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NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub have risen to their highest in two years, as outages at Midwestern refiners crimp demand and higher flows from Canada add to supply. Stockpiles at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. crude oil futures, have climbed for eight consecutive weeks after falling earlier this year. Overseas demand for U.S. crude and an end to refinery outages should reverse the build, said analysts. "We're going to be sending more (oil exported) abroad," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. Canadian crude may have been sent toward Cushing as feedstock for a restart of the Toledo refinery, which had a fire last year, said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler.

Persons: Phil Flynn, Hillary Stevenson, Cushing, Stevenson, Enbridge, Flanagan, John Coleman, Wood Mackenzie, Matt Smith, Stephanie Kelly, Nia Williams, Arathy, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: YORK, Cushing, Price Futures, Energy, IIR Energy, BP, Phillips, North, Americas, Kpler, Thomson Locations: Oklahoma, Canada, Cushing, U.S, Toledo, Ohio, Texas, Wood

[1/2] Choices at the gas pump including ethanol or no ethanol gas are seen in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., January 29, 2020. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to finalize biofuel blending volumes at 20.94 billion gallons in 2023, 21.54 billion gallons in 2024 and 22.33 billion gallons in 2025, the sources said. That compares with the initial proposal announced in December of 20.82 billion in 2023, 21.87 billion in 2024, and 22.68 billion in 2025. But the finalized volumes include just 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels like corn-based ethanol in all three years, plus a 250 million-gallon supplemental amount for 2023, the sources said. Ethanol producers and corn farmers like the mandates because they provide a market for their products, while the oil industry finds the requirements too pricey.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Biden, Emily Skor, Stephanie Kelly, Jarrett Renshaw, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, The, Environmental Protection Agency, Congress, Growth Energy, EPA, U.S . Renewable, EV, Thomson Locations: Des Moines , Iowa, U.S, The U.S, New York, Philadelphia

LAUNCESTON, Australia, June 19 (Reuters) - China added to crude oil stockpiles at the fastest rate in nearly three years in May, as robust imports outweighed near-record refinery processing. This was up 15.4% from the same month in 2022, and was the second-highest monthly total, eclipsed only by the 14.91 million bpd from March. The volume of crude available to refiners was 16.37 million bpd, consisting of imports of 12.11 million bpd and domestic output of 4.26 million bpd. It's worth noting that for the first five months of 2023 China's crude oil imports are up 6.2% to the equivalent of 11.13 million bpd. If the flows into storage and the rise in product exports are factored in, suddenly the increase in China's crude oil imports doesn't look quite as bullish as it may first appear.

Persons: China doesn't, It's, Jamie Freed Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, OPEC, Saudi Aramco, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, China, OPEC, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Saudi

☆ Oil rebounds on strong China refinery data but economic outlook caps gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil rebounded on Thursday after the previous day's plunge, as data showed a jump in refinery runs at the world's top crude importer China, though a weak economic backdrop capped gains. China's oil refinery throughput in May rose 15.4% from a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, hitting its second highest total on record. But a weak economic outlook capped price gains on Thursday, as China's industrial output and retail sales growth in May missed forecasts. The somber Chinese data weighed on oil prices, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a market analyst at Phillip Nova. A high-for-longer rate outlook may lead to further growth pressures and keep oil demand conditions in check, said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG.

Persons: refiners, Priyanka Sachdeva, Phillip Nova, Sachdeva, Yeap Jun Rong, Yeap Organizations: Brent, . West Texas, U.S . Federal Reserve, IG, European Central Bank, Bank of England Locations: China

NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release a final rule on biofuel blending volume mandates for the years 2023-2025 by June 21, after seeking a one-week extension on a deadline for the rule, according to a court document on Tuesday. The EPA was set to issue a final rule by Wednesday under a court-ordered deadline, but has agreed to an extension with industry trade group Growth Energy, the filing showed. The final rule is set to mark a new chapter of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, which is more than a decade old. The EPA is expected to abandon that part of the proposal in the final rule, Reuters previously reported, citing sources. It is unclear whether those requirements will change in the final rule.

Persons: Stephanie Kelly, Jarrett Renshaw, Paul Simao, Barbara Lewis Organizations: YORK, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Growth Energy, Reuters, U.S, District of Columbia, Renewable, Thomson

☆ Oil prices rise as Saudi output cuts outweigh weak demand signals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. crude stocks fell by about 450,000, according to data from the Energy Information Administration, compared with estimates for a 1 million build. Diesel inventories rose by 5.1 million barrels, while markets had estimated a build of 1.33 million. Gasoline inventories also rose more-than-expected at 2.8 million barrels, compared with estimates for a build of 880,000 barrels. Wednesday's data also showed that crude oil imports into China, the world's largest oil importer, rose to their third-highest monthly level in May as refiners built up inventories. A weaker greenback helps demand as oil becomes cheaper for foreign buyers.

Persons: Dennis Kissler, refiners, Morgan, Arathy Somasekhar, Ahmad Ghaddar, Yuka Obayashi, Muyu Xu, David Goodman, Mark Potter, Bernadette Baum, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, Saudi, OPEC, BOK Financial, Energy Information Administration, Federal, Organisation for Economic Cooperation, Development, Thomson Locations: HOUSTON, Saudi, China, Houston, London

☆ Russian oil supplies to EU via southern Druzhba to rise 16% in June - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline supplies Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The EU imposed an embargo on Russian oil purchases via maritime routes from December. Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Repubic were, however, allowed to continue Russian oil imports as critical feedstock. Oil supplies via a section of the southern Druzhba pipeline were temporarily suspended in November following shelling on a power station which provides electricity for a pump station. The Druzhba pipeline crosses Belarus and Ukraine and remains an income source for both countries which receive transit fees.

Persons: Unipetrol, Poland's PKN, uninterruptedly, PKN Orlen, Emelia Sithole Organizations: European Union, EU, MOL, Reuters, Minsk, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russian, Europe, Russia, Moscow, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Druzhba, Czech, Belarus, Kiev, Adria, Ukrainian

☆ Ports in China's oil hub Shandong scrutinizing old tankers -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Qingdao and Lanshan are two of the top five biggest Chinese oil importing ports, according to data from Kpler. Shandong is home to numerous independent refineries known as teapots that account for up to one-fifth of China's processing capacity. Port authorities could detain ships for days to rectify any issues, prompting shippers to divert cargoes to other Chinese ports, the sources said. Almost all tankers hauling crude to Qingdao for independent refiners are more than 10 years old, said Vortexa analyst Emma Li. In April, tankers calling at Shandong ports experienced delays after customs authorities stepped up checks on diluted bitumen cargoes.

Persons: Seapalm, Emma Li, Eikon, Muyu Xu, Florence Tan Organizations: Kpler, Shandong Maritime Safety Administration, Reuters, Seapalm Shipping, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China's Shandong, Qingdao, Rizhao, Lanshan, Shandong, Tokyo, Cameroon, Seychelles, Jiangsu, Hebei, Liaoning, Beijing

These comments represent just one of the contradictions in the current oil market. The desire for a stable oil market is extremely difficult to reconcile with being unpredictable. But the risk is that the increase isn't sustained, largely as a result of another oil market contradiction. It's another contradiction for the oil market to resolve as those three exporters are all under some form of Western sanctions. It may well be the case that the second half of this year sees a huge pick-up in crude oil demand.

Persons: Prince Abdulaziz bin, Brent, Sonali Paul Organizations: Organization of, Petroleum, Saudi Energy, Brent, International Energy Agency, SECOND, Saudi Aramco, Aramco, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, Saudi, OPEC, Vienna, Russia, China, India, Saudi Arabia

Weakness in China's manufacturing sector has been matched by soft outcomes in other important parts of the world's second-biggest economy. Rather it is construction and manufacturing that propel commodity demand, especially for steel raw material iron ore and for copper. The softness in those sectors is likely to show up in commodity imports in coming months, but not yet. Seaborne iron ore imports are expected at about 93.29 million tonnes, according to Refinitiv data, which would be stronger than the 90.44 million tonnes recorded by customs in April. If this is the case, it's likely that they may consider trimming imports in coming months, especially if the run of soft economic data continues.

Persons: it's, Robert Birsel Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Refinitiv Oil Research, Global, Brent, Singapore, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, China, March's

☆ Analysis: Mexico's gasoline independence dream sinks in dirty fuel oil glut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ana Isabel Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] A general view shows Mexican state oil firm Pemex's Cadereyta refinery in Cadereyta, on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, August 27, 2021. The push to increase Pemex's output, however, has ramped up fuel oil production, due mostly to its refineries' struggle to efficiently process the heavy crude Mexican oil fields pump. CORE PROBLEMSPemex fuel oil is a sludge-like product, especially bad for air quality when burnt to generate electricity due to its high sulfur content, which has diminished its market value. Most refiners seek to minimize production of fuel oil by using coking plants to extract higher value fuels like gasoline and diesel from heavy crude. For now, Pemex's motor fuel production is still eclipsed by what it buys abroad, or around 353,000 bpd of gasoline imports this year through April.

Persons: Daniel Becerril, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador's, Pemex, Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Ana Isabel Martinez, David Alire Garcia, Dave Graham, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Reuters, Pemex, Comision Federal, Thomson Locations: Cadereyta, Monterrey, Mexico, MEXICO, wean, U.S

☆ Oil prices gain 1% on falling U.S. stockpiles, Saudi warning
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices rose over 1% on Wednesday, after a large unexpected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories and a warning from the Saudi energy minister that raised the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts. U.S. crude inventories posted a massive surprise drawdown, falling by 12.5 million barrels last week to 455.2 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. U.S. gasoline stocks dropped by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 216.3 million barrels, the EIA said, while distillate stockpiles fell by 600,000 barrels in the week to 105.7 million barrels. Saudi Arabia's energy minister said short-sellers - those betting that prices will fall - should "watch out" for pain. "Oil prices are trading higher ... buoyed by the latest short-seller warning from Saudi Arabia," said OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

Persons: Phil Flynn, Craig Erlam, Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Price, Britain's Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, Energy Information Administration, Analysts, EIA, Memorial, Price Futures, Organization of Petroleum, Democratic, Republican Locations: Saudi, U.S, Russia, OPEC, Saudi Arabia

☆ EU will go easy on Indian resale of Russian fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Yet, the risk of an energy inflation resurgence makes a European Union ban on Russian oil reselling a tough call. The war in Ukraine has offered India an opportunity to boost purchases of discounted Russian oil. European imports of oil derivatives jumped to 200,000 barrels per day after the EU banned Russian crude products imports on Feb. 5 from 154,000 barrels previously, according to Kpler data. And New Delhi argues oil products substantially transformed in a third country cannot be subject to EU sanctions. loadingTo avoid an open clash with India, the EU could try to target European companies buying Russian-origin refined oil.

☆ Oil slips as debt talks pause, Fed warns of high inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. Brent and U.S. crude nonetheless notched their first weekly gains in a month, with the both benchmarks rising about 2%. "It doesn't look they are going to get the debt deal done today... the chance of a 25 basis point (rate) increase in the June meeting is rising by the day... Following reports of the paused debt ceiling negotiations and Powell's comments, U.S. stocks, Treasury yields and the dollar all moved lower. Chinese refiners maintained high runs to meet recovering domestic fuel demand and build stockpiles ahead of the summer travel season.

☆ Oil edges lower as debt talks pause, Fed warns of high inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. The less active U.S. crude contract for May , due to expire on Monday, eased 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $71.4. "It doesn't look they are going to get the debt deal done today.., the chances of a 25 basis point (rate hike) increase in the June meeting is rising by the day... Following reports of the debt ceiling negotiations and Powell's comments, U.S. stocks, Treasury yields and the dollar all moved lower. Chinese refiners maintained high runs to meet recovering domestic fuel demand and build stockpiles ahead of the summer travel season.

☆ Oil rebounds on fading risk of US debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jeslyn Lerh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant//File PhotoMay 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices rebounded on Friday from losses of more than 1% the previous day as investors turned cautiously optimistic over the fading risk of a U.S. debt default. Sentiment remains mixed as investors juggle optimism over avoidance of a U.S. debt default with inflation data that could portend more interest rate hikes from global central banks. China's oil refinery throughput in April rose 18.9% from a year earlier to the second-highest level on record, data showed earlier this week. Chinese refiners maintained high runs to meet recovering domestic fuel demand and build stockpiles ahead of the summer travel season.

☆ Oil rebounds on fading risk of U.S. debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices rebounded on Friday from losses of more than 1% the previous day as investors turned cautiously optimistic over the fading risk of a U.S. debt default. Sentiment remains mixed as investors juggle optimism over avoidance of a U.S. debt default with inflation data that could portend more interest rate hikes from global central banks. The potential for additional rate hikes increases concerns about demand weakness in the United States, said analysts from National Australia Bank. China's oil refinery throughput in April rose 18.9% from a year earlier to the second-highest level on record, data showed earlier this week. Chinese refiners maintained high runs to meet recovering domestic fuel demand and build stockpiles ahead of the summer travel season.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 19 (Reuters) - Chinese refiners dipped into crude oil inventories in April for the first time in 18 months, as high processing rates exceeded the volume of crude available from both imports and domestic output. The volume of crude available to refiners from imports and domestic output in April was 59.71 million tonnes, equivalent to 14.53 million bpd. For April, the total amount of crude available was 340,000 bpd below the volume processed by refiners, the first time since November 2021 that refiners have drawn on inventories. CRUDE IMPORTS RECOVEROn the crude import side the picture is more interesting, with April arrivals the lowest since January at 10.3 million bpd. For May, it seems likely that imports will recover, with Refinitiv Oil Research estimating arrivals of 11.83 million bpd, a jump of 1.53 million bpd from April's soft outcome.

[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.

☆ India's Russian oil buying hits record high, slashes Mideast, Africa share
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nidhi Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asia's third-largest economy imported about 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in April, about 4.4% higher than the previous month, the data showed. Higher imports from Russian raised the share of oil from the C.I.S. India's oil imports from various regionsRussia remained the top oil supplier to India for the sixth-straight month in April, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Oil imports from Russia also rose as Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), the country's top refiner, raised the size of its annual import deal with Rosneft (ROSN.MM). Lower purchases of oil from the Middle East dragged OPEC's share of India oil imports to a record low of 46%, the data showed.

However, an 18.9% year-on-year rise in China's oil refinery throughput in April to the second-highest level on record helped to keep a floor under crude prices. The IEA raised its forecast for global oil demand this year by 200,000 bpd to a record 102 million bpd. It said China's recovery after the lifting of COVID-19 curbs had surpassed expectations, with demand reaching a record 16 million bpd in March. In another bullish development, the U.S. Department of Energy on Monday said it would buy 3 million barrels of crude oil for delivery in August in a move to begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Meanwhile, U.S. commercial crude stocks fell by about 1.3 million barrels last week, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

☆ U.S. refiners build new oil processing as travel rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HOUSTON, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiners aim to run at up to 94% of a total 17.9 million barrels per day processing capacity this quarter, according to company forecasts and analysts, driven in part by expectations of seasonal travel demand. This quarter is traditionally one of the year's hottest for demand as companies build gasoline and jet fuel output for the summer vacation season. He estimates refiners overall will run at 94% utilization rate this quarter, matching the 2017-19 average for the period. High prices will keep U.S. refinery utilization rates at levels near last year's about 91.7% this year and next, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast in January. Refiners will add the capacity to process an additional 328,000 bpd in this quarter, increasing gasoline and diesel supplies this summer.

☆ Borrell urges EU to crack down on imports of Indian fuels made with Russian oil -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

India has emerged in the past year as a top buyer of Russian oil following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) and top Indian refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) have also signed a term deal to substantially increase and diversify oil grades delivered to India. According to ship-tracking data from Kpler, Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) and Nayara Energy were the key exporters of refined fuels and buyers of Russian oil. However, that has increased to 200,000 bpd after the EU banned Russian oil products imports from Feb. 5 this year, data from Kpler shows. Any mechanism to stem the flow of Russian oil would need to be implemented by the national authorities, Borrell told the FT, suggesting that the EU could target buyers of Indian refined fuels which it believes are derived from Russian crude.

☆ Vast China-Russia resources trade shifts to yuan from dollars in Ukraine fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Chen Aizhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] Model of natural gas pipeline, Russian and Chinese flags and Yuan and Rouble banknotes are seen in this llustration taken, September 7, 2022. "For now, and for the foreseeable next few years, I think the trade using RMB will predominantly be used for commodity and energy trade." Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that two-thirds of trade between Beijing and Moscow is now settled in roubles or yuan. Surging commodity imports pushed China's trade deficit with Russia to $38 billion last year, although the gap has narrowed in the first four months of 2023. Gazprom, which said last September it had agreed with CNPC to settle gas trade in roubles and yuan, did not respond to requests for comment.

The data defied expectations from eight analysts polled by Reuters for a 900,000-barrel drawdown in crude inventories and a 1.2 million-barrel drop in gasoline stocks. U.S. government data on oil inventories is due on Wednesday. Media reported that Russia's Energy Ministry said the nation's oil output reduction almost reached targeted levels in April. Saudi Arabia, which pledged to cut production by 500,000 bpd from May, has informed buyers in Asia that it will supply full crude oil volumes requested for June. The wildfires forced oil and gas producers to shut in at least 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), or 3.7% of the country's production.

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