Oil Resulting News

Russian seaborne crude oil export volumes have remained strong and grew 13% y/y in 2022 despite the invasion of Ukraine. However, after a 4% m/m fall in June, volumes fell another 16% m/m in July, and the Russian administration has announced export cuts for August, says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.An even more important factor for the crude tanker market is how EU regulations have reshaped crude trades. China, India, and Türkiye have replaced EU countries as the main buyers of Russian crude oil…

Russia's largest independent natural gas producer Novatek said that total hydrocarbon production during 2018 increased by 6.9%, and had increased sales of gas."In 2018, Novatek’s hydrocarbon production totaled 548.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), including 68.81 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas and 11,800 thousand tons of liquids (gas condensate and crude oil), resulting in an increase in total hydrocarbons produced by 35.1 million boe, or by 6.9% as compared with the twelve months 2017," said a press release from the oil-and-gas company.Preliminary natural gas sales volumes, including volumes of LNG sold, aggregated 72.12 bcm, representing an increase of 10.9% as compared with the twelve months 2017.

The ideal solution for the tightening regulatory noose also brings a different (and welcome) shade of ‘green’ for workboat operators.As the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ramps up enforcement of regulations that mandate that all vessels over 24 meters (78 feet) operating in US waters must switch over to EALs in all oil-to-sea interfaces before their next drydocking, it is an arguably good time to be in the lubricants business. At the same time, Thordon Bearings, a manufacturer of seawater lubricated bearings for the marine industry has its own thoughts on that very topic. Specifically, Craig Carter, Thordon Bearings’ Director of Marketing and Customer Service, asks, “What is the point in shipowners investing in costly bio-lubricants when seawater is widely available and 100% free?

Cleaning up marine oil spills can be a challenge as there are various types of oil spilled but only a few effective recovery methods. The three main technologies for oil spill recovery for inland and offshore waters are mechanical, insitu burning (ISB), and dispersant application. Absorbent booms and pads may also be used, but they are more effective for small fuel spills. Mechanical recovery, usually an oil skimmer, is a device that skims contained floating oil and transfers the recovered oil to a storage container or vessel.

Rising exports have thrown a lifeline to U.S. shale producers and refiners, giving them an additional outlet at a time when the domestic market has been at risk of becoming saturated. The United States exported record quantities of natural gas, propane, gasoline, distillate fuel oil and light crude last year while continuing to import the heavy oils needed by its refineries. Gas exports increased by almost 30 percent in 2016 and have more than tripled in the last decade, limiting the build up of unused gas and supporting prices in recent months despite the warmest winter on record.

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday slammed an agreement made with Canada to ban offshore Arctic drilling, saying Ottawa's plan to review its ban every five years gives Canada a leg up on energy exploration. U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a ban on new oil and gas drilling federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, while Canada instituted a similar ban in its Arctic waters. Unlike the United States, where the ban is indefinite, Canada said it will review its restrictions every five years.

The first four of 15 Impala Terminals Colombia-operated tug/tow boats have been converted from oil to water-lubricated tailshaft bearings. Impala Zambrano, the first of 15 triple-screw and twin-screw push boats scheduled for oil-to-water conversion, was retrofitted in July 2015 with a Thordon RiverTough bearing and TG100 shaft seal combination. Three triple-screw and one twin-screw pusher vessels have since been converted and Thordon’s Colombian distributor Delta Marine and River Services will now work on the next vessels in the series.

Ship insurers have stepped in to help plug a shortfall in cover for transporting Iranian oil resulting from the fact that U.S. reinsurers are still restrained by Washington's sanctions, according to officials involved in the initiative. International oil and shipping companies have been eager to boost business with Iran since international sanctions related to its nuclear programme were lifted in January, but securing proper insurance cover has been among the stumbling blocks in recent weeks. The insurers' move will benefit Iran as it seeks to further ramp up production and exports.

The government has a plan for responding to your oil spill. Do you? In February, due to a collision between a tug boat and a tank barge, approximately 31,500 gallons of crude oil were released into the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River was closed down for two days and the residents of St. Charles Parish sat on pins and needles, waiting to find out if their drinking water would be contaminated. Thankfully, the drinking water was not affected, there were no reports of serious environmental damage and the River re-opened several days after the closure. It doesn’t always and happily, however. Unfortunately, the potential for a spill like this is always present when operating vessels.

The blowout aboard the Deepwater Horizon and the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico captured the attention of both the public and regulators. As a result of this incident, both the government and the general public have developed opinions as to how such an oil spill should be avoided, contained and cleaned up. Now, even a small spill can become front page news and your company’s operations and policies will be scrutinized by the government, media and the general public. As such, it is important to develop a clear response plan to a spill before one happens.

The pressures - political, financial and environmental -to ensure onboard personnel are skillfully trained at operating increasingly complex vessels is tremendous. Simply stated, vessel owners and operators must employ increasingly advanced training courses - both system- and vessel-specific - as well as general courses, in order to avoid costly accidents and litigation. In just the past few years, mariners have proven these courses work, as the amount of oil spilled into the sea has decreased dramatically. According to the USCG, in 1990, tankbarges moved 72 billion gallons of oil, spilling 992,000 gallons, or one-one millionth of a percent.