Oil Refineries

The decision of the core members to?increase crude oil production quotas in September is easy to dismiss as a meaningless act, given the disruptions caused by the Iran conflict. As long as the Strait of Hormuz is largely closed, and as long as there are no solutions to the threats to the Bab el-Mandeb 'waterway, it will be difficult for the 'oil-exporting groups to deliver what they have committed to. Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait are among the OPEC+ members who have agreed to voluntary cuts in output. Algeria, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Kuwait, Algeria and Oman also agreed. The United...

Valero Energy reported on 'Thursday its highest quarterly profit in the last 20 years and surpassed Wall Street expectations. Oil market disruptions across the Middle East boosted 'demand' for U.S. fuels exports, and pushed its refining margins sky-high. U.S. refining companies have been the most benefited by the Iran War as buyers from around the world have demanded their products amid the disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This has pushed the country's fuel exports to new records. Valero's second-quarter adjusted operating profits in the refining segment nearly tripled from a year ago to $4.4 billion, while refining...

HF Sinclair posted its highest quarterly 'profit' since the Russian invasion of Ukraine rocked global oil markets a few years ago. The company also announced that it would'separate" its lubricants & specialties unit into an independent publicly listed company. The U.S. refiner is also beating second-quarter profit expectations. It wants to unlock more value from its specialty products business, which has higher margins, while returning cash to investors. It increased its quarterly dividends by 5%. In premarket trading, shares of the Dallas-based company rose 6.8%. U.S. refining companies have been the most successful in the?war against Iran, as foreign buyers...

Can India do for Asia's refined-fuels market what China did? China drastically cut its crude imports to a decade low in June in response to the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. This freed up oil for buyers who were struggling to find cargoes due to the 'effective closure of Strait of Hormuz. India has taken a different approach, purchasing Russian crude oil and increasing?exports?of refined products in order to offset the lower shipments of refineries from the Middle East and Russia. According to commodity analysts Kpler, India's light and middle distillates exports are expected to hit 1.55 million barrels...

Venezuela's smallest ?refinery, the 146,000-barrel-per-day ?El Palito ?in ?the country's central region, has restarted its fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), key for producing motor fuel, four workers said on Monday. After twin quakes in late June, the refinery's operational units have been slowly reactivated in recent days. The 'FCC' is in operation and we are working to increase (production)," said one of the workers. He added that it took several attempts to get the unit into service and now processes 35,000 bpd. On the weekend, the country's oil minister said that fuel supplies were guaranteed in all areas including the coastal...

The semi-official YJC Iranian news agency, citing a local source, reported that a fire which broke out on Friday?at 'the Oxin Palayesh'mini-refinery' in Iran's western Lorestan Province has been put out. YJC quoted the safety manager at Lorestan Industrial Estates Company as saying that the fire was contained to a 'barrel of waste oil' and 'didn’t spread to refinery facilities or storing tanks. Iranian state media reported earlier that a fire had broken out just after 5 pm local time, sending a thick smoke column over Poldokhtar. Firefighters initially struggled to contain the blaze due to its 'intensity' and presence...

The oil price fell on 'Friday, but remained on course for a weekly gain as renewed U.S. - Iran fighting disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This stoked concerns about supply disruptions. Brent futures fell 68 cents or 0.9% to $75.62 per barrel at 0817 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), which is a blend of U.S. and Canadian crudes, fell 64 cents or 0.9% to $71.44. Brent was expected to gain about 5% this week and WTI would increase by about 4%. Vandana Hari, an analyst at Vanda Insights who provides oil market analyses, said that although...

After a drone attack on the largest oil refinery in Russia, motorists in the city of 'Omsk are lining up for fuel. This is one of the most serious attacks by the Ukrainians inside Russia since?the start of the war. Video showed a?but orderly? line of cars waiting at a fuel station on Monday evening, just hours after the terrorist attack. Witnesses in the Siberian City reported that there were longer queues Tuesday, but they were still manageable -- only around 20 minutes. Fuel was also available. Some people on the social network VKontakte complained about drivers who they called...

Kyiv’s military confirmed on Monday that Ukrainian drones had'struck' Russia's Omsk Refinery, located deep in Siberia and the largest refinery in the country. This would have been 'one of the longest ranged' Ukrainian strikes since the beginning of the war. Local Russian authorities also confirmed a strike. Ukraine's General Staff released a statement in which it stated that the strike caused an fire at the Omsk Refinery. The refinery is located around 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles), away from Ukrainian territory, and near the border between Russia and Kazakhstan. Vitaly Khotsenko said that Ukraine attacked the refinery and said that Russian...

The Americans are preparing for the Fourth of July, despite gasoline prices that are still high and well above their historical averages. The ease of tensions between?U.S. The easing of tensions between the?U.S. Despite recent drops, this weekend motorists will pay the second highest Independence Day fuel prices in history. Last week, the price-tracking service GasBuddy predicted that the average gasoline price in the United States would be $3.75 per gallon by July 4. This is behind the record $4.80 per liter set on July 4th 2022. GasBuddy reports that the national average gasoline price was $3.772 per gallon on...

The Fourth of July holiday is fast approaching and Americans are not deterred by the high gasoline prices. They remain well above historical levels. Fuel prices have been lowered by the easing of tensions in the U.S.-Iran relationship. This is due to fears of disruptions of oil shipments across Strait of Hormuz. The price of gasoline is expected to be the second highest ever for Independence Day this weekend, despite recent drops. GasBuddy, a price-tracking service, predicted last week that the average gasoline price in the United States would be $3.75 per gallons on July 4. This is behind only...

The U.S.-Iran diplomatic relationship has resulted in a reduction of gasoline prices for Americans. This is the sixth consecutive 'weekly drop, and a 15% decrease from the peak reached in May. According to GasBuddy, the?national average gasoline price fell by 14.1 cents per gallon in the past week. It was $3.85 a gallon on Sunday. Prices fell in the majority of states. GasBuddy data revealed that gasoline prices dropped by 25 cents per gallon over the last week in Colorado, 22 cents in Arizona, and 21 cents (per gallon) in Ohio. This drop could ease the pressure on 'U.S. Donald...

Two?industry? sources said that the Ryazan oil refining plant, one of Russia's largest plants, stopped crude oil processing 'after a drone attack' on Wednesday. Ukraine said on Wednesday its military struck Rosneft's Ryazan oil refining plant overnight. The Ryazan refinery ceased operations on Wednesday. One source said on Thursday that the shutdown would last two weeks. Rosneft did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Pavel Malkov, the governor of Ryazan's region, said that Russian air defences?shot down 45 unmanned drones over the area overnight. He said that falling debris was the cause of fires at industrial sites. Industry...

Local officials said that a drone strike caused the fire at the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Krasnodar, and authorities in Taganrog evacuated residents after another strike. The authorities reported that preliminary information indicated no injuries. In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on 'Russia's energy infrastructure and other infrastructure to undermine Moscow’s war effort. The Ilsky refinery with its capacity of?around 138,000 barrels per day has been attacked before. Fuel shortages and price increases across Russia are a result of the attacks on oil refineries. Yury Slyusar, the Governor of Rostov, said on Telegram that fires are being...

Two questions are raised by the decision of OPEC+, to increase crude production quotas a fifth consecutive month? from August. Who will purchase the product if they are able to ship it? At a Sunday meeting, the'seven core members' of OPEC+ (which groups together OPEC, as well as other producers like Russia) agreed to increase quotas - by 188,000 barrels a day starting August. This will bring the 'total increase since April to nearly 800,000 bpd. The first question can be answered positively if the Strait of Hormuz remains open and the volume of water flowing through the narrow waterway...

Ukraine has hit a Russian refinery in Ufa for the second consecutive time, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said on Wednesday. Kyiv is intensifying its strikes in Russia. "Our plan to impose Ukrainian long-range sanction is being implemented every day," Zelenskiy said, referring the Ukrainian attacks deep within Russian territory. "This is a completely just response to everything Russia does against us." Zelenskiy reported that a strike was also carried out on a Russian military-industrial complex he described as "strategic", located in the Penza area, which he claimed made components for missile weapons used by Moscow to attack Ukraine....

Asia's crude oil imports by sea?rose slightly in June, but remained near their lowest levels in over a decade due to the impact of the?Iran Conflict on shipments from Middle East. Data from commodity analysts Kpler show that the top importing region will receive 20,71 million barrels of oil per day in June. This is up a fraction from the?20.39million bpd received in May and almost 2 million bpd more than the 18,77million bpd achieved in April. The imports of Asia remain well below the average 26.79 millions bpd for the three-month period prior to the United States' and Israel's...

After the Iran conflict, when oil flows were disrupted and costs rose, India began to buy Russian coal and crude oil to boost its energy supplies. According to Kpler, commodity analysts, the world's third largest oil importer will see Russian crude arrivals surge to a new record of 2,55 million barrels a day (bpd). The imports of Russian goods in June?would have been higher than the 2.13million bpd recorded in May. This was?the?third-highest record, and only behind the 2.16million bpd registered for May 2023. In June, Russia's share will be slightly less than 50% of India's total crude oil imports...

Kpler and LSEG data shows that India's exports to Europe of?jet-fuel from Russia have risen to levels not seen before the EU imposed a ban on russian-origin fuel in January. Data from Kpler indicates that the EU imported 62,000 barrels of jet fuel per day from India's Jamnagar Refinery to Italy. LSEG data also shows that the EU imports around 64,000 bpd?fuel. Both data platforms indicate that imports have been at their highest level since December 2025, when they were around 89,000 bpd. The European Union banned products made from Russian oil on January 21, aiming to curb oil revenues...

Official data on Thursday showed that oil product inventories in Asia's main trading hub Singapore fell to their lowest level?in almost 13 years. This was due to a'sharp' decline in residual fuel stocks as the Middle East conflict continued. Enterprise Singapore's data shows that the combined onshore oil products stocks fell to 34.41 millions barrels during the week ending June 10. This is the lowest level since July 2013. The oil inventories at global storage hubs are shrinking, as Middle Eastern shipments continue to be curtailed by the U.S. - Iran?war. In the week ending June 10, inventories of residual...

NATO fighter jets shot down on Monday a 'drone' that entered Latvian airspace from Russia, according to the Baltic nation's military. This is the latest incident in a long line of security incidents near Europe's eastern borders. The origin of the drone was not immediately known. In recent months, Ukraine has increased its long-ranged drone attacks against Russia, including the Baltic Sea region, where several Ukrainian military aircraft have entered the airspace of Finland and Latvia. In a social media post, the Latvian army stated that "Allied fighter 'jets successfully shot down a drone which was flying into Latvian Airspace!"...

Alexander Novak, the Deputy Premier, said that the Russian oil production had fallen since the beginning of the year. He blamed the drop on unplanned refinery maintenance. Novak's remarks mark the first time that a Russian official acknowledged a decline in production this year. In April 2023 the world's third largest oil producer stopped publishing data about oil production, less than a year after it began its war with Ukraine. Novak didn't specify the reason for the refinery repairs, but Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russian refineries over recent months. Novak, a reporter at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum,...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, said on Monday that Ukraine was now capable of 'hitting Russian logistical?throughout occupied areas of Ukraine' and had caused shortages of fuel throughout Crimea and Russian-held regions. In his video nightly address, Zelenskiy said: "Our troops can now reach Russian military logistic across the?entire depth of the temporarily-occupied territories." "In reality, there are virtually?no roads safe for the occupiers in the south and the east of our country." In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its?strikes against targets at medium range and others hundreds of kilometers away from Ukraine's border. It is focusing on Russia’s...

China's imports of crude oils by sea fell to their lowest level in nearly 10 years in may as a result of the Iran War. This led to a drastic reorganization of operations for the world's largest oil importer. According to data compiled by Kpler, seaborne arrivals of crude oil were down to 6.36 million barrels each day in May from 8.10 in April. This was the lowest since October 2016. The imports also fell by a little over half of the 11,39 million bpd that Kpler recorded for February. This was the 'last full month' before the U.S.-Israeli attack...