Europe Remains Top Destination for US LNG
Europe last month remained the top destination for shipments of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Refinitiv data, outpacing exports to Asia for the second month in a row.About two-thirds of U.S. LNG volumes went to Europe last month, compared to around 61% in December when sky-high European prices and demand drove U.S. LNG exports to a record, Refinitiv data showed.In both months, a lack of supply drove demand and led to cargoes being re-routed from other destinations.
Global Crude Market Finds Support From China Demand
China, the global oil market's lifeline this year, has stepped up purchases from exporters like Russia, the United States and Angola in recent weeks, while buyers elsewhere pare orders as coronavirus infections surge and fresh lockdowns are put in place.China, the world's largest importer of crude, is the only major buyer expected to see increased oil demand this year as the pandemic destroyed consumption globally.With China's imports expected to reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) next year…
Libya's NOC to Lift Force Majeure at Es Sider Oil Port
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday that it is ready to lift force majeure at Es Sider oil port, allowing a tanker on standby to load crude from storage.The state oil company urged all Libyan parties to support it and called on what it described as "foreign mercenaries and armed groups" to leave the oil port immediately.The Delta Ocean Suezmax tanker arrived at the port on July 5 and has been waiting since then…
Angola Resisting Pressure to Taper Oil Output
Angola is resisting pressure by OPEC's de-facto leader Saudi Arabia for a steeper oil output cut to comply fully with record supply curbs, OPEC and industry sources said.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, have been cutting oil output since May by a record 9.7 million barrels per day after the coronavirus crisis destroyed a third of global demand.After July…
China's Sinopec Starts Hiring for New Risk Management Unit
China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, has started hiring for six top management positions for a new commodities risk management unit, according to a statement posted on the state energy company's official wechat account on Sunday.Formally known as Sinopec Chaoyang Risk Management Co and with a registered capital of 300 million yuan ($42.40 million), the new firm will provide financial services for the oil and chemical sector including hedging and inventory management…
Trafigura Merging China Oil Operations in New Shanghai Trading Desk
Swiss commodities merchant Trafigura plans to merge its three-year-old crude oil marketing office in Qingdao, in east China's Shandong province, with an oil desk being set up in Shanghai, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.Trafigura earlier this year created a head oil trader position in its Shanghai office, which has long focused on metals, said the sources. Huang Shufu, from the company's Singapore-based oil team…
Coronavirus hits Supertanker Rates
Freight rates for supertankers on the Mideast Gulf and U.S. Gulf routes to Asia have fallen to their lowest since mid-September as the coronavirus outbreak hit Chinese oil demand, ship brokers told Reuters.China's Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest refiner, and so-called "teapot" independent refineries have reined in operations in the face of plunging consumption."The market has gone back to what it was before the COSCO sanctions came in," one ship broker said, referring to U.S.
Sinopec Weighs Output Cuts Due to Freight Rate Surge
Asia's largest refiner, Sinopec, is weighing plans to cut oil imports in December and reduce output at its refineries after a surge in global tanker freight rates hit margins, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.The cost of shipping crude to Asia has surged in the past two weeks after companies stopped using nearly 300 tankers for fear of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.Refining margins have yet to catch up with the jump in freight rates…
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…
Saudi Attacks, High Demand Leaves U.S. Short on Oil Tankers
A disruption in global oil flows following attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities has left U.S. crude exporters without enough tankers to cover rising demand for cargoes, traders and shipping sources said.Missile attacks last Saturday temporarily cut Saudi oil production by more than 5 million barrels per day, or about half the country's output.That set off a scramble for alternative cargoes of crude…
China Fixes First U.S. Crude Cargo Since Latest Tariff Threat
Chinese oil trader Unipec chartered a supertanker to ship U.S. crude to China in September, trading sources said, the first such cargo since U.S. President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on Chinese import, ending a monthlong trade truce.Unipec, the trading arm of state refiner Sinopec , has fixed the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Anne to load U.S. crude in mid-September, according to a shipbroker and Refinitiv Eikon data.
W. Africa Crude Traders Await Sept Programs
Some August-loading Angolan cargoes cleared but trading was slow on Monday as new programs were expected to emerge this week.The preliminary Angolan loading program for September is expected to emerge on Tuesday. New Nigerian programs are expected at the end of the week.BP's August-loading cargo of Girassol, two August-loading cargoes of Mostarda were sold to India's Reliance, China's Unipec and an independent Chinese refiner, a trader said.
Record Number of VLCC Liftings at LOOP
Medium-sour crudes from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico are being snapped up by overseas buyers, paving way for a record six supertankers to load at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) in a matter of weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.The six scheduled loadings in late May and early June would double the record of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) reached in December. An unusual influx of Gulf of Mexico crudes to the U.S.
Oil Rises as U.S. Sanctions on Iran Cloud Supply Outlook
Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Friday, supported by signs that U.S. sanctions on Iran are already reducing global crude supply.Benchmark Brent crude oil rose $1.30 a barrel to a high of $76.03 by 1425 GMT, on track for gains of more than 5 percent this week. U.S. crude was $1.20 higher at $69.03, heading for a weekly rise of more than 4 percent."Both crude markers are on track to end a steady run of weekly declines.
Chinese Tariffs on LNG, Oil May Threaten US Energy Dominance
China's targeting of U.S. liquefied natural gas and crude oil exports opens a new front in the trade war between the two countries, at a time when the White House is trumpeting growing U.S. energy export prowess.China included LNG for the first time in its list of proposed tariffs on Friday, the same day that its biggest U.S. crude oil buyer, Sinopec, suspended U.S. crude oil imports due to the dispute…
Unipec Suspends US Oil Imports as Trade Spat Intensifies
China's Unipec, the trading arm of state oil major Sinopec, has suspended crude oil imports from the United States due to a growing trade spat between Washington and Beijing, three sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.It is not clear how long the temporary halt will last, but one of the sources said Unipec has no new bookings of U.S.
Oil Futures Steady on Market's Long-term Bearish Focus
Brent oil futures steadied under $74 a barrel on Friday as the market focused on bearish longer-term factors after gains in the previous session, which were driven by U.S. crude inventories in at a major hub falling to their lowest in nearly four years.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $68.86 per barrel at 1321 GMT, down 10 cents from their last settlement, while Brent crude futures were at $73.55 per barrel…
China to Cut US Oil Imports Amid Trade Spat
Chinese oil buyers will keep taking crude from the United States through September, but plan to reduce future purchases to avoid a likely import tariff amid a trade spat between the world's two largest economies, multiple industry sources said.Beijing has put U.S. energy products, including crude oil and refined products, on lists of goods that it will hit with import taxes in retaliation for similar moves by Washington.Beijing did not specify when it will impose a 25 percent tax on oil…
Sinopec to Boost U.S. Crude Imports
Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, will boost U.S. crude oil imports to an all-time high as part of efforts by China to reduce its trade deficit with the United States, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The company's trading arm Unipec has bought 16 million barrels, or about 533,000 barrels per day, of U.S. crude to load in June, they said, the largest volume ever to be lifted in a month by the company. "The government has encouraged us to lift more U.S.
Unipec, ENOC Place Lowest Offers in Bangladesh Oil Import Tender
Energy traders Unipec and ENOC placed the lowest offers in a tender by Bangladesh Petroleum Corp to buy up to 1.52 million tonnes of oil products for import in the second half of 2018, officials said on Tuesday. The state-owned company was seeking between 1.1 million tonnes and 1.28 million tonnes of 500ppm sulphur gasoil, 100,000 tonnes of jet fuel and 120,000 to 140,000 tonnes of 180-cst high-sulphur fuel oil.
