Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Light Crude Oil News

11 Jul 2023

Indonesia Seizes Iranian-Flagged Supertanker Suspected of Illegal Oil Transfer

Indonesia's coast guard said on Tuesday it seized an Iranian-flagged supertanker suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil, and vowed to toughen maritime patrols.The MT Arman 114 was carrying 272,569 metric tons of light crude oil, valued at 4.6 trillion rupiah ($304 million), when it was seized last week, the Indonesian authorities said.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was suspected of transferring oil to another vessel without a permit on Friday, the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security agency said.The vessel was captured after being spotted in Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, carrying out a ship-to-ship oil transfer with the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, the agency's chief, Aan Kurnia, said.

20 Apr 2023

Preventing Oil Spill Disaster: Boskalis to Lead UN-coordinated Operation to Remove Oil From Decaying FSO off Yemen

©Boskalis

Dutch marine services firm Boskalis has, through its subsidiary SMIT Salvage, reached an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to remove the oil from the decaying FSO Safer moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a push to avoid environmental disaster. This project is a part of the UN-coordinated operation to remove and transfer more than one million barrels of oil from the decaying tanker into a safe modern tanker and the responsible disposal of the Safer.

12 Jul 2019

Gibraltar Claims Decision to Detain Iranian Tanker

© Josemaria Toscano/Adobe Stock

Gibraltar said its action last week to detain Iranian tanker Grace 1 was a decision it took on its own and not at the behest of any other state or third party, the territory's chief minister said on Friday."All relevant decisions in respect of this matter were taken only as a direct result of the government of Gibraltar having reasonable grounds to believe the vessel was acting in breach of established EU sanctions against Syria," Fabian Picardo told parliament."There has been…

07 Mar 2019

Mossel Bay Port Ready to Serve Total

South Africa’s smallest commercial port, the Port of Mossel Bay is well equipped to provide value following global energy giant Total’s significant gas condensate discovery on the Brulpadda prospects, located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, 175 kilometres off the southern coast of South Africa, announced Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).The authority has dispelled criticism that it may not be ready to answer the call for capacity necessitated by the recent discovery of vast amounts of gas condensate about 175 kilometres south of Mossel Bay.Mossel Bay Port Manager Shadrack Tshikalange said the port’s role in the drilling expedition involved providing land and quay space for the logistics base operations…

17 Sep 2018

China Harbour Engineering to Build Berri Field in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian oil giant Saudi Aramco has awarded a contract to China Harbour Engineering Arabia for the construction of two  drilling islands under the company’s Berri Increment Program (BIP).The objective of the BIP is to produce an additional 250,000 barrels per day of Arabian Light crude oil from the Berri Oil Field to reach 500,000 barrels per day to maintain Saudi Aramco’s maximum sustained capacity by early 2023.A signing ceremony to mark the contract award was held in Dhahran. Signing on behalf of Saudi Aramco was its Vice President of Project Management, Fahad Al-Helal while China Harbour Engineering was represented by Wu Yuansheng…

14 May 2018

Kutubu Light Crude Oil Exports to Resume in Spot Trade

Sales of Kutubu Light crude oil cargoes will resume in the Asia spot market in July after a major earthquake in Papua New Guinea shut production from late February to early April, three industry sources said on Monday.While production at the facility resumed in early April, producers of the light crude oil have been trying to meet previously committed cargoes to buyers which had been delayed due to the earthquake, one of the people said.The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak with media.The July-loading program will be the first time since February that Kutubu Light crude will be fully available in the spot market…

21 Feb 2018

Russia's Baltic Urals Exports Seen Rising in March

© Nightman1965 / Adobe STock

Russia's Urals crude exports from the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk are seen at 5.6 million tonnes in March compared to 5.0 million tonnes in the February plan, a preliminary loading schedule released on Wednesday showed Exports of Urals and Siberian light crude oil from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk port are set at 2.3 million tonnes in March compared to 2.1 million tonnes in the February plan. Reporting by Ludmila Zaramenskikh; Writing by Maxim Rodionov

11 Jan 2018

China Oil Spill Compensation Claims Face Iran Payment Snags

(Photo: China's Ministry of Transport)

The reluctance of foreign banks to deal with Iran could complicate any compensation payments resulting from the collision last week of an Iranian oil tanker and a Chinese cargo ship, sources say. The tanker Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of highly flammable condensate oil, collided with the Chinese dry cargo vessel CF Crystal on Saturday in the East China Sea, causing an oil spill and a blaze that is still raging four days later. Liability has yet to be established but lawyers…

05 Sep 2016

Challenges in Brazil Could Benefit Tanker Markets

Brazil stays in the spotlight - Tanker Research & Consulting department at Poten & Partners takes a look at the tanker market in the country. The Rio Olympics were successfully concluded on August 21. Ten days later, on Wednesday, August 31, Brazil’s Senate voted 61-20 to remove Dilma Rousseff as president of the most populous country in Latin America. Ms. Rousseff was accused of using illegal bookkeeping maneuvers to cover up a growing budget deficit. Interim president (and former vice president) Michel Temer will finish out her term, which runs through the end of 2018. Brazil remains the oil powerhouse of Latin America, but the problems facing Petrobras have already had a profound impact on both their upstream and downstream oil industry and could influence the tanker market as well.

24 Dec 2015

U.S. Crude Up on Supply, Export Variables

U.S. crude prices up 9 pct this week; at slight premium over Brent for most of day. U.S. crude prices rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday, headed for a 9 percent weekly gain in the lead-up to Christmas as the market tightened on the back of falling supplies and looming exports. Front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $37.82 per barrel at 0749 GMT, up 32 cents on the day and set for the biggest weekly gain since early October. With internationally traded Brent futures trading at $37.79 a barrel, U.S. crude defended a small premium which it regained this week for the first time in around a year <CL-LCO1=R>. The strengthening U.S.

23 Dec 2015

Oil Firms Rush to Exploit End of US Crude Export Ban

U.S. energy group Enterprise and oil trader Vitol raced to exploit the end of a 40-year ban on most U.S. crude exports, the first of many firms eager to "stress test" last week's historic opening. Despite a sudden change in global oil market conditions that many oil traders say has eliminated the economic advantage of shipping domestic crude far abroad, some companies that have long lobbied for the change in policy may be eager to show that their effort was not in vain, according to some experts. Houston-based pipeline group Enterprise Products Partners LP said in a statement it will provide pipeline and marine terminal services to load a 600,000-barrel cargo of domestic light crude oil scheduled for the first week of January.

27 Aug 2015

Oil Soars in Biggest One-day Rally in Years

File photo

Oil rocketed as much as 10 percent higher on Thursday, posting its biggest one-day rally since 2009 as recovering equity markets and news of diminished crude supplies set off a short-covering surge by bearish traders. Snapping back from a deep two-month slump that reached 6-1/2 year lows this week, oil climbed as world stock markets rose on hopes Chinese government measures to stimulate the economy would pay off, while the dollar strengthened as risk aversion eased. The rally…

27 Aug 2015

CNOOC Profits Nosedives, Eyes South China Sea

Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas explorer, posted a 56 percent decline in profit for the first half of this year. Net income dropped to 14.73 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), or 0.33 yuan a share, from 33.59 billion yuan, or 0.75 yuan, a year earlier, the Beijing-based explorer said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday. That exceeded the 13.9-billion yuan average of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Despite profit fall, the company kept its dividend payout the same as the year-earlier level. Planned capital expenditure reduction by about 30 billion yuan this year and first-half savings of 12 billion yuan on an oil production tax helped offset lower cash inflows due to lower oil prices.

28 May 2015

BMT, Endeavour Energy Win Africa’s LNG Import Terminal Contract

BMT Asia Pacific (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has been appointed Owners Engineer and lead design consultant by Endeavour Energy for the development of the LNG storage and regasification facility, a part of the Ghana 1000 Gas to Power Project and Africa’s first LNG import terminal. Endeavour is co-leading development with General Electric, Eranove and local partners Sage Petroleum with the aim of providing the Ghanian government with Sub Saharan Africa’s largest power park, providing more than 1000MW to the national grid once completed. Excelerate Energy is providing assistance in siting the floating LNG terminal infrastructure…

14 May 2015

Nigeria's Bonny Light Pipeline Shut Down

The Trans Nigeria Pipeline that carries Nigeria's Bonny Light crude oil to an export terminal has been shut down since May 12, a Shell spokeswoman said on Thursday. Neither the reason for the shut down nor its expected duration were immediately clear. Traders have said Bonny Light loadings have been delayed by up to four days over the past week. Reporting by Libby George

05 May 2015

Targa: Splitter, Terminal with Noble Still Under Consideration

Targa Resources Partners LP is working closely with Noble Group as Asia's biggest commodity trader evaluates whether to move forward a deal to support a Targa-built condensate splitter, a new terminal or both in Texas, Targa Chief Executive Joe Bob Perkins said on Tuesday. More than a year ago Noble signed on to support a new $115 million, 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) splitter at Targa's Channelview terminal on the Houston Ship Channel. The splitter would split the super-light crude oil into various components like naphtha and distillates that Noble would buy and sell. But Noble has come under scrutiny for its accounting methods after a little-known research firm and a short seller alleged the company inflated asset values and misled investors.

25 Mar 2015

Brent Oil Rises as Euro Gains Against Dollar

Brent oil prices rose on Wednesday as the euro strengthened against the dollar following a boost in business morale in the euro zone's top two economies. The euro was up 0.6 percent against the dollar, the currency in which crude oil futures trade. The dollar lost 0.5 percent against a basket of currencies, making dollar-traded commodities more attractive for holders of other currencies. Brent crude oil was up 74 cents at $55.85 a barrel by 1236 GMT. U.S. light crude oil was up 35 cents at $47.86 per barrel. Germany, Europe's largest economy, saw business morale rise for the fifth month in a row in March, hitting its highest since July 2014, Ifo's business climate index showed. Business morale also rose in France to its highest for nearly three years. U.S.

24 Feb 2015

BP Exported Super-Light Texas Crude

BP Plc exported nearly 670,000 barrels of minimally processed super-light crude oil from the Houston Ship Channel more than a week ago, according to ClipperData, an industry firm that tracks crude movements. The 667,638-barrel cargo left Enterprise Products Partners' ship channel docks - part of the company's recent $4.41 billion acquisition of Oiltanking Partners LP - on Feb. 15 bound for Rotterdam in The Netherlands, ClipperData partner Abudi Zein said in an interview. The shipment's documentation said the cargo was processed condensate - a super-light form of crude - from the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas, he said. BP declined comment on the shipment or whether the company is among several companies that received U.S.

30 Dec 2014

Rebalancing Trade Flows

Many types of crude oil are produced around the world. Depending on the requirements of a particular refinery, a blend of heavy and light crudes is processed to manufacture a variety of petroleum products. After peaking at 9.6 million b/d in 1970, US crude oil production steadily declined until reaching a low of 4.94 million b/d in 2008. From 1970 to 2008, US crude oil imports increased sharply to bridge the gap of decreasing domestic supply and increasing demand. In response to declining North American production and anticipation of rising heavy grade imports from the Caribbean, Latin America and Saudi Arabia, many US refineries were reconfigured to process a heavy crude slate in the 1990’s.

01 Dec 2014

U.S.-Asia Crude Exports Stall on Cheap Mideast Oil

Asian refiners shift towards cheaper Mideast oil, naphtha-trade; U.S. light oil exports to Asia only started 4 months ago. U.S. exports now going to Europe instead. An aggressive strategy by Mideast Gulf producers to exploit the lowest oil prices in five years to defend market share is showing signs of bearing fruit as U.S. crude exports to Asia grind to halt. Asian refineries have suspended imports of condensate, a light crude oil produced from the U.S. shale boom, just four months after they began in favour of cheaper Middle East grades, according to trade and industry sources. The suspension illustrates how competition between suppliers has heated up following a more than 40 percent decline in oil prices since June.

15 Sep 2014

USCG, Enbridge to Conduct Oil Spill Response Exercise

The Coast Guard 9th District, partner agencies, and Enbridge Energy Limited Partnership will conduct a full-scale oil spill response exercise in Indian River, Michigan, Wednesday. More than 200 participants from the Coast Guard; Enbridge; the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet County Office of Emergency Management; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; and the Environmental Protection Agency, will participate in the exercise, which simulates a breach in Enbridge’s Line 5 and a worst-case discharge of light crude oil.

18 Aug 2014

US to Release Reports on Crude Oil Export Issues

The U.S. Energy Information Administration plans to release two reports in September examining some of the issues surrounding a potential end to the nation's decades-old ban on most crude oil exports, the EIA's chief said on Monday. Some lawmakers have pressed the EIA, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy, to provide analysis on the implications of relaxing or abolishing the ban, as debate over the future of the moratorium has intensified. The EIA's upcoming reports will focus on the impact to U.S. gasoline prices at the pump from changing domestic and global oil markets, and on the costs of building different types of crude oil refining units in the United States.

31 Jul 2014

Enterprise to Expand Houston Ethane Export Terminal

Enterprise Products Partners LP said it was looking at expanding the ethane export facility it is building on the Houston Ship Channel after winning another transport contract. With the additional contract to provide ethane storage, transportation, refrigeration and loading services, Enterprise said 85 percent of the terminal's capacity was now contracted. Enterprise, which also has a large crude storage facility in Houston, received permission last month from the U.S. Department of Commerce to export a minimally processed form of light crude oil.