Oil & Gas Refining

U.S. refiner Philips 66 reported on Monday that its first-quarter earnings were impacted by a sharp rise in commodity prices. This left?it? with nearly $900,000,000 in mark-to market losses before taxes, according to an SEC filing. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran started in late February. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a chokepoint for a fifth of world oil and gas supplies - has caused global energy markets to be roiled and crude prices have soared. Phillips 66’s losses are mainly due to its net short positions in derivatives contracts relating to crude oil and refined...

Venezuela's government, its political opposition and the United States are coordinating their legal defenses of Venezuela's oil-rich assets. Washington's recognition of interim president Delcy Rodriquez raised questions regarding who could represent Venezuela in U.S. court. The lawyers for Rodriguez's government, as well as the opposition, asked Manhattan's U.S. Magistrate Sarah Netburn to pause for 45-days a case where creditors seek to seize funds?linked to Petroleos de Venezuela until they decided who would represent Venezuelan interests. The letter "signaled" potential cooperation between the Rodriguez government and the opposition in safeguarding U.S. assets, such as the Houston-based oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, from...

Welcome to the new look movie set. The cacophony created by cameras, clapperboards, and shouted instructions has been replaced with the quiet hum from a coding room. Collective Artists Network is a leading talent agency that represents Bollywood's A-listers. It has been facilitating the careers of superstars for many years. It's now engineering digital ones. The Bengaluru facility uses artificial intelligence to create content that is based on Hindu mythology, a genre popular in India. In a movie based on a religious text called "Ramayana," there is a scene where the god Hanuman is seen flying with a mountain in...

Market experts say that U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech to the nation on Wednesday, where he promised more aggressive'strikes' on Iran, is putting consumers on a course for record fuel prices at the pump, just ahead of the peak summer travel season in the country. Americans were expecting Trump's speech would outline a plan for ending the Iran war and opening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's blockade of this global oil conduit is causing oil and fuel costs to skyrocket, pinching the wallets of consumers. Trump, however, promised to bomb Iran into the "Stone Ages", and that the Strait of...

Analysts point out that President Donald?Trump's advice to countries who are struggling to obtain jet fuel because of Iran's blocking of the Strait of?Hormuz is flawed: the U.S. cannot cover the global shortage. Trump said in a Truth Social posting on Tuesday, "We have plenty." U.S. data proves that this is not true. Kpler, which tracks vessels, shows that about half a milllion barrels of jet fuel are exported from the Strait of Hormuz every day, mostly to Europe, but also to Asia, Africa and other parts of the world. The Energy Information Administration (the Department of Energy’s statistical arm)...

Four sources familiar with the preparations say that Delcy Rodriguez, the interim president of Venezuela, is preparing to take control of the U.S. subsidiaries of the state oil firm PDVSA, including Citgo Petroleum. The?move?could escalate a tug-of-war for control of the U.S. refiner that is the seventh largest. Washington recognized Rodriguez in March as Venezuela's president following the capture and detention of Nicolas Maduro. This opened the door for her to reopen U.S. embassies, consulates and to regain control over Venezuelan-owned businesses abroad that Maduro lost to the opposition. Citgo, Venezuela's crown jewel in foreign assets, is now run by...

SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, has filed a confidential application for its highly anticipated U.S. Initial Public Offering, according to a source familiar with the matter. This will make space exploration a mainstream investment topic, rather than a speculative one. Here's a timeline for SpaceX’s path to a blockbuster IPO. Elon Musk launched SpaceX in March 2002 using the money he earned from selling PayPal. SpaceX failed to launch its first rocket, the Falcon 1 in March 2006. SpaceX Falcon 1 successfully launched for the first launch in September 2008. It was the first liquid-fuel rocket developed by a private company...

PetroChina supplied a rare shipment of nearly?2million barrels of crude from its storage facility in China to the refinery it owns half of, located in Singapore. The?firm is attempting to fill'shortfalls caused by the iran war. According to tanker trackers Vortexa & Kpler the tanker New Merit delivered 1.8 million barrels in crude oil to Dalian, northeast China, in mid-March. It then transported it to Singapore Jurong Island, where PetroChina & U.S. giant Chevron run a joint venture refinery. Sources declined to name themselves as they were not authorized to speak to the media. China exports crude oil very rarely....

Chileans were apprehensive as they saw empty gas stations and price boards that still displayed pre-hike prices. The steep increase in fuel prices announced by the government went into effect on Thursday. This immediately tested the strong public support that had propelled the right-wing president?Jose Antonio Kast to office. The new administration inaugurated on March 11, activated a fuel stabilization clause to bring domestic rates in line with the surging international prices linked to the conflict in Middle East. Officials said that the government was under pressure to absorb the rapidly increasing cost shock. This is what led to the...

A man who claimed to have been injured in an explosion at Valero Energy’s Port Arthur, Texas refinery Monday night filed a suit on Wednesday with a state district court, alleging that the?company?failed?to properly maintain the refinery. The lawsuit filed at the Jefferson County District Court of Beaumont, Texas, is seeking more than $1,000,000 in damages. A Valero spokesperson had no immediate comment on Wednesday night. Valero filed a report with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Tuesday. The company stated: "An unexpected release of fluid from Complex?2 caused an ignition event, and multiple process units were upset."...

Valero Energy Corporation is preparing to restart the 380,000 barrels-per-day (bpd),?Port Arthur oil refinery in Texas this week. The plant was shut down on Tuesday following a blaze and explosion the day before. Sources said that workers were blocking pipelines feeding the damaged 47,000 bpd Unit 243 Diesel Hydrotreater on early Wednesday morning. They added that the shutdown was necessary to put out the fire that started on Tuesday. In a regulatory filing, Valero stated that no injuries had been reported from the explosion, which was triggered by the release of process fluid on unit 243. The explosion could be...

Sources familiar with the situation said that Indian billionaire MukeshAmbani's?Reliance Jio Platforms? has been in talks with?13?marquee investors to sell 8% of their individual stakes at the upcoming Mumbai listing for the company which will be transforming its telecoms into AI. Ambani’s Jio Platforms is expected to file for approval in Mumbai of its IPO as early as this coming week. The list includes Meta with a stake worth 9.99% and Google?with 7.73%. Vista Equity Partners, KKR and KKR are also big investors. Investors include three sovereign Gulf funds: the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Mubadala, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority....

Ukraine imports record amounts of fuel in March, despite the market turmoil caused by the Iran War. The pace will be maintained for April, according to Prime Minister Yulia vyrydenko, who urged traders to lower their prices. Ukraine is now almost entirely dependent on imports to meet its diesel and gasoline needs. Diesel prices almost doubled after the Gulf conflict, causing concern among farmers who were about to begin the spring sowing campaign. This is critical for the country. Svyrydenko stated on Telegram that "we are recording a decrease in quotations at the major exchanges which should have an impact...

Industry sources say that spot premiums for U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude are at all-time highs due to the fierce competition for oil supply between Asian and European refiners. This is in response to Middle Eastern oil flow disruptions caused by the Iran War. Europe is the biggest importer of U.S. oil, but the competition has increased as Asian buyers are searching for supplies from the Americas and Africa to Europe to replace Middle Eastern crude that cannot move through the Strait of Hormuz. Sources and analysts say that the increase in crude oil prices has increased costs for refiners...

Elon Musk's spaceX could be the break-through that global IPO market needs. Saudi Aramco was the last company to debut on the market with a valuation of over one trillion dollars in 2019. SpaceX has all the ingredients the IPO market?has been looking for to end a long-term drought of mega-deals. It is a company with a valuation over "trillion dollars", a CEO who enjoys cult like retail support, and exposure to a?high-growth?industry. Investors' appetite for an IPO of this magnitude is still uncertain. Analysts and experts say that the company's success is unique, so it could only have a...

Alfred Stern, CEO of Austria's OMV said that the giant new plastics group Borouge International is a significant step towards increased profitability. He added that a listing was expected to take place in 2027. The new group was completed on Tuesday and was created by combining ADNOC with OMV subsidiaries, along with the acquisition of NOVA Chemicals. Stern stated that the group is expected to have higher margins than average and a stronger price premium compared with other companies in the market. Stern stated that around 70% of the production is based upon low-cost raw materials, while premium products enjoy...

Japan's industry minister said that if the Iran -war continues, the Group of Seven wealthy nations and the International Energy Agency should be prepared to take additional flexible measures to stabilize?energy markets. Ryosei Acazawa, after a meeting online with G7 Finance Ministers, Energy Ministers, and Central Bank Governors, told reporters that these actions could include coordinated additional oil stockpile release at the appropriate time. He said that in Asia, "soaring energy prices and supply concerns are becoming more acute. Shortages of fuel and raw material disrupt global supply chains, and could have a negative impact." The U.S.-Israeli war against?Iran, which...

A document containing an EU internal briefing revealed that the European Union's energy ministers would meet on Tuesday in order to coordinate their responses to the disruption of oil and gas market caused by the Iran War. Europe's heavy reliance?on imports of energy has exposed it to spiraling prices, since the Strait?of Hormuz, the main shipping route was closed effectively and Tehran began attacking the energy infrastructure in Middle East. Since the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran began on 28 February, European gas prices have increased by more than 70%. The EU document asked ministers to "indicate which concrete...

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...