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☆ China's southern cities call for power saving as grid stress increases
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Industrial and oil refining cities in southern China are urging firms and citizens to curb electricity, while Hainan province called for less power usage at peak times, as grids become more stressed due to persistent searing hot weather. Southern China has been beleaguered by a combination of sizzling hot temperatures and heavy rainfalls in recent weeks, with power loads in several cities approaching historic highs due to soaring demand for air-conditioning. The oil refinery city, whose power load broke records three times as of Monday, asked industrial firms to actively reduce power consumption and strengthen power-saving technology transformation. It also suggested that state-owned firms, residents and commercial venues set cooling temperatures to no less than 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the statement. Jiangmen, another industrial city in Guangdong, is also proposing to cut unnecessary power usage amid the power consumption peak.

Locations: China, Hainan, Southern China, Maoming, Guangdong

HOUSTON, May 19 (Reuters) - An attorney representing the family of a 55-year-old Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) refinery worker killed in a fire at the Texas facility this week called the plant where he worked "dangerous" on Friday. Higgins family plans to file a gross negligence lawsuit against the oil refiner and other firms involved in the plant's maintenance, he said. Buzbee is seeking documents on the plant and maintenance, according to court filings. "Scott always thought he might die at that plant," Buzbee said. And the reason he talked to them about it is because that plant is very dangerous," Buzbee said.

[1/2] Production units are seen in operation at Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, U.S., May 15, 2023. Scott Higgins, a 55-year-old machinist, was killed and two contract employees, including Eduardo Olivo, were injured in a fire at Marathon’s giant Galveston Bay Refinery on Monday morning. The unit is the larger of two Ultraformers at the 593,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery, the second-largest in the United States. Higgins was the second worker to die at the Marathon refinery this year. On March 23, 2005, when the refinery was owned by BP Plc, 15 contract workers were killed and 180 other people were injured in a explosion caused by an overflowing refinery unit.

☆ Phillips 66 joins rivals to beat profit estimates as refining margins soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Arunima Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view of the Phillips 66 refinery, as seen from the corner of Fifth Street and California Street in Rodeo, California, the oldest oil refining town in the American West, U.S. December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File PhotoMay 3 (Reuters) - U.S. refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N) beat Wall Street estimate for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, joining rivals in gaining from elevated margins on sustained fuel demand amid tight crude supplies. Realized margins soared 91% to $20.72 per barrel in the first quarter from a year earlier, Phillips 66 said. "We ran above industry-average crude utilization, successfully executed major turnarounds and increased market capture to 93%," Phillips 66's CEO Mark Lashier said in a statement. The Houston-based refiner reported adjusted earnings of $4.21 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with average analyst estimate of $3.56, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Chevron tops estimates with Q1 profit gain despite slide in oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HOUSTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Oil major Chevron Corp (CVX.N) beat market expectations on Friday as profit nudged higher in the first-quarter, with earnings from refining compensating for a slide in energy prices and in oil and gas production. Net profit climbed 5% to $6.57 billion or $3.46 per share. That compares with a Wall Street consensus for flat profit at $3.38 per share, according to figures compiled by Zacks Investment Research. The company's standout business was oil refining, where higher margins helped income surge more than five-fold to $1.8 billion. But its oil and gas production division saw its net profit tumble 25% on a big year-over-year declines in prices.

☆ Chevron tops estimates with first-quarter profit gain despite slide in oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil major Chevron beat market expectations on Friday as profit nudged higher in the first quarter, with earnings from refining compensating for a slide in energy prices and in oil and gas production. Net profit climbed 5% to $6.57 billion or $3.46 per share. That compares with a Wall Street consensus for flat profit at $3.38 per share, according to figures compiled by Zacks Investment Research. The company's standout business was oil refining, where higher margins helped income surge more than five-fold to $1.8 billion. But its oil and gas production division saw its net profit tumble 25% on a big year-over-year decline in prices.

☆ Exxon delivers a record first-quarter profit on higher output
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported a record first-quarter profit that was more than double from a year ago and topped Wall Street estimates as rising oil and gas output overcame a pullback in energy prices from high levels. Oil companies are riding that wave of relatively higher oil and gas prices with earnings benefiting from strong demand and cost-cutting tied to efforts to counter Covid-19 lockdowns three years ago. "We delivered a first-quarter record despite the fact that energy prices and refining margins are softening a bit," Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells said in an interview. Its oil and gas production rose by nearly 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared to year-ago levels excluding asset sales and its exit from Russia. Higher volumes partially offset a 16% drop in oil prices from a year ago.

☆ Exxon delivers record first-quarter profit on higher output
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Exxon doubled profits from the same quarter last year as higher output more than compensated for lower energy prices. Shares rose 2.3% to a record high of $119.52 per share after Exxon reported its results on Friday. "We delivered a first-quarter record despite the fact that energy prices and refining margins are softening a bit," Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells said in an interview. Exxon's oil and gas output rose to the highest level in almost four years. Exxon's oil and gas production rose to the most since 2019 to 3.83 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), up by 160,000 boed from the previous quarter.

☆ Oil exports from Russia's western ports hit 4-yr high in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian crude exports and transit from the ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk in April will rise above 10 million tonnes, up from 9.7 million tonnes in March, which is a day longer. It was unclear if Russia's high exports mean it has lowered its output cuts. Seasonal maintenance on Russian refineries in April could explain the high crude exports as the state's domestic market needs less oil, the sources added. Urals crude exports from Primorsk in April will reach some 4.4 million tonnes, while Ust-Luga will load 3.0 million tonnes of Russia's Urals and Kazakstan's KEBCO crude oil grades, the three sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Russia's Urals oil keeps flowing to Asia in April, while softer freight rates help the grade's sellers to reach far-away costumers, accoding to Reuters souces.

☆ Exxon vs. Chevron? Goldman Sachs reveals its favorite — and other energy picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Energy stocks dropped last week as oil prices fell to a 15-year low , with the banking crisis roiling markets. Amid the volatility, Goldman Sachs named the energy stocks it likes in a March 16 note. Exxon vs. Chevron For investors looking for a defensive play, Goldman analysts recommend Exxon as a top pick, adding that they prefer it over rival Chevron . Targa vs. Oneok Within midstream stocks, Goldman said it was "more positive" on U.S.-based companies Targa Resources and Cheniere Energy following the pullback. That's because lower oil prices would not hit Targa's operations as much as Oneok's, they added.

SYDNEY, March 20 (Reuters) - China still added more crude oil to inventories in the first two months of the year, despite lower imports and higher refinery processing rates. About 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude was added to commercial or strategic inventories over January and February, according to calculations based on official data. This was down from the 1.19 million bpd in December and the 740,000 bpd for 2022 as a whole. The total volume of crude available from imports and domestic production in the first two months of the year was 14.63 million bpd, consisting of imports of 10.4 million bpd and local output of 4.23 million bpd. This equates to about 1.72 million bpd of exports, using the BP conversion factor of 8 barrels of product per tonne.

☆ Americans arrested for allegedly sending aviation technology to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Two Americans were arrested in Kansas City on Thursday for an alleged scheme to send aviation-related technology to Russia in violation of U.S. export controls. The defendants are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file export information, and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law. The U.S. imposed additional restrictions on avionics after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, along with controls on other goods targeting Russia's defense, aerospace and maritime sectors. The controls were later expanded to include Russia’s oil refining, industrial and commercial sectors, and luxury goods. Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The approved rulemaking is not expected to take effect until summer of 2024, the sources said. The rule would be a win for the ethanol industry, which has sought for years to expand sales of so-called E15, which contains 15% ethanol, and for the farm industry, as ethanol is made from corn. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to seek a public comment period on the rule, sources said. President Joe Biden lifted the ban last summer in an attempt to lower historically-high gasoline prices. Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shell CEO creates chief of staff role in management overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Chief of staff to oversee performance improvementAppointment to be announced in MarchShell profits hit record, but costs set to riseLONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has created a senior role of chief of staff as part of a management overhaul to improve performance after technical problems and other disruption, three company sources said. The chief of staff, the first in Shell's 115-year-old history, is the biggest change Sawan has made to top management since he took office on Jan. 1 with a promise to boost the company's performance. Sawan announced the role of chief of staff and corporate relations in an internal memo last week, the sources said. A Shell spokesperson confirmed the role has been created, without adding details. Sawan has said he will improve Shell's performance and efficiency as it attempts to shift towards low-carbon energy and cut greenhouse emissions in the coming decades.

☆ Exclusive: Iran to start revamp at Venezuela's largest refining complex within weeks - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Mircely Guanipa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The companies are now expected to sign in the coming weeks a 460-million-euro contract to revamp the 955,000-bpd Paraguana refinery complex on the coast of western Venezuela, according to the sources. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian arrived in Caracas on Friday and met Venezuela's oil minister Tareck El Aissami, according to tweets from the Iranian embassy in Caracas and Venezuela's oil ministry. PDVSA, NIORDC and Venezuela's oil ministry did not reply to requests for comment. A QUARTER OF CAPACITYA project to restore the complex's dilapidated power supply is also planned as part of the revamp, according to the sources. During the El Palito revamp, PDVSA sent home hundreds of Venezuelan workers to make way for the Iranian technicians, which triggered protests.

In a statement that did not name Kolomoiskiy, the SBU published the same photographs, but with the person's face blurred out. If someone is not ready for change, then the state itself will come and help them change," Arakhamia wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The head of the State Bureau of Investigation said the law enforcement action was "only the beginning". The oligarchs took control of swathes of industry during the post-Soviet privatisations of the 1990s and wield influence to this day. Reporting by Olena Harmash; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy Heritage and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shell CEO in first changes combines LNG, upstream operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies New CEO took office Jan. 1Upstream boss to oversee expanded unitExecutive committee to shrink to seven from nine membersLONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) will combine its oil and gas production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) divisions as part of CEO Wael Sawan's first changes since taking charge of the energy giant earlier this month. The new division, which combines Shell's most profitable operations, will be headed by current upstream director Zoe Yujnovich, Shell said in a statement on Monday. Sawan took office on Jan. 1 after heading Shell's integrated gas division, which included Shell's LNG and renewables businesses, with a vow to simplify and improve the company's operations. Under the internal restructure, renewables operations will be combined with Shell's oil refining and marketing operations led by current downstream director Huibert Vigeveno, the company said. Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; editing by Rashmi Aich and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

“The intentions, of course, were never to cross over to Venezuela, he was just accompanying her,” said Henry Martínez, Hernández’s brother. The men told Hernández that if they wanted to enter Venezuela, he had to pay $100. Hernández told them he was not trying to enter the country and did not have $100. The U.S. has not had a diplomatic presence in Caracas since 2019, so access to jailed Americans has been limited since then. “Sometimes I can hear his voice weak and just frustrated and anxious,” said Henry Martínez.

☆ Column: China's power sector emissions set to jump as economy reboots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LITTLETON, Colo., Jan 9 (Reuters) - Pollution levels from China's mammoth power sector are set to climb to new highs in 2023 as Beijing's efforts to spur growth across the economy result in increased burning of fossil fuels. The energy sector accounts for roughly 90% of emissions in the country, the world's top polluter, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). SOFT PATCHThe 1.6% rise in China's power sector emissions through November was the smallest increase during that period on record aside from 2020, when China first tackled COVID outbreaks, Ember data shows. China power sector emissionsA more than 10% rise in electricity generated from clean sources such as solar and wind - compared with a 1.5% rise in fossil fuel electricity generation - helped curb overall power sector emissions, according to the Ember data. Diminished energy demand from shuttered factories and several key industries also capped overall power sector pollution, with China's industrial output through most of 2022 holding at suppressed levels.

☆ Brazil's Petrobras will play leading role to expand refineries, says new energy minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras FollowRIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's new mines and energy minister Alexandre Silveira said on Monday that state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) would play a leading role in expanding the country's oil refining sector. During an official event inaugurating his new role, Silveira said that Petrobras would play a leading role, encouraging other groups to join the process. "It is urgent that we enlarge and expand our refineries, taking them to the country's regions and modernizing the plants," he added. Reporting by Marta Nogueira and Pedro Fonseca; Editing by Sarah MorlandOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SINGAPORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday as surging COVID-19 cases in China dimmed hopes of a recovery in fuel demand for the world's largest crude oil importer. Brent futures for February fell 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $83.00 a barrel by 0430 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $78.70 a barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories fell less than expected, by about 1.3 million barrels, in the week ended Dec. 23, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. However, that comes as an Arctic freeze has forced some oil refining facilities offline, backing up crude supplies. Markets, however, drew some support from Russian President Vladimir Putin's ban on exports of crude oil and oil products from Feb. 1 for five months to nations that abide by a Western price cap.

☆ Oil prices ease, China COVID spike hurts demand outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices ticked down on Thursday as surging COVID-19 cases in China dimmed hopes of a recovery in fuel demand in the world's second-biggest oil consumer. Brent futures for February delivery fell 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $82.84 a barrel, by 0123 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $78.46 per barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories fell less than expected, by about 1.3 million barrels, in the week ended Dec. 23, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Also weighing on prices, pipeline operator TC Energy said it was working to restart the portion of the Keystone pipeline that was forced shut after a leak earlier this month. Germany said the ban has "no practical significance" as the country has been working since spring to replace Russian oil supplies and ensure security of supply.

☆ Oil prices ease, China Covid spike hurts demand outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices ticked down on Thursday as surging Covid cases in China dimmed hopes of a recovery in fuel demand in the world's second-biggest oil consumer. Brent futures for February delivery fell 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $82.84 a barrel, by 0123 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $78.46 per barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories fell less than expected, by about 1.3 million barrels, in the week ended Dec. 23, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Also weighing on prices, pipeline operator TC Energy said it was working to restart the portion of the Keystone pipeline that was forced shut after a leak earlier this month. Germany said the ban has "no practical significance" as the country has been working since spring to replace Russian oil supplies and ensure security of supply.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - The effort to remove oil from the largest crude spill in the United States in nearly a decade will extend into next week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday, making it likely that the Keystone pipeline shutdown will last for several more days. TC Energy (TRP.TO) shut the largest oil pipeline to the United States from Canada on Wednesday after it leaked 14,000 barrels of oil into a Kansas creek. This is the third spill of several thousand barrels of crude on the pipeline since it first opened in 2010. A previous Keystone spill had caused the pipeline to remain shut for about two weeks. The oil spill has not threatened the local water supply or forced local residents to evacuate, Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator Randy Hubbard told Reuters.

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