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Oil Supplies News

13 Oct 2023

Growing Tanker Fleet, Cheaper Freight Challenge Russian Oil Price Cap

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…

21 Aug 2023

Russia Ships Naphtha to China via North Sea Route

Copyright chocolatefater/AdobeStock

Russia is shipping a naphtha cargo via the North Sea Route (NSR) as Moscow seeks to increase supplies using the route to major trade partner China, cutting its way through European waters, traders said and Refinitiv data showed.SCF Irtysh is loaded with with 37,000 tonnes of naphtha onboard, loaded at Ust-Luga port on August 5, 2023, for delivery to China. It is the first such loading since at least the late 2000s, according to two traders.The supplier of the cargo was Gazprom Neft, the traders said.

27 Jul 2023

Obscure Traders Ship Half Russia's Oil Exports to India, China After Sanctions

© Jouni Niskakoski / Adobe Stock

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…

24 Apr 2023

Russian ‘Spy Ship’ in the North Sea Raises Concerns About Maritime Infrastructure Security

"Spy Ship": Russian oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky (File photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation)

A new documentary produced by a consortium of public broadcasters in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway has revealed what appears to be a profound threat to maritime and undersea energy and data infrastructure in the North Sea and the Baltic region. The Shadow War includes footage of a Russian research vessel called Admiral Vladimirsky allegedly collecting data on windfarms, gas pipelines, power and internet cables.The film, which has been widely reported in the UK press this week, asserts that Russia is systematically mapping the vulnerabilities of maritime infrastructure in the North Sea.

13 Mar 2023

Venezuela to Ship Fuel to Cuba on US-blacklisted Supertanker

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA on Monday was loading a supertanker with crude and fuel for Cuba, maritime documents showed, an unusually large volume to help its political ally overcome an energy crisis with repeated blackouts.Several big electrical outages this year have left many in Cuba concerned about power supplies this summer, when residents crank up air conditioning to stay cool in the Caribbean heat.Cuban officials have blamed the intermittent power on difficulties processing heavy sour Cuban crude and fuel shortages on the island…

17 Jan 2023

Russia Boosts Baltic Oil Exports

© Aastels / Adobe Stock

Europe's ban on seaborne Russian oil imports from Dec. 5 has prompted Moscow to divert its crude flows to Asia and failed to curb Russian supplies, according to traders and data from Refinitiv Eikon.Supplies of oil from Russia and Kazakhstan from the Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk rose in the first half of January to 3.4 million tonnes from 2.5 million tonnes in the same period of December.That includes 3.1 million tonnes of Russian oil, up 35% from 2.3 million tonnes in the corresponding period of December…

05 Dec 2022

Russian Oil Sanctions Fuel Demand for Old Tankers

©Vladimir/AdobeStock

The market for old oil tankers is booming, and it's all down to efforts by Western nations to curb trade in Russian crude.As Western shipping and maritime services firms steer clear of Russian oil to avoid falling foul of sanctions or harming their reputations, new companies have leapt into the void, and they're snapping up old tankers that might normally be scrapped.The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February.

31 Aug 2022

This Decade's Oil Boom is Moving Offshore - Way Offshore

Bay du Nord FPSO Illustration - Credit: Equinor

Global oil companies are pumping billions of dollars into offshore drilling, reversing a long decline in spending on the decades-long projects, including some in the remote iceberg waters far off Canada's Atlantic coast.Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with Europe's mounting energy demand as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on. Offshore production sites are more expensive to build than onshore shale, the last decade's investment darling. But once they are up and running…

26 Aug 2022

Chinese Defense Firm Takes Over Lifting Venezuelan Oil for Debt Offset

China has entrusted a defense-focussed state firm to ship millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions, part of a deal to offset Caracas' billions of dollars of debt to Beijing, according to three sources and tanker tracking data. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) stopped carrying Venezuelan oil in August 2019 after Washington tightened sanctions on the South American exporter. But it continued to find its way to China via traders who rebranded the fuel as Malaysian, Reuters has reported.

11 Aug 2022

Fuel Oil Stored in Ships Near Singapore to Rise on More Russian Supplies

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

The number of tankers used for storing fuel oil along the Singapore Strait has risen since the Ukraine war broke out and could rise further as more of Russia's supplies hit by sanctions head to Asia, industry sources and analysts said.A rise in floating storage supply along the strategic waterway is an indicator that more supplies are available to Asia, which will help ease tight markets. But, at the same time, it could limit a recovery in spot fuel oil prices for the year and weigh on Asian refining profits for the grade.Earlier this month…

17 May 2022

Seaborne Oil a Lifeline as German, Polish Refiners Swerve Russian Supply

© Horst Schmidt / Adobe Stock

Seaborne oil has thrown a lifeline to refiners in eastern Germany and Poland, with non-Russian deliveries into the Polish port of Gdansk hitting at least seven-year highs this month as they switch away from Russian supply.Imports booked for May into Gdansk from Egypt, the United States, Norway, Britain and West Africa had hit 8.4 million barrels by May 16, their highest level according to Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data that goes back to 2015.At the same time, Russian crude booked for May into Gdansk and the port of Rostock stood at 700…

12 May 2022

Freight Rates, Ukraine War Boost Euronav's Q1 Core Profit

Credit: Euronav (File image)

Belgian oil tanker and storage operator Euronav on Thursday reported a 30% increase in its quarterly core profit, helped by recovering freight rates and a positive impact from the war in Ukraine."The conflict in Ukraine has driven considerable dislocation in tanker market freight patterns as sanctions and so-called self-sanctioning by market participants has driven ton-mile growth," Chief Executive Officer Hugo De Stoop said in a statement.Ton mile is an industry measure incorporating volumes and distance.Euronav…

09 May 2022

US Navy Sets Up New Mideast Task Force

(File photo: Michael Russell / U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy on Wednesday said it was establishing a new multinational task force that would target arms smuggling in the waters around Yemen, the latest American military response to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Washington has sought to reassure Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who see the U.S. commitment to the region as waning, by providing additional military support in recent months following the missile and drone attacks on the Gulf nations.Fifth Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said that the task force would…

14 Apr 2022

Oil Up Again on Tight Supply, Steady Demand

Copyright Shuttershudder/AdobeStock

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering some of the previous session's losses as Kazakhstan's supplies continued to be disrupted and major producers showed no sign of being in a hurry to boost output significantly.Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.54, or 1.4%, to $114.02 a barrel by 1110 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up $1.34, or 1.3%, at $107.30. Both benchmarks had lost about 7% on Monday."There was an overreaction on Monday and the market is re-considering it," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

21 Feb 2022

US Eyes 100-strong Mideast Sea Drone Fleet

(Photo: Dawson Roth / U.S. Navy)

The United States Navy and security partners will patrol Middle East waters with 100 unmanned vessels next year to improve deterrence against attacks, like those presented by Iran, the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander said on Monday.The region is vital for global trade, especially oil supplies that flow out of the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz.There have been high-seas confrontations between U.S. and Iranian forces with attacks on oil tankers in Gulf waters in 2019. Sanctions-hit Iran denied accusations of responsibility.Last year the U.S.

04 Feb 2022

Oil Hits Seven-year High

© Lukasz Z / Adobe Stock

Oil prices surged to seven-year highs on Friday, extending their rally into a seventh week on ongoing worries about supply disruptions fueled by frigid U.S. weather and ongoing political turmoil among major world producers.Brent crude rose $2.16, or 2.4%, to settle at $93.27 a barrel having earlier touched its highest since October 2014 at $93.70.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended $2.04, or 2.3%, higher at $92.31 a barrel after trading as high as $93.17, its highest since September 2014.Brent ended the week 3.6% higher…

10 Sep 2020

Second Wave of Floating Storage Triggered by Ailing Oil Market

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

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…

31 Mar 2020

Oil Economics: Freight Rate Surge Cuts into Trader's Profits

© Björn Wylezich/AdobeStock

A jump in freight rates has shaved profits for oil traders seeking to store crude for sale towards the end of the year, even as the contango in the first six months for Brent futures stretched to its widest ever, trade sources said.While a sharp rebound in spot crude differentials could lift traders' profits, a broadening slump in global demand is stretching out the time that markets will need to digest bulging inventories and spark a price recovery, traders said.Unlike in previous contango plays -- where low oil prices eventually prompted major producers to tighten supplies…

06 Aug 2019

China Mulls Hormuz Naval Escort Role

File Image: A Chinese Naval Frigate underway. CREDIT: AdobeStock / © Vanderwolf

China might escort Chinese commercial vessels in Gulf waters under a U.S. proposal for a maritime coalition to secure oil shipping lanes following attacks on tankers, its envoy to the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday."If there happens to be a very unsafe situation we will consider having our navy escort our commercial vessels," Ambassador Ni Jian told Reuters in Abu Dhabi."We are studying the U.S. proposal on Gulf escort arrangements," China's embassy later said in a text…

15 May 2020

Belarus Buys 80,000 Tonnes of U.S. Oil

Port of Klaipėda (© Juozas55/ Adobe Stock)

Belarusian state energy company Belneftekhim said on Friday it had bought 80,000 tonnes of oil from the United States that would be delivered by tanker to the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda at the beginning of June.Belarus has said it wants to diversify its oil supplies after a dispute with Russia over oil prices earlier this year. (Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Jason Neely)

22 Aug 2019

Norway Mulls U.S. Gulf Naval Mission Proposal

Norway's foreign minister said on Thursday it was deliberating how to respond to a U.S proposal on forming an international mission to safeguard shipping in the Gulf.Speaking at a joint news conference with her Iranian counterpart, Eriksen Soereide said the government was "considering a number of different measures" and would make an assessment based on information it gathered.So far, Britain, Australia and Bahrain have joined the U.S.-led security mission to protect merchant vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital gateway for global oil supplies. Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis

22 Apr 2020

Oil Traders Chase Storage Space in World Awash with Fuel

© Kalyakan / Abobe Stock

Oil traders are struggling to find enough ships, railcars, caverns and pipelines to store fuel as more conventional storage facilities fill up amid abundant supply and plummeting demand due to the coronavirus crisis.Dozens of oil tanker vessels have been booked in recent days to store at least 30 million barrels of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel at sea, acting as floating storage, as on-land tanks are full or already booked, according to traders and shipping data.That adds to about 130 million barrels of crude already in floating storage…

17 Sep 2019

Middle East Risks Keep Oil Prices High

Oil prices have risen massively following the recent attacks on Saudi oil refining facilities – the US has responded by authorizing the release, if necessary, of emergency crude oil stocks to ease price pressures. (Photo © Adobe Stock / Douglas Knight)

Oil lost some of its big price rises today as the US announced the possible release of crude reserves but the possibility of military action in response to the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities still means prices are high and that stocks are under pressure. Equity market losses have not been large but investors are continuing to support ‘safer’ assets such as gold, for which treasury prices are rising.Brent crude prices fell 1.78% to $67.79 per barrel in Asia today (Tuesday, September 17) after a big increase yesterday of 14.6%, the biggest one-day percentage gain since at least 1988. U.S.