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An Iranian navy vessel fired shots during the second seizure attempt, Navy Fifth Fleet spokesperson Timothy Hawkins said. British maritime security company Ambrey said a warship with a multinational navy task group was in the area at the time and had requested the Iranian navy to "cease harassing" one of the merchant ships. Iran seized two oil tankers in a week just over a month ago, the U.S. Navy said. Refinitiv ship-tracking data shows the Richmond Voyager previously docked in Ras Tannoura in eastern Saudi Arabia before Wednesday's incident in the Gulf of Oman. The Richmond Voyager was sailing away from the Gulf with Singapore listed as its destination, Refinitiv ship tracking showed.

Persons: Timothy Hawkins, Hawkins, Ambrey, IRNA, Lisa Barrington, Jonathan Saul, Rami Ayyub, Jason Neely, David Holmes Organizations: U.S . Navy, Chevron, Richmond Voyager, Navy Fifth Fleet, Reuters, Marshall, Suez, Dubai, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran, Gulf of Oman, U.S, Iranian, Oman, United States, Hormuz, Ras Tannoura, Saudi Arabia, Gulf, Singapore, Marshall Islands, Greece, U.S . Gulf, Mexico, Galveston, Washington

It also defies protests from a minority of activist investors who want oil companies to be more closely aligned with global efforts to mitigate climate change. An oil and gas price rally driven by energy producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine translated into record profits for the energy majors. That has increased confidence in the most costly, high-risk offshore exploration that can also deliver the highest rewards. Wood Mackenzie analysts predict a continued increase in activity, forecasting offshore exploration and drilling activity to grow by 20% by 2025. Wood Mackenzie meanwhile predicts the commitment of up to $185 billion to develop 27 billion barrels of oil reserves, with international oil companies focused on the higher-cost, higher-return deepwater developments.

Persons: Olivier Le Peuch, Baker Hughes, Wood Mackenzie, Leslie Cook, TotalEnergies, Yujnovich, QatarEnergy, Shell, Graff, La Rona, Ron Bousso, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Shell, BP, SLB, Reuters, International Energy Agency, Barclays, West Africa –, Nambia's Petroleum, Thomson Locations: Namibia, Ukraine, Gulf of Mexico, South America, West Africa, NAMIBIA, Canada

☆ These are the 10 cheapest places in the U.S. to buy a beach house
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gulfport, Mississippi, ranked as the cheapest town in which to buy a beach house, according to Realtor.com. Dszc | Istock | Getty ImagesTop 10 cheapest places in the U.S. to buy a beach houseGulfport, Miss. In Newport News, the median price within one mile of a beach is $200,000 and the median price per square foot within one mile of a beach is $150. It has one of the best public beaches in the state, Ocean Beach Park, which sits on the Long Island Sound. The median price within one mile of a beach is $257,000 in New London, while the median price per square foot within one mile of a beach is $175.

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refinery margins have halved since the middle of 2022 but they are still at historically high levels and will be supported through the summer of 2023 by high operating rates and low fuel stocks. Even at this reduced level, however, margins are in the 95th percentile for all trading days since 2001, which is underpinning refinery profitability and encouraging high levels of capacity utilisation. After adjusting for the impact of inflation, real margins are at the highest levels for almost eight years since July 2015. Gross margins have to cover operating expenses, including fuel, electricity and catalysts, as well as labour and capital costs. Related columns:- Low U.S. fuel stocks support prices and cracks (May 17, 2023)- U.S. diesel stocks tighten but fear of shortage eases (April 21, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

The settlement between BP Products North America Inc., the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency will also require the company to invest approximately $197 million in new technology and other capital improvements to reduce air pollution. The BP refinery near Lake Michigan released nearly 16 times the legal limit of benzene allowed by the Clean Air Act, the EPA said in 2009. Following the EPA's investigation, BP spent about $4 billion to expand the Whiting refinery to process heavy Canadian crude. The company also agreed to undertake a $5 million supplemental environmental project to reduce diesel emissions in the communities surrounding the Whiting Refinery and install 10 air pollutant monitoring stations. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Laura Sanicola in Washington; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Shell Plc (SHEL.L) will use AI-based technology from big-data analytics firm SparkCognition in its deep sea exploration and production to boost offshore oil output, the companies said on Wednesday. SparkCognition's AI algorithms will process and analyze large amounts of seismic data in the hunt for new oil reservoirs by Shell, the largest oil producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. "We are committed to finding new and innovative ways to reinvent our exploration ways of working," Gabriel Guerra, Shell's vice president of innovation and performance, said in a statement. "Generative AI for seismic imaging can positively disrupt the exploration process and has broad and far-reaching implications," said Bruce Porter, chief science officer for Austin, Texas-based SparkCognition. The technology would generate subsurface images using fewer seismic data scans than usual, helping with deep sea preservation, the companies said.

[1/2] Oil tanker Kerala, chartered by Chevron, is loaded in the Bajo Grande oil terminal at Maracaibo Lake, in the municipality of San Francisco, Venezuela, January 5, 2023. To back up its license application, Chevron last year signed an oil-for-debt swap with Venezuela's state-run PDVSA. The initial exports have rapidly drained the ventures' oil inventories, which had built up for years. Chevron plans to continue pushing up heavy crude output mainly at oilfields in eastern and western Venezuela belonging to its Petropiar and Petroboscan projects, according to the sources. GOLDEN TICKETChevron's license broke a four-year U.S. prohibition on Venezuelan oil exports to the United States designed to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

☆ Marathon Petroleum beats profit estimates as strong demand boosts margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Arunima Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Marathon Petroleum Corp FollowMay 2 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) topped Wall Street profit estimates on Tuesday as sustained fuel demand and tight crude supplies boosted its margins, prompting the top U.S. refiner to expand its share buyback programme by $5 billion. Pandemic-era closure of facilities and demand recovery have lifted refiners' margins, further bolstered by tight crude supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a jump in jet fuel demand owed to a travel boom. Marathon refining and marketing margin soared 70.8% to $26.15 per barrel for the January-March quarter, compared with a year earlier. "With operating costs in line with expectations and stronger utilization, Marathon Petroleum captured stronger refining margins, notably on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Midwest," Third Bridge analyst Peter McNally said. Marathon returned $3.5 billion to investors through share buybacks and dividends in the first quarter, and repurchased $1.2 billion of shares last month.

☆ As oil output peaks, US Gulf of Mexico makes room for carbon capture
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Some companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), have been dumping assets in the Gulf, the nation's primary offshore source of oil, and are instead targeting capturing and storing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases underground. The region, soon could became contested ground for oil, carbon sequestration and renewable energy, say analysts. The gain reflects a flurry of new platforms from Shell (SHEL.L), BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N) and others, budgeted before the pandemic hit global demand and made companies reduce investments. Reuters GraphicsAt this week's Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), which annually attracts more than 50,000 people, nearly a quarter of the presentations will involve offshore wind, renewables, carbon capture and energy transition, say organizers. Oil development will still dominate the basin, but should coexist with CCS and renewables such as offshore wind and solar.

☆ In change for oil market, new US crude in Brent index lacks loading plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oil-index publisher S&P Global Platts is adding U.S. WTI Midland crude to its dated Brent oil price assessment for June deliveries, which is now in focus as the market trades roughly a month ahead. Dated Brent is part of the wider Brent complex including physical cargoes, swaps and futures that is used to price millions of barrels of oil each day. The companies that run the North Sea crude streams, known as the operator, issue planned cargo loading lists which the industry monitors as an indication of supply. "We see no reason for issues," said Joel Hanley, global director, crude and fuel oil, at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Thomson Reuters competes with S&P Global Platts in providing news and data about the oil market.

HOUSTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp (CVX.N) has stepped up sales of Venezuelan crude oil to rival U.S. refiners, adding PBF Energy Inc (PBF.N) and Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) to its list of customers for the crude, vessel tracking and loading schedules showed. Chevron, the last big U.S. oil producer still operating in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela, has increased exports of the crude since January. So far in April, it has loaded about 148,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil at Venezuelan ports, with cargoes going to at least three other U.S. refiners, besides Chevron's own refinery. In mid-April, Chevron sold about 550,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude to PBF for its 185,000-bpd Chalmette refinery, near New Orleans, U.S. Customs data on Refinitiv Eikon showed. Chevron has sent Venezuelan crude to its 369,000-bpd Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery and this month shipped a cargo to a Bahamas oil-storage terminal, PDVSA's schedules showed.

☆ TC Energy declares force majeure on Columbia Gulf natgas station after fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian energy company TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) said on Friday that its Columbia Gulf Transmission unit declared a force majeure event at its Corinth natural gas compressor station in Mississippi due to a fire, which had been extinguished. The fire at the compressor station resulted from a suspected lightning strike during severe storms that occurred early on Friday, the company said in a statement. The Corinth compressor station is making operational adjustments to allow a portion of volume to resume flows through the impacted segment of the system, TC Energy said. Based on current nominations, Columbia Gulf said the anticipated impact to firm service was about 0.4 bcf. The Columbia Gulf pipe stretches 3,367 miles (5,419 kilometers) between the U.S. Gulf Coast and the Midwest, serving customers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the company's website.

☆ Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, U.S. Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet, which, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data, is a Suezmax crude tanker which had been chartered by oil major Chevron and had last docked in Kuwait, sails at Marmara sea near Istanbul, Turkey January 10, 2023. Iran's army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state media reported. The vessel's destination was listed as the U.S. Gulf of Mexico port of Houston, ship tracking data showed. Iran last November released two Greek-flagged tankers it seized in the Gulf in May in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast. The U.S. Navy, whose Fifth Fleet is based at the Gulf island state of Bahrain, called on Iran to immediately release the tanker.

☆ Those Seaweed Blobs Headed for Florida? See How Big They Are.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Scientists say they spotted more than 13 million tons of Sargassum, a yellowish-brown seaweed, drifting in the Atlantic Ocean last month — a record for the month of March. NORTH AMERICA March 2023 Atlantic Ocean The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt grew to an estimated 13.5 million metric tons of seaweed this spring. Tangles of the goopy, leafy seaweed have already begun to wash ashore beaches in southern Florida and Mexico. Floating mats of seaweed accumulate in the central Atlantic Ocean for much of the year. But during the spring and summer, patches of it are carried by ocean currents toward the Caribbean, eastern Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast.

☆ Analysis: Saudi crown prince acts to realign Mideast dynamics amid concern over US support
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"Saudi Arabia is moving from disengagement towards engagement to allow it to focus on pushing ahead on Vision 2030," said Saudi analyst Abdulaziz Sager. A Saudi official said the United States and China are both very important partners for Riyadh. Washington and Riyadh are working on addressing common security challenges, he said. "The Saudis don’t want to be in a shooting war between Iran and the United States. Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution in Washington said Saudi Arabia's view that the U.S. is increasingly disengaged from the region is not entirely wrong.

SummarySummary Companies Plant to supply 1.2-1.4 mln tonnes of ammonia per yearYara attracted by low US gas prices, carbon capture costProduction start up set for 2027-28OSLO, March 31 (Reuters) - Norwegian fertiliser maker Yara (YAR.OL) and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge (ENB.TO) plan to invest up to $2.9 billion to build a low-carbon blue ammonia production plant in Texas, they said on Friday. Blue ammonia, rather than green ammonia derived from renewable energy, refers to ammonia produced from natural gas, with the carbon dioxide (CO2) byproduct captured and stored. The plant will supply 1.2 million to 1.4 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per year. High gas prices in Europe have made the case to build in the U.S. stronger, Ankarstrand said. Many similar facilities are in development and demand for low-carbon ammonia looks strong, said Vince Paradis, Enbridge's vice president of business development.

☆ Ukraine is getting older US Abrams tanks, but Russia's Soviet-era tanks still won't be a match for them in battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Instead of newer Abrams, Ukraine will receive older M1A1 Abrams tanks. According to some early performance reports from the first Gulf War, America's M1A1 tanks were a formidable and invaluable asset on the battlefield. Performance reports make similar arguments, noting that the inclusion of the depleted uranium boosted a round's ability to penetrate heavy tank armor. Allan Tannenbaum/Getty ImagesIn the Gulf War, the M1A1 was very successful at moving around the battlefield. During the Gulf War, tank crews complained about sand getting into the air filtration systems, as well as constant refueling, which the updated versions and the A2 improved upon.

☆ Saudi is far from the last Western bank bagholder
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Saudi Arabia has joined the Western bank bagholder club. The bank only made its play in November, when client money was already flowing out of Credit Suisse. Saudi National Bank bought 307.6 million Credit Suisse shares for 3.82 Swiss francs ($4.11) per share. The UBS offer of 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) values Credit Suisse shares at 0.76 francs each, more than 80% lower than the price paid by the Saudi bank. Saudi National Bank's statement added that the potential impact to its capital adequacy ratio is about 35 basis points, with no impact on profitability.

☆ Exclusive: Russian crude oil heads to UAE as sanctions divert flows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Refinitiv Eikon data shows the first Russian crude shipment to the country was in 2022, with a spike in volumes in April 2022. Only one shipment of Russian crude to the UAE has previously been reported. China, India and several African and other Middle Eastern nations have also increased Russian crude and products imports, while many countries have banned or discouraged such purchases. Data seen by Reuters on Eikon ship tracking showed a shipment of Russian crude arrived at the UAE Ruwais refinery in November 2022. "Shipments to UAE are occasional," a Russian crude trading source said.

☆ Pipeline operator Enbridge to invest $2.4 bln in infrastructure, renewable energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Sourasis Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline operator said it would buy a gas storage facility in Tres Palacios in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast region for $335 million to strengthen its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export business. The Tres Palacios gas storage facility currently has a capacity of about 35 billion cubic feet and serves gas-fired power generation in Texas and Mexico. The pipeline operator has also decided to proceed with the construction of the Enbridge Houston Oil Terminal for an initial capital cost of $240 million. The company expects its renewable portfolio to grow over 400% by 2028. The company had earlier said it expects to deploy about C$6 billion of capital in 2023, inclusive of maintenance capital.

☆ Dow and X-energy to build U.S. Gulf Coast nuclear demonstration plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Dow Inc (DOW.N) and private company X-energy said on Wednesday they have agreed to develop and demonstrate the first grid-scale next-generation nuclear reactor for an industrial site in North America. The X-energy Xe-100 plant featuring four high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors is set to be built at one of Dow's sites on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Backers of next-generation nuclear reactors, including the Biden administration, say the technology is crucial to fight climate change. The X-energy plant will provide a Dow facility with process heat and power to make products. Dow, a chemicals company, makes a wide variety of products including polyethylene used in packaging, paints, and foams.

☆ Exclusive: Canada's Baytex Energy nears $2.5 bln deal for U.S. peer Ranger Oil -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( David French | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas producer Baytex Energy Corp (BTE.TO) is nearing a deal to acquire U.S. peer Ranger Oil Corp (ROCC.O) for around $2.5 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Calgary, Alberta-based Baytex will pay a mixture of cash and stock to buy Ranger at a small premium to its current market value of $1.8 billion. Baytex and Ranger did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Baytex's deal would add to the run of Canadian energy operators seeking to boost the amount they produce south of the border. Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) completed in December the sale of its Canadian operations, leaving it with assets in North Dakota and Pennsylvania.

Jet fuel this year will be the largest source of oil demand growth, says the International Energy Agency, which monitors energy consumption. In Singapore, jet fuel is trading around $122.30 per barrel, up 14% in the last two weeks. "Overall, we expect jet demand to increase significantly this year," he told an earnings call on Thursday, as air travel continues to rise. U.S. jet fuel inventories ended last year at 34 million barrels, the lowest since 1990, according to U.S. government data. Total jet fuel supplied, a proxy for demand, stood at 1.56 million barrels per day in 2022, the highest since 2019.

The solid quarterly earnings highlighted how global crop merchants like ADM have weathered rising energy costs and supply chain disruptions such as lower Black Sea grain exports following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "As we look forward to 2023, we expect another very strong year," Chief Executive Juan Luciano said. "We still see tightness in supply and demand balances in key products and regions," he said, citing reduced Ukrainian grain supplies and smaller harvests in drought-hit Argentina. Adjusted operating profit in Ag Services and Oilseeds rose as strong South American crop exports and good margins offset reduced U.S. exports and as quarterly oilseed crushing profits more than doubled. ADM's adjusted net fourth-quarter earnings rose to $1.069 billion, or $1.93 per share, from $850 million, or $1.50 a share a year earlier, above the consensus estimate of $1.65 per share, based on Refinitiv data.

☆ U.S. oil refining margins hit 3-month high as plant outages rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refining margins on Tuesday hit a three-month high and are likely headed higher, analysts said, as unplanned refinery outages weigh on already-tight fuel supplies. The outages have pushed up gasoline prices in Texas and Oklahoma this year ahead of what is expected to be a heavier than usual turnaround season for refineries. The rising prices and margins are unusual for this time of year, when travel falls. Average gasoline prices in Texas hit about $3.07 a gallon on Tuesday, up almost 44 cents from a month ago, according to the AAA motor group. A diesel producing unit at PBF Energy's (PBF.N) Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery was shut following a fire on Saturday.

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