Russia Pledges More Oil Data to Ship Trackers
Russia has pledged to disclose more data about the volume of its fuel refining and exports after OPEC+ asked Moscow for more transparency on classified fuel shipments from the many export points across the vast country, sources at OPEC+ and ship-tracking firms told Reuters.Russia is the only member of OPEC+ which contributes to export cuts rather than production cuts as part of its participation in the group's agreement to curb supplies. Market analysts have struggled to verify…
India Resumes Imports of Venezuelan Oil
Indian refiners have resumed Venezuelan oil purchases through intermediaries, with Reliance RELI.NS set to meet executives from state firm PDVSA next week to discuss direct sales following the easing of U.S. sanctions on the South American country, people familiar with the matter said.Trade resumed between the OPEC producer and the second largest destination for its oil after Washington in October temporarily lifted sanctions banning Venezuelan oil exports, prompting a flurry of spot sales of crude and fuel through middlemen and traders…
Black Sea Storm Disrupts Russian and Kazakh Oil Exports
A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhtsan and Russia, according to state's officials and port agent data.Oil loadings from Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in nearby Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka have been suspended since last week.Kazakhstan's largest oilfields - Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak - are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from November 27 as the storm disrupts loadings at CPC…
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Shuts in Around 3% of Daily Output
Around 61,165 barrels of daily oil output from at least six producers, making up about 3% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, has been shut in by Third Coast Infrastructure's underwater pipeline leak, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.The oil producers whose facilities are impacted include W&T Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Walter Oil and Gas, Cantium, Arena Offshore and Talos Energy Ventures, the Coast Guard said, citing the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of…
NRL Plans to Boost Low-sulphur Fuel Oil Output for Ships
Pakistan National Refinery Limited (NRL) has started producing very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) for ships and is planning to expand its monthly output by at least five-fold in six months, the company said late Tuesday.The company is producing about 2,000 metric tons of VLSFO per month, with the monthly volume likely to increase to 10,000 tons to 12,000 tons over the next six months, NRL told Reuters in an email.NRL announced the production of VLSFO in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange earlier this week, stating that this comes after a "necessary change in crude mix and adjustments in pr
Iran's Oil Output, Exports Rise as Washington, Tehran Talk
Iran's oil output and exports jumped in August despite U.S. sanctions, according to consultants and companies that track tanker shipments, as Tehran sells to buyers including China.Analysts said the higher exports appear to be the result of Iran's success in evading U.S. sanctions and Washington's discretion in enforcing them as the two countries seek better relations.The United States has sought to limit Iran's oil exports since Donald Trump exited a 2015 nuclear accord in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions aimed at curbing revenues to Iran's government.
Record US Crude Exports, Rising Shale Output Boosts Oil Flow to Houston
Oil pipelines from the top U.S. shale field to Houston that have run half empty are filling again as rising output has absorbed most of the space on lines to the main south Texas export hub in Corpus Christi.U.S. crude exports climbed to a record of about 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, spurred by recovering Chinese demand and competitive pricing for U.S. oil. Sanctions on Russian crude purchases by the European Union and Britain also have boosted demand.Pipelines…
Exxon Set to Order Fifth Guyana FPSO, Sizing up More Blocks
Exxon Mobil Corp. is preparing to approve its fifth oil production project in Guyana and is considering taking additional exploration acreage, the head of its Guyanese operations, Alistair Routledge, told Reuters in an interview. The efforts would add significantly to the $30 billion committed thus far by Exxon and Guyana partners Hess Corp and CNOOC Ltd. The latest development will cost about 27% more than the last, a new estimate showed, reflecting inflation and the larger scope of the project.
Venezuela's Oil Exports Fall in Spite of Iranian Assist
Venezuela's oil exports last year declined due to infrastructure outages, U.S. sanctions and rising competition in its key Asia market despite assistance from ally Iran, according to shipping data and documents.Exports this year are expected to get a lift after the United States relaxed oil sanctions by authorizing some partners of state-run firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to resume taking Venezuelan crude.Iran expanded its role in Venezuela last year, sending supplies to boost exports and technicians to repair a refinery.
Chevron Can Resume Key Role in Venezuela's Oil Output, Exports
Chevron Corp on Saturday received a U.S. license allowing the second-largest U.S. oil company to expand its production in Venezuela and bring the South American country's crude oil to the United States.The decision grants broader rights for the last big U.S. oil company still operating in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela. However, it restricts any cash payments to Venezuela, which could reduce the oil available to export.License terms are designed to prevent state-run oil firm Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PDVSA PDVSA.UL, from receiving proceeds from Chevron's petroleum sales, U.S. officials said.
Detained Oil Tanker in Equatorial Guinea to Return to Nigeria
An oil supertanker accused by Nigerian authorities of attempting to illegally load crude before leaving its territorial waters is on its way back to the country, a Nigerian Navy spokesman told Reuters on Friday.At the request of Nigerian authorities, Equatorial Guinea detained the Heroic Idun, a vessel capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, on Aug. 17 for sailing without an identifying flag, fleeing from the Nigerian navy and sailing in Equatorial Guinean waters without prior authorization.Nigerian officials said Messrs.
Guyana Launches Tender for Its First Oil Refinery
Guyana has called for proposals to design, finance and build a 30,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery, the first for the South American country as it becomes a force in crude oil production. Construction work on the facility, to be located on public land near the Berbice river, is expected to begin by the first half of 2023 with project completion two years after. Requests are due in mid-December. An Exxon Mobil-led consortium has ramped up oil and gas output to almost 400,000 bpd this year, a rapid increase for a country that only inaugurated crude production in 2019.
Exxon's Russian Oil Output Collapsed after Rejecting Local Tanker Insurance
Oil output at the giant Exxon-led Sakhalin-1 Russian Pacific project collapsed following the U.S. major's refusal to accept local insurance for tankers after Western insurers pulled out due to sanctions, several industry sources told Reuters. Western insurers withdrew cover from tankers operated by state-run Sovcomflot, Russia's biggest shipping group, which was sanctioned following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Exxon has refused to take Sovcomflot's tankers," one industry source said.
Hurricane Ian Shuts 157,706 BPD of Oil Output in U.S. Gulf of Mexico
About 157,706 barrels, or 9%, of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were shut on Wednesday by Hurricane Ian, said offshore regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.Hurricane Ian was lashing Florida's Gulf Coast with powerful winds and drenching rain, but the Category 5 storm steered clear of the Gulf's richest oil production areas. A total of 16 oil and gas production platforms were evacuated by Ian on Wednesday, compared to 14 the day before, the regulator said.Some 128 million cubic feet, or 6%, of gas production in the U.S.
US Offshore Oil Output Drops as Hurricane Ian Approaches
U.S. offshore oil producers on Tuesday were keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Ian's track as the powerful storm shut-in at least 480,000 barrels of oil production as it heads toward Florida.The hurricane entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Eric Blake.Ian weakened after crossing Cuba and was packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), the NHC said.
Incoming Shell Boss Aims Fire up Renewables Drive
Shell's incoming Chief Executive Wael Sawan is set to accelerate the group's drive to build its renewable energy business, including through a possible "transformative" clean power acquisition, company and industry sources said.Sawan will from January take on a firm with a strong balance sheet after a surge in oil and gas prices, but whose renewables capacity has lagged peers like TotalEnergies and BP as green issues come increasingly into vogue. Shell aims to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become a net-zero emitter by 2050…
This Decade's Oil Boom is Moving Offshore - Way Offshore
Global oil companies are pumping billions of dollars into offshore drilling, reversing a long decline in spending on the decades-long projects, including some in the remote iceberg waters far off Canada's Atlantic coast.Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with Europe's mounting energy demand as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on. Offshore production sites are more expensive to build than onshore shale, the last decade's investment darling. But once they are up and running…
Devastating Fire May Force Cuba to Resort to Expensive Floating Oil Storage
An inferno at Cuba's largest oil storage facility has killed at least one firefighter, injured many more, and threatens to further swell the fuel import bill for the impoverished island nation that relies on foreign oil for everything from transportation to its power grid.Cuban officials may need to scramble to set up expensive floating storage capacity to handle imports aimed at easing an acute fuel scarcity, sources and experts said on Monday.Cuba relies on the 2.4-million-barrel Matanzas terminal…
Oil Falls Anticipating Fed Hike will Dent Demand
Oil fell on Monday, reversing earlier gains but continuing a recent losing streak, on concerns that an expected increase in interest rates in the U.S., the world's biggest oil user, may limit fuel demand growth.Brent crude LCOc1 futures for September settlement dropped 48 cents, or 0.5%, to $102.72 a barrel at 0205 GMT, down for a fourth day.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for September delivery fell 65 cents, or 0.7%, to $94.05 a barrel, also down for a…
Libya Oil Chief says Full Output to Resume after Deal
Libyan oil output will resume from all shuttered fields and ports, the Tripoli government's newly installed head of National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Friday after meeting groups that have blockaded the facilities for months.The decision to lift force majeure on production could mean a return of 850,000 barrels per day (BPD) of oil to the market that has been shut off by the groups aligned with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah of the Government…
Guyana Races Against the Clock to Bank Its Offshore Oil Bonanza
For the poor, small South American country of Guyana, there's no time like the present when it comes to reaping the rewards of its offshore oil jackpot.With sky-high oil prices, a transition to renewable energy on the horizon, and 750,000 citizens desperate for better lives, Guyana is putting its foot on the gas to exploit its vast oil reserves, even if that means sacrificing some longer-term gains.Already locked into contracts with oil firms that have been criticized for being too one-sided…
Freight Rates, Ukraine War Boost Euronav's Q1 Core Profit
Belgian oil tanker and storage operator Euronav on Thursday reported a 30% increase in its quarterly core profit, helped by recovering freight rates and a positive impact from the war in Ukraine."The conflict in Ukraine has driven considerable dislocation in tanker market freight patterns as sanctions and so-called self-sanctioning by market participants has driven ton-mile growth," Chief Executive Officer Hugo De Stoop said in a statement.Ton mile is an industry measure incorporating volumes and distance.Euronav…
Oil Hits Seven-year High
Oil prices surged to seven-year highs on Friday, extending their rally into a seventh week on ongoing worries about supply disruptions fueled by frigid U.S. weather and ongoing political turmoil among major world producers.Brent crude rose $2.16, or 2.4%, to settle at $93.27 a barrel having earlier touched its highest since October 2014 at $93.70.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended $2.04, or 2.3%, higher at $92.31 a barrel after trading as high as $93.17, its highest since September 2014.Brent ended the week 3.6% higher…