Oil Refineries

According to documents filed by the officer overseeing sale, a $5.89 billion offer from an affiliate hedge fund Elliott Investment Management was recommended as the winning bid in a U.S.-court-organized auction for shares of the Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum. Robert Pincus, a court officer, made the recommendation despite an attempt by a Gold Reserve subsidiary to sweeten their $7.4 billion deal earlier in the week. Pincus, in a ruling earlier this month said that an improved offer from Elliott's subsidiary Amber Energy was superior. The court then gave the Gold Reserve Group three days to match the bid. Pincus stated...

California's Energy Commission decided on Friday to set aside for a temporary period penalties for excessive refinery profits, which were adopted in response to the rise of gasoline prices over $8 per gallon by 2022. Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery, which is preparing for a permanent shutdown by the end of next week, has delayed implementing penalties by five years. In an email, the staff of the Commission stated that "the fact is that supply is decreasing faster than demand and we need them to align: this means aggressively pursuing a transition to zero-emission vehicles while slowing down supply loss."...

California's Energy Commission decided on Friday to set aside for a temporary period penalties for excessive refinery profits, which were adopted in response to the rise of gasoline prices over $8 per gallon by 2022. The delay of five years in implementing penalties comes at a time when Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery prepares to start shutting down production next week, ahead of a complete closure. California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom proposed the penalties but has now changed direction due to fears of price spikes after 2026 following the closure of a Phillips 66 plant and a Valero Energy Corp....

Trade sources reported that Indian refiners increased their purchases of U.S. crude this month due to the competitive prices. This could help reduce the trade deficit between India and the United States, amid tensions. Indian Oil Corp., the country's largest refiner, purchased 5 million barrels U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude for delivery between October and November through a tender. Other sources reported that Vitol had sold 2 million barrels to Reliance Industries, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation purchased 2 million from Vitol. Indian refiners and others in Asia increased their purchases following the arbitrage window The door for U.S. crude oil...

Phillips 66 will begin shuttering its 139,000-barrel-per-day Los Angeles-area refinery in September, people familiar with the matter said. Two sources have confirmed that the refinery in Los Angeles will begin to wind down operations next week for a permanent closure. Phillips 66 said last year it would shut down the facility by October 2025 and start winding down its operations. In an email statement sent on Thursday, a spokesperson for the company said that "the refinery units will start idling in Q4 2025 according to plan...our timeline remains unchanged." The company didn't provide a detailed timeline, but did note that...

Goldman Sachs predicts that the price of Brent crude contracts will decline to low $50s per barrel by the end of 2026, due to a rise in oil surplus next year. In a note to clients on Tuesday, the U.S. Investment Bank said that it expects the oil surplus will widen. It is expected to average 1.8million barrels per day from 2025 Q4 through 2026 Q4. This would result in an increase of nearly 800million barrels in global stockpiles by the end of 2026. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that the stored oil in member nations...

Indian Oil and Bharat Oil, India's state run refiners, have purchased Russian oil for delivery in September and October, after the discounts were increased, according to two company officials who are familiar with the matter. Refiners had stopped purchases in July because of smaller discounts, and after Washington criticised India for its purchases Russian oil. Donald Trump has also threatened to levy an additional 25% on Indian goods starting August 27 in order to punish New Delhi for continuing its purchase of Russian oil. The officials stated that the discount for Urals crude, the Russian oil of choice, has increased...

TotalEnergies has begun a 60-day planned overhaul of the small crude distillation units (CDUs), as well as a reformer, and hydrotreaters, at its Port Arthur, Texas refinery that produces 238,000 barrels per day, according to people familiar with plant operation. Sources said that the 35,000 bpd continuous catalyst reformer (CCR), along with three diesel hydrotreaters, with a combined output of 84,000 bpd and a naphtha hydrotreater with a throughput 42,000 bpd and a sulfur unit were closed along with the ACU-2 CDU with its 51,000 bpd vacuum distillation unit-1 (VDU-1), they added. A TotalEnergies representative did not respond to a...

Pemex, Mexico's national oil company, is preparing for the "big block" overhaul at its 312,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Deer Park, Texas, refinery to begin in early October, people familiar with plant operations said on Friday. Sources said that the 270,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) DU-2 crude distillation unit (CDU) at the refinery will be closed for the planned 60-day overhaul. Pemex did not respond to a comment request immediately. DU-2 converts crude oil to feedstocks that are used by most of the other refinery units. The sources say that the fluid catalytic unit (FCCU), the hydrocracking unit producing diesel (HCU) (70,000 bpd), and the...

Oil prices dropped on Friday, as concerns about fuel demand were heightened by the economic data coming out of the U.S., China and Russia. Brent crude futures dropped 39 cents or 0.58% to $66.45 per barrel at 0750 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures fell 42 cents or 0.66% to $63.54. WTI and Brent are expected to fall 0.5% each for the week. Data released by the Chinese government on Friday revealed that factory output growth had fallen to its lowest level in eight months and retail sales were growing at their slowest rate since December. This weighed on...

The price of oil rose on Friday, reaching a new one-week peak after U.S. president Donald Trump warned that there would be "consequences", if Russia refused to sign a peace agreement with Ukraine. This sparked concerns over supply. The positive economic data from Japan, one of the world's largest crude importers, also helped to boost sentiment. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents or 0.2% to $67.00 per barrel at (0017 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures rose 14 cents to $64.10, or 0.2%. The focus is on the meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which will...

Two people with knowledge of the situation said that Phillips 66 reduced the gasoline production at its 258,000 barrels per day Bayway refinery, located in Linden, New Jersey, after a fire broke out near the gasoline-producing unit. The sources claim that an ancillary unit of the refinery’s Fluid Catalytic cracking unit caught on fire, causing the production to be halted. The cause of fire was not immediately known. One source said that the refinery will resolve the problem in the next few days and resume full production. Phillips 66 didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Bayway is one of...

Two people with knowledge of the situation said that Berlin was considering extending its trusteeship for the sixth time over the German assets owned by Russian oil producer Rosneft, as the efforts to sell this business continue. The renewed trusteeships put pressure on Berlin to create a more suitable legal structure for Rosneft’s activities in Germany. This situation is emblematic for the challenges Berlin faces when dealing with Russian assets located in Germany, at a moment when efforts are intensifying to end the conflict in Ukraine. In September 2022, the German assets of Rosneft, including the Schwedt refinery, MiRo refinery,...

Two analysts and a trader reported on Tuesday that Chinese refineries had purchased 15 cargoes for delivery in October and November as Indian demand for Moscow’s exports has declined. India is the largest buyer of Russian oil by sea. It has been sold at a discounted price since Western nations have shunned purchasing and placed restrictions on Russian exports due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil last month as the discounts shrank. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has also threatened to punish countries that buy Russian crude. Richard Jones, an Energy Aspects...

According to data and trade sources, India's Russian imports fell in July, after a jump the month before. This was because some refiners reduced purchases due to lower discounts. Indian fuel demand is also known to drop during the monsoon. The third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, India, is likely to see further slowdowns of Russian oil imports during August and September. Indian refiners have halted Urals crude purchases due to smaller discounts while U.S. president Donald Trump has warned India to stop buying Russian oil. The data shows that India imported 1.5 millions barrels of Russian...

China's refiners increased their processing rates in the month of July. However, strong crude oil imports from abroad and domestic production meant that there was still an excess of over half a million barrels a day (bpd). Calculations based on data from the official sources show that crude oil surplus in July dropped to 530,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.42million bpd. The key is that despite the drop in oil surplus, refiners will likely continue to add to their stockpiles. This will allow them the ability to reduce imports if prices increase to levels they feel are not justified....

China's refiners increased their processing rates in the month of July. However, strong crude oil imports from abroad and domestic production meant that there was still an excess of over half a million barrels a day (bpd). Calculations based on data from the official sources show that crude oil surplus in July dropped to 530,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.42million bpd. The key is that refiners will likely continue to add to their stockpiles despite the drop in oil surplus. This will allow them the ability to reduce imports if prices increase to levels they feel are not justified....

Sources said that despite the export ban, Russia may face gasoline shortages this August due to low stocks at home, a peak in seasonal demand, and repairs being done by domestic refineries. The ban was imposed Monday, and is intended to last through August 31. Its purpose is to stabilize the Russian market and avoid socially sensitive increases in motor fuel prices. Traders say that it is unlikely to be enough to bring the market back to equilibrium, since gasoline export volumes are much smaller than the domestic consumption. They also claim that diverting the fuel to the local market...

Calculations showed that the average Russian oil price in roubles remained below the budget target for 2025. This added pressure to a budget already facing a growing deficit. The weakness of the rouble is due to its strength, which has increased by around 45% in the past year as a result of the easing of geopolitical tensions. The dollar value of international oil prices has dropped by about 10%. Estimations show that the average price for Russia's oil mix, as calculated for taxation, was 4,701 Rubels per barrel during the first two weeks in July. This is about the same...

According to LSEG data and market sources, the volume of Russian seaborne gasoil and diesel exports dropped by 6% in June on a month-to-month basis. This was due to refinery maintenance. Shipping data shows that last month, the two main importers of Russian gasoil and diesel were Turkey and Brazil. Exports of diesel and gasoil from Russian ports to Turkey increased in June by 15%, a month-on-month increase, while those to Brazil dropped by 33% from May, to just 0.47 million tonnes, after a previous influx. Shipping data revealed that Russia's diesel and gasoil sales to African countries in June...

Three industry sources have confirmed that Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, will stop producing its export-oriented Sokol crude at the Sakhalin-1 project on its far eastern Sakhalin coast in August due to maintenance. One of them said that the maintenance would last 20 to 25 days. According to another source, the maintenance will begin in late July. It is expected to be completed at the end of August. One source said that maintenance on one of the compressors will cause the oil production to drop slightly in July to 135,000 barrels a day, from the usual 150,000-160,000 barrels a day,...

Mali started construction on a new gold refinery, backed by Russia, Monday. The West African nation's military chief said that the project would bring it closer to gaining control of its natural resources. The 200-ton facility will be built by a partnership between the Russian Yadran Group, and a Swiss Investment Company. Mali holds a majority stake in this project. Mali's interim President Colonel Assimi goita stated last year that under a revised code of mining, all mining companies would be required to process gold in-house. He did not provide a deadline. This reflects a wider regional shift that extends...

The Russian defence ministry announced on Sunday that Russian forces had carried out a nighttime strike on the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery, which supplies fuel to Ukrainian troops in the Donbas area. In a statement, the ministry said that missiles fired from sea and air were used to attack the refinery located in Ukraine's Poltava Region. Strike drones also appeared in this successful attack. The Russian report on the battlefield was not verified and the Ukrainians did not immediately comment. Russia claims Ukraine's eastern Donbas as its own, and controls the majority of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine has said that it...

Data from industry and trade sources revealed that the share of OPEC crude oil in India's imported oil fell to a new record low during fiscal year 2024-25, as refiners continued to gorge themselves on cheaper Russian oil, which was the number one oil supplier for New Delhi for a third consecutive year. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, has been buying Russian oil at a discounted price after the West imposed sanctions against Moscow due to the Ukraine conflict. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, the South Asian nation imported 4.88...