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CIR Research Desk

CIR Research Desk

WTI's $90 Friday: Rig Count Holds, Both Commodities Fall, and the Pattern That Has to Break

WTI's $90 Friday: Rig Count Holds, Both Commodities Fall, and the Pattern That Has to Break

WTI closed at $90.32 Friday, down nearly 3%, with Brent and natural gas both selling off. Baker Hughes rig count held flat at 551. Two $90 tests in two weeks — what breaks the pattern.

Week in Review: WTI’s $92 Friday and What the Rig Count Tells Us Next

Week in Review: WTI’s $92 Friday and What the Rig Count Tells Us Next

WTI settles at $92.71 as the week's Iran-and-Kurdistan volatility fades. Baker Hughes rig count due 1pm CT. Gas diverges as LNG demand floors the market.

Aged crude tanker underway at golden-hour sunset

Oil Down 3%, Gas Up 4%: Thursday's Split Screen and What Iran's Tightening Blockade Means for the Next Move

WTI closed Thursday at $93.02 — down $3.00 and -3.12% on the session — while natural gas futures moved the opposite direction, rising 4.36% to $3.354/MMBtu. Brent fell $2.56 to $95.25. The crude-gas divergence is back, and the mechanism is the same one

Iran Talk, Kurdistan Supply, and a $95 WTI Floor Test: Thursday's Global Brief

Iran Talk, Kurdistan Supply, and a $95 WTI Floor Test: Thursday's Global Brief

WTI slides to $95 on Israel-Lebanon ceasefire signals and Iran talk revival. Kurdistan pipeline restarts at 450K bbl/d. Henry Hub holds above $3.25. Thursday geopolitical brief.

The Inventory Thesis: Four Consecutive Draws Put $96 WTI on Different Footing

The Inventory Thesis: Four Consecutive Draws Put $96 WTI on Different Footing

Wednesday's EIA report did something the geopolitical headlines couldn't: it made the $96 WTI price look cheap on fundamentals. Commercial crude inventories came in at 433.7 million barrels for the week ending May 29 — a draw of 7,974 Mbbl from the prior week'

Upstream Oil Gas A&D Deals 2026: Deal Flow, Basin Valuations, and What Operators Are Watching

Upstream Oil Gas A&D Deals 2026: Deal Flow, Basin Valuations, and What Operators Are Watching

The US upstream A&D market has run hot in 2026. More than $38 billion in announced or closed deals in the first five months of the year tells a story beyond opportunism. Operators are making deliberate inventory bets at $90-$100 WTI, private equity is continuing its exit

WTI Recovers to $96 as EIA Inventory Data Looms: Wednesday Capital & RBL Season Wrap

WTI Recovers to $96 as EIA Inventory Data Looms: Wednesday Capital & RBL Season Wrap

WTI opens Wednesday at $96.34 as EIA weekly inventory data looms and spring RBL redetermination season wraps. The $87-$97 range of the past ten days has put operator capital decisions — and lender price decks — squarely in focus.