Wednesday, 15 July 2026

Oil prices were rising more than 6% at the time of writing, according to Rigzone. Saxo Bank said the gains followed U.S. strikes on targets in Iran and the revocation of a waiver allowing new sales of Iranian oil, moves made in retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Three commercial vessels were attacked in the Strait over the past day, the most since the ceasefire agreement took effect, with the U.S. blaming Iran for the strikes, according to Saxo Bank. The bank said Brent has moved back above $76, potentially triggering further short covering among hedge funds.

Standard Chartered's Emily Ashford said the U.S. launched strikes on Iran and revoked its license to sell oil under the 60-day negotiation window sanctions waiver. Ashford said Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait.

GivTrade's Waleed Said said Brent traded near $76 and WTI near $72, with traders rebuilding the Middle East risk premium amid concerns over Iran, shipping security, and the Strait of Hormuz.

Samer Hasn of XS.com cited widespread U.S. strikes on more than 80 Iranian targets and attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf. Hasn also said the U.S. Treasury Department revoked the license that allowed the purchase of Iranian oil.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) opened its third Gulf of America offshore lease sale, putting roughly 80.4 million acres of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf up for bidding under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Carrying the designation Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 3 (BBG3), the round is the third of 30 mandated Gulf sales under the act and puts about 15,100 unleased blocks in play, BOEM said.

The blocks range from 3 miles to 231 miles offshore, sitting in water from 9 feet deep to more than 11,100 feet, according to OEDigital.

BOEM set the final notice for the Federal Register on July 8, starting a 30-day clock before the sale, with a public bid reading due August 12 at 9 a.m. Central Time.

BBG3 follows a predictable Gulf leasing schedule and builds on the first two sales, BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona said.

Across the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf, BOEM counts about 160 million acres holding an estimated 26.90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 45.59 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The sale is tied to Executive Order 14154, "Unleashing American Energy," which instructs federal agencies to speed up offshore oil and gas development.

Saudi Arabia's debt could climb to 60% of GDP by 2030, according to consultancy Capital Economics, a level the firm said could push up borrowing costs and pressure the government to tighten spending.

The projection rests on an assumption that the oil price spike following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz fades and that crude prices fall over the next few years, Capital Economics said. The firm noted that the kingdom's debt levels remain low compared with most other countries.

The Saudi government's own forecast points to a far shallower rise. It projects debt of around 33% of GDP by 2028, up from 32% now, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The government has said it is borrowing to invest in economic transformation projects, with a focus on growing the non-oil economy.

Capital Economics said its scenario could also lead to higher government borrowing that crowds out private-sector firms.

Four Ugandan farmers have filed a lawsuit against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project in the High Court in London, according to Mongabay. The case targets EACOP Limited, a U.K.-registered company, according to Leigh Day partner Matthew Renshaw.

The pipeline is being built by TotalEnergies, Mongabay reported. It will run 1,443 kilometers from oil fields in Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

More than 100,000 people, most of them farmers, have been displaced to make way for the project, according to Mongabay. Claimant Samuel Abidimba said he lost 42% of his land and was inadequately compensated.

Renshaw said EACOP Limited has the potential to cause devastation in Uganda and in the wider world. The pipeline will cross 16 protected areas and the Lake Victoria Basin, which is vital for more than 40 million people, according to Mongabay.

EACOP is expected to begin operations in 2027, with production from the oil fields projected to last around 20 years.

Premium jackup dayrates have improved from 2025 lows and now hold within a higher range, though pricing stays uneven across fixtures and geographies, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Average premium jackup values fell through 2025, stabilised toward the end of the year, and have recovered gradually into 2026, OEDigital reported.

The recovery is already showing in implied valuations for individual operators. By May 2026, Borr Drilling's implied value had risen from $95 million per rig to $133 million, against an estimated realisable value (ERV) of $86.8 million, according to OEDigital.

Valaris moved further over the same measure, with its implied value climbing from $77 million to $140 million against an ERV of $71.3 million, OEDigital reported.

The gap has widened from a year earlier. In mid-2025, Pareto's implied values for Borr Drilling and Valaris were broadly aligned with Esgian rig values, according to OEDigital.

Esgian forecasts that premium jackup dayrates will peak before rig values do, with rig values reaching their high point later as conditions feed through into backlog and cash-flow visibility, according to OEDigital.

A first liquefied natural gas cargo has sailed from Sempra Infrastructure's export plant on Mexico's west coast, based on ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

The carrier Pacific Success departed the Energia Costa Azul facility at Ensenada, in Baja California state, late Tuesday.

Production at the terminal started in June. Capacity in the opening phase runs to 3.25 million tons a year, and a second phase is being built out.

Offtake is covered by supply deals with TotalEnergies SE, Sempra's joint venture partner, and the Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co.

Rigzone reported that conflict in the Middle East has cut a fifth of global LNG supply, lifting prices across Asia and Europe.

The IMF said on Wednesday that the global economy will grow at a slower rate in 2026, pointing to high energy prices from the Iran conflict as a drag on growth and a driver of inflation. The fund lowered its global growth forecast to 3%, down from its April projection and below the last two years' averages.

The IMF said the global economy avoided a sharper downturn in part because of increased demand for AI, and it projected growth would rebound in 2027.

Minutes of the US Federal Reserve's June meeting showed officials were divided over the economy's direction and where to take interest rates. That division reflected uncertainty over how long energy prices from the Iran conflict will keep inflation elevated.

Apollo's chief economist wrote that cheaper oil alone will not open the door to rate cuts.

ZL Chemicals Ltd. has taken a license from Chevron Technical Center for surfactant chemistry aimed at lifting recovery from shale and tight oil reservoirs, World Oil reported.

The agreement lets ZL Chemicals sell products and services built on the licensed chemistry under the Vantis brand, a chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method Chevron ran in its own unconventional wells, according to World Oil.

ZL Chemicals will run the Vantis offering as a turnkey service, from laboratory evaluation through field deployment and operational support, World Oil reported.

"Advanced chemicals are one of Chevron's areas of differentiation and have supported innovation in our own operations," said Ryder Booth, Chevron's chief technology and engineering officer.

Chevron plans to keep developing next-generation surfactants for its own wells and to license selected technologies to the wider industry through commercial partners, according to World Oil.

Baker Hughes landed three contracts tied to Cheniere's Sabine Pass LNG plant in Louisiana, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. The work spans liquefaction equipment for Train 7, a re-liquefaction unit handling boil-off gas, and technology upgrades across the plant's gas turbine fleet.

Under the scope, Baker Hughes will provide seven PGT25+ G4 gas turbines paired with 15 centrifugal compressors, a package the report said should lift output by roughly 6 million tonnes per annum.

The upgrade program targets every installed aeroderivative PGT25+ G4 turbine at the site and runs across four years, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Sabine Pass runs at a current capacity of about 30 MTPA, per the same report.

Combined, the Train 7 equipment, the re-liquefaction unit and the turbine work should raise capacity at the site by more than 6 MTPA, the report said.

Cheniere Chairman, President and CEO Jack Fusco described Baker Hughes as a key partner in developing Sabine Pass, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.