Exxon, Trafigura Tap Lower Freight Rates
U.S. crude exports to Asia, which have slumped due to record freight costs, stirred on Thursday as rates slid and the premium in Asia for Russia's ESPO Blend oil sent buyers back to U.S. grades, according to market sources.Oil shipping costs for United States Gulf Coast to Asia cooled this week from record highs on the prospect of more vessels becoming available. Nearly 300 oil tankers globally were placed off limits due to U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.Seventeen supertankers returned to service in October after being sidelined for overhauls, as 11 entered drydocks.
U.S. Sanctions Bite; Traders Shun 300 Tankers
Nearly 300 oil tankers globally have been placed off limits as companies fear violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, driving freight rates to new highs, industry sources said.The move has taken roughly 3% of the global oil tanker fleet out of the market, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon, sending rates soaring to secure tankers to ship oil, particularly to Asia."Freight rates are going through the roof and people are getting very nervous with the cost of shipping…
Buckeye Pipeline Quietly Makes Key Acquisition
Houston-based logistic firm Buckeye Partners has spent more than $3.5 billion buying assets since 2010, transforming itself from a quiet regional pipeline utility into an emerging energy powerhouse. But the acquisition that may best symbolize its evolution is one the company didn't tout to investors this summer: a Washington lobbyist. After spending most of the past century pumping fuel from one place to another, the 128-year-old company has become a key player in the import and export of North American oil, with an unrivalled network of East Coast and Caribbean fuel depots and an expanding business loading crude oil from trains to tankers.
Trafigura Seeks Investors for Texas Shale Storage Terminal
Global trader Trafigura AG is seeking potential investors to buy a stake in its oil terminal and storage facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, a once-quiet port that has become a bustling hub for shipping Eagle Ford shale crude. Trafigura, which like other big commodity merchants has in recent years moved to buy key infrastructure assets to support its trading business, bought Texas Dock & Rail in early 2012, just as Eagle Ford production was emerging as the next big U.S. shale play after North Dakota's Bakken. It has since built the facility, once home to a failed steel plant, into a major gateway for shipping rapidly growing U.S. oil production as far as Canada, with two deepwater tanker berths and an expanding suite of logistical assets.
Stena Bulk Appoints Kihlberg
Stena Bulk, an international tanker owner controlling a fleet of more than 75 tankers from seven offices in six countries, announced the appointment of Mr. Jonas Kihlberg to the position as Senior Vice President of the Stena Bulk Group Worldwide and Head of Stena Bulk LLC. In his position, Kihlberg will focus on expanding and strengthening the market presence and profitability in US/Central and South America. Kihlberg will take up his new role from Stena Bulk's offices in Houston, Texas, USA. Kihlberg returns to Stena Bulk after three years as Manager Chartering with the worlds 3rd largest independent trading house Trafigura AG and a year as Vice President of Skaugen Petrotrans.
