North Asia

Data from industry sources and calculations show that Russia's seaborne product exports dropped 17.1% from August to 7,58 million metric tonnes due to a decrease in fuel production, as various refineries suffered drone attacks. Several major refineries were attacked by drones in August and September, including Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, Lukoil's Volgograd refinery and Rosneft's Samara group of refineries. Market sources reported that the unplanned outages caused by a number refineries have curtailed fuel shipments and increased crude oil shipments. Market data showed that in September, the total exports of oil products via the Baltic port cities of Primorsk Vysotsk St...

U.S. president Donald Trump targeted China, the top economic rival with a cascade tariff order on billions in imported goods. The orders were aimed at narrowing an enormous trade deficit, bringing manufacturing back and crippling the trade of fentanyl. The reverse chronological timeline below shows the U.S. - China trade war in this year. U.S. trade representative Jamison Greer said that after China announced it would expand its rare earth export controls, the U.S. had reached out to China via phone but Beijing declined. China calls the new U.S. Tariffs hypocritical and defends its export controls. Trump re-starts the trade...

The U.S. President threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, sending the markets into a tailspin. Questions about whether Trump's threat to retaliate for China's dramatic expansion of export controls on rare Earths will lead to a full-blown war between the two world's largest economies are likely to dominate the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Washington and Beijing reached a delicate truce over the last five months, which brought down tariffs from triple-digits and led to an upgrade of the IMF's outlook for global growth. Trump's plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the...

The company's media service announced to Russian media that the company will be reducing its civil-sector workforce from five days per week to four due to weakening demand. Sources and companies say that the move is being made as Russia's largest industrial companies, such as automakers, mining, and metallurgical firms, put employees on furlough, or cut staff, as war economy slows down, domestic demand stagnates, and exports dry-up, according to sources. Uralvagonzavod, despite temporary fluctuations on the railcar market and its diverse production, continues to operate in a stable manner, the company stated, without specifying the number of employees affected....

Market sources say that the price of Urals crude remained stable on Thursday, despite a thin trade. However, a rise in freight rates from Russian ports to Asia may affect its differentials with Brent dated, they said. The EU's sanctions chief said that while sanctions are hurting Russia's economy, President Donald Trump keeps his allies guessing as to whether he'll sign off on additional measures. This is despite Washington's participation in the G7 deal to coordinate actions against the Kremlin. PLATTS WINDOW There were no bids or offerings reported on Thursday in the Platts Window for Urals, Azeri BTC Blend...

Data from LSEG and market sources showed that the cheaper barrels were what attracted buyers to Taiwan and India, where Russian naphtha was exported in August. The main destination for Russian naphtha has been the Middle East and Asia since the European Union's embargo against Russian oil products came into force in February 2023. Naphtha, a feedstock used in the petrochemical sector, is used to produce olefins (olefinols) and aromatics. These are then processed into a variety of products such as plastics, synthetic fibres, resins and other chemicals. According to LSEG, the export of naphtha from Russian ports to Taiwan...

Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund SOFAZ announced on Thursday that it will invest 50 million pounds ($67m) in London’s Gatwick Airport, making this one of its largest infrastructure deals in Europe. Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second busiest airport. It serves more than 40 millions passengers per year. SOFAZ announced that it had partnered with Global Infrastructure Partners, a U.S.-based part of BlackRock called Global Infrastructure Partners. This landmark transaction is a signal that we are committed to partnering with institutions of international standing on assets which combine resilience, scale and long-term value, said Israfil Mmmadov. "Gatwick Airport not only is...

Sources in the industry said that tanker freight rates to ship Urals crude oil from Russia's western port to India increased further at the end of September and in early October. This was in response to a dramatic increase in loadings in August. Indian refiners are continuing to import Russian oil, despite the punitive U.S. duties on Indian goods after India refused to stop importing Russian oil. The increase in crude exports to Russia's west ports of Primorsk (Ust-Luga), Novorossiisk and Ust-Luga from August was 500,000 barrels a day, a record. This is due to unplanned refinery repairs. The sources...

Urals crude differentials remained unchanged on Monday after OPEC+’s planned production increases for November appeared to be less modest than expected. OPEC+ said that it will increase oil production by 137,000 barrels a day (bpd) from November, opting for a similar modest monthly rise as in October amid persistent concerns about a looming glut of supply. The oil price rose about $1 on Sunday, easing some supply concerns, but a weak outlook for the near term is likely to limit gains. Two industry sources reported on Monday that the Kirishi oil refining plant, one of Russia’s largest, had halted its...

According to three sources of trading, Russia increased oil exports through its western ports in September by 25% compared to August. This was due to refinery shutdowns caused by Ukrainian drone strikes. Sources said that September exports via western ports Primorsk Ust-Luga, and Novorossiisk increased to 2.5 million barrels a day (bpd). Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks against refineries and pipelines for export, leading to fuel shortages in Russia. The authorities have responded by implementing plans to limit the exports of diesel and gasoline. Industry sources reported in September that Transneft, the Russian pipeline monopoly, warned oil producers to...

Three traders said that the premiums for Russia's ESPO blend crude oil loaded from Kozmino have fallen for November-loadings because independent Chinese refiners - key buyers of this grade - are facing dwindling import quotas. Traders said that cargoes due to be loaded from the Far Eastern Port of Kozmino, in November, were sold for a premium of about $1.70 per barrelle to ICE Brent, on a delivery-basis to Chinese ports. This is down from around $2 per barrelle at October levels. Independent refiners in China are subject to a strict quota-based system. State-run refiners like Sinopec PetroChina and CNOOC,...

The differential between Russia's Urals and Brent crude oil was little changed in Tuesday's featureless trading. However, the return of Iraqi Kurdistan Oil exports will add pressure to the market for sour crude, traders have said. Iraq wants to double the amount of crude oil flowing through the recently reopened Kirkuk - Ceyhan pipeline in Iraq by next year. This was stated by an official from Iraqi state oil marketing company SOMO. Rikan Kareem, speaking at a London conference on Tuesday, said that SOMO aims to reach 400,000-500,000 barrels of oil per day by 2026. After reopening the pipelines on...

Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia's president, said that Serbia would do all it could to protect its own interests if the U.S. imposed sanctions on Serbian-based NIS oil company, which is owned by Russia. Washington announced sanctions against NIS in January, Serbia's largest oil importer, and one of Russia’s last remaining energy assets within Europe, for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. NIS announced last week that there would be no further delays. "Our Russian Friends have understood our message." We knew their interests. We will do all we can, both tactically and strategically, to serve the interests of Serbia", said Vucic...

Trump's administration proposed on Thursday to ban Chinese airlines from flying above Russia during flights into and out of the United States. They said the practice places American carriers at an unfair disadvantage. U.S. Airlines have criticized for years the decision of allowing Chinese carriers to fly above Russia on certain flights, because they gain the benefit of reduced flying time and less fuel. In its proposal order, the U.S. Transportation Department stated on Thursday that "this imbalance has now become a significant factor in competitiveness." USDOT announced that it would ban Chinese overflights to "level this competitive disparity between...

The differential between Brent and Urals crudes dated on Wednesday remained unchanged, but the Azeri BTC plan for exports from Turkey's Ceyhan Port in November was set at 15,3 million barrels compared to the 15.4 million barrels exported in October. Calculations showed that Azeri BTC crude exports would increase by approximately 3% per day in November compared to October. Alexander Novak, Deputy Premier of Russia, said that the country has gradually increased its oil production. It was very close to achieving the output quota set by OPEC+ last month. PLATTS WINDOW There were no bids or offerings reported on the...

According to sources, the U.S. delayed sanctions against Serbia's NIS oil company owned by Russia, which operates Serbia's sole oil refinery for a week, until October 15. The Nova Ekonomija portal in Belgrade reported this on Wednesday. JANAF reported on Wednesday that the U.S. had extended the license of Croatian oil pipeline operator JANAF for another week to allow it to continue transporting crude oil to Serbia in order to meet the contract volumes. NIS has not responded to a comment request. The U.S. sanctioned NIS in early January as part of an overall effort to isolate Russian assets. The...

The differentials between Urals crude and Brent for the date of February weakened on Monday due to rising shipping costs from Russia to India. This was driven by an increase in cargoes coming from Primorsk and Novorossiisk. Industry sources say that the current freight costs to transport Urals from the Baltic port of Primorsk to India for Aframax tanks rose from $6-6.5 millions for one-way trips in late August to middle September. The traders reported that the prices of Urals at western Indian ports remained constant. The exact plans for October remain unknown, but they expect Urals to continue exporting...

Industry sources said that despite recent progress made by Russia in negotiations with Beijing regarding a new gas pipeline, it will take at least 10 years for natural gas exports from China to increase significantly as a result. Alexei Miller said that a legally binding memorandum had been signed by the CEO of Russian Gas Corporation Gazprom on the Power of Siberia 2 Pipeline during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China in the last month. This development highlights Moscow's efforts in reorienting its vast reserves of gas towards Asia, after its energy trade with Europe – once its biggest market...

The Croatian pipeline operator JANAF will meet with the Hungarian oil company MOL on Wednesday in order to discuss ways of extending their collaboration beyond their current oil transportation agreement, which expires on December 31. JANAF delivers 2.1 million tons of crude oil per year to MOL refineries in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. Croatian oil company offers to increase its delivery volume as Hungary is under pressure to reduce its dependence on Russian oil via the Druzhba Pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia, two EU member states that want to continue receiving Russian oil despite EU efforts at diversification of supply, are...

A government official said that there is sufficient supply of Russian crude oil on the market for Indian refiners, as Ukraine's attack on Russia's energy infrastructure has reduced its refining capability and made more crude readily available. When India refused to comply, Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. imported goods from India. The official who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the matter said that Indian refiners still buy Russian oil. India is the largest buyer of Russian oil sold by sea. The oil was discounted after certain Western nations refused to buy...

His lawyer stated that a Polish court ruled Monday that he must be held in custody for an additional 40 days. The Ukrainian diver was wanted by Germany because of his alleged involvement with explosions that damaged the Nord Stream Gas pipeline. Volodymyr Z., who was arrested near Warsaw on Tuesday last week, will be held in custody for a period of seven days. Monday, the court extended his detention until a decision was made about whether he should be transferred to Germany on the basis of a European arrest warrant. The explosions, which were deemed an act of sabotage...

Poland announced on Friday that the cost of its plan to connect to a NATO pipe-line network designed to provide fuel to troops in case of war will be 20 billion zlotys (about $5 billion). The ministry and the Polish pipeline operator PERN had signed an agreement earlier in the day to connect the pipelines of the country to the NATO network. Cezary Cezary Tomczyk, Deputy Minister of Defence said: "We're talking about...construction pipelines covering a distance up to 300 km...we're talking about one the largest investments made in the security and safety of the Polish State in the past...

Data from market sources and LSEG show that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports fell 20% from August to 2.4 million metric tonnes in September, due to unplanned refinery shutdowns caused by Ukrainian drone attacks. Several major refineries were hit by drones in August and September, including Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, Lukoil's Volgograd refinery and Rosneft's Samara group of refineries. In September, the Russian Baltic port Primorsk suspended all loadings following a drone strike. Market sources reported that these disruptions resulted in a drop in diesel exports. Due to fuel shortages on the domestic market, Russia has implemented a partial export...

Thomas Ahrenkiel, Director of the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, said that there is a very high risk of sabotage being committed against Denmark's Armed Forces. Drone incursions Last week, six Danish airports (military and civilian) were temporarily closed in response to what Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen described as a hybrid assault on the country. Ahrenkiel, the Danish intelligence service, believes that Russia is waging an hybrid war both against Denmark and the West. Ahrenkiel, a reporter, said: "This means Russia is using military methods, including aggressively, to put pressure upon us without crossing over into an armed conflict." Troels Poulsen,...