In The Mideast Is There Something Afoot? 9:48 A.M. CT -- July 7, 2026

 

Locator: 51128OIL.

Updates

Happening now: 9:42 a.m. CT: huge sell-off in tech this morning, but much more interesting is the fact that across the board energy stocks are up over 2%. WTI itself is now up 2.6% which has occurred just this morning, back over $70. This suggests movers and shakers realize things are not going well in the Mideast with regard to the Hormuz Strait. At the same time, the Dow, which had been green, has now turned negative and is down about 130 points. Is something afoot?

Any good news? AAPL which had been slightly negative is now flirting with a slight gain -- very, very slight. 

AMD news:

 

The World Has Changed -- Get Used To It -- July 7, 2026

Locator: 51127ARCHIVES.

Updates

Later, 9:42 a.m. CT: huge sell-off in tech this morning, but much more interesting is the fact that across the board energy stocks are up over 2%. WTI itself is now up 2.6% which has occurred just this morning, back over $70. This suggests movers and shakers realize things are not going well in the Mideast with regard to the Hormuz Strait. At the same time, the Dow, which had been green, has now turned negative and is down about 130 points. Is something afoot?

Original Post  

Samsung: profit jumps 1,800% as AI chip sales soar.

• you can howl at the wind, but AI is here to sta

Micron started construction on a $9.3 billion expansion to its factory in Hiroshima, Japan. 

Saudi Arabia considers expansion of oil pipeline to Red Sea.

Hunch: Mideast crude oil exports has leveled off; unlikely to increase; WTI will stay in a trading range near where it is now: $65 to $75 for the near future. IRGC not going to give up the strait. Thinking otherwise is fantasy. So, three outcomes:

• Hezbollah is not going away;
• Iran's nuclear program will continue -- will play hide-and-seek with IEA inspectors;
• IRGC will monetize / maintain control of the strait. 

SpaceX is now in the NASDAQ-100. Brace for volatility.

Trump Accounts: way too complicated; particularly for the measly return for upper middle class and the elite. I wrote that before I saw this, link here:

Experts interviewed by Yahoo Finance were not convinced that Trump Accounts offered a clear advantage over similar options, like a traditional or Roth IRA or a 529 education savings plan.

529s, for example, allow earnings to accumulate and are not subject to federal and state taxes when used for qualified education expenses.

Zach Teutsch, a managing partner at Values Added Financial, said that a family would have to be "shockingly sure" that their child would not attend college to opt for a Trump Account instead of a 529 plan.

"The giving kids money aspect is generally good," Teutsch said. "The account structure seems ill-considered."

Traditional IRAs offer an up-front tax deduction, while Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax money, but the dollars are withdrawn tax-free in retirement.

Trump Accounts tax the money when it goes in and when it comes out. Additionally, IRAs — both types — offer a greater variety of investment options and higher contribution limits.

What's also confusing about Trump Accounts is that they allow for both after-tax contributions, like individual gifts from family members or parents, as well as pre-tax contributions, like those from employers.

In general, experts say that Trump Accounts have significant drawbacks compared to other options.

"It's not very attractive," said Ann Reilley, CEO of Alpha Financial Advisors. "It just seems like they're complicating things for no reason."

IN PROGRESS -- Hess -- Case 33025 -- Up To 13 Wells On A 1280-Acre Unit -- July 6, 2026

Locator: 51126HESS.

Hearing dockets are found here at the NDIC.

July, 2026, hearing dockets.  

This is a case to be considered by the NDIC, not a permit. If approved by the NDIC, then operators can go ahead and submit permits to drill these wells within the parameters of the case that was passed.  

It's my understanding that when an operator requests more wells to be drilled in a spacing unit, that number includes wells already drilled, if that makes sense. Example: in case below, Hess requests an authorization of up to 13 horizontal wells to be drilled -- this is not 13 additional wells. Rather it means an additional three wells because there are already 10 wells in this spacing unit. I could be wrong on number of wells already drilled in that drilling unit, but you get the idea.

Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Link here.
Page 12.

The case, again, this is a case, not a permit:

 The maps:

 

 

 

Tuesday -- July 7, 2026

Locator: 51125B.

SpaceX (SPCX): $154, down about 3%. 

Dow opens at record high: 53,229. 

• NASDAQ down 1%, trading at 25,930.
• S&P: 7,520.

Rivian: dramatic reversal. Diluted shares. Sells 75 million shares to raise cash to pay DOE loan. Previously reported.

Senator Mitch McConnell: hospitalized for about three weeks; staff says he is "continuing his recovery."  Was admitted June 14, 2026. 

Hormuz Strait: still not fully open.

• Israel continues to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

**********************************
Back to the Bakken 

WTI: $69.57. Up slightliy

New wells reporting:

• Wednesday, July 8, 2026: 14 for the month, 14 for the quarter, 367 for the year, 
• 41232, conf, Oasis, Hoehn 5202 41-24 5B
• 41231, conf, Oasis, Hoehn 5202 41-24 4B,
• 41230, conf, Oasis, Hoehn 5202 41-24 2B, 
• 41194, conf, Oasis, Hoehn 5202 41-24 3B,
• 40624, conf, Devon Energy, Skaar 15-22 7H,
• Tuesday, July 7, 2026: 9 for the month, 9 for the quarter, 362 for the year, 
• 41620, conf, Devon Energy, Sanders 34-27 6H,

RBN Energy: as data centers come to more northeast states, natural gas market prepares for growth. Link here. Archived.

A number of states have been early movers in the data center world, but several in the Northeast — while not yet major data center hubs — are laying the groundwork for a much bigger role. On top of that, a few states may turn out to be real surprises. There are also a handful of states intentionally shying away from the data center spotlight that could be wildcards. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the plans of several Northeastern states and how they could impact the region’s natural gas market.

After being in virtual limbo for the past couple of years, the Northeast gas market is reawakening, which we’ve detailed in several previous blogs and our latest Drill Down Report, Wake Me Up. Pipeline projects to expand connectivity between Appalachia and demand centers are moving forward for the first time in years, including into the previously off-limits New York/New Jersey and New England market areas. Regional flow dynamics are poised to shift as expansions debottleneck production and pathways out of the Appalachia producing region, deepening seasonal patterns.

At the same time, structural changes, such as coal retirements and new data centers, are driving additional gas demand, and we’re already seeing more gas-related projects in areas where data centers are planned or under construction. In our most recent blog, we turned our attention to the states with already-giant data center footprints — including Virginia and Ohio — that receive gas from Appalachia and how pipeline developers are responding. Today’s blog shifts the focus to several states flying under the radar.

Let’s start with the area known as the Chesapeake-Delaware Corridor (green-shaded area in Figure 1 below) Maryland (medium-green area) is emerging as a key up‑and‑coming data center market, with spillover from Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley (see Sweet Virginia) combining with a growing roster of large campuses. Key operators include QTS Realty Trust, Digital Realty, COPT Data Center Solutions and Aligned Data Centers, the last of which is building a roughly 264-MW, four‑building campus in Frederick County (light-green area to right at bottom of Figure 1). Much of the momentum centers on the Quantum Loophole data center, a 2,100‑acre redevelopment of the former Alcoa Eastalco site that hosts Aligned’s Quantum Frederick campus and other hyperscale builds. Big projects like TeraWulf’s planned 1,000-MW Chesapeake Data campus in Charles County, Atmosphere’s 300-MW Dickerson Data Center in Montgomery County, and the 150-MW Security Land Baltimore project, along with existing footprints from Amazon and Meta, add up to multi-gigawatt sites. These could change Maryland from a niche market to a secondary data center hub. Policy‑wise, Maryland is still crafting rules around data-center growth. Some counties are developing data-center-specific frameworks after community pushback, and there is growing talk of more cohesive statewide oversight as power demand ramps up.

Minor Notes -- July 6, 2026

Locator: 51124INVESTING.

Samsung earnings: incredible.  2Q26 profit, preliminary guidance: hit a record.

World's largest proposed data center is now officially dead: Virginia. 

• my hunch: developers / proponents of this deal will now move to Texas

SPCX officially joins the NASDAQ-100: tomorrow. 

Toyota: moving $3.6 billion Tacoma pickup manufacturing from Mexico to Texas.  Wow. San Antonio.

Ford-Micron chip deal: you can howl at the wind, but AI is here to stay.