W. Africa Crude-Buyers Wary as Freight Rates Weigh
Sellers returned to the window on Monday to entice buyers spooked by high freight rates due to Washington's sanctions on subsidiaries of a major Chinese shipping firm at the end of September.Long-haul rates to Asia have risen sharply prompting refiners to shed some cargoes.China's Unipec offered four cargoes in the window for a third session all November loading on a fob basis. These were Angolan Saturno at dated Brent plus 35 cents…
Turkey's Tupras Reduces Iranian Crude Purchases as U.S. Sanctions Loom
Turkey's biggest oil importer Tupras has cut back purchases of Iranian crude since May, when the United States said it would re-impose sanctions on Tehran, and analysts say Tupras is likely to stick to lower volumes in coming months.NATO member Turkey depends heavily on imports to meet its energy needs and neighbouring Iran has been one of its main sources of oil because of its proximity, crude quality and favourable price differentials…
New Rules on Ship Emissions Herald Sea Change for Oil Market
New rules coming into force from 2020 to curb pollution produced by the world's ships are worrying everyone from OPEC oil producers to bunker fuel sellers and shipping companies.The regulations will slash emissions of sulfur, which is blamed for causing respiratory diseases and is a component of acid rain that damages vegetation and wildlife.But the energy and shipping industries are ill-prepared, say analysts…
Iran Raises Oil Exports to West, Almost on Par with Asia
Iran's oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said. Iran, which used to be OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions…
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…
Tupras Says Fire Erupts in Kocaeli Refinery
A fire broke out at Turkish oil refiner Tupras' Kocaeli refinery in northwestern Turkey, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday, adding that production had not been halted and technical teams were working to put it out. "Our operations are continuing with no interruption," the spokeswoman said. Large plumes of dark smoke curled up from the plant, television footage from Dogan News Agency showed. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk)
Urals Prices Weaken in Med, Baltic
Russian Urals crude price differentials weakened in the Mediterranean and the Baltic due to ample supplies, traders said on Thursday. In the Platts window, Litasco sold to Shell a 80,000 tonne cargo in the Mediterranean loading on Jan. 18-22 at a discount of $1.45 a barrel to dated Brent, some 30-35 cents a barrel weaker than previous levels, traders said. Vitol unsuccessfully offered its Jan. 19-23 cargo at a discount of $1.45 a barrel, market participants said.
Tupras Posts 98.5% Rise in Q2 Profit
Turkey's sole oil refiner Tupras said on Friday that its profit in the second quarter was 710.07 million lira ($255.87 million). Tupras, which is owned by Koc Holding, outperformed a Reuters forecast of 509 million lira. Its sales rose 10.45 percent to 10.6 billion lira. ($1 = 2.7751 liras) (Reporting by Ece Toksabay, writing by Jonny Hogg)
Med Crude-Urals Crude Bid Higher, Kirkuk Tanker Cancellations Spread
Russian Urals crude was bid higher in northwest Europe, while differentials in the Med were supported by more tanker cancellations in the Turkish port of Cheyhan. Those cancellations were due to a lack of rival Kirkuk oil in tanks owned by Iraqi state oil firm SOMO. Shipping data showed the latest Kirkuk tanker cancellations included Eni's Seanostrum, Socar's Oklahoma, China Oil's Baltic Galaxy, Saras's Baku, Repsol's Afra Laurel and BP's SKS Satilla.
Kurdish Oil Deal with Baghdad Unravels
A four-month-old oil deal between Iraq and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is close to unravelling after payments from Baghdad dried up, prompting Arbil to threaten to sue buyers and ramp up independent oil exports. The dispute highlights fundamental differences between the two sides over who controls oil resources and revenues and will reinforce the views of many Iraqi watchers that Kurdistan would seek bigger if not full independence from Baghdad one day.
Turkey May Suggest LNG Project to Russia
Turkey could propose to Russia building an LNG terminal in an energy complex on its border with Greece, as part of talks on planned new gas pipeline with its northern neighbour, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said. Last week Russia scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing EU objections, and instead named Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline.
Turkey May Suggest LNG Project to Russia
Turkey could propose to Russia building an LNG terminal in an energy complex on its border with Greece, as part of talks on planned new gas pipeline with its northern neighbour, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said. Last week Russia scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing EU objections, and instead named Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline.
Tupras Deploys AVEVA for Refineries
Turkey’s primary oil & gas operator makes a strategic investment in AVEVA E3D, schematic, and laser data software. AVEVA announced that Tupras, Turkey’s largest Owner Operator in the oil & gas industry, is investing extensively in AVEVA software technology following an intensive evaluation process. AVEVA Everything3D (AVEVA E3D), together with AVEVA Diagrams, AVEVA Electrical and AVEVA’s laser scanning solutions will play a key role in a major brownfield revamp program.
Med Crude-Urals Steady in South, Azeri Weakens
Russian Urals prices were steady in the south on Thursday, underpinned by a tighter July loading programme, while Azeri Light weakened following other light grades. "There is not much available in the second decade (of the month) plus Unipec may take some Suezmaxes to China...it's also a shorter programme overall so the trend is up," one trader said. In the Platts window, Socar offered a cargo of Azeri Light at dated Brent plus $2.25 cif Augusta, loading July 10-14. No buyers surfaced.
