Show Notes
Good morning. This is The Iron Horse Daily Brief for Friday, October 24th, 2025. This week Wall Street had a panic attack, and as always, Courtney Moeller pulled this intelligence this morning from OilPrice.com to show you exactly why sophisticated investors don't flinch when the herd stampedes. **The Number:** WTI crude is trading at $61.53 per barrel, down slightly today but still on track for a 7 percent weekly gain. Brent crude is at $65.73, also down marginally but up 7 percent for the week. Natural gas fell to $3.29 per MMBtu, down 1.6 percent. Here's what happened: on Thursday, President Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil. These companies account for over 5 percent of global oil output. Oil spiked over 5 percent in a single session. CNBC called it a supply shock. Retail investors chased the rally. And institutional money sat back and watched the amateurs panic-buy. Because here's the reality check no one's talking about: despite this week's rally, crude oil prices are still down more than 10 percent year-to-date. This wasn't a supply crisis. This was a headline crisis. And if you're making investment decisions based on what Trump tweets about Putin, you've already lost. **The Truth:** Here's what Wall Street won't tell you: this rally is built on fear, not fundamentals. Trump sanctions Russia, oil spikes 5 percent, and suddenly everyone's acting like we're headed for $80 crude. But OPEC just signaled they'll add 137,000 barrels per day starting in November if shortages arise. China paused Russian crude purchases. Indian refiners are cutting imports. The market is rebalancing in real time, and the smart money knows it. Meanwhile, the U.S. rig count remains at 548—unchanged for oil rigs, up just one for gas rigs. Operators didn't add a single oil rig this week. Not one. They're not buying the hype. They're profitable at $61, and they're not drilling until they see sustained demand—not geopolitical theater. EOG and Continental aren't gambling on sanctions. They're drilling proven reserves in the Permian Basin, generating cash flow, and waiting for the noise to clear. And here's the part that separates smart money from scared money: natural gas inventories are 4.5 percent above the five-year average, and U.S. LNG exports are projected to average 15 billion cubic feet per day in 2025, rising to 16 in 2026. Demand from LNG export plants just hit a new monthly high. The story here isn't about sanctions. It's about infrastructure, export capacity, and long-term demand from China and the EU as they reduce reliance on Russian gas. That's a structural trend. That's where wealth is built. **The Move:** For accredited investors, this volatility is noise. While retail investors chase headlines and Wall Street freaks out over geopolitical theater, Iron Horse Energy Fund 1 is doing what it's always done: partnering with tier-one operators on proven production in the Permian Basin, locking in 80 to 85 percent first-year tax deductions that offset your W-2 income, and generating monthly cash flow regardless of whether WTI is at $61 or $71. You're not betting on whether Trump sanctions Russia or whether OPEC opens the taps. You're investing in proven reserves with operators who've drilled thousands of successful wells. You're using the tax code the way Congress designed it—to reward domestic energy production. And you're keeping more of your money out of the IRS's hands. Iron Horse Energy Fund 1 closes November 30th. That's 38 days from today. If you're serious about offsetting your 2025 income, diversifying into an asset class that rewards action, and refusing to overpay the IRS while everyone else panics over headlines, visit JoinIronHorse.com. That's your brief for Friday. Let's keep building.