U.S. Biofuels Mandates Under High Stakes Scrutiny
U.S. biofuels regulations, which mandate mixing corn-based ethanol into gasoline, have lately drawn together a diverse cast of political opponents. They include an upstart gas station owners' trade group, a former Obama administration environmental adviser and billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns a refiner and served as U.S. President Donald Trump's special advisor on business regulation - until he resigned Friday amid allegations of a conflict of interest.
Glencore to Start Importing Fuel for Mexico in February
Trading firm Glencore expects to start importing fuel for Mexico's domestic market in February 2018 through its own terminal in the southern state of Tabasco, the head of the firm's oil division, Alex Beard, said on Thursday. "As soon as we have an opportunity to import through our own infrastructure in Tabasco, we will," Beard said at the inauguration of the first gas station branded under the franchise G500…
Andeavor to buy Western Refining Logistics
U.S. pipeline operator Andeavor Logistics LP said on Monday it would buy rival Western Refining Logistics LP for $1.5 billion as it seeks to expand into the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. Western Refining unitholders will receive 0.5233 Andeavor Logistics units for each Western Refining unit. The deal values each Western Refining unit at $25.28, representing a premium of 6.4 percent to Western Refining Logistics' Friday closing price.
Pemex Seeks Refinery Investors, but Who's Buying?
Sweeping energy reforms have turned Mexico into one of the world's most attractive offshore prospects, but one segment is getting no love from U.S. investors: the nation's aging refineries. Efforts by Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex to attract about $5 billion in capital to help modernize its two largest refineries so far have proved futile, according to two people familiar with the process who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Shell Signs 3-year Contract to Lease Oil Tanks in Panama
Oil company Royal Dutch Shell has signed a three-year contract to lease storage tanks at a large terminal in Panama that had been used by U.S. refining company Tesoro Corp, sources involved in the deal told Reuters. The facility, designed for storage and transshipment of crude oil to tankers, is owned by Petroterminal de Panama (PTP) and includes up to 14 million barrels of storage capacity on the Atlantic and the Pacific shores.
U.S. Shale Greater Threat to OPEC After Oil Price War
In a corner of the prolific Bakken shale play in North Dakota, oil companies can now pump crude at a price almost as low as that enjoyed by OPEC giants Iran and Iraq. Until a few years ago it was unprofitable to produce oil from shale in the United States. But the steep slide in costs has U.S. shale operators poised to capitalize on Wednesday's decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cap output for the first time in eight years.
In Tesoro's buy of Western Refining, a bet on Texas
U.S. oil refiner Tesoro Corp's $4.1 billion purchase of Western Refining Inc is a bet on many things, but above all it may be a bet on Texas. The largest refining acquisition since 2011, announced earlier on Thursday, will make Tesoro the fourth-biggest U.S. refiner by capacity. The acquisition fills a hole in Tesoro's portfolio by giving it access to pipelines and refineries that connect to Texas' lucrative Permian shale basin.
Tesoro to Acquire Western Refining
Tesoro increases share buyback program by $1 bln to over $2 bln. U.S. oil refiner Tesoro Corp said on Thursday it would buy Western Refining Inc for $4.1 billion to add refineries in Texas, New Mexico and Minnesota. The combined company will have refining capacity of over 1.1 million barrels per day. Tesoro has refineries in California, Washington, Alaska, Utah and North Dakota. "The acquisition…
Shell Retains Deutsche Bank for CA Refinery Sale
Royal Dutch Shell plc has retained Deutsche Bank to sell its Martinez, California refinery, according to three people familiar with the matter. Shell is in the midst of a three-year, $30 billion divestment plan following the company's purchase of BG Group earlier this year. A Shell spokesman said the company would not comment on "rumor or speculation." Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
Investigation faults Tesoro in Worker Injuries
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said on Tuesday workers were injured in incidents between 2010 and 2014 at Tesoro Corp's San Francisco Bay-area refinery in Martinez, California because of a weak safety culture the company permitted to exist. "The safety culture at the Tesoro Martinez refinery created conditions conducive to the occurrence and recurrence of process safety incidents that caused worker injuries at the refinery over several years…
Tesoro Settles Pollution Cases with US DOJ, EPA
U.S. oil refiner Tesoro Corp said on Monday it has reached a $10.4 million settlement with the United States for air quality violations at refineries in six Western states. Under the settlement, Tesoro will also invest $400 million in technology to better control air emissions at operations in Alaska, Northern California, North Dakota, Utah, Hawaii and Washington. The settlement also requires…
Newest US Refinery Sold at a Loss
A North Dakota refinery that was the first to be built in the United States since the 1970s has been sold at a loss, with profit elusive since it opened last year, as low oil prices took a toll on the region's energy industry, crimping the appetite for diesel. The sale to Tesoro Corp, which owns the only other refinery in the state, makes it unlikely another refinery will be built in the United States in the near future, despite the glut of cheap crude due to shale oil production.
Refiners: Cheap Gasoline Demand Will Grow
The largest U.S. independent refiners are bullish on domestic gasoline demand as super-cheap fuel and the lure of bigger vehicles entice more consumers. Valero Energy Corp and Phillips 66 both say they are in "max gasoline mode," pumping out as much as they can as a mild winter, economic uncertainty and a stinging slump in oil drilling squeezed U.S. diesel demand. They still see export demand growth for both gasoline and diesel…
Tesoro Completes Wilmington Refinery Work
Tesoro Corp. on Monday said it had completed unplanned maintenance over the weekend at the Wilmington portion of its refinery in Los Angeles, California. The refiner resumed normal operations on Jan. 23, a spokesman said. The nature of the work was unclear. Los Angeles CARBOB differentials were at a 1-cent a gallon premium to the March NYMEX RBOB contract on Monday, down more than 8 cents from week-ago levels. Reporting by Liz Hampton
Tesoro: Better Yields Bolster Value of Railed-in Bakken Crude
Tesoro Corp sees continued value in railing North Dakota Bakken crude to its Washington state refinery despite higher costs because of improved yields, Chief Executive Greg Goff told analysts on Thursday. "We still see economic value to be able to move Bakken to the West Coast and achieve the benefits that we have always stated, which primarily are driven by the yield improvements in the refineries," he said.
ClearSign Inks Tesoro Emissions System Deal
ClearSign Combustion Corp, a small company whose technology helps refiners cut nitrogen oxide emissions, has signed a deal with Tesoro Corp to retrofit a Los Angeles refinery heater with a combustion control system. The refinery, which supplies 50 percent of the jet fuel used by Los Angeles International Airport, is aiming to halve nitrogen oxide emissions by 2020, a goal set by the local air pollution control agency. U.S.
Colombia Reshuffles Crude Exports to Weather Low Prices
Colombia, Latin America's No. 4 oil producer, is changing the slate of crudes it exports in a bid to offset the falling prices that are crimping the revenues of its top oil companies. The country has started to deemphasize exports of several heavier crudes, mainly Castilla, and increase offerings of Vasconia, a medium blend that fetches about $3.50, or 8 percent, more per barrel. But to lift output of Vasconia…
EPA Faces U.S. Senate Biofuels Grilling
U.S. lawmakers will grill the nation's environmental regulator over its handling of a controversial renewable fuels program at a hearing on Thursday, the first since new biofuels targets provoked a furor among corn farmers and oil refiners. The much-anticipated hearing by the Senate subcommittee on regulatory affairs and federal management will likely increase congressional attention to…
Labor Dispute at Tesoro Refinery Boosted Margins
A 52-day labor strike that led to a shutdown at Tesoro Corp's refinery in Martinez, California, helped boost the company's bottom line last quarter, the company's chief executive said on Friday, prompting cries that the state's gasoline market needs to be reformed. "There's no question that during the first quarter with what happened to Tesoro as a result of the disruption at the Martinez…
Motiva to Trade Refined Products Apart from Co-owner Shell
Motiva Enterprises said on Thursday it aims to trade its own gasoline, diesel and the components needed to make them in a new organization separate from its co-owner, Royal Dutch Shell. Motiva, a 50/50 joint venture of Shell and Saudi Aramco , said in a statement that the move will more closely connect the company with fuels markets, customers and trading partners. But Motiva said it will still rely on Shell to trade crude oil.
