Oil & Gas Refining

Two people familiar with the situation said that fashion retailer Shein, along with partner Reliance Retail, plan to expand their Indian suppliers and begin overseas sales of India made Shein branded clothing within six to twelve months. The China-founded, Singapore-headquartered e-commerce firm has been discussing plans with the Indian retailer since before the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese imports that intensified the need to diversify sourcing, the people said. They said the goal is to increase Indian suppliers from 150 to 1,000 within a single year. Shein issued a statement in which it said that its trademark was licensed for...

Sources said that the Italian government has refused to heed Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli's vice-chairman and executive vice-chairman's request for tighter restrictions on Pirelli's Chinese investor. Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned company, is Pirelli's biggest investor. Sinochem holds 37% of Pirelli while Tronchetti Provera owns 27.3% through its Camfin vehicle. Tronchetti-Provera, the company's CEO for over three decades, is Tronchetti-Provera. Sinochem and Pirelli are at odds, with Camfin claiming that Sinochem's substantial holding is a threat to Pirelli’s ambitions of expanding its business in the United States. Washington has cracked down on Chinese automotive technology by banning software and hardware that...

The ethics watchdog of Norway's $1.9 trillion fund is reviewing the practice by Israeli banks to underwrite Israeli settlers' commitments to build houses in the occupied West Bank. This review could lead up $500 million in divestments. The Council on Ethics (a public body established by the Ministry of Finance) has decided to not object to the Fund’s investments in platforms like Airbnb, which offer rentals in Jewish settlements. The Norwegian parliament has set ethical guidelines for the companies in the portfolios of the largest wealth fund in the world. Svein Brandtzaeg, the Council's head in an interview on May...

In recent weeks, refiners around the world have made unexpected profits by producing fuels that are essential to summer demand. This is a welcome respite for a sector in trouble, before a predicted weakening of this year. Fuel markets are strong in contrast to crude oil prices that fell in May to a 4-year low after OPEC+ increased output faster than expected. This also indicates that demand has remained resilient despite concerns over tariffs. Neil Crosby, analyst at Sparta Commodities, said that margins are high because supply and demand balance is tight. The refining margin is the profit a refinery...

Chevron shareholders rejected three shareholder proposals at the annual meeting of the U.S. Oil Producer on Wednesday. One proposal called for a human rights report, and the other one demanded a company report. Exxon Mobil, the larger competitor, faced no resolutions from investors for the first times in decades. Due to a lack of interest from investors, there have been fewer ESG resolutions this year than in 2024 or 2023. Investors have shifted their focus to oil and natural gas due to lower-than-expected returns on renewable energy projects. Investors in Chevron rejected a proposal that would have permitted holders of...

According to a Tuesday filing, a U.S. Federal Judge has extended until at least June 2, the deadline for rival bidders to enter bids during a court-organized sale of shares of Citgo Petroleum's parent company. Citgo Petroleum is owned by Venezuela. Last month, Delaware Judge Leonard Stark accepted a $3.7billion offer from Contrarian Funds affiliate Red Tree Investments, as the opening bid for the auction of shares. The auction was intended to compensate 15 creditors who were affected by debt defaults and expropriations. Red Tree and other rival consortia were given until the 28th of May to submit their submissions...

The CEO of the Pirelli group told Corriere della sera that the Italian tyre manufacturer is in a dangerous situation because its Chinese major shareholder Sinochem has rejected the company's proposal to resolve governance issues which could hamper its expansion in the United States. Pirelli, and its second largest shareholder, Italy's Camfin have stated that Sinochem's stake in the company poses a risk to Pirelli's ambitions of expanding into the U.S. where some legislators are against approving projects supported by Chinese companies. Pirelli's Chinese shareholders rejected the company's proposal earlier this month, despite it not being detailed. In an interview...

Phillips 66 is expected to lay off most workers at its 139,000-barrel-per-day Los Angeles-area refinery in December, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The company announced that it would shut down the facility in October and start winding down its operations in October 2025. Two months later, the company will start reducing its workforce. About 600 employees work at the Los Angeles facility, along with 300 contractors. The United Steelworkers Union represents over half of the hourly employees. Sources said that a few of the retained employees will be transferred to Phillips 66 Los Angeles Marine Oil Terminal....

The U.S. Oil License in Venezuela expires on May 27, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a late-night post on his X account. The license of the U.S. company Chevron to operate in Venezuela was due to expire on May 27. Rubio wrote that "the pro-Maduro Biden #Venezuela oil license will expire on Tuesday, May 27 as scheduled." Requests for comments on Rubio’s post were not immediately responded to by the State Department or Treasury Department. Richard Grenell is the envoy of Donald Trump, U.S. president. Two sources said that Jorge Rodriguez, head of Venezuela's ruling party allied legislature...

Two people familiar with Wednesday's preliminary vote reported that Elliott Investment Management, an activist hedge fund, had won enough support from Phillips 66's shareholders to win two board seats in the U.S. refiner's U.S. board of directors. This is one of the biggest corporate battles of this year. Elliott wants Phillips 66, a major refiner in the United States, to sell certain assets and become a pure play refiner. It also wants to improve Phillips 66's performance within its refining division and corporate governance. This year, it sought to bring four new members to its board. The preliminary voting results...

In a joint statement, the Angolan government and Chevron said that 17 people, including four serious injuries, were injured when a fire broke in the early morning hours of Tuesday on the deep-water Benguela, Belize, Lobito, Tomboco oil platform. Investigations are currently underway to determine the cause of a fire that occurred on the basement level of the multi-storey production platform of Block 14 in the Block 14 concession, some 60 miles (97 kilometers) off the coast of Cabinda. Angola's National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels issued a statement referring to the injured. Chevron stated that the incident took...

Phillips 66 announced on Thursday that it would sell a 65% share in its German-Austrian fuel retail business, valued at $2.8 billion. The U.S. refiner is attempting to simplify its portfolio under pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Elliott, which owns a $2.5-billion stake in Phillips 66 has been pressing for major changes to the company. This includes the possible spin-off or sales of its midstream businesses. It is also seeking to refresh its board to align its strategic goals. Elliott did not respond immediately to a question about the divestment. Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, two proxy...

Origin Energy, Australia, downgraded its annual forecast on Monday due to the unseasonably warm temperatures in Britain during March and April, as well as one-off effects. This sent its shares to an almost one-month-low. The shares of the Sydney-based firm fell by around 4.4% at 0508 GMT after reaching their lowest level since the first of May earlier in the day. The benchmark ASX200 index was flat. Origin now expects to lose up to A$100m ($65.19m) on its annual earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation. Origin estimated that it could contribute up to A$100m, while the EBITDA was only A$55m...

The Italian tyremaker Pirelli announced on Wednesday that the talks to repair relations with Sinochem, its largest shareholder in China, ended without any breakthrough. Pirelli, and its second-largest shareholder, Italy's Camfin have claimed that Sinochem's stake in the company is hindering Pirelli's ambitions for expansion in the United States. Some lawmakers there are against projects backed by Chinese firms. Pirelli stated in April that Sinochem no longer controls the company because of the Italian government's decision to "golden power" the company by 2023. Sinochem, however, denied this claim. Pirelli announced on Wednesday that "the proposals extended to Sinochem by Pirelli...

Industry sources have confirmed that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will begin replacing some of its liquefied gas supplies to India from June with cheaper U.S. cargoes, as U.S. China tariffs are reshaping global trade flows. ADNOC will be able to ship more LPG from its own production to China. Buyers in China are paying higher prices to replace U.S. supplies after Beijing raised tariffs on U.S. products. This move also reduces LPG costs for India. 2 importer. India imports more than 80% its LPG from the Middle East including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It also sources...

Industry sources have confirmed that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will begin replacing some of its liquefied gas supplies to India from June with cheaper U.S. cargoes, as U.S. China tariffs are reshaping global trade flows. ADNOC will be able to ship more LPG from its own production to China. Buyers in China are paying a higher price to replace U.S. supplies after Beijing raised tariffs on U.S. products. This move will also reduce LPG prices for India, which is the No. 2 importer. India imports more than 80% its LPG from the Middle East including Saudi Arabia and the...

Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner, has resumed its purchases of Russian crude oil following a short pause in last month to assess the risks posed by sanctions imposed on Russian entities by the United States, according to trade sources on Wednesday. Sources said that Unipec, a trading division of China's state run Sinopec, had purchased Russian Far East ESPO blend oil for May loading, after being absent from the March and April loading ESPO cargoes. Unipec's decision to resume purchases was not immediately apparent. Sinopec didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Sources claim that the number of cargoes purchased...

Republican lawmakers who are working to extend President Donald Trump’s tax cut legislation face a clean-energy dilemma at home. Major clean energy investments are being made in their districts, but Trump’s skepticism about the industry is at odds. The Ways & Means committee of the House of Representatives, which is responsible for drafting the tax legislation to extend the 2017 tax cuts, has 11 Republicans who represent regions that have seen green energy investments of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars over the past few years. Clean energy investments boomed after former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act passed...

On Monday, the price of Russia's ESPO blend oil fell below $60 per barrel Western cap for the first ever time as Brent international benchmark dropped to its lowest levels in many years. Calculations based on data from three trading sources showed this on Tuesday. Brent futures dropped $1.37 or 2.1%, to settle at $64.21 a barrel on Monday. This is the lowest price since April 2021. According to three traders who were involved in the market for ESPO blend oil, the price of the grade was a few dollars below $60 per barrel at the Kozmino port loading basis....

Seven & i Holdings, a Japanese retailer, is expected to report a 24% decline in its quarterly profit on March 28, as the underperformance of its convenience stores hampers its ability fend off a Canadian takeover bid by Alimentation CoucheTard. Seven & i will likely book an operating profit of 94.45 trillion yen (US$639.52 millions) for the period December-February. This is according to a LSEG average of eight analyst predictions. This compares to 124.23 bn yen for the same period last year. 7-Eleven's profits have fallen in recent quarters, as its domestic convenience stores underperformed their competitors. Its North American...

U.S. banks, oil companies, and tech giants all extended their losses on Friday, after Beijing responded with an additional 34% duty on U.S. products. This heightened investor concern over a escalating trade war, which has led to fears of a global recession. Beijing's tariffs will go into effect on April 10. Beijing also announced restrictions on the export of heavy and medium rare-earths and added 11 U.S. companies to its "unreliable entities" list. Tesla and Apple, two of the companies that have the most revenue exposure to China, both saw their shares plummet by more than 6%. Alphabet and Microsoft...

Maruzen Petrochemical in Japan, a subsidiary of Cosmo Energy Holdings will close its ethylene plant in Chiba during the fiscal year 2026/27 and consolidate its production at Keiyo Ethylene - its joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical - the companies announced on Tuesday. The three companies released a joint statement saying that the move is intended to improve the utilization rate of Keiyo Ethylene. Keiyo Ethylene is owned by Maruzen and Sumitomo, respectively. Low operating rates have plagued Japanese ethylene plants due to a global oversupply caused by China's large-scale capacity expansions, as well as a declining domestic market. Energy transportation...

At a Beijing business forum on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for countries to expand their markets in order to combat the "rising uncertainty and instability" as China prepares to face further U.S. trade tariffs. State media reported that Li said, "In an increasingly fragmented and uncertain world, with rising instabilities and uncertainties, it's more important for countries to open their markets and enterprise... to resist challenges and risks." He was speaking to dozens of visiting U.S. Republican senator Steve Daines and dozens other foreign CEOs at the China Development Forum. Sources previously said that foreign CEOs, including Tim...

Trade sources reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's crude shipments to China, its largest customer, will drop to the lowest level for more than a full year in April. This is partly due to maintenance programs at Sinopec-owned Chinese refineries. Data shows that the OPEC producer, Saudi Arabia, allocated 34 million barrels to its Chinese clients in April, down from 41 millions barrels the previous month. China's drop in demand for Saudi crude oil is despite the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies agreeing to continue with their plan to increase production in April. Sinopec intends...