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Oil Volumes News

29 Nov 2023

Oil Loadings from Black Sea Ports Remain Suspended

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

Oil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal have not resumed due to an ongoing storm forcing exporters to look for alternative routes, three sources familiar with exports told Reuters on Wednesday.Novorossiysk and the CPC terminal account for about 2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) from Russia and Kazakhstan."A storm warning is in effect in Novorossiysk. It is raining, and the wave height is from two to four meters


29 Mar 2022

Vitol Made Record Net Profit in 2021

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

Global energy trader Vitol Group made a record net profit of just over $4 billion last year, sources familiar with the matter said, as oil, natural gas and other commodity prices soared.Vitol, the world's biggest independent oil trader, declined to comment.The unaudited result beats its previous record net profit in 2020, when oil markets were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bloomberg reported Vitol made $3.2 billion in 2020. The company does not disclose its net profit.Last week, Vitol said revenues leapt to $279 billion in 2021 as oil prices recovered from 2020 lows.

18 Jan 2022

Baker Hughes Finds US Drillers Add Most O&G Rigs Since April

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U.S. energy firms this week added the most oil and natural gas rigs in a week since April as rising oil prices prompt more drillers to return to the wellpad.The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose 13 to 601 in the week to Jan. 14, its highest since April 2020, said Baker Hughes in its weekly report. The total count was up 228, or 61%, over this time last year.U.S. oil rigs rose 11 to 492 this week, their highest since April 2020, while gas rigs rose two to 109, their highest since March 2020.

13 Jan 2022

More Shuttle Tankers Needed, Rystad Says

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More shuttle tankers will be needed in the years ahead to keep pace with a projected rise in oil volumes needing transport, Rystad Energy said.Produced volumes requiring transport key shuttle tanker markets Brazil, Canada, Norway, the U.K. and Russia are expected to rise to 3.3 billion barrels per year before the end of the decade, jumping 35% from 2.5 billion in 2021, according to a recent report from the Norwegian analyst group.Apart from minor dips in total utilization across these countries in 2018 and 2021


10 Jun 2021

Trafigura Posts Highest-ever First Half Profit

Trafigura Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Weir - Credit: Trafigura

Global commodities trader Trafigura on Thursday posted its highest-ever first-half net profit and core earnings, largely driven by the economic recovery.The Geneva-based trader's net profit rose to $2.1 billion for the period ending March 31, from 500 million the previous year. The company's financial year ends on Sept. 30.Revenue rose 19% to $98 billion while core earnings were $3.7 billion, up over 50% from a year before. Gross profit rose similarly to $4.3 billion from $2.8 billion


04 May 2020

Venezuelan Oil Exports Rose in April

© MENZHILIY ANATOLY / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's oil exports ticked higher in April after falling in March to their lowest average in seven months, helped by new trading partners that were re-selling cargoes in Asia, according to documents from state-run PDVSA and vessel tracking data.Venezuela shipped 31 cargoes of crude and refined products last month carrying an average of 848,500 barrels per day (bpd), a small increase from the 814,000 bpd the previous month, the data showed.This year, the United States sanctioned


25 Nov 2019

Tanker Upswing Continues, Says NAT

Bermuda-based international tanker company Nordic American Tanker (NAT) said that it has  the strongest tanker market that it has seen in decades.In NAT fleet of 23 suezmaxes, 21 are in the short term market, providing immediate benefit for nat. The fourth quarter is building a strong momentum for 2020."We expect this to continue. Political frictions often lead to a stronger tanker market," said the company.About 70% of the spot trading days of our fleet for 4Q19 have been booked at an average TCE of $34,000/day. Spot rates are continuing its upward momentum.The Time Charter equivalent (TCE) for our ships for the third quarter came in at $15


30 Aug 2019

McQuilling Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook

File Image: AdobeStock / © Carabay

McQuilling Services Announces the Release of the 2019 Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update.The Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update provides an outlook on the global tanker market in the context of global economic growth and oil fundamentals influencing tanker demand and vessel supply. The outlook includes a view on future asset values, time charter rates, market freight rates and TCE revenues for 24 major tanker trades and four triangulated routes across eight vessel segments for the second half of 2019 through the remaining four years of the forecast period 2019-2023.

28 Aug 2019

Frontline Sees Opportunity in Tanker Market

So far in 2019, 41 VLCCs have been added to the global fleet compared to three vessel demolitions, said  the world's largest oil tanker shipping company Frontline Ltd.An additional 33 VLCCs are scheduled to be delivered in 2019 with 43 more to follow in 2020 before the order-book declines sharply.It is important to note that both the VLCC and Suezmax tanker order book as a percentage of the total fleet are at the lowest levels seen in over 20 years.The order book has been the biggest challenge for the tanker markets over the last 24 months. The removal of this overhang is positive, but a surge in new orders can of course quickly change this.Despite continued deliveries of newbuilding vessels in the short term


16 May 2019

Tanker Rates Firming Up: Frontline

The middle of the first quarter in 2019 saw tanker rates firming significantly, driven mainly by an increase in US exports, said Frontline Ltd. is the world's largest oil tanker shipping company.The tanker market pulled back in January due to OPEC production cuts and a high level of newbuilding deliveries after a strong end to 2018, it said.The market then came off primarily due to extended refinery maintenance in preparations for IMO 2020 and both new and persistent supply disruptions.Atlantic refinery maintenance is currently coming to an end and East of Suez refinery maintenance is coming off of peak levels.Crude oil demand forecasts remain healthy and largely unchanged since the start of the year.

10 May 2019

U.S. Shale: World’s 2nd Cheapest Source of Supply in Oil

North American tight oil is emerging as the second cheapest source of new oil volumes globally, just shy of the Middle East onshore market, Rystad Energy said.The U.S. shale oil was the world’s second most expensive oil resource just four years ago, the energy research and business intelligence company pointed out.“As the majors are struggling to replace conventional liquids, a wealthy source of additional resources is tight oil,” says Espen Erlingsen, Head of Upstream Research at Rystad Energy.Tight oil – such as onshore shale oil in the US – has witnessed an impressive turnaround over the last few years. In 2015, North American shale ranked as the second most expensive resource according to Rystad Energy’s global liquids cost curve


15 Apr 2019

BIMCO: US Seaborne Crude Oil Exports Hit Record High

ULCC_AdobeStock_CREDIT Jose Gill

US exports of crude oil have, since August 2018, continued to rise every month, with a new record high in January of 9.6 million tonnes. Exports rose in January on the back of increased sales to Europe, which rose from 2.7 million tonnes in December to 4.8 million tonnes in January.A strong end to 2018 meant that volumes for the full year totalled 87.4 million tonnes, 96.7% higher than the 44.4 million tonnes exported in 2017. This is good news for the crude oil tanker sector


03 Mar 2019

US Shale Firms Cut CapEx, Up Production

U.S. shale energy companies are cutting their spending levels in 2019, but they're still planning on increased oil and gas output."US shale companies expect to deliver an average of 15% growth in oil production in 2019 vs. 2018. At the same time, operators say they will cut capital spending by 5% this year," said an analysis from Rystad Energy.The  energy research and business intelligence company has analyzed the recently released earnings reports for the fourth quarter of 2018 from 45 US operators, which also included their guidance for production and capital expenditure in the year ahead.“Earnings and guidance confirm that most US shale operators aim to moderate drilling and completion activity this year


19 Feb 2019

As Traders Tussle Turkmenistan Cuts Exports

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A clash between trading house Vitol and Azerbaijan's SOCAR over Caspian Sea oil shipments is forcing Turkmenistan to slash exports of crude due to a lack of tankers.Turkmenistan typically exports about 200,000 tonnes of oil per month via the Caspian to world markets, mainly from fields operated by the UAE's ENOC and Italy's Eni, but flows have halved in recent weeks, six traders involved in operations said.That happened after Turkmen producers decided to export oil via Russia with the help of Swiss trader Vitol and ditch the previous Azeri route


08 Oct 2018

BY THE NUMBERS: U.S. Coast Guard - AWO Annual Safety Report

Issued at the National Quality Steering Committee (NQSC) meeting on July 31, 2018, the American Waterway Operators (AWO) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) issued their annual report that benchmarks and further serves as the annual safety report card for the domestic towing industry. This year, it comes at a particularly timely moment, just on the heels of the deadline for the so-called ‘subchapter M’ towboat rules.The NQSC uses three measures to track overall trends in safety and environmental protection. These useful indicators of towing industry trends include (a.) Crew fatalities per 100,000 towing industry workers, (b.) Gallons of oil spilled from tank barges per million gallons transported, and (c.) The number and severity of towing vessel casualties.

19 May 2017

Full Tanks & Tankers: A Stubborn Oil Glut Despite OPEC Cuts

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After the first OPEC oil production cut in eight years took effect in January, oil traders from Houston to Singapore started emptying millions of barrels of crude from storage tanks. Investors hailed the drawdowns as the beginning of the end of a two-year supply glut - raising hopes for steadily rising per-barrel prices. It hasn't worked out that way. Now, many of those same storage tanks are filling back up or draining more slowly than investors and oil firms had expected, according


22 Feb 2017

Indiana Ports set Quarterly Tonnage Record

The Ports of Indiana handled nearly 3.9 million tons of cargo during the fourth quarter of 2016, the highest quarterly shipment total in the organization's 55-year history. The total surpassed the ports' previous quarterly record set in the second quarter of 2015 by 300,000 tons. The state's three ports' shipped nearly 11.3 million tons in 2016, the second highest volume in history and the third consecutive year the ports exceeded 10 million tons annually. Since 2014, the Ports of Indiana has handled 34 million tons of cargo, the highest three-year total since Indiana's ports opened. Major cargoes included coal, steel, grain, fertilizer and limestone.

23 Sep 2016

VLCC Rates Under Pressure in Oversupplied Market

Owners face difficulty raising rates due to discounted ships. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are likely to remain under pressure next week as charterers drip-feed cargo in the face of surplus tonnage, shipbrokers said. "The market is going sideways. Owners are trying to lift rates but it is very difficult because there are a lot of discounted vessels available," a European supertanker broker said on Friday. These discounted ships include older vessels, tankers returning to service following dry docking and new deliveries from shipyards. Operators of these vessels accept cheaper rates so the ships can gain immediate employment.

16 Sep 2016

Asia Tankers-VLCC Rates to Climb on More MidEast, West Africa Liftings

VLCC rates from MidEast have reached a floor at W33; surging Suezmax rates could make VLCCs more attractive. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are set to climb next week as charterers ramp up tanker fixing activity from the Middle East while increased oil volumes from West Africa provided further support, ship brokers said. "Basra and Saudi Arabia cargoes are already starting to come out. Wednesday should see United Arab Emirates cargoes start, followed by Kuwait cargoes," said a Singapore-based VLCC broker on Friday. That came as rates from the Middle East to Japan slipped this week. "We've reached a floor in rates from the Middle East," the broker added. Rates are down to 33 on the Worldscale measure, equivalent to earnings of $14,000-16,000 per day.

18 Jan 2016

Port of Rotterdam Sets Record Throughput in 2015

The Port of Rotterdam reported record volumes 466.4m tonnes in 2015 boosted by increased oil trade. Goods throughput in Rotterdam increased by a total 4.9%. “Low oil prices result in high margins for the refineries, so they have large quantities of oil shipped in for refining,” Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement, adding that “this not only applies to the refineries in Europe but also to those in Russia. As a result of the healthy fuel oil volumes from Russia, as well as increased shipments of gasoil and diesel, oil product throughput at the port increased by 18%. LNG throughput nearly doubled but remained in absolute terms at 2.3 million mt “still small”, the port said.

18 Apr 2015

NCSP Group Cargo Traffic Up 6% in Q1 2015

Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port Group (NCSP Group or the Group) (LSE: NCSP, Moscow Exchange: NMTP) reports that Group’s consolidated cargo turnover in Q1 2015 increased by 2 million tonnes or 6.0% year-on-year reaching 35.6 million tonnes. Liquid cargo is up 1410 thousand tonnes or 5.2% year-on-year reaching 28 353.6 thousand tonnes. Bulk cargo grew by 180.5 thousand tonnes or 7.5% year-on-year totaling 2 583.1 thousand tonnes. General cargo increased by 543.1 thousand tonnes or 18.3% year-on-year to 3 510.5 thousand tonnes. Copntainer traffic in the reporting period totaled 118.1 thousand TEU and 1 178.5 thousand tonnes. «Cargo volumes have been growing for three months from the beginning of the year.

18 Feb 2015

China's VLCC, PetroChina Seals Crude Shipping Deal

China VLCC, a joint venture between China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) and Sinotrans&CSC, has signed a two-year crude shipping contract with Dalian-based West Pacific Petrochemical (Wepec), operated by PetroChina. The contract will be extended by one year with approvals from both parties, according to a stock exchange announcement filed by CMES. The shipping rates will be determined according to market levels. West Pacific Petrochemical is a refinery operated by PetroChina, while China VLCC is the largest very large crude carrier (VLCC) operator in China. China VLCC’s fleet has grown to 31 VLCCs with the delivery of two new vessels – New Prosperity and New Achievement – and the acquisition of secondhand, 2008-built New Enterprise.

06 Nov 2014

Sanctions Bite Russian Arctic Oil Shippers

Photo: United Shipbuilding Corporation

Shipping services that support Russia's attempts to extract oil from remote parts of the Arctic will run into difficulties as banks scale back energy financing due to Western sanctions, increasing transport costs for the frontier sector. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union over Ukraine have targeted the delivery of oil technology, goods and services, aiming to make it impossible for Moscow to access new oil sources. The world's largest energy exporter, Russia relies on oil and gas exports for about half its federal budget.