Move Oil News

Russian crude oil producers are enjoying the cheapest costs to ship to refiners in China and India in almost a year thanks to a growing number of vessels plying the routes, according to trading and shipping sources.The arrival of new shippers working outside the purview of Western governments allows Russian firms to earn more than the $60 per barrel cap that the U.S. and its allies had aimed to impose on Russia through sanctions. It also means that enforcing the price cap will have a limited impact on Russian revenues.On Thursday, the U.S. imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the cap, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates…

The United States is boosting access to commercial products tankers as part of a security drive to safeguard oil shipping for its armed forces in times of crisis, a top Department of Transportation (DOT) official said.The U.S. flagged commercial fleet comprises a few dozen tankers with the majority involved in domestic trade and there has been concern over possible disruptions to the U.S. economy if those vessels were sought for use by the military, according to a Department of Defense study.The Tanker Security Program has aimed to charter 10 internationally trading vessels for 2023 that can move oil products. Each would receive an annual payment of up to $6 million and had to be U.S. operated and have U.S.

Before the Ever Max ship carrying lava lamps, sofas, Halloween costumes and artificial Christmas trees could make its inaugural Panama Canal voyage this month, a historic drought forced it to drop weight by offloading hundreds of containers.Weather-related disruptions denied the vessel, owned by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, a chance on Aug. 1 to set a record for carrying the most containers through the vital maritime shortcut that connects the Pacific and Atlantic…

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…

The costs of chartering supertankers to move crude oil from the Middle East to Asia have jumped to the highest since April as more cargoes are being booked in June, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon.The rate for a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) from the Middle East to China, Japan and Singapore is assessed at just above worldscale 80 on Thursday, according to shipbroking firm Meiwa International, the highest levels since April. Worldscale (W) is an industry…

Oil pipelines from the top U.S. shale field to Houston that have run half empty are filling again as rising output has absorbed most of the space on lines to the main south Texas export hub in Corpus Christi.U.S. crude exports climbed to a record of about 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, spurred by recovering Chinese demand and competitive pricing for U.S. oil. Sanctions on Russian crude purchases by the European Union and Britain also have boosted demand.Pipelines…

The international ship registries of Djibouti and the Cook Islands suspended the flags on five oil tankers, following sanctions by the United States this month for having facilitated oil trade for Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, nongovernment organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said on Monday.The U.S. Treasury Department in early November imposed sanctions on a wide network of companies, people and vessels accused of concealing the Iranian origins of shipments and exporting them around the world.Oil tankers Bueno…

Day rates for vessels that move oil and refined products between U.S. ports rose after the United States banned Russian oil and product imports this year, Kinder Morgan Inc Chief Executive Steven Kean said on Wednesday.Pipeline and terminal operator Kinder Morgan, which owns about 16 Jones Act vessels, saw a "meaningful" uptick in demand spurred by the U.S. ban following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kean said at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions conference.The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews. Kinder Morgan vessels carry crude oil, refined products and fuel blend stocks to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast ports.Daily chartering rates were moving toward the bottom end of pre-pandemic rates of $60…

The coronavirus's effect on energy markets is worsening, as the sharp fall in demand in China, the world's largest importer of crude, is stranding oil cargoes off the country's coast and prompting shippers to seek out other Asian destinations.More than 1,360 people have died from the coronavirus in China, which has disrupted the world's second largest economy and shaken energy markets, with international benchmark Brent crude oil down 15% since the beginning of the year.Major international energy forecasters expect demand to fall in this quarter…

Somewhere on its journey from the waters off Iran, around Africa's southern tip and into the Mediterranean, the Grace 1 oil tanker lost the flag under which it sailed and ceased to be registered to Panama. Iran later claimed it as its own.The ship carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian crude was seized by British Royal Marines off Gibraltar, raising tensions in the Gulf where Iran detained a UK-flagged ship in retaliation.Grace 1 remains impounded, not because of its flag but because it was suspected of taking oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, an allegation that Iran denies.Yet Panama's move on May 29 to strike it from its register…

The Port of Corpus Christi lives up to its moniker ‘Energy Port of the Americas,’ as the movement of energy in and out dominates the port’s history and future. John P. LaRue, Executive Director, Port Corpus Christi recently visited Maritime Reporter’s headquarters in New York to discuss the nearly $50 billion in investment projects driving the port forward. “Let’s just start with what we are and what we are not,” said LaRue. “We are not a container port. Up until a few years ago we were an oil import port (serving) three refineries: Citgo, Valero and Flint Hills Resources.

South Korea’s STX Offshore & Shipbuilding won contracts to build six tankers from Greece and local shippers, reports Korea JoongAng Daily. STX announced that Greek shipper OceanGold Tankers placed an order for four medium-range tankers of 50,000 DWT capacity. Two were order on an option contract, which gives the buyer a right to pay for the ship at a pre-determined price in case ship prices rise. The deal was worth $140 million in total. According to STX,  the ships will be constructed in its Jinhae shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsan, and delivered by the first quarter of 2019. Two days ago, STX announced orders for two 11,200 DWT tankers - one an option contract - that move oil and chemical products from a local company, Woolim Shipping.

Authorities are building a new containment boom to fight an oil spill in a major western Canadian river, officials said on Saturday, after the spill breached a previous barrier and threatened the drinking water of several communities along the coast. The city of North Battleford, which draws its drinking water in part from the North Saskatchewan River, shut its supply intake on Friday and switched to using ground water, provincial officials said in a telephone conference with reporters. Some 1,572 barrels of heavy oil and diluent leaked from Husky Energy Inc's Saskatchewan Gathering System pipeline on Thursday, flowing into the river. The Calgary-based company has shut the line, stopping the leak, and has been working to contain the spill.

The New York Times once called Venice “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man.” But as beautiful as Venice might be, it is still a port city struggling to compete in a global economy, and beauty doesn’t attract Ultra Large Container Vessels (UCLV). Port of Venice authorities hope that its ambitious new offshore-onshore port project might do just that. The Venice Offshore Onshore Port System (VOOPS) was born out of necessity. The Venetian government made it a goal to…

The rapid growth of mega refineries is prompting a new class of oil products supertankers, mirroring an earlier revolution in crude oil shipping, as traders look for scale that was previously not economically viable. In the early 1970s, ships capable of carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil were built to mitigate disruptions from the closure of the Suez Canal and to meet growing global demand. Now, the products trade is spurring similar innovation. As the Middle East and U.S. Gulf Coast transform into refining hubs, traders require ever-larger tankers to move oil products such as gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel to Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Brent on track for biggest annual drop since 2008; stimulus measures from Japan, China lend some support. Brent crude oil rose to $60 per barrel on Monday, supported by concerns about disruption to exports from Libya, but a global supply glut kept prices nearly 50 percent off their peak for the year. A fire at one of Libya's main export terminals has destroyed 800,000 barrels of crude - more than two days of the country's output - officials said, as clashes escalated between factions battling for control of the nation.. Libya currently produces around 385,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil - down from peak production of over 1 million bpd - but this is a small fraction of the global supply glut, analysts said.

A former executive of Parker ITR Srl pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to rig bids for marine hose and was sentenced to two years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Romano Pisciotti, who is Italian, had been flown into the United States from Germany in early April in the first extradition on charges of breaking antitrust law, the department said. Marine hose is used to move oil between storage facilities and tankers. Five companies - Parker ITR, Bridgestone Corp…

Opponents of Canada's Northern Gateway pipeline, bolstered by a coastal town's vote against the project, said on Monday they will now push harder for a provincial referendum they hope would kill Enbridge Inc's plan to move oil sands crude to Asian markets. Residents of Kitimat, located in British Columbia's remote northwest, voted against the proposed project on Saturday, with 58.4 percent of residents opposed in the non-binding poll. The small town is where the terminal facilities for the C$7.9 billion ($7.21 billion) pipeline would be built. The victory has fueled calls for a vote to determine if there is public support in the rest of the West Coast province of British Columbia, which would host more than half of the pipeline and all the marine transport facilities.

The United States has extradited a former executive of an Italian marine hose manufacturer to face price-fixing charges in what the Justice Department said was its first extradition on antitrust charges. Romano Pisciotti, a former executive with Italy's Parker ITR SRL, was extradited from Germany and arrived in Miami on Thursday to face a single count of rigging bids and allocating market share in the marine hose industry, the department said. Marine hose is used to move oil between storage facilities and tankers. If convicted, Pisciotti could face 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine, the department said. Five companies - Parker ITR…

It is no revelation that maximizing equipment life directly impacts the bottom line. When it comes to profitability, every dollar saved on equipment maintenance is a dollar earned. Prelube pumps move oil from the oil sump to the moving parts of an engine before engine start-up. Pre-lubing before every start is an inexpensive way to extend the life of engine-driven equipment. When an engine is running, the engine's oil pump supplies pressurized oil into the center of the bearings to create a cushion that separates the bearing surface from the crankshaft. Once the engine is running, the surfaces never touch because they ride on this film of oil. As soon as the engine shuts down, however, the oil that comprises the cushion begins to drain away and the film thins.

Analysis of 19 target countries and 26 key onshore and offshore market sectors, ranging from land drilling equipment to offshore operations, has revealed that overall expenditure levels are expected to total $2t over the 2009-2013 period. These are amongst the key findings of a new report commissioned by Norwegian oil & gas partners INTSOK from energy business analysts Douglas-Westwood. Addressing over 300 delegates at INTSOK’s 8th annual International Business Days conference in Oslo, Douglas-Westwood Chairman, John Westwood, outlined his views on the current market turmoil, the prospects for recovery and the expected outcomes in terms of future industry expenditure.

More than a decade after the U.S. enacted OPA '90, much to the consternation of the vessel design and owning community, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has taken the first formal step towards a global phase-out of single hull tankers. The similarities between the action taken by the U.S. — action that was roundly panned outside of the States due to the fact that it was not undertaken under the auspices of the international community — and the recent action at IMO are uncannily familiar; both actions coming in the wake of a high-profile oil spill disaster. The action at IMO was pushed forward vigilantly by the European Union in a determined effort to ensure that accidents such as the Erika…

The U.S. Customs Service said that a request for a Jones Act shipping waiver that would have allowed foreign ships to move oil between U.S. ports was returned as incomplete. "We sent it back to the group that sent it a few days after it was submitted because it lacked important information," said a Customs official. "We no longer have an active request in hand." The request was submitted January 5 by the Independent Fuel Terminal Operators Association (IFTOA), a Northeast heating oil trade group, in order to ensure healthy supplies of heating oil to Northeast consumers this winter. IFTOA's attorney was not immediately available for comment.