlines surrounding the Iran conflict rather than underlying supply-and-demand fundamentals. While that headline-driven premium faded over the past two weeks as geopolitical tensions eased, this week's EIA data suggests the market's focus may be shifting back toward fundamentals, with softer U.S. crude balances pointing to easing prompt tightness.

The Long Run – How the U.S. Upstream Operations of the Integrated Majors Compare with Independent E&Ps | RBN Energy  - For decades, the major integrated oil companies have been judged by their global scale, diversified business models and shareholder returns. Yet one question is rarely asked: How competitive are their U.S. upstream businesses when measured against independent E&Ps? In today’s RBN blog, we provide answers that may surprise many investors. We began our analysis by isolating the U.S. upstream operations of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell to examine where these assets fit within each company’s global portfolio. ExxonMobil and Chevron are the two largest U.S. producers with 2025 output of 2 MMboe/d and 1.87 MMboe/d, respectively, outpacing independents Occidental Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and EOG Resources. BP’s 2025 output was 824 Mboe/d, approximately equal to Devon Energy (before this year’s merger with Coterra), while Shell has by far the lowest U.S. footprint at 378 Mboe/d. We then compared capital spending, reserves and operating focus before benchmarking each company's U.S. upstream performance against comparable independent E&P peer groups using standardized three-year operating and financial metrics. The analysis highlights not only where the majors are investing, but also whether those investments are generating competitive upstream returns. Figure 1 below shows the relative size of the four majors’ U.S. oil and gas reserves (blue bars and left axis) and production (orange line and right axis) that are the subject of this blog.  ExxonMobil has built the industry’s largest and most diversified U.S. upstream portfolio, anchored by a dominant position in the Permian Basin and supported by a legacy natural gas business. As of  December 31, 2025, ExxonMobil reported $299.4 billion of net fixed assets worldwide, of which $219 billion (73%) was invested in upstream operations. The U.S. accounted for 63% of those upstream assets, representing approximately 46% of the company’s total fixed asset base. During 2025, U.S. properties also represented 38% (7.4 billion boe) of ExxonMobil’s global proved reserves (blue slice in right chart in Figure 2 below). ExxonMobil invested $24.9 billion in organic upstream capital worldwide, with the U.S. accounting for $12.5 billion, or 50% of total upstream investment (blue slice in left chart). This is approximately equal to the exploration-and-development capex of ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources combined.  ExxonMobil’s $59.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources in May 2024 (see Take Me to the Top) transformed the company into the dominant producer in the Permian Basin. Its extensive acreage across the Midland and Delaware basins (see Figure 3 below) provides a deep inventory of high-return drilling opportunities supported by manufacturing-style development, integrated infrastructure and advanced operating technologies. The company’s aggressive spending supports its goal of increasing Permian output to 2.5 MMboe/d by 2030, up from ~1.7 MMboe/d in Q1 2026. Chevron has focused on assembling one of the highest-quality asset bases in North America. Although both it and ExxonMobil are anchored by the Permian Basin and the offshore Gulf, Chevron's strategy places greater emphasis on the upstream through its capital allocation and portfolio optimization.The core of Chevron’s highest-quality U.S. onshore upstream portfolio includes the legacy assets stemming from the 2001 merger of Chevron and Texaco, especially its premier Permian position. The company also has a long-life deepwater Gulf business and a diverse set of additional assets acquired through recent purchases of Hess Corp. and PDC Corp. As of December 31, 2025, Chevron reported $217.9 billion of net fixed assets, with $205.2 billion (94%) invested in upstream operations. The U.S. accounted for $72.4 billion, or 35%, of global upstream investment, while Guyana — following the Hess acquisition (see Surprise, Surprise) — represented the only region approaching the investment scale of Chevron’s U.S. asset base (26%). About 54% of 2025 organic upstream capital spending, or approximately $9 billion, was directed to the U.S. (dark-blue slice in left chart in Figure 4 below) compared with 17% for Guyana (light-blue slice). That level of investment was a third below ExxonMobil but significantly higher than the major U.S. E&Ps. U.S. properties also accounted for 44% of Chevron's global oil and gas reserves (dark-blue slice in right chart). In stark contrast to the Permian focus of ExxonMobil and Chevron, BP has concentrated its U.S. upstream portfolio on LNG-leveraged natural gas assets balanced with significant deepwater U.S. Gulf projects. As of December 31, 2025, BP reported just under $100 billion of net fixed assets globally, with approximately 60% invested in upstream operations. The U.S. represented 54% of BP’s upstream asset base and 43% of global oil and gas reserves (orange slice in right chart in Figure 6 below), making it the company’s most important upstream region. About 51% of BP’s $9.8 billion of 2025 organic upstream capital spending, or $4.9 billion, was spent in the U.S. (orange slice in left chart), approximately the same level of investment by Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources. Unlike the other majors, Shell has concentrated its U.S. upstream business almost exclusively in the deepwater Gulf, divesting its onshore shale assets in transactions, highlighted by the $9.5 billion sale of its Permian properties to ConocoPhillips in 2021. That strategic focus gives Shell a distinctly different investment profile — and ultimately leads to a different set of operating and financial outcomes. As of December 31, 2025, Shell reported $185.1 billion of net fixed assets globally, with $113 billion (61%) invested in upstream operations. Although the company does not disclose regional capitalized costs, the U.S. accounted for 34% of 2025 upstream capital spending (orange slice in left chart in Figure 8 below), or approximately $2.8 billion-$3 billion, while representing only 6% of global oil and gas reserves (orange slice in right chart). This apparent imbalance reflects Shell’s strategy of concentrating investment in a relatively small number of high-return offshore projects rather than pursuing broad reserve growth.The four integrated majors have assembled high-quality U.S. upstream portfolios, but they have done so using very different strategies. To evaluate whether those strategies translate into superior performance, we benchmarked each company’s U.S. upstream business against comparable independent E&P peer groups. Chevron and Shell were compared with the Oil-Weighted E&Ps because their U.S. portfolios are 71% and 85% oil-weighted, respectively, while BP and ExxonMobil were benchmarked against the Diversified E&Ps given their U.S. oil weightings of 56% and 62%. Figure 10 below shows that, despite their world-class asset bases, Chevron and Shell generally underperformed the Oil-Weighted E&Ps on investment metrics during 2023-25. Independent producers replaced reserves more efficiently, generated lower finding-and-development (F&D) costs, and achieved materially higher recycle ratios than either integrated major. Figure 11 below shows the comparison between BP, ExxonMobil and the Diversified E&Ps produced a different outcome. ExxonMobil generated the strongest overall performance, driven by exceptional investment efficiency despite reserve revisions that weighed on traditional reserve replacement metrics.When reserve revisions are excluded, ExxonMobil’s F&D cost of $8.05/boe substantially outperformed both BP and the Diversified peer group, highlighting the quality of its underlying investment program. BP, meanwhile, led the group in operating profitability, posting the highest upstream revenues per boe, the lowest lifting costs, and the strongest pretax income and cash flow.Although each of the four majors has assembled a highly competitive U.S. upstream business, their strategies — and results — differ considerably. BP has positioned itself to benefit from growing North American LNG demand; ExxonMobil has built an unmatched Permian franchise supported by a legacy gas business. Chevron has assembled one of the industry’s highest-quality portfolios, and Shell has focused on maximizing long-term value from deepwater Gulf developments.The benchmarking results suggest that independent E&Ps continue to hold an advantage in capital efficiency, particularly in reserve replacement and F&D costs. The integrated majors, however, often benefit from higher-margin assets, greater portfolio diversification, and stronger operating cash flows. In other words, the majors are optimizing portfolio quality, while the independents continue to optimize capital efficiency.

Keystone Pipeline Owner Agrees to $26.8 Million Spill Settlement - The Keystone Pipeline owner has agreed to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty and complete about $40 million in integrity improvements under a proposed settlement tied to the 2022 Kansas oil spill. (P&GJ) — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a proposed settlement requiring the owner and operator of the Keystone Pipeline to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty and complete an estimated $40 million in pipeline integrity improvements to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations tied to the pipeline's 2022 rupture in Washington County, Kansas. The proposed consent decree, filed on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Kansas, resolves allegations against South Bow (USA) LP and South Bow Infrastructure Operations Inc. related to the release of nearly 13,000 barrels (approximately 543,000 gallons) of crude oil on Dec. 7, 2022. According to the Justice Department, the spill was the largest discharge in the Keystone Pipeline system's history and one of the largest inland crude oil spills in recent U.S. history. In addition to the federal civil penalty, South Bow agreed to contribute more than $3 million to the State of Kansas for natural resource restoration projects. The settlement also requires the company to implement measures intended to reduce the likelihood of similar releases. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson said preventing future pipeline failures is a key component of the agreement. "An important part of this proposed settlement is the work the company has committed to do to help prevent future leaks," Gustafson said. The EPA said the rupture released crude oil into Mill Creek, where oil covered approximately 3.5 miles of the waterway and affected surrounding land and wildlife. State officials issued a stream advisory prohibiting contact with the creek by people, livestock and pets, while cleanup efforts restored aquatic habitat, stream banks and surrounding areas following a 2023 EPA cleanup order. EPA Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall said the settlement reflects both the environmental damage caused by the release and the need to strengthen pipeline integrity. "The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the environmental harm, and the other requirements of the settlement reflect the need to prioritize pipeline integrity and maintenance for this critical infrastructure," Hall said. The 2,687-mile Keystone Pipeline transports crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Port Arthur, Texas. The rupture occurred on the section between Steele City, Nebraska, and Cushing, Oklahoma. The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period before it can receive final court approval.

Sempra’s ECA LNG Loads First Cargo Amid Surge in Mexico Natural Gas Flows -Sempra’s Energia Costa Azul (ECA) LNG export plant in Mexico has begun loading its inaugural cargo onto a TotalEnergies-controlled vessel, supported by US feedgas flows flowing south through the North Baja Pipeline system.  Entropic Analytics chart tracks daily North Baja Pipeline deliveries at Ogilby from late May through early July 2026, showing natural gas flow trends in MMBtu. At a Glance:
Feedgas volumes nearly double
North Baja deliveries keep climbing
Permian supply reaches Pacific Coast

Sempra Ships First ECA LNG Cargo, Eyes Commercial Start as Waha Natural Gas Firms - San Diego’s Sempra Infrastructure is targeting “substantial completion” of its 3.25 Mt/y Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG export plant in Mexico for this summer after shipping out its first cargo this week. At a Glance:

• First cargo departs Pacific Coast
• Commercial operations approach rapidly
• Phase 2 development gains momentum

Boat fires cause oil, fuel spills in Pierce County - - East Pierce Fire & Rescue says two boats caught fire over the holiday weekend, spilling fuel and oil into Lake Tapps. It happened sometime before 3:30 a.m. on July 5. Some brush along the shoreline was also on fire.Crews on shore and aboard Marine 122 worked together to quickly contain the fires. The Washington State Department of Ecology was called to help with a fuel and oil spill from the burning boats. Marine 122 deployed containment booms to help keep the oil from spreading. East Pierce crews remain on scene assisting with recovery operations. The cause remains under investigation. No injuries were reported.

Pembina Announces Positive FID on 932 MW Greenlight Power Generation Facility in Alberta -  This morning Pembina Pipeline Corporation announced a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Greenlight Electricity Centre (GLEC), a 932 MW gas-fired combined cycle power generation facility to be located within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland in Sturgeon County near Edmonton. Pembina estimates the project will require approximately 150 MMcf/d of natural gas.GLEC is expected to be in service in the second half of 2030 with a capital cost estimate of CAD$4 billion, and will provide electricity on a dedicated basis to a major data center development under a long-term tolling agreement. Media reports last year suggested Meta was the customer, but Meta has not yet publicly confirmed it is pursuing a data center project in Alberta. GLEC has all major regulatory approvals in hand, and the site is permitted for a doubling of capacity to 1,864 MW. GLEC is owned by Pembina (47.5%), Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (47.5%) and Kineticor Asset Management (5%).

Alberta Oil Production 4.31 Million b/d in May, Up 151 Mb/d Year-To-Date | RBN Energy Alberta crude oil and condensate production for May averaged 4.31 MMb/d, down 180 Mb/d vs. April, but up 387 Mb/d year-over-year, according to data released by the Alberta Energy Regulator this week. May is typically the lowest production month for the year, due to spring turnaround season, but this spring's turnaround season (see red dots in chart below) does not appear as busy as last year's (see black line in chart below).Year-to-date production of 4.48 MMb/d is up 151 Mb/d or 3.5% year-over-year (+112 Mb/d oil sands, +14 Mb/d conventional crude oil, +27 Mb/d condensate and pentanes plus). Reports that heavy rainfall in early June slowed down the mining trucks, while some of Cenovus's bitumen production went offline due to a power outage, likely means the recovery typically seen in June was impeded. The month-over-month decline was primarily driven by lower in situ bitumen production (orange line in chart below).

Alberta Submits Proposal For New 1 Million+ b/d Oil Pipeline to West Coast -- On Thursday July 2 the Government of Canada, along Alberta’s provincial government, announced a proposal for a heavy crude oil pipeline capable of transporting more than 1 MMb/d from Bruderheim, AB (near Edmonton) to a deepwater port at Roberts Bank just south of Vancouver, BC (see map below). The project would entail the construction of a new 42-inch diameter, 1,211-km (752-mile) pipeline, largely following the existing right-of-way of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline, but unlike TMX, would terminate at deepwater port (Roberts Bank), with berths for two VLCC oil tankers (TMX’s Westridge, BC marine terminal has berths for three Aframax vessels). The project may also consider the potential for trans-loading from TMX’s Aframax vessels onto VLCCs at Roberts Bank. The proposal Alberta submitted to the Major Projects Office estimated a construction cost of CAD$35.2 billion if a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) is made in 2027, with an estimated in-service date of 2032, or alternatively a CAD$43.7 billion cost estimate if a positive FID decision occurs in 2028 with an in-service date of 2034. The joint venture company that would own the project consists of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission (APMC), Trans Mountain Corporation (TMC, owner of the Trans Mountain pipeline), and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. APMC and TMC are owned by the Alberta and Canadian governments, respectively. Pembina would have a 10% economic interest through construction, with the option to increase to 20% once the project is operating. The project has been referred to Canada’s Major Projects Office, who will consider listing it as a national interest project by October 1. This news is part of a larger set of announcements from the government of Canada regarding nation-building infrastructure development, primarily within British Columbia. The Premier of British Columbia has agreed not to oppose this pipeline project. The Alberta and federal Canadian governments, along with Oil Sands Alliance (OSA, a partnership of the five largest oil sands producers), are finalizing an agreement on regulatory reforms and growth incentives to expedite oil sands production growth and include conditions necessary for OSA to build the Pathways CO2 sequestration project. Details of this agreement are expected to be release “in the coming days”. At this early stage for the project, there does not appear to be any binding commitments made by shippers.

US LNG Exports to the Americas Surge Amid Seasonal Demand - US LNG exports to the Americas rose to a multi-year high of 0.42 Mt in the week ending July 5, up from 0.31 Mt the previous week, driven by peak winter demand in Latin America and global energy market shifts. Table shows Latin America DES LNG prices for August-October 2026 across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Panama as of July 8, 2026. At a Glance:
Weekly exports jump
Argentina winter demand lifts imports
Europe, Asia still lead volumes

‘Can you help us?’: US oil execs turn to Trump to topple Europe’s climate rules -  The U.S. oil and gas industry has succeeded in exporting massive amounts of natural gas to Europe. Now, with the help of White House officials, it looks like it might also succeed in exporting the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda.Now the sector is attempting to strong-arm the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, into delaying the rollout of what the bloc intended to be a major rule to curb a potent climate pollution. It has prevailed in winning the backing of over half the bloc’s 27 member countries, who have joined U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in calling for swift changes to the rules.At stake is potentially billions of dollars in natural gas that U.S. companies want to continue exporting to Europe but that EU policymakers say must be subject to strict rules governing emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that has fueled extreme weather around the globe. And it raises worries among climate advocates that the Americans are choking out what the EU intended to be a major initiative to combat climate change, one that had been years in the making. The energy industry’s monthslong campaign against new methane regulations that had been in the works since 2024 scored a major victory last week when member countries pushed the commission to delay and make complying with the rules easier. The regulation would require oil and gas imports into the EU to show their fuel is produced with little methane.“The underlying policy is still very flawed,” Mike Sommers, the chief executive of API, told reporters in response to a question from POLITICO, saying the group has sent delegations to Europe and is working with the Trump administration to “hopefully get a policy that makes sense for American producers — and, by the way, for Europe.”Many of the industry’s arguments center on technical challenges about implementing the regulation. But one oil and gas executive was more blunt, saying there’s also a battle of business philosophies.“Some people view this more ideologically about whether or not Europe should be regulating global oil and gas production, but then there are others who see the realities that the EU has over-stretched without the necessary frameworks in place, in the EU and globally — whether around measurement, clarity of enforcement, or understanding of existing commercial agreements,” said the executive.The diplomatic fight is around an EU regulation aimed at cutting industrial releases of methane. The greenhouse gas has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide — and is also the main ingredient for natural gas, something European countries have come to depend on the United States for as a supplier. The bloc has committed to ending imports of Russian fuel by the beginning of next year and must also find substitutes for Qatari supplies halted due to damage from Iranian strikes earlier this year. EU officials proposed that companies seeking to sell natural gas into Europe disclose how much methane leaked out of the wells, inventory tanks, pipelines and ships on its way to Europe. The rules are designed to both meet the bloc’s energy needs while limiting its effects on warming the planet. It would require importers to verify that the fuel they receive is produced with limited methane leakage and intensity.American oil and gas producers say providing that level of detail once the new rule would go into effect Jan. 1 is all but impossible and would effectively shut them out of a major market. They warn the EU devised the rule without a full understanding of the U.S. gas market, where companies mix supply from various fields and basins to chill into a liquid and then export. “There is absolutely no way that a producer in Europe could say, ‘show me who produced this gas in the United States, and what was their methane intensity,’” said Fred Hutchison, president of LNG Allies, which supports U.S. LNG exports.Finnish energy minister Sari Multala told POLITICO that Helsinki’s assessment of the supply risks didn’t match up to the dramatic conclusions reached by other member countries pushing to revise the regulation. Finland doesn’t “see the point” of reopening the rules, she said. Spanish energy minister Sara Aagesen Muñoz went one further, vowing to fight to preserve the rules. “There are other elements that the Commission should explore, but not opening the regulation,” she said. “This is something that was very tough [on emissions], and it’s very important.”Exxon Mobil and some of the U.S. industry’s largest players have publicly vowed to combat methane emissions, saying it’s in their interest to account for the gas being lost to leaks and flaring. Lobbying outfits like API have also consistently noted U.S. gas burns cleaner than its competitors.Still, they uniformly have pushed back against the EU rule. Companies contend their concern is about regulatory uncertainty and timelines rather than any ideological objection to slashing methane emissions.“Importers will be forced to break the law or stop delivering energy to Europe. No amount of guidance or waivers will fix that,” a spokesperson for Exxon Mobil said in a statement. “The EU must hit the pause button now and simplify the rules so industry can continue to reduce emissions while also delivering the energy that allows society to thrive.”

IEA Chief Urges EU to Drop Arctic Drilling Ban The European Union should reverse the current moratorium on drilling in the Arctic, where Norway is pushing to drill if allowed, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has said. The EU’s moratorium on Arctic drilling was enacted in 2021 due to the bloc’s climate commitments and environmental concerns. The ban does not allow drilling in Norway’s northern parts of the Barents Sea, which is estimated to contain most of the remaining Norwegian oil and gas resources. Norway, which is not a member of the EU but is the biggest gas supplier to European markets, has been lobbying the bloc in recent months to drop its opposition to drilling in the Arctic. The Iran war and the biggest oil and gas supply disruption in history have added to Norway’s arguments that Europe needs reliable supply from places outside of conflict zones. The IEA’s Birol called for a review of the moratorium after a meeting with Norwegian Finance Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, in Brussels. “I support the Commission to give a very close look at this issue because it is extremely important for the European energy security,” Birol said, as carried by Bloomberg. “The world needs every drop of oil from Norway,” the head of the international agency added. In a post on X, Birol wrote that during the meeting with the Norwegian official, “I emphasised Norway’s importance for European energy security as countries reassess their energy strategies.” European investors, meanwhile, are urging the European Commission to keep the moratorium in place. Norway has argued for years that an arbitrary line defining the Arctic area shouldn’t be viewed as the cut-off line for oil and gas drilling. “Of course there are environmental concerns that we have to take into account,” Stoltenberg said this week. “But to say no, there should be no oil and gas exploration in the Arctic doesn’t make sense for Norway.”

IGU World LNG Report 2026: Global LNG Hit Record 437 Mt in 2025 --  Marcellus Drilling News - The International Gas Union’s 2026 World LNG Report shows global LNG trade hit a record high of 436.98 million tonnes (Mt) in 2025, up 6.3%—the strongest growth since 2022—driven by a 25.3 Mt surge in North American exports and Europe’s return as the key balancing market. Canada and Mauritania–Senegal became first-time exporters. Investment in new supply reached a six-year high. The LNG fleet grew 8.4% to 804 vessels, with 301 newbuilds on order, keeping freight rates depressed, while bunkering infrastructure expanded. Despite disruptions from the Gulf conflict that damaged infrastructure and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the IGU says LNG’s long-term demand outlook through 2035 remains intact.

Shell Annual LNG Outlook Predicts Demand to Soar 65% by 2050 –-  Marcellus Drilling News -   Shell, which dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name after leaving the Netherlands in 2022 due to high taxes and overregulation, is one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller). Shell is also one of (perhaps THE) largest producers and vendors of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, worldwide. The company has just released its tenth annual LNG Outlook 2026 (full copy below), which highlights key trends in 2025 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 25 years. Shell’s annual LNG outlook says shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz from the Iran war—which shut in roughly one-fifth of global monthly LNG supply—could keep 2026 global LNG trade flat if flows normalize within three months, with growth resuming in 2027.

LNG Supply Disruptions Pushing Prices Up, Disincentivizing EU Storage Injections - European natural gas storage inventories continue to lag well behind the levels of years past and warnings of the challenges the continent could face this winter are growing.European Union natural gas storage dashboard showing July 2026 inventory levels, storage utilization, five-year averages and year-over-year comparisons.At a Glance:
Inventories at 51%
Asia pulling cargoes away
Regas capacity could help

Global Heat Supports LNG Prices as US Feedgas Demand Trails - A hot July forecast is sharpening the near-term US natural gas demand outlook, even as healthy inventories and uneven LNG export demand is holding back prices. See Europe and Asia Weather Graphs - At a Glance:

• Feedgas lags amid stronger global prices
• CDDs near 50-year highs
• East Asia futures top TTF

Hormuz Uncertainty Keeps LNG Balances Tight, Global Natural Gas Prices Volatile -- Global natural gas prices remain volatile as peace talks between the United States and Iran appear to be stalled and LNG cargoes transiting the Strait of Hormuz have once again slowed to a trickle. At a Glance:

• Vessels massed offshore Qatar
• Asian LNG demand strengthens
• Hot weather forecast in Europe, Asia

Australia Natural Gas Surplus Eases Asia Supply Risk - The risk that Asian LNG buyers will have to battle with Europe and Latin America for US spot cargoes is easing after Australia’s east coast natural gas outlook improved, lowering the chance of government restrictions on exports.NGI chart compares annual LNG exports to Asia-Pacific from Australia, the US, and Qatar between 2020 and 2025, highlighting shifting regional market share. At a Glance:
4Q surplus strongest since 2023
JKM rises amid global supply risks
TTF gains while Henry Hub falls

Ruwais LNG Nearly Booked Despite Potential Setbacks for Middle East Infrastructure - The Ruwais LNG project under construction in Abu Dhabi has signed up offtakers for nearly all of its 9.6 Mt/y of output after inking a long-term deal with Japan’s Inpex. At a Glance:

• 90% of capacity booked
• 2028 startup still targeted
• Inpex expanding portfolio

UAE LNG Exports Continue, but Qatar Pauses Plans to Ramp Up Amid Renewed Fighting  -- Map of Persian Gulf LNG import and export terminals, highlighting facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE, plus the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint. Confirmed crossings of the Strait of Hormuz have fallen since fighting between Iran and the United States flared up earlier this week. According to Kpler, crossings on Thursday fell to 22 from 30 the previous day. Fighting started again on Tuesday after Iran targeted vessels in the strait, including a Qatari LNG tanker that was damaged. Kpler data shows that just two LNG vessels have entered the strait and one has exited since both sides traded attacks on Tuesday.

ADNOC Integrates LNG Operations as Market Becomes More Complex --Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) said Monday it would create an integrated LNG platform to handle a growing portfolio of the super-chilled fuel. At a Glance:

• Targeting 47 Mt/y portfolio
• Aimed at flexibility, shipping
• Follows similar move by Jera

Qatar Blames Iran for First LNG Tanker Attack, Buyers Still Seeking Alternatives -Iran attacked and damaged an LNG tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since war broke out in the Persian Gulf earlier this year, sending global natural gas prices higher on Tuesday. Map of Persian Gulf LNG import and export terminals identifies facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, plus the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint. At A Glance:
No casualties
Hormuz crossings slow
Prices volatile

Indian ship recycler denies NGO claims it mishandled LNG carrier oil spill at yard - Alang-based Priya Blue Ship Green Recycling has denied claims by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform that it mishandled and misrepresented clean-up efforts of an oil spill at its yard.About 62 tonnes of fuel oil spilt in the intertidal zone after the beached 137,248-cbm LNG carrier Sohar LNG (built 2001) shifted and hit a crane on 13 June.

Oil majors spill 125,000 barrels, pollute N’Delta -- Amid the inability to fund remediation of polluted water and land in the Nigeria Delta region, over 125,000 barrels of crude oil have been spilt in the oil-producing region to worsen the country’s rising environmental degradation. Multinational oil companies, including the Dutch Shell and U.S. Exxon Mobil, Agip, and others, recorded over 4,339 oil spill incidents between 2022 and the first half of 2026, linked to sabotage and rising equipment failures.A crude oil spill of 125,000 barrels is equivalent to about 19.9 million litres of oil, enough to fill approximately 602 tankers, each with a capacity of 33,000 litres. A spill of this magnitude could contaminate thousands of hectares of farmland, forests, mangroves, or wetlands, depending on the terrain, weather conditions, and the speed of the emergency response. In riverine areas, the oil could spread across extensive waterways, polluting drinking water sources, destroying aquatic life and livelihoods, and leaving ecological damage that may take years or even decades to remediate.Coming within the period when the Nigerian government already criminalised vandalism and spent billions to protect oil facilities in the oil-rich states, a report obtained from the country’s oil monitoring satellite indicates that while the number of reported incidents fluctuated over five years, environmental damage was largely driven by a handful of catastrophic spills rather than the overall frequency of incidents.Data reviewed by The Guardian show that 2022 was the worst year by spill volume, with 1,124 incidents discharging 50,599.99 barrels of oil, accounting for about 40 per cent of the total volume recorded during the period. By contrast, 2023 recorded the highest number of incidents, with 1,442 spills, but a significantly lower volume of 20,223.51 barrels, suggesting that many of the spills were relatively small.The figures further show that 2024 recorded 1,170 incidents and 31,577.84 barrels, while 2025 witnessed a sharp decline to 463 incidents and 16,481.85 barrels. In the first part of 2026, 140 incidents had already resulted in 7,108.40 barrels of oil spilt.The data, monitored by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), showed that the companies reporting the highest number of spill incidents were not always responsible for the largest volumes of pollution.A major outlier was Eroton Exploration and Production Limited, which reported just 14 spill incidents in 2022 but accounted for 36,569.89 barrels of spilt oil, representing nearly three-quarters of the total volume recorded that year. The incident remains the single largest contributor to oil pollution in the dataset.In the period, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) remained among operators with consistently high spill volumes, as the company recorded 384 incidents and 3,519.05 barrels in 2022 before reporting 632 incidents and 9,952.15 barrels in 2023, the highest number of incidents by any operator during the period. In 2024, SPDC recorded fewer incidents, 337, but the volume of oil spilt surged to 15,857.87 barrels, making it the largest polluter by volume that year.Similarly, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) remained one of the operators with the highest frequency of spills. It reported 446 incidents in 2022, 496 in 2023, and 466 in 2024, although the corresponding spill volumes were considerably lower than SPDC’s in some years, at 5,618.66, 3,883.92, and 3,576.09 barrels, respectively.

UAE Oil Output Hits All-Time High, Doubling Pre-Crisis Levels --The United Arab Emirates (UAE) produced 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in June, its highest output ever, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency.The UAE’s crude oil production jumped from 3.3 million bpd in May to 4.1 million bpd in June after the country left OPEC effective May 1, started raising output, and managed to sneak a lot of exports out of the Middle East even as the Strait of Hormuz was mostly blockaded for the first half of June.The crude oil production in June, at 4.1 million bpd, was the highest ever on record for the UAE, nearly double the output in March 2026 at the start of the Hormuz crisis. The production level also topped the previous record of 4 million bpd from the spring of 2020 when the OPEC+ producers were fighting for market share in a brief price war during peak Covid.The UAE has sought to adapt to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by sneaking tankers in dark mode through the Strait and increasingly offering to sell many of its crude grades for loading offshore Fujairah and at Sohar in Oman, outside the Strait.Moreover, the Abu Dhabi national oil company ADNOC accelerated plans to have a new pipeline operational in 2027 that would double its oil export capacity through Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz.ADNOC plans to build a new project, the West-East 1 Pipeline, which is expected to become operational next year and double the UAE’s energy giant’s export capacity through the Emirate of Fujairah to meet global demand for energy supplies.The national oil company also plans to plans to award as much as $55 billion (200 billion UAE dirhams) on upstream and downstream projects over the next two years. The announcement of accelerated growth came days after the UAE said it would quit OPEC effective May 1 to pursue its national interests.

OPEC+ approves further oil output increase as Hormuz exports start to recover - OPEC+ has agreed a further increase in output targets from August, the group said in a statement on Sunday (Jul 5), adding to global supply at a time when oil prices are falling due to the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports. The oil-producing group agreed during an online meeting to increase quotas by 188,000 barrels per day from August, on top of similar increases for June and July. The seven core members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, have hiked their output quotas from April through July by almost 800,000 bpd. Yet the increase has remained largely on paper because of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic for some of the most important OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. OPEC+ output fell to 33.13 million bpd in May, according to OPEC data, from 42.77 million bpd in February. It began to recover in June thanks to US efforts to help the UAE and other OPEC+ nations export more oil, but it is still below pre-war levels. Despite persisting supply disruptions, oil prices have returned to pre-war levels, pressured by lower Chinese imports, higher exports from non-Middle East producers, and a record global strategic stock release coordinated by the International Energy Agency. "The group of seven kept unwinding their production cuts as widely expected," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.  "The near-term focus will remain on how many tankers will manage to cross the Strait of Hormuz and how quickly demand and Chinese crude imports recover." A memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran to end the war has also helped convince traders that supply will ultimately return to normal levels. Brent crude prices traded near US$72 per barrel on Friday, down from recent peaks of more than US$120 per barrel and back to levels traded just before the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28. Besides agreeing on production targets, OPEC+ is also facing other challenges after the United Arab Emirates left the group and Iraq signalled it wants higher quotas. OPEC+ includes 21 members including Iran, but in recent years only the seven nations - and the UAE until its departure - have been involved in monthly production management. Those seven producers - Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman - are boosting output as part of the phased rollback of a 1.65 million bpd supply cut agreed in 2023, when the group still included the UAE. The UAE quit the alliance in late April because it wanted to align its capacity more closely with its production, free of production restraints imposed by the group. From August, taking into account the UAE's exit from May 1, the seven core members will still have about 379,000 bpd of the original cut to return to the market, according to Reuters calculations. With the August increase now decided, they will have fully unwound the 2023 cut if they make one more hike of around the same size for September at their next meeting on Aug 2.

Oil Prices Fall as Hormuz Exports Recover and OPEC+ Boosts Output -  Global oil  prices edged lower during trading on Monday, July 6, following a decision by OPEC+ to further lift its production limits. Concurrently, a visible rebound in oil exports passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has significantly eased market anxieties regarding potential supply shortages. According to a report by Reuters, Brent crude fell by 24 cents to settle at $71.88 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 11 cents to reach $68.58 per barrel. The downward pressure on prices follows an agreement by the OPEC+ alliance on Sunday to increase its collective output ceiling by an additional 188,000 barrels per day (bpd) starting in August. This adjustment marks the fifth consecutive monthly production increase since the cartel initiated its phased rollback of previous production cuts. Reuters noted that despite previous production hikes, the actual global supply of crude had been severely constrained in recent weeks. The bottlenecks were a direct consequence of the regional conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, which had heavily disrupted commercial tanker transits through the critical chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz. With tanker traffic now steadily resuming, maritime exports from Persian Gulf producers are demonstrating a clear upward trajectory. A monthly Reuters survey revealed that total OPEC crude production surged by approximately 3.3 million bpd in June compared to the previous month, reaching an average of 19.43 million bpd. Furthermore, outbound oil shipments from Persian Gulf nations expanded by more than 3 million bpd over the same period, though analysts emphasized that aggregate volume still tracks below pre-war baselines. A parallel increase in Russian crude exports originating from its western Baltic and Black Sea ports has further contributed to stabilizing international supply expectations.

Oil Market Holds Steady as OPEC+ Approves August Production Increase - The oil market ended the session relatively unchanged on Monday as it remained range bound as OPEC+ approved another production target increase starting in August and Saudi Arabia cut its official selling prices. The crude market posted a high of $69.26 during Friday’s shortened trading session in observance of the July 4th holiday. The market erased some of its gains during the remainder of Friday’s session and continued to trade lower following the reopening on Sunday evening after OPEC+ agreed to further increase its output targets from August and Saudi Arabia cut its official selling prices for August. The crude market sold off to a low of $68.58 in overnight trading before it bounced off that level and remained in a sideways trading range throughout the session. The August WTI contract settled down 14 cents at $68.55 and the August Brent contract settled down 13 cents at $71.99. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 11.62 cents at $3.2984 and the RB market settling up 8.6 cents at $3.0033.  According to data from the Department of Energy, crude oil stocks in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 6.2 million barrels to 319.5 million barrels, the lowest level since April 1983. The drawdowns are a part of a U.S. agreement to release 172 million barrels from the facility. On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed on a further increase in output targets from August, adding to global supply at a time when oil prices are falling due to the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports. The oil-producing group agreed during an online meeting to increase quotas by 188,000 bpd from August, on top of similar increases for June and July. The seven core members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, have hiked their output quotas from April through July by almost 800,000 bpd. However, the increase has remained largely on paper because of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic for some of the most important OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. According to Reuters calculations, from August, taking into account the UAE’s exit from May 1, the seven core members will still have about 379,000 bpd of the original cut to return to the market. With the August increase now decided, they will have fully unwound the 2023 cut if they make one more hike of around the same size for September at their next meeting on August 2nd. The United Arab Emirates raised its crude output to near record highs above 3.8 million bpd in June after it quit OPEC to escape production caps. June’s output was the highest since April 2020. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 264,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending July 10th, increasing available refining capacity by 153,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to decrease to 252,000 bpd in the week ending July 17th.

Oil prices settle at pre-Iran war levels as crude output grows - (Reuters) - Oil prices settled around pre-Iran war levels on Monday as Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling prices, OPEC+ approved another production target increase starting in August, and exports ‌through the Strait of Hormuz recovered further. Brent crude futures , which hit a four-year high above $126 in late April, settled at $71.99 a barrel, down 13 cents or 0.2%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $68.55 a barrel, down 14 cents or 0.2%. There was no settlement for WTI on Friday as U.S. markets were closed for a public holiday.   Both contracts were little changed last week after mostly falling over the past month back to levels last seen in late February, prior to the start of the four-month war that created the biggest energy disruption in history, according to the International Energy Agency. "The downward move is still influenced by earlier stranded tankers managing to exit ⁠the Gulf, resulting in an increase in oil on water," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Investors kept a close eye on talks between the U.S. and Iran over the fate of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz while keeping tabs on the recovery in Gulf oil exports. President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States would either reach a deal with Iran or "finish the job," renewing his threat of military action as Tehran projects defiance following the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indirect U.S.-Iran talks ended last week without any public sign of headway toward a lasting peace, despite a 60-day ceasefire intended to create space for diplomacy following the U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered the conflict. The United Arab Emirates raised its crude output to near record highs above 3.8 million barrels per day in June after it quit OPEC to escape production caps, two people familiar with production data said on Monday. Saudi Arabia has set the official selling price for its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia in August at $1.50 a barrel below the Oman/Dubai average, ‌marking the ⁠biggest monthly cut in the price since Reuters records began in 2003. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has also been selling crude through tenders at discounted prices, traders told Reuters. "It is increasingly looking like the Gulf producers are gearing up for a price war," The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia agreed on Sunday to further increase output targets by 188,000 bpd from August, on top of similar increases for June and July. However, these increases have remained largely on paper because of the Iran war, which closed the Strait of Hormuz ⁠to tanker traffic for key OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, capping their output. "They are selling into a falling market, offering little hope of an imminent price recovery,"  . "However, lower oil prices will undoubtedly stimulate demand further down the line."   Elsewhere, Ukraine's military said on Monday it struck Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, as well as facilities in Yaroslavl ⁠and Leningrad regions overnight. Advertisement · Scroll to continue In the United States, stocks of crude oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 6.2 million barrels in the week ending July 3 to 319.5 million barrels, the lowest level since April 1983, according to data from the Department of Energy on Monday. Shipping groups Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd  will resume some sailings through the Suez Canal, which ⁠accounts for 10% of global trade. The Asia-Europe trade corridor was abandoned by most shippers after attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis during the Gaza war. Resuming sailings through this route will reduce the duration of the passage by four weeks, a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson said.

Hormuz Vessel Traffic Grinds to Halt Amid Renewed Fighting --LNG and oil tankers are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz as Iran and the United States trade attacks and a tenuous ceasefire signed last month is again imperiled. Map of Arabian Peninsula maritime chokepoints showing the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, Suez Canal and major LNG export routes from the Persian Gulf.  At a Glance:
Trump threatens more attacks
Vessels changing course
Brent, natural gas prices up

US-Iran war: Renewed attacks in Strait of Hormuz prompts another global energy alert | UN News  - Amid reports that three merchant vessels were hit along with Iranian targets, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned “reckless attacks” in the past two days against several ships transiting the narrow waterway, a vital conduit for a significant proportion of the world’s energy needs. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the resumption of strikes and counterstrikes between the United States and Iran in the past 24 hours were “alarming” and risked derailing diplomatic progress made since a ceasefire framework was agreed in April.“A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for the peoples of the region, for international peace and security, and for the global economy as a whole,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.“These reckless attacks have again placed innocent seafarers in grave danger. No seafarer should have to risk their life simply for doing their job,” Mr. Dominguez said, as he warned flag States, shipowners and operators not to expose seafarers to “unnecessary danger” by transiting the Strait.

• Renewed Hormuz attacks trigger global energy security concerns
• Guterres warns of catastrophic consequences for region and global economy if full blown US-Iran war resumes 
• Thousands of seafarers remain stranded amid shipping disruptions
• UN warns prices and supply volatility may worsen
• Heatwaves could intensify energy demand and infrastructure strain

Some 6,000 seafarers remain stranded in the channel on hundreds of vessels which used to transit at a rate of around 130 a day.That number is vastly reduced today, although shipping levels picked up before the latest escalation, in line with an agreement on a temporary ceasefire – part of a memorandum of understanding – last month between the United States and Iran.Responding to the latest escalation, the UN economic commission for Europe, UNECE, said that the already challenging situation for countries which rely on energy from the Gulf was set to continue, after more than 100 days of disruption.“We can expect prices and price volatility to remain high and supply disruptions – especially in local markets – to continue for the months ahead,” said Dario Liguti, Director of Energy, Housing and Land Management Division at the UN Economic Commission for Europe.The senior UN economist explained that although a global shortage of fuel and fertilizers has been avoided, the effects of this year’s disruption will still be felt “even if the situation normalizes rapidly”. Strategic oil reserves are also at their lowest levels for decades, Mr. Liguti stressed. If the instability does continue, we should get ready for another rise in prices and a larger-scale raw material shortage,” he told UN News.

Oil prices rise after report of Iranian attack on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz -- Oil prices rose on Tuesday morning following a report of an Iranian attack on commercial ships in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The reported attacks in the waterway, which typically handles around 20% of the world’s oil traffic, reaffirm the fragility of the U.S. and Iran’s interim peace agreement, as they negotiate a permanent end to their war. International benchmark Brent crude futures with September delivery traded 1.5% higher at $73.09 per barrel, extending earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with August delivery advanced 1.5% to $69.56, after closing at its lowest level since Feb. 27 in the previous session. Iran fired at least two missiles at ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, Axios reported, citing two unnamed U.S. officials. The vessels suffered significant damage in the attack but no casualties, Axios said, according to one U.S. official. CNBC could not independently verify the report. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, a British maritime security alert service, meanwhile, said Monday that it had received a report of an incident 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman. The UKMTO said a tanker had been struck by an unknown projectile while travelling southbound, resulting in a fire. No casualties were reported in the incident.  President Donald Trump said Monday that the two countries would either make a deal or the U.S. would “finish the job,” renewing threats of military action against the Islamic Republic. “The situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains unsettled. But as we have argued since March, both sides should ultimately have an interest in containing the conflict,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, said in a research note published Friday. “Ahead of the mid-term elections to Congress on 3 November, US President Donald Trump wants low oil prices whereas the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran covet the money from potential sanctions relief,” they added.

Oil prices rise as Hormuz attacks, Ukraine strikes fuel supply concerns -Global oil prices rose on Tuesday as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe renewed concerns over potential disruptions to global energy supplies. International benchmark Brent crude gained about 1.05% to $72.75 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.8% to $69.32. Investor sentiment strengthened after reports that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missile attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important oil shipping routes. According to reports citing US officials, Washington is considering military retaliation against Iranian targets, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Additional support came from Russia, where Ukrainian drone strikes reportedly targeted energy infrastructure in the western Siberian region of Omsk. Ukrainian authorities later claimed responsibility for striking the Omsk Oil Refinery, one of Russia’s largest refining facilities, with an annual processing capacity of 8.4 million tonnes. The twin developments added a geopolitical risk premium to crude markets, although gains remained limited after OPEC+ announced plans to increase collective oil production by 188,000 barrels per day from August as part of the gradual rollback of voluntary production cuts. “The group remains committed to maintaining market stability and retains the flexibility to adjust production depending on market conditions,” OPEC+ said following its latest meeting.  Energy analysts say any prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could significantly tighten global crude supplies, given that roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strategic waterway. Meanwhile, market participants believe OPEC+’s planned production increase should help offset some supply risks, although escalating geopolitical tensions continue to dominate short-term price movements. What’s Next:

• Investors will monitor the release of the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) July Short-Term Energy Outlook report.
• Markets are awaiting the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting for clues on future interest rate decisions.
• Traders will continue tracking developments in the Strait of Hormuz and Russia for any further threats to global energy supplies.

Geopolitical tensions have once again become the primary driver of oil prices, overshadowing concerns about slowing global demand. While additional OPEC+ supply may help contain price spikes, any further disruption to Middle East shipping routes or Russian refining capacity could quickly tighten global crude markets.

Oil Market Rallies as Strait of Hormuz Attacks and Iran Sanctions Renew Supply Fears -  The crude oil market traded higher following report of attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions on Iranian oil. A Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were damaged following reports that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired missiles at ships in the waterway overnight. The strikes against the tankers brought back some geopolitical risk premium, with the crude market trading from a low of $68.58 in overnight trading to a high of $70.72 ahead of the close. The market was also supported by comments made by Iran’s Foreign Minister, who stated that talks to reach a final deal between Iran and the U.S. would not take place if U.S. threats continue following U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to “finish the job” unless a deal is done. The August WTI contract settled up 1.89 at $70.44 and rallied further in the post settlement period to a high of $72.51, retracing almost 50% of its move from a high of $78.14 to a low of $67.04. The rally followed the news that the U.S. was revoking a general license authorizing the sale of Iranian oil. The September Brent contract settled up $2.17 at $74.16. Meanwhile, the product markets settled in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling up 33 points at $3.3017 and the RB market settling down 4.94 cents at $2.9539.  In its Short Term Energy Outlook, the EIA said global oil output and trade flows should rebound fully by the end of this year from the disruptions caused by the Iran war. The EIA said global benchmark Brent crude oil prices will average around $74/barrel in the spot market during the third quarter of this year, down from an average of $85/barrel in June. Last month, the EIA forecast Brent prices would average over $101/barrel in the third quarter. The EIA said it expects most of the oil output previously shut in across the Middle East to return online by the first quarter of 2027. That will lift global supply and reduce withdrawals from stockpiles, returning oil markets to a state of oversupply that will weigh on prices. The agency expects oil prices to average about $65/barrel through next year, down from its prior forecast of over $79/barrel in 2027. The EIA also forecast U.S. motor fuel prices will average about $3.80/gallon in the third quarter, down from $4.21/gallon in the second quarter. The EIA reported that world oil demand is expected to total 102.8 million bpd in 2026, down 100,000 bpd from a previous estimate and 2027 demand is forecast at 104.8 million bpd, down 500,000 bpd from a previous forecast. World oil output is forecast to total 101.9 million bpd in 2026 compared with a previous forecast of 99 million bpd and output in 2027 is expected to increase to 109.8 million bpd, up from a previous estimate of 109.3 million bpd. U.S. crude oil demand in 2026 is forecast at 20.7 million bpd, unchanged from a previous forecast, while demand in 2027 is seen at 20.8 million bpd, up 100,000 bpd from a previous estimate. Axios reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night. The report, citing two U.S. official said A Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude tanker suffered significant damage but had no casualties. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said early on Tuesday that the LNG tanker was struck on its port side while travelling southbound about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, causing a fire.

Oil jumps after settlement as US revokes general license for Iran oil sales  (Reuters) - Oil prices settled 3% higher on Tuesday and then extended gains post-settlement, after Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. revoked the general ‌license authorizing sale of Iranian crude and later launched new strikes against Iran. Brent crude futures settled up $2.17, or 3.01%, to $74.16 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.89, or 2.76%, to $70.44 a barrel. In post-settlement trade, the global benchmark climbed $1.72 to $75.88 and WTI jumped $1.76 to $72.20 at 4:59 p.m. ET (2026 GMT) after the U.S. revoked a general license that authorized the sale of Iranian oil. Both benchmarks were up more than 5% from the previous day's settlement prices. The U.S. move came after Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military launched a series of strikes against Iran ⁠in response to the Iranian attacks, U.S. Central Command said. "Obviously today is the next level of breakaway from the memorandum of understanding," it was unclear whether Iran's actions were aimed at exerting authority over the Strait of Hormuz or were primarily a show of strength during mourning ceremonies for the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In June, the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Yawger said the U.S. decision to revoke the oil license was a signal that Iran had gone too far but added he did not expect the move to have a lasting impact on Tehran's ability to export crude or on the prospects for a broader agreement. "I don't think it's in either side's interest not to get a deal done," he said. "This shows just how fragile the ceasefire actually is. Further ‌attacks could ⁠sporadically appear in the coming months and this will further add to the volatility,"  "Just one disagreeable message from one side could bring anger to the other, and remember if Iran merely threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz again, prices will spike considerably. As such, we firmly believe that volatility really is here to stay." "Renewed tensions in the Middle East and concerns over the vessel attacks could drag lower oil exports from the Middle East," ⁠UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Talks to reach a final deal between Tehran and Washington will not take place if U.S. threats continue, Iran's foreign minister said on Tuesday, following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to "finish the job" unless a deal is done. Investors are monitoring talks between the U.S. and Iran and their implications for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠which prior to the beginning of the Iran war carried a fifth of the world’s daily supply of oil and LNG. Also on Tuesday, Kyiv's military said Ukrainian drones struck eight tankers from Russia's "shadow fleet" of aging vessels used to bypass sanctions that were delivering fuel to Crimea overnight. Market sources citing data from ⁠the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that the U.S. had drawn down 399,000 barrels of crude oil inventories last week.

Global Oil Prices Hit Two-Week High as US-Iran Tensions Escalate - Pakistan Observer -- Global oil prices surged by more than 5% on Wednesday, reaching their highest levels in two weeks amid rising tensions in the Middle East. United States President Donald Trump has declared that the MoU aimed at ending the conflict with Iran was “over”, reigniting concerns over potential disruptions to crude supplies from the Middle East. By 0832 GMT, Brent crude futures had climbed $3.82, or 5.15%, to $77.98 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $3.70, or 5.25%, to trade at $74.14 per barrel. Global oil prices had already risen around 3% on Tuesday after the US revoked a general licence that had permitted the sale of Iranian crude oil. Speaking before a NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump said the temporary agreement intended to halt the conflict with Iran had effectively ended, adding that he had no plans to resume talks with Tehran. Media quoted experts as saying that the latest developments had cast serious doubt over the future of the 60-day negotiation process. In such a scenario, a price closer to $80 a barrel is more consistent with current market fundamentals than $70, experts believe. According to US Central Command, Tuesday’s airstrikes were carried out in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In retaliation, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for strikes targeting US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday. According to the reports, four oil and gas tankers had either turned back or chosen not to enter the Strait of Hormuz after Iran announced that only shipping routes approved by Tehran would be considered safe. Following last month’s truce agreement between the US and Iran, oil prices had retreated to pre-conflict levels as traders increased bearish bets, expecting additional Middle Eastern oil supplies to return to global markets. Those expectations were overturned after renewed military tensions revived concerns over supply security. Although Iran denied involvement in the attacks on commercial vessels, Qatar blamed Tehran, including for an incident involving a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker that was reportedly struck by a drone, triggering a fire in its engine room. The latest incidents have renewed fears over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that previously handled around one-fifth of the world’s energy shipments before hostilities erupted in late February.

Oil prices jump 7% as U.S.-Iran truce buckles under fresh strikes | Honolulu Star-Advertiser -- Crude oil prices soared about 7% today after President Donald Trump threatened fresh strikes against Iran, which could lead Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz to ship traffic again. Before the United States war with Iran, about 20% of global oil supplies passed through the waterway.Brent futures rose $4.91, or 6.6%, to $79.07 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $4.27, or 6.1%, to $74.71. That would be the biggest daily percentage gains for both crude benchmarks since April and puts Brent on track for its highest close since June 19 and WTI on track for its highest close since June 18.President Donald Trump said an interim agreement to end the war with Iran was “over” and that the United States was likely to launch new strikes tonight following Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf.In a flare-up of hostilities that pushed up oil prices, Iran said today it had targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after United States forces struck Iranian targets in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.The attacks further undermined a shaky cease-fire agreement and dented hopes of turning the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 into a permanent peace deal to end the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28.“Fundamentally, the events of the last few days significantly weaken any confidence that the current 60-day truce can still evolve into a permanent peace agreement,” said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at consultancy Rystad Energy.U.S. ultra-low sulfur diesel futures soared over 14% in intraday trade after Russia introduced a ban on diesel exports today as part of a raft of measures to support the domestic fuel market after systematic Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries triggered shortages and price spikes.Ukrainian drones struck three Russian oil refineries, Russian tankers on the Sea of Azov and pipeline pumping stations, Ukrainian and Russian officials said today, in a major night of strikes ranging from the Ukrainian border to the Urals mountains.That diesel price spike boosted the U.S. 321-crack spread, which measures refining profit margins, to a record high, according to LSEG data going back to 2001.

WTI Surges to $73 as Trump Halts US-Iran Ceasefire Deal (DTN) -- Crude futures had their largest rally in more than a month on Wednesday as the Middle East and its most important sea lane, the Strait of Hormuz, were caught in new hostilities after the U.S. canceled its ceasefire agreement with Iran. The Middle East conflict resolution took a turn after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Tehran of unwarranted attacks on vessels passing the Strait of Hormuz that he said reneged on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries. The U.S. also canceled Tuesday, its waiver of sanctions on the export and sales of Iranian oil. Tehran, on its part, blamed the U.S. for violations by commercial vessels of Iranian policy over the strait. Following the renewed row between them, the two countries exchange fire Wednesday on mutual strategic targets in the region. Responding to the escalation, NYMEX WTI crude for August delivery surged by $3.08 to settle at $73.52 bbl, posting a 4.4% rise that marked the biggest percentage advance for the U.S. crude benchmark since June 1. It hit a two-week high of $76.08 during the session. ICE Brent for September rose $3.86 to close at $78.02 bbl, finishing up 5.2% for the sharpest one-day climb since May 4. The session high was $80.59. In downstream activity Wednesday, NYMEX ULSD futures for August delivery jumped almost 11%, or $0.3658, to settle at $3.6575 gallon. NYMEX RBOB for August lurched up 5%, or $0.1495, to close at $3.1034 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.023 points to 100.755 against a basket of currencies. Prior to this week, crude futures had fallen four straight weeks, with WTI touching $67.04 and Brent $70.14, after the 60-day ceasefire agreement signed on June 17. Earlier, they hit four-month highs, with WTI scaling $119.48 and Brent $126.41, as the conflict led to what the International Energy Agency called the largest supply disruption in oil's history. Now, oil markets were bracing for "the risk of further supply disruptions from Iran or the wider Middle East if Tehran now chooses to close the Strait of Hormuz again", said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at London's StoneX. The Hormuz saw a rapid recovery in tanker traffic over the past two weeks after the signing of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal. Prior to that, traffic was at a virtual standstill on the waterway for more than three months as both Iran and the U.S. enforced blockades at separate points of the chokepoint. One of the world's busiest sea lanes, the strait used to provide passage for some 20 million bpd of petroleum liquids during normal times. In U.S. inventory data, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday the first weekly rise in commercial crude stockpiles in 11 weeks. Commercial crude oil inventories rose by 3 million bbl to 411.4 million bbl during the week ended July 3, although they remained 14.7 million bbl, or 3.4%, below the same week last year, the EIA said. Distillate fuel stocks fell by 5 million bbl to 103.6 million bbl during the week to July 3, the lowest level since the week ended June 12. Total motor gasoline balances fell by 1.9 million bbl to 212.1 million bbl during the week profiled, the lowest level since the week ended May 22.

The global oil market isn’t ready for the Iran ceasefire to end -- America’s oil supplies are far from prepared for the U.S.-Iran ceasefire to end. Global oil prices retreated to prewar levels and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz gradually resumed after President Trump announced a temporary pause in the fighting in mid-June—but crude stockpiles will take much longer to restore. Commercial inventories in the U.S. rose 3 million barrels in the week ended Friday, according to the Energy Department, the first uptick after 10 consecutive weeks of drawdowns. Stockpiles are still so low that the central U.S. storage hub in Cushing, Okla., has reached operational limits that would make withdrawing more crude challenging. Meanwhile, inventories in the government-run Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of salt caverns on the Gulf Coast, keep falling and sit at the lowest level since 1983. Now that Trump has declared the ceasefire over, the situation risks becoming more dire.  “The worst fears of the oil market could still be realized later this year as we get to the minimum operating levels,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.“The only way to get prices back in balance is to have prices go up, such that you would have demand destruction. Once the shelf is bare, there’s nowhere to turn,” he said. Energy executives and analysts aren’t yet predicting a repeat of the oil shock that sent prices above $100 a barrel this spring, but they say another closure of the Hormuz—through which 20% of the world’s petroleum typically passes—could threaten America’s energy security. If the U.S. is forced to further draw down its stockpiles, that would potentially limit its ability to respond to new oil disruptions on the world’s stage, or natural disasters such as hurricanes that can damage fuel supply chains. It could also push fuel prices up again to a level that causes consumers and other buyers to pull back. As of early trading Thursday, U.S. oil prices have climbed about 5% to $73.90 a barrel since Trump launched new strikes on Iran this week, reaching the highest level since late June. Prices for petroleum products jumped even more. Gasoline futures have risen 6.1%. Diesel soared over 10%.The U.S. and other countries are expected to take months, or even years, to replenish their stockpiles. One of the shorter-term challenges to refilling the coffers is the transit time for ocean-faring vessels to sail from the Middle East to customers around the world.Two factors working in the U.S.’s favor: crude prices that have fallen more than 30% from their April highs and an unexpected shift in global energy flows. China and other big buyers are, for now, proceeding without using as much oil, freeing up supplies on the open market.The U.S. has slowed releases of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve as the inventories have declined and prices have tumbled. The Energy Department awarded only about 500,000 barrels of the 40 million it had authorized for the most recent release.That decision has helped to slow the pace of U.S. crude exports, which soared to records in April after Trump declared America’s energy market open for business. South Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan and other countries turned to the U.S. for barrels they couldn’t get from the Middle East.Exports are likely to end July below 4 million barrels a day, a level last seen in February, before the start of the conflict, according to market intelligence firm Kpler.But the supply crunch hasn’t yet eased in the market for petroleum products, such as diesel and gasoline. U.S. exports of those fuels are still hovering near record levels, while American refineries run full-tilt to replace supplies in Asia, Europe and Latin America, Kpler data show.On the Gulf Coast, the central hub of U.S. oil refining and fuel exports, stockpiles of gasoline are 7.2 million barrels lower than normal for this time of year and well below the five-year average, according to energy-data and analytics provider OPIS, a Dow Jones company.“We started the year well above that [five-year] band,” said Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at OPIS. That partially explains “why gasoline remains strong despite the fact there’s plenty of crude oil that appears to be available in the open market.”The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.85 Thursday, up from $2.98 at the start of the conflict. Although jet fuel supplies are stabilizing, American diesel inventories are at the lowest levels since the early 2000s. Exports are poised to climb to near-record levels in July, according to Kpler, partly thanks to increased appetite from Brazil.

Oil Market Rallies as Strait of Hormuz Attacks and Iran Sanctions Renew Supply Fears The oil market ended the session over 4.3% higher after U.S. President Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding to end the war with Iran was “over”. The U.S. launched airstrikes on Iran in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later stated that it launched strikes against U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait early on Wednesday. The market posted a low of $71.75 in overnight trading and rallied higher for much of the session as the attacks renewed concerns about tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The market rallied to a high of $76.08 before it erased some of its gains after President Trump said he did not believe a full-fledged conflict would restart in the wake of the military strikes from both sides. The August WTI contract settled up $3.08 at $73.52 and the September Brent contract settled up $3.86 at $78.02. The product markets ended the session sharply higher, with the heating oil market settling up 35.58 cents at $3.6575 and the RB market settling up 14.95 cents at $3.1034.   The EIA reported that U.S. crude inventories increased for the first time since mid-April last week, as exports soften, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell ahead of the Independence Day weekend. Crude inventories increased by 3 million barrels to 411.4 million barrels in the week ending July 3rd after falling for 10 straight weeks. Crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub fell by 52,000 barrels in the week. U.S. crude oil exports declined by 746,000 barrels to 3.3 million bpd during the week, while net crude imports increased by 1.1 million bpd. The EIA said U.S. energy firms exported a record 8.73 million bpd of total petroleum products in the week ended July 3rd. That topped the prior weekly all-time high of 8.22 million bpd in early May. Ship-tracking data showed that at least four oil and gas tankers have turned back from attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, as renewed attacks on vessels in the critical waterway heightened safety and security concerns. The diversions come after a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were damaged near the strait on Tuesday following reports that Iran fired missiles at ships in the waterway, prompting maritime authorities to raise the threat risk for transiting vessels to “severe.” Data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG showed that LNG tankers Al Ghariya, Duhail and Al Ruwais were moving westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before changing course to turn away late on Tuesday. All three tankers controlled by QatarEnergy were empty and heading towards Qatar’s Ras Laffan export facility to load cargoes. LSEG and Kpler data also showed the Indian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier Lila Vadinar, which is carrying 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude that was loaded late last week, made a U-turn off the tip of Oman at the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. According to Vortexa analysts, a queue of ballast or empty vessels waiting to load at Ras Laffan has also built up, reaching more than 10 ships in early July. HSBC lowered its Brent crude oil price forecast for 2026 to $80/barrel from $95/barrel, as it assumes a return to normal Gulf oil exports by the end of September. The bank also lowered its 2027 Brent price forecast to $65/barrel from $75/barrel.

Oil eases as investors assess US-Iran peace prospects - Oil prices eased today after earlier gains as markets assessed the escalating conflict between the US and Iran and its implications for efforts to end the war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures were down 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.91 a barrel this afternoon. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.14 a barrel. Brent and WTI crude futures hit their highest levels since June 22 yesterday. But New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said today that markets expect oil prices to decline over the next six to 12 months, a view he said was reasonable. Both crude benchmarks rose more than a dollar in post-settlement trade yesterday after the US launched strikes on Iran, which responded with attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain. "Generally it's a very nervous market ... any news that dampens the prospect of a peace deal is adding a bit to the market," Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said. Iranian forces targeted US military infrastructure in neighbouring Gulf states today following US strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces, further straining a three-week-old ceasefire agreement. Iran fired ten ballistic missiles on Jordan's Azraq military base, state media reported. Some war underwriters have advised shipping companies to pause voyages through the Strait of Hormuz while others are reviewing their policy terms after renewed vessel attacks threatened a return to war, insurance industry sources said. Before the latest flare-up in the US-Israeli war with Iran, prices had been falling as the market tried to absorb the pent-up Middle Eastern supply released by a fragile truce and some signs of rising inventories. A fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies traversed the Strait of Hormuz prior to the Iran war, which began at the end of February. Tehran's control of the waterway has been its main leverage in the conflict. Goldman Sachs said risks to Gulf oil flows and near-term prices remain two-sided. It expects flows to normalise by the end of July if negotiations continue, sanctions waivers on Iranian oil are reinstated and shippers receive security assurances. That scenario would require Strait of Hormuz flows to increase by 6.6 million barrels per day. Conversely, the investment bank said failed talks, escalating tanker attacks and a potential US blockade of Iranian oil could further disrupt flows. "In the base case, Brent probably trades in a $75–$85 range over the next month, with a mild upward bias," said Aneeka Gupta, director of macroeconomic research at WisdomTree. "The underlying supply recovery is real but incomplete, the surplus narrative is discredited for now, and diplomatic engagement (while stalled) hasn't collapsed entirely." Elsewhere, Russia banned diesel exports yesterday to support its domestic fuel market after Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries caused fuel shortages and price spikes.

Oil Market Lower as Traders Balance Iran Strikes and Diplomacy -  The oil market on Thursday ended the session lower as the market weighed the impact of the renewed U.S. strikes against Iran on the peace talks and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Late Wednesday, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, which responded with attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain. The market traded to a high of $75.13 on the reopening on Wednesday evening amid the reports of the U.S. military strikes. However, the market eased off its high and traded lower throughout the session. While the U.S. launched further strikes on Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday stated that he did not see a return to a full-fledged war with Iran, which likely limited the market’s gains despite the renewed tensions in the Middle East. The market retraced little more than 50% of its move from a low of $67.04 to a high of $76.08 as it posted a low of $71.42 ahead of the close. The August WTI contract settled down $1.44 at $72.08 and the September Brent contract settled down $1.72 at $76.30. The product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 8.59 cents at $3.5716 and the RB market settling down 6.42 cents at $3.0387. Analysts and officials said governments are set to buy millions of barrels of oil through 2028 to rebuild emergency reserves depleted by drawdowns to plug a gap in global supply caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. They said this could increase demand for crude that would absorb some of the expected global supply surplus following OPEC+’s decision to increase output. According to Reuters calculations based on International Energy Agency, OPEC and U.S. Department of Energy data, governments drew down emergency reserves after supply disruptions linked to the conflict removed an estimated 1.5 billion barrels from global inventories this year. Kpler estimated that replenishing those reserves could add up to 664,000 bpd of demand by third quarter 2027, helping to absorb some of the excess supply expected next year as OPEC+ continues to unwind production cuts. Christopher Haines, head of oil at consultancy Energy Aspects, said restocking of reserves would lead to a higher price floor in 2027. Goldman Sachs said the latest strikes in the Strait of Hormuz could slow the ramp-up in Middle East oil production, while the cancellation of the U.S. sanctions waiver could once again weigh on exports of Iranian oil, which had only recently begun to recover. Goldman Sachs said it sees two-sided risks to Persian Gulf oil flows and near-term prices. The bank said it still expects Persian Gulf flows to return to normal by the end of July if the 60-day negotiations continue, the waiver on Iranian oil is reinstated and shippers receive security assurances. That scenario would require Hormuz flows to increase by 6.6 million bpd. Goldman Sachs stated that following the recent attacks on tankers, Persian Gulf oil exports are running at 71% of normal levels, down from 83% of pre-war flows reached within the first 10 days after Hormuz reopening in June. Meanwhile, the bank also noted that the ramp up of attacks on Russian refineries amid low product inventories and subdued Middle East and Asia runs amplifies their view that refined product margins will remain higher for longer.   Bloomberg reported that unprecedented overseas demand for U.S. diesel, propane and other fuels is straining commercial reserves from the Gulf Coast to the Eastern Coast as the U.S.-Iran conflict reintensifies. It said demand for U.S. fuel probably will not abate any time soon, given the absence of shipments from Russia.

Oil prices settle 2% lower as economic worries outweigh supply risks (Reuters) - Oil prices slid about 2% on Thursday on worries that rising inflation and other economic concerns could weigh on global oil demand despite continuing supply constraints as the the U.S.-Iran conflict has delayed full reopening of Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait ‌before the war. Brent futures fell $1.72, or 2.2%, to settle at $76.30 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.44, or 2.0%, to settle at $72.08. On Wednesday, Brent closed at its highest since June 19 and WTI closed at its highest since June 22. Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states on Thursday following U.S. strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces, further straining a three-week-old ceasefire agreement. The attacks came on the day that Iran buried its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the shrine of Mashhad, the culmination of a week of mass funeral processions and rallies. Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war on February 28. Separately, several explosions were heard in Iran including in Bushehr, where one ⁠of Iran's nuclear plants is located. "We expect the renewed tension in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran to be relatively short-lived because both countries are constrained by practical economic and political realities,"  Qatar, which has often mediated between Washington and its adversaries including Tehran, condemned attacks on commercial shipping and called for a return to diplomacy. Foreign ministers of Turkey and Oman also stressed the need to avoid further military escalation in calls with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi. "After two days of attacks, Iran appears to be on the phone looking to scale back hostilities and possibly return to the negotiating table,"  Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said the U.S. attacks and intervention in redirecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupting the waterway's gradual reopening. "Our estimated oil flows from the Persian Gulf recovered to above 80% of pre-war flows within the first 10 days after Hormuz reopening as trapped tankers rushed to leave the Persian Gulf, but retreated to the low-70s% of normal following recent attacks on tankers," analysts at U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said in a report. In the U.S., the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, supporting economists' views that the labor market remained in a "slow-hire, slow-fire" mode. Minutes of the Federal Reserve's June 16 to 17 meeting showed policymakers' concerns about inflation mounted last month and they "generally expected labor market conditions to remain stable in the near term, with the unemployment rate staying close to current levels." New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Thursday he did not expect a sustained rise in energy prices for the rest of the year despite the of hostilities in the Middle East, and declined to say what decision he would make on interest rates at a policy ⁠meeting later this month. When the Fed boosts interest rates to keep inflation in check, it can reduce economic growth and cut demand for oil. In China, the world's second-biggest economy behind the U.S., producer price inflation surged in June to its highest level in four years, piling pressure on manufacturers' profit margins as weak domestic demand limited pricing power. In Europe, Ukrainian drones hit a dozen more Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, ⁠Ukraine's military said, the latest in a campaign aimed at disrupting fuel supplies to Russian forces and isolating Moscow-occupied Crimea. On Wednesday, U.S. diesel futures posted their biggest daily percentage gain in four years after Russia announced a ban on exports of the industrial fuel, supercharging supply concerns in a market grappling with uncertainty about Middle Eastern oil flows. Russia said the U.S. was wrong to believe deep Ukrainian strikes into ⁠Russian territory could help end more than four years of war, and could instead prolong it. A settlement in the Ukraine war could result in the lifting of some sanctions on Russia, which could allow Moscow to export more oil. Russia was the world's third-biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in 2025, according to U.S. energy data.

Oil edges lower, but heads for weekly gain as West Asia supply risks persist - The HinduBusinessLine -- Oil prices fell in early trading on Friday but remained on track for weekly gains as the United States and Iran continued trading strikes. Concerns that ‌accelerating inflation could soften oil demand weighed on the market and pressured prices. Brent futures fell 6 ⁠cents, or 0.08 per cent, to $76.24 a barrel by 0125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 4 cents, or 0.06 per cent, to $72.04. For the week, ‌Brent was set for a 6 per cent gain and WTI was headed for a 5 per cent increase. Iranian armed ‌forces launched attacks on US military infrastructure in Gulf ‌states ⁠on Thursday following US strikes on Iran's southern ⁠coastal and eastern provinces, further straining a three-week-old ceasefire. Separately, Iranian media reported multiple explosions across southern Iran, including Bushehr, where one of the country's nuclear plants is located. The ‌renewed fighting came the day that Iran buried its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the culmination of a week of mass funeral processions and rallies. Khamenei was ‌killed on the first day of the war on February 28. The conflict has delayed the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway ⁠that about 20 per cent of daily global oil and gas supplies passed through before the war. "Despite the US ramping up ‌attacks on military sites in Iran, the market drew some reassurance from the Trump administration’s decision to avoid targeting Iranian energy infrastructure," said Daniel Hynes, the senior commodity strategist for ANZ bank. "This was aided by comments from President Trump, who said he doesn’t expect a return to a full-scale ‌conflict." U.S. President Donald Trump had said on Wednesday he did not think the war would restart and that "anything that happens is going to be over very quickly." In the ⁠US, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell ⁠last week, indicating that the labor market remained in a "slow-hire, slow-fire" mode. In China, the world's second-biggest ‌economy, producer price inflation surged to a four-year high in June, piling pressure on manufacturers' profit margins as weak domestic demand limited pricing power.

Oil Steady Despite IEA Projects Global Demand Drop in 2026 (DTN) -- Crude futures were little changed on Friday, amid a bearish sentiment driven by renewed military action in the Middle East and over the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Associated Press, the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, July 9, prompting Tehran to retaliate by targeting U.S.-allied Mideast countries. The exchange of fire threatened a fragile ceasefire agreement intended to help end hostilities in the Middle East. The front-month NYMEX WTI futures contract edged up $0.13 to $72.21 bbl. ICE Brent crude for September delivery rose $0.28 to $76.58 bbl. The NYMEX ULSD futures contract for August rose $0.0476 to $3.6192 gallon. NYMEX RBOB gasoline for August slid $0.0421 to $2.9966 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index inched up by 0.019 points to 100.71 against a basket of foreign currencies. The weakness in the oil futures market was also supported by the International Energy Agency (IEA) projection that global oil demand is projected to drop by 1 million bpd year-on-year in 2026, marking the first annual decline since 2020. Global supply rebounded by a sharp 4.1 million bpd to 98.8 million bpd in June following a midmonth ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. However, overall production remained 9.4 million bpd below pre-war levels after previous hostilities disrupted nearly 14 million bpd of flows, the IEA said in its monthly report. The IEA warned that the fragile supply recovery could quickly reverse if shipping on the Strait of Hormuz faces more disruptions. Goldman Sachs noted that energy shipping traffic on the Hormuz had reached 80% of normal flows by end of last week as tankers rushed to escape the previously blockaded chokepoint after the June 17 ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Both sides declared the pact over on Wednesday, July 8, as hostilities resumed. Separately, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Thursday halted the listing of a contract that would have enabled the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to begin 24/7 trading of crude oil futures as soon as Saturday. On June 22, the CFTC issued a request for comment seeking public input on the propriety of extension of standard futures contracts to 24/7 trading, including crude oil. Despite an ongoing public comment period and known risks as to whether such trading on crude oil would be consistent with the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations thereunder, on July 8, CME sought to self-certify such a contract. "CME's decision to disregard the Commission's effort to undertake a reasoned analysis of the critical issues at stake is wholly inappropriate and necessitates Commission action to stay the certification," said Chairman Michael S. Selig.

Oil prices settle lower on hopes for smoother shipping in Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on Friday after the latest round of U.S.-Iran fighting as traders grew hopeful that shipping would eventually resume in the Strait of Hormuz, but prices finished with sharp ‌weekly gains. Brent futures settled at $76.01 a barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.38%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $71,41 a barrel down 67 cents or 0.93%. For the week, Brent gained about 5.50% and WTI nearly 4%. "This market is ready, willing and able to jump on good news or at least no bad news," "And it looks like the escalation won't get any worse." With the end of tit-for-tat air strikes and the promise of renewed talks between the U.S. and Iran next week, traders looked forward to the Strait of Hormuz ⁠reopening. "Amazingly though, oil prices are coming down after a spike near $76 a barrel, even as the Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut down once again, mainly on confidence that the United States' military strength will not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be shut down for an extended period of time," On Thursday, Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states after U.S. strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces. Prices pared gains after a Reuters report said Qatari negotiators were in Iran to meet Iranian officials in an effort to de-escalate tensions and create conditions for broader negotiations to continue. Separately, Iranian media reported multiple explosions across southern Iran. The area included Bushehr, where one of the country's nuclear plants is located. The recent escalation in hostilities between the U.S. and Iran ‌could ⁠upend the International Energy Agency's forecast of a significant oil market surplus next year, the agency said. The developments have delayed a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about 20% of daily global oil and gas supplies before the start of the war on February 28. The lack of any new U.S. strikes on Iran overnight is probably weighing on oil prices, though a drop in flows through the Strait of Hormuz is limiting the downside, said UBS analyst ⁠Giovanni Staunovo. Liquefied natural gas tankers have passed through the strait in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, but overall daily traffic has slowed. U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that he did not think the war would restart and that "anything that happens is going to be over very quickly". "Despite the U.S. ramping up attacks on military sites in ⁠Iran, the market drew some reassurance from the Trump administration’s decision to avoid targeting Iranian energy infrastructure," said ANZ commodity strategist Daniel Hynes. Elsewhere, the IEA downgraded its projections on Russian oil production because of Ukrainian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure, the agency said on Friday. Russian gasoline output fell ⁠to a level equivalent to only around 65% of the seasonal average consumption after Ukrainian drone attacks led to stoppages at large oil refineries, according to two industry sources and Reuters calculations.

World oil demand set for first annual decline since 2020, IEA says - Global oil demand is set to decline for the first time since 2020 as the Iran war wreaked havoc with production and exports in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday. World oil demand is set to decline by 1 million b/d year-on-year in 2026, which would mark its first annual decrease since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the IEA said in its latest oil market report. This year’s contraction is “highly skewed in both product and regional terms,” as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — the vital shipping route for oil and gas — disrupted exports through the Persian gulf, the agency noted. A recovery is underway, the researchers added, though they warned renewed escalation in the conflict could complicate matters and further cloud the outlook. The IEA’s forecast rests on the assumption of a ceasefire and the gradual reopening of Hormuz, an outcome that looks increasingly uncertain as the U.S. and Iran traded hostilities this week. A number of ships came under attack and traffic through the Strait has once again slowed to a trickle.  “While the global oil market balance looks set to swing back to surplus towards the end of the year, the forecast hinges on the assumption that tanker flows through the Strait will gradually recover, allowing producers to restart fields and refiners in the Middle East and elsewhere to resume product shipments,” the IEA wrote.  “Renewed exchanges of fire in the Gulf this week highlight the risks of not reaching a lasting peace agreement, which is a must for the normalization in oil markets.” Oil prices edged lower on Friday, with global benchmark Brent crude futures for September delivery easing to $76.25 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures held steady at $72.09.  There will not be a “swift or linear” recovery as the IEA expects a “very uncertain and unstable situation” in the region, Toril Bosoni, IEA’s head of oil and markets, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday. “But with significant growth from other producers, and with demand levels lower than we were expecting before the war, we could return to a surplus through the end of the year and into next year,” she added. “This would provide welcome relief to the market and allow countries to rebuild their inventories.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Fires Missiles at Ships Near Hormuz – WSJ --Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles at two commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, according to a senior U.S. official, marking an escalation that threatens to complicate negotiations to end the U.S.-Iran war.The attacks come as Iranians mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader killed at the start of the Iran war. They also follow stepped-up threats by the powerful paramilitary force, which has been undermining talks and warning vessels not to transit the waterway using a route cleared by the U.S. military near the coast of Oman.“Our missiles and drones are ready to fire at you,” the Revolutionary Guard warned ships via maritime radio over the weekend, according to a recording shared with The Wall Street Journal.The move to attack ships with missiles amid talks to end the war demonstrates the power wielded by the Revolutionary Guard, which has been at odds with more moderate voices in the Iranian leadership. In Iran, the Revolutionary Guard and those close to it have stood as the biggest obstacle to an agreement, the Journal has reported. Under a memorandum of understanding, the U.S. and Iran agreed last month to a 60-day period of negotiations to reach a final agreement. One of the vessels under attack appears to be Al Rekayyat, a liquefied natural gas tanker owned and managed by Nakilat, the shipping arm of Qatar’s LNG industry. Nakilat didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In the early hours of Tuesday, a crew member on a ship anchored near Al Rekayyat heard a message from the vessel over the marine VHF radio.  The ship had been hit on the port side, at the top of the engine room, according to a recording shared with the Journal. “Engine room fire and full of smoke. Unable to assess further damage. All crew are safe and mustered on the starboard side,” the recording said. The vessel was at the mouth of the strait, in the Gulf of Oman, when it was attacked, according to the audio recording, in which the vessel’s location was identified. It hasn’t transmitted GPS signals since June 18, according to LSEG. U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report that a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on the port side about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, causing a fire. The vessel was traveling south, according to the notice. No casualties or environmental impact were reported. The fire onboard  was subsequently brought under control, maritime security company Vanguard Tech said.Tehran’s state broadcaster IRIB said the tanker had tried to cross through a U.S.-backed Omani route and was targeted after repeatedly ignoring Iran’s warnings.The attacks come just as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is recovering. Daily traffic through the chokepoint has stabilized at between 30 to 60 crossings in recent days. Shippers have continued to send their ships through despite two attacks on a cargo ship and an oil tanker last month.

Tanker ablaze after being struck by projectile in the Strait of Hormuz (AP) — A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire early Tuesday morning after being struck by a projectile, the British military said. The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault. Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore. The U.S. is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war launched Feb. 28. But previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S., which then saw Iran attack Gulf Arab states — raising the risk of an escalation. Talks between Iran and the U.S., meanwhile, appear to be on hold until after the burial of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war. Signs have been increasing that mourners at his funeral were calling for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the tanker had been hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait. The UKMTO said the projectile hit the port side of the vessel while trying to traveling south out of the strait toward the Gulf of Oman. It said there was no environmental impact from the strike and that authorities were investigating. Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied Tehran carried out the assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar. However, there’s been no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack. Iran’s joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the strait must use its approved routes. It also said that interference by U.S. forces in the strait “will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction.” But the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the U.S. Navy, told shippers on Monday that the route around Oman “has been expanded and remains available for all traffic.” Trump on Monday at the White House also warned Iran that they’d need to “make a deal or we’re going to finish the job.” “I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump said. “We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply.” Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway. The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won’t agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to launch a new route near Oman’s shore earlier sparked attacks across the Mideast, highlighting the tensions. The data firm Kpler reported that over last weekend at least 108 ships crossed through the strait using various routes.

63 Million Barrels Of Iranian Oil Stuck At Sea After US Pulls Iran Sanction Waiver -- Tehran's oil export troubled just got worse. One week after we reported that Iran was already struggling to sell its crude to buyers in Asia (including China, which appears to now prefer UAE exports instead), overnight the US rescinded the sanctions waiver that allowed Tehran to sell its oil without penalties, making sales of Iranian crude to international buyers even more challenging. The Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday prompted immediate US reaction with the USmilitary striking multiple targets in Iran and the Treasury canceling the waiver on Iran’s oil sales that was supposed to be in place until August 21.Iran’s oil sales could be constrained again even before they resume, OilPrice reports. Since the memorandum of understanding was signed in mid-June, Iran has rushed to load cargoes from its key export sites at Kharg Island, and move its tankers out of the Gulf as soon as possible, after weeks of virtually no exports because of the U.S. blockade that began in mid-April.The surge in Iranian shipments out of the Gulf and into waters near the Malacca and Singapore Straits gave Iran a lifeline to boost its exports that had suffered from the U.S. blockade.China has remained Iran’s key customer as other buyers are reluctant to commit to purchases. But in recent weeks, we learned that even Chinese purchases of Iran oil have slowed dramatically, and now that the US has ended the waiver and sanctions are in place again, buyers in India that were considering potential purchases have likely backed out. Additionally, one could go so far as to argue Iranian oil in tankers is once again subject to US seizure.Iran is thus left with millions of barrels of crude oil on tankers moving or idling in a large area from the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca. Most of the laden tankers do not broadcast destination or broadcast they are for orders, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.Currently, as many as 63 million barrels of Iranian oil are either in transit or idling in tankers, per Bloomberg’s estimates based on data from Vortexa, which also notes that oil on floating storage in the Gulf has more than doubled in the past week to over 41 million barrels.

Iran condemns US gross war crimes after strike hit international rail corridor -- Tehran has strongly condemned the latest US strikes on civilian infrastructure as "gross war crimes" after cruise missiles hit multiple locations, including a bridge on a strategic international rail corridor in northwestern Iran, saying the attacks violated the UN Charter and the ceasefire memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries. In a strongly-worded statement on Thursday, the ministry said the attacks amount to "gross war crimes" and flagrant violations of the UN Charter and the war-ending memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Iran and the United States. It affirmed the unwavering determination of Iran's courageous people to defend their territorial integrity, sovereignty, and national security. The US carried out “criminal” attacks against Iran over the past 48 hours under the false pretext of giving response to alleged incidents involving several transgressing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, it added. These strikes, the ministry emphasized, not only constitute a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter but a gross breach of paragraphs one and five of the MoU on ending the war. They also constitute a pretext to justify Washington's continued non-compliance with the memorandum, it noted. The statement said the attacks came at a time when Iran's “wise and courageous” nation demonstrated its firm determination to confront the malevolent enemies and to safeguard the country’s power, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity through its magnificent and unparalleled presence in the historic farewell ceremony for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. "The malicious and psychopathic ruling administration of the United States, in order to compensate for its inability to comprehend the greatness and glory of Iranian patriotism and loyalty to the ideals of the [Islamic] Revolution, has resorted to insults, lies, and military aggression, including by targeting the railway route to Mashhad," the ministry said. The ministry further expressed disgust at the "vile rhetoric" of the US president and other American officials against the Iranian nation and announced that their explicit acknowledgment of non-compliance with the June 18 MoU “constitutes yet another clear testament to the treachery, wickedness, bellicosity, and malice” of the United States. It reiterated Iran’s determination to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to punish the aggressors. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will under no circumstances allow the treachery, bullying, and decadence of the US ruling administration to undermine Iran's national rights and interests," the statement pointed out. Earlier, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the US struck a railway bridge in Aq-Qala, an area northeast of Tehran in Golestan Province. The bridge lies on the international China–Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan–Incheh Borun rail corridor, which enters Iran through its northeastern border before linking Gorgan to Tehran. The route forms part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, connecting the Chinese city of Xi'an with the Iranian capital. Iranian media have reported that at least 65 freight trains traveled from China to Iran via the corridor last year. They added that foreign media reported a threefold increase in rail traffic after US imposed illegal blockade on Iranian ports in April. The report also said Russia began shipping goods to Iran through the route in late 2025, prompting analysts to view the strike as more than a conventional military attack. Previous attacks on Iran's rail infrastructure had been repaired within days, with six railway bridges restored in less than 96 hours following strikes earlier this year.

Oil tanker traffic through Hormuz at near standstill as attacks strain Iran truce -July 9 (Reuters) - Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill on Thursday, according to data and sources, as shipping risks escalated after the U.S. renewed airstrikes on Iran, triggering retaliation by Tehran in the Gulf. Just two tankers had so far sailed through the strait in the early hours of Thursday. They included the crude supertanker Berg 1, which had loaded at Iran's Kharg Island and is subject to U.S. sanctions, according to analysis from Kpler. The Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker Well Sail, also transited the strait, Kpler analysis showed. Its previous loading destination was near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, according to LSEG ship tracking data. Shipping industry sources said vessels were increasingly switching off their public AIS tracking transponders, making it harder to see all of the ships crossing.     "Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has essentially stopped, which tells you more about risk perception right now than any statement from Washington or Tehran," Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, wrote in a report. Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in neighbouring Gulf states on Thursday in response to U.S. strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces, putting further strain on a three-week-old truce. The latest flare-up in the four-month conflict began earlier this week with attacks on three tankers in the strait that the U.S. blamed on Tehran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Thursday that U.S. attacks on Iran and intervention in redirecting shipping were disrupting the strait's gradual reopening, warning that any further U.S. intervention would draw a "crushing response". The Strait of Hormuz handled about a fifth of global oil supplies before the war erupted on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. Daily traffic in the past two weeks had risen to its highest levels since the war's outbreak, averaging 40 ships transiting the strait, which was still far off the pre-conflict average of 125 to 140 daily sailings. Some war underwriters have advised shipping companies to pause voyages through the strait while others are reviewing their policy terms after the renewed vessel attacks, insurance industry sources told Reuters. "The Hormuz reopening story looks more fragile after the latest escalation," ship broker Clarksons said in a report. One of the three vessels hit this week, the Marshall Islands-flagged Qatari LNG tanker Al Rekayyat, remains stranded and awaiting salvage operations off Oman after a projectile strike late on Tuesday sparked a fire in its engine room. Despite earlier fears of an explosion, industry sources said that risk was low for now and its cargo of liquefied natural gas appeared secure. The ship registry of the Marshall Islands, one of the world's top flag states, told Reuters there were no reported injuries or environmental impacts as a result of the incident involving the Al Rekayyat. "As recent incidents have shown, the (marine war) market is now facing the prospect of potentially severe losses involving vessels of substantial value," said one marine war underwriter, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Saudi Arabia considers expansion of oil pipeline to Red Sea, sources say  Saudi Arabia is considering expanding the capacity of its crude oil pipeline to the western Red Sea coast, five sources close to the matter said, enabling the kingdom and possibly neighbours ‌to transport more oil without crossing the Strait of Hormuz.  The East-West pipeline was built in the early 1980s and has become crucial since the start of the Iran war in February and the resulting halt to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.  It can transport up to 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. About 2 million bpd feed refineries on the west coast and roughly 5 million bpd are for export, the CEO of state-backed oil company Aramco, said in May.  The kingdom is in preliminary talks with ⁠some of its neighbours about the potential expansion of the pipeline's capacity by up to 2 million bpd, the sources said.  It was unclear if Aramco's planned capacity increase would involve upgrades to existing infrastructure or construction of a new pipeline. One of the sources said the increase would include a smaller second pipe for oil products.  Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar all lack routes that can bypass Hormuz while Iraq's pipeline to Turkey, dogged by disputes and repeated shutdowns, runs well below capacity.  "We are in discussions with our brothers in Saudi Arabia and in the emirates to look at how to expand the pipeline system that they have to accommodate Kuwaiti barrels," Kuwait Petroleum Corporation CEO Sheikh Nawaf al-Sabah told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum last month.  The expansion could be for 1 million to 2 million bpd, two of the sources said, with refined products also under consideration. It would take years, cost billions of dollars and require changes ‌to Saudi ⁠crude's pricing mechanism, another source said.  Iran's blockade of the strait forced Gulf producers to shut in as much as 12 million bpd, sending prices surging. Flows have resumed partially after a preliminary U.S.-Iran deal last month, but they remain below pre-war levels.  Iraqi output collapsed from 4.3 million bpd to less than 1.5 million bpd in May, Kuwait declared force majeure in March and Bahrain's Sitra refinery was struck by Iranian missiles several times.  "The recent talks about new pipeline corridors involving Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar reflect a ⁠broader strategic reality. The conflict has focused minds regionally on the perils of relying solely on Hormuz," said Zaid Belbagi, managing partner at London-based Hardcastle Advisory.  Aramco declined to comment while the Saudi and Bahraini government communications offices, the Iraqi oil ministry and QatarEnergy did not respond immediately to requests for comment.  Qatar, which mainly exports LNG, faces greater technical ⁠hurdles and is considering several potential alternatives, including via Saudi Arabia, three sources said.  The UAE, the only other Gulf state with meaningful Hormuz-bypass capacity, has completed half of a new West-East pipeline that will double crude capacity to Fujairah when it becomes operational next year. Its existing Abu Dhabi pipeline carries up ⁠to 1.8 million bpd.  An expansion by Saudi Arabia "suggests that after the war, the next phase of the Saudi-UAE rivalry could be a race to the top on oil production, and therefore a race to the bottom on prices," one industry source said.

Saudi Arabia blocking money transfers to Emirati banks: Reports  - Saudi Arabia has been blocking or delaying money transfers to accounts in the United Arab Emirates amid escalated tensions between the two Persian Gulf states. Financial transfers from Saudi banks to UAE accounts have been returned or held up since May, usually without any reason given, the Financial Times reported this week, citing sources familiar with the matter. "Saudi Arabia is blocking or delaying financial remittances sent from domestic banks to UAE accounts," the report said, adding that the accounts belonged to businesses and individuals. One healthcare firm in Dubai told the FT that three separate payments from a long-standing Saudi client had been blocked by the kingdom's banks since mid-May. "They are saying there's a block from the Saudi central bank and they can't really give more detail than that," an executive at the Dubai-based healthcare firm revealed. "We have a customer waiting for goods, but the payment is not happening." Similar incidents were reported by executives at other Dubai-based firms. Riyadh's central bank rejected the report, saying it did not impose "direct restrictions on specific countries." However, Bloomberg also published similar news reports, with sources telling the outlet that "several people experienced money sent from Saudi Arabian accounts not arriving in UAE accounts, being returned to the sender, and electronic payments being blocked." The Bloomberg report suggested rivalry between the financial institutions of the two Persian Gulf states as the root of the delays and blocking.  Kristian Coates Ulrichsen from the Baker Institute told Middle East Eye (MEE) that the rivalry between the two neighboring states is nothing new. "There has always been economic competition between the two sides, and this is not the first time that such measures have reportedly been deployed to raise the stakes. The relationship survived previous bouts of tension in the late 2000s and in 2021 as well," Coates Ulrichsen said. During the recent unprovoked US-Israeli war on Iran, attacks on Iran were launched from the territory of several Persian Gulf Arab states. However, the US-Israeli failure in its war on Iran ignited a clash between US President Donald Trump and the Saudi leadership. Now, according to some reports, Saudi Arabia is backtracking from its hostile stance toward Iran in order to prioritize its security after the US war failed to achieve its goal of defeating Iran.

'UAE is Helping Us': Israeli Minister Confirms Iron Dome Transfer to UAE - Palestine Chronicle - Israeli Transport and Road Safety Minister Miri Regev has become the first Israeli official to publicly acknowledge security cooperation with the United Arab Emirates during the recent conflict with Iran, appearing to confirm months of media reports that had never previously received official recognition. The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that, speaking in an interview with Israel’s Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), Regev referred to the UAE while discussing regional security challenges posed by Iranian ballistic missiles. “They understood that ballistic missiles are one of the biggest challenges—the Emirates are helping us,” Regev said. Her remarks constitute the first official confirmation from an Israeli government minister that the UAE assisted Israel during the conflict, following repeated reports in Israeli and international media. Regev’s comments follow months of speculation regarding unprecedented military coordination between Israel and the UAE during the war with Iran. Among the most widely cited reports was an Axios investigation, which, citing two senior Israeli officials and one senior US official, reported that Israel had deployed an Iron Dome air defense battery to the UAE early in the conflict. According to the report, the deployment included Israeli military personnel responsible for operating the system. The report said the move reflected unprecedented levels of intelligence and security cooperation between the two countries.

Hamas Dissolves Gaza Government as It Presses for Implementation of Peace Plan - - Hamas on Monday announced that it was dissolving its governing body in Gaza as it’s pushing for the implementation of the US-backed Gaza peace plan amid Israel’s constant violations of the ceasefire deal signed in October 2025. Gaza’s Government Media Office said in a statement that Mohammed al-Farra, the head of the governing “Emergency Committee,” has “decided to submit his official resignation from his position and to announce the dissolution of the Government Emergency Committee, as a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process.”Hamas said the purpose of the dissolution was to begin the transfer of governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a group of Palestinians who, under President Trump’s Gaza plan, are supposed to take over the governance of the Palestinian territory. However, Israel has been blocking the NCAG, and there’s no sign that it will allow the group to enter following Hamas’s announcement. Israel has been demanding Hamas’s disarmament to move forward with the Gaza plan, while Hamas has insisted it won’t discuss the issue until Israel actually implements the October 2025 ceasefire deal. Despite claims from US and Israeli officials, the ceasefire deal didn’t commit Hamas to disarming, as that issue and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza were meant to be worked out in follow-up negotiations and to coincide with the NCAG taking over Gaza and the deployment of an international force, which never came to fruition.  Hamas’s move is seen as an effort to get mediators and the so-called “Board of Peace” to pressure Israel to actually implement the deal and stop its daily attacks in Gaza, which have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the agreement was signed. Israel has also ramped up ground incursions and is capturing more territory, another clear violation of the agreement. “Hamas has taken a new step in that it will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip, in order to remove any pretexts for the occupation, which continues its aggression and war of extermination,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, according to AFP.“We hope for the swift entry of the [NCAG], and Hamas affirms its readiness to hand over governmental responsibilities to the committee to ensure its success,” Qassem added. Hamas officials said that its Interior Ministry would still be responsible for policing and security in Gaza so as not to create a “security vacuum.” The US-led “Board of Peace” said that it “took note” of Hamas’s announcement and said that its “assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.”

Lebanese Christians Reject Netanyahu's Claim They Requested Annexation Into Israel - -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made headlines Sunday with a claim that Lebanese Christian communities in southern Lebanon are so happy with the protection afforded them by ongoing Israeli military occupation that they’re actually requesting to be annexed into Israel outright.Netanyahu went on to purport that it wasn’t only Christians, but that Druze and Sunni Muslims were also asking for IDF “protection” from “Hezbollah fanatics.” Netanyahu made these claims during a Fox News interview.Locals contested the claim more or less immediately. The mayor of Rmeih, one of the largest Christian villages in the area, insisted that not a single mayor had asked for annexation, adding that such a move would be completely out of the question for the villages, and that locals feel connected to the Lebanese identity. While Netanyahu presented the occupation forces as protecting Christian communities in the area, there have been several high-profile incidents throughout the war in which IDF troops attacked Christian targets, including an incident where a convent was attacked and a highly publicized image in April of IDF troops smashing a statue of Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer.The sledgehammer incident was in the Lebanese village of Debel, and is just one of several incidents of Israeli troops attacking the Christian village, destroying infrastructure that powers their water supply, or otherwise desecrating religious imagery within. In the wake of Netanyahu’s claims and the subsequent denial, the Israeli army issued warnings to multiple Lebanese Christian towns and villages across the south, warning them against letting any “outsiders” in.

Israeli Settlers Establish Cattle Farm In Southwest Syria - Adding concern that the Israeli invasion of southwest Syria is proving to be a lot more permanent than initially suggested, Israeli settlers have established a new illegal settlement inside Syria’s Daraa Governorate, bringing some 140 head of cattle with them.The project was the result of a group calling itself Hashomer Hahadash, with the help of a former IDF commander, Col. Benny Kata. The settlement is positioned along the Yarmouk Basin watershed, adjacent to the already Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The group has been seeking to occupy this particular part of Syria for over a decade now, and claims that the seized land was technically seized by Israel in 1974, even though it was on the other side of the fence. The area was previously grazing land for Syrian herders.The settlers termed the Syrian herders both a “nuisance” and a potential “infiltration” threat to Israel, in as much as it was relatively close to already occupied Israeli territory. The cows, they say, will keep the Syrians and their own herds out.This perception of Syrian shepherds as a de facto threat seems to reflect IDF policy in southwest Syria, as shepherds are routinely the target of harassment and summary detention by Israeli troops, even though they never actually leave rural Syria. It now seems to serve to give the settlers an argument that their land seizure is serving Israeli strategic interests.

Russian Strikes Pound Kyiv as Ukraine Fires Over 600 Drones Into Russia - - Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Monday as Ukrainian forces fired over 600 drones into Russian regions.According to Ukrainian officials, the Russian strikes on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed at least 22 people, and 85 were injured. Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia fired 351 drones and 68 missiles, including 29 ballistic missiles, that mainly targeted Kyiv, and that all of the ballistic missiles got through Ukraine’s air defenses and struck targets.Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its forces delivered a “massive” attack on the Ukrainian capital in response to what it called Ukraine’s “terrorist attacks” in Russia, as there has been a spike in civilian casualties in Russian regions in recent months.The ministry claimed that the attack targeted “military-industrial enterprises, fuel and energy sites” in the Ukrainian capital, though photos show residential buildings were also heavily damaged, and that Russian forces also hit “infrastructure of military airfields” in several other Ukrainian regions.The Russian Defense Ministry also said that its forces shot down 613 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions. At least one woman was killed by the Ukrainian drone barrage in Crimea, and seven people were wounded when a drone hit a bus in Russia’s Belgorod region. A Ukrainian drone attack also set an oil refinery on fire in Omsk, a city deep inside Russia that’s about 1,700 miles from the frontline in Ukraine.The ministry vowed that Russia’s attacks on Ukraine would intensify, saying that the Western attempts to use Ukraine “for attacks on Russian civilian facilities will be countered by an increase in the number and severity of strikes on Ukrainian territory.”

Russia & Ukraine Trade Some Of Biggest Strikes Of War On Eve Of NATO Summit   - Russia has unleashed another massive drone and missile attack wave on Ukraine's capital, just on the eve of the major annual NATO summit, which is in Ankara, Turkey this week. Over a dozen people were killed, with heavy damage against residential structures observed. The death toll could rise, but "In total, 14 people have died and 117 have been injured in Kyiv," the office of the attorney general said on Monday morning. Rescue crews have been retrieving bodies from under rubble throughout Monday.The Russian Defense ‌Ministry announced that it used long-range weapons ‌and drones to carry out a "massive" attack on Kiev and other cities, saying that military bases and energy facilities were successfully struck. According to details of the timing of the attack wave:  The Kyiv Independent reported that the first explosions were heard at about 1:40am local time, followed by more strikes at 2:10am and 3:15am. Thousands of residents fled to underground shelters, it reported, as air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine. At least 15 buildings were damaged in Kyiv in the strikes, including four in the capital’s historic Podilskyi district, Tkachenko said. As for the significant numbers of projectiles focused on the Ukrainian capital alone, another source reports:  Ukraine's air force said Russia used 68 missiles, including 23 ballistic and six super and hypersonic missiles, as well as 351 drones in the attack. Air force units shot down or neutralized 37 missiles and 326 drones, but none of the ballistic missiles or super and hypersonic missiles, the air force data showed. Neighboring Poland briefly scrambled fighter jets as a preventive measure. Rumors of warehouse with depleted uranium having been struck...According to Kyiv sources, Russia may hit a military warehouse with depleted uranium-238 ammunition. This is why residents were ordered to stay indoors and keep windows closed. The small town of Vyshneve is being fully evacuated. The detonation is still ongoing. This could have bad consequences for all of Kyiv.

Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s largest oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia - Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in the city of Omsk in western Siberia, in what appears to be one of Kyiv’s deepest attacks on Russian territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Ukraine’s military general staff said Monday that the strike caused a fire at the facility, which is situated nearly 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) from Ukrainian territory and close to Russia’s border with Kazakhstan.The attack, which was confirmed by local Russian officials, provides further evidence of Kyiv’s enhanced long-range drone capabilities and comes on the eve of a crunch NATO summit. Heads of state from 32 countries are expected in Turkey’s capital from Tuesday for the two-day conference.“Today, our long-range sanctions reached the oil refinery in Omsk – nearly 2,500 kilometres from Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily evening address, according to a translation.“Upgraded Fire Point drones have put Siberia within reach of Ukrainian precision. This is a significant blow to Russia’s oil economy and an important achievement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.Based in Kyiv, Fire Point is a leading Ukrainian defense-technology company that specializes in drone and missile systems for modern precision warfare.The Omsk oil refinery represents the largest of Russia’s 11 gasoline producers to be hit by Ukrainian forces, Ukraine’s military said.The facility is estimated to have a refining capacity of more than 21 million metric tons of crude oil per year and specializes in the production of a range of fuels, lubricants and petrochemical products.

Russia's Ilsky oil refinery catches fire, Taganrog evacuates after drone attacks (Reuters) - Russia's Ilsky oil ‌refinery in the southern Krasnodar region caught fire after a drone attack, while authorities in the city of Taganrog evacuated people following a separate strike, local officials said on Friday.No one was ⁠injured, according to preliminary information, the authorities said.Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia's energy and other infrastructure in recent months to undermine Moscow's war effort. The Ilsky refinery, with a capacity of around 138,000 barrels per day, has been attacked several times before. attacks on oil refineries have resulted in fuel shortages, ‌long ⁠queues at the filling stations and fuel price rises across Russia.In Russia's Rostov region, fires were being extinguished at two fuel depots and at the Taganrog sea port, ⁠Governor Yury Slyusar said on Telegram.Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova said on the Max messaging app that the authorities evacuated people ⁠from their houses in the affected areas. She said a private house was damaged and the roof ⁠of an administrative building caught fire.The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence units had downed 376 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Russia Bans Diesel Exports, Assuring Even Higher Prices -As was widely speculated in recent days, Russia banned exports of diesel in order to avoid domestic shortages after a flurry of attacks by Ukrainian drones on the nation’s refineries. “Today we introduced ban on exports of diesel,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the government’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin. The decision will further squeeze global fuel markets, which are already under pressure due to the supply disruption caused by the Iran war. Russia's decision means that the recent surge in the diesel margins to record highs, which have completely disconnected with oil prices, are set to rise even more.  Last year, Russia accounted for about 11% of global supplies of diesel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa. The logical corollary is what the DOE reported earlier today, namely that US product exports - which include diesel and other refined products - surged to a record high. Exports of the fuel were previously banned only for traders and other sellers in Russia that don’t make their own fuel. The diesel ban comes on top of existing restrictions on most shipments of gasoline and jet fuel. Russia has been struggling to ensure domestic oil-product supplies and to contain prices at the pump after drone attacks damaged several refineries.  Ukraine’s intensified strikes pushed Russia’s crude-processing rates to multi-year lows. Many regions have been forced to impose some degree of fuel rationing because of the disruptions.  Even before the ban, Russia’s diesel and gasoil exports were dropping significantly. During the first three weeks of June, its exports of diesel and gasoil averaged about 490,000 barrels a day, only slightly more than half of what the nation shipped to foreign markets in 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from Vortexa.

How Ukraine’s devastating drone attacks triggered Russia’s fuel shortage crisis - Ukrainian drones have reportedly targeted Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, deep within Siberia, in what Kyiv's military and Russian local authorities confirm was one of the longest-range attacks of the ongoing conflict.The strike this week underscores Ukraine's expanding reach. These persistent drone assaults are now intensifying fuel shortages across Russia, leading to widespread reports of escalating prices and lengthy queues at petrol stations throughout numerous regions.Following is a summary of the attacks starting with the most recent and their impact: Ukrainian drones struck the Omsk refinery on Monday, causing a fire, though there were no casualties. Russian air defences destroyed most of the drones involved in the attack, Governor Vitaly Khotsenko said. ⁠It was not immediately clear how much damage the refinery had sustained. The design capacity of the Omsk oil refinery is approximately 22 million metric tons of oil per year.Ukrainian drones hit NORSI, Russia's fourth-largest oil refinery, owned by Lukoil, for a second time on July 2 and crude oil processing was suspended, according to sources. They said the attack had damaged a primary refining unit, CDU-6, which is usually able to process 25,700 metric tons per day, equivalent to some 190,000 barrels, and accounts for 53% of the refinery's overall capacity.NORSI, which is Russia's second-largest producer of gasoline, can process 16 million metric tons of oil per year, or around 320,000 barrels per day. SLAVYANSK Ukrainian drones struck Russian targets including Slavyansk ⁠oil refinery in the southern Krasnodar region on June 28, local authorities said. Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with capacity of about 100,000 barrels per day. It supplies fuel for domestic use and export.Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl, some 250 km (160 miles) northeast of Moscow, on July 6, Ukraine's military General Staff said on Telegram. The refinery has processing capacity of 15 million metric tons per year, or around 300,000 barrels per day. UFA Ukraine's forces struck for a second time on ⁠July 1 an oil refinery in the city of Ufa, near ‌the southern Ural mountains, some 1,150 km (715 miles) east of Moscow. This refinery can process more than 7 million tons of oil per year.Ukraine's military said on June 24 it had struck Orenburg gas processing plant, which has a capacity of 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.Moscow oil refinery halted operations after a Ukrainian drone attack on June 16, two industry sources said. On June 18, another attack damaged processing units and sparked multiple fires across the site. The facility in the capital's southeastern Kapotnya district has an annual capacity of around 11 million tons of oil.Russian Tatneft's TANECO oil refinery halted operations after a drone attack on June 12. TANECO is one of Russia's most technologically advanced refineries, equipped with hydrocracking, catalytic cracking and delayed coking units According to industry data, TANECO processed 17.0 million tons of crude oil in 2024, producing 2.7 million tons of motor gasoline, 8.5 million tons `of diesel fuel and 1.3 million tons of petroleum coke.Rosneft's Kuibyshev oil refinery halted processing on June 10 after a drone attack. The Kuibyshev refinery processed 4.7 million tons of crude in 2024, or 94,400 barrels a day, producing 0.8 million tons of gasoline, 1.4 million tons of diesel and 1.3 million tons of fuel oil, according to industry sources.Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Rosneft-owned Syzran oil refinery in the Samara region, the Ukrainian military and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on May 21. The refinery halted operations after the attack damaged a primary processing unit, two industry sources said. It had previously suspended oil refining after drone attacks on April 18. The refinery has processing capacity of 8.5 million tons per year, or around 170,000 barrels per day.In 2024, it processed 4.3 million tons of crude into 800,000 tons of gasoline, 1.5 million tons of diesel and 700,000 tons of fuel oil, according to industry ‌sources.Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery in the Black Sea port of Tuapse on May 27, the Ukrainian military's General Staff said. A drone attack caused a major fire at the oil refinery on April 28, officials said, causing the facility, which sells most of its products for export, to halt ‌operations, according to two industry sources. It has a capacity of around 12 million ⁠tons per year, or 240,000 barrels per day, and produces naphtha, diesel, fuel oil and vacuum gasoil.Ukrainian drone attacks on July 6 damaged the Baltic Sea ⁠ports of Vysotsk and Ust-Luga, a major oil exporting outlet, and caused a power blackout in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, authorities said. A loading complex caught fire in Russia's Black Sea port ‌of Novorossiysk after a drone attack, local authorities said on June 8.A fire broke out at the southern Russian port of Temryuk after a Ukrainian ‌drone attack, regional authorities in the Krasnodar region said on May 29. Also on May 29, fuel storage facilities caught fire following a Ukraine drone attack in Russia's Yaroslavl region, Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said. Ukraine attacked Russia's ports on the Baltic and Black seas, including the Primorsk port, oil tankers and military ships on May 3.