2024-03-11 04:57
SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, March 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco plans to meet full contractual crude oil volumes to most Asian buyers in April, but will reduce supply of heavier oil to Chinese and Indian customers due to oilfield maintenance, five sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The reduction comes after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, decided early this month to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter. Saudi Aramco, the world's top crude exporter, has notified Asian customers of their April crude allocations, days after releasing the official selling prices for the same month. Saudi crude allocation for China was estimated at 47.5 million barrels for April (1.58 million barrels per day), two of the sources said, similar to the 47 million barrels allocated in March. At least one Chinese buyer had requested to lift more Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude but its request wasn't met, said the sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. In India, at least one buyer received the full volumes it sought, although there was a reshuffling in grades with heavier crude supply reduced, according to one source. It was not immediately clear how much the supply of heavier crude will be reduced by and which oilfields will be shut for maintenance. Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside office hours. It unexpectedly raised prices for heavier grades in April, which narrowed the price gap with lighter grades. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/saudi-arabia-plans-reduce-arab-heavy-crude-supply-asia-april-sources-2024-03-11/
2024-03-11 04:48
TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - SSE Pacifico, the Japanese unit of UK energy group SSE (SSE.L) , opens new tab, aims to develop 6 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind farms in the country, the company's head said, as SSE looks to Japan as a focus overseas market and a regional hub. Japan is aiming to become a major offshore wind power producer, with the government targeting 10 GW by 2030 and up to 45 GW by 2040 as part of its decarbonisation push. SSE Pacifico was established in 2021 as a joint venture, with SSE Renewables holding an 80% stake and Pacifico Energy, a local partner with a track record of developing 1.3 GW of solar power since 2012, owning the remainder. "Our official target is to deliver our projects in a pipeline of 6 GW," SSE Pacifico President Dai Karasawa told Reuters in an interview, without giving a specific timeline or disclosing costs. "My target is to bring one project per year to be auctioned (via state auctions)... from the later half of this decade," he said. Its pipeline includes a 0.5 GW project off the coast of Mihama in Wakayama prefecture, and another 0.5 GW project off Omaezaki in Shizuoka prefecture. "Since we've been talking with the local stakeholders and we know the site, we have a good probability of being awarded once these sites are designated as the auction areas from the latter half of this decade," Karasawa said. Karasawa believes his company provides a powerful combination as Pacifico Energy can manage the local stakeholders while SSE can contribute to engineering and procurement. About half of the targeted 6 GW will be fixed-bottom type and the other will be floating, he added. Japan implemented a new law in 2019 to foster the development of offshore wind farms. With less than 0.5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity currently, the government plans to subject about 1 GW of offshore wind projects to state auctions annually until 2030. Offshore wind is meant to be central to Japan's expansion of renewable energy, but progress has been delayed as auction rules needed to be revised in response to business criticism highlighting the lack of clarity in the first round of the auction. In December, Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) , opens new tab became the first foreign company to join the winners, securing a place in one of the three victorious consortia in the second round of the auction. So far, every winning consortium comprises a Japanese trading house. "We are open to talk with any potential partners if we can establish partnership with efficient split roles," Karasawa said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sses-japan-unit-aims-develop-6gw-offshore-wind-farms-2024-03-11/
2024-03-11 04:24
Brent hovers above $80 a barrel for just over a month Benchmarks ended down last week on weak China demand Increasing US refining activity supports prices NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Monday as concern eased that fighting in the Middle East would disrupt supply and Chinese data suggested weak demand, while an increase in U.S. refining limited any selling. Brent futures for May delivery settled at $82.21 a barrel, gaining 13 cents. The U.S. crude April contract slipped 8 cents to end at $77.93 a barrel. "I guess it's: the barrel half empty or the barrel half full, depending on how you look at it," said Phil Flynn, pointing to conflicting forces keeping oil prices from moving far in either direction. Both benchmarks ended last week lower after bearish Chinese data implied weaker demand in the world's leading crude importer. Brent closed down 1.8%, although the contract has remained above $80 a barrel for over a month. WTI ended 2.5% lower. China's crude oil imports rose in the first two months of the year compared with the same period of 2023, but were weaker than the preceding months, data showed on Thursday, continuing a trend of reduced purchases. At the same time, oil investors seemed to overlook geopolitical conflict that was initially seen as tightening global crude supplies. "It seems that the Middle East conflict is not high on the list of driving forces of investors, as it has not led to meaningful supply disruptions," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas. Over the weekend, dozens of drones were downed by U.S., French and British forces in the Red Sea area after Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and U.S. destroyers in the region, the U.S. military said. On Monday, an explosion in the vicinity of a vessel 71 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Saleef was reported. Meanwhile, U.S. data has been sending mixed signals about the health of the world's largest economy. U.S. job growth accelerated in February, but a rise in the unemployment rate and moderation in wage gains kept the anticipated June interest rate cut on the table. U.S. inflation data is due on Tuesday. An increase of U.S. refining activity, which could tighten global crude supplies, has helped to limit any fall in oil prices. "The increasing refining utilization rate has the possibility of popping a storage draw for the first time this year," Mizuho bank's Bob Yawger said. U.S. crude stockpiles have risen for six weeks in a row due to low refining rates. Analysts forecast a 1.4 percentage points increase in refining rates for last week, after they jumped 3.4 percentage points to a six-week high of 84.9% of total capacity the previous week, according to weekly government data. Industry data on U.S. oil stockpiles is due for release on Tuesday, while government data is expected on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-prices-fall-china-demand-worries-2024-03-11/
2024-03-11 04:22
NEW DELHI, March 11 (Reuters) - Oil tanker Hafnia Seine bound for the United States from Sikka port in Western India hit Bharat Petroleum Corp's (BPCL) (BPCL.NS) , opens new tab crude import facility in an accident late on Sunday, two sources with the knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The tanker was carrying gasoline-blending fuel known as alkylate for Reliance Industries' (RELI.NS) , opens new tab U.S. unit from a refinery in Jamnagar in Gujarat state, according to the sources, who added the extent of damage was not yet known. "It appears to have hit the peripheral structure of the single point mooring (SPM)," one of the sources said, adding that no vessel is scheduled to discharge at its SPM currently. BPCL has a single point mooring at Sikka to import crude for its landlocked Bina refinery in central India. RIL and BPCL did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-bound-ship-reliances-sikka-port-hits-bpcl-crude-import-facility-sources-say-2024-03-11/
2024-03-11 01:16
March 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard said an overflight on Sunday no longer detected an oil sheen off the coast of Huntington Beach, California, after oil spill discovered on Friday was cleaned up. The agency said offshore recovery assets would be demobilized after they recovered about 85 gallons (322 liters) of product from the ocean. "Shoreline cleanup teams continue to observe tar balls along the beaches in Huntington Beach and will continue to remove them as needed," the agency said, adding they had already removed about 800 pounds (363 kg) of oily waste and tar balls. The agency spotted the oil spill on Friday about 2.8 miles (4.5 km) off Huntington Beach, near two drilling platforms. An investigation into the cause of the oil spill is currently under way, the agency said on Saturday. Beta Offshore, a subsidiary of Amplify Energy Corp (AMPY.N) , opens new tab reported a potential spill of produced water from its offshore Platform Elly off Huntington beach on Friday, according to a regulatory filing, causing the company to shut down a pipeline. Amplify Energy said on Friday in a statement that it had no indication that the sheen was related to its operations. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-coast-guard-says-no-oil-sheen-seen-off-california-after-spill-2024-03-11/
2024-03-11 00:32
SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) - China's review of tariffs on Australian wine is progressing well, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian said on Monday, but he stopped short of confirming an Australian government claim the dispute would be resolved this month. "Currently, Chinese authorities are reviewing and investigating our tariffs on Australian wine and things are moving on the right track, in the right direction," Xiao told the Australian Financial Review Business Summit. A day earlier, Australia's trade minister said China would complete its review into the years-long wine tariffs by the end of March. Beijing rocked some of Australian biggest export industries from coal to lobsters by imposing a host of tariffs starting in 2020 amid souring relations between the countries over Australia's call for an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. Australia responded by complaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) but said it would suspend its WTO disputes after China lifted the tariffs. The standoff over China's tariffs of up to 218% on Australian wine remains unresolved. Tim Ford, the CEO of Australia's biggest wine producer, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE.AX) , opens new tab, told the business summit his company had diversified since the tariffs effectively wiped out its biggest market but it was ready to return to China. "We're ready to go, should it change," he said. "We've got clear customer relationships we've maintained. We'll keep doing what we've been doing. It'll be a fabulous opening up." Australia, the world's fifth-largest exporter of wine, had more than 2 billion litres, or about two years' worth of production, in storage in mid-2023, the most recent figures show, and some is spoiling as owners rush to dispose of it at any price. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-ambassador-says-review-into-tariffs-australian-wine-progressing-well-2024-03-11/
