More than half of the world’s petroleum derived from Permian times has come from the Permian Basin. Although some older strata are also productive, the majority of the oil and gas obtained from the Permian Basin has been recovered from Permian rocks. Though oil and gas were already being extracted from the Permian Basin by the mid-1920s, most of the petroleum production activity has taken place since the 1950s. As a result, for a large part of the 20th century the Permian Basin played a significant role in the economic development of the state of Texas, including such towns as Midland, Odessa, and Marathon. Petroleum geologists often use the Permian reef system as a model for the exploration of other petroleum source and reservoir rocks.
The contribution to the US economy is vast:
The Permian Basin is projected to contribute $350 billion and create 1.2 million jobs for the U.S. economy by 2050, making it a significant driver of economic activity in the country. It supports various infrastructure developments and plays a crucial role in energy security. Yahoo dallasfed.org
Outcompeting Saudi:
Permian shale output closes gap with Saudi Arabia as rig count doubles, confirming US’ powerhouse status
Exxon’s 1.6 million acres in the Permian means it can approach the field as a “megaproject”
The majors’ Permian investments position the field to compete with Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil-producing region
The World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker is the only global and independent indicator of gas flaring. The estimates allow us to monitor global flaring levels and assist in tracking progress towardZero Routine Flaring by 2030. You can view the lastest Global Gas Flaring Tracker (July, 2025) here and each of GFMR’s interactive visualizations below:
CloseIsraeli Prime Minister Served Birthday Cake With Gold Noose
Israel’s national security minister celebrated his 50th birthday with a golden noose on his cake just over a month after he successfully campaigned for the death penalty for Palestinian terrorist convicts.
Footage on social media showed Itamar Ben-Gvir receiving a cake from his wife with a golden noose which wished the minister a Happy Birthday and added: ‘Sometimes dreams come true’, per translation.
The politician could be seen wearing a golden noose pin as his wife Ayala handed him the cake to mark the milestone. The event, attended by senior Israeli officials and police figures, reportedly took place at a villa in southern Israel.
The golden noose became a core symbol for Ben-Gvir’s far-right party Otzma Yehudit as they campaigned for the death penalty exclusively for Palestinian terrorism convicts. Many politicians wore a golden noose pin as they attended Knesset amid the campaign.
Trump dismisses China friction over Iran war, touts Xi ties before Beijing summit
US halts Hormuz escort mission, says Beijing is not pushing back as Xi talks loom
ublished: 3:45am, 6 May 2026Updated: 7:21am, 6 May 2026
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday rejected suggestions that China has challenged his administration over the Iran war, highlighting his “very good relationship” with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ahead of their planned summit next week.
China’s foreign minister holds talks with Iranian counterpart
Abbas Araghchi’s trip to Beijing comes ahead of Trump’s visit to China
Diyar Güldoğan
06 May 2026•Update: 06 May 2026
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks Wednesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
Araghchi’s visit came ahead of US President Donald Trump’s scheduled summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping from May 14-15 amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, which remains blocked.
[1/2] BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 6: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing, China on May 6, 2026.
This marks Araghchi’s first in-person meeting with his Chinese counterpart since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. The two have held several phone calls during the conflict.
Global Hunger Crisis: Facing Escalating Threats in 2026
The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises highlights worsening global food insecurity due to conflict, drought, and reduced aid. Acute hunger has doubled in the last decade, with millions in Africa and the Middle East facing severe conditions. Global instability is exacerbated by conflicts and financial constraints impacting food markets.
The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises warns of a worsening hunger crisis due to conflict, drought, and reduced aid.
An estimated 266 million people faced acute food insecurity in 2025, with severe conditions expected in fragile regions like Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen.
Geopolitical tensions, particularly the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, threaten to disrupt energy and fertilizer trade, exacerbating food market instability.
Declining funding for humanitarian efforts further complicates the response to rising hunger levels, especially in West and East Africa.
Hormuz war risk drives sevenfold insurance spike, $40 bln global safety net for shipping
Bossy Abdel Gawad, Sunday 3 May 2026
The Strait of Hormuz has shifted from a key route for global trade into a major pressure point draining billions of dollars through war risk insurance costs, as rising geopolitical tensions reshape marine insurance dynamics and global shipping expenses.
A large container ship passes through the Suez Canal. Photo courtesy of UN Trade and Development.
Reports issued in April indicate that insurance exposures in the Gulf region, now beyond the capacity of private markets, have reached approximately $352 billion. This has prompted international intervention, with governments stepping in as insurers of last resort and deploying more than $40 billion in additional capacity to prevent disruptions to global trade flows.
The mounting insurance burden is not confined to balance sheets. The strait handles around 20 percent of global oil supplies, equivalent to roughly 21 million barrels per day, as well as nearly 30 percent of the liquefied natural gas trade. At the peak of recent escalation, Brent crude prices surged above $120 per barrel, while marine insurance premiums spiked sharply, rising tenfold on some routes.
This surge has been compounded by a wave of cancellation notices issued by major global reinsurers to reduce their exposure to high-risk zones.
The impact has extended beyond the shipping industry to consumers worldwide. According to International Monetary Fund estimates released in April 2026, the combined shock from higher energy and shipping costs linked to Hormuz tensions has added about 0.5 percentage points to global inflation, while potentially lowering global GDP growth to 3.1 percent.
Ahram Online spoke to industry leaders about the dynamics of war risk insurance in the Strait of Hormuz, exploring how transit risks are managed and who ultimately bears the cost of rapidly rising premiums.
Historic First: Netanyahu Deploys Israel’s Iron Dome to UAE as Iranian Missile Barrage Reshapes Gulf War Alliance
Israel’s unprecedented deployment of an operational Iron Dome battery and IDF personnel to the UAE marks the deepest military integration yet under the Abraham Accords, creating a new Gulf air defense architecture against Iran’s missile and drone campaign.
by layered air defense systems but several still reaching military and civilian targets.
Israeli officials stated that the Iron Dome battery intercepted dozens of incoming Iranian missiles aimed at the UAE, while the Israeli Air Force simultaneously struck Iranian short-range missile infrastructure in southern Iran to reduce launch pressure against Gulf states.
This dual approach—forward missile interception and offensive suppression of enemy launch sites—demonstrated a strategic shift in Israeli doctrine from homeland defense alone toward regional defensive projection in support of aligned Gulf partners.
The presence of Israeli troops operating one of the country’s most symbolically important defense systems on Emirati soil also signals that the Israel-UAE relationship has moved decisively beyond political normalization into the realm of functional wartime alliance.
Such a move carries strategic consequences not only for Tehran, but also for Riyadh, Doha, and Washington, because it suggests the architecture of a future integrated Middle Eastern air defense network is already being built under combat conditions.
See also the above covering the impact of the Abraham Accord, here is an extract:
UAE–Israel Military Convergence After the Abraham Accords
The 2020 Abraham Accords fundamentally restructured Middle Eastern security alignments by formalising UAE–Israel relations, unlocking rapid expansion in intelligence sharing, defence technology transfers, and joint threat-perception frameworks focused on Iran and its regional proxies.
Bilateral trade between the UAE and Israel has exceeded USD 2.5 billion annually, equivalent to approximately MYR 11.8 billion, with defence-related transactions encompassing surveillance technologies, cyber capabilities, and missile-defence cooperation.
In the Yemeni theatre, this partnership potentially translates into shared intelligence on Iranian arms smuggling routes, real-time maritime domain awareness, and forward basing options to compress response timelines against asymmetric threats.
Analysts have suggested that Mayun’s runway could enable Israeli aerial refuelling for long-range sorties or persistent ISR operations monitoring Iranian maritime logistics moving through the Red Sea corridor.
Analyst observed that “The Houthis, like any insurgent group, win by not losing,” underscoring why coalition forces increasingly seek structural advantages rather than decisive battlefield victories.
Another prominent analyst noted that “The Houthis feed off war—war is good for them,” explaining why symbolic escalation narratives resonate within Houthi mobilisation strategies.
Satellite imagery from Planet Labs corroborates ongoing UAE-linked infrastructure expansion across nearby islands such as Zuqar and Abd al-Kuri, where runways approaching 2,000 metres have been documented.
Ardemagni assessed that “A likely Emirati airstrip in Zuqar could serve to improve surveillance and monitoring off the Hodeida coast to better support Yemeni forces in tackling smuggling,” indicating an integrated network rather than an isolated installation.
Israel have given many awards to Donald Trump for his role in promoting Israel as a dominant force of change in the Middle East.
Iran’s Missile Math: $20,000 Drones Take On $4 Million US Patriots
US-made Patriot air-defense missiles have been largely successful in stopping the Iranian Shaheds and other ballistic missiles, with interception rates over 90%, according to the UAE.
Strait of Hormuz traffic showing early signs of recovery but analysts say crisis far from over
Vessel crossings rebound over the weekend but analysts warn increased movement has not yet translated into a surge in oil and gas flows as the war continues
Ebrahim Azizi, Head of Iran’s parliamentary National security commission, said, “Any American intervention in the Strait of Hormuz system will be considered a violation of the ceasefire. The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf will not be managed by the delusional statements of the U.S. President. Attempts to shift blame or justify interference will not be accepted.”
Iran’s Central Military Command stated, “We have repeatedly stated that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in the hands of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in any situation, any safe passage is done with the coordination of the armed forces. We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the invading American army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”
And a report from India:
US Navy in danger? IRGC vows ‘painful blows’ to Trump’s warships as US weighs resuming Iran war
Middle East war latest: Iran hits US warship with two missiles near Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media says
Donald Trump said the US would help free stranded ships in the Strait of Hormuz, with efforts beginning today – but didn’t elaborate on how he would ease the Iranian blockade.
He posted this:
Donald Trump claimed to have “all the cards” as it relates to Iran, but posted an image of himself holding a hand full of Uno cards. Many quickly pointed out that in Uno, having the cards means you are losing:
Live Updates: Iran targets UAE tanker in Strait of Hormuz as U.S. begins Project Freedom to guide vessels
By Tucker Reals
Updated on: May 4, 2026 / 11:11 AM EDT / CBS News
Project Freedom maritime operation.
“No commercial vessels or oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours, and the claims made by U.S. officials are baseless and entirely false,” IRIB state TV said in a statement it attributed to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The statement repeated an earlier warning from Iranian officials that any ships attempting to transit the strait “will face serious risks, and violating vessels will be stopped with force.”
Hours after President Trump announced Project Freedom, which he said would see the U.S. military “guide” tankers and other commercial vessels long stuck in the Persian Gulf out through the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command said two ships had safely transited the waterway on Monday, along with an unspecified number of U.S. Navy destroyers.
CENTCOM did not name the commercial vessels but said they were U.S.-flagged.
Iran attacked at least one UAE-flagged tanker in the strait on Monday, targeting it with drones, and an explosion was reported on a South Korean vessel, but the cause remained unclear.
United States Central Command (Centcom) chief Admiral Bradley Cooper has briefed President Donald Trump about plans for a “final blow” to Iran. The proposed plan includes a “short and powerful” series of strikes on Iranian targets, aimed at pressuring Tehran into negotiations. This development comes amid reports that Centcom has requested the deployment of the long-delayed Dark Eagle hypersonic missile to West Asia for potential use against Iran.
Two foreign activists — Thiago Avila and Saif Abu Keshek — from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation and appeared before an Israeli court on May 3 (Photos by Ilia Yefimovichvia Getty Images)
Nothing illustrates the inversion of the international and moral order more than the genocide in Gaza and the shipment of tens of billions of dollars of weapons to Israel by Western nations, especially the United States, to sustain it. Part of this inversion is the unrelenting persecution of those who denounce the genocide — especially those who risk their lives to halt it and demand the rule of law.
But the rule of law, it appears, is buried under the rubble in Gaza.
And because of that Israel is able, with barely a word of protest by Western nations – Spain being one of the few exceptions – to abduct 175 activists aboard Sumud Flotilla 500 nautical miles from Gaza and 80 nautical miles west of the Greek island of Crete.
This violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was accompanied by the usual Israeli brutality. Flotilla members from the 22 vessels that were intercepted and then transferred to the Israeli vessel NAHSHON were denied food, forced to sleep on the floor as it was flooded “repeatedly” with water, punched, kicked, dragged across decks with their hands tied and shot at with rubber bullets and live ammunition. Eventually, all but two flotilla members were transferred to Crete, with 36 requiring medical attention.
Two of the leading activists on the flotilla, the Brazilian organizer of the flotilla, Thiago Avila, and the Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek, who is of Palestinian descent and who has organized Palestinian solidarity movements across Europe for over two decades, were not allowed to disembark when the vessel reached Ierapetra Port in southern Crete, although the ship was in Greek territorial waters.
“Participant eyewitnesses provided harrowing testimony of Abukeshek’s screams echoing throughout the ship as he was subjected to systematic torture, after being separated from the others,” read a communique issued by The Global Sumud Flotilla.
Abu Keshek was blindfolded, forced to lie on his stomach “since the moment of his seizure until this morning” which resulted in “bruising to his face and hands.” Thiago was “dragged face-down across the floor” and beaten so severely that he passed out twice.
When the two activists appeared in an Israeli court there were visible bruises on their faces. Thiago had trouble lifting his right hand.
Since their detainment, the two men have been on hunger strike. They are accused of “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.”
This is the world we now live in. The moral and the courageous are criminalized. The ruling class weaponizes the law to justify the abuse and atrocities of the lawless.
Here is a link to an interview I did in Italy with Thiago:
Here is a link to the documentary we made in Italy where Thiago, along with Francesca Albanese, Greta Thunberg, Yanis Varoufakis and the striking Italian dock workers, who refuse to load weapons onto ships bound for Israels, are featured:
We must contact the Israeli Embassy in Washington. We must protest in front of the embassy, as well as the Israeli consulate in New York, to demand the release of Thiago and Saif.
They are the best among us.
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