Middle East Escalation Meets China’s Return: Dual Chokepoints, Record Tanker Rates, and an Upward Spiral in Crude and Products

The Middle East energy map tightened sharply over the past week even as China resumed heavier crude buying. Houthi forces seized key Red Sea positions including Mocha and Perim Island, tightening control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and targeting Saudi-linked vessels. Drones originating from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, prompting a precautionary shutdown of […]

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U.S. Weekly Rig Report: WellDatabase, Baker Hughes, and Enverus Compared — Record Production Meets Middle East Supply Shock

The latest WellDatabase U.S. Rig Report dated September 11, 2026, shows 598 active rigs, down 32 week-over-week but up 22 year-over-year. Baker Hughes, which released the same day, reported 591 rigs, up 3 from 588 the prior week and up about 52–54 from 537 a year earlier. Enverus’ daily GPS-tracked count stood near 661 as […]

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Saudi Arabia East-West Oil Pipeline Pump Station May Be Hit by Houthis

Open-source satellite imagery and fire-detection data circulating Friday morning have raised the possibility that Yemen’s Houthis struck a pumping station on Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline, the kingdom’s main overland route around the Strait of Hormuz. The claim is serious. It is also, as of this writing, unconfirmed by Saudi Aramco and the Saudi government. […]

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