China's Crude Oil Futures Boom Amid Looming Iran Sanctions
A U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran is supporting China's newly established crude oil futures, and may spur efforts to start trading oil in yuan rather than dollars, traders and analysts said.Since launching in March, Shanghai crude oil futures have seen a steady pick-up in daily trading, while open interest - the number of outstanding longer-term positions and a gauge of institutional interest - has also surged.Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday…
Iran Struggles to Find Enough Ships for Oil Exports
Iran faces a struggle to increase oil exports because many of its tankers are tied up storing crude, some are not seaworthy, and foreign shipowners remain reluctant to carry its cargoes. Tehran is seeking to make up for lost trade to Europe following the lifting of EU sanctions imposed in 2011 and 2012, which deprived it of a market that accounted for over a third of its exports and left it relying completely on Asian buyers. Iran has 55-60 oil tankers in its fleet, a senior Iranian government official told Reuters.
Ships Vie With Japan Utilities as Fuel Supplies Dwindle
Oil refiners’ investment in more-efficient refinery facilities is leaving shipping lines competing with Japanese power producers for a fuel no one wants to make. Refiners are upgrading plants to cut output of fuel oil, a byproduct of making gasoline and diesel, as it sells for less than the price of crude. Shipping lines are seeking more of the product -- known in the industry as bunker -- to fuel expanding fleets, while Japanese electric companies are speeding purchases as they close nuclear plants for safety checks following 2011’s tsunami. “We have a bunker market which is still growing, and we have no fuel,” said Fereidun Fesharaki, chairman of Singapore-based Facts Global Energy Inc.
