Venture Global responds to Shell's fraudulent claims in LNG arbitration
Venture Global responded late Tuesday night to Shell's legal challenge over the oil major losing an arbitration case involving liquefied gas cargoes. They rejected Shell's allegations of fraud and accused Shell of violating arbitration confidentiality. The legal documents filed in New York Supreme Court are the latest in a long saga about Venture Global's alleged failure to deliver LNG in accordance with long-term contracts…
Venture Global responds to Shell's fraudulent claims in LNG arbitration
Venture Global responded late Tuesday night to Shell's legal challenge over its loss in an arbitration case involving liquefied gas cargoes. The company rejected allegations of fraud, and accused Shell of breaching arbitration confidentiality. The legal documents filed in New York Supreme Court are the latest in a long-running saga about Venture Global's inability to deliver LNG in accordance with long-term contracts…
Shell appeals against arbitration ruling on Venture Global LNG Supply Contracts
Shell has filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court to challenge its loss in an arbitration against U.S. liquefied gas producer Venture Global. This comes weeks after BP won a $1 billion arbitration. The two arbitration cases were based on Venture Global's inability to deliver LNG as per long-term contracts, while the prices of LNG soared following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Shell argues in its latest filing that…
Shell appeals against arbitration ruling on Venture Global LNG Supply Contracts
Shell has filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court to challenge its loss in an arbitration against U.S. liquefied gas producer Venture Global. This comes weeks after BP won a $1 billion arbitration. The two arbitration cases concerned Venture Global's inability to deliver LNG as per long-term contracts, while the prices of LNG on the spot market soared following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Shell…
How BP won a $1 billion plus case against Venture Global
Five sources familiar with the case said that BP's $1 billion arbitration win against liquefied gas producer Venture Global was won by arguing unfair behavior by the U.S. firm. This strategy could be used in similar cases by other claimants. BP won in October. Two months earlier, Shell had lost a similar lawsuit when it was unable to prove Venture Global's breach of long-term LNG agreements. Shell didn't push the argument that Venture Global acted unfairly in its arbitration.
China Suspends Russian Oil Purchases Due to Sanctions
Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow's two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday.The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow, to comply with the U.S.
Sources say that Unipec was involved in the arbitration award announced by Venture Global on Oct 9.
Two sources familiar with the matter say that Venture Global announced on 9 October the settlement of an arbitral case involving Unipec. Unipec is a trading division of Sinopec - a Chinese state-owned oil company. Venture Global announced the resolution first on Thursday, without disclosing who the other parties involved were. Venture Global added that the agreement will have no material impact to its business.
VLCC Rates Spike as US Sanctions Bite
Supertanker freight rates jumped after the U.S. expanded sanctions on Russia's oil industry, sending traders rushing to book vessels to ship supply from other countries to China and India, shipbrokers and traders said.Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to severe new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and tankers designed to curb the world No. 2 oil exporter's revenue due to its war in Ukraine.Many of the newly-targeted vessels…
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…
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.
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.