DOJ Wants to Turn Seized Iranian Tankers Into Treasury Revenue — Using a Law Dormant Since the 1800s

DOJ Wants to Turn Seized Iranian Tankers Into Treasury Revenue — Using a Law Dormant Since the 1800s

The Justice Department is seeking to revive a maritime court system largely unused since the Spanish-American War to streamline seizing Iranian oil tankers. The Houston-based U.S. Attorney coordinating with the Pentagon confirmed the revival of prize law, which would let the government sell oil or cargo from ships that violated the blockade, with proceeds going to the Treasury. Because Congress never declared war on Iran, the legal footing is untested, creating grey area that could pull lawmakers into a conflict they’ve largely avoided — raising the stakes for anyone still moving Iran-linked crude.

#Iran #StraitOfHormuz #OilSanctions #MaritimeLaw #CrudeSupply

US Oil Rigs Just Fell Again — Even as Diamondback Crossed 1 Million Barrels a Day and Doubled Its Buyback

Oil rigs decreased by five to 447 this week, even as Diamondback’s total production exceeded 1 million boe per day for the first time in company history, and it raised oil-production guidance while keeping full-year cash capital expenditures unchanged at roughly $3.9 billion. In July, the board doubled the share repurchase authorization to $16.0 billion from $8.0 billion. Fewer rigs, higher output, cash to shareholders instead of the drill bit — that’s discipline beating OPEC+’s assumption that shale will fully answer higher prices.

#Permian #ShaleOil #RigCount #CapitalDiscipline #CrudeSupply

Kuwait’s Ports Lost 86% of Their Traffic in the War — Singapore and Malaysia Are the Ones Who Gained It

Crude exports from the Gulf region have dropped by nearly half compared with before the war, from about 17 million barrels a day in 2025 to roughly nine million bpd as of August 2026. But Kuwait saw the steepest fall, with daily port calls dropping by 86 percent, while Russia’s fuel oil shipments to Singapore and Malaysia rose 2.5 times month-on-month in July. That’s not a detour — it’s new storage and transshipment infrastructure that won’t vanish even if Hormuz fully reopens, permanently shifting trade toward Southeast Asia.

#StraitOfHormuz #TankerTraffic #RussianOil #Singapore #GlobalShipping