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Oil heads for weekly loss as Chinese need continues to underperform
Oil rates fell on Friday on indications demand in China, the world's greatest crude importer, continues to underperform amid its uneven economic recovery. Brent unrefined futures were down 65 cents, or 0.9%, at $ 71.91 a barrel by 0450 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 62 cents, or 0.9%, at $68.08. For the week, Brent is set to fall 2.7% while WTI is set to decrease 3.3%. While oil costs have actually somewhat stabilised around the $71.00. level of assistance this week, the absence of a concrete bullish. driver recommends that rate recovery remains lukewarm for now,. Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG, said in an email. The prospect of greater materials from the U.S. and OPEC+. together with doubts over China's economic recovery continue to be of concern, while the odds of a December. rate cut are now closer to a coin flip under a less dovish. Federal Reserve, Yeap added. China's oil refiners in October processed 4.6% less crude than a year previously, falling year-on-year. for a seventh month, amid the closures of some plants and. minimized operating rates at smaller independent refiners, data. from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. The decline in run rates occurred as China's factory output growth slowed last month and need concerns in its property sector. revealed few signs of abating although customer spending. increased, federal government data showed. Oil rates likewise fell today as major forecasters. indicated market fundamentals stayed bearish. The International Energy Agency anticipated global oil supply. will surpass demand in 2025 even if cuts remain in location from. OPEC+, that includes the Company of the Petroleum. Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, as rising. production from the U.S. and other outdoors manufacturers outpaces. slow need. The Paris-based agency raised its 2024 demand growth. forecast by 60,000 barrels each day to 920,000 bpd, and left its. 2025 oil need development projection little changed at 990,000 bpd. OPEC this week cut its projection for worldwide oil need growth. for this year and 2025, highlighting weakness in China, India. and other areas, marking the producer group's. fourth-consecutive downward revision to its 2024 outlook. U.S. unrefined stocks last week increased by 2.1 million. barrels, the Energy Info Administration (EIA) stated on. Thursday, a lot more than experts' expectations for a. 750,000-barrel increase. Gasoline stocks fell by 4.4 million barrels last week to the. least expensive given that November 2022, the EIA said, compared with. experts' expectations in a Reuters survey for a 600,000-barrel. develop.? Extract stockpiles, which include diesel and heating. oil, also fell suddenly by 1.4 million barrels, the information. showed.
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Qatar cuts Jan al-Shaheen oil term cost, sources say
QatarEnergy sharply cut the term cost for alShaheen petroleum loading in January, trade sources said on Friday, in line with a current fall in Middle East area premiums. The January term rate was up to 73 cents a barrel above Dubai quotes, the sources stated, down for a second straight month and at a multi-month low. The sources decreased to be named as they are not authorised to consult with the media. The term cost for December freights was at a premium of $ 1.93 a barrel. For its January tender, QatarEnergy offered 5 cargoes at premiums between 40 and 70 cents a barrel to Dubai quotes, the sources said. Japanese refiner Eneos bought 2 cargoes, while Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies, and Unipec took one each, they included. Traders stated QatarEnergy provided more area al-Shaheen crude in January as the term costs in some months this year were higher than area market levels, deterring trading companies from committing to full-year products. Spot premiums for Middle East crude have fallen sharply over the past one month, weighed down by demand weak point in China, the world's No. 1 crude oil importer.
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Saipem Secures $1.9B Subsea Work at TotalEnergies’ Suriname Field
Saipem has secured an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract by TotalEnergies for the subsea development of the GranMorgu field, offshore Suriname.Saipem’s scope of work under the contract worth $1.9 billion entails the engineering, procurement, supply, construction, installation, pre-commissioning and assistance for the commissioning and start-up of the subsea umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines (SURF) package.This includes the EPCI of approximately 100 km of 10-inch to 12-inch subsea production flowlines, 90 km of 8-inch to 12-inch water and gas injection lines, and the T&I of flexible risers, umbilicals and associated structures, at water depths ranging from 100 to 1,100 meters.For the offshore campaign, taking place in 2027 and 2028, Saipem will deploy a combination of S-Lay and J-Lay vessels, providing the optimal pipeline installation solution, the Italian company said.The full project, expected to last 5 years with a first oil in 2028, represents the first major subsea development in Suriname, and it is aimed at expanding the production of the block central area through a system of subsea wells connected to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.The FPSO will be built by SBM Offshore and Technip Energies.SBM Offshore and Technip Energies to Build TotalEnergies’ GranMorgu FPSOMoreover, Saipem will execute the project in cooperation with TechnipFMC, the company in charge of the subsea production system (SPS) and flexible risers and umbilical equipment packages, to optimize the integration between the mutual scopes of work.The two companies created the commercial alliance in 2021 for the pursuit of subsea projects including integrated SURF-SPS developments.TechnipFMC to Supply Subsea Trees for Suriname’s First Oil and Gas Field
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Asia naphtha supply expected to remain tight over next two years
Naphtha is anticipated to stay in short supply in Asia over the next number of years as more crackers come online and as need for blending the fuel with gas increases, industry executives and experts stated. Tight supply might support costs for the fuel and petrochemical feedstock and lift refiners' margins. However, raised naphtha rates will put more margin pressure on petrochemical makers which are facing weak need and increases in inventories for their products. In Asia, the naphtha deficiency compared to require is approximated at 1.73 million barrels each day (bpd) in 2025, and 1.51 million bpd in 2026, Vibhore Kotwani, an expert at PETCO Trading Labuan, a Petronas system, told the Condensate & & Naphtha Forum this week. That compares to 1.72 million for this year New crackers with a combined 18 million metric lots each year. in capacity will come online in Asia over the next two years, Kotwani included. These consist of projects by China's Wanhua Chemical in Yantai, Shandong province, ExxonMobil's job in Huizhou, Guangdong province and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical's new plant, he stated. Armaan Ashraf, an expert at consultancy FGE, said in locations like India, South Korea and Europe more naphtha has actually been directed to fuel mixing, a pattern most likely to continue next year as aromatics markets stay in surplus. Ashraf also said he anticipates naphtha supply to tighten in the very first quarter due to the fact that of prepared upkeep at refineries in the Middle East and India. Nevertheless, he included more supply might originate from Russia, with Novatek planning to improve exports after completing upkeep and growth while run cuts at petrochemical plants in Europe may help to fill the gap in Asia. Petrochemical market authorities, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to media, stated they were fretted about the potential for tighter supply next year and higher expenses. An authorities at a Thailand-based petrochemical producer said the company would need to cut runs if naphtha supply tightens and need for petrochemicals stays weak. Some companies noted that naphtha was not trading at a discount to condensate as it traditionally would. This year it is reversed, pushing us to utilize more condensate, said an official at an Indonesia-based refiner.
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New alumina products in 2025 poised to rupture record price rally
New capability for transforming bauxite into alumina due online next year is set to ease tight supplies and potentially halt a recordbreaking cost rally of the product utilized to make aluminium. Higher alumina rates outside China have turned the top producer and consumer into a net exporter this year from a web importer and boosted costs of aluminium, which is utilized in the transportation, construction and packaging markets. Disturbances in supplies of bauxite from Guinea and Brazil and output suspensions in Australia added to a 70% surge in alumina rates this year to a record 5,645 yuan ($ 779.77) per metric ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Aluminium rates are up around 7% this year. There doesn't appear to be an end to this tightness of alumina, not instantly, said Eivind Kallevik, CEO at Norwegian aluminium manufacturer Hydro. New alumina refineries anticipated to start up in Indonesia and India will include more loads to the market. International alumina products last year totalled 140 million metric loads, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the same from the previous year. More supply remains in the pipeline. In China, more than 13 million lots of new capacity is due to come online next year, according to info company Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). In India, Vedanta prepares to buy a plant with yearly capacity for 6 million tons of alumina by 2026. In Guinea, an arm of Emirates Global Aluminium prepares to build a 2 million tons-a-year alumina refinery, slated to open in September 2026. And in Indonesia, two state business prepare to double capacity at their refinery in West Kalimantan province to 2 million loads but have actually not specified a timeline. Meanwhile, raised alumina prices and greater revenue margins are anticipated to further incentivise usage of China's capacity, contributing to provide. China's alumina capacity of 102.7 million heaps is being utilised at a rate of 83.6%, SMM said. Alumina manufacturers have revealed strong desire to keep a high operating rate this year spurred by handsome profit margins, experts at China's state-backed research house Antaike said. However production might be affected if heavy pollution this winter season lasts a long time, exacerbating tight supply. LOOMING SURPLUS China's January-September alumina exports increased 33% from the exact same duration last year to 123.57 million tons, fetching an typical price of $541 a lot, about 10% more than the price on the Shanghai exchange over the exact same period. Some analysts, seeing a looming oversupply, forecast lower alumina costs for 2025. UBS anticipates a typical price of 3,600 yuan a ton in 2025, while Antaike pegs it at 4,000 yuan a heap. We anticipate China's alumina market to enter a supply glut from February and the rate will move as an outcome, said Sharon Ding, head of China basic materials at UBS. In China, SMM anticipates the market to swing to a surplus of 960,000 lots in 2025 from a deficit of 235,000 lots this year, while worldwide UBS expects a surplus of 890,000 heaps in 2025 following a shortage of 920,000 heaps in 2024. Surpluses in 2025 are most likely to be higher if need development slows since of a government-mandated cap of 45.5 million loads of aluminium production. SCARED BY DISTURBANCES This year's alumina deficits are due to multiple factors. U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa closed its Australian Kwinana refinery, with annual capability of 2.19 million loads, in the second quarter. In May, Rio Tinto stated force majeure on alumina from its refineries in Queensland, Australia. Its Yarwun refinery can produce 3 million tons of alumina each year. It did not respond to a Reuters request for an upgrade. Some big sources of alumina have actually been lost this year consisting of from Rio Tinto, which isn't anticipated to be back at typical production up until sometime early next year, said Liberum analyst Tom Cost. Last week, Alcoa halted bauxite deliveries from Juruti Port in Brazil due to a stranded vessel, adding to anxiety in a. market currently startled by export disturbances from Guinea. Flooding in Guinea previously this year minimal bauxite. deliveries, which again were interrupted by customs suspending. exports by Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), a subsidiary of. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA).
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Iron ore fails on China home troubles, heads for weekly loss
Iron ore futures prices fell for a 2nd straight session on Friday and were set for a. weekly decrease, as financiers weighed weakness in China's. residential or commercial property sector against firmer steel output. The most-traded January iron ore contract on China's Dalian. Product Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 1.84%. lower at 745.5 yuan ($ 103.06) a metric lot, decreasing 4.97% so. far today. The benchmark December iron ore on the Singapore. Exchange was 0.83% lower at $97.45 a lot, since 0330 GMT,. falling 4.18% so far this week. China's new home rates in October fell the most. year-on-year since 2015, while home investment decreased. 10.3% in the first 10 months of 2024 after dropping 10.1% in the. January-September duration, official information revealed. The weaker readings suggest a barrage of assistance measures. announced by China to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector. has had little effect up until now. Still, experts say Beijing's recent burst of economic. stimulus has actually increased belief and improved need in the. nation's steel market, which saw unrefined steel output rise 6.2%. in October from September to end a four-month slide. There has been a pick-up in steel and iron ore need from. non-property sectors, and increasing Chinese steel exports could. likewise offer some assistance, ANZ analysts stated in a note. With Beijing quite open about keeping its powder dry ahead. of possibly greater tariffs in 2025, we believe the possibility. of additional stimulus measures is high. This ought to keep. belief in the iron ore and steel market relatively. resilient, ANZ said. Other steelmaking active ingredients on the DCE traded sideways,. with coking coal down 0.39%, while coke was up. 0.1%. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange posted. losses. Rebar dropped 1.74%, hot-rolled coil. shed almost 1.3%, wire rod dipped 0.2% and stainless. steel declined 0.45%.
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China October aluminium output rises on firm need, higher rates
China's October aluminium output rose from a year previously, main information showed on Friday, with a firm need outlook and higher prices offsetting increasing basic material costs. The world's most significant aluminium producer produced 3.72 million metric lots of main aluminium last month, up 1.6%. year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Data showed. on Friday. In the very first 10 months of the year, China produced 36.39. million heaps, a rise of 4.3% from the same duration last year, the. information revealed. Smelters ramped up their operations this year as the market. turned more lucrative and demand enhanced. In October, the primary producing regions - Shandong, Xinjiang. and Inner Mongolia - kept strong operating rates, while. some new capacity was included the southwestern China, according. to regional media reports. Beijing's barrage of financial stimulus in late September and. procedures to restore its home market likewise boosted the. demand outlook for the light metal, utilized in construction,. transportation and packaging. The most-traded aluminium agreement on the Shanghai Futures. Exchange struck over 21,650 yuan ($ 2,993.56) per load. previously this month, a more than five-month high. Higher costs balance out rising production expenses, even with. costs of the key raw material alumina climbing as authorities. in Guinea suspended exports of bauxite, utilized to make alumina, in. a currently tight market. Regional information supplier Mysteel approximated aluminium. production expenses increased by 938 yuan per heap last month, nevertheless,. thanks to higher aluminium rates, typical revenues increased by. 128 yuan per load. Daily aluminium output in October balanced 120,000 tons,. lower than the average of 121,667 heaps in September, based on. Reuters' calculation. Southwestern China's dry season began this month, which will. lower hydropower supply and raise power rates, leading some. smelters to trim output. Production of 10 nonferrous metals - including copper,. aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel-- rose 0.6 % to 6.69 million. metric loads from a year earlier. Year-to-date output was up 4.7. % at 65.41 million metric heaps. The other non-ferrous metals are. tin, antimony, mercury, magnesium and titanium.
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Philippines braces for hurricane Man-yi as Usagi deteriorates
Hurricane Usagi damaged sharply on Friday after bearing down on the Philippines' northern towns, blowing away homes in its course as authorities brace for another storm that might hit the capital Manila over the weekend. Usagi, known locally as Ofel, magnified into an extremely tropical cyclone as it made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon. Philippine meteorological firm Pag-asa stated that Usagi has because weakened and is now headed towards Taiwan. Usagi is the 15th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year. Authorities are currently bracing for another typhoon, Man-yi, which might strike eastern towns and the capital area over the weekend as it continues to intensify in the western Pacific. Man-yi could become a supertyphoon on early Sunday, Pag-asa said. No casualties have actually yet been reported from Usagi, even as countless households living in vulnerable communities fled ahead of its arrival. Rueli Rapsing, head of the Cagayan disaster relief office, said town authorities are still penetrating the extent of the damage from the storm. There were more homes that were partly or totally blown after Marce (Tropical Storm Yinxing). Presently, we're moving around evaluating the damage, Rapsing said on Friday. Preemptive evacuations of vulnerable residents in Hurricane Man-yi's course will start on Friday. Pag-asa stated Man-yi's center was last estimated around 795km ( 494 miles) east of the central town of Guian in Eastern Samar province, and alerted of a storm surge of up to 3 metres (10. feet) in seaside towns of the central provinces. The Philippines is dealing with its sixth storm in a month,. primarily striking the main island of Luzon. Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoon Kong-rey brought heavy. flooding and triggered landslides, killing 162 people with 22. still missing out on, according to federal government information. Four storms churned in the western Pacific ocean at the exact same. time this month, the first time it has taken place given that records. began in 1951, the Japan Meteorological Company said. About 20 hurricanes strike the Philippines each year on. average, bringing heavy rains, strong winds and deadly. landslides.
Data shows that a rare LNG vessel is sailing through the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks
Just days after Houthi militants in Yemen sank the second vessel of their attacks that began last November, the first LNG tanker has been sailing through Red Sea since January.
Shiptracking data provided by LSEG and Kpler revealed that Asya Energy passed Yemen on Tuesday while travelling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, at the same time as the second vessel believed to have suffered a militant attack sank.
Olumide Ajayi, LSEG analyst, said: "Asya Energy's LNG tanker is the first LNG vessel to sail through Strait since January when LNG voyages across the Red Sea were suspended due to repeated rocket attacks."
He added that data showed the ship carried cargo.
After repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea area, most LNG tankers avoided the route. The attacks have spread to other waterways and are viewed as acts of solidarity between Palestinians and Israel in the Gaza war.
The Suez Canal connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, creating the shortest route between Europe, Asia and Africa. It is also connected to the Gulf of Aden via the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which runs between Yemen and Djibouti.
Kpler data indicates that Asya Energy, a company flying the flag of Palau, is headed to Gibraltar. It had previously docked at the Sohar Port in Oman.
The charterer of the ship was not immediately apparent.
Equasis showed that Lule One Services owns the ship and is managed by Nur Global Shipping. Both companies are based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Nur Global Shipping didn't respond immediately to a LinkedIn request for comment.
Could not find any contact information for Lule One Services.
Ana Subasic is a natural gas and LNG analyst with Kpler. She said that the Asya Energy could soon be the first vessel to make the Red Sea Passage since Jan. 12, after waiting along the coast of Oman from mid-January.
She said that the automatic identification system (AIS), which is a signal fed to our platform, shows the ballast ship has taken a course toward the Gibraltar Checkpoint. However, it's too early to make an accurate prediction.
We are watching it very closely and we're waiting for new raw signals from the market or other sources.
Leading industry groups have called on urgent action to stop Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Their first ship, the British-owned Rubymar on March 2, was sunk two weeks after it had been hit by missiles. (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton, Clarence Fernandez, Cassandra Yap. Additional reporting by Emily Chow)
(source: Reuters)