The US sanctions against Russia have caused a spike in global diesel prices
Analysts and LSEG data indicate that global diesel prices and refinery margins increased following the latest round U.S. sanctions against Russia's oil market on the expectation of tightening supplies. On Jan. 10, the United States imposed their toughest sanctions yet against Russian producers and tanks to reduce the revenue of the No. 2 oil exporter in world. The United States used the revenue of Russia's No. 2 oil exporter to fund its war in Ukraine. Many of the newly targeted vessels, which are part of a shadow fleet, were used to transport oil to India and China.
After EU ruling, Indonesia expects EU to change its stance on palm oil biofuels
Indonesia has welcomed the World Trade Organization's ruling in the case of the European Union involving palm oil-based Biodiesel. The bloc is expected to amend its regulations to conform to the ruling. Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, brought the case before the WTO dispute panel in 2019. The EU had decided that palm-oil-based diesel was not to be considered as a biofuel because of its connection to deforestation. Its use in transportation fuel would also be phased out from 2023 to 2030.
China's 2024 refining output is expected to decline by a rare amount due to weak demand
China's oil refining throughput in the year 2024 will be the lowest in over two decades, barring 2022 when the world was hit by the pandemic. Plants have reduced production in response to stagnant demand for fuel and low margins. National Bureau of Statistics data showed that the world's second largest refining industry, after the U.S., processed 1.6% less crude last year. Calculations showed that the figure is about 14.13 millions barrels per day. This was down from a record of 14.7 million bpd in 2023. Last year, refiners were under pressure to limit or reduce processing rates.
TotalEnergies reports a slight improvement in the fourth-quarter refining profit margins
TotalEnergies said that it expects the fourth quarter 2024 results downstream to benefit from a slight improvement in refining profit margins. The French oil major made this announcement in its trading update. The European refining mark-up was $25.90 per ton of metric weight in the fourth quarter last year. This is up from $15.40 the previous quarter. It noted that the fall of $5 per barrel in oil prices is expected to have a negative impact on Exploration and Production in the fourth quarter.
Are price movements a result of structural shifts? China's commodity imports are bifurcated: Russell
China's imports in 2024 of major commodities were a mixed bag. Iron ore, coal, and natural gas volumes reached record levels, while crude oil was weak. Raw data from the largest buyer of natural resource in the world suggests that some parts of the economy perform well, while others are struggling or are undergoing structural changes. The main challenge when analysing China's imports of commodities is to separate temporary factors from those that are part a longer-term trend. Crude oil may be the best example.
WTO panel backs EU in palm case against Indonesia
The World Trade Organization panel ruled in favor of the European Union in the case filed by Indonesia on Friday against the bloc's ban on biofuels based on palm oil. Indonesia, the largest palm oil producer in the world, took the case before the WTO after the EU concluded palm oil cultivation leads to excessive deforestation, and shouldn't count towards its renewable energy target. Palm oil-based diesel was not considered a biofuel, and its use as a transport fuel was effectively phased out from 2023 to 2030.
EIA: Cushing Crude Stocks fall to Decade-low levels
U.S. crude stocks fell last week, driving the Cushing, Oklahoma hub to a 10-year low, while fuel inventories surged, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.Crude inventories fell by 959,000 barrels to 414.6 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 184,000-barrel draw.Brent and U.S. crude futures extended losses following the report. "A ramp-up in refinery maintenance in the coming weeks should usher in a return to crude inventory builds…
Indonesia restricts the export of palm residue and used cooking oil to domestic users
Indonesia has tightened its export restrictions on used cooking oil, palm oil residues and palm oil waste to supply the domestic cooking oil industry and biodiesel. The government announced this in a new regulatory on Wednesday. It said that the move by the top palm oil producer and exporter in the world aims to achieve a new mandate, starting this year, which calls for mixing 40 percent of palm-oil-based fuels with diesel fuel (called B40), up from 35 percent previously. The Indonesian authorities are looking at ways to restrict UCO exports.
US Storm, Weaker Dollar Push Oil to 12-week High
Oil prices edged up to a 12-week high on Monday as a winter storm boosted demand for energy to heat U.S. homes and businesses, and on support from a weaker U.S. dollar and expectations of tighter sanctions on Iranian and Russian oil exports.Brent futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $76.78 a barrel by 11:33 a.m. EST (1633 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $74.23.Both crude benchmarks gained for a sixth-straight day with Brent on track for its highest close since Oct. 14 and WTI on track for its highest close since Oct.
Data shows that US biofuel production increased in October as profitability improved.
According to AEGIS Hedging, the margins on biofuels helped U.S. producers of renewable diesel and biodiesel to increase their operations to multi-month levels in October. The data shows that renewable diesel producers used 77% of their total operating capacity in October, which is the highest level since July 2024. The data showed that biodiesel plants were used at 89% of their total capacity in October, the highest level since July 2024. The biofuels industry is relieved to see that utilization rates are improving and margins are increasing after a difficult start in 2024…
EIA data show that US oil production reached a record high in October.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Tuesday that U.S. crude oil production increased by 260,000 barrels a day (bpd), month over month, to a new record of 13.46 million bpd during October. Demand surged to its highest level since the pandemic. U.S. crude oil production has increased rapidly this year despite concerns about oversupply, which have led to a drop in prices, particularly for China, the world's largest oil importer. Calculations show that U.S. oil output rose by 2.3% year-over-year in October…
Year Ender: Big Oil retreats from renewables as climate agenda falters
In 2024, major European energy companies increased their focus on oil and natural gas to maximize profits in the short-term. They also slowed down and sometimes reversed climate commitments. This is a trend that will likely continue in 2025. Oil majors have retreated after governments worldwide slowed down the rollout and set back targets for clean energy as energy prices soared in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The share performance of the big European energy companies, who had heavily invested in clean energy, was behind that of their American rivals Exxon & Chevron.
Iranian Oil Prices to China Spike as Shipping Sanctions Bite
The price of Iranian crude oil sold to China has risen to the highest in years as fresh U.S. sanctions have tightened shipping capacity and driven up logistics costs, trade sources and analysts said.Rising prices for Iranian oil as well as Russian crude are raising costs for independent Chinese refiners that account for about a fifth of demand at the world's top crude importer, underscoring challenges ahead as the Trump administration is expected to ramp up pressure on Iran.Some of the refiners are switching to supplies not under sanction restrictions…
Data shows that Mexico's Olmeca refinery was operating at 17 percent of its capacity in November.
Mexican state energy company Pemex resumed refining operations at is new Olmeca refinery in November, working at nearly 17% of its 340,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity after being fully offline in October, official numbers showed this week. The refinery in Dos Bocas is still far below government targets, and hinders the plans to become self-sufficient in motor gasoline. The company released numbers late Tuesday showing that it processed 59.466 bpd crude oil in November. The month's production consisted of 7,038 bpd diesel, 1,582bpd gasoline, and 5,742bpd petroleum coal.
Sinopec, a top refiner, claims that China's oil demand will peak in 2027.
Sinopec, the state-owned refinery, said that China's oil demand will peak in 2027. This is due to a decline in diesel and gasoline consumption, which has slowed down global oil markets. Sinopec stated that the peak oil demand in 2027 will not exceed 800 million metric tonnes, or 16 millions barrels of crude oil per day. Sinopec predicted peak China oil demand at 800 million tonnes around 2026-2030. The energy sector in China faces new uncertainty by 2025, with the return of President…
Where will Trump's trade with China lead commodities in 2025? Russell
In 2025, Donald Trump's return as U.S. president and China's stagnant economy will influence global commodity markets. The only certainty is that there will be volatility, and many factors acting in opposite directions. In 2025, it will be harder to predict the prices of major commodities, such as crude oil and liquefied gas, ore like iron ore, coal, and metals, such as copper. Consider, for example, Trump's signature promise during his campaign: tariffs. Trump's threatened tariffs…
Indonesia's plans for renewable energy may endanger forests
Indonesia, which is heavily dependent on coal for electricity, needs to move away from fossil fuels. It aims to generate 75 gigawatts from renewable sources over the next fifteen years. This compares with the 13 gigawatts it produces today. This push will be based on the use of biofuels that burn cleaner, i.e. organic material converted into liquid fuel. The government claims that biofuels will reduce Indonesia's dependence on costly fuel imports and greenhouse gases, while increasing palm oil production. This will in turn spur economic growth.
US Diesel Exports to ARA Set to Rise
Diesel shipments from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Europe's main trading and refining hub, the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region, are set to rise owing to improving export margins on the back of scarce supply in Europe and rising U.S. refinery production, according to traders and ship tracking data.Europe is seeking higher transatlantic diesel imports, as weaker export margins for shipments from east of Suez slowed flows on that route in the last two months. Rising European gasoil…
Phillips 66 and NextEra team up to power California refinerys with solar energy
The refiner announced on Tuesday that Phillips 66 would power its Rodeo refinery with a solar facility operated and owned by NextEra Energy. In a press statement, Phillips 66 said that the solar plant will be constructed on 88 acres of land (36 hectares), adjacent to the renewable fuels facility located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The solar plant will be composed of over 70,000 modules that will produce around 60,000 Megawatt Hours of electricity per year. The refinery said that the solar plant will help to reduce its grid power consumption by half…
In 2025, the global diesel price will be supported by refinery closures
Analysts and traders said that the global diesel market would likely see a price boost in 2025 due to the closing of around 1% of the refining capacity. This will offset the current weakness of the market and the structural downward pressure caused by the shift towards cleaner fuels. Markets end 2024 in a shaky state, despite the peak season demand. Margins in key energy hubs around the world, such as Singapore, Northwest Europe, and the Gulf of the United States, have fallen from November's high levels, due to the return of some refineries after maintenance shutdowns.
