Browning News

U.S. and Canadian refiners have turned to North Sea "Forties" crude oil for the first time in seven years in the latest sign of changing global oil flows from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Nearly 2.6 million barrels of the crude are set to arrive at U.S. East Coast ports since February, according to Customs data on Refinitiv Eikon. Some of the oil is likely headed to Canada via pipeline. The light, low-sulfur Forties crudes are blended with others to replace Russian crudes that have been barred from the U.S. and Canada. Prior to the ban, about 50% of all crude from Russian ports that landed in the U.S. went to East Coast refineries, the customs data showed. The tanker Sea Turtle in February discharged 770,000 barrels of Forties and Forties blend crudes in Maine, destined for Suncor Energy.

Turkey emerged as a critical stumbling block to a complex international plan to deprive Russia of wartime oil revenues as the number of tankers waiting to exit the Black Sea through Turkish straits continued to rise on Friday.Ankara has declined to scrap a new insurance inspection rule it implemented at the beginning of the month despite days of pressure from Western officials frustrated by the policy.A total of 28 oil tankers are in a queue seeking to leave the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, the Tribeca shipping agency said on Friday.G7 wealthy countries, the European Union and Australia agreed to bar providers of shipping services…

Turkey's maritime authority said on Thursday it would continue to block the passage of oil tankers that don't carry appropriate insurance letters, adding that insurance checks on ships in its waters were a "routine procedure".The logjam is creating growing unease in oil and tanker markets and comes as the G7 and European Union introduce a price cap on Russian oil.Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.Here are key facts about the issue.Ships typically have protection & indemnity (P&I) insurance…

Western officials are in talks with Turkish counterparts to resolve oil tanker queues off Turkey, a British Treasury official said, after the G7 and European Union rolled out new restrictions on Dec. 5 aimed at Russian oil exports."The UK, U.S. and EU are working closely with the Turkish government and the shipping and insurance industries to clarify the implementation of the Oil Price Cap and reach a resolution," the official told Reuters."There is no reason for ships to be denied access to the Bosporus Straits for environmental or health and safety concerns."The G7 group of countries…

Russia's oil tanker fleet is too small to fully circumvent a plan by the European Union, G7 countries and Australia to enforce a price cap on its maritime crude exports starting on Dec. 5, analysts and market watchers say.The amount Russia would be unable to export is expected to increase when EU sanctions on Russian refined product shipments take effect on Feb. 5.In all the shortfall could mean Russia halts exports of around 1 million barrels per day (bpd), compared with current flows to the world market of around 3.5 million bpd.

World oil demand will rise more than 2% to a record high of 101.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, although sky-high oil prices and weakening economic forecasts dimmed the future outlook.The Paris-based IEA also said in its monthly report supply was being constrained because of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine."Economic fears persist, as various international institutions have recently released downbeat outlooks…

The Coast Guard’s 353-ton, 154-foot fast response cutter (WPC) is capable of deploying independently to conduct missions that include port, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The service plans to build 64 of them to replace the 110-foot Island class patrol boats. The FRC has a range of 2,500 miles, but the endurance of the 24 crewmembers is normally limited to about five days based on the quantity of provisions carried. Both the 110s and 154s have about the same speed and range…

Oil prices climbed above $120 a barrel on Monday, hitting their highest in more than two months, as traders waited to see whether a European Union meeting would reach an agreement on banning Russian oil imports.The Brent crude futures contract for July, which will expire on Tuesday, was up 59 cents, or 0.5%, at $120.02 a barrel at 1100 GMT. The August Brent contract, which is more active, rose 74 cents, or 0.6%, to $116.30 a barrel.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures jumped 65 cents…

The European Commission has proposed new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including a ban on buying Russian coal and on Russian ships entering EU ports. Yet the EU faces an uphill slog to wean itself of energy imports from its Eastern neighbor.Following is a summary of key facts about the EU's use of Russian oil:How much Russian oil does the EU import?Europe is the destination for nearly half of Russia's crude and petroleum product exports, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)…

Buyers of Russian oil have faced difficulties over payments and availability of vessels after imposition of Western sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine, traders said on Monday, while BP Plc has canceled fuel oil loadings from a Black Sea port.The West has introduced sweeping sanctions, including on the banking sector, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls its action a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine.The United States and its allies on Saturday moved to block certain Russian banks' access to the SWIFT international payment system that helps international trade flow smoothly.

Crowley Maritime Corporation and Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) said Tuesday they'd create a first-of-its-kind training and workforce development program dedicated specifically to the New England region’s offshore wind energy industry.The program will be certified by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO), a non-profit that sets international standards for safety training. The academy will coordinate with Relyon Nutec, the world’s largest provider of specialized instruction for energy and industrial sectors…

Oil prices jumped about 3% on Friday, hitting their highest levels in over a year, following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report and decision by OPEC and its allies not to increase supply in April.Brent futures rose $2.10, or 3.2%, to $68.84 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT). Earlier in the session, the global benchmark hit its highest since January 2020.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.87, or 2.9%, to $65.70 per barrel, after earlier scaling its highest since April 2019.For the week…

Oil prices climbed nearly 5% on Tuesday after news that Saudi Arabia will make voluntary cuts to its oil output, while international political tension simmered over Iran's seizure of a South Korean vessel.Brent crude futures rose $2.51, or 4.9%, to settle at $53.60 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended $2.31, or 4.9%, higher at $49.93 a barrel.Saudi Arabia will make additional, voluntary oil output cuts of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in February and March. The…

China, the global oil market's lifeline this year, has stepped up purchases from exporters like Russia, the United States and Angola in recent weeks, while buyers elsewhere pare orders as coronavirus infections surge and fresh lockdowns are put in place.China, the world's largest importer of crude, is the only major buyer expected to see increased oil demand this year as the pandemic destroyed consumption globally.With China's imports expected to reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) next year…

A stalled global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is leading to a fresh build-up of global oil supplies, pushing traders including Trafigura to book tankers to store millions of barrels of crude oil and refined fuels at sea again.The use of so-called floating storage onboard tankers comes as traditional onshore storage remains close to capacity as supplies outpace demand.Trading house Trafigura has chartered at least five of the largest tankers each capable of storing 2 million barrels of oil…

Chinese ports are struggling to unload record volumes of crude with storage tanks full after the country rushed to buy extra barrels during April's oil price crash, according to traders and shipping data seen by Reuters.More than 80 million barrels of crude oil are currently waiting to be discharged from tankers in Chinese ports, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.Half of those are at the Qingdao port area in Shandong province, where the waiting time is two-three weeks or sometimes even longer…

India's foreign ministry said on Monday that 20 of its nationals had been kidnapped from an oil tanker in West African waters."Our Mission in Abuja has taken up the matter with the Nigerian authorities, as also with the authorities of the neighbouring countries," the ministry said in a statement.It said the vessel was the Marshall Islands-flagged DUKE.The ship's operator Union Maritime wrote on its website that the craft was "attacked and boarded" while carrying fuel oil to the Togolese capital Lome from Angola and that the company was working with relevant authorities to resolve the incident.Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal and Noah Browning

Disruption to shipping from the long-anticipated switch to more environmentally friendly marine fuels has finally arrived, exacerbated by logistical problems as much as any shortage of the cleaner fuel.New International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules, referred to as IMO 2020, aim to stop ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5% sulphur unless they are equipped with exhaust-cleaning systems known as scrubbers.From the start of January ships must load very low sulphur…

U.S. sanctions on a top Chinese shipping fleet is set to produce a totally unintended result -- less burning of the dirtiest marine fuels at sea at the start of next year, Refinitiv data showed on Tuesday.The move to blacklist ships from COSCO on Sept. 24 for allegedly ferrying sanctioned Iranian oil will undercut demand for ships' traditional means of power because a vessel crunch meant fewer docked and attached kit to filter the dirtier fuels.From January 2020, the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships from using fuel with a sulphur content above 0.5%…

Freight rates to Europe and Asia have continued to ease, albeit at a less rapid rate than during the middle of the month, boosting price offerings for West African grades, traders said on Monday. Rates for VLCCs from Nigeria's Bonny Light terminal to Singapore settled at $3.25 a barrel on Friday from highs just below $10 two weeks earlier, according to Refinitiv data, while for Rotterdam they eased to $2.72 from a high above $5.Rates for key Angolan grade Girassol aboard a VLCC bound for China plunged to $3.84 a barrel from highs of $11.39.

Freight rates eased further on Friday, especially for the largest oil tankers, promising some recovery for West African oil prices which had touched multi-year lows. VLCC freight costs eased more rapidly than smaller Suezmaxes, making it less advantageous to ship on the latter. Prices for Suezmaxes were estimated around world scale 190-200, with one European buyer estimating further relief to around 150 by the end of next week.Nigeria's NNPC cut its November official selling price for Bonny Light crude to dated Brent plus 58 cents per barrel and for Qua Iboe to plus 63 cents per barrel…

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.

Highly sought after types of oil best suited to making cleaner shipping fuel are suddenly finding they are a tougher sell for thirsty East Asian markets, traders say, in an unintended consequence of U.S. sanctions on a Chinese shipping fleet.With just over two months until environmental rules are set to mandate the biggest changes to ship power in over a century, certain rare types of West African oil have soared in value but have had to be marked down due to the higher costs of transport.The United States imposed sanctions on units of China's COSCO on Sept.