China Indefinitely Suspends Power of Siberia 2 Negotiations: A Major Blow to Russia’s Energy Export Ambitions

A recent Wall Street Journal report has confirmed that China has effectively put negotiations for the Power of Siberia 2 (PoS2) natural gas pipeline on indefinite hold. This development, highlighted in a July 19 X post by commodities analyst Jack Prandelli, underscores Beijing’s hardball tactics and Russia’s increasingly desperate position in pivoting its energy exports […]

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

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

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Oil and Gas Markets are rebalancing

Energy News Beat Stand Up – Buckle Up – 10 Huge Stories Welcome to the Energy News Beat Standup, where host Stu Turley breaks down the 10 biggest energy stories reshaping global markets. In this episode, we dive into a world in flux: Russia’s refining capacity is crumbling under Ukrainian drone strikes, Iraq is suspending […]

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

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

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All of Russia’s Major Refineries Now Within Reach: Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Triggers Deepening Energy Crisis

A pivotal shift occurred overnight on July 14–15, 2026. Ukraine struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery in Bashkortostan — previously Russia’s last major untouched gasoline production facility — along with the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai. Drones traveled over 1,500 km to hit primary processing units at Salavat, igniting fires and knocking out its full […]

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Trump Says US Will Be Reimbursed 20% Rate for Hormuz Traffic

President Donald Trump announced today that the United States would reinstate a blockade on Iranian ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz while demanding a 20% reimbursement on all other cargo shipped through the critical waterway. Trump declared the US would become the waterway’s “GUARDIAN,” positioning the move as reimbursement for security costs amid heightened US-Iran […]

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Progressives and Socialist Democrats set to recharge the Green New Deal for the AI era

A fresh wave of progressive Democrats, including self-described democratic socialists, is poised to reshape the Democratic Party’s approach to climate and energy policy. Fresh off primary victories that unseated moderate incumbents in safe blue districts, these lawmakers aim to revive and expand the Green New Deal (GND) to address the explosive energy demands of artificial […]

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