Ultra Light Oil News

Two tankers carrying Iranian condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, have been floating off the United Arab Emirates for about a month as demand for the oil fell ahead of U.S. sanctions.The tankers, carrying about 2.4 million barrels of South Pars condensate combined, have been floating off the UAE since August after South Korea halted imports from Iran while China's demand dropped during summer, according to several industry sources and shipping data.The build-up in Iranian oil supplies underscores the pressure that Iran is facing as Washington aims to bring Iranian oil exports down to zero to force Tehran to re-negotiate a nuclear deal.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Felicity loaded condensate at Iran's Assaluyeh port in early August and then set ail for Jebel Ali in the UAE…

Rising U.S. shale oil production will overwhelm the nation's refining capacity, with three-quarters of the additional oil produced in the United States by 2023 shipped to Europe and Asia, according to a new study by consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The research points to the continued impact of U.S. shale on global markets and the mismatch between domestic refining capacity and rising crude output. The oil could bottleneck at U.S. Gulf Coast ports unless new infrastructure is built, researchers said. U.S. refineries will absorb between 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 1 million bpd of the expected 4 million bpd of additional production to emerge from U.S. oil fields, Wood Mackenzie said in a study released on Monday.

Strong winds, high waves and toxic gases are hindering dozens of rescue boats struggling to locate missing sailors from a stricken oil tanker in the East China Sea and to extinguish a fire that has burned for the past three days on the ship. The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as 3 metres (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China's Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday. The flames were forcing the South Korean Coast Guard's search and rescue team to stay as far as 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the tanker, two South Korean officials told Reuters.

Iran's crude oil exports are set to decline 5 percent in November to a four-month low, a source with knowledge of its preliminary tanker schedule said, as low seasonal demand in Europe takes the edge off its post-sanctions export bonanza. Iran's oil exports typically hit a low around October or November each year, reflecting peak refinery maintenance seasons in Europe and in Asia. Next month, however, shipments to Asia look to be steady to higher as China's purchases rebound from an October dip to its lowest Iran imports for the year so far. Overall, OPEC's third-largest producer has been regaining market share at a faster pace than analysts had projected since sanctions were lifted in January…

South Korea, Asia's largest buyer of condensate, will step up purchases of the ultra light oil from Iran by more than 50 percent in June, two sources said, as competitive pricing squeezes out rival oil from Qatar. Expected June shipments of condensate from Iran may reach at least six million barrels, or 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), said the sources. This would be a record level of imports, four times that in January when sanctions on Tehran were lifted, according to data from Korea National Oil Corp. In contrast, condensate imports from Qatar in April have fallen to 5.32 million barrels, down 19 percent from January, KNOC data showed.

The first company to get U.S. government approval to ship minimally processed super-light oil to international markets is building its own export terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast aimed at topping off massive tankers to keep them full. Matthew Goitia, chief executive of privately held Peaker Energy, received the first U.S. government approval to export ultra-light oil known as condensate in September 2013, months before other companies followed suit to exploit the first cracks in the decades-old domestic crude export ban. But Goitia's efforts to put that approval into action faltered, as potential customers listened and then bypassed Peaker to connect their marketing teams directly with shippers. "We weren't big enough to really move the needle on them.

As traders speculate over what type of oil is being kept by Iran in floating storage, two Iranian oil officials said on Thursday that the oil was condensate and fuel oil. The millions of barrels on ships could be delivered quickly to Iran's customers once sanctions are lifted and some traders believe a substantial part is crude, making them concerned about its impact on a global market already suffering a supply glut. "There is no crude oil in our floating storage, only condensate and fuel oil," said one of the officials, who declined to be identified due to company policy. Another official also said no crude was being stored. World powers and Iran reached a landmark deal last week…

Iran says it is storing condensate and fuel oil, not crude; some traders believe crude is being stored. As traders speculate over what type of oil is being kept by Iran in floating storage, two Iranian oil officials said on Thursday that the oil was condensate and fuel oil. The millions of barrels on ships could be delivered quickly to Iran's customers once sanctions are lifted and some traders believe a substantial part is crude, making them concerned about its impact on a global market already suffering a supply glut. "There is no crude oil in our floating storage, only condensate and fuel oil," said one of the officials, who declined to be identified due to company policy. Another official also said no crude was being stored.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as concerns about demand for fuel kept worries about a global supply glut intact. Both Brent and U.S. crude significantly pared losses just before government data showed U.S. crude oil inventories fell 1.8 million barrels last week, a bigger drop than analyst expectations for a 100,000-barrel dip in stocks. After initially paring more losses, crude futures pushed lower. U.S. gasoline stocks rose 3.0 million barrels and distillate stocks were up 1.9 million barrels last week, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed, as refiners lifted capacity utilization 0.9 percentage point to 94.4 percent. The EIA data followed American Petroleum Institute data released on Tuesday that showed an increase in U.S. stockpiles.

The U.S. Commerce Department has taken a small step toward resolving some two-dozen pending requests to export lightly processed oil this summer, asking energy companies to fill out a one-page questionnaire about their plans, sources familiar with the document told Reuters. The nine questions may help the department map out a further easing of the four-decade old ban on crude exports. In August, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) sent a standard set of nine questions to companies that had requested rulings on whether they could export an ultra-light oil called condensate, people who had seen the questionaire told Reuters. Those requests have been "held without action" since July, effectively removing any time frame for a decision, Reuters has reported.

3rd U.S. condensate export cargo heading to Singapore; Pioneer expects exports to rise to 50,000 bpd next year. Eyes exports of bigger cargoes to reduce freight costs. Pioneer Natural Resources plans to double its U.S. exports of condensate, an ultra-light oil, to 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) next year, its chief executive said on Monday. The U.S. shale resources explorer, along with Enterprise Product Partners LP, received the green light from the U.S. government in March to ship the ultra-light crude as the country softened a 40-year ban on oil exports. "We operate 50,000 bpd and we're selling probably about 20-25,000 bpd, but eventually we'll get up to 50,000 bpd," Scott Sheffield told Reuters, saying this would happen next year.

Petchem producers unlikely to buy due to impurities in oil. Big middle distillates yield, less naphtha, LPG; wide variance in API gravities in assays, samples. Tests on samples of the same type of U.S. condensate now heading to South Korea and Japan have raised questions about the ultra-light crude's suitability for use in Asia, sources said, making some potential buyers wary about taking the oil. The uncertainty could delay a rapid build-up in the flow of U.S. condensate to Asia after the arrival of the first exports of U.S. crude in 40 years. Asian refiners and chemical producers will have to first determine the best use for the ultra-light oil before starting to buy in large volumes.

A U.S. energy company has found a second buyer in Japan for its condensate, an ultra-light oil, paving the way for more excess barrels from the United States to head to Asia to meet growing demand. Enterprise Product Partners has signed a short-term contract to sell condensate to Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corp, less than two weeks after it sold its first cargo to Japanese firm Mitsui Corp, four Asia-based sources said. The first cargo to Mitsubishi may load in September and could be of a bigger volume than the 400,000-barrel cargo that Mitsui will be lifting later this month, one of the sources said. Mitsubishi's contract is for loadings over a few months and the company has the option to extend the deal, he said. Mitsubishi declined to comment on the deal.

The White House said on Wednesday there had been no change to U.S. policy on exports of crude oil. White House spokesman Josh Earnest made the comments after reports on Tuesday that U.S. officials have told energy companies they may export a variety of ultra-light oil if it has been minimally refined, an apparent marginal loosening of a decades-old ban on selling U.S. crude abroad. Earnest suggested the reports had been misleading. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; Editing by Doina Chiacu)