China is taking advantage of the slide in oil prices, which began in October, to ramp up its stockpiling of cheaper crude. In December alone, China is estimated to have sharply boosted the volume of crude going to storage for the highest rate of stockpiling in six months, according to …
Read More »Oil Market Bracing for Red Sea Chaos to Last Weeks
The oil market appears to be bracing for a weeks-long disruption to shipping in the southern Red Sea, where Houthi militants have for months been attacking merchant vessels in response to Israel’s war in Gaza. Charters of tankers to haul crude and fuels “- which for some vessels are arranged …
Read More »IEA Raises Oil Demand Outlook for 2024 for Third Consecutive Month
Global oil demand is set to rise by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year compared to 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, raising its 2024 demand growth outlook for a third consecutive month. Although the IEA flagged today in its monthly report a significantly slower …
Read More »China’s 2023 Oil Refinery Output Rises to Record on Fuel Demand Recovery
China’s oil refinery throughput in 2023 rose 9.3 per cent from a year earlier to a record, reversing a rare decline in 2022, as new plants in the world’s second-largest crude consumer bolstered production to meet a post-pandemic recovery in fuel demand. Refiners processed 734.8 million metric tons of crude …
Read More »Offshore Oil is Booming with Vessel Markets Near all-Time High
The U.S. oil and gas sector has kicked off the new year on the backfoot with market sentiment as bearish as it was a year ago. Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have reported that demand pessimism is once again dominating, with traders worried that oil demand will weaken in the …
Read More »Oil Price up with Ongoing Middle East Tension
Both crude benchmarks continued to rally on Monday, with rising tension in the Middle East after the US and the UK carried out strikes on multiple Houthi targets in Yemen last week. The international benchmark crude Brent traded at $78.51 per barrel at 11 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), a …
Read More »Oil Declines as Tough Outlook Overshadows Middle East Tensions
Oil edged higher as the risk that airstrikes by the US and allies against the Houthis would ignite a wider conflict and disrupt crude flows from the Middle East was balanced by soft fundamentals. Brent crude rose toward $79 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was near $73 after the …
Read More »Oil Prices Surge on Red Sea Escalation
Oil prices surged four percent on Jan. 12 after U.S. and UK forces launched strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels following their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Tokyo and European stock markets ended the week with strong gains as traders brushed off data showing U.S. inflation rose more than …
Read More »China’s Oil Imports Hit an Annual Record in 2023
China imported a record-high volume of crude oil last year, beating the previous annual record from 2020, as fuel demand rebounded after the Covid restrictions were abandoned in early 2023. Chinese crude oil imports jumped by 11% year-on-year to 11.28 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, according to data …
Read More »Russia’s Oil Drilling Boom Proves Moscow’s Resilience to Western Sanctions
Russia was on pace for a second year of record oil drilling in 2023, further evidence of the nation’s resilience to Western sanctions. The boom in activity came alongside a recovery in the both volume and value of Russia’s oil exports, a stark illustration of how the country’s fossil fuel …
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