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, with refiners likely to struggle…
U.S. Midwest Refiners Boost Output
U.S. refineries from Ohio to Minnesota are capitalizing on access to cheap crude from Western Canada and North Dakota oilfields, helping their region break a historic dependence on fuel from the Gulf Coast while redrawing oil trade maps. Since the early 2000s, crude and fuel flows from the Gulf Coast into the U.S. heartland have been cut in half, as crude coming from Canada and North Dakota has pushed U.S. Midwest refining activity to record levels.
Oil Majors Look to Shed Refineries
Chevron solicits interest in Burnaby, British Columbia refinery; Shell seeks buyer for Martinez, California plant. Global oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are putting small refineries on the auction block as they look to trim lower-margin assets in the face of headwinds from rising crude oil prices. Chevron, the second largest U.S. oil company, is soliciting interest in its Burnaby, British Columbia, refinery and gasoline stations, the company told Reuters.
US Refiners Tighten Belts as Golden Era Fades
U.S. independent oil refiners, such as Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66, are shelving projects and tightening budgets, as a global glut of diesel and gasoline erodes profits, ending a golden era of high refining margins. For the past six years, U.S. refiners have spent billions of dollars on expansion, enjoying bumper profits fueled by growing domestic and global demand for gasoline and diesel amid rising supply of domestic crude. Now however…
Canada: Oil Facilities Largely Okay, Restart a Challenge
The mass evacuation of residents from the wildfire-devastated Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray is likely to significantly delay the restart of production, even though energy facilities themselves have escaped major damage from the flames. The huge wildfire that entered its second week on Sunday has destroyed entire neighborhoods in the town, forcing nearly 100,000 people to flee. Even though Canadian officials on Sunday showed some optimism that they were beginning to get on top of the wildfire…
Oil Drillers Dig for the Bottom for Rig Counts
For the past year and a half, a chart of the number of U.S. oil rigs in operation has resembled a death-defying ski slope - but it may be time to get back on the chair lift. The U.S. rig count may finally be bottoming out as U.S. oil companies look for oil prices to rally just a bit more, a signal that the time has come to deploy more capital and get production moving again, analysts say. The number of active oil rigs in the U.S. has fallen for six weeks…
Europe's Diesel Market Hits Crunch Time
Tankers that took a longer route set to arrive; storage in main hub nearly 70 percent full. Europe's new status as the dumping ground for the world's excess diesel comes to a head this month as mild weather, strong refinery runs and months of building stocks combine. The glut has been building for months as margins fattened by cheap crude have prompted European refiners to boost output and as exports from new refineries in the Middle East have headed to Europe. "Europe is not performing.
Surge in Gasoline Demand Throws Lifeline to European Refiners
The scramble for gasoline this summer has thrown a lifeline to European refiners, pushing gasoline cracks to multi-year highs and tightening the market for the fuel's components, but the seasonal effect next year is likely to be more muted. Stephen George, chief economist at UK-based consultancy KBC Advanced Technologies, said demand for gasoline in the United States and China had risen by about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) year-on-year, triggered by lower oil prices.
Kongsberg, KBC Enter Software Cooperation
Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (KONGSBERG), has announced a non-exclusive cooperation agreement with KBC Advanced Technologies plc (KBC) to develop stronger simulation software integration and more effective engineering and operation workflows. The objective is to enable the oil and gas marketplace to respond to the demand for significantly better production economics while substantially reducing the cost of design and production over field life.
ExxonMobil Outlines Rotterdam Upgrade Plan
Exxon Mobil Corp plans to add high-quality lubricants production to its 190,000 barrel per day (bpd) Rotterdam refinery, the company said on Thursday. Exxon is also considering expanding production of high-quality fuels such as diesel at Rotterdam, an investment in the struggling European refining sector that would follow a $1 billion project announced last year to expand diesel output at its 320,000 bpd Antwerp refinery. The company said…
Blame Game in Europe as Pump Prices Lag the Drop in Crude
A slide in the price of crude oil is not being matched in Europe by a fall at the pump, and as political pressure for cheaper petrol mounts, retailers and consumer groups differ over what causes the lag. Retail petrol taxes and the strength of the dollar mean that drivers in Europe can not expect to see the full benefit of the more than 40 percent drop in crude prices since June. Even accounting for these factors, however, the gap is still wide.
Europe's ‘Ghost Town’ Refineries Spook Oil Company Results
Europe is coming under increasing pressure to close oil refineries as chronic over-capacity hits processing margins, dragging down group profits and hitting share prices. Poland's PKN Orlen and Czech processor Unipetrol both announced unexpected large losses on Wednesday after impairment charges at processing plants. Larger oil peers Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Eni will report next week and refining is expected to weight heavily on the results.
Kongsberg, KBC Enter Upstream Partnership
Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS and KBC Advanced Technologies, a provider of consulting and software solutions to the hydrocarbon processing industry, announced they will collaborate in key areas focused on improving production solutions for upstream operators. To reinforce the relationship, Kongsberg made an investment in the recent KBC share placing to demonstrate interest in KBC’s growth strategy in upstream oil and gas. With their existing solutions for process simulation…
