Intelligence Portfolio
ConocoPhillips said July 17 it agreed to acquire a 42% interest in bp's Kirkuk venture in Iraq, with the companies citing more than 3 billion boe of initial gross recoverable resource in the contract area.
Christian Rosenblum
Managing Author
As of Saturday, July 18, 2026, the cleanest verified oil benchmarks are Friday's settlements: Brent at $88.10 and WTI at $82.49, with traders focused on Hormuz and Red Sea shipping risk.
The latest EIA petroleum report showed a 1.7 million-barrel crude draw, 96.2% refinery utilization and stronger exports, even as distillate inventories rose.
Brent and WTI stayed close to Wednesday's highs early Thursday as traders kept a geopolitical risk premium in crude despite mixed U.S. inventory data.
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