Author: Stu

Oil Prices Slide as US Weighs Easing Sanctions on Shadow Fleet: Implications for Tanker Rates, Delivered Crude Costs, and Diesel Crack Spreads

Oil prices fell about 2% on October 15, 2026, after reports that the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on vessels in the so-called “shadow fleet.” Brent crude futures dropped about $2.28 (2.2%) to around $103.78 a barrel, while WTI fell about $1.34 (1.4%) to roughly $93.75, reversing prior gains. The move reflected hopes that […]

How has OPEC’s production pre-war and current output under stress?

The Iran war that began around February 28, 2026, with U.S.-Israeli strikes and subsequent Iranian responses, has reshaped OPEC+ crude production and, more sharply, refined product exports. Pre-war levels (roughly February 2026) represented a relatively stable baseline after earlier OPEC+ quota management. Current output remains under significant stress from Strait of Hormuz disruptions, infrastructure attacks, […]

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’ […]

What Net-Zero Policies Add to Your Fuel and Power Bill, State by State

California’s Cap-and-Invest and Low Carbon Fuel Standard added about 47 cents a gallon in July (CEC). Washington’s carbon auction and clean-fuel rules add roughly 36–74 cents. The federal RFS is a separate 1-to-45-cent fight over gross credits versus net pump pass-through. We map the published estimates, keep taxes and refinery closures in their own buckets, […]

IEA Says the Diesel Squeeze Lasts Well Into 2027. Futures Imply About $6 Diesel Into January

Diesel is $6.30 a gallon, $2.64 more than a year ago. The International Energy Agency now says the world’s diesel shortage runs “well into 2027.” We checked three clocks, the futures market, the government forecast and the IEA, to estimate how long $6 diesel can hang on, and who pays while it does. Our answer, […]

EIA Expects a Mixed Picture for Winter Fuel Costs This Year

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its 2026–27 Winter Fuels Outlook on October 6, 2026, alongside the October Short-Term Energy Outlook. The outlook paints a mixed picture for household heating costs this winter (November through March). Homes that primarily heat with natural gas or propane—about half of U.S. households—are expected to spend less than […]

Occidental’s Big Tease Sets the Stage for Earnings

Houston-based Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) delivered its customary pre-earnings operational and realizations snapshot on October 13, 2026, via an 8-K filing of “Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Considerations.” As Reese Energy Consulting noted in a LinkedIn post the same day, it functions as the trailer before the full movie—the formal Q3 results scheduled for after-market close […]

California’s energy crisis could bring the West Coast to its knees

ENB Pub Note: This article is from America OutLoud, by Ronald Stein and Mike Ariza. Both have been on the Energy News Beat Podcast, and we recommend reading their work. California is the 4th largest economy in the world and an “ENERGY ISLAND that is separated from the other 48 continental States by the Rocky […]

US Grids Strain Under Heat During Peak Repair Season

A short-lived but intense blast of unseasonal heat is colliding with the annual autumn maintenance window, tightening power supplies on grids that serve roughly one-third of the U.S. population and prompting fresh federal emergency measures. On October 13, 2026, Bloomberg reported that temperatures were expected to run more than 25°F above normal in parts of […]

FERC Rejects Most of PJM’s Data Center Plan, and the $29.4 Billion Question of Who Pays Is Still Open

If you live in one of the 13 states or D.C. served by PJM, data centers are already on your power bill. The grid’s own market monitor puts their added capacity cost at $29.4 billion over four auctions. On Friday evening, federal regulators threw out most of PJM’s plan to make new data centers bring […]