Crude oil prices are stuck between a rock and a range with seasonal weakness, as well as the promise of more oil production, which is alleviating fears of a tightening global marketplace. On Friday, the market was looking for a reason to rally or break. It got the reason to break on a report by The Wall Street Journal that Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who said he “did not rule out… an increase in oil production in excess of 1 million barrels a day may be discussed.”

The Cryptocurrency craze that has swept the world is now being looked at by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a savior to its economy.

Iraq is moving troops around the Kurdish region of Iraq, putting at risk about 600,000 barrels of daily oil production at a time when global oil supply is tightening.

Oil and product prices pulled back Friday as it became clear that Hurricane Nate would only cause a short-term impact on U.S. oil production and that there was no damage to offshore oil rigs.

Hurricane activity and a big drop in U.S. rig counts will force traders to look at forces that may hit both supply and demand.

Almost all global markets seem to be transfixed on Hurricane Irma, which could wallop Florida with an unprecedented and merciless blow and have an impact on many lives as well in the U.S. and global economy. Fox News reported that France’s interior minister on Thursday said the Category 5 storm killed at least eight and injured 23 on St. Martin. Irma blacked out much of Puerto Rico and is headed toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. refineries are coming back and believe it or not, so is oil production and gas production. Last week Valero Energy restarted two Galveston refineries and are now back to normal production rates. Yet, just as the industry starts to recover, more storms are going to create havoc.

A shut down of the Colonial Pipeline in addition to the Explorer Pipeline and an explosion at a chemical plant is adding to the heartbreaking human suffering that is being experienced along out nations Gulf Coast.

For the U.S. energy industry, the relentless nature of this storm provides challenges unlike anything they have seen before. Despite almost insurmountable logistical challenges, the U.S. energy industry was already making amazing steps to try to start bringing refineries back on line. Yet will their efforts be thwarted as Tropical Storm Harvey gets ready for another go around and will the storms force the shutdown of the country’s largest refinery and shut down even more production.

The Gulf Coast and Houston are in our prayers as they face unprecedented challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey, the strongest Texas hurricane in 50 years, brought record rainfall and unprecedented flooding. It may take years for the area to recover and it is going to be a historic challenge for the U.S. energy sector. The storm has shut about 15% of U.S. refining, cutting fuel-making capacity output by an estimated 2.2-2.7 million barrels a day.