Oil Refineries

Valero Energy announced on Thursday that it had 'purchased' Venezuelan crude oil from authorized sellers. The company expects this grade to be a major part of the heavy oil diet for its refineries as soon as next month. U.S. refining companies are expected to gain from President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase oil production in Venezuela and to rebuild the country’s deplorable oil sector after the capture of Nicolas Maduro this month. Valero said that it had engaged with all three authorized sellers, and bought barrels from each of them. This was in an email sent to customers on Thursday...

Energy analysts expect top U.S. refiners to report stronger profits in the fourth quarter as margins boosted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict?boosted earnings. Fuel producers have made unexpected profits after their earnings had slid in 2022. That was the year that a'recovery in demand after the pandemic, and Russia's invasion in Ukraine, drove up fuel prices. In a recent note, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co's Matthew Blair stated that the main reason for diesel margins was Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, which affected global supply. He said that the widening differentials between Brent, the global benchmark crude oil price, and...

VaroPreem Chief Executive Dev Sanyal stated on Wednesday that Europe must consider oil refining as "critical". He is preparing for further consolidation in a industry battered by decades-long closures and increased competition from newer foreign plants. Europe closed dozens of refineries over the last 30 years due to a decline in oil production and older plants struggling to compete with newer facilities in China and India. The energy company's boss said that the continent couldn't afford to lose more capacity. He was speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, which took place in Davos, Switzerland. The entire European...

Four sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that India's Reliance industries Ltd, the operator of the largest refinery in the world, will'receive' sanctions-compliant Russian crude oil between February and March, after a one month pause. Reliance received its last shipment of Russian crude in December, after it secured a U.S. concession allowing it to extend the deadline for ending business with Rosneft (a Russian oil company sanctioned by the U.S. government) beyond November 21. Sources said that Reliance, like other Indian refiners will purchase Russian oil from non sanctioned sellers. They did not elaborate on how many cargoes...

The Venezuelan parties in the?court ordered auction of Citgo Petroleum's parent company have asked a U.S. The board of supervisors of the refinery said that a court of appeals should vacate the ruling of a 'judge' who ordered the sale to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management. After?two years? of bidding, Delaware Judge Leonard Stark has approved a bid for $5.9bn from Elliott's Amber Energy to purchase Citgo Holding's parent company, PDV Holding. This was after?two rounds?of bidding in a sale that was organized to pay creditors up to $19bn?for debt defaults?and expropriations?in Venezuela. The sale order triggered opposition by...

Reliance Industries, the operator of the largest refinery in the world, said on Thursday that it would 'consider' buying Venezuelan oil, if allowed to sell to non-US customers. In response to an email seeking comments, a spokesperson for Reliance Industries said: "We are waiting for clarity on the access of Venezuelan oil by non US buyers and we will consider buying the oil in compliance." email seeking comments. Caracas has reached an agreement with Washington to export 30-50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to the United States, worth up to $2 billion. Reliance stopped purchasing Venezuelan crude oil in...

The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. president Donald Trump, along with his advisers, are planning to dominate the "Venezuelan Oil Industry" for many years. Trump told his aides that he believed his efforts could lower oil prices as low as $50 per barrel. The report cited people who were familiar with the situation as saying that the U.S. was considering a plan in which they would exert?some control? over Venezuela's PDVSA state-run oil firm, including purchasing and marketing the majority of its oil production. Could not confirm immediately the report. The White House didn't immediately respond to the?'?zeit imediat??'?...

Phillips 66, a U.S. refiner, announced on Monday that it has agreed to purchase the assets and infrastructure from the?Lindsey Oil Refinery located in northern England after the site was liquidated. Phillips 66 will also integrate?the main facilities into its Humber Refinery. The Lindsey Refinery closed down in July of last year, after the previous owner Prax went bankrupt. This put the 420 jobs on the site in danger. Phillips 66 did not reveal the value of the deal, but said that it decided to not restart standalone operations in the refinery after a thorough review during the bid process....

Phillips 66, a U.S.-based refiner, announced on Monday that it had?agreed? to purchase the assets and infrastructure from the Lindsey Oil Refinery located in northern?England after the site was liquidated. It will also integrate the key facilities with its Humber?Refinery. The Lindsey Refinery closed last July after the previous owner Prax went bankrupt, putting 420 jobs on the site in danger. Phillips 66 did not reveal the value of the deal, but said that it decided to not restart standalone operations in the refinery after a thorough review during the bid process. The site, they stated, was 'unviable as is,...

Two sources familiar with the operations of PDVSA, Venezuela's energy company, said that the country's oil refinery and production?were running normally on Saturday. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that U.S. troops had captured Nicolas Maduro after months of pressure on him regarding accusations?of drug-running, and illegitimacy at power. One source said that the port of La Guiara, near Caracas, which is one of Venezuela's largest, but not one used for oil exports, had suffered serious damage. In December, Trump announced a ban on oil tankers from entering or leaving Venezuela. The U.S. also seized two cargoes containing Venezuelan crude....

To speed up deliveries, the U.S. Transport Safety Regulator has extended an 'emergency waiver' on driving time limits for truckers transporting heating fuels. The extension was given on Tuesday because extreme cold and severe winter storms in Pennsylvania, as well as a major power outage at an important gas refinery, had 'disrupted' propane supplies and created immediate dangers to the public health, safety, and welfare of those states. U.S. regulations normally require truck drivers to take mandatory rest breaks and cap their daily?and weekday driving hours in order to reduce fatigue-related crashes. However, regulators may temporarily waive these limits to...

The dark comedy "One Battle After Another", starring Leonardo DiCaprio, received nine Golden Globe nominations in a row on Monday. This puts the thriller at the top of the list for Hollywood's race to the Academy Awards. DiCaprio stars in the movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson as a revolutionary who takes action when his daughter is threatened. Warner Bros' film will be competing in the category of best movie musical, or comedy against other films such as "Bugonia" and "Marty Supreme". Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value", which won eight nominations in total, was just one ahead of the supernatural...

Trade data shows that India's Russian imports?fell at their lowest level for two years in December as Western'sanctions' prompted refiners?to tap alternative sources, raising OPEC’s share of imported oil to an 11-month peak. The lower imports of Russian crude oil sold at a discounted price will likely hit the profits of refiners and consumers in the third largest oil consuming and importing nation in the world and force them to look for suppliers in the Middle East and the U.S. Tighter ?U.S. Tighter?U.S. Reliance Industries - the largest Indian buyer for Russian oil - stopped receiving crude in its deal...

Trade data revealed that India's Russian imports in December fell to the lowest level since?two? years, as Western sanctions pushed refining companies to look for alternatives. This boosted OPEC?s?share?of imports?to an 11-month peak. The lower imports of Russian crude oil at a discounted price will likely hit the profits of refiners and consumers in the third largest oil consuming and importing nation in the world and force them to look for suppliers in the Middle East and the U.S. The data shows that tighter U.S. sanctions and European Union sanctions have slowed Russian oil exports to India. Imports dropped by...

Reliance Industries announced on Tuesday that it does not expect any Russian crude oil deliveries for January, and has not received any such cargoes over the last?three? weeks. The private refiner that used to be India’s largest buyer for Russian oil published a statement in X denying a Bloomberg article based on Kpler information stating that three vessels laden up with Russian oil 'are headed to its Jamnagar refining facility. India became the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude seaborne after the Ukraine War?in 2022. These purchases have sparked a backlash by Western nations who have imposed sanctions on Russia's...

Ukraine has launched British Storm Shadow missiles as well as its own?domestically-produced long-range drones in order to target several Russian oil and?gas?facilities. Ukraine used British-made missiles in the past to strike Russian industrial targets, which it claims help Moscow's war. The Ukrainian General Staff stated that the air force had used Storm Shadow missiles to attack the Novoshakhtinsk refinery located in the Rostov Region of Russia. "Multiple explosions have been recorded." On Thursday, the General Staff announced on Telegram that the target was "hit". The refinery was said to be one of the largest oil suppliers in southern Russia, and...

Vitalii Maltskyi, the mayor of Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, said that Russian forces had launched a combined airstrike overnight on infrastructure, causing water and power outages. Kremenchuk, located on the Dnipro River in Ukraine, is a major industrial center and home to a large oil refinery. The city was repeatedly targeted by Russian missiles. In 2022, a strike on a busy shopping mall killed at least 21. Maletskyi stated in a post on social media that the details of the strike's consequences would be revealed later Sunday, after damage assessments are completed. He added that city services were working on...

Five Iraqi sources who are directly involved in the matter confirmed that Exxon Mobil had approached the Iraqi Oil Ministry to express their interest in purchasing the majority stake of Russian company Lukoil in the West Qurna 2 giant oilfield. Exxon is expanding its presence in Iraq, as the U.S. company returns to the country after sanctions imposed by the U.S. Exxon refused to comment, while Lukoil did not respond to the request for comment. The U.S. Treasury has given potential buyers permission to speak to Lukoil up until December 13 but will require approval for specific transactions. Last month,...

Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, reported a 70% drop in net income from January to September, falling by $3.57 billion or 277 billion Russian roubles. The company attributed the decline to high interest rates and cheaper oil, as well as a stronger rouble. Shell and TotalEnergies have seen their quarterly profits fall due to lower oil prices. Rosneft stated that the increased "anti-terror" security was putting additional pressure on its results. The company didn't elaborate on specific security measures. Ukraine has increased drone attacks against Russia's energy infrastructure. Rosneft reported that its revenues dropped 17.8% to 6.29 trillion rubles in...

India's oil exports to Russia are expected to reach their highest level for five months in November, according to preliminary data from Kpler, as refiners scrambled to secure barrels before a U.S. date to stop transactions with Russian oil producers sanctioned by the United States. India, which is the third largest oil importer in the world, was the biggest purchaser of discounted Russian crude shipped by sea after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit South Asia next month. His last visit was in December of 2021, just a few months after...

India's Russian crude oil imports will be at their lowest level in three years by December. They were already higher than they had been for several months in November as refiners sought alternatives to avoid violating Western sanctions. The United States, Britain and the European Union have all tightened sanctions against Moscow in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Washington's most recent measures target top Russian oil producers Rosneft, and Lukoil. The deadline for buyers of Russian oil to end their dealings with these two companies was November 21. Separately the EU set a deadline of 21 January after which...

Two sources with knowledge of the situation said that after European Union sanctions earlier in the year, Nayara Energy, a Russian-backed Indian refiner, has increased crude processing to 90-93% capacity at its Vadinar Refinery. Sources have said that oil processing at Nayara’s 400,000 barrels-per-day western India plant fell to 70 to 80 percent after the EU sanctions it in July. This impacted its exports, and caused suppliers like Iraq and Saudi Arabia, to stop crude sales to the firm. Nayara was operating at 104% capacity before the sanctions. Nayara, a majority-owned company by Russian entities, is dominated by Rosneft. Rosneft...

Analysts and trade sources reported that Asian oil refinery profits had risen to their highest level in 20 months. This was due to a strong diesel performance, which has been boosted by a tightening of the outlook following US sanctions against two major Russian suppliers. Singapore's complex refinery margin, a proxy of Asia's refining profitability rose to almost $9 a barrel Tuesday, the highest since February 2024. LSEG data shows that it was about $2 a barrel early October. The global diesel market has been the main driver of strength in recent weeks, with a strong demand and tighter supplies....

Three sources with knowledge of the situation said that some Indian refiners were preparing to reduce their Russian oil imports. The U.S. was pressuring New Delhi, to stop purchasing Russian crude in order to end the conflict in Ukraine. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra modi assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia - its main source of oil imports. India's main goal, it said on Thursday, was to secure energy supply and maintain stable prices. In a volatile energy market, it has always been our priority to protect the Indian...