Litasco News

A Liberian-flagged oil tanker set sail in May from Russia's Ust-Luga port carrying crude on behalf of a little-known trading company based in Hong Kong. Before the ship had even reached its destination in India, the cargo changed hands.The new owner of the 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude carried on the Leopard I was a similarly low-profile outfit, Guron Trading, also based in Hong Kong, according to two trading sources.The number of little-known trading firms relied on by Moscow to export large volumes of crude exports to Asia has mushroomed in recent months…

Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil has set up ship-to-ship (STS) loadings of Urals oil near the western port of Kaliningrad, Refinitiv Eikon data showed and trading sources told Reuters on Wednesday.The data shows 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude was loaded on the Andaman Skies tanker at the Baltic port of Primorsk on Feb. 11.

Russia's biggest oil exporter Rosneft has expanded its tanker chartering business to ease oil shipments for buyers amid looming Western sanctions on insurance of Russian oil shipments, three sources familiar with the matter said.Previously, state-controlled Rosneft, which produces more than 40% of Russian oil, would sell its oil at the port of loading, meaning the buyer would have to find tankers and handle freight and insurance costs for the voyage.But with new, tighter Western sanctions looming…

The global oil market was thrown into chaos on Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine, with top buyers of Russian oil struggling to secure guarantees at Western banks or find ships to take crude from one of the world's largest producers.At least three major buyers of Russian oil have been unable to open letters of credit from Western banks to cover purchases on Thursday, four trading sources said, citing market uncertainty after the Russian invasion.Russia produces every 10th barrel in the world and oil prices jumped to above $105 per barrel on Thursday, their highest since 2014, due to fears of disruptions.In the Black Sea, a Turkish-owned ship was hit by a bomb off the coast of Ukraine's port city Odessa…

Two tankers carrying gasoline loaded in Antwerp, Belgium, have turned back to their load-port after initially being destined for Lagos in Nigeria, Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking and sources said on Friday.The two tankers, STI Symphony and Velos Diamantis, turned back in last week. The U-turns happened after Nigeria rejected other gasoline cargoes loaded in Antwerp for containing too much methanol.Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the methanol content in these two cargoes or why they turned back.Earlier this week…

Traders provisionally booked at least six tankers to ship gasoline from Europe to U.S. destinations following a cyber attack that shut the United States' top fuel pipeline network, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.The attack forced the Colonial Pipeline to shut down its entire system on Friday, stoking expectations of gasoline shortages along the U.S. East Coast.Some smaller lines were restarted Sunday, but Colonial has given no timeline for the restart of its main pipelines.Two…

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…

Vitol seen storing gasoline off Singapore as local onshore light distillates stocks at record levels. European trader Vitol is storing gasoline on tankers offshore Singapore, Asia's biggest oil trading centre, for the first time since 2016 amid oversupply and weak demand for the fuel, said four people that participate in the market on Wednesday. The sources said that Vitol was seen storing gasoline aboard more than one so-called Long-Range (LR) tanker. The company does not typically comment on its trading operations. At least one of the vessels is the tanker Glory Crescent, a so-called LR-2 tanker, said one of the four sources. The vessel is 105,000 deadweight tonnes and could carry the equivalent of about 800,000 barrels of gasoline.

Shipments of oil products from a Russian Black Sea outlet have been disrupted since early February due to a row over the port's control, four industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Three sources said oil products shipments from the IPP terminal at the port of Novorossiisk have been delayed over a managerial conflict. The port did not reply to a written request for comment. According to the sources, between 1,000 and 2,500 rail cars with oil products are stuck near the port waiting to be loaded on to tankers. Trading sources also said that loading operations of two tankers - Andromeda, chartered by Litasco, and Trafigura's Atlantas II - have been cancelled. "Ships have been waiting in the harbour of Novorossiisk," a trader said.

Turkey-based Palmali, one of the biggest shippers in the Caspian region, said on Monday it had lodged a claim worth almost $2 billion against Litasco, the trading arm of Russian oil producer Lukoil, with the English High Court. "The claim concerns an alleged failure by Litasco S.A. to provide contractual quantities of cargo under long term contract between the companies," Palmali said in a statement sent to Reuters.   Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin

Iran's oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said. Iran, which used to be OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Iran's overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

Iran has managed to sell only modest volumes of oil to Europe since the lifting of sanctions seven weeks ago and several former buyers are staying away, citing legal complications and Tehran's reluctance to sweeten terms to win back customers. Tehran had been unable to sell crude to European firms since 2012 when the EU imposed sanctions over its nuclear programme, depriving it of a market that accounted for over a third of its exports and leaving it relying completely on Asian buyers. Since the restrictions were lifted in January, Iran has sold four tankers - 4 million barrels - to Europe, including to France's Total, Spain's Cepsa and Russia's Litasco, according to Iranian officials and ship-tracking data.

Iran, OPEC's No. 3 producer, is expected to raise its oil exports in March to around 1.65 million barrels per day from 1.5 million bpd a month earlier on the back of higher crude shipments to Europe, two industry sources told Reuters on Thursday. State-run National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) is expected to ship around 250,000-300,000 bpd to Europe this month after it finalised term deals with France's Total and Spanish refiner Cepsa, effective from March 1, said the sources, who are familiar with Iran's exports. The French oil major has a contract to buy about 200,000 bpd, while Cepsa's deal was for about 35,000 bpd, one source said. Total is expected to lift at least 5 million barrels in March, the source added.

At least two tankers booked in recent days; Gasoline stocks at record high in Europe, U.S. Traders have begun storing gasoline on tankers off the coast of Europe as land storage tanks near maximum capacity, the latest sign of increasing stress in the refined oil products market. While demand for gasoline and its blending components was exceptionally high last year, particularly in the United States and China, a seasonal dip in demand has caused large product build-ups in the Atlantic basin in recent week. At least three long-range tankers have been booked for storage in recent days, according to shipping data, traders and ship brokers.

Spanish refiner Cepsa will ship a 1-million barrel cargo of Iranian oil to its refineries, according to vessel agents' data and market players' information on Wednesday. Global oil markets, already oversupplied, have been jittery over the return of Iranian oil after the lifting of international sanctions imposed over Tehran's nuclear programme. According to Reuters shipping data, epsa has chartered the suezmax Monte Toledo which will load at Iran's Kharg Island for delivery to the Spanish ports of Huelva and Algeciras. Spain and Iran are considering jointly building an oil refinery in Algeciras. A Cepsa spokeswoman said it was not the company's policy to give any details about specific commercial operations.

Russian Urals crude price differentials weakened in the Mediterranean and the Baltic due to ample supplies, traders said on Thursday. In the Platts window, Litasco sold to Shell a 80,000 tonne cargo in the Mediterranean loading on Jan. 18-22 at a discount of $1.45 a barrel to dated Brent, some 30-35 cents a barrel weaker than previous levels, traders said. Vitol unsuccessfully offered its Jan. 19-23 cargo at a discount of $1.45 a barrel, market participants said. Ample supplies of Urals in January were putting levels under pressure and some traders said they expected some cargoes to remain unsold after the New Year holidays. In the Platts window, Vitol offered in the Baltic a 100,000 tonne cargo for loading on Jan.

Russian Urals crude differentials continued to slide in the Baltic on Thursday amid a flurry of activity with softer refining margins, pushed down by higher oil prices, still keeping buyers at bay. In the Platts window, Statoil bought a 100,000-tonne cargo from Glencore for loadings on Oct. 18-22 in the Baltic at dated Brent minus $2 a barrel, some 20 cents weaker than on Wednesday, traders said. Litasco, Total and Vitol have found no buyers with offers of minus $1.80, $1.75 and $1.85 to dated Brent correspondingly. In the south, Litasco increased its bids for 80,000 and 140,000 cargoes to minus 95 cents and minus $1.20 to dated Brent respectively, without success. The were no deals with both Azeri and CPC Blend in the Platts window.

Record high stocks of fuel oil in Singapore are pushing traders to store the shipping and feedstock fuel into tankers temporarily as demand slows regionally. At least seven very large crude carriers (VLCCs) have been provisionally fixed to store fuel oil on short-term time charters, traders and shipbrokers said. Lower oil prices have boosted refinery profits over most of this year, in turn driving refiners to maximise run rates and increase the supply of fuel oil in the region, traders said. Traders are also taking advantage of cheaper freight rates and a steep contango where prices of cargoes loading in the current month are cheaper than those loading in forward months.

Russian Urals crude weakened in the Mediterranean and in the Baltic on Friday, while trading activity was limited ahead of a long holiday weekend in Britain, traders said. In the Platts window, Vitol sold an 80,000-tonne cargo of Urals from Novorossiisk on Sept. 13-17 to Exxon at dated Brent minus $0.85 a barrel on a DES basis, traders said. That was 15 cents below the latest price estimates for the grade. Before the window Vitol offered a very prompt Aframax of Urals crude for loading Sept. 3-4 down to dated Brent minus $1 a barrel, but found no buyer and withdrew its offer. There were no bids or offers for Urals from Primorsk and Ust-Luga.

Russian Urals crude weakened in the Mediterranean on Monday and paper swaps showed potential for the grade to lose further ground in August. In the Platts window, Litasco offered an 80,000 tonne cargo in the Mediterranean at dated Brent minus 65 cents, some 20 cents weaker than previous price estimates, but found no buyers, traders said. Urals August swaps showed prices could weaken to dated Brent minus 60 to 75 cents in the Mediterranean and by some 10-15 cents in the Baltic from the current levels of dated Brent minus $1.20-1.30 a barrel. "It looks like August could be similar or slightly shorter than July in terms of volumes. So prices will most likely remain range-bound," said a trader with an oil major.

Gasoline prompt cracks in northwest Europe slipped on Monday but remained at eight-month-highs supported by strong demand from the United States, where inventories are low and refinery maintenance has curbed supply. Stocks on the U.S. East Coast, a major export destination for European gasoline, fell more than expected last week while demand in West Africa and the Mediterranean is strong. Maintenance at Canadian refineries that normally supply the U.S. East Coast also helped tighten the market as summer, the peak season for gasoline demand in the United States, looms. "The Irving refinery restart has been supposedly delayed, and the Montreal and Quebec refineries are both down for work so the East Coast is really tight," an industry source said.

Gasoline barge prices in northwest Europe rose on Friday, boosted by brisk cargo exports as demand builds ahead of the peak summer driving season. "Things are perking up," said one trader. "Big slugs of reformate are heading to Asia again. There is good demand in the east still. West Africa blends are still taking place... Reuters shipping data showed a flurry of new vessels booked to carry gasoline or its components, which include reformates. Cargill booked a tanker to carry gasoline across the Atlantic and Valero booked another for the east coast of Canada, the data showed. BP fixed two vessels to carry gasoline to West Africa and PMI fixed three tankers to Mexico.