Oil Refineries

The oil prices dropped on Wednesday, after the IEA stated that supply has surpassed demand in this year. Investors were awaiting Friday's meeting of U.S. president Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brent crude futures dropped 45 cents or 0.7% to $65.67 per barrel at 0831 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures were down 53 cents or 0.8%, at $62.64. On Tuesday, both contracts were settled at lower prices. Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska this Friday to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine that has shaken the oil markets since 2022. In a recent note, PVM...

After falling the previous day, oil prices were unchanged on Wednesday. An industry report revealed that U.S. crude stocks grew last week, indicating the end of summer's seasonal demand is approaching. Brent crude futures rose 3 cents, to 66.15 per barrel at 0102 GMT. They had fallen 0.8% the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures dropped 3 cents to 63.14, after a 1.2% decline. Market sources cited Tuesday figures from the American Petroleum Institute to report that crude oil inventories in the U.S. - the world's largest oil consumer - rose by 1,52 million barrels during the past...

Mike Smith, the chair of national oil negotiations for the union, told a meeting of more than 300 United Steelworkers union workers in Pittsburgh that they had approved proposals for labor negotiation with energy companies to begin in early 2026. The current contract, which covers 30,000 workers for four years, expires just after midnight on February 1, 2026. USW members are employed at refineries which account for more than half of the nation's crude oil processing capacity. USW negotiators, led by Smith, and including International Vice President Roxanne Bron and International President David McCall will begin meetings with Marathon Petroleum...

Marathon Petroleum Corp. beat Wall Street expectations for the second quarter profit on Tuesday. The company benefited from a rebound of refining margins, as fuel demand was firm. U.S. refiners have posted a positive quarterly profit, recovering from losses in the previous three months on the strength of diesel margins. All three of Marathon's competitors, Valero Energy and Phillips 66, exceeded Wall Street expectations. Diesel cracks, a measure for margins, averaged $17 a barrel in the second quarter. TPH & Co's Matthew Blair, an analyst, said earlier that they ended the period at $21 a barrel. Fuel manufacturers also experienced...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened again on Monday to increase tariffs on Indian goods over their Russian oil purchases. New Delhi, however, called the attack "unjustified", and pledged to protect its own economic interests. This further exacerbated the trade gap between the two nations. In a post on social media, Trump stated that "India not only buys massive amounts of Russian Oil but they also sell it for a large profit to the Open Market." They don't give a damn how many Ukrainians are killed by the Russian War Machine. He added, "I will substantially raise the Tariffs paid...

Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), India's largest refiner, bought 7 million barrels from United States, Canada, and Middle East crudes arriving in September via an auction, according to several sources. IOC's large purchase of spot crude comes after the arbitrage windows for U.S. oil to Asia opened, and Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian crude oil at a time when discounts were shrinking. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has warned that countries should not purchase oil from Moscow because it is currently under sanctions for its full-scale invasion in Ukraine on February 20, 2022. The sources stated that IOC purchased 4.5...

Trade sources say that Asia will increase imports of U.S. West Texas intermediate crude in the fourth-quarter after Middle East oil price increased and opened arbitrage window. They said that the price gap between light-sweet U.S.WTI oil and Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai & Murban has narrowed this month due to strong demand in Asia for high-sulphur oils. WTI's Arbitrage to Asia has been open for the last week for cargoes that arrive in early November. This was stated by June Goh, senior analyst at Sparta Commodities. Sources said that U.S. oil producer Occidental sold WTI crude to Japanese refiner...

PBF Energy announced on Thursday that its Martinez refinery is partially operational. The remaining units will run at reduced capacity while repairs are completed. A full restart of all the remaining units is planned for the end of 2025. A fire had broken out at the 156,400-barrel-per-day (bpd) Martinez refinery on February 1, which had impacted operations. The company announced that the refinery had begun to produce limited quantities of jet fuel, gasoline and intermediates. PBF Energy anticipates that the total throughput will be between 85,000 and 105,000 bpd during the limited period of operations. The company also reported smaller-than-estimated...

Refiner HF Sinclair surpassed Wall Street expectations for the second-quarter profits on Thursday, as higher refining rates helped offset lower volumes. Its shares rose about 1% to $43.80 before market opening. Top U.S. refiners were expected to post higher second-quarter profits, rebounding from first-quarter losses as stronger-than-expected diesel margins lifted earnings. The higher margins allowed competitors such as Valero Energy, Phillips 66 and others to surpass Wall Street expectations. Fuel manufacturers have experienced an unexpected increase in profits in recent months. This is a relief to those who saw their earnings fall from the 2022 highs, due to a rebound...

Trade sources say that Asia will increase imports of U.S. West Texas intermediate crude in the fourth-quarter after Middle East oil price increased and opened arbitrage window. They said that the price gap between light-sweet U.S.WTI oil and Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai & Murban has narrowed this month due to robust demand in Asia for high-sulphur oils. WTI's Arbitrage to Asia has been open for the last week for cargoes that arrive in early November. This was stated by June Goh, senior analyst at Sparta Commodities. Sources said that U.S. oil producer Occidental sold WTI crude oil to Japanese...

Roberto Ardenghy of the oil lobby group IBP told reporters on Wednesday that energy companies in Brazil have suspended oil exports to the United States following President Donald Trump's announcement of 50% tariffs against Brazil. The U.S. is Brazil's largest export market. Oil was exempted from the 10% tariff on Brazilian exports in April, but it remains unclear if the commodity will be exempted under the new tariff of 50% that is set to take effect on Friday. Ardenghy said, "This time there is no way to know." IBP represents Brazilian oil companies such as Petrobras, Shell, TotalEnergies ExxonMobil, Equinor,...

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...

Sources said that despite the export ban, Russia may face gasoline shortages this August due to low stocks at home, a peak in seasonal demand, and repairs being done by domestic refineries. The ban was imposed Monday, and is intended to last through August 31. Its purpose is to stabilize the Russian market and avoid socially sensitive increases in motor fuel prices. Traders say that it is unlikely to be enough to bring the market back to equilibrium, since gasoline export volumes are much smaller than the domestic consumption. They also claim that diverting the fuel to the local market...

Calculations showed that the average Russian oil price in roubles remained below the budget target for 2025. This added pressure to a budget already facing a growing deficit. The weakness of the rouble is due to its strength, which has increased by around 45% in the past year as a result of the easing of geopolitical tensions. The dollar value of international oil prices has dropped by about 10%. Estimations show that the average price for Russia's oil mix, as calculated for taxation, was 4,701 Rubels per barrel during the first two weeks in July. This is about the same...

According to LSEG data and market sources, the volume of Russian seaborne gasoil and diesel exports dropped by 6% in June on a month-to-month basis. This was due to refinery maintenance. Shipping data shows that last month, the two main importers of Russian gasoil and diesel were Turkey and Brazil. Exports of diesel and gasoil from Russian ports to Turkey increased in June by 15%, a month-on-month increase, while those to Brazil dropped by 33% from May, to just 0.47 million tonnes, after a previous influx. Shipping data revealed that Russia's diesel and gasoil sales to African countries in June...

Three industry sources have confirmed that Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, will stop producing its export-oriented Sokol crude at the Sakhalin-1 project on its far eastern Sakhalin coast in August due to maintenance. One of them said that the maintenance would last 20 to 25 days. According to another source, the maintenance will begin in late July. It is expected to be completed at the end of August. One source said that maintenance on one of the compressors will cause the oil production to drop slightly in July to 135,000 barrels a day, from the usual 150,000-160,000 barrels a day,...

Mali started construction on a new gold refinery, backed by Russia, Monday. The West African nation's military chief said that the project would bring it closer to gaining control of its natural resources. The 200-ton facility will be built by a partnership between the Russian Yadran Group, and a Swiss Investment Company. Mali holds a majority stake in this project. Mali's interim President Colonel Assimi goita stated last year that under a revised code of mining, all mining companies would be required to process gold in-house. He did not provide a deadline. This reflects a wider regional shift that extends...

The Russian defence ministry announced on Sunday that Russian forces had carried out a nighttime strike on the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery, which supplies fuel to Ukrainian troops in the Donbas area. In a statement, the ministry said that missiles fired from sea and air were used to attack the refinery located in Ukraine's Poltava Region. Strike drones also appeared in this successful attack. The Russian report on the battlefield was not verified and the Ukrainians did not immediately comment. Russia claims Ukraine's eastern Donbas as its own, and controls the majority of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine has said that it...

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...