The United States and Saudi Arabia jointly struck Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday, and President Donald Trump vowed to "beat the fucking shit" out of Iran for firing on U.S. troops just days after he suspended airstrikes. Iran confirmed late Tuesday that it had fired on U.S. bases in Jordan and at ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and also spurned an Omani proposal to jointly manage the strait. "We'll be hitting them hard," Fox News quoted Trump as saying. "We're going to beat the fucking [Read more]

U.S. commercial oil inventory drew more than expected last week as refineries stepped up processing and exports climbed, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, as the war between the United States and Iran escalated. Crude inventories, excluding stocks in the U.S. government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 7.2 million barrels to 404.5 million barrels, the in the week ended July 24, the EIA said, the lowest level since 2018. That compared with analysts expectations in a [Read more]

The MERA Oil consortium of U.S. and Saudi Arabian companies is advancing plans for a $5 billion integrated refinery and export corridor in the Gulf aimed at boosting regional energy infrastructure, its partners said on Wednesday, as the Iran war continues to disrupt energy flows. * Texas-based energy development company MWG Group, the Patel Family Office and PWS, an associate company of Saudi industrial conglomerate AHQ Group, have entered the final stage of site selection for the refinery, [Read more]

The United States on Wednesday issued another round of Iran-related sanctions, taking aim at Iran's efforts to "monetize the Strait of Hormuz" with designations of 10 entities and eight more tankers, the U.S. Treasury Department said. Six of the entities targeted for sanctions were based in China, it said. The sanctions followed a vow by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday to hit Iran hard, according to an interview with Fox News, after the U.S. military said it had [Read more]

Saudi Arabia said its armed forces carried out targeted strikes on Wednesday against Iran-backed militia targets in Iraq in coordination with U.S. Central Command, saying the action was in response to recent drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Tom Hogue) [Read more]

Oil prices rose by more than $2 a barrel in early trade on Wednesday on shrinking U.S. crude inventories, recouping some of the previous session's losses caused by a pause in fighting between Washington and Tehran. Brent futures increased by $2.71, or 3.2%, to $86.80 a barrel at 0002 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.26, or 3.4%, to $81.95. U.S. crude inventories fell by about 3.3 million barrels in the week ended July 24,market sources said on Tuesday, citing data [Read more]

The American Petroleum Institute opposes tolls or transit fees for vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz, the top U.S. oil industry trade group's chief executive Mike Sommers told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Reuters reported that Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, which includes Tehran collecting voluntary fees from vessels using the waterway, according to a Gulf source and a Western diplomat. Here are some more details: * "I [Read more]