Rigzone

Two US-sanctioned tankers carrying cooking fuel are U-turning and zig-zagging in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, part of a flotilla of vessels laden with Iranian energy exports that are facing an aggressive US blockade of the country’s shipping. The unusual movements come as the US enforces its new action against Iranian shipping that began on Tuesday.

Within days of taking office incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham is preparing to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea as well as taking public control of Thames Water. Burnham’s team has asked the civil service to draw up plans for new energy and water policies that can be revealed as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

In a market update sent to Rigzone late Thursday, Rystad Energy revealed that it has revised its U.S.-Iran scenario framework “following a renewed deterioration in security conditions around the Strait of Hormuz”.

Oil dipped, though remains higher for the week, as traders balanced profit-taking with concerns about disruptions to Middle East flows. Global benchmark Brent settled above $84 a barrel while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate settled under $79 a barrel. Both are up about 11% this week. The US launched its fifth straight day of attacks on Iran on Thursday, following up on the prior night's attacks that hit an oil tanker near Iran's main export terminal.

In a joint statement posted on their respective websites, SLB and Liberty Energy Inc announced an agreement to form a strategic alliance “that will deliver modular infrastructure and integrated power generation solutions for new data center projects globally”.

TotalEnergies SE reported another quarter of bumper oil trading after the Iran war upended crude markets, but warned of underperformance in its gas business. The French major said earnings from oil trading “are expected to remain at the same strong level as in the first quarter,” reflecting the market upheaval caused by war in the Middle East.

Ukrainian naval drones hit two large Russia-linked oil tankers in the Black Sea as Moscow and Kyiv expand the scope of their mutual maritime strikes. The Security Service of Ukraine and the Navy attacked the tankers Louise 1 and Banda, the Kyiv-based intelligence service said in a Telegram statement on Thursday. Both vessels are under Ukrainian sanctions and have been carrying Russian crude for export from the nation’s ports on the Black and Baltic Seas, according to the statement.

What is ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz like currently? What type of ships are getting through and what type of ships aren’t? And is the petrochemical industry being affected by the current situation in the Strait?

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), dropped by 1.7 million barrels from the week ending July 3 to the week ending July 10. That’s what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report, which was released on July 15 and included data for the week ending July 10.

India has directed ship owners, ship managers and recruitment agencies to stop deploying the country’s seafarers on vessels going through the Strait of Hormuz following an upsurge in attacks. Among precautions, there should be no deployment of Indian crew members on vessels undertaking voyages through the waterway “until further orders,” the Directorate General of Shipping said in a post on X late Wednesday.