Oil & Gas Refining

A release of fluid set off an explosion and ensuing fire ?that forced the temporary shutdown of ?Valero Energy Corp's 380,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery ?in ?Port Arthur, Texas, according to a notice the company filed with state pollution regulators on Tuesday. The people reported that no injuries were reported in connection with the explosion of the Unit 243 Diesel Hydrotreater (47 000 bpd) unit. The date for the restart of the refinery has not been announced. Valero filed a notice with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Tuesday night stating that an unpredicted release of fluid from Complex 2...

Valero Energy Corp completed the temporary shutdown of ?its 380,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in ?Port Arthur, Texas, on ?Tuesday ?following a Monday night explosion and fire in a diesel hydrotreater unit, people familiar with the plant operations said. The explosion of the diesel hydrotreater unit 243, which produces 47,000 bpd, did not cause any injuries. The date for the reopening has not been announced. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said that the cause was unknown but they did not believe it to be an intentional act intended to?damage the refinery. Donta Miller said, "No, it's not that," when asked whether there was...

The spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff's office said on Tuesday that no 'evidence' has been found to indicate a deliberate act as the cause of the explosion which occurred at Valero Energy Corp's Port Arthur refinery in Texas. Donta Miller is the chief deputy of?the sheriff’s office. On Monday night, 'people familiar with the plant operations' said that they could feel an explosion from a diesel-hydrotreater 11 miles away (18 km). Valero closed down the refinery in order to prevent the fire from being fueled by hydrogen or hydrocarbons. Hydrotreaters remove sulfur from motor fuels using hydrogen in accordance...

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified in the criminal trial of former U.S. David Rivera is facing criminal charges for acting as an agent unregistered of the government of Venezuelan ex-President Nicolas Maduro. Rubio's testimonies have taken him from Washington, where he was engaged in high level diplomacy surrounding U.S. president Donald Trump's Iran war, to the federal courthouse downtown Miami, where his political career started. When asked by prosecutor Harold Schimkat if Rubio was employed, Rubio replied, "Yeah. I have two jobs." U.S. prosecutors claim that Rivera, who represented southern Florida as a member of the...

Valero Energy Corp has shut ?its 380,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, ?following an explosion ?and fire at ?a diesel hydrotreater ?unit, people familiar with the plant operations said on Monday. It is not known what caused the explosion. Sources said that the blast could be heard up to 11 miles away. Valero confirmed in an email to that there was a fire at a refinery unit of the company, Port Arthur. The company also stated that all employees were safe. Diesel hydrotreaters remove sulfur from motor fuels using hydrogen during production in order to comply with U.S....

Japanese shares suffered a loss on Tuesday as investors were not convinced that U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about delaying the targeting of Iran's energy infrastructure would lead to a breakthrough in the 'Middle East conflict. The Nikkei closed at 52,252.28 up 1.4% after rising by as much as 2,3% in the previous session. The Topix, which is a broader index, rose 2.1% to 3,559.67. It had previously risen as high as 2.6%. Trump postponed his threat to bomb Iran’s power grid because of "productive talks" he had with unidentified Iranian officials. Iran denied it had been in talks with...

Japanese shares retreated on Tuesday as investors weren't convinced that U.S. president Donald 'Trump's remarks about delaying the targeting of 'Iran's energy infrastructure would lead to an end to the Middle East conflict. The Nikkei was up 0.3% at 51,681.73 by 0216 GMT. It had risen as high as 2.3% in the previous session. The Topix index rose 1.1% to 3,526.07 after jumping 2.6% earlier in the session. Trump postponed his threat to bomb Iran’s power grid due to what he called "productive talks" he had with unidentified Iranian officials. Iran denied that it was in talks with the U.S....

Former U.S. congressman lobbied illegally U.S. officials in order to reduce pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government. A U.S. prosecutor stated this on Monday at the opening of trial which will feature testimony by U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio. In his opening statement at Miami Federal Court, David Rivera's lawyer told jurors that his client worked to remove Maduro and not his government from power. The federal court trial in Miami is based on a contract Rivera had signed with a U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuelan state owned company for $50 million in 2017. In his opening statement, prosecutor...

The Italian competition regulator imposed a fine on Monday of 4 million euro ($4.6 million) against online review platform Trustpilot, and its subsidiaries for failing to verify reviews' authenticity and misleading consumers regarding the services they offer. Italian Competition Authority said that the 'platform's collection of reviews allowed businesses to choose which consumers would receive review invitations, thereby reducing the representationalness of published ratings. This was true even when the reviews were labeled as "verified". Trustpilot issued a statement saying that it "strongly disagrees with the conclusions reached in this finding of?the AGCM" (regulator). We will appeal it vigorously." The...

SLMG Beverages could increase some of its prices if packaging costs 'linked to war - in the Middle East' are hard?to _absorb. Some packaged water producers have already raised prices. In an interview with SLMG earlier this month Rahul Kumar, the deputy CEO, said that if the war continued, packaging materials costs could continue to rise. He added that price increases would depend on a number of factors, including the response from competitors and the reaction of consumers to increased prices. Cost?pressure is a result of Mukesh Ambani, a billionaire, reviving a local cola, Campa in 2023. Reliance Industries used...

CNBC, citing 'close sources', reported on Saturday that Fertitta Entertainment was negotiating to buy Caesars Entertainment at $32 per share. This would represent an equity value $6.5 billion. The report stated that Fertitta’s terms for Caesars include a value of $31.5billion, based on the substantial debt the gaming company has. Caesars responded to an emailed question by saying: "As a policy, we do not comment on rumors and market speculation." Could not verify the report immediately. Fertitta Entertainment has not responded to the request for comment made outside of regular business hours. CNBC reported that deal talks will take place...

The U.S. Justice Department filed a'memorandum' supporting Argentina's request to suspend a 'discovery' process in a New York Court case?related to the 'nationalization' of YPF state 'oil 'company in 2012, Argentina's Treasury Attorney's Office announced on Saturday. The filing was submitted to the Southern District Court of New York. It argues that the current discovery is too intrusive, and violates international principles of courtesy and reciprocity. The?U.S. The?U.S. Argentina wants to halt the discovery and withdraw a contempt complaint filed by plaintiffs Petersen Energia 'Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management who were awarded damages of $16.1 'billion. The litigation is...

A spokesperson for the European Commission said that Slovakia's decision to enact a resolution this month allowing service stations to limit diesel sales and set higher prices on cars with foreign plates is a violation of EU law. "We note that the Slovak Government has adopted a new measure, which imposes a 30-day restriction on diesel fuelling in Slovakia and introduces?differentiated prices for domestic vehicles and foreign cars. The spokesperson said that higher prices would be charged for vehicles with foreign license plates. We will take legal action in order to comply with the law. "We believe that this measure...

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, said that the fundamentals of Indian economy were strong, and that the country had enough petroleum, fertilizers, and coal to weather the trade and energy disruptions brought on by the U.S. and Israeli 'war on Iran. The conflict, which started last month, has affected sectors ranging from air travel, shipping, and gas supplies. It also caused the Strait of Hormuz to be almost closed, which is a major conduit for 40% of India’s crude oil imports. Modi, the lower house of parliament, said that India had enough petroleum reserves, with strategic reserves exceeding...

Saudi Aramco has cut 'crude oil supply' to Asian buyers in April for a second month,>>,>>,>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>?two sources?knowing the situation? said on Monday. This is after the U.S./Israeli war against Iran disrupted the trade via the Strait of Hormuz. Sources said that the producer will only supply 'Arab Light crude from the Red Sea port of Yanbu in April to customers on a term basis. This is to limit supplies to Asian refineries and to cap their output. Aramco couldn't be reached immediately for comment outside office hours. Kpler data shows that Saudi Arabia exported 4.355 millions barrels of crude per...

Calculations showed that the proceeds from Russia's mineral extract tax, which is its largest tax item for crude oil production and the country's?largest taxable item, could almost double in March due to the global price rally induced by the conflict in the Middle East. The global oil benchmarks soared to $119 per barrel on Monday, the highest level since June 2022. This was due to supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and others producers, which stoked fears of a major disruption to global supplies. The price increase of crude oil, along with the natural gas that it produces, will benefit Russia's...

China's independent smaller refiners maintain output to cash in on the surge in domestic fuel price, but may be forced into trimming runs as of late April, when cheap feedstocks from inventories are running out and new deliveries will cost more in this war-induced rally, industry and trade sources reported. The plants in Shandong Province, China, the hub of smaller refineries, known as teapots, that account for roughly a quarter or more of the country's output, keep their run rates constant to maximize fuel sales, which are 20%-30% higher than before Israel and U.S. launched an attack on Iran on...

In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, John Catsimatidis said that consumers will be relieved of the steep increases in fuel prices at the pump in the next month or two. Fuel prices have soared due to supply disruptions resulting from the Israel-U.S. conflict with Iran. This poses a serious threat to U.S. president Donald Trump and the Republican Party in advance of November's midterm elections. Catsimatidis said that he believed the worst of the price increases were over. U.S. average gasoline prices have risen by nearly 60 cents in the past month since the joint U.S. and Israeli...

Exxon 'Mobil 'has evacuated non essential employees from its Middle East operations, CEO Darren Woods stated in an interview Tuesday as the U.S. and Israel war against Iran continues. He said that some operations were scaled back in order to maintain oil inventories as the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was being challenged. Exxon has a minority stake in oil and gas projects?in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Woods stated that "our first priority is to ensure the safety of our people, so we evacuated those who were not critical or essential for?the operations we provided support for."...

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....