Oil & Gas Refining

Russia, which is the second-largest oil exporter in the world, is considering how it will respond to U.S. sanction against top oil companies Rosneft, and Lukoil, and to the possibility of reduced sales to India, its largest buyer. Since months, President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have been discussing a way to end the conflict. However, there has not yet been a breakthrough. What did the U.S. do? The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, imposed sanctions against Rosneft, Lukoil and several of their subsidiaries on October 22, while calling on Moscow to agree...

Valero Energy, a U.S. refiner, surpassed Wall Street's expectations on Thursday for its third-quarter profits. This was due to a rebound in the refining margins. After two years of record profits, the refining margins rebounded in 2024 from their multi-year lows. This was due to refiners taking advantage of supply shortages that were caused by geopolitical tensions affecting Ukraine. U.S. refinery profit margins measured by the 3-2-1 Crack Spread In the third quarter, grew by nearly 29% in average compared to a year ago, aided by high diesel and gasoline margins, boosted both from robust demand and low inventory. The...

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it was looking to purchase 1 million barrels of oil to be delivered to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It is hoping to take advantage of the relatively low prices of oil to replenish the stockpile. Former President Joe Biden's administration sold record amounts from the SPR. This included a 180 million barrel sale in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, one of world's largest oil producers. The reserve has a capacity of 700 million barrels, but currently holds nearly 409 millions. The administration of President Donald Trump has sought to replenish the...

Bidders pursue the parent company of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Creditors waiting to receive proceeds from the court ordered auction clashed on Tuesday in Delaware over which offer would be approved at the end of two years. The court is trying its best to finish the auction in order to compensate up 15 creditors for defaults on debts and expropriations that occurred in Venezuela. Citgo Holding, Citgo's parent company, was found responsible for Venezuela's debt in the eight-year long case. Citgo and Venezuela lawyers asked the court to reject the $5.9 billion offer of an affiliate of Elliott Investment...

Four sources said on Tuesday that Oliver Bowen, Glencore's global director of naphtha trade, was set to leave the company for Vitol. He is the latest high-ranking trader to leave the London listed commodities trading and mining firm since recent months. One source said that Bowen would start working at Vitol in November and supervise the European naphtha business of the world's biggest commodities trader. Sources requested anonymity in order to discuss confidential information. Bowen was not available for comment. Vitol, Glencore and Glencore refused to comment. Bowen's departure comes at a time when Glencore is undertaking a wider reorganization...

A lobbying group, whose board of directors includes U.S. companies like Oracle.com, Amazon.com and Exxon Mobil, is calling on the Trump administration suspend an executive order that it claims has halted U.S. exports worth billions of dollar and will lead China and other countries drop U.S.-based firms from their supply chain. The National Foreign Trade Council, in a letter to President Donald Trump, and seen by, takes aim at what is known as the Affiliates Rule. This rule prohibits American companies from supplying goods and technology, to companies that are part-owned, by sanctioned companies. In a letter dated October 3,...

The Brazilian environmental agency Ibama has given the green light to state-owned oil company Petrobras for exploratory research, including drilling wells in the Foz do Amazonas area, near the mouth the Amazon River, according to a firm statement released on Monday. Petrobras has said that the drilling will begin immediately and should last for around five months. They also added that at this time, they won't be producing oil. Petrobras considers the area in deep water off the coast of Amapa to be its most promising oil frontier. It shares geology with the nearby Guyana where Exxon Mobil has developed...

Gold Reserve, a Toronto-listed company, accused the firms that advised a U.S. Court on the auction for Citgo Petroleum parent's parent that they received $170 million from parties who would receive proceeds and a bidder recommended as the winning party. These accusations are just the latest twist to an auction which has been dragging on for almost two years. They could also threaten to slow down further. The Delaware court began to discuss the fees on Monday following Gold Reserve's Motions earlier this month. Gold Reserve wanted to disqualify a judge and court officer overseeing the auction, as well as...

Sources in the trade said that two Indian refiners bought 4,000,000 barrels of Guyanese oil from Exxon Mobil, a U.S.-based major, to be delivered by the end of 2025, or early 2026. This is a rare import from the South American producer. Indian Oil Corp., the largest refiner in the country by capacity, purchased 2 million barrels (or a grade of crude oil called Golden Arrowhead) for its first purchase. The shipment will arrive late December or early January. Sources said that Hindustan Petroleum Corp., another refiner, had purchased Liza and Unity Gold for the first time. 2 million barrels...

Five sources said that an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management wanted to cut costs in Citgo Petroleum, a Venezuelan-owned refiner, while a unit from Gold Reserve was mainly focused on maintaining the statusquo. This is as the long auction which will determine the refiners' future approaches its end. The details of the competing visions of Citgo were revealed ahead of an auction to select the winner of PDV Holding, Citgo's parent. The Delaware court ordered the auction of shares to be held to pay for Venezuelan debt defaults, expropriations and other damages. The judge will decide next week who wins...

Gold Reserve, a Toronto-listed company, said that it filed motions on Friday to disqualify the court officer overseeing the auction of shares of Citgo Petroleum's parent company in Venezuela as well as the two advisory firms for the Delaware court. The miner is trying to stop the court from declaring the $5.9billion bid of rival Amber Energy, a hedge fund affiliate, Elliott Investment Management as the winner of the auction, since its own $7.9billion bid was not recommended by the court in August. Gold Reserve is among 15 creditors who are lining up for the cash proceeds of an auction...

According to lawmakers and officials, the majority of the European Parliament's member groups reached an agreement late Wednesday night to further cut the EU's Corporate Sustainability Law. Last year, the European Union adopted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires companies to address human rights and environment issues in their supply chains or face fines up to 5% of their global turnover. After a backlash from Germany, France, the United States, Qatar and Exxon Mobil, Brussels is now working to simplify the rules. Jorgen Warborn is the EPP member leading the negotiations. He said that a key change...

The Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Thursday that Brian Kemp, governor of Georgia in the U.S., will meet with South Korean leaders of business this week. This includes executives from Hyundai and LG Energy Solution. Kemp's trip comes after U.S. Immigration authorities raided in September the construction site of an under-construction battery plant in Georgia owned jointly by Hyundai Motor, LGES and LGE. After a week-long negotiation between South Korea, the United States and South Korea, hundreds of South Koreans were arrested on suspicion of working without visas. The local public relations agency that handled Kemp's visit refused to comment....

Saudi Aramco announced on Thursday that it had acquired a 22,5% stake in the joint venture for refining and petrochemicals Petro Rabigh, from Japan's Sumitomo Chemical. The acquisition is part of the turnaround plan for this loss-making venture. This agreement increases Aramco’s stake in Petro Rabigh from about 40% to 60%. It is part of an effort to improve the performance at the joint-venture, which has suffered significant losses over recent years due to a difficult global market for petrochemicals. According to calculations, Petro Rabigh's last full-year profit was in 2021. Since then, the company has accrued net losses totaling...

Taiwan's Economy Minister said on Wednesday, that private refiners would be willing to stop purchasing Russian naphtha if the EU asked them. This comes after a group non-governmental organizations criticized the island's continuing business with Russia. Taiwan, along with the United States, major Western allies, and other countries, put broad sanctions against Russia in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine, but it did not ban explicitly imports, which are a major source of hard currency for Russia. A group of NGOs, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air(CREA), criticised Taiwan for its continued imports Russian naphtha last...

Sinochem, a Chinese company, is willing to sell its Pirelli shares - but only if they are offered at a premium. This comes after the Italian government announced this week that Sinochem had not violated the rules protecting the autonomy of the tyre manufacturer. Rome is trying to resolve a dispute over governance that has affected Pirelli for years. Sinochem, Pirelli’s largest shareholder, is at odds with Camfin, another investor. Pirelli and Camfin complained that the fact that a Chinese company was its largest shareholder was preventing the tyre manufacturer from expanding in the U.S., because Washington is tightening restrictions...

Lithium Argentina’s Cauchari-Olaroz Project in northern Argentina aims to produce 85,000 tons of battery metal per year by 2029. This is more than triple the output last year, according to Executive Vice President Ignacio Celorrio. This is one of six projects in Argentina that produce lithium, which is used to make batteries for electric cars. Lithium Argentina (listed in Canada and the U.S.) and Ganfeng Lithium, a Chinese company, are developing Cauchari-Olaroz in the Lithium Triangle, which spans Argentina and Chile, as well as Bolivia. Celorrio, speaking on the sidelines a lithium-related conference in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, said that...

On Thursday, a U.S. court upheld the validity and the 2020 bonds of Venezuelan oil company PDVSA. This led to the suspension of an auction of shares of the parent company of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refining firm Citgo. The bonds are secured by a majority stake in Citgo, which is ultimately owned by Caracas-headquartered PDVSA. The company defaulted in 2019 on the bonds, putting the refiner under threat of seizure from creditors. Since years, bondholders and companies expropriated by Venezuela have been fighting in U.S. courtrooms for the country's assets abroad, including Houston-based refiner Citgo Petroleum valued at $13 billion. Venezuela...

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co reported a net loss for the first six months of 2025 due to lower demand in refining products and chemical products. According to the report, Sinopec posted a net loss between January and June of 462.1 millions yuan (64.40million dollars). This compares to a profit of 27.9 millions yuan the previous year. Net sales fell 10.66%, to 33.498 billion Yuan, while sales of chemicals and refining products were down 16.14% and 3.21 %, respectively. The company stated that the market is still challenging with a strong supply and a weak demand. New-energy vehicles are increasing in...

Multiple sources confirmed on Friday that China's Changyi Petrochemical (recently sold by the state-owned Sinochem Group) has been granted a crude oil import quota until 2025. The company used this quota to purchase Brazilian oil. Three sources confirmed that the refiner in Shandong was allocated 2.5 million metric tonnes (18 million barrels), on a prorated scale, for the rest of the year. The sources claim that Changyi has a right to 5,000,000 tons for a whole year. Changyi declined comment. Hongrun declined to comment on a phone conversation, and the company didn't immediately respond to e-mail requests. The Commerce Ministry,...

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian retailer, announced on Wednesday that it had withdrawn its $47 billion bid to acquire Seven & i Holdings. The company cited a lack "constructive engagement" with the Japanese family who founded the Japanese firm. Couche-Tard's attempt to merge Circle K and 7-Eleven into a global convenience-store giant with 20,000 stores ended after a year-long effort. In an effort to reduce regulatory obstacles, it had also agreed on a plan to sell stores. In a letter addressed to the board of directors, Couche-Tard stated that "we have sought to have a dialogue with the Ito Family on...

The use of giant shovels, driverless vehicles and a robot that looks like a dog have helped Canada's Oil Sands companies, including Imperial Oil and Suncor, become some North America's low-cost oil producers. This has been achieved despite the fact that U.S. Shale costs rose due to the highest inflation rates in decades. Canada's oil sands sector is in a strong position as the global oil market enters a downward spiral due to economic uncertainty caused by U.S. Tariffs and OPEC+ pumping out more barrels. International oil majors such as BP, Chevron, and Total sold their oil sands interests after...

A senior Reliance Industries official stated on Friday that India must increase its petrochemical capacity to meet the local and global market demand, and to contain China's increasing dominance in the sector. The margins on petrochemicals have been shrinking around the globe as China's capacity growth has created an excess. Some refiners can produce petchems up to 40-50% of the total output, which is more than twice what India typically produces. India's petrochemical consumption for now is only a fraction of global average, but it is expected to increase as the nation's economy grows. Many analysts believe that India's economy...

Seven & i Holdings, a Japanese company, announced on Thursday that its operating profit rose by 9.7% during the quarter from March to May, exceeding analysts' expectations, thanks to an improved performance of its overseas convenience store business. 7-Eleven is being pressured to improve its financial situation in response to a takeover offer of $47 billion from Alimentation Couche-Tard, based in Canada. Six analysts polled at LSEG estimated 58 billion yen as the profit for the first quarter. The Japanese retail giant announced previously a share purchase, that it is selling non-core assets and intends to list its North American...