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Cpc News

30 Jan 2024

Chevron Reroutes Kazakh Oil to Asia Around Africa

Chevron is sending cargoes of Kazakhstan's CPC Blend oil to Asia around Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than via the Red Sea to avoid the risk of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, according to three industry sources and LSEG ship-tracking data.The Iranian-aligned Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping despite U.S.-led air strikes on the group's positions in Yemen, leading more vessels to avoid using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal - the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.CPC Blend crude is loaded at the Russian Black Sea terminal of Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, near Novorossisk.

29 Jan 2024

Russia Eases Harsh Weather Restrictions to Boost Oil Exports

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Russian ports are operating during more severe storms and easing restrictions for non ice-class vessels during winter, traders said and regulations showed, in an attempt to boost exports following disruptions from Western sanctions and harsh weather.Following the European Union oil embargo, Russia has to rely mostly on seaborne loadings, rather than westbound pipeline supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.Traders and analysts said the easing of restrictions carried technical and ecological risks, but could help Russia's revenues that are heavily reliant on oil.Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft,

28 Dec 2023

Oil Loadings Resume from Russia's Port of Novorossiisk After Storm

© Kirill / Adobe Stock

Oil loadings from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk have resumed after being suspended due to a storm on Dec. 27, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.The port will likely be able to ship all the crude volumes scheduled for December, as the weather has improved, the sources added.Oil loadings from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk were suspended on Wednesday.

30 Nov 2023

Russia's Novorossiisk Resumes Oil Loadings

© Kirill / Adobe Stock

Russia's Novorossiisk port resumed oil loadings after a severe storm on Thursday, two sources familiar with the port's operations told Reuters.The loadings started as the weather conditions improved after the storm had suspended exports since last week, one of the sources said.The nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, a main export route for Kazakhstan's crude oil, said on Thursday it had also resumed oil loadings.(Reuters - Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

29 Nov 2023

Oil Loadings from Black Sea Ports Remain Suspended

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

Oil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal have not resumed due to an ongoing storm forcing exporters to look for alternative routes, three sources familiar with exports told Reuters on Wednesday.Novorossiysk and the CPC terminal account for about 2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) from Russia and Kazakhstan."A storm warning is in effect in Novorossiysk. It is raining, and the wave height is from two to four meters…

28 Nov 2023

Black Sea Storm Disrupts Russian and Kazakh Oil Exports

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

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…

01 Sep 2023

Panama Canal Water Levels Likely to Remain Exceptionally Low for Months

© Matthias Koch / Adobe Stock

Water levels in the Panama Canal are likely to remain exceptionally low for months despite forecasted short-term improvements, meaning no end in sight to the prolonged disruptions hampering vessels transiting the vital shipping artery.The Panama Canal Authority earlier this year began imposing restrictions on daily vessel transit and maximum draft amid a prolonged drought that has lowered the water level, causing a backlog of vessels waiting to pass. The authority said last week it expects to maintain restrictions for at least 10 more months.Isaac Hankes…

23 Aug 2023

Insurers Raise Premiums for Black Sea Tankers as Tensions Mount

© Gagarin / Adobe Stock

Insurance companies have notified charterers of ships operating in Russia's Black Sea ports of an increase in additional payments known as "war risk premiums", four traders said.A war risk premium was added to the common insurance costs for tankers last year after the start of Russia's military action in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.Military actions in the Black Sea area of Russian and Ukrainian Black Sea ports have escalated since the grain export deal fell apart in mid-July.Most recently Russia reported several attacks at its Black Sea ports.

22 Dec 2022

Report: Output from Shell's Prelude FLNG Shut Again

Shell has stopped production at its Prelude floating LNG plant off Western Australia after a fire.A Shell spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the fire at the giant FLNG unit "was rapidly extinguished."The 488-meter-long, Shell-operated, Prelude FLNG unit forms part of an offshore development that produces natural gas from the remote namesake field, located approximately 475 km north-northeast of Broome in Western Australia. The Prelude is the world's largest FLNG unit.The first LNG shipment from the project - originally sanctioned in 2011 - was shipped back in June 2019, via the Valencia Knutsen LNG tanker to customers in Asia.

23 Aug 2022

Russian, Kazakh Crude Oil Exports Hit by SPM Repairs

In August 2022, while performing scheduled maintenance on SPM-1 and SPM-2, divers discovered cracks in subsea hose attachments to buoyancy tanks (Note: a buoyancy tank is a hollow air-filled vessel designed to keep subsea hoses in a necessary configuration). ©CPC

Russian and Kazakh oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) Black Sea terminal face at least one month's disruption each once repairs begin on two of its three single point moorins (SPMs), CPC confirmed on Tuesday.Oil exports via the two SPMs have been suspended due to equipment damaged by bad winter weather, CPC said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report on Saturday.CPC added that a planned inspection of the third SPM at the Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal would require it to be temporarily shut for a matter of hours.

30 May 2022

India's Imports of Cheap Russian Crude Surge Since Ukraine Invasion

Credit: Oleksii

India has received 34 million barrels of discounted Russian oil since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, more than trebling the value of total imports from Russia, including other products, compared with the same period of 2021.The volumes of India's seaborne oil imports from Russia exclude CPC Blend oil, which is also exported via Russia's Black Sea port, but mostly supplied by Kazakhstan's subsidiaries of western countries as transit volumes.India's oil imports from Russia have been rising since February…

20 Apr 2022

US Receiving Last Russian Oil Cargoes Before Wind-down

Nine tankers carrying Russian-origin crude and fuel oil have discharged in the United States in April, likely the last ones to deliver before a wind-down set by Washington expires this week, customs and tanker tracking data showed.The United States last month set an April 22 ban on imports of Russian crude and refined products. The United States gave importers of Russian petroleum, liquefied natural gas and coal 45 days to take en route and under-contract cargoes.Tanker Seamagic, which loaded fuel oil at Russia’s Taman port, discharged at Valero Energy’s St. Charles, Louisiana, refinery last week, the last of the nine tracked to discharge.

14 Apr 2022

Oil Up Again on Tight Supply, Steady Demand

Copyright Shuttershudder/AdobeStock

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering some of the previous session's losses as Kazakhstan's supplies continued to be disrupted and major producers showed no sign of being in a hurry to boost output significantly.Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.54, or 1.4%, to $114.02 a barrel by 1110 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up $1.34, or 1.3%, at $107.30. Both benchmarks had lost about 7% on Monday."There was an overreaction on Monday and the market is re-considering it," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

23 Mar 2022

Russia Warns of Sharp Caspian Pipeline Oil Export Drop After Storm

Most of the oil in the pipeline belongs to Russia, Kazakhstan, and international oil majors such as Chevron. It exports oil from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. Photo Credit: kilinson/AdobeStock

Russian and Kazakhstan oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) from the Black Sea may fall by up to 1 million barrels per day (bpd), or 1% of global oil production, due to storm-damaged berths, a Russian official said on Tuesday.Pavel Sorokin, a deputy energy minister, said the second berth could also turn out to be damaged after initial information about one of the three being damaged by a storm.Sorokin said the maintenance could take up to two months, which could…

16 Mar 2022

Russia-linked Oil, Fuel Cargoes Rush to US Before Ban Starts

At least 10 vessels carrying Russia-linked cargoes of crude and refined products were approaching the United States on Wednesday, as suppliers rushed to deliver ahead of the U.S. government's deadline to wind down Russian energy purchases, data from traders and Refinitiv Eikon showed.The United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, this month banned imports of Russian energy products due to the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation." Washington's ban gives importers until April 22 to discharge cargoes moving under pre-ban contracts.At least one tanker carrying fuel oil heading to the United States has diverted, and at least two others that stopped at Russian terminals are awaiting discharge at U.S. ports, according to Refinitiv data, one since March 7.U.S.

02 Mar 2022

Two Oil Tankers Cancel Crude Oil Loadings at Russian Black Sea Port

Novorossiysk port- Credit: seregaphoto/AdobeStock

Two crude oil tankers due to load Russian Urals and Kazakh CPC blend this week have been cancelled as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The Wonder Vega was due to load CPC Blend on March 7 and the Iberian Sea was due to load Urals but shipowners cancelled both vessels, the sources said.Vitol, which booked the vessels, has found a replacement, according to three sources.The cancellations were due to the proximity of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Novorossiysk is a port in the Black Sea.

03 Mar 2022

Brent Crude Tops $112. Tanker Owners "Are Having a Ball"

Credit:nattapon7/AdobeStock

Oil benchmarks are hitting multiple price and spread milestones across several key markets as the fallout from severe sanctions on key exporter Russia sows confusion and panic among global crude oil traders, shipping firms and importers.The oil industry has been gripped by acute risk aversion in the finance and shipping sectors after several nations including the United States sanctioned multiple Russian entities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though Washington has explicitly exempted energy products from the Russian measures.

02 Mar 2022

Russian Oil Buyers Struggle to Charter Vessels

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

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.

09 Feb 2022

Prelude FLNG to Stay Shut in 1Q 2022

The Prelude FLNG facility, with the Valencia Knutsen berthed side-by-side (File Photo: Shell)

Oil major Shell expects its Prelude FLNG unit in Australia, the world's largest unit of the type, will remain shut for most of the first quarter of 2022.The world's largest FLNG facility had in January 2021 resumed LNG cargo shipments, almost one year after a shutdown caused by an electrical trip, only to be shut down again in December 2021 after a sudden loss of power, and subsequent failed attempts to re-establish reliable power aboard.At a Q&A Thursday, as part of Shell's results presentation…

24 Dec 2021

Regulator Orders Shell to Keep Prelude FLNG Output Shut Until it Can Prove It Is Safe

The Prelude FLNG facility, with the Valencia Knutsen berthed side-by-side (File Photo: Shell)

Australian oil and gas industry safety regulator NOPSEMA has ordered Shell to keep the giant Prelude FLNG facility off W. Australia shut until it can convince the regulator that it can keep the facility properly powered and that the safety systems are operational.The order comes after production from the floating facility was shut earlier this month after a sudden loss of power, and subsequent failed attempts to re-establish reliable power aboard.In its report on Thursday, NOPSEMA said: "At around 22:40 on 2 December 2021…

06 Sep 2021

BP Delivers Carbon Offset LNG Cargo to CPC in Taiwan

Credit: alexlmx/AdobeStock

Oil major BP said Monday that its BP Singapore branch had delivered its ‎first carbon offset liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to CPC Corporation, Taiwan ‎‎(“CPC”), to the Yung An terminal in Taiwan in September 2021. The LNG was sourced ‎from BP’s LNG portfolio.‎"This is BP’s first delivery of carbon offset LNG in the Asia-Pacific region, following its ‎first delivery globally to Sempra LNG at the Energia Costa Azul terminal in Mexico in ‎July 2021. This new carbon offset LNG offer strengthens BP’s natural gas offering in ‎the region…

12 Aug 2021

Russian Investigators Search CPC After Black Sea Oil Spill

Russian investigators were conducting searches at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) after Saturday's oil spill near the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, the regional branch of the investigative committee said on Thursday.Russia opened a criminal investigation on the spill, which occurred during loading of a tanker moored to an offshore floating jetty. According to CPC, a crucial part of the jetty broke and caused the accident."In connection with the criminal case, representatives of the Investigative Committee are interviewing CPC employees and examining documents. The consortium provides the necessary assistance to the investigation team…

11 Aug 2021

Black Sea Oil Spill Much Larger than Initially Reported

An oil spill off Russia's Black Sea coast over the weekend spread over an area of nearly 80 square kilometers and was much larger than initially thought, scientists at Russia's Academy of Sciences (RAN) said on Wednesday citing satellite imaging.A leak occurred as the Greek-flagged Minerva Symphony tanker took on oil at the Yuzhno-Ozereyevka sea terminal near Novorossiysk in southern Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that owns the terminal said on Monday.The consortium, which transports oil from Kazakhstan, said on Monday the spill had spread over 200 square meters and involved 12 cubic meters of oil. It said the spill was quickly contained and posed no threat to people or wildlife.But on Wednesday…