Asia’s gasoline margins fell for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday. The crack fell to $5.18 per barrel over Brent crude, from $5.25 on Wednesday. In tenders, Pakistan’s PSO was seeking the benchmark grade of gasoline for the loading period of Nov. 13-20, the company said on its website. The tender closes on Oct.7. In naphtha, the margins strengthened by $7.98 to over a week’s high of $106.48 per metric ton over Brent crude. The crack last hit $104.48 on Sept. 19. The backwardation between first-half November and first-half December ...

The operator of the gas interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria has signed an interconnection agreement with Greek grid operator DESFA for gas flows at the Komotini interconnection point, it said Sept. 24. The interconnector — which allows gas from Azerbaijan and regasified LNG from terminals in Greece and Turkey to be moved northward to Bulgaria and the wider southeast European region — began flowing gas in October 2022. The new interconnection agreement will allow “secure, safe, reliable, and effective interoperability” at the interconnection point once it begins commercial operation, operator ...

Asia’s gasoline margins inched further down for the fourth consecutive session on a bleak Wednesday, as no deals concluded at the end of the trade window. The crack fell to $5.25 per barrel over Brent crude, from $5.84 on Tuesday. In tenders, Pakistan’s PSO was seeking 92-octane gasoline and 95-octane gasoline for the loading period of Nov. 11-13, the company website stated. The tender closes on Sept. 30. In the naphtha market, the margins edged lower to $98.50 per metric ton over Brent crude. The backwardation between first-half November and ...

Libya’s 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery is totally offline due to an electrical failure, sources told S&P Global Commodity Insights Sept. 24, worsening a fuel crisis and piling more pressure on the country’s ailing oil sector. The refinery, which is among Libya’s largest, has two oil producing units with a combined capacity of 120,000 b/d, and runs on light, sweet crude from the Sharara and El-Feel fields. It is operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, a subsidiary of the Libyan National Oil Company. Sources said one of the units was ...

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose on Wednesday morning on forecasts for colder weather, raising heating demand, while market players continue to closely monitor geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East. The benchmark front-month contract TRNLTTFMc1 at the Dutch TTF hub was 1.09 euro higher at 36.50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0823 GMT, while the November contract TRNLTTFMc2 rose by 0.58 euro to 37.27 euros/MWh, LSEG data showed. In the British market, the front month TRGBNBPMc1 was 0.75 pence higher at 87.00 pence per therm. The ...

Iraq, steadily working toward energy independence by 2030, has said it will be self-reliant in gas in five years. The United States has “commended Iraq’s commitment to achieve energy independence by 2030,” according to a Sept. 23 statement issued by US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. In the same statement, Miller also said reopening the Iraq-Turkey pipeline is key to encouraging foreign investment in Iraq’s energy sector. Iraq has moved closer to its self-sufficiency goal, saying they no longer need to import gas oil and “white oil,” according to the ...

U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 1% on Wednesday on forecasts for higher demand over the next two weeks than previously expected and a continued reduction in output ahead of Tropical Storm Helene. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast Helene would strengthen into a major hurricane as it marches across the Gulf of Mexico before hitting the Florida Panhandle late on Thursday. Although storms are more likely to reduce gas demand and prices through power outages and shutting of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants, analysts said this ...

Asia’s middle distillates markets recorded a flurry of paper market activity, though physical cargoes were thinly traded on the window amid talks of tightening supplies from run cuts and likely some unplanned outages. Paper markets flipped back into backwardation, with strong buying interest for October emerging as some traders attributed it to month-end short-covering amid talks of run cuts still prevalent. There were expectations of more cuts to be implemented for October in northeast Asia, according to one trade source, which could be supportive. Some unexpected maintenance in Indonesia also ...

A goal to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and cut fossil fuel use is within reach, the International Energy Agency said in a report on Tuesday, but will require a huge push to unlock bottlenecks such as permitting and grid connections. The report comes as leaders from government and business come together at New York Climate week to try to drive forward action against climate change. Almost 200 countries at the COP 28 climate summit in Dubai last year agreed to reach net zero emissions from the energy ...

In line with its strategy to grow its long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales, TotalEnergies announces the signing of a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with HD Hyundai Chemical for the delivery of 200,000 tons of LNG per year for 7 years starting from 2027. Thanks to this agreement, with prices indexed both to Brent and Henry Hub, TotalEnergies strengthens its long-term position in South Korea, the world’s third-largest LNG importing country. In Asia, LNG serves as a true transition energy, mitigating the intermittency of renewable energy sources and reducing emissions ...

Asia’s gasoline margins fell on Tuesday, as 50,000 barrels of the benchmark grade of octane exchanged hands at the closing window. The crack inched lower to $5.84 per barrel over Brent crude, from $6.72 seen on Monday. Traders said weak margins are likely in the short term and expect a potential cap in supply to stabilise the market. In the naphtha market, the margin inched higher by $2.65 to $98.55 per metric ton over Brent crude. The backwardation between first-half November and first-half December narrowed to $2.75. NEWS Oil prices ...

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices softened slightly on Tuesday morning on forecasts for higher wind generation and increased Norwegian supply but colder weather to come could still lift prices. The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was 0.26 euro lower at 35.95 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0823 GMT, while the November contract inched down by 0.06 euro to 36.70 euros/MWh, LSEG data showed. In the British market, the front month was 0.95 pence lower at 86.20 pence per therm. Prices had increased on Monday due ...

JKM LNG options trading volumes have reached record highs this year, driven by the influx of new market entrants and the increasing sophistication of risk management techniques, according to industry participants. The development highlights the increased emphasis on optionality in physical contracts that form the underlying basis of hedging for most of these options trading. A total of 23,460 lots were traded for JKM average price options in January-August 2024, more than the entire traded volume for 2023 at 14,660, according to data on the Intercontinental Exchange. The majority of ...

Asia’s middle distillates markets were thinly discussed and little changed for a second straight session as traders were mixed on fourth quarter outlooks despite talks of refining run cuts and support from gains in the futures markets. A portion of the market still has expectations that prices were close to bottoming out in the near-term should refiners maintain lowered refining runs in the next few months, but demand remains a key concern. Meanwhile, some South Korea-origin gasoil and jet fuel were both sold at discounts of around $1 a barrel ...

Financial results for 36 publicly traded U.S. oil exploration and production (E&P) companies show that cash from operations in the first quarter of 2024 has decreased in real terms from the first quarter of 2023 due to lower natural gas prices. Production expenses, which can also affect cash from operations, have stabilized after supply chain issues that caused increased costs appear to be largely resolved. Capital expenditures, which represent investment in oil and natural gas production, were flat over the same period. In the first quarter of 2024, lower crude ...