Weekend Barrel: U.S. News, Texas Oil & Gas, and What Matters This Week | Daily Barrel

# Daily Barrel | July 13, 2026 ## Weekend Barrel: America Lost the World Cup, Texas Kept Drilling, and Oil Remembered It's Still Oil Welcome to this edition of the **Weekend Barrel** on **Wildcatters Intelligence**, delivering the latest **U.S. oil news** and updates from the patch. Good morning. Hopefully you spent the weekend doing something more productive than yelling at your television during the World Cup. Unfortunately... Belgium had other plans. While soccer fans dissect the match, the industry is focusing on how **oil prices today** are holding, and why **independent operators** in **Texas oil and gas** are expanding active **rig counts**. --- ## USA Belgium World Cup: Reflecting on Team USA's Tournament Exit The U.S. men's run came to an end, social media immediately declared Belgian waffles un-American, and somewhere an economist probably tried calculating the GDP impact of disappointed soccer fans. No tariffs have been announced. Yet. --- ## Oil Prices Today: Brent and WTI Settle Higher on Supply and Shipping Risks After another week of headlines about Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, crude finished the week with gains, but not because traders suddenly became optimistic. Instead, markets started doing something they hadn't done in weeks: they looked at supply again. Reuters reported Friday that Brent crude finished the week around $76 per barrel, while WTI closed near $71, even as hopes grew that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could gradually normalize. The market managed to hold onto weekly gains despite a pullback on Friday, suggesting traders still see underlying strength even as geopolitical fears begin to cool. Reuters: Oil prices settle lower on hopes for smoother shipping in Hormuz https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-edges-lower-heads-weekly-gain-middle-east-supply-risks-persist-2026-07-10/ Here's the interesting part. A month ago, every oil conversation started with missiles. Today it starts with inventories. That's a much healthier market.  *Figure 1: Supertankers continue transporting global supply as shipping risks persist. Source: Global Shipping.* --- ## Texas Oil and Gas: Active Rigs Rise to Highest Level Since May 2025 While everyone watched headlines overseas... Texas just kept drilling. Reuters reported that U.S. energy companies added rigs for the fourth consecutive week, the longest streak in more than a year. Texas now has 272 active rigs, the highest level since May 2025, while the Eagle Ford added three rigs during the week. That doesn't sound flashy. It should. Because it tells us something important. Companies aren't drilling because they're excited. They're drilling because they believe these wells still make money. That may be the most bullish headline of the week. Reuters: U.S. energy firms add rigs for fourth straight week https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-energy-firms-add-rigs-fourth-week-row-says-baker-hughes-2026-07-10/ --- ## The PSA Nobody Wants to Hear: True Energy Security Lies in Domestic Basins Can we all stop pretending the Strait of Hormuz is America's long-term energy strategy? Every time something happens 7,000 miles away, cable news discovers oil, politicians discover energy security, and everyone panics. Then six weeks later, nobody talks about domestic production anymore. Here's the reality: America already has the people, the technology, the capital, the geology, the operators, the landmen, the brokers, and the mineral owners. We don't need to become an energy superpower. We already are. Now we just have to act like it. That's why Wildcatters exists: not to watch the next crisis, but to help build the next generation of American energy. --- ## Capital Raising Oil and Gas: Smart Money Seeks Operators with Resilient Assets If you're trying to raise money right now, this market isn't closed. It's just smarter. Investors still want oil and gas. They simply want operators that can make money at $70 oil, not operators praying for $100. That's a huge difference. The easy money is gone. The smart money showed up. --- ## Mom-and-Pop Oil: Why Lower Volatility Creates Stronger Acquisition Deals Here's what I think everyone is missing. When oil prices stop making headlines, deals start happening. The best acquisitions rarely happen during peak excitement. They happen when everyone else gets distracted.  *Figure 2: Active drilling derrick in the Appalachian natural gas fields at sunrise. Source: U.S. Energy News.* That's when good brokers earn their commission. That's when landmen become valuable. That's when mineral owners find serious buyers. That's when independent operators quietly build companies. --- ## Top Reads Today * **Reuters**: U.S. energy firms add rigs for fourth straight week https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-energy-firms-add-rigs-fourth-week-row-says-baker-hughes-2026-07-10/ * **Reuters**: Oil finishes the week higher despite Friday pullback https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-edges-lower-heads-weekly-gain-middle-east-supply-risks-persist-2026-07-10/ * **U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)** https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/ * **Baker Hughes Rig Count** https://rigcount.bakerhughes.com/