Rising tanker attacks near Iraq and Kuwait are disrupting shipping in the Persian Gulf, raising concerns that escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz could threaten a key global oil and LNG export corridor.
Louisiana drilling activity remained steady over the last 30 days, with 28 rigs operating across nine parishes, led primarily by Haynesville-focused operators. Apex Natural Gas, Expand Energy, and Aethon Energy continue to dominate the basin’s activity, reinforcing a disciplined development environment centered on consistent execution rather than expansion.
Oklahoma’s drilling story right now is about stability, not surprise. Operators are sticking to their best rock in the Cana Woodford and surrounding Anadarko Basin plays, leaning on preferred contractors and maintaining a steady development cadence.
Diamondback Energy revealed that it has quietly built a large Barnett Shale drilling inventory beneath its Midland Basin acreage and plans to begin scaling development in 2026. At the same time, new midstream infrastructure such as Energy Transfer’s Paloma Compressor Station and a large inventory of undrilled Barnett permits in Ector County indicate the region is preparing for increased gas production from deeper stacked formations.
Diamondback’s Midland County permits show a clear factory-style drilling strategy, with 12 pads and 50 wells organized across multiple development corridors. While 17 wells have already been drilled, the Rio Trinity and Battleground developments represent the largest remaining drilling inventory, signaling continued activity in the area.
EOG has drilled 16 wells across six defined pads in Ohio in 2026, with activity concentrated in Harrison and Guernsey Counties and supported by three primary rigs. The structured pad development and disciplined rig deployment confirm the Utica’s elevation to a top-tier, manufacturing-style growth asset within EOG’s portfolio.
Occidental Petroleum subsidiary 1PointFive expects its STRATOS direct air capture (DAC) facility in the Permian Basin, Texas, to begin initial operations in Q2 2026, with Phase 1 in the final stage of startup and Phase 2 commissioning beginning the same quarter. Once fully ramped, the project is designed to capture up to 500,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year, positioning STRATOS as one of the largest DAC facilities in the world.
Diamondback’s county-level activity confirms what management said on the call: the Permian is a disciplined manufacturing engine, not a basin in decline. Rigs and near-term permits are tightly concentrated in Midland and Reagan, momentum is building in Glasscock, and deep inventory in Martin is being preserved as optionality — exactly what a “yellow light” strategy looks like on the ground.
Exxon’s Glasscock County Section 40 development is a tightly engineered Midland Basin manufacturing unit, with four discrete pads, uniform Spraberry horizontal well designs at ~10,046 ft, and zero surface or subsurface dispersion. The measured, phased cadence — with meaningful undrilled inventory preserved — reflects Exxon’s broader Permian strategy: lower-cost, technology-enabled execution focused on long-cycle recovery and sustained growth well beyond 2030.
A rapid escalation in the Middle East has pushed oil and gas markets into crisis mode, as attacks near the Strait of Hormuz threaten the flow of up to a third of globally traded crude and a fifth of LNG supply. With tanker traffic halted and insurers withdrawing coverage, prices are being driven by chokepoint risk rather than fundamentals, leaving energy markets heavily skewed to the upside.
