Oil & Gas Refining

Democratic U.S. Mark Kelly, a senator from the U.S. Senate, proposed to suspend the federal 18.4 cents per gallon gasoline tax until October 1, in an effort to 'help Americans facing rising?prices at the pump because of the U.S. AAA, an American travel agency that tracks fuel costs, reports a 35-cent increase in gas prices per gallon, to $3.32 on average, over the last week. According to political analysts, a persistent rise in gas prices may hurt the fellow Republicans of President Donald Trump in November's midterm elections. Kelly's proposal is a piece of legislation that will be introduced to...

New York Stock Exchange agreed to pay $9 million to settle U.S. Securities & 'Exchange Commission charges?over a computer glitch that disrupted the opening of the stock exchange in January 2023 and caused wild swings in prices for blue-chip stocks. The settlement reached on Friday stems from an incident that occurred in 2023 when the NYSE accidentally ran its primary and backup trading system Pillar Production, and Pillar DR (short for disaster recovery) at the same time. The SEC stated that the error caused the primary system to treat opening auctions of 2,824 of NYSE's 3,421?"listed securities" at the time,...

A government order revealed that India has invoked emergency powers to increase production of LPG in order to prevent a shortage after supply disruptions caused by the Middle East Crisis. Last year, the world's second largest importer of LPG consumed 33.15 millions metric tons of LPG. This is a mixture between propane and butane. About two-thirds (or 85-90%) of LPG is imported, and most of it comes from the Middle East. The order, issued late Thursday night, asked all oil refiners to "maximise their propane and butane supplies and use them for the production of LPG". The government has asked...

Citgo Petroleum, a U.S. refiner, reported an increase of 48% in its net profit last year to $452 millions. This was due to improved refining margins as well as a record-breaking crude processing rate of 760,000 barrels / day. If the U.S. Treasury Department approves the transaction, the seventh largest U.S. refining company, owned by Venezuelan, will be 'taken over by an Elliott Investment Management affiliate following a court ordered auction last year to pay creditors. Citgo's annual total throughput increased from 811,000 to 833,000 barrels per day (bpd) with a crude usage rate of 92% in 2018. This is...

The price of heavy crude oil produced in Americas soared to multi-year-highs on Wednesday as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran slowed down the exports of Middle East-produced oil. Prices also jumped in Europe and Africa for heavier grades. Brent crude is at its highest level since January 2025. In retaliation, Iran has threatened to fire at any vessel that passes through the shipping lanes of Strait of Hormuz near its southern coast. This has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off around one-fifth of the global oil supply and leaving hundreds anchored nearby. The price of heavy...

Exxon Mobil plans to send a team of technical experts?to Venezuela within a few weeks after working out the logistics and security arrangements. Jack Williams, senior vice president of Morgan Stanley, said that the U.S. Oil Major will work with Venezuelan Government and "we would be interested in returning" if the right terms for investment are in place. After U.S. troops?captured Maduro and removed him from office, President Donald Trump urged oil companies to invest $100 billion in Venezuela and rebuild its?energy sector. Exxon's assets in the country have been expropriated two times before, and the company says it needs...

HF Sinclair revealed in a filing that Atanas Atanasov has taken a 'voluntary leave from duty.' This comes just a week following a similar request by top boss Tim Go. In premarket trading, shares of the company dropped 4%. The company announced last week that it had begun an internal review of their disclosure processes. The company said on Friday that the review started on January 26 after Atanasov expressed concerns about certain actions taken by Go creating an "unfavorable" "tone at top" with respect to the 2025 disclosure process. At a later stage of the review the board expressed...

Four sources with knowledge of the talks say that the United States has slowed down the sale of the international assets owned by the Russian oil giant Lukoil to use as a bargaining tool in the Ukraine peace talks. A document reviewed by OFAC showed that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will extend to Thursday the deadline for transactions to be completed from February 28 to April 1. In recent weeks, U.S. and Russian government officials failed to make a breakthrough during talks in Geneva and Abu Dhabi, or in Miami, in order to negotiate a deal...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy's bid to quash a lawsuit filed by Boulder, Colorado officials who want to hold oil companies responsible for climate change. The Supreme Court heard an appeal from the companies against a ruling of the lower court that allowed the lawsuit to proceed. The lawsuit alleging violations of state law by the companies seeks unspecified damages for "costs incurred" by Boulder in mitigating climate change. Boulder is just one of the dozens of climate-related cases filed by U.S. states against companies that produce, extract, distribute, or sell fossil fuels....

U.S. officials say that they are in "active negotiations" to sell Venezuelan crude oil to India, helping India diversify their sources of crude oil. Sergio Gor, the Envoy to India said Friday. The U.S. made diversification from Russian crude an important condition to reducing tariffs on Indian goods, the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world. Gor, a reporter on the sidelines of a New Delhi event where India joined the U.S. led Pax Silica initiative to build a silicon supply for high-tech devices, said: "The Department of Energy speaks with the Ministry of Energy in this country....

Indian share benchmarks recovered from initial jitters to rise?by mid-day on Friday as heavyweight stocks clawed back some?of the previous session's loss. As of 12:11 p.m. IST, the Nifty '50?added 0.54%, to 25,592.6. The BSE Sensex rose 0.48%, to 82897.3. The indexes had dropped about 0.3% on the opening, adding to a drop of 1.5% in the previous session. This was their biggest single-day decline in over two weeks. 15 of 16 major sectors were higher. The small-caps, mid-caps, and large-caps all added 0.1% to 0.5% respectively. Naveen Vyas is the head of the?family office of Anand Rathi Global Finance....

Reliance and Adani, two of India's largest conglomerates, are increasing their investments in?AI infrastructure and data. Reliance has committed about $110 billion while Adani has pledged $100 billion. Both companies want to establish India as a hub for AI. India offers tax breaks to foreign companies operating out of domestic data centres. It also takes measures to attract more AI talent. Mukesh Amani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said that cheaper computing would spur innovation. His company wants to apply the same strategy it used in 2016 to disrupt the telecom industry by slashing prices for data and expanding access. The...

The first and most immediate impact of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran is a spike in diesel prices. This will increase costs for Brazilian farmers harvesting record soybean crops?and planting corn that they can't afford to delay. Brazil imports around 30% of its diesel needs. This leaves farmers vulnerable as fuel prices rise along with global oil costs, said representatives from major agricultural groups. The conflict occurs at a time when the demand for diesel in Brazil is at an all-time high. Farmers are harvesting the remaining fields, hauling soybeans for market and finishing the planting of 'the second corn...

Six sources with knowledge of the matter claim that Indian refiners have purchased millions of barrels from 'prompt Russian crude cargoes' to help the nation navigate a?oil shortage? triggered by conflict in the Middle East. The U.S. government has been pressuring New Delhi for months to stop buying Russian barrels in order to cut down on the money that Moscow uses to fund its war efforts in Ukraine. India's crude oil stocks are only enough to cover 25 days of its demand. India imports about 40% of its crude oil from the Middle East via the Strait of Hormuz. India...

The U.S. and Israel war against Iran has caused oil exports to Asia to be disrupted, forcing Asian refineries to 'cut runs' and petrochemical firms to declare force majeure. The latest news and developments are listed below: Zhejiang ?Petrochemical Corp, a major Chinese ?refiner ?backed by Saudi Aramco, has shut a 200,000-barrel-per-day unit, bringing forward maintenance in response to the Middle East conflict's impact on crude supply. Two industry sources said that FREP (Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co.), a Chinese refiner backed up by Aramco and operating its 80,000 bpd unit - the company's smallest – had shut down its...

Two traders reported that India's Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals declared force majeure for all future gasoline export cargoes due to the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted crude oil shipments from the Gulf. One of the traders stated that the company has already allocated two to three loads via tenders, for loading in early March. It is currently negotiating with buyers about these supplies. The trader said that MRPL has swap agreements with traders for receiving crude cargoes and supplying'refined fuel. The state-run refiner, which runs a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the ?southern state of Karnataka, exports about 40% of its...

Two traders said that India's Mangalore Refinery has declared force majeure for all gasoline exports due to the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted crude oil flows from the Gulf. Two traders who said they had received a notification from the company said that MRPL had invoked force majeure. This is a legal term that allows a business to invoke circumstances beyond their control in order to?not fulfill a contract' for its gasoline sales for March and April. The state-run ?refiner, which operates a 500,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the southern state of Karnataka, exports about ?40% of its refined fuel output....

Multiple regional trade sources reported that the cash differentials for jet fuel and diesel in Asia reached multi-year highs as the'markets priced in' the risks of supply disruptions as the conflict in Middle East intensifies. Jet Fuel Cash Differentials LSEG's pricing data showed that the session ended with a $4 premium per barrel. This was more than $2 above the previous close, and levels last seen in September of 2022. Diesel cash differentials The data revealed that premiums were around $4.25 per barrel, the last time they reached those levels was in November 2022. The refining margins for both gasoil...

Analysts say that the U.S. retail average gasoline price is set to surpass $3 per gallon for the first time since?more than 3 months on Monday as the conflict between Iran and the United States 'interrupts the global oil flow. Price inflation is a big concern for voters, and that could be a major problem for Donald Trump's Republican Party as we approach the November midterm elections. Trump has falsely claimed credit for lowering gasoline prices many times since he returned to office in 2017. Patrick De Haan is an analyst with GasBuddy, a retailer that tracks retail prices. He...

According to four sources who are familiar with the talks, the United States has slowed down?the sale?of the international assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil to use them as a bargaining tool in the Ukraine peace negotiations. A document viewed by OFAC showed that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will extend to Thursday the deadline for transactions to be completed from February 28 to April 1. In recent weeks, U.S. and Russian government officials failed to make a breakthrough during?talks held in Geneva, Abu Dhabi, and Miami, in order to negotiate a deal for peace in Ukraine....

According to trade sources, and LSEG data, the prices of liquefied petrol gas and?naphtha jumped on Thursday in Asia after Saudi Aramco halted the exports from a major terminal. This disrupted supplies to the area, and India is likely to be the worst hit. On Wednesday, Saudi?Aramco announced that it had halted LPG deliveries this week at its eastern terminal in Juaymah. This terminal is one of the largest exporters of butane and propane. It suffered structural damage to its delivery system on February 23, which was a result of a component being damaged. Fuel from the terminal near Aramco’s...

According to trade sources and LSEG, the prices of liquefied petrol gas and?naphtha jumped on Thursday in Asia after Saudi Aramco halted its exports from a major terminal, disrupting'supplies' to the region. Saudi Aramco announced on Wednesday that it had halted LPG deliveries this week at its eastern terminal in Juaymah. It is one of the largest exporters of butane and propane. A part of its delivery system was damaged by structural damage to an area of its delivery network on February 23. Fuel from the terminal near Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery and the Jafurah Gas Field is used to...

Iraq's Oil Minister said that Chevron is in exclusive talks with Lukoil to take over the West Qurna 2 oilfield. Iraq is seeking to increase its oil and gas production. Oil majors are competing to expand their operations, after years of political insecurity. Hayan Abdel-Ghani, the Oil Minister of Iraq, told Kurdish TV Rudaw in an interview that production could increase to 750,000-800,000. bpd once Chevron took over operations. The U.S. The?U.S. Iraq, which is the second largest oil producer in the OPEC+ Group, comprising Organization?of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, has plans to increase the...

QatarEnergy, the state-owned oil company, has increased the 'term price' for al-Shaheen crude loading in April, to the highest level in the last five months, according to?several sources?. This is due in part because the Middle Eastern market was supported by a better demand in India. According to the sources, the April term price of al-Shaheen oil was set at 87c per barrel according to Dubai's quotes. This is a significant jump from the March term price, which was 33c less per barrel. It was also the highest price since November. Spot premiums on Middle?Eastern oil have risen this month...