Refined Products

In a letter to the United Steelworkers union on Monday, Lyondell Basll Industries announced that layoffs would begin at the refinery in Houston which was closed. Estalee Russi wrote in a letter to USW International president David McCall that "Employment Separations - including (USW) local 13-227 represented employees - will begin at or around April 17, 2025." Tuesday, the letter was examined. A spokesperson for Lyondell did not respond to a comment request. There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the 263,776 barrel-per-day-capacity Houston refinery, with about 70% of them being hourly workers represented by the Steelworkers. On Tuesday,...

Oil prices were little altered on Monday, as investors awaited developments in a possible Russia-Ukraine deal that may ease sanctions disrupting the global supply flow. Brent crude futures were up 7 cents to $74.81 per barrel at 0430 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was unchanged at $70.75 per barrel. After U.S. president Donald Trump and officials of his administration announced that they had begun talks with Russia to end war in Ukraine, the market kept a close eye on the progress of peace negotiations. If negotiations result in a resolution, then more Russian barrels will enter the global supply,...

On Monday, oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive day as a result of expectations that a Russia-Ukraine agreement would ease sanctions disrupting supplies and concerns about global tariff wars slowing economic growth and reducing energy demand. Brent crude futures fell 20 cents or 0.2% to $74.59 per barrel at 0112 GMT. Brent crude futures have fallen 3.1% over the last four sessions since U.S. president Donald Trump and officials from his administration announced that they were in talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $70.51 per barrel, down by...

Presidents Day, a federal holiday that falls on Monday, 17th February, will impact the release of major economic, energy, and commodities reports filed or originating in Washington for the week ending February 16. The schedule is below. The times are in GMT/EST. Certains Treasury announcements may change. Monday, February 17, 2019 Presidents Day is a holiday. Closed federal government offices, Federal Reserve and International Monetary Fund. Stock and bond markets also closed. Tuesday, February 18, 2019 The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases weekly U.S. Export inspections for grain, oilseeds at 1100/1600. Due to the holiday, this week's inspections are delayed....

The oil prices in Asian trade rose on Friday. They were poised to end a three-week decline. This was boosted by the rising fuel demand, and expectations that U.S. tariffs for reciprocal global tariffs will not be implemented until April. This would give more time to avoid trade wars. Brent futures rose 23 cents (0.3%), or to $75.25 per barrel, by 0505 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), gained 16 cents (0.2%), or to $71.45. Brent and WTI both rose by 0.5% this week. U.S. president Donald Trump ordered officials from the Department of Commerce and Economics to...

Independent U.S. refiner PBF Energy said it has no estimate for how long its 156,400-barrel-per-day (bpd) Martinez, California, refinery will remain shut following a fire on February 1, according to a statement released on Thursday. In a Thursday morning conference call, executives of the company said that it was not possible to assess the damage caused by the fire due to ongoing investigations. The site of the ignition has been cordoned off. Company executives stated during a conference call that the fire started near the 77.500-bpd hydrotreater for cat feed, which uses hydrogen in order to remove sulfur from the...

PBF Energy reported a third consecutive quarter loss on Thursday as the U.S. refining company was hit by a decline of margins. The Parsippany refiner in New Jersey reported a fourth-quarter loss of $289.3 millions, or $2.54 a share. This was higher than the loss of 48.4 million dollars, or $0.40 if you look at it compared to a year ago. The margins on global refining have fallen in the past year due to the weaker economy and the opening of several refineries in Asia and Africa. U.S. refinery profit margins measured by the 3-2-1 Crack Spread In the quarter...

The oil prices dropped on Wednesday, as a report from the industry showed that U.S. crude stocks had increased. Worries about tariffs also weighed on the sentiment. This wiped out three days' gains fueled by Middle East tensions. Brent futures dropped 36 cents or 0.47% to $76.64 per barrel at 0130 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 37 cents or 0.5% to $72.95 per barrel. Brent prices rose by 3.6%, while WTI prices climbed 3.7%. According to Tuesday's American Petroleum Institute data, sources citing the American Petroleum Institute, crude oil stocks in the U.S. grew by 9.4 millions barrels...

On Friday, those familiar with the plant's operations reported that Lyondell Basell Industries had completed its final shutdown at its refinery in Houston, which produces 263,776 barrels per day. Lyondell started the previously announced closure of the refinery at the end of January. In an email sent on Friday evening, Lyondell declined to comment on the refinery's status. Some refinery units are in warm circulation while they wait to be emptied from the feedstocks or product that remains. The unit is at the operating temperature but it's not producing any heat. The high temperature allows the liquid hydrocarbons be drained....

The oil price edged up slightly in Asian trading after Saudi Arabia’s state oil company raised March oil prices sharply. However, the increase was barely noticeable compared to the largest drop in Brent benchmark prices in almost three months on Wednesday. Brent crude futures were up 8 cents at $74.69 per barrel as of 0422 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 15 cents at $71.18 per barrel. The oil prices fell more than 2% Wednesday due to a large increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and gasoline, which signaled a weaker demand. Investors also weighed the impact of a...

Early Asian trading on Friday saw oil prices rise, following a sharp increase in March oil prices by Saudi Arabia's oil company. Brent crude futures were up 14 cents or 0.19% to $74.75 per barrel at 0148 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 18 cents or 0.25% to $71.21 per barrel. Saudi Aramco announced on Wednesday that it would increase its prices for buyers in Asia to take delivery of oil in March due to the increased demand from China and India, as U.S. sanctioned Russian supply. Aramco increased the price of March shipments in all other regions....

Suncor Energy, a Canadian integrated oil and gas company, beat analyst's expectations for the fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday. The firm's higher oil production and high refined product sales volumes helped it to achieve this. Trans Mountain Pipeline project started commercial operations in the United States last year. It increased the country's transportation capacity, and provided access to markets in Asia and on the U.S. West Coast. The new pipeline has almost tripled the amount of crude oil flowing from Alberta's oilsands to British Columbia, on the Pacific Coast. This is now 890,000. Suncor, based in Calgary, Alberta, increased its upstream...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which released data on Thursday showing that China's road and air transportation fuels have likely reached their peak, said the agency. Data showed that China's consumption for gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil had decreased marginally by 2024. In a report published monthly, the IEA stated that the combined consumption of three fuels was 8.1 million barrels a day in China in 2018. This was 200,000 bpd less than 2021 levels and was only marginally higher than 2019 levels. It said that "this strongly suggests fuel consumption in the country has reached a plateau, and may...

The oil prices dropped on Thursday as a result of expectations that a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia will end the sanctions that have disrupted supplies, while crude stocks in the United States grew. Brent futures fell 68 cents or 0.9% to $74.50 per barrel at 0515 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), however, dropped 65 cents or 0.9% to $70.72. Brent and WTI both fell by more than 2% after U.S. president Donald Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had expressed a wish for peace to him in separate telephone...

OPEC reiterated its prediction of a relatively strong increase in global oil consumption in 2025. It said that air travel and road travel will support consumption, and trade tariffs are not expected to affect economic growth. In a report published monthly, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that the world's oil demand would rise by 1,45 million barrels a day (bpd), in 2025, and by 1,43 million bpd, in 2026. Both forecasts were unchanged since last month. OPEC believes that oil demand will continue to rise in the coming years. This is contrary to the International Energy Agency,...

The oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday, amid fears over Russian and Iranian supply of oil and threats of sanctions. This was despite concerns that trade tariffs would dampen the global economy. Brent crude futures rose 55 cents (0.72%) to $76.42 a bar by 0717 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 50 cents (0.69%) to $72.82. After three consecutive weeks of losses, both contracts saw gains in the previous session. "It is more financial driven, and the price means aversion than fundamental." Brent has gone from $80 per barrel in mid-January to $74 last week, so it's time...

Trade sources reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's crude supply to China will decline in March compared to the previous month after the kingdom raised its prices to their highest level in over two years. A tally of Saudi Aramco's allocations to Chinese refiners revealed that the company will ship around 41 million barrels in March. This is down from 43.5 million barrels in February. This is the second consecutive month that Aramco has seen its allocation to China drop. The sources stated that Sinopec, a joint venture between Aramco and the Chinese state-owned company, and Aramco’s joint venture Fujian...

The oil prices recovered on Monday, after a third consecutive week of declines. Investors remained concerned that U.S. president Donald Trump could start a new trade war. Brent crude futures rose $1.30 or 1.7% to $75.96 per barrel at 11:51 am. ET . U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude added 1.9% and rose $1.36 to reach $72.36. Gains could be due to bargain-hunting after prices dropped 2.75% in the previous week as a result of global trade concerns. Tariff uncertainty is the main issue. Harry Tchilinguiran, of Onyx Capital, said that this affects risk appetite and spillover effects to oil. Some...

The oil prices rose on Monday as investors considered the latest threat from U.S. president Donald Trump to impose tariffs on all steel imports and aluminium, which could slow down global economic growth. Brent crude futures rose 40 cents or 0.5% to $75.06 per barrel at 0133 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was $71.38 per barrel, up by 38 cents or 0.5%. Last week, the market saw its third consecutive decline on worries about a trade war. Trump announced that he would announce 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. on Monday, in yet another...

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....

The Pakistani Prime Minister's Office announced that the Pakistan signed an agreement on Monday with the Saudi Fund for Development, delaying by one year the payment of $1.2 billion on oil imports. The state-run Pakistani television broadcast the signing ceremony in real time before a delegation of the fund, led by its CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad, visited Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff. The office issued a press release in which Sharif expressed his appreciation for the signing of the Oil Import Financing Facility. The office said that Pakistan would receive oil with a one-year deferred payment. The Prime...

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 Arabia's state oil business Aramco purchased its first cargo of WTI Midland, a U.S. petroleum grade that underpins the worldwide Brent standard, oilindex publisher S&P International Commodity Insights stated on Wednesday. Aramco, the world's largest oil company, purchased the cargo on Tuesday in the so-called Platts trading window, purchasing from trading company Gunvor. Platts is a department of S&P Global. This was Aramco's very first WTI purchase in the window, said Joel Hanley, international director of crude and fuel oil markets at S&P, by means of email on Wednesday. Aramco declined to comment. More players have actually ended up...

Oil rates held steady on Wednesday, with traders carefully watching President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and the potential effect of the national energy emergency situation he stated on his first day in workplace. Brent unrefined futures were 18 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $ 79.11 per barrel at 1415 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.65. As more information emerge regarding energy production and trade contracts, traders will examine the balance between economic growth, energy security, and policy risks, stated Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone. Trump said late on Tuesday that...