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Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's government. "In comparison to the Trump administration, there hasn't been any serious crackdown or action against Iran's oil exports," said Sara Vakhshouri of SVB. The Iranian oil ministry did not respond to a request for comment on exports. MORE TO CHINAThere is no definitive figure for Iranian oil exports and estimates often fall into a wide range. According to another analyst, Vortexa, China's December imports of Iranian oil hit a new record of 1.2 million bpd, up 130% from a year earlier.

☆ Oil trades flat amid China demand hopes, caution ahead of U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices traded mostly flat on Thursday, giving up gains made earlier in the day, as optimism over China's demand outlook was tempered by caution ahead of upcoming inflation data from the United States. Both benchmarks had risen 3% in Wednesday's session, boosted by hopes for an improved global economic outlook and concern over the impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. "China is speeding up stockpiles for crude oil ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, as the demand outlook has been improved amid a U-turn in its COVID policy," said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets. Upcoming U.S. inflation data, however, is a key risk factor for oil, CMC Market's Teng added. An international price cap imposed on sales of Russian crude took effect on Dec. 5.

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Thursday, building on gains in the previous session as China's demand outlook improved, though gains were limited ahead of upcoming inflation data from the United States. Both benchmarks rose 3% in Wednesday's session, boosted by hopes for an improved global economic outlook and concern over the impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. Top oil importer China is reopening its economy after the end of strict COVID-19 curbs, boosting optimism that demand for fuel will grow in 2023. Upcoming U.S. inflation data however is a key risk factor for oil, CMC Market's Teng added. An international price cap imposed on sales of Russian crude took effect on Dec. 5.

☆ Oil rises on demand optimism as China borders reopen
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jeslyn Lerh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Baker Hughes Co FollowSINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed on Monday as the borders reopened in China, the world's top crude importer, boosting the outlook for fuel demand growth and offsetting global recession concerns. Brent crude futures were up $1.49, or 1.9%, at $80.06 a barrel as of 0745 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.43, or 1.9%, to $75.20. Those concerns are reflected in the market structure for the benchmark oil futures. ,"Oil prices have likely ticked up on increased confidence on China's reopening, but fears of recession in the wider global market remains. This uncertainty will likely lead to swings in oil prices in the near-term," said Serena Huang, Vortexa's head of APAC analysis.

☆ Oil prices little changed as U.S. crude drawdown offsets China COVID worries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Isabel Kua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies United States of America FollowSINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stocks offset worries about rising COVID-19 cases in top oil importer China. Gasoline inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by 828,000 barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "A larger-than-expected draw in U.S. inventories, coupled with U.S. plans to refill their Strategic Petroleum Reserve have supported oil prices," said Serena Huang, head of APAC analysis at Vortexa. Oil prices were boosted by these comments which suggest that OPEC+ may continue to keep supply tight to support oil prices, CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said. Growing worries about a surge in COVID-19 cases in China as the country begins dismantling its strict zero-COVID policy kept oil prices from moving higher.

☆ U.S. poised to become net exporter of crude oil in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The United States is also the leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, where growth is expected to soar in coming years. But the United States consumes 20 million barrels of crude a day, the most in the world, and its output has never exceeded 13 million bpd. Last month, U.S. government data showed net U.S. crude oil imports fell to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest since record keeping began in 2001. To become a net exporter of crude, the United States needs either to boost production or curtail consumption. The U.S. exported an average of 3.1 million bpd of fuels through September this year, EIA data showed, down from the 3.2 million bpd in the same period in 2019.

China, Russia's top oil buyer, has not agreed to the price cap. The light sweet crude is favoured by Chinese refiners due to their proximity and the oil's high middle-distillates yield. At current Brent levels, the $6 discount implies a price of $68 a barrel including freight and insurance costs. "They (independent plants) don't really care about the price cap. With the price cap in place, China, India and Turkey could have more bargaining power, the analysts added.

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - European traders are rushing to fill tanks in the region with Russian diesel before an EU ban begins in February, as alternative sources remain limited. The European Union will ban Russian oil product imports, on which it relies heavily for its diesel, by Feb. 5. Part of the influx comes as ICE Futures Europe bans low-sulphur gasoil of Russian origin ahead of EU sanctions. Russian gasoil can still arrive in ARA storage tanks in December, but it must be moved to other tanks from which no delivery can be made, according to ICE. In January 2022, 70,000 tonnes of gasoil were delivered through the Ice gasoil futures exchange's website shows.

☆ Europe is loading up on Russian diesel 3 months before an import ban kicks in on refined fuels
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Europe is scrambling to secure Russian diesel three months before an import ban kicks in. Russian diesel loadings to a European refining hub soared 126% between the first half of November and October, per Reuters. An EU embargo on refined Russian oil products like diesel will take effect in February. Russian diesel loadings headed for the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) oil refining hub rose to 215,000 barrels per day from November 1 to November 12. Europe has been racing to fill up on refined Russian oil products ahead of a European Union embargo set to take hold in February – a penalty in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

SINGAPORE, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Chinese refiners are slowing down Russian crude purchases in December and paying lower premiums in the face of imminent European Union sanctions and uncertainty surrounding the G7's plan to cap Russian oil prices, trading sources said. The European Union will ban Russian crude and oil products imports on Dec. 5 and Feb. 5, respectively. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Russian oil price cap will benefit China and India. URALSMeanwhile, state refiners are winding down Russian Urals crude purchases for December arrival to eschew sanction risks after stockpiling the oil in previous two months, traders said. Spot discounts for these cargoes "need to be deep enough to warrant any meaningful risk taking", said the state oil trading manager.

☆ India sends more vacuum gasoil to the U.S. as the West shuns Russian oil
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Jeslyn Lerh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States and Canada banned Russian oil imports over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while sanctions from the European Union on Russian crude and oil products imports will take effect on Dec. 5 and Feb. 5, respectively. Meanwhile, India, the world's third-largest oil importer, has been ramping up Russian crude imports and increasing oil product exports to the West for higher margins. A vessel ships vacuum gasoil from India to the U.S.India's VGO exports to the United States climbed in 2022 compared with last year. "Given that the U.S. is not buying Russian oil, they are looking for any and all alternatives," said Roslan Khasawneh, senior fuel oil analyst at Vortexa. U.S. and EU sanctions do not apply to refined products produced from Russian crude exported from a third country as they are not of Russian origin.

☆ Europe still can't live without Russian LNG exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN Business —Europe may be closer than ever to breaking its energy dependence on Moscow, but it still can’t live without one type of Russian natural gas. Russian imports doubled in the year to September to 1.2 million tons, Rystad data shows. The majority of the Russian LNG imports come from privately owned Novatek, the country’s second-largest natural gas producer after Gazprom. “I expect that Russian LNG will continue to play an important role in filling European storage going into winter of 2023,” he told CNN Business. “[Europe] would rather get whatever [it] can in terms of Russian pipeline gas and Russian LNG… it would take a lot before [it] would think about sanctioning gas or LNG from Russia,” Ramesh said.

☆ Europe now has so much natural gas that prices just dipped below zero
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN Business —Europe has more natural gas than it knows what to do with. Now, EU gas storage facilities are close to full, tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) are lining up at ports, unable to unload their cargoes, and prices are tumbling. The price of benchmark European natural gas futures has dropped 20% since last Thursday, and by more than 70% since hitting a record high in late August. Prices turned negative because of an “oversupplied grid,” Tomas Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS), told CNN Business. The bloc has ramped up imports of LNG from the United States and Qatar as natural gas imports from Russia plummeted.

☆ Tankers Line Up Off Europe’s Coast Waiting for Gas Prices to Rise Again
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Dozens of ships laden with natural gas are floating off the coast of Europe, many of them waiting for berths to unload as the continent races to top up storage ahead of a winter without Russian gas. Thirty-five tankers are idling or sailing slowly around northwest Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, according to Felix Booth, head of LNG at energy and shipping data firm Vortexa. Six of the giant tankers are moored in Spain’s Bay of Cadiz, and there is another cluster in the English Channel.

☆ European countries are shelling out huge sums to deal with the energy crunch. Economists fear it could spark a new financial crisis.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new debt crisis could be looming as European countries throw huge sums of money at the energy crisis. Already, the energy crisis is estimated to have cost Europe around 700 billion euros. Combined with a high debt load, that spells trouble, Boskin says, because debt itself is also inflationary. Additional spending and debt from the energy crisis could result in more stress being exerted on the financial system. "I think a debt crisis could very likely ensue given the vast amounts that [are] being spent as a percentage of GDP.

NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. spot crude prices could weaken as the Biden Administration follows through with its plan to sell more barrels from emergency oil reserve by year end, market participants said. Certain oil refineries prefer certain grades of crude, so the mix of barrels sold out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) could have a knock-on effect on the U.S. and global refining market. The SPR barrels have ended up selling at a discount to West Texas Intermediate barrels for delivery at the Magellan East Houston terminal, as demand has increased for sour barrels to make lucrative diesel, Rathod said. The sour market has also been under pressure, due to increased supplies of Canadian heavy sour and lackluster export demand, said Elizabeth Brown at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Additional barrels of sour grades from the SPR could further weigh on prices.

And demand for the greener fuel has dried up, according to Reuters interviews with nine LNG market analysts, industry officials and traders. Several gas drillers, including in the world’s top gas producer the United States, told Reuters they have invested in finding and plugging greenhouse gas emissions associated with production, transport and processing. Since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, gas prices have soared about 25% in the United States and 32% in Europe . To export gas, the fuel must be supercooled into LNG and then shipped across the sea, a process that produces substantial additional greenhouse gas emissions. Other U.S. LNG suppliers, like Cove Point LNG and Cameron LNG, also told Reuters they are not certifying their cargoes.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWHY ARE REFINERY AND FUEL DEPOT WORKERS STRIKING? Middle distillates such as diesel and gas oil are primarily used in freight transport, manufacturing, farming, mining, and oil and gas extraction. The French refinery outages are tightening European supplies and reverberating through global markets. Meanwhile, northwest European diesel barge profit margins hovered near record highs hit on Monday. read moreUncertainty over how long the French strikes will last has lifted European diesel spreads relative to crude just as Western sanctions against Russia are driving prices still higher.

Management at Exxon Mobil's (XOM.N) Esso France reached a deal with a majority of unions on Monday, but not the CGT. "I have therefore asked the prefects, as permitted by law, to requisition the personnel needed to the functioning of the company's depots," she said, referring to Esso France. SHORTAGES1/5 People gather during a TotalEnergies and Esso ExxonMobil workers' protest outside Esso refinery in Fos-Sur-Mer, France October 11, 2022. Esso France said it had reached a salary deal with unions on Monday. Even so, the CGT said it had not signed off on the deal, and its workers remained on strike.

This figure compares with 1.1 million bpd of offline capacity in September, and is above the 2015-2019 average for this period. Maintenance outages next month include Eni's Sannazzaro refinery in Italy, Repsol's (REP.MC) Tarragona refinery in Spain, and Galp Energia's (GALP.LS) Sines refinery, among others. read more"The European diesel market is looking a bit softer than we had expected say this time last month," Gallarti said, adding that the consultancy has softened its European demand forecast as economic pressures mount. read moreBut while higher imports and a softening demand outlook are helping to ease the pressure on diesel markets, widespread refinery outages in France, partly due to strike action, could tighten supplies again. Benchmark European diesel profit margins hit a two-week high of about $50 a barrel on Wednesday, based on Reuters assessments, driven by the French strikes.

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged towards a thermal power station in Futtsu, east of Tokyo, Japan November 13, 2017. The global LNG market has more than doubled in size since 2011, ushering in dozens of new entrants and the expansion of smaller players in Asia. The capital needed to trade the market soared after benchmark LNG prices rose from record lows below $2 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in 2020 to highs of $57 in August. LNG spot prices price stood at $40.50/mmBtu then. 'DIFFICULT TO COMPETE'High LNG cargo prices are also widening energy poverty globally as some cargoes, initially destined for poorer nations, end up being diverted to European buyers.

Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China October 22, 2018. Such a move would signal a reversal in China's oil products export policy, add to global supplies and depress fuel prices. After a recent slide in benchmark Brent crude prices to below $100 a barrel, Chinese refiners have taken arbitrage opportunities to boost stockpiles, traders said, booking supertankers to haul crude oil to China from the Americas and Middle East. A second official with another state refinery said his plant is also planning about an 8% hike in throughput next month, but added that the plan had been driven by firmer domestic margins. A third state refinery expects to restart a 60,000-bpd crude unit next month after maintenance, one of the sources said.

☆ The Fed can save the stock market if a recession hits. Experts explain how far the central bank will go with rate hikes – and when it could reverse course.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As of yesterday, the federal funds rate is now in a range of 3.0% to 3.25% after a third consecutive 75-basis-point rate hike and the fifth increase of the year. But should the unemployment rate rise and company earnings fall enough to kick off a deep recession, a markets-friendly central bank could emerge over the next year, according to Kolanovic. In his view, a Fed pivot won't materialize until the unemployment rate gets closer to 5%. How does the Fed's third outsized rate hike impact your outlook for the economy and for your portfolio? US stock futures struggled for direction early Thursday, as the odds of a soft economic landing dwindled following the Fed's rate hike Wednesday.

☆ China is depleting its oil stockpiles in a potential sign Beijing is looking to boost the economy with a surge in fuel exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Roughly 1 million barrels per day have left Chinese oil inventories in the last three weeks, according to Vortexa data cited by Bloomberg. Inventories hit 909 million barrels as of September 15, the lowest since May. Both oil refiners and traders in China have applied for an additional 15 million tons of export quotas. Roughly 1 million barrels per day have left Chinese stockpiles in the last three weeks, according to data from Vortexa cited by Bloomberg. Both oil refiners and traders in China have applied for an additional 15 million tons of export quotas.

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