Oil Refineries

In recent weeks, refiners around the world have made unexpected profits by producing fuels that are essential to summer demand. This is a welcome respite for a sector in trouble, before a predicted weakening of this year. Fuel markets are strong in contrast to crude oil prices that fell in May to a 4-year low after OPEC+ increased output faster than expected. This also indicates that demand has remained resilient despite concerns over tariffs. Neil Crosby, analyst at Sparta Commodities, said that margins are high because supply and demand balance is tight. The refining margin is the profit a refinery...

IIR Energy, an industry watchdog, said that the Dangote oil refining plant in Nigeria, which is one of the largest refineries in the world, will operate its gasoline production unit with reduced output until October due to a series of problems in recent months. The 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, which opened last year, is currently running its 204,000 bpd gasoline-producing residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit at about 70% of capacity, IIR said. IIR reported that the unit was closed from April 7 until May 11 due to damage to part of the unit, and again from May 15 through May...

Three trading sources have confirmed that Nigeria's Dangote refinery will import five million barrels (or more) of U.S. WTI Crude Oil in July. This is a continuation of its purchasing spree following a possible record tally for June. Sources said that the giant new 650,000 barrel-per-day (bpd), oil refinery will import 161,000 barrels of WTI per day in July, after recent tenders were awarded. This is on the back of the record 300,000 barrels per day booked in June's tenders. The final totals of the month may change if the refinery makes more purchases. Traders said that the buying spree...

The 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria is expected to operate its gasoline-making unit at reduced rates through October after a string of issues in recent months, industry monitor IIR Energy told . About 70% of the capacity of the refinery's residual fluid catalytic (RFCC) unit, which produces 204,000 bpd of gasoline, is being used. IIR reported that the unit was closed from April 7 until May 11 due to damage to part of it, and again from May 15 through May 25 because of a mechanical problem. IIR stated that the full rate of production is not expected...

According to a Tuesday filing, a U.S. Federal Judge has extended until at least June 2, the deadline for rival bidders to enter bids during a court-organized sale of shares of Citgo Petroleum's parent company. Citgo Petroleum is owned by Venezuela. Last month, Delaware Judge Leonard Stark accepted a $3.7billion offer from Contrarian Funds affiliate Red Tree Investments, as the opening bid for the auction of shares. The auction was intended to compensate 15 creditors who were affected by debt defaults and expropriations. Red Tree and other rival consortia were given until the 28th of May to submit their submissions...

Shell Indonesia announced on Friday that it has sold its gas station business ownership to a joint-venture between Citadel Pacific Limited, Sefas Group and Citadel Pacific Limited. The company will retain its lubricant division. Shell has said that the deal will be finalized by the end of next year. It includes 200 gas stations and a fuel terminal in Gresik. The move is part of its strategy to transform the company's portfolio. The company stated in a press release that "after completion, Shell will remain in Indonesia via brand licensing agreements." Citadel Pacific, a private holding company based in the...

Phillips 66 is expected to lay off most workers at its 139,000-barrel-per-day Los Angeles-area refinery in December, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The company announced that it would shut down the facility in October and start winding down its operations in October 2025. Two months later, the company will start reducing its workforce. About 600 employees work at the Los Angeles facility, along with 300 contractors. The United Steelworkers Union represents over half of the hourly employees. Sources said that a few of the retained employees will be transferred to Phillips 66 Los Angeles Marine Oil Terminal....

In April, Asia's imports for key refined fuels like gasoline and diesel dropped to their lowest level in four years. This was due to refinery maintenance as well as a weaker demand from the region that is the largest importer. According to commodity analysts Kpler, the total imports of light distillates and middle distillates in April were 166.37 millions barrels, down from March's 195.54 and the lowest since April 2020. The sharp fall in imports for April was due to a decline in shipments by key exporters of refined goods. Kpler reports that India, which is the top fuel exporter...

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...

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...

Iraq's oil minister announced on Monday that it is awaiting Turkey's approval before restarting the oil flow out of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Hayan Abdel Ghani, a reporter, said that he hoped to have the Kurdish oil exported in two days. When asked about the timing of Iraq's return to oil exports, he replied that "this issue would be resolved in a week." Kurdistan regional government announced on Sunday that the Iraqi Kurdistan officials have agreed to resume Kurdish crude oil exports, based on volumes available. In March 2023, the pipeline was shut down by Turkey after the International Chamber...

Fuel oil margins rose after U.S. president Donald Trump reimposed tougher policies on Iran. However, trade sources expect the rally to be short-lived due to an unclear disruption in supply, and weaker China demand, as well as broader tariff worries, weighed on sentiment. As traders have considered various factors and pondered the uncertainty of supply, there has been a volatile movement in the market this year, especially for high-sulfur fuel. A fuel oil trader stated that the recent increase in crack spread or traded margin was more of an emotional reaction. He added that Chinese demand remains a negative factor....

Several trade sources said that Syria wants to import oil through local intermediaries because its first post-Assad import bids did not attract much interest from oil traders, due to the ongoing sanctions and financial risk. According to tender documents, the caretaker government of Syria issued tenders for the import of 4.2 million barrels crude oil as well as 100,000 tons of each fuel oil and diesel. Sources said that the tenders which closed on the Monday have not been awarded, and the government has now begun negotiating with local firms to meet the requirements. After Iran seems to have stopped...

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman held talks on Monday with his Iraqi and Libyan equivalents, Hayan AbdelGhani and Khalifa Abdulsadek, in Riyadh on efforts to support the stability of international energy markets, the Saudi state news agency (DAY SPA) reported. OPEC+, which groups the de facto Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, is because of hold a meeting of its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) on Feb. 3. U.S. President Donald Trump has openly contacted Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce oil costs, saying doing so would end the war in Ukraine. OPEC+...