In an oil and gas report sent to Rigzone late Tuesday by the Macquarie team, Macquarie strategists, including Walt Chancellor, revealed that they are forecasting that U.S. crude inventories will be up by 6.5 million barrels for the week ending February 6. “This follows a 3.5 million barrel draw in the prior week, with the crude balance again realizing tighter relative to our expectations, albeit amidst significant winter freeze noise,” the strategists said in the report. “For this week’s stats, we again see significant room for volatility as freeze impacts work their way through the data,” they added. “In any event, for the week ending 2/6, from refineries, we look for a minimal increase in crude runs, with turnaround timing adding noise to the picture. Among net imports, we model a meaningful increase, with exports lower (-0.5 million barrels per day) and imports higher (+0.2 million barrels per day) on a nominal basis,” they continued. The strategists noted in the report that timing of cargoes remains a source of potential volatility in the weekly crude balance. “From implied domestic supply (prod.+adj.+transfers), we look for a large nominal bounce-back (+0.7 million barrels per day) following last week’s freeze impacts,” the Macquarie strategists went on to state. “Here too, the extent of lingering disruptions adds uncertainty. Rounding out the picture, we anticipate SPR [U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve] stocks unchanged for the week ending 2/6,” they added. The strategists also noted that, “among products”, they “look for a modest gasoline build (+1.4 million barrels) offset by a distillate draw (-1.4 million barrels), with jet stocks nearly flat (+0.1 million barrels)”. “We model implied demand for these three products at ~13.8 million barrels per day for the week ending February 6,” they went on to state. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today renewed two emergency orders to further strengthen Puerto Rico’s electric grid as the island prepares for rising energy demand and the 2026 hurricane season. Building on actions taken in May, August, and November 2025, the renewed orders authorize the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to dispatch generation units essential for maintaining critical generation capacity, while accelerating vegetation management to reduce outages, strengthen long-term grid reliability, and minimize the cost of blackouts. “The Department of Energy will continue modernizing Puerto Rico’s electric grid to ensure the island achieves long-term resilience and reliability,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Renewing these orders ensures critical work moves forward, urgent reliability challenges are addressed, and Puerto Rico’s grid is ready to withstand rising energy demand. Thanks to President Trump, these efforts are delivering real, lasting progress for Puerto Rico.” DOE’s emergency actions have assisted the Puerto Rican government in restoring up to 820 MW of baseload generation capacity in Puerto Rico, resulting in an increase to the island’s systemwide generation capacity to 6,460 MW. Several plants were able to run without water injection during a water crisis, ensuring electricity kept flowing to Puerto Ricans despite unforeseen circumstances.  The orders also address vegetation management issues near high-voltage lines. Falling tree limbs or brush during Puerto Rico’s frequent storms and high winds can damage transmission lines, cause widespread outages and potentially cause wildfires.   “The Department of Energy’s 202(c) emergency orders have been instrumental in preventing the widespread power outages Puerto Rico was expected to face, allowing us to increase our baseload generation capacity and advance grid stability measures. Extending the orders is necessary to continue making progress and I thank President Trump and Secretary Wright for their unwavering commitment to ensure the island has an affordable, reliable supply of energy,”

Oil slid in a choppy session as traders parsed mixed signals on the risks of supply disruptions in the Middle East.  West Texas Intermediate edged down to settle near $64 a barrel, snapping a two-day winning streak, amid competing headlines on the status of diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran. Prices dropped after Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said that discussions during last week’s Iran-US talks were productive. Minutes later, futures pared some losses on an Axios report that US President Donald Trump might send a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and other issues fail.  The episode underscores the whiplash investors face. Many are looking ahead to a Wednesday meeting between Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu for clarity, amid widespread expectations that Israel’s prime minister will urge a tougher US stance on Tehran’s ballistic missile program.  “I will present to the president our views regarding the principles of the negotiation,” Netanyahu said of the upcoming discussion.  In the absence of clear signals on the direction of the Middle East conflict, oil prices took cues from weaker equities.  Crude has risen more than 10% this year as recurrent geopolitical flare-ups eclipsed concerns that a global surplus would lift inventories and hurt prices.  The US said on Monday that American-flagged vessels should stay as far as possible from Iranian waters when passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has amassed a powerful military force in the Middle East, even as it also pursues talks with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical trade artery for Middle East energy shipments that links a slew of producers to global markets, especially in Asia. Tehran has threatened to close the maritime chokepoint during periods of geopolitical tension, though it hasn’t actually followed through. “Both

Project demonstrates the economic viability of domestic smelting and reduces U.S. reliance on imports. WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today joined executives of Century Aluminum to celebrate progress toward constructing a primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma—a project supported through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). “Today, I was honored to meet with the team that will be delivering America’s first new aluminum smelter of the 21st century,” said Secretary Wright. “This project could not have been realized without President Trump’s commitment to revitalizing this country’s manufacturing base and reducing our reliance on foreign suppliers. Century Aluminum’s joint venture shows how President Trump’s economic policies are encouraging global companies to partner with U.S. firms, build here in America, and create good-paying American jobs.” Once complete, the plant will be the largest-ever primary aluminum production plant in the U.S., with the potential to produce over 500,000 tons of high-quality, primary aluminum per year—including approximately 20,000 tons of high-purity aluminum suitable for national defense applications. On January 26, 2026, Century announced plans to jointly develop the plant with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA). EGA’s investment to help develop this multi-billion-dollar smelter project in Oklahoma was secured by President Trump as part of the strategic partnership announced between the United Arab Emirates and the United States in Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2025. In 2025, DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) awarded $500 million to advance construction of the first new primary aluminum smelter in the United States since 1980. This project demonstrates the economic viability of domestic smelting and reduces dependence on foreign imports. In 2024, the United States imported 5.46 million metric tons and exported 3 million metric tons of downstream aluminum products and scrap, resulting in net imports of 2.46 million metric tons. There are currently

US forces boarded an oil tanker after a cat-and-mouse chase from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon said, as Washington expands its geographic scope in an ongoing crackdown on a global shadow fleet used to export sanctioned crude. The Aquila II had departed from the Jose terminal in Venezuela in early December and appeared to be bound for China, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The ship was intercepted while heading toward the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It’s the latest Venezuela-linked ship the US has taken control of since December, and the furthest from Caribbean waters, underscoring how far Washington is prepared to go to enforce its energy quarantine worldwide. The Suezmax vessel, able to haul about 1 million barrels of oil, was sanctioned for its involvement in the Russian oil trade following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Although it was sailing under the flag of Panama when it was sanctioned by the US, as a Treasury Sanctions list search shows, it now appears to be operating under an unknown flag, according to the Equasis international shipping database and Bloomberg data. Previous US tanker seizures were executed before and after US forces captured and removed former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a highly-coordinated operation that included air strikes on Caracas. The last such incident took place in late January, when Motor Vessel Sagitta was captured in the Caribbean Sea. The Trump administration has pledged to crack down on Venezuela’s use of sanctioned ships, which often deploy deceptive satellite positioning signals, false flags and other misleading techniques to illegally export oil and other goods.  On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon was pursuing dark fleet vessels carrying Venezuelan crude around the world.  “The only guidance I gave to my military commanders is,

The Indian Coast Guard seized three tankers that it said were involved in oil smuggling, the first sign of the country getting tough on the so-called dark fleet.  The three ships were taken in the waters off Mumbai on Friday by the coast guard, which said in a post on X that it had “busted an international oil-smuggling racket” and that the vessels had been known to “frequently change identity.”  It’s the first time New Delhi has taken such action, according to people familiar with the Indian shipping industry, and comes as the US and Europe lead an effort to get tougher on vessels moving sanctioned oil. Many dark fleet tankers have sub-standard documentation, improper or fake flag registrations and poor maintenance, posing security and maritime safety risks.  The seizures are also happening as Washington pressures New Delhi to stop taking Russian crude, as part of a deal to cut import tariffs on the South Asian nation. India said early last year that it wouldn’t allow sanctioned tankers to discharge at its ports. Explainer: How Trump Is Testing India’s US-Russia Balancing Act The coast guard didn’t name the vessels it had seized, but shared photos of them in its post. The pictures matched past images of the Chiltern, Asphalt Star and Stellar Ruby that can be found on MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking intelligence platform.  Ship-intelligence platform TankerTracker.com identified the same vessels through their unique seven-digit IMO numbers.  All three ships were sanctioned by Washington last year for links to the Iranian oil trade.  Nobody responded to emails seeking comment at offices of the registered owners of the tankers as listed on the Equasis database. Calls made to the owners and manager of Chiltern and Asphalt Star were directed to voice mail. Calls made to the owner and manager of Stellar Ruby were not answered. The three vessels seized by