Oil Facilities News

Russia energy infrastructure has been hit by drone attacks and fires in the past month, adding to uncertainty in global oil and gas markets already rocked by the conflict in the Middle East.Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's energy infrastructure in strikes designed to disrupt supply lines and logistics and to demoralise their opponent as they try to get the edge in a nearly two-year-old war that shows no sign of ending.Following are recent major incidents at Russian oil facilities in the past month:* A Russian appointed official said on Jan.

Oil held above $75 a barrel on Thursday, within sight of a multi-week high hit a day earlier, supported by a big drop in U.S. crude inventories and surging European natural gas prices.U.S. crude inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels last week, more than the 3.5 million-barrel drop analysts expected, with offshore oil facilities still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Ida last month.Brent crude was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $75.31 a barrel by 1128 GMT. On Wednesday, Brent touched $76.13, its highest since July 30. U.S.

What are the implications of the conflict in Cabo Delgado for maritime security in East Africa and the Mozambique Channel?Following the recent attacks on the coastal town of Palma in March-April by Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamamah (ASWJ) insurgents in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado region, it is pertinent to assess the future trajectory of the conflict in the commercial maritime domain and the challenges it may pose to trade within the region. During the battle for Mocimboa da Praia…

The Valle di Siviglia tanker arrived at Libya's Brega port on Monday to load 30,000 tonnes of condensate to allow for continued gas production for local power plants, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.Brega and other east Libyan ports have been blockaded since January by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and its allies as part of a wider conflict and dispute over the distribution of oil revenue.Eastern authorities have said they will allow the export of stored condensate and oil to enable the continued production of gas used by local power stations, after shortages had led to lengthy power cuts.The NOC said the shipment of condensate would allow for gas production to continue at 160 million cubic feet (mcf) per day.However, there would still be a shortfall of around 90 mcf

Iran has slashed crude oil production to its lowest level in four decades as storage tanks and vessels are almost completely full due to a fall in exports and refinery run cuts caused by the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed.Total onshore crude stocks surged to 54 million barrels in April from 15 million barrels in January, and swelled further to 63 million barrels in June, according to FGE Energy.Market intelligence firm Kpler estimated Iranian average onshore crude storage for June to be around 66 million barrels.That is around 85% of available onshore storage capacity."However…

Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras plans to restart operations in the coming days at two ships used in offshore oil production that suffered coronavirus outbreaks, an executive told journalists during a call on Friday.Petrobras Exploration and Production Director Carlos Alberto de Oliveira said operations at the Cidade de Santos should restart over the weekend, and operations at the Capixaba should restart within 10 days. Both are large ships known as FPSOs.Brazil's offshore oil industry has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus.

The U.S. government said on Monday it has not yet received requests to waive a 100-year-old law on shipping goods between domestic ports, despite some interested parties who say temporarily lifting the regulation would help energy companies hurt by the oil price plunge.Kelly Cahalan, a spokesperson at the U.S Customs and Border Protection agency of the Department of Homeland Security, said no requests to waive the Merchant Marine Act, better known as the Jones Act, have been received.U.S.

Iran, China and Russia began joint naval drills on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, in what Moscow said was an unprecedented exercise in naval cooperation and training.Waters around Iran have become a focus for international tensions, with the United States exerting pressure for Iranian crude oil sales and other trade ties to be cut off."The message of this exercise is peace, friendship and lasting security through cooperation and unity... and its result will be to show that Iran cannot be isolated…

China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China's defence ministry said on Thursday, amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the United States.China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, which will last until Monday, and are meant to deepen cooperation between the three countries' navies, ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news briefing.The drill was a "normal military exchange" between the three armed forces and was in line with international law and practices…

The environment in oil patches onshore and offshore alike has been challenging throughout 2019; worries about an economic slowdown – whether cyclical or induced by a trade war – have weighed heavily on oil prices, even in the face of reduced production by the big producers. Though storm clouds persist, there appears a clearing on the horizon.The fate of Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) is, naturally, closely tied to the price of oil. Seacor Marine’s John Gellert, in reviewing its Q2 results, said: “Activity levels in the U.S.

Product tanker freight rates softened in the third quarter of 2019 but rebounded strongly at the start of the fourth quarter following an increase in crude tanker rates that began after the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities and accelerated dramatically to multi-year high levels at the end of September when the US imposed sanctions on two subsidiaries of China's COSCO Shipping.Denmark-based TORM said that growth in global demand for oil products generally remained subdued in the first two months of the quarter but showed signs of increased momentum towards the end of the quarter.The particularly heavy refinery maintenance schedule in the second quarter eased in the third quarter…

The US Central Command announced the opening of operations from its Bahrain headquarters to protect shipping in the troubled waters of the Gulf, after a string of attacks that Washington and its allies blamed on Iran.The new mission, dubbed Operation Sentinel, is designed to “ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waters” throughout the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command said in a release“Today, we reach two significant milestones in the standing up of the CTF Sentinel headquarters under the International Maritime Security Construct and the introduction of the CTF’s first appointed commander, Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey,” said Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S.

S-Oil, South Korea's third-largest refiner, said on Wednesday that regional refining margins are expected to improve in the fourth quarter on the back of inventory build-up ahead of implementation of stricter rules on marine fuels in 2020.The refiner, whose top shareholder is Saudi Aramco, said in an earnings statement, strong demand for heating oil was also expected to support refining margins, along with the International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s stricter shipping fuel…

Port operator DP World reported on Tuesday a third quarter decline in cargo handled across its global portfolio as volumes fell in Dubai for a sixth consecutive quarter.The operator said it handled 18 million twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers in its ports in the three months to Sept. 30, down 1.6% on the same period a year ago.It said a global trade row created a challenging environment. The United States and China have been locked in a trade row that has cast a shadow over global economic prospects.At its flagship Jebel Ali port in Dubai…

U.S. sanctions imposed last month on subsidiaries of vast Chinese shipping fleet Cosco have given an unexpected boost to European refiners as less crude oil from the North Sea and West Africa heads east, traders and analysts said.Freight rates have soared as oil producers scramble for non-blacklisted vessels, discouraging longer-distance voyages.Complex refining margins for advanced facilities capable of extracting even more valuable products like diesel and gasoline, have been especially strong in Europe, industry sources said.The U.S.

The White House is warning Chinese shipping companies against turning off their ships' transponders to hide Iranian oil shipments in violation of U.S. sanctions, two senior administration officials said."We've been messaging very heavily to the shipping companies, you don't want to do this, it's not worth it," said one official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. "It's incredibly dangerous and irresponsible behavior."China is the largest remaining buyer of Iranian oil after U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Tehran's main export. Trump tightened U.S.

The U.S. could see its crude oil exports nearly double by 2022, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy. US crude exports could grow from current levels of 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) to nearly 6 million bpd by 2022.With US production expected to increase by 1.2 million bpd year-over-year (y/y) in 2020, and with domestic refineries already maxing out capacity to absorb shale growth, Rystad Energy expects exports to balloon and reach 4.7 million bpd by the end of 2020 and nearly 6 million bpd by the end of 2022.“Crude exports will grow on the back of new infrastructure coming online in Corpus Christi, Texas, and as international…

Nearly 300 oil tankers globally have been placed off limits as companies fear violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, driving freight rates to new highs, industry sources said.The move has taken roughly 3% of the global oil tanker fleet out of the market, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon, sending rates soaring to secure tankers to ship oil, particularly to Asia."Freight rates are going through the roof and people are getting very nervous with the cost of shipping…

Drewry Shipping Consultants has revealed that it now expects global port throughput to rise by 2.6% in 2019, down from the previous 3.0% expectation.The mood-music surrounding the container market has deteriorated further in the last three months, resulting in Drewry downgrading its outlook for world container port throughput for the current year and the rest of the five-year horizon in the Container Market Annual Review and Forecast.The weight of risks pressing down on the container market seems to be getting heavier by the day,” said Simon Heaney, senior manager, container research at Drewry and editor of the Container Forecaster.

Freight rates to ship U.S. crude to Asia continued to surge, with costs to charter a supertanker rising to a record $12 million on Thursday, shipping sources familiar with the matter said.South Korea's top refiner, SK Energy, tentatively chartered the supertanker Maxim to ship U.S. crude to South Korea in November for a record $10 million earlier in the week but that fixture has since failed, the sources said.The company now has conditionally booked the Pacific M at a new record of $12.35 million…

The Saudi-led coalition intercepted and destroyed an explosives-laden boat launched by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement from Yemen's main port of Hodeidah, Al Arabiya TV said on Thursday.It said the Western-backed, Sunni Muslim coalition foiled "an imminent terrorist act by the Houthi militia south of the Red Sea" but gave no further details.There was no immediate confirmation by the Houthi group which had claimed responsibility for last weekend's attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Riyadh has rejected the claim and said those strikes did not come from Yemen. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Ghaida Ghantous Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's top refiner Sinopec, chartered at least four crude tankers this week from the United States, ramping up purchases after attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities and as trade tensions between the world's two largest economies cool, sources said.Three Aframax vessels that can carry about 750,000 barrels, and one supertanker that can carry about 2 million barrels of crude, have been fixed by Unipec tentatively, according to a shipping source and Refinitiv Eikon data.The attack on Saudi oil facilities Saturday knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production, or 5% of global output, sending prices soaring when trading resumed on Monday. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Oil lost some of its big price rises today as the US announced the possible release of crude reserves but the possibility of military action in response to the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities still means prices are high and that stocks are under pressure. Equity market losses have not been large but investors are continuing to support ‘safer’ assets such as gold, for which treasury prices are rising.Brent crude prices fell 1.78% to $67.79 per barrel in Asia today (Tuesday, September 17) after a big increase yesterday of 14.6%, the biggest one-day percentage gain since at least 1988. U.S.