Saudi Arabia Halts Red Sea Oil Exports after Tanker Attacks
Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was suspending oil shipments through a strategic Red Sea lane after Yemen's Iran-aligned rebels attacked two tankers in the waterway, underscoring the risk of an escalation in tensions in the region.Brent crude futures rose 59 cents to $74.52 a barrel by 1008 GMT, extending their rally into a third day but falling from a 10-day high in earlier trading.Saudi Arabia and arch-foe Iran have been locked in a three-year proxy war in Yemen, which lies on one side of the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern mouth of the sea…
China Private Refiner Buys Its first Kuwaiti Crude Oil Cargo
Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group, China's largest private refiner, has bought a 1.9-million barrel cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for end-July loading, the first of its kind since the plant started importing the commodity in 2015, company officials said on Monday.The cargo was of Kuwait Export Blend, one of Kuwait Petroleum Corp's main export grades, with a sulphur content of 2.5 percent, the officials said.The purchase was partly to compensate for a decline in Venezuelan heavy grade Merey, said one of the officials.
Oil Gains After Larger than Expected U.S. Stock Draws
U.S. crude stocks fall by 1.4 million barrels. Global oil demand likely to moderate this year. Oil prices gained on Wednesday, shaking off the effects of a strengthening dollar, after an inventory report showed U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell more than expected. Brent crude futures gained 85 cents to settle at $79.28 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures gained 18 cents to settle at $71.49 a barrel. "We rallied as the day went on," said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition in Stamford. "We continued to receive support from concerns about supply from the Iranian nuclear accord, Venezuela ...
Oil Drops as Demand Shows Signs of Slowing
U.S. crude stocks rise by 4.9 mln bbl to 435.6 mln bbl even as production by oil majors is rising. Oil eased on Wednesday after a rise in U.S. crude inventory added to signs demand may be slowing in spite of ongoing output cuts by producer group OPEC and imminent U.S. sanctions against Iran. Brent crude futures were last down 65 cents at $77.78 a barrel by 1147 GMT, while U.S. crude futures fell 32 cents to $70.99 a barrel, leaving the spread between the two just shy of a 2015 high of $7 a barrel. Physical crude markets are sagging under the weight of unsold barrels of oil…
Chevron sells May-loading Cossack Cargo
Chevron sold its May 4-8 loading Cossack crude oil cargo to oil trader Trafigura at a premium of $1.70 to $1.95 a barrel above dated Brent, trade sources said on Monday. Woodside Petroleum last sold a March-loading Cossack cargo at below $1 a barrel premium to dated Brent, traders have said. There were no spot Cossack cargoes available for export in April. The premium for May-loading cargo is up likely due to non- availability of Kutubu Light cargoes, traders said. Oil Search is yet to release its May-loading program for…
OOCEP Ships First Crude Oil from MGP Terminal
Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production LLC (OOCEP) shipped its first crude oil cargo from the Musandam gas plant (MGP) with the support of UAE-based Marsol International. OOCEP, a subsidiary of Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C exported 300,000 barrels of crude oil as part of the operation, which were fully processed at the MGP on May 4 in Oman. Marsol, a global marine solutions provider focused on the offshore oil terminal market and related infrastructure, said its involvement included the provision and management of all marine and offshore activities related to the tanker loading…
Azerbaijan's SOCAR Still Looking to Divest Greek Gas Grid Stake
Azerbaijan's state energy firm SOCAR is still looking for an investor to divest a stake in Greece's natural gas grid operator DESFA, a key condition to conclude the acquisition of the Greek company, Greece's energy minister said on Wednesday. SOCAR clinched a deal in 2013 to buy a 66 percent stake in DESFA for 400 million euros ($448 million) but the company was looking to divest about 17 percent of DESFA after the acquisition was completed to address EU anti-trust concerns. "SOCAR has not found for the time being (an investor) to sell at lest 17 percent which is required so that its stake drops to 49 percent…
First Aramco Spot Crude Lifting to Chinese Teapot Refiner
Saudi Aramco has sold a crude oil cargo to an independent Chinese refinery, its first spot sale to such a buyer in a sign that the world's biggest exporter is trying to expand beyond its state-owned customers in China, a source with knowledge of the deal said. The 730,000-barrel cargo will be lifted in June from Aramco's storage in Japan's Okinawa prefecture and shipped to China's eastern province of Shandong, the source said. The buyer is Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co., one of about 20 independent refineries in China nicknamed "teapots." The government allowed them to start importing crude oil in the second half of last year…
Sonangol Eyes Crude Liftings for Indonesia
Angola's Sonangol is hoping to start supplying crude oil to Indonesia's state oil firm early next year in a possible joint venture, company officials said on Monday. Indonesia has struggled to attract sufficient investment to halt declining domestic output, which has dropped to about half of its 1995 peak of 1.6 million barrels per day. The former OPEC member has relied increasingly on foreign imports and purchases of overseas oil and gas assets. Sonangol and Pertamina executives are meeting this week to discuss closer cooperation, which could start with the shipment of one crude oil cargo to Indonesia a month.
