Oil recovery?
** Oil hasn’t been coming out of the Middle East for nearly four months. All told, the world lost 1.15 billion barrels of oil supply during the war, according to analytics firm Kpler. That has left the oil market in a precarious state, and it’s rapidly approaching a breaking point. The International Energy Administration’s strategic petroleum reserves are at their lowest levels since 1990.
Blockade lifted
** The US has dropped its naval blockade of Iran after the two countries signed a deal to end the war in the Middle East. US Central Command confirmed the end of the blockade on X “in accordance with the President’s direction” and said some US vessels would remain “in the general area”.
India waits
** Indian refiners have enough crude to last them two months, so they will not be scrambling to buy Middle Eastern cargoes expected to be coming out through the reopened Strait of Hormuz anytime soon.
Refinery hit again
** Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, striking a major oil refinery in the Russian capital and sending thick black smoke over parts of the city, according to Russian officials and multiple reports. The Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district, one of the capital region’s key fuel sites, was hit overnight Thursday, marking the second reported strike on the site in three days.
Russian attack
** The Russian military has attacked two civilian merchant ships in the Black Sea with drones, Ukrainian authorities reported on Friday. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba and the port administration said a crew member on a Panamanian-flagged vessel was killed in the attack, while two other seafarers were injured, one of them seriously.
Tar sands oil
** The first new oil sands project in Alberta since 2014 has started commercial production, aiming for a daily average of 80,000 barrels once it ramps up. The Blackrod project, led by International Petroleum Corp., moved to the first phase of production despite the peak oil demand narrative that has dominated the past decade, especially in Canada.
US Energy
** Utah’s Uinta Basin is on the way to 400,000 bbl/d after a series of regulatory and legislative changes on the state and federal level.
** Indianapolis elected officials plan to vote next month on proposed data center regulations, following months of delays as the city looks to a single framework instead of approving projects on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis.
** EV manufacturer Rivian announces it is laying off less than 2% of 15,000 employees as it releases the more affordable R2 SUV model.
** North Dakota’s top water regulator says the Missouri River, as opposed to groundwater, would be the best available source to cool a future nuclear reactor.
** West Virginia Democrats and Republicans both object to NextEra Energy’s proposed 107-mile transmission line connecting Pennsylvania and Virginia that includes 60 miles running through West Virginia.
