26 Jul Energy price, news, commentary and analysis | Rig Count U.S. -1 to 587 Canada +6 to 204
(Oilandgaspress) 26/07/26, Crude Oil prices unsettled after reports United States-Iran diplomacy restarted and continued Red Sea oil flows reduced immediate supply concerns. The U.S. military on Saturday reportedly said that its naval blockade against Iran “remains in full effect” The president and his advisers, according to the Times, have concerns about expanding the conflict, depleting defense stockpiles, alienating Persian Gulf allies and affecting energy supplies and the global economy
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Notes |
| Crude Oil (WTI) Oilprice | US$/bbl | $89.31 | Up |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | US$/bbl | $96.78 | Up |
| Bonny Light 22/07/26 CBN | US$/bbl | $99.06 | — |
| Dubai | US$/bbl | $80.11 | — |
| Natural Gas | US$/MMBtu | $2.87 | Down |
| Murban | US$/bbl | $97.05 | Up |
| OPEC basket 23/07/26 OPEC | US$/bbl | $102.76 | — |
| At press time July 26, 2026 |
U.S. Rig Count is down 1 from last week to 587 with oil rigs down 2 to 450, gas rigs up 1 to 127 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 10.
Canada Rig Count is up 6 from last week to 204 with oil rigs up 2 to 138, gas rigs up 3 to 62 and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 4.
International Rig Count is up 27 from last month to 1,073 with land rigs up 18 to 833, offshore up 9 to 240.
The Worldwide Rig Count for June was 1,822, up 88 from the 1,734 counted in May 2026, and up 60 from the 1,762 counted in June 2025
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change |
| U.S.A | 24 July 2026 | 587 | -1 |
| Canada | 24 July 2026 | 204 | +6 |
| International | June 2026 | 1,073 | +27 |
| Baker Hughes |
Equinor and its partners have made an oil discovery in the “Skrugard North Tubåen” prospect in the Barents Sea.
The wildcat well was drilled around 6 kilometres north of the 7220/8-1 discovery well on the Johan Castberg field and 240 kilometres northwest of Hammerfest.
Preliminary estimates indicate the size of the discovery is between 1.2-1.7 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.), which corresponds to 7.6-10.5 million barrels of o.e. The licensees are considering whether it may be possible to tie the field back to the Johan Castberg field.
This is the 17th exploration well in production licence 532, which was awarded in the 20th licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in 2009. The licensees in the production licence are Equinor (operator), Vår Energi and Petoro.
Well 7220/5-EC-2 H was drilled by the Transocean Enabler drilling rig. Read More
Sinopec’s AI achievements have been selected for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) for the second consecutive year. The two selected achievements are:
AI-Assisted Lubricant R&D Scenario: Selected as a “Strategic High-Value AI Scenario”.
Oil, Gas, Geothermal & New Energy Domain Dataset: Recognized as an “Outstanding High-Quality Industry Dataset”.High-end lubricants are critical materials safeguarding aerospace, major equipment, and precision instruments. To address the high costs and long cycles of traditional R&D, Sinopec has built an end-to-end AI R&D framework. This initiative has successfully compressed the R&D cycle from several years to just one year and led to the development of self-monitoring luminescent grease.
Meanwhile, the specialized dataset integrates full-value-chain resources, including standards, operational data, and professional literature. By building intelligent application scenarios, it has significantly boosted geothermal development and utilization, accelerating safety operation planning from hours of manual work to minute-level generation. Read More
Ukrainian forces struck an Iranian vessel transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea, Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said on July 25.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that Kyiv’s forces “achieved very good results from long-range strikes in the waters of the Caspian Sea,” reporting early morning strikes on an unspecified number of vessels, including a ship “transporting military cargo in cooperation with Iran.”
The SBU confirmed that the vessel, which was operating while evading international sanctions, shipped military cargo between the two countries.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry later claimed the strike targeted a commercial vessel, killing one sailor and injured another. Read More
Overnight on July 26, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck several key Russian military targets. The General Staff also confirmed a successful strike on the Tyumen oil refinery.
Russia has used seized Chornomornaftogaz facilities to extract, store, and transport natural gas and petroleum products. The infrastructure also supports the fuel and energy needs of Russian forces stationed in Crimea.
One of the targets was a Chornomornaftogaz facility near Vnukove in Russian-occupied Crimea. The General Staff confirmed that the target was successfully struck. Read More
BP is in advanced talks to sell its solar power business to an investor backed by Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund as it moves away from pushing net zero.
Private equity firm Qualitas Energy, and Wren House, the infrastructure arm of Kuwait Investment Authority, have joined forces to bid for Lighthouse, BP’s solar business.
The Kuwait-backed consortium is reportedly the highest bidder in the sale of Lightsource, which BP first invested in back in 2017, and a deal is expected soon, according the the Financial Times. Read More
An oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after colliding with a naval mine. The vessel was struck after leaving the route designated by Iran in the strategic waterway, according to the Middle Eastern country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
There was no immediate official statement from Iranian authorities regarding the incident. Related News
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OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Submit your Releases or contact us now!, victor@oilandgaspress.com
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