Oil Refineries

The refining margins were higher and turnaround costs lower, helping Phillips 66 to beat Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter profit. Top U.S. refiners were expected to post higher second-quarter profit, rebounding from losses in the prior quarter as stronger-than-expected diesel margins lifted earnings. Valero Energy, for example, exceeded Wall Street expectations thanks to improved margins. Fuel manufacturers have experienced an unexpected increase in profits from certain products, bringing relief to those who saw their earnings fall from the 2022 peak. This was due to a rebound in demand following a pandemic and disruptions in supply after Russia's invasion...

Dover, an industrial equipment manufacturer, raised its profit forecast for the full year on Thursday. It cited robust product demand, and continued momentum in aerospace and defense markets, as well as data centers. The company based in Downers Grove, Illinois, now expects a profit adjusted for 2025 of between $9.35 to $9.55 per shares, up from $9.20 - $9.40 previously. According to LSEG data, analysts expect an average annual adjusted profit per share of $9.35. Richard Tobin, CEO of Tobin Group, said that "Order trends continued posting positive momentum in this quarter. This bolsters our confidence in our second half...

Valero Energy, a refiner, beat Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter profit on Thursday. A rebound in refining profits helped to cushion the loss of its renewable diesel unit. Investors expected top U.S. refining companies to report higher profits in the second quarter. bouncing back Profits increased during the first quarter of the year, despite the fact that diesel prices were unseasonably high. Valero is the first major refiner in this earnings season to report results. Its refining margin was $12.35 per barrel throughput, up from $11.14 a year ago. Lane Riggs, CEO of Lane Riggs Oil Company, said:...

Three sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that California officials are looking for a buyer to take over the Benicia refinery of Valero Energy, located near San Francisco. This is an unusual move, as the company plans to close the facility by April. California's 28 million drivers, who already pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation, are now concerned about protecting the fuel supply in their state. California's efforts to prevent the refinery from shutting down also mark a shift in government policy from recent years, which has focused on championing green initiatives and limiting fossil...

Marathon has restarted the diesel and gasoline production units at its Galveston Bay refinery, which produces 631,000 barrels per day (bpd). This was confirmed by people familiar with the plant's operations on Tuesday. Sources said that the refinery's residual hydrotreater unit (RHU), which produces 64,000 bpd, is shut down completely following an fire on the 14th of June. The date for restarting this unit has yet to be determined. Marathon's spokesperson didn't respond to our request for comment. Sources said that the 140,000-bpd fluidic catalytic unit-3 (FCCU-3), which produces gasoline, was shut down over the weekend. Production resumed on Monday....

Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian billionaire, has warned that discounted Russian petroleum products pour into African markets. This could undermine the continent's new refining industry. Dangote has struggled with securing crude oil locally, despite his plans to increase the refinery's capacity to 700,000. Dangote, at an Abuja oil conference, said: "We're increasingly faced with the dumping and blending of cheap, toxic petroleum products. Some of these are blended in substandard levels, which would never be permitted in Europe or North America." He attributed the trend to Western sanctions against Russian oil which have led Moscow to offer steep discounts on alternative...

On Wednesday, drones carrying bombs attacked oilfields in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Two fields operated by Norway’s DNO had to stop production. DNO, the oil and gas company that operates the Tawke-Peshkabir fields in the Zakho region, bordering Turkey, has temporarily suspended production following explosions which caused no injuries. Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism agency posted a Facebook message that three drones were used to attack the fields, but no one was injured. Only material damage occurred. DNO stated that "the damage assessment has begun and the company anticipates restarting production as soon as the assessment is complete." Later, another oilfield operated by U.S....

Holders of an important bond defaulted on by Venezuela's PDVSA state oil company asked a New York Judge to ensure that they can claim compensation in an expected auction of shares of the parent of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refining company Citgo Petroleum. Holders' claim in New York against Venezuela is still not resolved. However, if they obtain an injunction, they can block the transfer of Citgo Holding's parent company PDV Holding's shares to the winner of the auction. Last week, a Delaware court officer who was overseeing the bidding process recommended that a $7.4 billion bid submitted by group led by...

Investors retreated from oil prices on Tuesday, after a nearly 2% rise in the previous session. They were assessing new developments regarding U.S. Tariffs and a larger-than-expected OPEC+ production increase for August. Brent crude futures fell 22 cents or 0.3% to $69.36 per barrel at 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 27 cents or 0.4% to $67.66 per barrel. U.S. president Donald Trump began Monday telling U.S. trade partners, including major suppliers South Korea, Japan, as well as smaller U.S. Exporters such as Serbia, Thailand, and Tunisia that the U.S. will begin imposing sharply higher tariffs on August...

Three sources familiar with the preparations say that lawyers representing holders of a Venezuelan bond in default and some bidders who participated in an auction in the United States of shares of the Venezuelan parent company of U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, are preparing to object to its recommended outcome. The group led by Gold Reserve, which made the $7.4billion offer, could derail again the sale of Venezuela’s foreign asset. This asset was put up for auction to compensate creditors that lost billions due to Venezuela’s expropriations. The proceeds from the auction organized by the court of PDV Holding will be...

Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Thursday said that a fire-damaged hydrotreater will be closed at Marathon Petroleum Galveston Bay Refinery, Texas until September. All other units at the 631,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Texas City, Texas, are operating at or near full capacity following the June 14 fire at the 400 train hydrotreater, which is part of the 64,000-bpd Residual Hydrotreating Unit (RHU), the sources said. Sources who refused to identify themselves because the information was not publicly available did not quantify exactly the production impact. In an email sent Thursday night, Jamal Kheiry, the spokesperson for Marathon, declined...

By America Hernandez PARIS, 2 July - TotalEnergies West Shetland Offshore assets, which it sold to Prax Group in the past year, remain under French oil major ownership. They will therefore not be affected by liquidation proceedings that affect the British company. TotalEnergies EP UK stated that the transaction to sell the West of Shetland Asset to Prax is not yet complete and we are still the operators of the Shetland Gas Plant as well as the related fields. TotalEnergies agreed to transfer employees from TotalEnergies to Prax in exchange for a portfolio mature offshore fields that produce about 7,500...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as OPEC, are both more conservative in their growth forecasts. The numbers contained in the monthly report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the wider OPEC+ are less optimistic. The IEA has a similar view. In its monthly report for July, it predicted that the global crude oil demand would grow by 700,000.00 barrels per day in 2025. This is the lowest growth rate since 2009. OPEC’s July report is a little more optimistic, predicting that oil demand will rise by 1,29 million bpd by 2025. Of this, 1.16 million...

The Iranian oil ministry's SHANA News Agency reported that the fire, which started on Saturday and killed one employee at Abadan's refinery unit, was brought under control. The operations are not affected, it was said. Shana reported that "according to preliminary technical investigations, the cause of fire was a leaking pump in Unit 70. No evidence of human intervention or sabotage has yet been observed." Firefighters from Abadan, and other nearby areas, were reported by state television. Local news agencies had earlier published videos of large flames and smoke stacks rising from a section of the refinery. The facility is...

According to LSEG data and other market sources, the Russian seaborne exports of diesel and gasoline fell by 6% in the first 15 day period of July compared to the same period in 2006. Refinery maintenance and a strong domestic demand affected the supply. According to industry sources, calculations have shown that the offline capacity of Russia's primary oil refineries has increased by 20% to 3.9 millions metric tons in July, which includes maintenance at several large and mid-size refining plants. Refineries use less feedstock when idle capacity increases. In the first 15 days in July, diesel loadings through the...

The oil prices dropped slightly on Thursday, as concerns about the possible reinstatement of U.S. Tariffs raised doubts over demand in advance of an anticipated supply boost from major producers. Brent crude futures dropped 34 cents or 0.49% to $68.77 per barrel at 1326 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 31 cents or 0.46% to $67.14. The two contracts reached their highest levels in a week on Wednesday, as the oil producer Iran halted cooperation with the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog. This heightened concerns that the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear program could once again escalate into an armed conflict....

The crude oil markets pay attention to what OPEC+ has to say, but less so to what they actually do when it comes down to supplying the world's biggest commodity. Eight members of a wider group who had implemented voluntary production reductions met over the weekend to decide on a rise in output of 411,000 barrels per daily (bpd) for July, which would be the third consecutive month of this increase. Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates will each receive more than half the increase in production. There are still two questions to be answered. Will the eight...

People familiar with the matter said that the Guinean government's decision to revoke Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA's) mining license was due to the company's failure in fulfilling its commitment to build an alumina refining plant. Reports on Wednesday indicated that Guinea had begun a process of revoking the EGA license, intensifying a dispute which began in October when the Emirati firm's mining and bauxite-export operations were suspended. Guinea's move, as the second largest bauxite producer in the world, could disrupt global supply chains for aluminium and signal the country's increasing hostility toward foreign miners, especially since the September 2021 junta...

Sinopec, the state-run oil company in China, announced on Monday that it had signed a deal with a Saudi Aramco unit to create a joint venture with a capital of $3.95 billion. Sinopec's unit in Singapore, Aramco Asia Singapore Pte, and Saudi Aramco signed the agreement. (AAS). Sinopec will contribute 7,20 billion yuan, and its unit 14,40 billion yuan respectively. AAS will contribute the remaining 25% of the registered capital. Fujian Sinopec Aramco Refining and Petrochemical Co will be involved in port operations, crude oil transport, and other activities in the Gulei Port Economic Development Zone in Zhangzhou in China's...

In March, China's refineries produced the most oil in an entire year. However, the amount of crude added to inventories rose to its highest level in almost three years due to a surge in imports. According to calculations based upon official data, China's crude surplus reached 1.74 million barrels a day (bpd). This is the highest level since June 2023. In March, refiners had a large surplus of crude oil available after they had drained their stockpiles during the first two months of this year when imports of oil were low due to the high prices at the time of...

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...

According to three trading sources, and shipping data, Turkey's biggest oil refiner Tupras is now buying Russian Urals crude after stopping earlier this year because of stronger U.S. Sanctions against Moscow. Tupras didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Three sources confirmed that Tupras had resumed purchases following the price of Urals crude falling to its lowest level since 2023 earlier this month. The price was comfortably below the $60 per barrel G7 cap. The price cap imposed on Russian oil by the Group of Seven, the European Union, and Australia prohibits the use of Western services like insurance, flagging,...

The state news agency reported that the Iraqi Oil Ministry requested an urgent meeting on Friday with the relevant parties in order to resume negotiations regarding the export of Kurdistan Regional Oil. Iraq's Oil Ministry also stated that it had taken serious measures to demonstrate goodwill in the negotiations to ensure a resumption exports. It added that unrealistic demands outside of legal frameworks hindered reaching a final deal. The Ministry said that it was working to ensure the proper implementation of amendments to the budget laws approved on February 2 so that exports via Iraq-Turkey can resume as quickly as...

OPEC+, the group of crude oil producers, justified its decision to increase production citing "the healthy fundamentals of the market and a positive outlook for the market." They are probably looking at a different market than the rest of us. OPEC+ - which includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plus Russia and its allies - announced in a Monday statement that they will proceed with a planned increase in production in April. Calculations show that the volume of oil required to be added back is 138,000 barrels per daily (bpd). It is not enough to have a significant...