In an August 20, 2026, Bloomberg Opinion column, Javier Blas argued that “choking Iran’s economy is the least bad way to end the war.” Drawing on firsthand observations of sanctions-induced collapse in Iraq, Venezuela, and Cuba—worthless currencies, skyrocketing inflation, and soaring unemployment—Blas noted that pure economic pressure has historically failed to force political change. U.S. […]
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Oilfield services giant SLB (formerly Schlumberger) is preparing to reactivate as many as 15 idle drilling and workover rigs already located in Venezuela, a move that could help ease one of the primary bottlenecks constraining the country’s crude production recovery. Executives outlined the plans at an industry conference in Houston on August 19, 2026. William […]
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The oil market is sending mixed signals that traders and energy watchers cannot ignore. Futures prices—the “paper” side of the trade—have been surprisingly restrained even as physical barrels face ongoing constraints from the prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel cracks are screaming tightness downstream, China has stepped back as the world’s swing buyer, […]
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On August 18, 2026, Evolution announced a definitive agreement to acquire mineral, royalty, and overriding royalty interests spanning approximately 3,420 net royalty acres (NRA) across 152 tracts in Reagan, Upton, Glasscock, Midland, and Martin Counties, Texas, from a non-affiliated private seller. The purchase price is approximately $16 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The […]
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South Bow Corp. (TSX/NYSE: SOBO) shares rose on August 19, 2026, marking their strongest one-day advance in more than a month, after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly suggested a revival of the long-canceled Keystone XL pipeline project. In a Truth Social post, Trump announced a three-day pause on planned 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, citing […]
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Brent crude hovering near $91 a barrel might look manageable on a trading screen. Jeff Currie, the veteran commodities strategist now at Carlyle Group, argues that focus is dangerously misplaced. “Nobody on the planet Earth consumes crude oil,” Currie told CNBC. “Refineries do. Everyone else consumes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and those markets look […]
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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that its forces targeted Saudi Aramco’s Jazan (also spelled Jizan) oil refinery on the Red Sea coast in southwest Saudi Arabia with “a number of drones.” A Houthi military source told the group’s Saba news agency the strike was “precise” and conducted in response to […]
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The ambitious plan to build a major new crude oil export route from Iraq through Syria to the Mediterranean—explicitly designed to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz—will require at least four years of construction and an investment of $15 billion or more, according to sources directly involved in the project speaking to Reuters on […]
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The American continents—North and South America combined—have reached a landmark in global energy: roughly 42 million barrels per day of total liquids production. This figure, drawn from recent assessments of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), other petroleum fuels, ethanol, and biodiesel, marks a decisive shift in the world’s oil map. It has already surpassed […]
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Saudi Arabia is offering to sell crude oil cargoes on a ship-to-ship basis from locations off the coast of Oman, including near Sohar in the Gulf of Oman. This move signals that the kingdom may be ramping up the practice of shuttling barrels through the Strait of Hormuz—often with transponders switched off—mirroring tactics already used […]
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