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OPEC’s obituary has been written many times since its inception in 1960, but the cartel always finds a way to set aside internal disputes in the name of maintaining higher oil revenues and geopolitical clout. But OPEC’s future is more tenuous today than ever before because the Saudi-led group’s problems are external and can’t be fixed in-house. More evidence of this begins to show by the day, most recently with the cartel’s decision to postpone its April ministerial meeting until June. The hope is that OPEC and partner Russia will ...

Saudi Aramco’s decision to issue a $10 billion bond underscores how serious the company is about transforming itself into an international powerhouse across the oil and gas value chain, from upstream to petrochemicals. Stewart Williams, Vice President, Middle East & North Africa Upstream, at global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said: “Diversifying its business is critical to Aramco’s long-term success, and the ambition aligns Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification. The $69 billion SABIC acquisition was a major step, the bond issue helps fund it.” He added: “Aramco now wants ...

The merger of Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell will likely help to regulate supply of oil products more efficiently in the domestic market, which would potentially limit the need for imports of oil products into Japan. Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell merged under a share exchange on Monday, becoming Japan’s second-largest refiner, with a combined capacity of 945,000 b/d covering six refineries in the country. The combined entity now accounts for roughly a third of the domestic oil products market. “Previously, some imported gasoline was supplied in areas where there ...

Supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be ample in the future, the chairman of China National Offshore Oil Corp, or CNOOC, said on Tuesday at the LNG2019 conference in Shanghai. “I hope in the future the contract terms will be shorter, more flexible and maybe cheaper,” said Yang Hua, chairman of CNOOC, which is the parent of CNOOC Ltd. “In Asia, (the) LNG market is still being curbed by lack of infrastructure. Some suppliers have stringent terms on length and destination of contract.” Last year, CNOOC supplied 12.8 billion ...

U.S. shale producers last year again spent more money than they collected, extending a years-long streak of putting oil output above cash flow and investor returns, according to a Reuters analysis of top independent producers. All but seven of 29 of these producers last year spent more on drilling and shareholder payouts than they generated through operations, according to securities filings. Total overspending by the group was $6.69 billion in 2018, according to Morningstar data provided to Reuters by the Sightline Institute and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial ...

Global refinery margins ticked higher as planned work in Canada, Europe and China offset the completion of planned maintenance in the US, analysis from S&P Global Platts showed Monday. On the US West Coast, margins rose again, gaining further traction as unplanned outages continued in the region. The Alaska North Slope cracking margin averaged $15.09/b in the week that ended March 29, the highest since October 2018, Platts margin data show. Coking margins also increased, with indigenous California THUMS coking margins averaging $17.89/b in the most recent week, up from ...

World stocks rallied to six-month highs on Wednesday thanks to signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks, reassuring economic data and hopes of a softer Brexit, helping push Germany’s 10-year bond yield back above zero percent. Oil prices rose to within striking distance of the key $70 per barrel mark — a multi-month high — on supply concerns. And sterling extended its gains after British Prime Minister Theresa May said late on Tuesday she would seek another Brexit delay to agree an EU divorce deal with the opposition Labour Party ...

Theresa May set to meet with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in effort to ease Brexit fears. A raft of better-than-expected European data and continued optimism that the U.S. and China can hash out a trade deal boosted assets perceived as risky, while weighing on the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. After trading near a 16-month low on Tuesday, the euro rose toward $1.1250 after a slew of stronger-than-expected eurozone purchasing managers index readings . “Consequently, this has eased some concerns that the weakness in the manufacturing sector is spreading to the ...

European Central Bank officials pressed the case for continued monetary-policy support as they signaled the euro-area economic slowdown is weighing on inflation. In a foreword to the ECB’s annual report, President Mario Draghi warned of a “persistence of uncertainties” and said there’s a continued need for stimulus to boost inflation. His vice president, Luis de Guindos echoed that, saying “weaker growth momentum will leave its mark on domestic price pressures, slowing the adjustment of inflation toward our aim.” “Significant monetary policy accommodation therefore remains essential,” he said during the presentation ...

At the annual summer academy for University of Turin students held on the campus of Peking University, about 50 Italian business students spend their days learning Mandarin, studying macroeconomics and interning with Chinese companies. They call themselves the “Marco Polos of the 21st century”, a giggling nod to the famed 13th-century Venetian explorer. When asked what their career ambitions are, more than a few share the same goal: to be a country manager for China’s ICBC Bank back home in Italy. This is worth remembering when analysing Chinese President Xi ...

If anyone is going to champion faster growth in China this year, it will be up to consumers to go all out, save less and spend more to add growing weight to the recovery. But Beijing must play its part too, keeping consumers sufficiently upbeat to meet this year’s 6-6.5 per cent official growth target. It should also help the government meet its pledge to shift the long-term focus onto a stronger domestic economy rather than external trade. It is no accident that China is evolving into an advanced consumer-driven ...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has been recognized on the United States Coast Guard’s (USCG’s) QUALSHIP 21 roster for 2019-2020. The USCG program rewards vessels for commitment to safety and quality when calling at ports in the United States (US). Only flag States which maintain a port State control (PSC) detention ratio of 1.00% or less over a three-year period and also meet a stringent set of judgement criteria are eligible for the program. A vessel registered in a flag State with QUALSHIP 21 certification may apply to ...

MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) changed irregular on Apr.02: 380 HSFO – USD/MT – 415.14(+1.14) 180 HSFO – USD/MT – 461.71(+0.71) MGO – USD/MT – 629.21(-4.43) Meantime, world oil indexes rose on Apr.02 on the prospect that more sanctions against Iran and further Venezuelan disruptions could deepen an OPEC-led supply cut. Brent for June settlement increased by $0.36 to $69.37 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. West Texas Intermediate ...

Bunker buyers should find their fuel suppliers as soon as possible, as compatibility and availability of compliant low sulfur fuel and scrubber-ready high sulfur fuel remains uncertain ahead of the January 1, 2020, implementation of the International Maritime Organization 0.5% sulfur bunker fuel regulation, panelists on the IMO 2020 & Beyond forum at Capital Link Forum said Monday. John LaRese, technical liaison manager at ExxonMobil Marine Fuels, said the shipping industry is moving from a system of fuel procurement to fuel management in 2020, and emphasized the importance of finding ...

Yara Marine Technologies is proud to announce the successful installation of an inline hybrid scrubber system for an undisclosed customer in the ultra-large container segment. This is the biggest ship engine ever to be successfully fitted with an inline hybrid scrubber system. The project marks an important milestone in expanding areas where shipowners can achieve full and cost-efficient IMO compliance with SOx scrubbers. The inline hybrid scrubber system also covers the vessel’s five auxiliary engines. “The installation of Yara Marine’s inline hybrid SOx scrubber on the vessel confirms our customer’s ...