note: i experienced a number of mostly brief power outages as thunderstorms rolled thru here midweek, then complete internet outages from late Thursday to late Friday, and again from before noon on Saturday to around 10 AM Sunday, which meant i couldn’t catch up with what i had missed. ..hence this week’s coverage is slim and incomplete……
So briefly, oil prices finished higher for a third consecutive week, as markets continued to react to the ongoing exchange of air attacks between Israel and Iran, the associated potential for further destabilization in the Mideast, and the potential related action from the US...while the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for July delivery ended the week 2.7% higher at $74.93 a barrel, there was quite a bit of volatility during daily trading, with Monday alone seeing a price swing of more than 11%, first by opening 5% higher than last week's close at $76.54, the rising another 3% to $77.49 a barrel, then tumbling nearly 12% to $69.38 on reports that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities with Israel, before settling 1.2% lower at $71.77 a barrel...
meanwhile, natural gas prices finished higher for the second time in three weeks. largely due to an outbreak of hot weather across the densely populated north eastern quarter of the country, but also due to a slightly smaller than expected injection of natural gas into storage...after falling 5.4% to $3.581 per mmBTU last week on swelling supplies, mild weather, and LNG plant maintenance, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for July delivery rose more than 10% to an eleven week high by midweek, before pulling back on Friday to settle at $3.847 per mmBTU, and thus finish 7.4% higher for the week...
The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending June 13th indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 95 billion cubic feet to 2,802 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 233 billion cubic feet, or 7.7% below the 3,035 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on June 13th of last year, but 162 billion cubic feet, or 6.1% more than the five-year average of 2,640 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 13th of June over the most recent five years….the 95 billion cubic foot injection into US natural gas storage for the cited week a little less than the 98 billion cubic foot addition to storage that analysts forecast in a Reuters poll ahead of the report, but was significantly more than the 72 billion cubic foot that were added to natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2024, as well as more than the average 72 billion cubic foot addition to natural gas storage that has been typical for the same early June 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 June 13th indicated that after a big increase in oil exports and a drop in oil imports, we again had to withdraw oil from our stored crude supplies for the eighth time in twenty weeks, and for the 29th time in fifty weeks, and by the most since June 2024, even after a significant drop in refinery demand…Our imports of crude oil fell by an average of 672,000 barrels per day to average 5,504,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 170,000 barrels per day over the prior week, while our exports of crude oil rose by an average of 1,075,000 barrels per day to average 4,361,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to a net import average of 1,143,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending June 13th, an average of 1,747,000 fewer 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 averaged 591,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 3,000 barrels per day higher at 13,431,000 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 15 225,000 barrels per day during the June 13th reporting week…
Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 16,862,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending June 13th, an average of 365,000 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 a net average of 1,606,000 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 net imports, from storage, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending June 13th averaged a rounded 90,000 barrels per day less than what what our oil refineries reported they used during the week. To account for that difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [ +90,000 ] 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 size in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed…(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 old twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had once hoped to do about it)
This week’s rounded 1,606,000 barrel per day average decrease in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 1,639,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while 33,000 barrels per day were being added to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the seventy-sixth SPR increase in the past eighty-six weeks, following nearly continuous SPR withdrawals over the 39 months prior to that… Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicate that the 4 week average of our oil imports fell to 6,094,000 barrels per day last week, which was 16.5% less than the 7,296,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year. This week’s crude oil production was reported to be 3,000 barrels per day higher at 13,431,000 barrels per day as the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 11,000 barrels per day higher at 13,000,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 8,000 barrels per day lower at 431,000 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 3.0% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also up 39.1% from 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 93.2% of their capacity while processing those 16,862,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending June 13th, down from their 94.3% utilization rate of a week earlier, which had been the highest utilization rate since July 5th of last year…. the 16,862,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined this week were 0.6% more than the 16,765,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending June 14th of 2024, but were 2.3% less than the 17,264,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending June 14th, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 93.9%, close to normal for this time of year…
Even with the decrease in the amount of oil being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was higher, increasing by 386,000 barrels per day to a 31 week high of 10,104,000 barrels per day during the week ending June 13th, after our refineries’ gasoline output had increased by 681,000 barrels per day during the prior week.. This week’s gasoline production was still 0.6% less than the 10,170,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending June 14th of last year, and 3.1% less than the gasoline production of 10,423,000 barrels per day during the prepandemic week ending June 14th, 2019….at the same time, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) increased by 77,000 barrels per day to 4,974,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had decreased by 97,000 barrels per day during the prior week. With that production increase, our distillates output was 4.5% more than the 4,760,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending June 14th of 2024, but 7.4% less than the 5,371,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending June 14th, 2019…
With this week’s increase in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week rose for the sixth time in sixteen weeks, increasing by 209,000 barrels to 230,013,000 barrels during the week ending June 13th, after our gasoline inventories had increased by 1,504,000 barrels during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies rose by less this week because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users rose by 113,000 barrels per day to 9,299,000 barrels per day, and even though our exports of gasoline fell by 56,000 barrels per day to 801,000 barrels per day, while our imports of gasoline rose by 69,000 barrels per day to 960,000 barrels per day while ….But after thirteen gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past eighteen weeks, our gasoline supplies were 0.5% lower than last June 14th’s gasoline inventories of 231,232,000 barrels, and were about 2% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…
With the increase in this week’s distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels rose for the 8th time in 22 weeks, increasing by 514,000 barrels to 109,398,000 barrels during the week ending June 13th, after our distillates supplies had increased by 1,246,000 barrels during the prior week.. Our distillates supplies increased by less this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, rose by 370,000 to 3,746,000 barrels per day, and even though our exports of distillates fell by 139,000 barrels per day to 1,308,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates rose by 49,000 barrels per day to 153,000 barrels per day...After 43 inventory withdrawals over the past 73 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 10.1% below the 121,640,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on June 14th of 2024, and were still about 17% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…
Finally, with the big increase in our oil exports and the decrease in our oil imports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 13th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 30th time over the past year, and by the most since June 28th, 2024, decreasing by 11,473,000 barrels over the week, from 432,415,000 barrels on June 6th to 420,942,000 barrels on June 13th, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 3,644,000 barrels over the prior week… After that decrease, our commercial crude oil inventories fell to 10% below the recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, while they were still about 20% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the second weekend of June over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the big 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, our commercial crude supplies have somewhat leveled off since, and as of this June 13th were 7.9% below the 457,105,000 barrels of oil left in commercial storage on June 14th of 2024, and 9.1% less than the 463,293,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on June 16th of 2023, but were 0.6% more than the 418,328,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on June 17th of 2022…
This Week’s Rig Count
The US rig count decreased by one during the week ending June 20th, the twelfth decrease in fourteen weeks, as one rig targeting oil was removed, and two rigs targeting natural gas were shut down, but two miscellaneous rigs, which are often those exploring a new basin, were added...notice that four rigs were added offshore, but only one of those was in the Gulf of Mexico; two were offshore from Alaska, and one was offshore from California, where there are now two rigs; one offshore from Santa Barbara and the other otfshore from Los Angeles...
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 June 20th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (June 13th) and this week’s (June 20th) count, the third column shows last week’s June 13th active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Friday and the number running on the Friday before the same weekend 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 the 21st of June, 2024…
the 438 oil directed rigs that were drilling this week was the lowest oil rig count since October 2021
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Coast Guard, EPA respond to oil spill on Cuyahoga River tributary – The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are among those responding to an oil spill on Kingsbury Run, which is a tributary of the Cuyahoga River. The source of the spill has not been determined, according to the Coast Guard, and an investigation is ongoing. But the source is very likely old oil from a former Sohio refinery nearby, said Jenn Elting, spokeswoman for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. An oil and water separator on the property that was designed to keep pollutants from getting into the run is no longer operating. A similar spill occurred at the same location last year around this time, she said. Elting said the sewer system’s maintenance and operation team saw a sheen on Kingsbury Run last week and notified the Ohio EPA and then the U.S. EPA’s National Response Center, which also the alerted the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard, U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA are part of a Unified Command responding to the spill. The sewer district and Cleveland Water Pollution Control are also involved. “The UC was established to provide for a multi-layered approach to ensure effective containment, mitigation, and removal of all pollution from Kingsbury Run,” the Coast Guard states in a news release. “Responders have limited the spread of the spill through the use of boom and other containment methods.”
Second natural gas plant planned for 2031 in Oregon -The Press has learned that Competitive Power Ventures, based out of Silver Springs, Md., is in the second stage of a process to build a second natural gas power plant in the city of Oregon. While the company has not gone public in its endeavor and Oregon city administrator Joel Mazur would not confirm who the company is, the Ohio Power Siting Board announced in November 2023 that it had granted an 18-month extension on initial project plans to the site’s previous owner, Clean Energy Future-Oregon, due to supply chain delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the transition of the facility to a new owner, CPV Oregon Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Competitive Power Ventures. Then, on Feb. 9, 2024 – per the Ohio Public Utilities Commission website - the attorney for CPV Oregon Holdings, Dylan F. Borchers of Bricker Graydon LLP, provided official notice to Tanowa Troupe of the Ohio Power Siting Board that 100 percent ownership had been transferred on Jan. 19, 2024. Clean Energy Future-Oregon had originally planned to construct a natural gas-fired, 955 megawatt combined-cycle electric generation facility. However, The Press has discovered that a new natural gas site is currently going through the engineering approval process for a 1,475 megawatt natural gas facility. The now 50-acre site is located between North Wynn and North Lallendorf and north of Parkway Road, directly adjacent to the new data center being built. If all goes right in the approximately 18-month approval process, ground could be broken by mid-2027 with an anticipated opening by 2031. While he wouldn’t disclose the company, Mazur was able to discuss some details of the project in an exclusive interview with The Press. Although he has been in his role as city administrator in Oregon since October 2022, he said this is a project that has been discussed even before his arrival, approximately the past seven to eight years. Mazur said he has a “high level of confidence” that the project will be fully approved and that this will become a reality. “All indicators point to that this is a great location, that this should go through,” he said. “They already have the zoning they need. They already have the land ownership, and they have the availability of the resources to make this project work.”
NRG, LS Power Asks FERC to Approve $18B Deal for 12 Gas-Fired Plants - Marcellus Drilling News - A month ago, NRG Energy announced a deal to acquire LS Power’s portfolio of natural-gas power plants in a deal valued at roughly $12 billion, including debt, that will expand NRG’s footprint in Texas and along the East Coast (see NRG Buys 18 Gas-Fired Power Plants, Including 5 in PA, for $12B). NRG said the acquisition would give it 18 more natural-gas-fired facilities in nine states—including five in Pennsylvania and one in Ohio—doubling its generation capacity to about 25 gigawatts (GW). A potential wrinkle in the deal is that the deal increases NRG’s capacity in the PJM Interconnection from 2.1 GW to 9.5 GW. NRG argues the increase doesn’t give the company undue influence in the PJM grid. It’s certainly not a monopoly on power in PJM, representing roughly 10% of PJM’s average daily output.
More than 120 Houston layoffs expected from Encino Energy after EOG Resources sale - More than 100 Encino Energy workers in Houston are slated to lose their jobs in August, following the $5.6 billion sale of the company to oil and gas giant EOG Resources at the end of May, marking the latest in a series of anticipated industry layoffs resulting from the fallout of President Trump's tariffs and an increasingly volatile global market.According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification – an employment termination notice required under federal labor law – 121 workers will face layoffs Aug. 17. Neither EOG Resources nor Encino Energy, a private oil and gas driller headquartered in Houston but drilling in the Utica Shale in the Northeast, responded to requests for comment. Encino calls itself the “largest oil producer in Ohio and one of the largest natural gas producers in the state.”Specifics of the job cuts were not disclosed in the WARN notice with the Texas Workforce Commission, but the sale of the company and looming layoffs are the latest in a thread of similar shale deals made in the hopes of adding to companies’ drilling inventories as they try to cut costs and consolidate operations. The recent cuts have hit the Texas operations of oil giants BP and Chevron. Chevron announced in February that it was laying off up to 20% of its global workforce by the end of 2026, with nearly 200 workers in the Permian Basin expected to be let go in July. In March, BP announced that it was cutting almost 8,000 jobs globally and moving more than 1,000 U.S.-based positions abroad. Despite a decline in U.S. oil production due to lower demand and lower prices, demand for power is expected to increase based in part on the growing number of data centers and from utilities as temperatures rise this summer. Producers project this increased demand will help prop up prices for natural gas used in power generation.
18 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 9 – 15 -- Marcellus Drilling News - It’s not often this happens. Last week, for the week of Jun 9 – 15, only Pennsylvania issued new permits to drill shale wells. Neither Ohio nor West Virginia issued any new shale permits. Bummer. PA issued 18 new permits last week. Eight of the permits went to Pennsylvania General Energy for a single pad in Lycoming County. Another six permits went to Range Resources for a single pad, also in Lycoming County. Ergo, 14 of the 18 permits were issued in Lycoming County. BUTLER COUNTY | EQT CORP | EXPAND ENERGY | GREENE COUNTY (PA) | LAUREL MOUNTAIN ENERGY | LYCOMING COUNTY | PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL ENERGY | RANGE RESOURCES CORP | SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY |SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY
NY Legislature Spits in Face of Natural Gas, No New Connections -- Marcellus Drilling News - It’s not a good look for New York State that not long after Governor Kathy Hochul made a deal with President Trump to allow two natural gas pipelines to get built in return for allowing an offshore wind farm, the state legislature passed a bill that essentially spits in the face of the natural gas industry in the state. The Assembly passed A8888, already approved by the Senate as S8417, which forces new homes and businesses that want to connect to the natural gas line that runs down their street to pay the full cost of connecting—$10,000 or more. Meaning if Gov. Hochul signs it, no new natural gas customers will be added anywhere in the state. It is a de facto ban on connecting new customers to use natural gas in the so-called Empire State.
"The Billion-Dollar US Green Hydrogen Boom Ended Before It Ever Began" -This week, Senate Republicans joined their House colleagues in proposing to curtail a slew of clean energy incentives. Losing those could upend many a clean energy business, but the cuts would drive a dagger through the heart of the burgeoning green hydrogen sector in particular.The Senate and House still need to agree on the final text of the bill, but both chambers would take a decade of incentives meant to incubate green hydrogen production and end them after this year. The truth is, though, even before Republican lawmakers sharpened their knives for the tax credit, the much-anticipated green hydrogen boom had quietly collapsed.Just a few years ago, green hydrogen developers were planning to invest billions of dollars to build gigawatts of wind and solar capacity in prime locations from the Gulf to the desert Southwest, then funnel that electricity into huge banks of electrolyzers. These devices zap water and deliver pure hydrogen gas without the carbon dioxide released by conventional hydrogen production. Ambitious dreamers even proposed billion-dollar pipelines to carry the gas across Texas to ports on the Gulf, where it could be shipped to buyers in Europe and Asia. In Mississippi, leaders from a company called Hy Stor Energy showed me a vast sandy tract, framed by mastlike pines, where they intended to build a clean industrial park powered by gigawatts of off-grid wind and solar. These power plants would electrolyze hydrogen, which Hy Stor would stash in enormous subterranean storage tanks carved from the region’s salt dome formations. Then steelmakers and chemicals companies would flock there for an uninterrupted supply of undeniably clean hydrogen. By October 2024, though, Hy Stor had canceled a contract to buy over 1 gigawatt of alkaline electrolyzers from Norwegian cleantech company Nel, and the company’s leadership had moved on, per their LinkedIn pages. (When I texted a former Hy Stor leader to request comment for this story, the phone number’s new owner told me they had nothing to do with the company. A few days later, they texted me again asking if I could give them $20.) Other firms have canceled projects partway through construction, are holding off on final investments, or have found new customers for their renewables. A few green hydrogen projects are still moving forward, but they’re either in jeopardy, heading overseas, or far more modest than the gigawatt-scale ventures recently under development. “I think it is overstating it to say [green hydrogen] is dead,” said Sheldon Kimber, whose firm Intersect Power spent years developing ideal wind and solar sites for hydrogen production, before pivoting to supply clean energy to data centers. But, he added, projects that get built in the next few years are likely to rank in the tens of megawatts, not the thousands, and focus on “small-volume, high-margin markets.”
FERC Grants Nat’l Waivers Making It Easier to Build NatGas Pipes -- Marcellus Drilling News - Recent actions taken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) appear to be quite significant, yet it has not received any media attention. On June 18, FERC took several actions to remove regulatory obstacles and therefore speed up the construction of needed natural gas infrastructure projects in the United States. FERC issued a blanket waiver (valid for the next two years) of its Order No. 871, which has allowed Big Green to block the construction of pipeline projects while rehearing requests are being handled. The result has been to delay projects by years while Big Green ties up such projects with endless appeals. Waiving Order No. 871 frees up FERC personnel to go ahead and issue orders to allow projects to begin construction.
Whistleblower Sues MVP for Firing, Claims Pipe Had Unsafe Corrosion -- Marcellus Drilling News - A situation that’s been playing out for nearly two years is just now becoming public. In late 2023, a welding inspector working on the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) said he had discovered three sections of the pipeline were corroded and violated construction standards and federal guidelines. He reported it to his superiors at MVP, who allegedly ignored his objections. So he filed a report with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The pipeline sections got replaced, and the inspector got fired. In April of this year, the inspector filed a lawsuit against MVP (and Equitrans Midstream, and EQT) for wrongful termination.
Commonwealth LNG Signs Deal to Sell 1 MTPA to Malaysia’s PETRONAS - Marcellus Drilling News - Marcellus/Utica molecules may be heading to Malaysia. Commonwealth LNG yesterday identified PETRONAS LNG Ltd., a subsidiary of Malaysia’s national oil and gas company, as the major Asian energy company referenced in the company’s May 5 announcement of a buyer to purchase 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG for 20 years from Commonwealth’s 9.5 MTPA facility under development in Cameron, Louisiana. Commonwealth LNG currently has 4 MTPA of offtake under long-term agreements. The company expects to finalize all of the deals it needs before making a final investment decision (FID) in Q3 2025. The Commonwealth facility targets its first LNG production in 2029.
US natgas prices climb 4% to 10-week high on lower output, higher demand — U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 4% to a 10-week high on Wednesday on a slightly smaller-than-expected weekly storage build, lower daily output and forecasts for hotter weather and higher demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. That heat should prompt homes and businesses to crank up their air conditioners, pushing power generators to burn more gas to produce electricity to keep those air conditioners humming. Analysts said that heat would likely come at the same time some liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants exit maintenance, which should further boost demand for gas to feed those export plants. Gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 13.8 cents, or 3.6%, to settle at $3.989 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since April 3 for a second day in a row. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms pulled 95 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas from storage during the week ended June 13. That was a little smaller than the 98-bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compared with an increase of 72 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year (2020-2024) average of 72 bcf for this time of year. The EIA released the latest storage report on Wednesday, a day earlier than usual, due to the U.S. Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, June 19. For seven weeks in a row up until the week ended June 6, energy firms added 100 bcf or more of gas into storage, tying the seven-week triple-digit injection record set in June 2014, according to federal energy data going back to 2010. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states edged up to 105.3 billion cubic feet per day so far in June, up from 105.2 bcfd in May. That remained below the monthly record high of 106.3 bcfd in March due primarily to normal spring maintenance earlier in the month. On a daily basis, however, output was on track to drop by around 2.6 bcfd to a two-week low of 103.8 bcfd on Wednesday, down from a seven-week high of 106.4 bcfd on Sunday. That compares with an all-time daily high of 107.5 bcfd on April 18. With hotter summer weather coming, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would rise from 99.3 bcfd this week to 102.7 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Tuesday. The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants fell to 14.0 bcfd so far in June, down from 15.0 bcfd in May and a monthly record high of 16.0 bcfd in April. Traders said LNG feedgas reductions since April were primarily due to normal spring maintenance, including work at Cameron LNG's 2.0-bcfd plant in Louisiana and Cheniere Energy's LNG 4.5-bcfd Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana and 3.9-bcfd Corpus Christi plant in Texas, and short, unplanned unit outages at Freeport LNG's 2.1-bcfd plant in Texas on May 6, May 23, May 28, June 3 and June 17. Energy traders said they expect maintenance to continue through late-June at Sabine, which has been pulling about 3.0 bcfd of gas since the end of May. That figure compares with average feedgas of 4.5 bcfd during the month of May.
Line 5 Tunnel Project gets virtual public hearing as Army Corps weighs permit request - The public had a chance to weigh in on a proposal to replace an aging oil pipeline under the Great Lakes with a new pipeline that would be housed in a tunnel.The Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel would run under the Straits of Mackinac. It would replace a section of pipeline that has transported crude oil and natural gas liquids along the bottom of the Straits for the last 70+ years.The project awaits a full environmental assessment from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It could approve its permit later this fall.Wednesday, the Army Corps hosted a virtual hearing for members of the public to share their thoughts on the project. Opponents raised environmental concerns and urged against rushing the permitting process. One called the pipeline a ticking timebomb for the Great Lakes. Supporters expressed their view that the pipeline, and the subsequent tunnel that would house its replacement, is a critical piece of the region’s energy infrastructure.The agency initially planned to finalize its permitting decision in 2026, but sped up the timeline in response to an executive order by President Trump that declared a U.S. energy emergency.Opponents of the project want the pipeline shut down altogether. They fear an incident with the pipeline would be catastrophic for the Great Lakes region.Supporters say a tunnel would ensure a safer method of transporting oil in the pipeline.The project would still need permission from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy before construction could begin.Michigan’s governor and attorney general have pushed to shut down the pipeline due to environmental concerns. Economic concerns have pushed Ohio leaders into the debate as they work to preserve the pipeline.Line 5 serves as a main artery to the Toledo Refining Company. Workers at the refinery have expressed concerns that if the pipeline shuts down, their jobs could be in jeopardy.The next virtual public hearing is June 25 from 5-8 p.m. More details are available here. Public comments will be accepted through June 30. You can submit them online here.
Trump administration proposes expansion of Arctic drilling- The Trump administration wants to open up more than 80 percent of a publicly owned area of the Western Arctic for oil and gas drilling. The Interior Department said late Tuesday afternoon that it is releasing a draft plan in support of opening up 82 percent of the area, known as the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska for oil and gas production. This 23-million acre area was set aside by former President Warren G. Harding as an emergency supply of oil for the Navy. It contains areas that have significance to tribes and that are home to animals including grizzly bears, polar bears, caribou — making drilling there controversial. “This plan is about creating more jobs for Americans, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and tapping into the immense energy resources the National Petroleum Reserve was created to deliver,” said acting assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess in a written statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re cutting red tape and restoring commonsense policies that ensure responsible development and good stewardship of our public lands.”How much drilling to allow in the area is a question that has ping ponged between Democratic and Republican administrations. The last Trump administration also wanted to open up 82 percent of the area for drilling while the Biden administration sought to protect large swaths of it. The latest move comes on top of a previous Trump administration move to restore oil and gas drilling on 13 million acres of the petroleum reserve that had been blocked by Biden.
Oil slick from MSC Elsa 3 continues to pose threat to marine ecosystem - The prospect of oil spill from the container vessel MSC Elsa 3, operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which sank off the Kochi coast on the night of May 24 while en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi, continues to be a threat to the marine ecosystem as the plan for extracting oil from the ship remains uncertain.“We observed, with the help of satellite images, that the oil slick from the ship measured approximately 9.3 km long in the sea with a visible silver/metallic reflection on June 1, and by June 9, the slick still had a length of about 2.3 km,” according to Avinash Chanchal, Deputy Program Director, Greenpeace South Asia.According to the latest report submitted by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), though significant progress has been made in capping the fuel oil tanks and stabilising the wreckage, the critical oil extraction phase is pending and is dependent on weather conditions. Any further delay could push the extraction timeline dangerously close to the peak monsoon season, increasing environmental risks and limiting salvage windows.The salvage operations have been going on under the supervision of the DGS, with coordination involving agencies including the Indian Coast Guard, State Disaster Management Authorities, shipowners, salvors, and other stakeholders. The salvors have submitted an updated oil recovery plan from the ship with an estimated time of around 24–26 days, which too is subject to weather conditions.The offshore weather continues to present challenges. As per the latest weather forecast dated June 15, winds of 20-25 knots from the southwest persist over the southeast Arabian Sea, with poor visibility over the next 3–5 days. The DGS has directed the salvors to submit both optimistic and realistic deadlines accounting for prevailing monsoon conditions.According to environmentalists, the shipping company must comply with its obligation to urgently remove the remainder of the oil left in the MSC Elsa 3 tanks — out of over 450 tonnes — to avoid further damage to the region’s unique marine environment and local economy. Besides, actual damage to ecosystems and local livelihoods must be duly compensated by the MSC. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) made clear that the oil slick from the ship has been capped successfully recently by the salvors, other than minor leaks. However, the dedicated oil extraction from the ship could be completed in July, considering the prevailing weather conditions, said KSDMA sources.
The Oil Market Rallied on Continued Negotiation Talks - The oil market posted an inside trading day on Monday and sold off sharply after rallying over 7% on Friday, on news that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities and was open to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program as long as the U.S. did not join the attack. The market opened more than $3.50 higher at $76.54 and rallied to a high of $77.49 as Iranian missiles struck Israel’s Tel Aviv and Haifa, increasing concerns that the conflict could widen. However, the crude market gave up its sharp gains and traded lower as production capacity and export capacity have been spared from being attacked and there has not been any effort on the part of Iran to impair flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The market was further pressured in mid-morning trading following a Wall Street Journal report that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities, raising the possibility of a truce and easing fears of a disruption in supply. The market traded to a low of $69.38. However, the market bounced off its low and settled in a sideways trading range during the remainder of the session. The July WTI contract ended down $1.21 at $71.77 and the August Brent contract ended down $1.00 at $73.23. The product markets ended in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling up 3.46 cents at $2.3933 and the RB market settling down 77 points at $2.2199. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs, sending messages to Israel and the United States via Arab intermediaries. Meanwhile, two Iranian and three regional sources said Iran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Tehran’s flexibility in nuclear negotiations. An Iranian source said Iran is willing to be flexible in the nuclear talks if a ceasefire is reached. Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia have all appealed to Washington to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to resume talks with Tehran towards a nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, said Israel will pursue its military operations against Iran regardless of the progress of any potential negotiations involving the U.S.CBS News reported that U.S. President Donald Trump does not intend to sign a G7 statement related to Israel and Iran. According to CBS News, a draft document discusses monitoring Iran, calls for both sides to protect civilians and reups commitments to peace. OPEC said it expected the global economy to remain resilient in the second half of this year despite concerns about trade conflicts and trimmed its forecast for growth in oil supply from producers outside the wider OPEC+ group in 2026. In a monthly report, OPEC left its forecasts for global oil demand growth unchanged in 2025 and 2026, after reductions in April, saying the economic outlook was strong despite trade concerns. OPEC also said supply from countries outside the Declaration of Cooperation, the formal name for OPEC+, will increase by about 730,000 bpd in 2026, down 70,000 bpd from last month’s forecast. OPEC now expects U.S. output of tight oil or shale oil to hold steady next year at 9.05 million bpd. Last month, it expected small growth year on year and in January had forecast output in 2026 would reach 9.28 million bpd.
The Conflict Between Israel and Iran Continued for its Fifth Day -- The oil market on Tuesday posted yet another inside trading day but ended higher as the conflict between Israel and Iran continued for its fifth day. The market, which gave up some of its previous gains on Monday on news that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities and was open to resume nuclear talks, was well supported as Israel’s strikes against Iran continued and U.S. President Donald Trump urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran. The market was further supported on speculation that the U.S. may join the Israeli attack on Iran, with President Trump stating that “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and that the U.S. knew exactly where Iran’s Supreme Leader was “hiding”. The market posted a low of $71.00 on the opening before it bounced off that level and retraced its previous losses. The crude market gradually traded higher throughout the session, posting a high of $75.25 ahead of the close. The July WTI contract settled up $3.07 at $74.84 and continued to trade higher in the post settlement period and posted a new high of $75.38. The August Brent contract settled up $3.22 at $76.45. The product markets ended the session sharply higher, with the heating oil market settling up 11.18 cents at $2.5051 and the RB market setting up 5.2 cents at $2.2719. On Tuesday, Israel and the U.S. increased their pressure on Iran, prompting speculation that the U.S. could be preparing to join in the attack. U.S. President Donald Trump said that the he had not reached out to Iran for peace talks in any way, shape, or form. He said Iran “should have taken the deal that was on the table”. President Donald Trump said he wanted a “real deal” to end the nuclear problem with Iran and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with Iran as the Israel-Iran air war continued for a fifth straight day. He made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday. President Trump predicted that Israel would not be slowing its attacks on Iran. He urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran. World leaders meeting at the Group of Seven summit called for a de-escalation of the conflict between the regional foes, saying Iran was a source of instability and must never have a nuclear weapon while affirming Israel’s right to defend itself. President Trump, who left the summit early due to the Middle East situation, said his departure had “nothing to do with” working on a deal between Israel and Iran after French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. had initiated a ceasefire proposal. Later on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran”, crediting U.S. military equipment for helping Israel gain air superiority. Three U.S. officials said the U.S. military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, increasing U.S. military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran continues. One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Two officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is sailing to the Middle East ahead of schedule, marking the first significant move of U.S. military assets to the region since Friday.
WTI Tumbles On Trump Iran Comments, Despite Massive Crude Inventory Draw - Crude prices are down modestly this morning despite ongoing attacks between Iran and Israel and API reporting a major crude draw overnight as President Trump said Iran has reached out and wants to negotiate.When asked about possible Iran strikes, Trump said: “I may do it. I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”Meantime, Trump also said he told Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “keep going.”So geopolitical risk premia are far from over. Additionally, Russian flows rose only very marginally in the last four weeks, limiting downward price pressures. API
- Crude -10.133mm (-600k exp)
- Cushing -800k
- Gasoline -202k
- Distillates +318k
DOE
- Crude -11.47mm (-600k exp, -2.8mm Whisper) - biggest build since June 2024
- Cushing -995k
- Gasoline +209k
- Distillates +514k
The official data confirmed API's with a huge crude drawdown (the biggest since June 2024). We also saw a third straight week of product builds... Graphs Source: Bloomberg Despite the plunging rig count, US crude production remains near record highs (for now)...WTI tumbled ahead of the official data on Trump's comments on Iran seeking peace.. bounced very briefly on the huge crude draw.. ...but the main driver for prices right now continues to be the potential for Israel-Iran war escalations.
Oil prices ease amid Israel-Iran talks; natural gas rises on heat wave --Oil prices, which surged to a five-month high as Israel and Iran trade missile attacks, eased amid rising hope of a negotiated agreement between the two countries. West Texas Intermediate rose two of four trading days during a Juneteenth-shortened trading week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices opened the week by declining $1.21 and then jumped $3.07 Tuesday. Prices slipped 21 cents or 0.28% Friday to close the week at $74.93, up from $72.98 at last Friday’s close. The posted price ended at $71.41, according to Plains All American. Natural gas futures rose three of four trading days on the NYMEX, approaching $4 per Mcf before shedding some gains. Futures opened the week with a 17-cent jump, followed by an additional 10-cent rise Tuesday and 14.4 cent gain Wednesday. Futures fell 14 cents Friday to end the week at $3.847 per Mcf, up from $3.581 at last Friday’s close. “Overseas buyers appear to have flooded the market as U.S. banks and many non-commercial traders were off for the federal holiday,” Jack Weixel with East Daley Analytics explained to the Reporter-Telegram. “From a fundamentals perspective the market is expecting the majority of the gas-consuming U.S. — the Gulf Coast, Midwest and East Coast — to bake next week with high temps and high power usage driving demand. Henry Hub cash gained 54 cents per MMBtu (19%) on Wednesday and has stayed high in anticipation of next week’s heat. Waha prices have also seen a lift to $2.20 per MMBtu, their highest level since May 8,” Weixel added. Rystad Energy’s global head of commodity markets for oil, Mukesh Sahdev, said in his latest report that Rystad’s latest price view “is mostly in line with current fundamentals views, barring an additional implementation of OPEC+ accelerated unwinding followed by months of cuts based on the balance oversupply.” His report added: “Logic has also been applied for Iranian production and export tightness to be loosened post war, as the global market, led by the U.S., cannot afford to lose significant medium sour volume.” Sahdev went on to write: “Calls to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are expected to focus primarily on medium sour crude as a buffer for the exposed refining sector, reinforcing the view that the U.S. market has an interest in keeping Iranian facilities operational. This signals that prices could slide into the mid-$60s post war and into the summer. “While the geopolitical factors are harder to interpret for any calls on outcomes, our signal remains that oil price spiking is likely to be contained below $80 a barrel until the U.S. decides on possible military action. The significant disruption case with 2 million barrels per day loss can spike prices to $90 a barrel, (but) that is a case with lower probability for now. For the rest of the year, oil prices like to stay between June and May cases as below with the 2025 average near $70 a barrel.” He concluded: “The bottom line is that crisis is evolving with many unknowns and making it very hard to provide a definitive signal. Markets will need to closely monitor developments in the coming weeks, as the US’ role could prove pivotal in shaping the trajectory of events.”
Strait Of Hormuz Disruption Fears Surge After Former Iranian Minister Threatens Transit Restrictions -JPMorgan's forecast of triple-digit Brent crude prices could soon be a reality as conflict risk in and around the Strait of Hormuz intensifies. The waterway, which handles roughly 20% of global oil trade, remains one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints. Any disruption, particularly amid growing military escalation between Iran and Israel, could impact energy flows worldwide and send prices soaring. The most concerning sign of potential maritime disruption in the Strait of Hormuz emerged in the overnight hours via a statement on X by former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi. While unofficial, the timing and seniority of the comment may reflect broader regime sentiment—or serve as a warning of what's to come. "Starting tomorrow, for 100 days, no oil tankers or LNG cargoes will be able to pass through the strait without Iran's approval," Khandouzi said. He stated, "This policy is decisive if it is implemented "in a timely manner." Any delay in its implementation means enduring more war inside the country. Trump's battle must be ended with a combination of economy and security."
Israel Bombs Iranian TV Station During Live Broadcast - On Monday, an Israeli airstrike hit Iran’s national TV station, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), during a live broadcast, and footage captured the moment when the Israeli bomb hit. A loud blast could be heard, and smoke filled the room as the news anchor fled the scene, and then the broadcast went dark. Casualties have been reported, but according to Iran’s news agency IRNA, it’s unclear how many employees of the TV station were wounded or killed.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the IDF was behind the attack on the TV station, a clear civilian target. “The propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority of the Iranian regime was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of nearby residents,” he wrote on X. “Strike the Iranian dictator everywhere.”The attack came after Israel ordered a mass evacuation in Tehran, and Katz said before the strike that the “residents of Tehran will pay a price” for Iranian counterattacks on Israel. He claimed in another post that he didn’t mean Israel would cause “physical harm” to Tehran’s residents but that they would be punished by being forced to evacuate. Israel’s bombing campaign in Iran, which was launched on Friday, has killed a significant number of civilians, according to Iranian government numbers. An Iranian government spokesman said on Monday that at least 45 women and children have been killed by Israeli attacks. On Sunday, Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 224 people had been killed so far and claimed 90% were civilians.
Netanyahu Claims Killing Iran's Supreme Leader Would 'End the Conflict' - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in an interview on Monday that killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would “end the conflict” with Iran.Netanyahu made the comments during an interview with ABC News in response to a question about a report that said President Trump was opposed to killing Khamenei over concerns that it would escalate the war. “It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” Netanyahu said.“We’ve had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorizes everyone in the Middle East … The ‘forever war’ is what Iran wants,” the Israeli leader said. Eli Clifton, a senior advisor at the Quincy Institute, pointed out in a post on X that Netanyahu was a major proponent of taking out Saddam Hussein and urged the US to go through with the invasion of Iraq. “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region,” he told Congress in 2002.Netanyahu has made clear that he wants regime change in Iran, saying in an interview on Sunday that it could be the result of Israel’s bombing campaign. When asked during the ABC interview if he intended to kill the Iranian leader, Netanyahu said Israel is “doing what we need to do.” The prime minister also criticized the faction of President Trump’s MAGA base that opposes the US entering war with Iran. “Look, I understand ‘America First’. I don’t understand ‘America Dead’. That’s what these people want. They chant ‘Death to America,'” he said.
Reports Of Warplanes Seeking To Strike Ayatollah As Israel Has Hit 1,100 Iranian Targets Since Friday - More waves of missiles and strikes were exchanged between Israel and Iran overnight, with Israeli's military announcing that 1,100 Iranian targets were hit since Friday. The Israeli Air Force affirmed Wednesday that it is currently striking "military targets belonging to the Iranian regime in Tehran." The war shows no signs of abating, and as yet there are no announcements that Iranian and US negotiators plan to meet. Despite more waves of Iranian missiles having pummeled Israel in the overnight and early morning hours, Israeli leaders are trying to present normalcy and are telling the population not to panic. "Alongside intensified combat against Iran to remove threats — we will reopen the economy, gradually release the public, and return Israel to a path of activity and security," Defense Minister Katz said, given schools and public venues have been closed, and airspace shut for days. On the other side, Iranians say they are living through "a nightmare" after Israel's latest attacks, which involved more than 50 aircraft on Iranian centrifuge and missile production sites overnight. Hebrew social media accounts are now widely claiming that Israeli jets are going after locations where they believe Ayatollah Khamenei could be hiding. Though is bunker is likely only known to his closest aides...
Israel Kills Senior Iranian Official Who Wanted a Nuclear Deal With the US - Among the senior Iranian officials who were killed in Israel’s initial wave of airstrikes on Iran on Friday was Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who wanted to strike a nuclear deal with the US.In an interview with NBC News in May, Shamkhani said Iran was willing to recommit to its pledge to never build a nuclear weapon, reduce uranium enrichment to low levels, and get rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief from the US.“It’s still possible. If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Shamkhani said at the time. “It can lead to a better situation in the near future.”President Trump shared the NBC News interview on his Truth Social account, suggesting that he was open to such a deal. But the president and his administration continued to demand that Tehran eliminate its nuclear enrichment program altogether, a condition Iran made clear was a non-starter.On June 5, Shamkhani reaffirmed that Iran wouldn’t give up its nuclear enrichment program and said Iran was preparing its counter-proposal to the US. Another round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations was supposed to be held on Sunday, but they’ve been canceled in the wake of the US-backed Israeli attack on Iran, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched on Friday.Trump celebrated the death of high-level Iranian officials following the initial wave of Israeli airstrikes. “Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Israeli Official Says War With Iran Is 'Premised' on the Idea of the US Entering -- An Israeli official has told CNN that Israel’s assault on Iran is “premised” on the idea that the US will eventually join.“The whole operation is premised on the fact that the US will join at some point,” the official said.Two other Israeli officials told the news outlet that Israel is waiting to learn whether President Trump will help in attacks on Iran. Israel specifically wants the US to attack Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, which is buried deep underground and would require US-made bunker-busting bombs that Israel doesn’t have to inflict any significant damage.There have been signs that Trump is prepared to launch attacks on Iran, as he has been threatening Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has been talking like the US is already directly involved. “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” the president said on Truth Social.The Israeli officials speaking to CNN said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping Trump reaches the decision to bomb Iran by himself, without feeling like he’s being pressured by Israel. If the US does start attacking Iran, the Iranian military is prepared to start hitting US bases, which could lead to heavy US casualties.The US has supported the attack on Iran by providing Israel with weapons and intelligence and by intercepting Iranian missiles and drones. Trump held a meeting with his top national security officials on Tuesday to discuss the situation, but so far, there’s been no word about the US’s next moves.
‘Gates of Hell’: Iran Launches ‘Ultra-Heavy’ Sejjil Missiles in Latest Attack Wave -- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced today, Wednesday, that it launched the 12th wave of its missile attacks on Israel, using heavy, long-range Sejjil missiles. The Revolutionary Guard stated that it used “ultra-heavy Sejjil missiles in the 12th wave of Operation True Promise 3, to target a number of sites in the occupied territories,” asserting that it had destroyed Israeli air defenses and that “the skies of the occupied territories are open to our missiles and drones.”It also stressed that “missile attacks will be focused and continuous.” The Revolutionary Guard addressed Israelis, according to Tasnim news agency, stating in its communiqué that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard had previously warned that “the gates of hell will open upon you,” and that,“The aerospace force’s missiles of the Revolutionary Guard will prevent you from spending a single moment outside underground shelters. A few days have passed during which you have not seen sunlight.”It added, “Be sure that the sound of sirens will not stop for a single moment. Either you choose ‘slow death’ in a hellish life inside shelters, or you save yourselves from the continuous 24-hour missile bombardment and flee as quickly as possible, so that you might save your lives.”Commenting on the new launch by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Israeli Army Radio quoted a security official as saying that the latest Iranian missile was exceptional in terms of its type, weight, and quantity of explosives.In response, the Israeli army announced that a new wave of Iranian missiles targeted the greater Tel Aviv area, where sirens sounded in several locations, noting that this new Iranian missile barrage was the first in 18 hours.Israeli Army Radio quoted a military source saying that the launch of eight missiles from Iran was detected, while the army announced that it had intercepted all missiles launched from Iran.
Israeli Forces Kill 59 Palestinians in Gaza Aid Massacre - Israeli tank fire killed at least 59 Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, as they were trying to get food from aid trucks, Reuters reported on Tuesday, marking the deadliest aid massacre since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in Gaza at the end of May.While many Palestinians have been killed near GHF sites, the massacre in Khan Younis did not appear to be related to the GHF, as the crowd that was fired on was waiting for aid trucks to pass through, according to witnesses speaking to Reuters.Medics said another 221 people were injured in the massacre, and Gaza’s Health Ministry published photos of victims being treated at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Footage from social media shows dozens of bodies strewn along a street in Khan Younis.“All of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells,” Alaa, a survivor of the attack, toldReuters. “No one is looking at these people with mercy. The people are dying, they are being torn apart, to get food for their children. Look at these people, all these people are torn to get flour to feed their children.”The Associated Press reported that witnesses said Israeli forces began firing on the crowd after an airstrike hit a nearby home. The Israeli military admitted it fired on the crowd, acknowledged there were “several casualties,” and claimed that it would investigate the massacre.According to Al Jazeera, a total of 89 Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Tuesday as Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling continued to pound the Strip. The daily US-backed massacres continue in Gaza as much of the world’s attention is on the Israel-Iran war.
Israel Slaughters 140 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours - Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli forces killed at least 140 Palestinians and wounded 560 over the previous 24-hour period as the daily US-backed massacres continue while the world is focused on the Israel-Iran war. The ministry said another four bodies of Palestinians killed in previous attacks were recovered. “There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.Among the dead were Palestinians killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid, which has become a daily occurrence in Gaza. According to Al Jazeera, at least 29 Palestinians waiting for aid trucks were gunned down on Wednesday near the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip.“Palestinian lives have been so devalued. It is now the routine to shoot & kill desperate & starving people while they try to collect little food from a company made of mercenaries,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, wrote on X.Lazzarini also strongly criticized the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been operating aid distribution sites near where Palestinians are frequently gunned down by Israeli forces. “Hundreds of people have been reported killed since the ‘Gaza Humiliation Foundation’ started operating just over three weeks ago,” he said. “A lame, medieval, and lethal system that is deliberately harming people under the camouflage of ‘humanitarian aid.'”
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