U.S. Weekly Rig Count: Comparing Enverus, Baker Hughes, and WellDatabase — Flat Weekly Activity Against Year-Over-Year Gains as SPR Hits Multi-Decade Lows and Distillates Stay Tight

As of early November 2026, U.S. drilling activity shows modest weekly stability or small declines depending on the source, set against a solidly higher year-over-year base. Baker Hughes reported its closely watched weekly rotary rig count at 603 for recent weeks ending in late October (unchanged week-over-week and up roughly 53 from about 550 a […]

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PJM, ERCOT, and SPP All Set New Summer Peak Electricity Demand Records This Summer

The summer of 2026 tested the U.S. electric grid with record heat and rising demand. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor (based on Form EIA-930 data), three major regional transmission organizations (RTOs) set new peak hourly load records.⁠Eia PJM (serving roughly 65–67 million people across all or parts of 13 […]

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ENB Weekly Rig Count Comparison of Baker Hughes, Enverus and WellDatabase — Rigs Are Up

As of mid-October 2026, U.S. drilling activity continues to firm. Baker Hughes reported its closely watched weekly rotary rig count at 603 for the week ending October 9 (up 5 week-over-week and up 56 year-over-year from 547). WellDatabase’s U.S. Rig Report dated 10.14.2026 showed 608 total rigs (up 6 week-over-week and up 52 year-over-year). Enverus’ […]

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Energy Department Authorizes Limited SPR Exchange Amid Hurricane Disruptions as Reserve Hits 1980s Lows

The U.S. Department of Energy on October 10, 2026, authorized an emergency exchange of up to 4 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to address supply disruptions from hurricane activity in the Gulf of America. Source –⁠Energy ExxonMobil and BP America each received authority for up to 2 million barrels. […]

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DOE Kicks Off a Huge Investment into America’s Electric Grid

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity announced on September 24, 2026, that it intends to help fund 31 grid-improvement projects across 26 states under the Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) initiative. The package totals $5.25 billion—$1.9 billion in federal funding and $3.35 billion in […]

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Britain’s £150 billion grid rebuild is being sold as the price of cheap, clean power. The more useful question is whether the country is paying to lock in an expensive, weather-dependent system after already shutting the firm plants that used to keep prices and industry competitive.

The National Energy System Operator’s figures put transmission investment at about £64 billion through 2030 and another £89 billion after that—more than £150 billion in all. The Guardian’s mapping of official recommendations points to well over 4,000 miles of new power lines by 2041, plus subsea cables and converter stations to move Scottish and offshore […]

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