Oil News

British commandos boarded and intercepted a sanctioned Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel on Sunday, leading for the first time an operation to disrupt the oil revenue that helps fund Russia's war in Ukraine.The vessel Smyrtos, sailing under a Cameroonian flag, was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency (NCA) officials in the early hours on Sunday, with support from Chinook helicopters and other aircraft, a frigate and a minehunter."This successful…

The United States issued sanctions against Cuban state oil company Union Cuba Petroleo (CUPET), the Treasury Department website showed on Thursday, adding more obstacles for the island's government to import much-needed fuel.Washington has imposed sanctions on an array of Cuban entities and people, including the island nation's president, as it seeks to intensify pressure on Cuba's communist leaders.The sanctions follow the U.S. declaration of a national emergency this year that would impose tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the island…

China's trade in major commodities in May underscored that price moves are the primary driver of changes in flows in the world's biggest buyer of natural resources.The headline-grabbing number from customs data was the collapse in crude oil imports to an eight-year low of just 7.79 million barrels per day (bpd). The fallout from the war in Iran was blamed for the 29% slump in crude imports. In the months prior to the start of the conflict on February 28, levels of around 11 million bpd were common.The war resulted in the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz…

An oil cargo delivered to the Philippines that Kpler had said last month originated from Iran was actually from Russia, the shiptracking firm said this week.Kpler data that had showed the Suezmax tanker Ocean Start delivered Iranian oil crude to Petron's Bataan refinery on May 17 was revised to show the tanker delivered Urals crude from Russia, Kpler told Reuters on Monday.The revision was due to a review of further information on the voyage, Kpler said.Kpler's revised data showed…

Pakistan plans to boost domestic storage for crude oil and refined products to increase its energy security, according to a government document that was shared with oil producers and some of the world's leading trading firms.Despite depending on supplies through the Strait of Hormuz for up to 90% of its oil and liquefied natural gas imports, Pakistan has no strategic petroleum reserves.That has left it exposed to supply shocks provoked by the Iran war even as its lending programme…

Disruption to oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz is threatening to delay the market's return to normal until 2027, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned on Monday."The longer the supply disruptions continue, even for another few more weeks, it is going to take a much longer time for the oil market to rebalance and stabilize," Nasser told analysts on a call to discuss the company's first-quarter results, which were released on Sunday and beat expectations.The recovery could drag into 2027 if the situation continues until mid-June…

At the UAE port of Fujairah, conveyor belts offloaded grain from bulk carriers on Wednesday, while crude oil flowed through pipes and onto tankers berthed along its quay.Dozens of loaded trucks lined up near the port and others parked outside waiting their turn, while offshore, vessels labelled Cosco, Gardenia and other shipping lines lay at anchor, service boats weaving between them.Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, another eastern port with open access to the Indian Ocean, have become…

Wärtsilä Water & Waste, part of technology group Wärtsilä, has introduced a flexible and modular grease trap product line designed to separate fats, oils and grease from galley wastewater streams onboard merchant vessels, cruise ships and offshore platforms. The solution supports improved wastewater management while contributing to protection of the marine environment by capturing fats, oils, and grease before they can enter discharge systems and ensuring they are removed and disposed of in line with regulations.

A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has shrunk Tehran's oil exports, stranding a growing stockpile of crude on tankers as Iranian storage sites run out of space, shipping data showed and analysts said.With some vessels switching off tracking systems and U.S. forces turning back Iranian tankers, how much crude Iran is delivering to customers, particularly main customer China, is impossible to measure.Just a handful of carriers carrying Iranian crude have left the Gulf of Oman between April 13-25, oil analytics firm Vortexa said.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse on Tuesday, officials said, in what President Vladimir Putin described as evidence of increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks.Ukraine's military confirmed it had carried out the strike, the latest in a series designed to disrupt Russia's oil industry and slash revenue that helps Moscow fund the war in Ukraine.Putin…

Reliance Industries has rejected two Iranian oil cargoes as they failed to meet its compliance requirements, the Indian refiner said on Friday, just days before the expiry of a U.S. waiver that has lifted sanctions on Iranian oil exports.Last month, Washington issued 30-day waivers on U.S. sanctions allowing the purchase of Russian and Iranian oil at sea in an attempt to ease prices which soared after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the U.S.

Total oil product stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub were down 4% on the week to their lowest since 2014, as the war in the Middle East disrupts imports, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Thursday.Total stocks stood at 4.72 million metric tons, dropping on declines in naphtha and middle distillate inventories, the data showed. Jet kerosene stocks were down 7.6%, continuing their downward trend from recent weeks, to 597,000 tons, to a four-year low, Insight Global's Lars van Wageningen said.

Iran can withstand a complete halt in oil exports of up to two months before being forced to curb production, analysts said, after the U.S. began blocking shipping in and out of the country's ports on April 13.The blockade could prevent roughly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude from reaching its main buyer China.Any Iranian production shutdowns would add to more than 12 million bpd of supply already disrupted by the regional war, tightening markets further and lifting oil prices.With its exports blocked, Iran faces having to divert crude into onshore storage tanks.

The U.S. will not renew a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea that expires this week, and quietly let a similar waiver on sanctions on Russian oil expire over the weekend, two administration officials told Reuters on Tuesday, as the U.S. imposes a blockade on shipments from Iranian ports.Tuesday's move signals that "Treasury is going full force on Economic Fury" on Iran, an apparent reference to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led military campaign against the country…

Rosneft is diverting oil supplies to the Tuapse refinery from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after the terminal, which handles roughly 14% of Russia's crude exports, was heavily damaged in a drone attack, three sources said on Monday.A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a large fire at the Sheskharis oil terminal in the Novorossiysk port last week, damaging two of its main berths and forcing oil exports from the port to halt, according to the sources, who were familiar with the…

President Donald Trump's administration is likely to extend as soon as Friday a waiver allowing countries to buy some sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The U.S.

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell 3% in March from February to around 3.06 million metric tons as repeated drone attacks disrupted fuel loadings at key ports, data from market sources and LSEG showed.Ultra-low-sulphur diesel shipments from the Baltic port of Primorsk, Russia's biggest outlet for diesel exports, fell to 1.713 million tons, down 2.6% from February, the sources said.The Russian Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drone attacks last week.On March 22, the two ports suspended oil and fuel loadings following drone attacks.

NAG Marine, a provider of shipboard automation and fluid control solutions for maritime applications, announced the launch of the Tan Delta Oil Quality Sensor as part of its partnership with Tan Delta Systems, a global innovator in advanced oil condition analysis technologies. The addition of the Tan Delta Oil Quality Sensor expands NAG Marine’s fluid automation portfolio with advanced, real-time oil quality sensing capabilities designed to reduce maintenance costs, extend service intervals, and improve operational reliability across maritime and industrial platforms.

Vietnam's domestic crude oil production is expected to decline this decade, according to a government document released this week, increasing the country's reliance on imports as its offshore fields mature and geopolitical tensions threaten global supplies.The new forecasts for dwindling oil output come as Vietnam, a regional industrial hub hosting large manufacturing operations of electronics and garment multinationals, is bracing for oil shortages caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and subsequent export bans from energy suppliers.Crude output is projected to fall to 5.8 million-8.0 milli

North American Blue Energy, a company backed by U.S. energy magnate Harry Sargeant III, has moved to export nearly 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for delivery into China, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing a document.The cargo may be the first delivery of Venezuelan oil to the Asian country since the US took control of the nation's oil sales earlier this year, the report said.U.S. President Donald Trump has been taking steps to ease sanctions against Venezuela following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and urging U.S.

Britain on Tuesday sanctioned Maritime Mutual, the New Zealand-based marine insurer that was the subject of a Reuters special report into how it had helped in the trade of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian and Russian oil."(Maritime Mutual) is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia, namely the Russian energy sector," the British government…

The premium currently built into the crude oil price over tensions between the United States and Iran fluctuates according to the daily headlines, but there is an underlying assumption that everything will turn out fine.Global benchmark Brent futures LCOc1 jumped 4.4% on Wednesday to close at $70.35 a barrel, the highest finish since January 30.The increase was largely driven by news reports that Iran and Russia will conduct navy drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday, just days after Iran's Revolutionary Guards conducted exercises in the Strait of Hormuz.The milit

The Czech Republic is offering small volumes of oil to Slovakia through an eastward flow of the Druzhba pipeline after westward flows from Ukraine were stopped after an attack on the pipeline last month, Czech Economy Minister Karel Havlicek said on Tuesday.The Czechs stopped using Russian supplies via Druzhba last year after expanding an alternative route, and have mentioned reversing the flow of the Czech section of the pipeline to Slovakia as a theoretical possibility.Havlicek told Reuters a "certain small amount" could be delivered to Slovakia right away, but larger amounts would require t