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Indian oil importers’ thirst for Russian crude drives dark fleet demand​

Analysis by New York broker, Poten & Partners, has revealed that Indian imports of heavily sanctioned Russian crude have increased to almost 1.8 million barrels a day barrels per day (bpd), up from just 88,000 bpd prior to the invasion in February 2022. At that time, Russia ranked ninth on India’s list of oil suppliers, with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE supplying about 60% of the country’s crude. The three Middle East nations were followed by the US and Nigeria.

Prior to the invasion, Russian crude had not been attractive to Indian refiners because of logistical constraints. None of Russia’s main export ports in the Baltic, the Black Sea or the Far East can load VLCCs, Poten pointed out, so Russian cargoes were shipped aboard Aframax and Suezmax tankers.

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That's a nuch larger scale of theft compared to 2 homies in a stolen U-Haul sipohing off a 7-11 in Cleveland @ 3am.
 

 
 

Expanded Trans Mountain pipeline capacity fails to lift Canadian heavy oil price​

Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion (TMX) was meant to shrink the discount on Canadian oil versus U.S. crude but three months in the differential is wider than when commercial operations on the project started.

Many analysts had forecast the differential on Western Canada Select (WCS) versus U.S. crude would gradually narrow to single digits thanks to the extra 590,000 barrels per day (bpd) of export capacity offered by TMX.

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Texas oil regulator under scrutiny as zombie wells gush back to life​

PECOS COUNTY, Texas, Aug 14 (Reuters) - On a sprawling ranch in Pecos County in late July, oil well control specialist Hawk Dunlap used a backhoe to uncover an abandoned or so-called zombie well that had sprung back to life despite being plugged just over a year earlier, hissing gas and bubbling toxic water into the dry Texas dirt.

Dressed in bright red coveralls and a silver hard hat, Dunlap hopped off the machine and into the hole to clear away remaining soil with a shovel, and then picked up a brittle chunk of cement that was part of the casing meant to keep fluids and gases underground. He crushed the cement into dust with a light squeeze of his fingers as the Briggs family, who own the ranch, formed a circle around him.

"This was not plugged properly," Dunlap said. "This is the work of the three stooges of the Railroad Commission."

The Railroad Commission (RRC) is the regulatory body that, despite its name, oversees oil and gas operations in Texas. And Dunlap, a three-decade veteran of oil fields around the globe, has become one of its most vocal critics.

Armed with a portable gas detector and mobile phone, Dunlap has spent much of the last two-and-a-half years documenting a flurry of oil well blow-outs and leaks across West Texas at the behest of landowners, in an epidemic he says is being caused by low-quality plugging jobs left behind by operators and their contractors and approved by the RRC.

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Exclusive: Hess Guyana's secret value becomes part of Exxon arbitration, sources say​

August 20, 2024 6:11 AM EDT

  • Panel to consider independent appraisal of Hess Guyana
  • Exxon sees Chevron-Hess merger as disguised asset buy, say sources
  • Hess Guyana makes up 70% of Chevron's $53 bln bid, say analysts
  • Chevron, Hess see appraisal as irrelevant to arbitration case
Aug 20 (Reuters) - An arbitration panel that will decide a high-profile clash between Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab will delve into the secret value of Hess' (HES.N), opens new tab oil riches in Guyana, four people familiar with the matter said.

Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab last October offered to pay $53 billion for Hess, one of the two biggest deals in the largest wave of consolidation in the oil industry in decades. The asset most coveted by Chevron in the takeover is Hess’s stake in a Guyana field operated by top U.S. rival Exxon.

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Polar Silk Road | Money Works​

Aug 29, 2024 #Arctic #ArcticOcean #PolarSilkRoad

The climate crisis has opened the Arctic Ocean up for business and ice-breaking tankers have become a game-changer.
@davedoescomms looks at how Russia is gaining from the Polar Silk Road.

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Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion pushes rivals to cut rates, for now​

  • Enbridge cuts tariffs by 11% on Mainline system for September
  • Pipelines to ship alternative grades to offset loss of Canadian supply
  • Canadian output expected to grow, filling excess pipeline space
HOUSTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Pipelines that historically carry Canadian crude to the U.S. are cutting rates and looking to ship different grades of crude oil due to rising competition from the newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline.

The moves will temporarily cut the cost of transporting some of Canada's heavy crude to the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast next month. U.S. imports of Canadian crude hit a record in July as Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) volumes grew.

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