Since the politically motivated suspension of crude oil production in Libya on August 26, the oil markets have experienced a heightened level of volatility, with price fluctuations depending on almost every new headline. In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets Podcast, Joel Hanley is joined by reporters Charlie Mitchell and Luke Stuart to delve i…

The impending closure of Grangemouth, one of the last six refineries in the UK, raises urgent questions about the future of Europe’s refining landscape as profitability declines. Our experts examine the challenges facing the European downstream sector, including evolving supply chains and the impact of energy transition trends. In this Oil Markets …

Crude futures prices have tumbled recently in part as supply expectations are outweighing demand forecasts. On the supply side, non-OPEC crude production has been rising, driven largely by output gains in the US, Canada, Guyana and Brazil. On the demand side, slowing economic growth, notably in China, has reduced the expected need for crude, at lea…

Emerging trends in Asian oil consumption centers, enhancing energy security and the decarbonization strategies Asian countries are pursuing will be some of the themes in focus at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference or APPEC 2024, by S&P Global Commodity Insights, which is scheduled to take place from September 9-12 in Singapore. In a wide-ranging…

Economic growth has slowed in China, cutting into US crude exports and softening spot price differentials for US Gulf Mars crude. The expected supply surplus stemming from reduced Chinese buying has also helped to cushion the bullish impacts of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, keeping oil futures in a well-worn range. Jeff Mower speaks wit…

OPEC’s latest and eagerly watched monthly oil market report, which presented a softer near-term demand outlook compared to its July forecasts, has coincided with a dip in oil prices at a time when the group has made clear its intention to gradually reintroduce supply to the market. Can OPEC and its allies remain calm in the face of a sluggish deman…

The future of Venezuela's oil industry is in the crosshairs of a political battle. Current president Nicolás Maduro is fighting to maintain power following a contested July 28 election, and protests have caused gasoline shortages in the country, where supply is already limited by low refinery run rates. While crude production has held up, Venezuela…

In July, US diesel exports to Europe surged to multi-year highs, displacing Middle Eastern flows due to inverted arbitrage economics and a bearish near-term outlook for the commodity in Europe. In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets Podcast, host Joel Hanley is joined by Robert Perkins, Nadia Bliznikova, and Rebeka Foley to explore the latest de…

Never before India's oil import basket has changed so dramatically as it has changed in the past three years. The sharp rise in the share of Russian barrels have displaced big volumes of Middle Eastern crude. And now, as Indian refiners start to explore the possibility of signing term deals for Russian crude, market players are looking for answers …

The Dangote refinery in Nigeria is poised to disrupt refined product flows in the Atlantic Basin just months after its long-awaited commissioning in early 2024. As the mega-refinery intensifies its search for crude sources beyond Nigeria's borders, significant changes are expected in the market. In this week's episode of the Oil Markets podcast, ho…

Summer flying season has taken over for summer driving season. Jet fuel prices and demand have surged to record levels in June and July, and US officials report record-high numbers of airline passengers. Gasoline and diesel demand have largely been in line with seasonal norms, but US West Coast prices and demand have been dinged by increased adopti…

The European Union’s decision on 24 June to target Russian shipping company Sovcomflot in its latest round of sanctions comes as ship tracking data shows a 5% monthly increase in seaborne crude oil exports through June. With changes to Russian crude and oil product exports in firm view for market participants, S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Frances…

The aviation sector post-pandemic recovery was seen as a bright spot for regional oil demand this year. However, with uneven recovery within the industry and underwhelming performance in key markets such as China, the growth in demand is expected to ease in the coming months. This demand slowdown could potentially send the jet fuel market into turb…

The Northern Hemisphere summer's regular star of the oil barrel, gasoline, has entered its traditional season of price strength with the market structure in contango and cracks far softer than usual for this time of year. With strong refinery production, rising inventories and a modest demand picture, Joel Hanley and frontline reporters Matthew Tra…

Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province is sitting on an estimated 124 billion barrels in offshore crude reserves with access to global export markets, but needs investors to bolster output. Pulling in investors will likely be difficult considering other offshore opportunities in the Americas, including Guyana and Brazil. Will Equinor Canada ta…

Oil prices slumped after OPEC+ announced deals to ease voluntary crude output cuts in the last quarter of 2024 and extend group-wide production quotas into 2025. Market watchers are now closely monitoring quota compliance, global oil demand forecasts and non-OPEC+ supply growth. In this episode of the Oil Markets podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insig…

Mexico's presidential election on 2 June comes at a time of declining crude and natural gas production and uncertainty over the country's transition to cleaner fuels and more reliable power generation. If Claudia Sheinbaum wins, as is widely expected, will she continue Lopez Obrador's policy of restricting private sector involvement in Mexico's ene…

Nigeria's Dangote refinery, built at a cost of $20 billion and is Africa's largest, has started exporting naphtha to North Asian markets at a time when the clean tanker market is witnessing prolonged firmness. The naphtha flow from Dangote is adding to the ton-mile demand in the clean tanker sector and this could be boosting the clean tanker market…

As European refineries return from seasonal maintenance, ample prompt supply in the North Sea, Mediterranean and West African crude markets suggests that the demand side of the equation remains firmly in the red. Joel Hanley is joined by crude editors Sam Angell, George Delaney and Joey Daly to discuss the implications of a crude-saturated Atlantic…

Diesel imports into Brazil have risen in recent months, but remains below a recent peak seen in January as the South American country deals with new payment terms for Russian barrels. Not only that, but Russian diesel supplies have tightened following drone attacks on Russian refineries by Ukraine. Will USGC refiners return to the #1 spot in supply…

In May 2023, the world's most important oil price benchmark, Platts Dated Brent, which is used to underpin the price of significant volumes of traded crude oil, saw the addition of the first non-North Sea crude stream into its deliverable basket of grades: WTI Midland. Since then, the benchmark has seen liquidity skyrocket, the addition of new face…

The spotlight on India's oil sector has never been stronger. India's role in global oil markets is set to expand at a fast pace until the end of the decade, making it the biggest center for demand growth, according to the IEA. Refining expansion remains a key priority, but with a tilt towards petrochemicals, and the country’s upstream strategy aims…

Ahead of ARDA Week 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa, S&P Global Commodity Insights reporters Matthew Tracey-Cook, Kelly Norways and Elza Turner join Joel Hanley to discuss the changing dynamics of oil products markets in West Africa following the fresh development that Nigeria’s giant Dangote refinery has exported its first refined product cargo des…

The Biden administration recently said it was no longer looking to buy up to 3 million barrels of crude for August and September to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was drawn down to prevent oil price spikes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With oil prices lingering at $85/b to $90/b, what are the chances the Department of Energ…

A sharp increase in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure has those in the refined products markets looking at the near-term implications for export volumes, trade flows, freight rates and commodity prices. S&P Global estimates that Russian refineries with a combined nameplate capacity of over 1.6 million b/d nationwide have now …

The 2024 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference just wrapped up in Houston, where oil industry executives were talking up, often aggressively, the need for oil and gas to remain in the mix during the transition to cleaner energies. They also discussed environmental solutions which will be needed to keep that oil flowing, namely the need for large-scale …

Oil industry executives at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference were largely bullish on oil production growth, shedding recessionary concerns voiced the prior year. They were less enthusiastic about the pace of energy transition, citing the need for more certainty from governments on carbon pricing and other incentives. In this bonus episode of th…

In the midst of Vladimir Putin’s rubber-stamp re-election as Russian President through March 15-17, a tightening of G7 sanctions led by Washington has seen over 10 companies and dozens of vessels put on the sanctions list for price cap circumvention since October. In addition, the election coincided with a significant increase in Ukrainian attacks …

Economic power-house China has set out 10 targets for 2024, which is pro-growth for oil demand, keen on energy security, and prioritizing accelerated industry modernization and development of new productive forces. In this episode of Platts Oil Markets podcast, Managing Editor for refined oil products, Wanda Wang has invited China experts Grace Lee…

Once a global powerhouse of crude production, the UK’s North Sea region saw its oil output decline accelerate to 12% in 2023, according to official data from the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. The new figures come as the UAE’s Taqa revealed to S&P Global Commodity Insights that it plans to cease production at the Cormorant oil fie…

Asian oil flows could witness drastic changes for the remainder of the decade amid growing belief that India will cater to the biggest share of incremental growth in demand in the region. The International Energy Agency has recently said that India's role in global oil markets will likely expand substantially, fueled by strong growth in its economy…

Latin American crude production is on the rise, with countries like Brazil, Guyana and Argentina leading the way. However, Latin American heavy sour crude output is expected to decline, and flows will be reshuffled as Canada’s Trans Mountain crude pipeline expansion starts up and as operations begin at Pemex’s Olmeca refinery. Why is heavy sour cru…

As the European ultra-low sulfur diesel complex rallies on concerns around Eastern resupply unable to pass through the Red Sea, gasoil – its high-sulfur counterpart – is under unusual pressure. In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets podcast, editors Natasha Tan and Nadia Bliznikova discuss recent trends with Francesco Di Salvo. Further reading: …

Following a 1 million b/d growth in US oil output in 2023, oil producers and service companies have been warning of slowing growth this year during their fourth quarter earnings calls. Will production surprise to the upside? And what would that mean for US refiners? In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets podcast, senior upstream editor Starr Spe…

In the face of continued security issues in the Red Sea stemming from Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, European trade patterns for oil products across the barrel are changing. S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Robert Perkins, Nadia Bliznikova and Takis Gounaris join Joel Hanley to discuss the impacts the Red Sea disruption are having on the Europ…

Asia so far, has not witnessed any dramatic changes to near-term oil supplies amid the ongoing Red Sea crisis, but refiners are chalking out alternative plans to ensure steady feedstock flows in the event of an escalation -- a move that could inflate insurance costs and crimp refining margins. There has been a strategic push among Asia's top import…

With OPEC suggesting in its monthly oil market report that global oil demand growth will outweigh an expected increase in non-OPEC supply across 2024 and 2025, market watchers will be keen to see how the group and its allies respond to still slumping oil prices. In this episode, S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Jim Burkhard, Rosemary Griffin and Char…

For the first Oil Markets episode of 2024, S&P Global Commodity Insights' oil experts team up across pricing, news and research to provide a fresh look at the crudes everyone is talking about — the new grades from Guyana’s Stabroek Block. Jeff Mower speaks with Ha Nguyen, Felipe Perez and Pat Harrington about how Liza, Unity Gold and Payara Gold ar…

In the final episode of the Oil Markets podcast for 2023, S&P Global Commodity Insights crude and refined products directors Joel Hanley and Richard Swann round up the biggest events and trends of the year. They provide an across-the-barrel retrospective of the year in oil markets, including shifting trade flows, developing markets for Russian oil,…

The UK’s Grangemouth refinery is set to cease operations in the coming years to be converted into a fuel import terminal, owner Petroineos has said, with current operations to continue into at least early 2025. The refinery supplies close to 86,000 b/d of transport and heating fuels to the UK market and has a direct pipeline of supply from Forties …

A reduction in daily transits at both the Neopanamax and Panamax lock systems have resulted in longer wait times to transit the Panama Canal. These limits to daily transits are expected to continue into 2024, leading shipowners to raise freight costs as they look for reimbursement for higher transit and demurrage fees. As the price of auction slots…

The new year looks set to see a seismic shift in China’s oil industry, as concerns grow about the future of crude oil imports and by extension product exports from the country, amid headwinds in the country's refining sector. Questions abound about the impact of China’s reduction in crude imports and the knock-on effect it might have on product exp…

The West African Gasoline market is about to undergo major transformations. Belgium has proposed new environmental measures to suspend low-quality motor fuel exports, following similar move by the Netherlands. Will consumers like Nigeria turn to alternative blending hubs, or resign themselves to higher prices at the pump? In this episode of the Pla…

The lifting of Venezuelan oil sanctions by the US has sparked a series of reactions in the upstream market. S&P Global expects an increase of roughly 100,000 b/d in crude exports from Venezuela to 850,000 b/d. Jeff Mower, director of Americas oil news, sits down with Americas crude markets editor Patrick Harrington and Mexico energy editor Sheky Es…

European fuel oil sulfur spreads surged in October as events further afield spurred opposing price movements for low- and high-sulfur fuel grades. A sudden easing of US oil and gas sanctions on Venezuela has sent high sulfur markets tumbling, while a mysterious shift in exports from Kuwait hit low sulfur markets in the Middle East and Asia, all aga…

Oil market volatility amid the conflict in the Middle East has started to ring alarm bells for Asian refiners. Hamas' surprise attack on Israel has fanned worries of a long-drawn period of geopolitical turbulence at a time when global oil markets are already been facing a squeeze in supplies, while demand continues to grow. This has rekindled the d…

Geopolitical tensions are, once again, spooking oil markets, with the Israel-Hamas war dominating all discussions. Even with the impact of the armed conflict so far restricted to the Mediterranean, market players are increasingly concerned about the potential for escalation, which is being reflected in rising insurance premiums. In this episode of …

After sanctions on Russia in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, Brazil started sourcing 78% of its imports from Russia. But in mid-September, Russia announced a ban on refined product exports to ease its own domestic fuel prices. It quickly changed course, however, partially lifting the ban in early October to free up storage for winter grad…

Global fuel markets were set to receive another shockwave when Russia announced a ban on diesel and gasoline exports amid tight domestic supplies. Brazil and other importers of Russian diesel were expected to suffer the most. But judging by the falling prices, things are not going quite as some had expected. In this episode of the Platts Oil Market…

As crude prices have recently inched up past the $90/b level, they are on pace to end the third quarter nearly 35% higher than they started, fundamentally altering the landscape for both upstream and downstream players. Drillers and producers are ramping up output as they look to capitalize on high prices, while refiners are more cautious as they e…