Oil & Gas Refining

According to a Friday court filing, a U.S. court official overseeing the auction of shares of the parent company of Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum recommends a judge select a $3.7billion offer from an affiliate of Contrarian Funds as the starting point for a second bidding round in this year. The filing stated that four potential "stalking horses" bids were received before the March 7 deadline for Citgo parent PDV Holding shares. Special master responsible for the auction recommended the offer made by Red Tree Investments, a Contrarian Funds affiliate. Judge Leonard Stark has to accept or reject the offer before...

Demand for diesel fuel is strong in the US and Europe. Margins are reduced below seasonal levels in spite of tight supply Market uncertainty over global economic outlook affects diesel prices Ron Bousso LONDON 20 March - The Atlantic Basin diesel prices have been increasingly detached from the tightening of supply and demand, reflecting the growing concern about the global economic outlook. When prices don't match the facts, then something must give. Diesel, a refined fuel that is used in heavy construction, manufacturing and transport, can be a good indicator of industrial activity. This gauge currently points to a bullish...

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian retailer, missed its third-quarter revenue estimate on Tuesday due to a sluggish fuel and convenience store business amid increasing inflationary pressures. Circle-K's owner Couche-Tard is growing increasingly concerned as consumers facing financial stress are cutting back on both expensive and non-essential items. Walmart and Target, two of the largest U.S. retailers, warned that a slowdown in demand was due to a slowed down spending. They were also preparing for the effects of import tariffs implemented and proposed by President Donald Trump. The increasing consumer prices and interest rates has led to low-to-middle-income consumers being reluctant to...

According to a document obtained by us on Monday, Venezuela's PDVSA state-run company has developed three scenarios to ensure that it can continue to produce and export oil through its largest joint venture in Venezuela with Chevron after the license granted to the U.S. giant to operate within the country expires at the end of next month. Chevron was given 30 days by the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump to stop all oil exports and operations from Venezuela to the United States, which are currently being done under a license issued in 2022. Chevron is present in this sanctioned...

Donna Anderson, head of corporate governance at T. Rowe Price, and a strong voice in the investment industry on a variety of hot-button issues, plans to retire by the end of the year. T. Rowe Price is one of the most powerful investment firms in the world, with assets worth $1.6 trillion. Three sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Anderson intends to leave the company. In an email, Eric Veiel told us that Donna Anderson informed T. Rowe Price of her intention to retire at the end this year. We have started to transition her work to her...

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian company, said Tuesday that it was confident of obtaining the regulatory approvals needed in the United States to purchase Japan's Seven & i Holdings. The latter had said that antitrust laws would prevent any transaction. It said that it was also frustrated by Seven & i’s lack of engagement, despite the fact that both companies have started working together to find a way to get regulatory approval. Stephen Dacus of Seven & i, the CEO who was appointed just last week, reiterated the fact that there are significant regulatory obstacles to a merger. In a press...

On Monday, protesters gathered outside the largest annual gathering of energy executives in the world. U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright had said that climate changes were a side-effect of the building of the modern world. CERAWeek is being held as President Donald Trump's new administration reverses policies that were intended to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and address climate change. Trump has urged oil producers to increase production and drill more. He also told his administration that it should reduce the red tape which slows down energy project development. A dozen protesters held signs saying "stop funding climate...

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian company, said that it was in exploratory discussions with third parties regarding a possible sale of U.S.-based stores. This would allow it to gain regulatory approval if it were to reach a deal for the takeover of Japan's Seven & i Holdings. Circle-K, the operator that has bid $47 billion to buy 7-Eleven, has said that it has identified an American portfolio and is currently in discussions to "identify potential acquirers". A spokesperson for Couche-Tard said, "We are committed to working with 7&i to obtain regulatory approvals. We have presented a strong proposal to 7&i to...

Marathon will begin planned maintenance activities on units at its 255,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Robinson, Illinois on March 18, research company IIR and a source familiar with plant operations said on Thursday. IIR announced that the refinery's primary unit which processes sweet and sour oil will be shut down for maintenance. This includes heat exchanger repairs. The plant's 85,000-barrel-per-day diesel hydrotreater unit, 65,000-bpd vacuum distillation unit and 28,000-bpd hydrocracker unit will also undergo turnaround. IIR stated that the crude unit will be shut down for 7-10 days, and then restarted at a reduced capacity estimated at 75 percent until the remainder...

A notice on the Treasury Department's website showed that the U.S. Treasury Department had extended until early July a licence protecting Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum against creditors. The move came after President Donald Trump's government terminated a license for Chevron that allowed it to operate in Venezuela. Venezuela's opposition asked the U.S. for protection of Citgo - the crown jewel in the South American nation's overseas assets - as an American court proceeds this year with the auction of parent shares to pay its creditors. After the auction, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) must approve any new...

Citgo Petroleum, a U.S. refiner owned by Venezuela, reported a net profit of $305 million last year. This was below the projected $2 billion profit for 2023. The company also revealed a loss of $146 million in the fourth quarter. The ownership of the seventh-largest refiner in the United States could change if the winning bidder for its shares is selected in a Delaware court-organized auction to compensate 18 creditors who have defaulted on debts or been expropriated in Venezuela. In 2024, a "deteriorating price environment" coupled with lower volumes processed of oil earlier in the year resulted in lower...

Seven & i Holdings is the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven, a global convenience store chain. It will announce a new leadership on Thursday, and plans to restructure the business in response to a $47 billion takeover bid from a foreign company. Sources have confirmed that Stephen Dacus, the lead outside director, will succeed Ryuichi isaka as the chief executive of Seven & i. This is the first time a foreigner has been in charge at the Japanese retail conglomerate. Sources said that Seven & i will announce its leadership change and plans, including the sale to Bain Capital of non-core...

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...

Alimentation Couche-Tard wants to convince the Japanese people to accept its $47 billion offer for Seven & i. It also wants to address the antitrust concerns which have become a major stumbling-block in its bid to purchase the 7-Eleven owners. Canada's Couche-Tard which owns Circle-K has been pursuing Seven & i since months despite the cold reception it received from the Japanese retailer. If the deal goes through, this would be the largest foreign acquisition in Japan's history. On Thursday, executives from Couche-Tard held their first press conference at Tokyo. This was months after announcing a takeover bid for Seven...

Alimentation Couche-Tard's management will address the antitrust concerns raised by Japan's Seven & i during a visit to Tokyo to advance talks on its $47 billion offer for 7-Eleven's convenience store operator. Circle-K's owner has been pursuing Seven & i since months, despite the cold reception it received from the Japanese retailer giant. If the deal goes through, this would be the largest foreign acquisition in Japan's history. Couche-Tard is holding its first press conference on Thursday in Tokyo since it announced a purchase bid for Seven & i back in August. This was part of their efforts to convince...

Trading sources familiar with the operation of the plant said that Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, China's newest refinedr, is expected to test operate its second crude oil-processing unit by the end of this month. The $20 billion complex will begin full operation in 2025. This will help China increase its crude imports as well as its production of refined products. It would also offset some of the declines caused by a waning Chinese fuel demand, but put pressure on the already thin refinery profits. The refinery is located on an artificial island in Longkou County of the city Yantai. It's the...

JX Advanced Metals (a unit wholly owned by Japan's Eneos Holdings) raised $438.6 billion through its initial public offering, after the shares were priced above their market range. The company valued its initial public offering (IPO) at 761.3 billion Japanese yen, or 820 yen each share. The Tokyo Stock Exchange will debut the shares on March 19. According to LSEG data, the offering is larger than Tokyo Metro's IPO from October and is Japan's largest listing since SoftBank's Telecoms Unit in 2018. JX Advanced Metals, a leader in the manufacture of sputtering target materials that are used to produce thin...

Japan's Seven & i Holdings announced on Monday that it has begun talks with Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard about a plan to sell stores that will set the stage for ACT's $47 Billion takeover bid. Stephen Dacus was named as the new CEO of 7-Eleven last week to help lead the company's recovery and to respond to Couche-Tard's takeover bid. Seven & i said that U.S. Antitrust Law would be a barrier for any deal. Both companies have about 20,000 convenience stores between them. Seven & i wrote to its shareholders Monday that it was proposing the two companies map out...

Artisan Partners is a U.S. investor in Seven & i Holdings. According to a board letter, the American company opposed the Japanese retailer’s succession plan for the CEO and urged it to reconsider a possible takeover. 7-Eleven named Stephen Dacus CEO last week to help lead the company's recovery and to respond to Alimentation Couche-Tard's $47 billion offer to take over. Artisan Partners' letter urged Seven & i, in order to maximize shareholder value, to contact Couche-Tard and discuss its buyout offer. Seven & i was not available to comment immediately outside of business hours. Couche-Tard also did not respond...

Seven & i Holdings is the Japanese retail giant in the middle of a takeover war. It has finalised a plan to replace its president with the first foreign CEO. The Nikkei daily business reported that President Ryuichi isaka would resign, and Stephen Dacus will replace him. Dacus has been an outside director in the Nikkei business daily since 2022. He is currently heading a committee that evaluates a $47 billion bid by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, and a recent take-private deal with Seven & i’s founding family. Nikkei said that the company will hold a meeting of its board to...

South Korea's SK Energy plans to restart the 170,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Ulsan refinery in next two weeks after maintenance work, three trade sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Sources said it is not clear if this shutdown was planned. WoodMackenzie, a consultancy, said on LinkedIn that the unit had been closed since Monday morning. Two sources stated that this shutdown would not affect the company's export programme in March for certain refined fuels, such as diesel, and that other CDUs on the site will likely be running at a higher rate to make...

Three trade sources on Tuesday said that Taiwan's CPC Corp. is looking to export jet fuel in March. This would be the first time in almost three years that it has made such an offer. They added that the state-owned oil company issued a tender for a combined cargo of 150,000 jet fuel barrels and 150,000 jet fuel barrels with 10ppm of sulphur. It was not possible to confirm exact loading details. One source stated that the tender will close on February 19, but it is valid until February 20. A second source said that the rare move was due...

Eneos Holdings aims to raise 400 billion yen (2.61 billion dollars) through the listing of its metals division, according to two sources. This would be Japan's biggest IPO for seven years. Sources who declined to be identified because the information was not public said that Eneos expected to receive approval from the Tokyo stock exchange for the initial public offer of JX Advanced Metals JXAM as early as this week. They said that the refiner intends to sell half its JXAM share in the IPO, and is aiming for a market valuation of at least 800 Billion Yen. This is...