Category: Energy News Beat

US Oil and Refined Products Inventories Down

Energy News Beat U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose last week, but Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) draws and sharp declines in key refined products left overall oil and product stocks tighter, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Petroleum Status Report released today for the week ending July 31, 2026. Key Inventory Highlights (Week […]

Houthis Claim Responsibility for Another Attack in the Red Sea

Energy News Beat The Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on or around August 4-5, 2026, that they successfully targeted a Saudi-controlled medium-range (MR) product tanker in the northern Red Sea with ballistic missiles. The vessel, identified as the Bahri-controlled NCC Wafa (also referred to as Wafaa or NCC WAFA; IMO 9688348, approximately 49,990 DWT, […]

Refineries Globally Are Running Flat Out as Buffers Have Dwindled

Energy News Beat Global oil refineries outside active conflict zones are operating near or at maximum capacity, with almost no remaining buffers to absorb further shocks. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser made the point clearly this week: the system is stretched thin, leaving “little shock absorbers or buffers” against higher fuel prices. A combination of […]

Global Energy Market In Flux with Russia, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandab Strait and drought in the EU all in play

Energy News Beat The global energy landscape remains highly volatile in early August 2026, shaped by overlapping geopolitical, security, and climate pressures. Disruptions centered on Russia’s refined product exports, ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, escalating risks in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and a severe drought across Europe are tightening supplies of crude oil, […]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed a halt on new data center connections to the ERCOT grid pending a comprehensive audit of their energy use, water consumption, financing, ownership, and community impacts.

Energy News Beat This action, announced August 3, 2026, comes roughly three weeks after New York became the first state to impose a temporary statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. It applies to projects seeking to interconnect with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system and pauses related transmission planning work, including the […]

China Approves Eight New Nuclear Plants, Including Four With Hualong One 2.0 Tech

Energy News Beat China’s State Council approved the construction of eight new nuclear reactor units on July 31, 2026, during an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. The projects, spanning four provinces, represent a total investment exceeding 170 billion yuan (approximately $25 billion) and continue the country’s aggressive expansion of nuclear capacity as a […]

Hormuz Tanker Traffic Stalls as Attacks Escalate

Energy News Beat Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sunk to its lowest level in more than two months as attacks and threats intensify, leaving the world’s most critical oil chokepoint effectively stalled despite intermittent diplomatic noise from Washington. Ship-tracking data show vessel movements—including commodity carriers—plunged after a brief mid-June to early-July uptick […]

Qatar, Bessent Signal Progress on Short-Term US-Iran Deal — With Mixed Signals from Iran

Energy News Beat Oil markets swung lower on Tuesday as Qatar and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to advancing mediation efforts aimed at a short-term arrangement between the United States and Iran, centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The chokepoint, which normally handles roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, has been […]

From Smokestacks to Solutions: How Standard Carbon is Decarbonizing Energy

Energy News Beat Natan Shahar, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Standard Carbon, stops by with solutions. What if the solution to the alleged climate change was hiding in plain sight—literally in the smokestacks of power plants, factories, and boilers around the world? On this episode of the Energy Newsbeat Podcast, host Stu Turley sits […]

Williams Cos. Reaches Deal to Buy Momentum Midstream for Up to $5.5 Billion

Energy News Beat Tulsa-based The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB) has signed an agreement to acquire Momentum Midstream in a strategic transaction valued at up to $5.5 billion, establishing a premier position in the Haynesville Shale to serve expanding Gulf Coast LNG, power, and industrial demand. The deal, announced alongside Williams’ strong second-quarter 2026 results […]