Oil Refineries

Four sources said that Venezuela's Cardon refinery, the second-largest in Venezuela, has restarted a fluid catalytic reactor which was out of service due to a breakdown and a lack of raw materials for over a year. One source said that the 88,000 barrels per daily (bpd), or FCC cracker was processing 26,000 barrels per day on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a similar unit in Amuay, the largest refinery of the country, was processing 38,000 barrels a day. Sources said that the Paraguana Refining Center includes Amuay as well as Cardon refineries. On Tuesday, it processed about 187,000 barrels per day, or 20%...

Marathon Petroleum reported a loss for the first quarter. The company is the latest U.S. refining firm to be hit by reduced margins in a period of increased maintenance and turnaround activities across the industry. The company reported that the results represented the second largest planned maintenance quarter of its history. The Findlay-based company reported a refining margin of $13.38 per bar in the first quarter. This compares to $19.35 in 2024. Turnaround activity, also known as planned maintenance, is usually performed by refineries in the first quarter of the year to prepare them for the increased demand during summer...

The OPEC+ group's increased supply is not the reason for which they claim it is. On May 3, the eight OPEC+ member countries who have agreed to voluntary production cuts decided to relax their curbs for June. This time, they added back 411,000 barrels a day (bpd). Calculations show that the June increase will bring the combined April, May, and June increases to 960,000 bpd. This represents a 44% reduction of the 2.2million bpd decrease. In a statement posted on the website of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the eight stated that the decision to increase output was...

Chevron reported earnings for the first quarter that were in line with Wall Street expectations, after seeing a turnaround of its refining division from a loss at the end of last year. Eimear Bonner, the company's chief finance officer, stated that Chevron could repurchase shares this year between $11.5 billion and 13 billion dollars, which is within its guidance range of $10 billion to 20 billion. According to LSEG, the second largest U.S. oil company posted earnings adjusted of $3.8 billion for the three-month period ended March 31. This is $2.18 per common share and matches analyst expectations. The shares...

Chevron reported earnings for the first quarter that were in line with Wall Street expectations, after seeing a turnaround of its refining division from a loss at the end of last year. Eimear Bonner, the company's chief finance officer, stated that Chevron could repurchase shares this year between $11.5 billion and 13 billion dollars, which is within its guidance range of $10 billion to 20 billion. According to LSEG, the second largest U.S. oil company posted earnings adjusted of $3.8 billion for the three-month period ended March 31. This is $2.18 per common share and matches analyst expectations. The profits...

U.S. refiner HF Sinclair posted a smaller-than-expected loss in the first quarter on Thursday, supported by sequential improvement in refining margins. The 3-2-1 crack is a spread that uses a 3-1-2-1 split. Fuel supply was tightened by nationwide refinery maintenance, which is a key indicator for U.S. refueling margins. It has been under pressure since then due to macroeconomic headwinds. Refiners convert crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as jet fuel, jet-fuel, and other products. HF Sinclair’s throughput or total crude processed during the first quarter increased slightly from 643,300 barrels per day a year ago to...

Ecolab, a water solutions company, kept its annual profit outlook unchanged on Tuesday in spite of tariff uncertainty and lower first-quarter revenues and profits. This sent its shares up 1.7%. The company that offers water services such as cleaning, sanitization and cooling to many industries still expects to see earnings grow between 12% and 15% this year. Ecolab uses its diverse supply chain and its 'local-for-local' production model, as well as a recently announced surcharge of 5% on all products and services sold in the U.S., to minimize tariff impact. The tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on his trade...

Phillips 66 announced a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on Friday. Lower refining margins due to widespread maintenance and turnaround activities across the U.S. refinery sector weighed down on its performance. In preparation for summer driving, U.S. refineries undergo seasonal maintenance and turn-around activities. This scheduled downtime can temporarily impact refinery performance and revenue capture. Mark Lashier, CEO of the company said: "Our results are not only reflective of a macro-environment that is challenging but also reflect our biggest spring turnaround program ever." The refining division of the company posted a $937 million loss during the first quarter of this year, compared...

Valero Energy on Thursday said it would cease operations at its 170,000-barrel-per-day San Francisco-area oil refinery next year amid worries about California's declining fuel supplies and high gasoline prices. The refinery in Benicia will be able to continue operating until the end of 2026, after the refinery based in San Antonio, Texas, announced last week its intention to "idle or restructure" the refinery by that date. Valero said that it recorded a pre-tax impairment of $1.1 billion for its California refineries. Valero CEO Lane Riggs said that the challenging regulatory and enforcement environments was the reason for Valero's decision to...

Gary Simmons, the Chief Operating Officer of Valero Energy Corp. told analysts during a conference call on its first-quarter earnings that Valero Energy Corp.'s license for fuel imports into Mexico had been reinstated after a suspension early in April. The Mexican tax authorities, who are the biggest buyers of U.S. fuels in Mexico, have suspended Valero’s import license since the beginning of this month, amid a crackdown on illegal motor fuel flows into the country. Simmons stated that Valero received the notice of suspension on April 9, as the Mexican customs had questions about Valero arising from an investigation Valero...

Valero Energy announced a loss for the first quarter compared to a profit a year ago on Thursday. This was due to lower refining profits and approximately $1 billion of impairment charges related its West Coast assets. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the refinery with the second largest capacity in America posted an adjusted profit per share of 89 cents, exceeding expectations of 42 cents. Lane Riggs, CEO of Lane Riggs Oil Company, said that the quarter saw heavy maintenance throughout the refinery system as well as a "challenging environment" for the renewable diesel segment. U.S. refineries...

China's imports were low in the first quarter. The challenge is to determine whether this was due to temporary factors, or a deeper economic malaise. In the first quarter of 2025, the four biggest commodity imports - crude oil, coal, iron ore and copper - all fell compared to 2024. The soft imports can be explained by the fact that the second largest economy in the world is still trying to gain momentum for economic growth. This task is made more difficult by the trade war escalating by U.S. president Donald Trump. This ignores a number of factors that are...

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 netback price for oil delivered to Primorsk, a Baltic Sea port, from Western Siberia, has fallen by the most since June 2023, following the fall in global oil prices. The drop in oil prices could add to the concerns of the Russian government. It is already dealing with high inflation, slower economic growth, and low oil prices, which are a major source of revenue for state budget. The netback of West Siberian crude oil has declined to $392 per metric ton, according to calculations. The netback is a benchmark used by traders to determine the price of domestic crude...

Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its energy infrastructure on Friday, despite a ban on such strikes. It said a major piece of gas pipeline in Sudzha was virtually destroyed. An official from Ukraine said that Russia was responsible for the attack on Sudzha's gas transit point. It was not possible to confirm independently which side was responsible. Separate agreements were announced by the United States and Russia on February 2 to stop their attacks in the Black Sea, and to target each other's energy. These agreements are potential stepping-stones that Washington hopes can lead to a complete ceasefire and to...

The governor of Leningrad, a region in the northwestern part of Russia, said that a tank at the Kirishi oil refining plant, one of Russia's biggest, was damaged during an aerial attack by Ukraine. Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery is one of the top two refineries in Russia. According to industry sources, it refines approximately 17.7 million tonnes of Russian crude per year (355, 000 barrels per day). Alexander Drozdenko said that the governor of Leningrad Region, Alexander Drozdenko on Telegram, "Air defences destroyed one drone as it approached, and the other was destroyed on the territory of enterprise." He said...

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...

The flow of Russian naphtha to Asia fell to an all-time low in February after new drone attacks on Russian refinery infrastructure. This led to higher prices in the East for the raw plastic material. Naphtha can be used as a feedstock to produce petrochemicals, which are then used in the production of plastic bottles, electric vehicle components and consumer products. Since Washington announced tougher sanctions against entities in the Russian oil business, Asian refiners have seen their profits from making naphtha increase by around 40%. Industry sources have said that the risk of Russian supplies could complicate a global...

Ukraine attacked energy facilities in southern Russia on Monday with dozens drones, causing fires to break out at an oil refinery and gas processing plant. Flights from the Volga Mountains to the Caucasus Mountains were also disrupted. The following is a list petrochemical, oil refineries, and other facilities that have been attacked over the last month. VOLGOGRAD Baza, an official Russian Telegram news channel, reported that a series explosions occurred in the vicinity of a refinery owned by Russia's second largest oil producer, Lukoil, in Volgograd, on February 3. The refinery is one of the largest in south Russia. The...

China's. surplus crude oil relieved a little in December, but the excess. rose in 2024 to more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) as. refiners demolished less expensive Russian freights. China, the world's biggest crude importer, had excess crude. oil of about 1.5 million bpd in December, below 1.77 million. bpd in November, according to calculations based on official. data. For 2024, the surplus of crude was 1.15 million bpd, up from. 760,000 bpd in 2023, implying that refiners likely have strong. stock levels, giving them options on how to handle the. recent spike in oil prices. China does...

Asia's crude oil imports dropped in 2024, the first yearly decrease in three years, led by weak demand from heavyweight China and other major buyers, with only India managing sporadic development. The world's leading importing area saw arrivals of 26.51 million barrels each day (bpd) in 2024, down 1.4% from the 26.88 million bpd in 2023, according to data put together by LSEG Oil Research study. The decline of 370,000 bpd this year marked the very first time Asia's crude imports have dropped considering that 2021, when China's. strict lockdown to fight COVID-19 cut need worldwide's. biggest oil importer. It...

Asia's crude oil imports dropped in 2024, the very first yearly decline in three years, led by weak need from heavyweight China and other major buyers, with only India handling sparse development. The world's top importing region saw arrivals of 26.51 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down 1.4% from the 26.88 million bpd in 2023, according to information compiled by LSEG Oil Research. The decline of 370,000 bpd this year marked the very first time Asia's crude imports have actually dropped given that 2021, when China's. stringent lockdown to combat COVID-19 cut demand worldwide's. greatest oil importer. It...

Staterun Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp is purchasing Middle Eastern crude to offset less supply of cheaper Russian oil, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta stated in a recent interview. Indian state refiners, which generally buy Russian oil in the spot market instead of under long-lasting contract, are unable to acquire about 8 million to 10 million barrels of crude for January loading that they have actually formerly seen offered in the market, sources stated previously this month. India became a leading purchaser of Russian seaborne oil after the European Union shunned purchases and enforced sanctions on Moscow following...