Oil Industry Data News

Iran could send two to three cargoes a month in regular gasoline sales to ally Venezuela, sources say, helping offload domestic oversupply but risking retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump who has sanctions on both nations.Iran has since April sent five tankers totalling about 1.5 million barrels to the leftist government of fuel-starved Venezuela, though the shipments have done little to alleviate hours-long lines at gas stations.The Trump administration, which is seeking both to block Iran's energy trade and bring down Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has threatened reprisals and warned ports, shipping companies and insurers against facilitating the tankers.But Tehran plans to keep up the shipments…

Last year, China replaced the United States as the No. 1 importer of oil from Venezuela, yet another front in the heated rivalry between Washington and Beijing.The United States had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company as part of a bid to topple that country’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. U.S. refineries stopped buying Venezuelan crude. Caracas’ ally China, long a major customer, suddenly found itself the top purchaser. Through the first six months of 2019, it imported an average of 350,000 barrels per day of crude from Venezuela.But in August, Washington tightened its sanctions on Venezuela, warning that any foreign entity that continued to do business with the South American country’s government could find itself subject to sanctions.

OPEC compliance with supply curbs appears to have fallen in October but from a level revised higher for September, according to a leading consultant. Preliminary indications from shipping and oil industry data are that OPEC October supply rose 230,000 barrels a day to 26.52 million bpd from a revised 26.29 million in September, Geneva's Petrologistics told clients on Wednesday. Output from the 10 OPEC members, excluding Iraq, that agreed output reductions in March was 23.62 million in October compared to 23.40 million in September, Petrologistics estimated. That would put output reduced by the 10 at 3.672 million bpd in October, or 85 percent of a targeted 4.316 million bpd of cuts, compared to 3.892 million bpd or 90 percent compliance with the target in September.

OPEC compliance with supply curbs appears to have fallen in October but from a level revised higher for September, according to a leading consultant. Preliminary indications from shipping and oil industry data are that OPEC October supply rose 230,000 barrels a day to 26.52 million bpd from a revised 26.29 million in September, Geneva's Petrologistics said.