Oil Exports News

First Tanker to Load Crude at Libya's Hariga Port Since January

An oil tanker is expected to load crude at Libya’s Marsa el-Hariga terminal this week, the first since a blockade by eastern forces in January slashed the OPEC member’s oil production to a trickle.The Delta Hellas tanker will enter Libya’s Hariga port on Wednesday and load 1 million barrels of oil from the port’s storage, the Arabian Gulf Oil Co which operates the port said in a statement.Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said last week his forces would lift their eight-month blockade of oil exports, which depressed the OPEC member’s production down to around 100,000 barrel per day (bpd)

US Preparing Tighter Oil Sanctions on Venezuela

The Trump administration is looking to tighten oil sanctions on Venezuela in the near future, top U.S. envoy for the country told Reuters on Monday, by potentially removing exemptions that allow some oil companies to exchange Venezuelan crude for fuel from the OPEC member.U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, its key foreign partners and customers since it first imposed measures against the company in early 2019, seeking to oust the…

PDVSA Changes Oil Deals to Include Shipping as Sanctions Bite

Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA has begun offering to ship its own oil, figuring in the costs in crude supply deals to help customers who have struggled to hire vessels to carry the country’s oil due to U.S. sanctions, according to company documents seen by Reuters.The United States has blacklisted vessel owners, shipping operators and threatened to sanction any tanker facilitating the country’s oil exports as it tightens restrictions on trade with the South American country.Washington has been trying to weaken socialist President Nicolas Maduro by choking the OPEC member’s oil exports…

US Oil Exports to Europe Rebound

The United States has increased oil supply to Europe in July for the first month since May, making up for output cuts from OPEC+ members, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data.U.S. crude supply to Europe reached nearly 31 million barrels in July, according to Refinitiv Eikon data as of July 24. With crude prices back above $40 a barrel, U.S. producers have rushed to claim market share while the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, is still cutting supply drastically.U.S.

Geopolitics Dominate the Oil Tanker Market -BIMCO

Developments in the oil tanker market in the past decade dominated by geopolitics, says shipping association BIMCO.Crude oil and product tanker markets alike have faced high volatility in recent weeks and months, largely due to geopolitics and the constantly evolving situation in the global oil markets. The first major disturbance since the fall in the oil price between the fourth quarter of 2104 and first quarter of 2016 came in the fourth quarter of 2019, after which freight rates have bounced back despite a collapse in demand.In these extraordinary times…

Tankers Carrying Venezuelan Oil Stuck at Sea

Tankers carrying nearly two months worth of Venezuelan oil output are stuck at sea as global refiners shun the nation’s crude to avoid falling foul of U.S. sanctions, according to industry sources, PDVSA documents and shipping data.Washington is tightening sanctions to cut Venezuela’s oil exports and deprive the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro of its main source of revenue.The OPEC member’s exports are hovering near their lowest levels in more than 70 years and the economy has collapsed, but Maduro has held on - to the frustration of the administration of U.S.

Trump Administration Issues Maritime Advisory on Sanctions

The Trump administration on Thursday issued guidelines to help ship owners and insurers avoid the risks of sanctions penalties, standards that maritime players and a senior State Department official said were modified following months of discussions with industry.The guidelines, known as a Global Maritime Advisory, concern sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Syria. The State Department said it is committed to disrupting sanctions evasion and smuggling of goods, including oil exports from Iran…

Malaysia's Top Palm Oil State Reopens Company Jetties

Private jetties that were shut in Malaysia’s biggest palm oil producing state of Sabah due to coronavirus-related curbs have been allowed to reopen, state news agency Bernama reported.“We took note of all the views from various parties including the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, industry players and smallholders affected by the inability to ship the fresh fruit bunches,” Sabah deputy chief minister Wilfred Madius Tangau was quoted saying by Bernama on Sunday.Jetties would be closed again if there was an outbreak of the novel coronavirus…

US to Warn Shipping Industry Against Storing Iranian Oil

The Trump administration will soon issue an advisory warning ports, tankers and shipping industry players against storing Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions, a State Department official said on Monday.David Peyman, the deputy assistant secretary of state for counter threat finance and sanctions, said the United States will also encourage ship captains and others to take photos of anyone conducting ship-to-ship transfers in case those transfers involve sanctioned oil.

US Lifts Sanctions on COSCO's Dalian Unit

The United States on Friday lifted sanctions on one of two units of the Chinese tanker company COSCO, the U.S. Treasury said, partially reversing its punishment on the company for transporting Iranian oil after China complained about the measure in trade talks with Washington.President Donald Trump's administration on Sept. 25 blacklisted two units of COSCO, named after the northeastern Chinese port of Dalian. The move sent worldwide freight costs to record highs and disrupted the global shipping market.The U.S.

US Renews Waiver on COSCO's Dalian Tanker Unit

The Trump administration on Thursday renewed a waiver for companies to wind down transactions with the Dalian unit of a Chinese tanker company on which it had imposed sanctions in September for allegedly transporting Iranian oil.The waiver, good until Feb. 4, 2020, allows activities and transactions "ordinarily incident and necessary to the maintenance or wind down of transactions" including offloading of non-Iranian crude oil involving COSCO's Dalian Shipping Tanker Co, the U.S.

BIMCO: Supply & Demand Trending Off-Balance

One of the most worrying trends that has developed recently - which will affect shipping demand in the years to come - is the falling trade-to-GDP ratio. The falling ratio can be explained by slowing globaliztation as well as increasing protectionist measures being implemented around the world, spear headed by the US. The raised barriers to trade are here to stay as we enter a new decade, with the shipping industry stuck with the consequences.The trade war is the clearest example of these extra barriers to trade…

Chinese Tanker Spurns Malaysian Inspections

An oil tanker, which shipping data showed was managed by a Chinese company under U.S. sanctions, refused to allow an inspection by maritime authorities while anchored in Malaysian waters, Malaysia's maritime agency said.Silvana III's commercial manager is Kunlun Shipping Co Ltd, according to shipping transparency website Equasis.org.Kunlun is one of several firms placed under U.S. sanctions this year for alleged involvement in transporting oil from Iran.The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the Silvana III, which anchored off Kuala Kurau on Malaysia's west coast on Dec.

Venezuela's Oil Exports top 800,000 bpd Again

Venezuela's oil exports eased in October, but surpassed 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) for second month in a row, helping to drain an inventory buildup that had forced the OPEC country to cut output, according to documents and data.Since the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA in January to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, the OPEC-member country has struggled to find customers and tankers for its oil.New rounds of sanctions in August and September on Venezuela and maritime firms carrying the nation's oil pushed its crude stocks to record levels…

Venezuelan State Imports Surge Despite Sanctions

Venezuela's public-sector imports, which include subsidized food for the poor, surged in the first quarter of this year despite U.S. sanctions that President Nicolas Maduro describes as a full blockade, a recent release of central bank data shows.Government-linked entities handle the bulk of international trade in the crisis-stricken socialist country, and both imports and exports have declined dramatically since 2014, when a drop in oil prices sent the OPEC nation's economy into a tailspin marked by hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.But in the first three months of 2019…

Unipec Resumes Using COSCO Tankers

China's Unipec has resumed using tankers owned by COSCO weeks after it suspended bookings due to U.S. sanctions on some of the Chinese shipping company's subsidiaries, trade sources said on Tuesday.Refinitiv data showed one COSCO owned tanker - belonging to a subsidiary not affected by the U.S. sanctions - was sailing to Asia with a cargo of oil chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's top oil refiner, Sinopec.Sinopec officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.In one of the biggest sanctions actions taken by the U.S.

Mombasa Port to Upgrade Four Berths

Kenya's port of Mombasa will spend 20 billion shillings ($193 million) to modernize four berths to handle both container cargo and goods not packed in containers, the head of the state port operator said.The port, built in 1895, is the main trade gateway for the Eastern Africa region, serving Kenya and seven neighbors, including Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda and South Sudan.The investment is driven by growing demand for imported cargo in the region, where most economies are growing by at least 5% per year…

CNOOC Seeks Replacements for Sanctioned COSCO LNG Tankers

China National Offshore Oil and Gas Company (CNOOC) is on the hunt for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to charter, several industry sources told Reuters, looking to replace ships it had previously hired that are linked to a Chinese company sanctioned by the United States for allegedly transporting Iranian oil.The company, COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), is one of four Chinese firms on which the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Sept. 25, in what it described as the biggest sanctions taken by the U.S.

U.S. Sanctions Deal Blow to LSFO for 'IMO 2020'

Highly sought after types of oil best suited to making cleaner shipping fuel are suddenly finding they are a tougher sell for thirsty East Asian markets, traders say, in an unintended consequence of U.S. sanctions on a Chinese shipping fleet.With just over two months until environmental rules are set to mandate the biggest changes to ship power in over a century, certain rare types of West African oil have soared in value but have had to be marked down due to the higher costs of transport.The United States imposed sanctions on units of China's COSCO on Sept.

Iran building oil pipeline to terminal outside Gulf

Iran is building a $1.8 billion oil pipeline to its port of Jask outside the mouth of the Gulf, the country's oil minister said, as part of plans to protect its exports against potential problems in the region and to boost shipments of Caspian oil.Iran has been planning since at least 2012 to set up the terminal on the Gulf of Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz.Tehran has threatened to block the vital Gulf oil shipping route during its standoff with the United States, after Washington last year withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed sanctions…

McQuilling Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook

McQuilling Services Announces the Release of the 2019 Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update.The Mid-Year Tanker Market Outlook Update provides an outlook on the global tanker market in the context of global economic growth and oil fundamentals influencing tanker demand and vessel supply. The outlook includes a view on future asset values, time charter rates, market freight rates and TCE revenues for 24 major tanker trades and four triangulated routes across eight vessel segments for the second half of 2019 through the remaining four years of the forecast period 2019-2023.

UK highlights Gulf shipping threats

The UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is to call for more international support to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz when he meets his French and German counterparts later today (Friday, August 31) for talks about Iran. Last month, Iran seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait in apparent retaliation for the UK’s seizure in Gibraltar of an Iranian ship accused of violating European sanctions by taking oil to Syria.The UK joined a U.S.-led mission to escort merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz at the start of this month but Germany and France declined to take part…

BIMCO: US Crude Exports Soar in June 2019

The highest US crude oil exports to China in 11 months lifted total seaborne US crude oil exports to a record high at 11.9 million (m) tonnes in June 2019. Also contributing to the June record was South Korea, as exports to the other main Far Eastern buyer reached an all-time high volume of 2.3m tonnes.1.2m tonnes were shipped to China between June 1, and  June 30, , up from 1m tonnes in May and worlds apart from no exports at all in the months of August through October in 2018…

Iran: Oil Sold from Tanker Released by Gibraltar

Iran has sold the oil from a tanker released by Gibraltar after weeks in the custody of British Royal Marines and the vessel's owner will decide on its next destination, IRIB news agency quoted an Iranian government spokesman as saying on Monday.Separately, Tehran - embroiled in a spiralling confrontation with Washington over U.S. sanctions meant to strangle Iranian oil exports - announced that it had deployed a naval destroyer with cruise missiles to help secure Iranian ships.The Iranian government spokesman did not identify the recipient of the oil carried by the Adrian Darya tanker.

Iran: Waterways Won't be Safe if its Oil Exports

If Iran's oil exports are cut to zero, international waterways will not have the same security as before, its president said on Wednesday, cautioning Washington against upping pressure on Tehran in an angry confrontation between the longtime foes.The comment by President Hassan Rouhani coincided with a remark by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that Tehran might act "unpredictably" in response to "unpredictable" U.S. policies under President Donald Trump."World powers know that in the case that oil is completely sanctioned and Iran's oil exports are brought down to zero…

U.S. Crude Exports Reach a Record of 3.16 mln bpd

U.S. crude oil exports surged 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June to a monthly record of 3.16 million bpd as South Korea bought record volumes and China resumed purchases, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed on Friday.South Korea surpassed Canada to become the biggest purchaser of U.S. crude at about 605,000 bpd. China purchased about 292,000 bpd, the most since June last year and was the third-largest buyer of U.S. crude in June, the data showed.China, once the top buyer of U.S.