Saturday, 18 July 2026

US crude held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) dropped to 319.48 million barrels in the week ending July 3, according to Rigzone. Against an authorized storage capacity of 714 million barrels, the reserve sits at roughly 44 percent of that figure.

Weekly stocks have not run this low since the week ending April 29, 1983, when the SPR held 317.45 million barrels, Rigzone reported.

The reserve shed 6.2 million barrels, a 1.9 percent decline from the prior week, and stood 83.5 million barrels below its year-earlier level, a drop of 20.7 percent.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on March 11 that the US Department of Energy (DOE) would draw 172 million barrels from the SPR, its share of a wider International Energy Agency (IEA) plan to release 400 million barrels of oil and refined products.

The IEA said 32 of its member countries had unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves to counter disruptions in oil markets stemming from the war in the Middle East.

On May 11 the DOE awarded contracts to exchange about 53.3 million barrels of crude drawn from the SPR's Bayou Choctaw, Bryan Mound, Big Hill, and West Hackberry sites, Rigzone reported.

Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities said the refill window for the released barrels is set at one to two years under the swap agreements.

The United Arab Emirates pumped an average of 4.1 million barrels a day of crude oil in June, a record, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) monthly report.

That volume surpassed the UAE's previous peak of 4 million barrels a day in 2020, set during a brief price war over OPEC+ policy, according to the IEA. The UAE exited OPEC+ at the end of April, and oil traders have been watching how far the country would push its supply after leaving the group.

Saudi Arabia pumped 7.3 million barrels a day in June, 900,000 barrels a day higher than the previous month, according to the IEA. Kuwait's output rose to 1.4 million barrels a day and Iraq's to 2 million barrels a day over the same month, the agency said.

Even as crude flows climbed, the IEA said Gulf refinery activity has been slower to respond, with product exports still less than half the levels seen before the conflict.

Brent futures topped $80 a barrel earlier in the week before easing to near $76 a barrel on Friday, according to the report. The recovery picture was muddied on Wednesday when President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire effectively void after the two sides traded hostilities in the region.

Russian refineries have run at an average of 3.91 million barrels a day this month, a level not seen since March 2005, EA Analytics data show. That pace sits more than 1.4 million barrels a day under where the plants ran a year earlier.

Moscow has responded by banning most diesel exports until the end of July, an order that follows earlier curbs on gasoline and jet fuel shipments.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) attributed the pressure to a wave of Ukrainian strikes, which it said had hit more than half of Russia's refining capacity since the start of May. In June, according to the IEA, Russian plants processed 3.8 million barrels a day, down 1.6 million barrels a day from a year before.

Ukrainian forces have struck about 50 times over the past 100 days, damaging at least 24 of Russia's 34 large refineries, a Bloomberg tally of public statements from both sides found.

Those drones now carry more than 1,500 miles from the border and this month reached Russia's largest oil refinery in the Omsk region.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told local media last week that supply gaps have surfaced at the pump. "There are problems and shortages, which is why we see queues or sometimes gas stations don't work stably," he said.

Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) held its 2026 production and capital spending targets steady after Permian basin volumes recovered from temporary shut-ins, with acquisition work continuing and its Duvernay joint development deal now closed, according to World Oil.

Operators idled roughly 7,000 boed of NOG output during the second quarter, concentrated on the company's Novo assets in Culberson County, Texas, and Eddy County, New Mexico, World Oil reported. Those cuts spanned April, May and part of June, driven by deeply negative Waha natural gas pricing that eroded wellhead economics even as oil prices held firm, according to World Oil.

Gains elsewhere covered the gap. The Williston basin ran 4% ahead of forecast, while Uinta basin output landed 11.5% above expectations, World Oil reported.

Second-quarter oil production is projected to average 67.5 Mboed to 68.25 Mboed, according to World Oil. NOG closed 30 Ground Game transactions in the period, picking up more than 2,300 net acres and interests in 6.2 net wells, and put roughly USD 45 million into acquisitions and related development capital, World Oil reported.

Capital expenditures for the quarter are pegged at approximately USD 190 million to USD 200 million, and the company logged estimated unrealized mark-to-market derivative gains of USD 155 million to USD 160 million, according to World Oil.

Sunda Energy has applied for a new petroleum exploration permit covering an offshore area of New Zealand's Taranaki Basin, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital, as the company expands its focus on gas opportunities in the country.

The proposed permit covers approximately 645 square kilometers off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. The acreage includes the Awakino gas condensate field, which was originally drilled in 1985.

If awarded the permit, Sunda has committed to reprocessing 450 square kilometers of 3D seismic data within 36 months, alongside technical studies of existing well and field data, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

NZPAM has accepted the application, which will now enter a three-month period during which competing applications may be submitted before the agency assesses all bids and decides whether to award the permit.

Sunda chief executive Andy Butler said the application is consistent with the current New Zealand Government's policy direction to support domestic gas supply and energy security, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand in Asia is on track to fall for the second consecutive year, according to Wood Mackenzie. The trend cuts into the region that dominates sales for Gulf producers.

Around 83% of the Gulf's LNG exports go to Asia, according to Semafor Net Zero. That concentration leaves Gulf sellers exposed as buyers in the region pull back.

Overall Asian LNG demand is expected to be 8% lower this year than its 2024 peak, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Semafor Net Zero reports that the Iran war is changing LNG market dynamics, prompting importers to cut demand, switch to other suppliers, or turn to other fuels such as coal and nuclear.

Even amid the softer demand outlook, ADNOC Logistics and Services placed a $900 million order for four LNG carriers from a Chinese shipyard, according to Semafor Net Zero.

North America's rig count dropped by 10 week on week, the first decline in months, according to Baker Hughes' rotary rig count published on July 10.

The fall took the total North America count to 760, made up of 581 rigs in the U.S. and 179 in Canada, according to Baker Hughes. The U.S. total comprised 445 oil rigs, 126 gas rigs, and 10 miscellaneous rigs.

Canada drove much of the weekly move. Its oil rig count fell by 12 and its gas rig count dropped by one, according to Baker Hughes.

Among U.S. basins, the Permian dropped five rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes. The Eagle Ford added three rigs and the DJ-Niobrara added one over the same period.

Despite the weekly drop, the North America count remains up 61 rigs against year-ago levels, according to Baker Hughes. The U.S. has added 44 rigs and Canada has added 17 rigs year on year.

The decline broke a run of gains. Baker Hughes' North America count had risen for eight consecutive weeks before the July 2 count. The last week-on-week decline before this one came in May, according to Baker Hughes.

Vedanta Oil and Gas Ltd. plans to commit USD 5 billion toward raising its production more than fivefold, according to Rigzone.

Within five years, the target is daily output of roughly 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent, Rigzone reported. For the current fiscal year, the company projects an average of about 100,000 barrels a day.

The spending plan follows a steep drop in field output. Daily production averaged just 87,200 barrels in the fiscal year ended March 31, down from more than 210,000 barrels a decade earlier, Rigzone reported.

Chairman Anil Agarwal framed the expansion around supply, saying resource security has now become national security as the company moves to rebuild volumes through the USD 5 billion program.

Agarwal built the oil and gas arm by taking a controlling stake in Cairn India in 2011, then folding it into flagship Vedanta Ltd., according to Rigzone.