Storms Exposes Shortcomings of Global Refining
Spare refining capacity has been shrinking; capacity utilisation climbing close to limits. Hurricane Harvey's crippling impact on U.S. oil refinery operations this month and the challenge buyers faced in filling the gap in gasoline supplies has exposed a shortage of spare refining capacity around the globe. Nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity was knocked out by the storm this month, driving U.S. gasoline prices to two-year highs above $2 a gallon.
U.S. Thirst for European Gasoline Stalls
Europe's steady exports of gasoline to the United States have slowed substantially this year as tanks filled in the world's largest consumer nation and once-meteoric demand growth slowed. The drop in gasoline shipments to the densely populated U.S. East Coast is forcing European exporters to turn to less steady buyers in West Africa and compete with refineries elsewhere in the United States to export to Latin America and Asia. Deliveries to the U.S.
China to Lead Rising Wind Power Growth
China will lead growth in global wind power capacity of almost 65 percent over the next five years, with other Asian countries also developing more renewable energy, the Global Wind Energy Council said on Tuesday. Cumulative wind energy capacity was 487 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2016, a 12.6 percent rise from the year before and should grow by almost 65 percent to 800 GW by the end of 2021, the GWEC said in its annual report on the industry.
EU Refiners Cash in Despite OPEC Cuts
Oil from Nigeria, Libya and Kazakhstan gives a boost; margins average 50 percent higher than Q1 2016 and Fuel oil cracks strengthen. A global deal to cut oil production has had the unintended consequence of aiding Europe's older refineries by bolstering supplies of light crude while curbing shipments of the heavier grades favoured by more advanced plants in other continents. These European units, long thought doomed by competition from state-of-the-art refineries in the Middle East…
Refiners Prep for Low Sulfur Diesel Demand
Even if the diesel engine's scandal-driven fall from grace pushes it out of the world's passenger cars, an increasing need for it on ships, in trucks and heavy industry could save the refineries that invested heavily in producing the fuel. The unfolding crisis that kicked off when Volkswagen falsified U.S. car emissions has spurred a litany of changes at vehicle manufacturers, which are now putting their cash behind electric cars, or back to gasoline engines.
Diesel's De mise in Automobiles of Limited Concern to Refiners
Even if the diesel engine's scandal-driven fall from grace pushes it out of the world's passenger cars, an increasing need for it on ships, in trucks and heavy industry could save the refineries that invested heavily in producing the fuel. The unfolding crisis that kicked off when Volkswagen falsified U.S. car emissions has spurred a litany of changes at vehicle manufacturers, which are now putting their cash behind electric cars, or back to gasoline engines.
Spectre of Gasoline, Diesel Glut Reverses Oil's Gains
A growing overhang of gasoline and diesel fuelled a sharp sell-off in oil futures on Monday that reversed a recent rally over the wildfires in the heart of Canada's oil sands region, traders and analysts said. The sell-off came amid warnings that supplies could outpace global demand even during the peak summer driving season that traditionally kicks in at the end of May. While crude oil supplies have significantly tightened in recent weeks due to outages linked to unrest in Libya…
Diesel Regains Glow for Europe's Refiners
European diesel refining profits are outperforming expectations as a string of shutdowns at diesel production units this autumn limits supplies. The sum of the works could take out close to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of diesel production in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean, traders said, lending support to profits for the fuel despite a flood of imports that are expected from the United States, Russia, the Middle East and Asia.
Little Chance Big Oil's Refining Boom Will Last for Long
The world's top oil companies can expect only limited solace from refining for the rest of the year, even as the often-troubled segment proved valuable in the face of sinking oil prices. Overcapacity in the sector previously made it the bane of integrated oil majors such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell , Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Total and Eni. But the situation was reversed by weak crude prices, so that combined…
Wind Could be 20 pct of Global Power by 2030
Installed wind capacity totalled 318 GW at end of 2013; could surge by 530 pct to 2,000 GW by 2030. Installed wind power capacity could swell by 530 percent to 2,000 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, supplying up to 19 percent of global electricity, a report from a trade association and Greenpeace said on Tuesday. It said installed wind energy capacity totalled 318 GW at the end of last year worldwide and provided around 3 percent of global electricity supply.
