Oil Pipeline

The U.S. refiner HF Sinclair announced on Wednesday that it is looking at expanding its footprint in midstream refined product areas across the Rocky Mountain region and West Coast. HF Sinclair aims at addressing the growing imbalance between supply and demand in western markets. This is especially true in Nevada and California. Following a series of refinery closings, regulators are scrambling for alternative sources of supply. HF Sinclair stated that "(our) geographic footprint and infrastructure provides an advantaged position for quickly and effectively delivering refined products to where the market demands are greatest." About 20% of California fuel needs will...

Kinder Morgan, a U.S.-based pipeline operator, posted an increase in its third quarter profit on Wednesday. This was largely due to higher volumes of gas being transported through the pipelines. Kinder Morgan, for example, is betting on the growing demand for natural gas from LNG export installations as well as an increase in electricity generation due to AI operations and cryptocurrency mining. Kim Dang, CEO of the company, said that "total demand for gas will grow by 20 percent through 2030. This growth is primarily due to LNG exports. We are exploring opportunities to supply more than 10 billion cubic...

Oil shippers and the operator of Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline are currently in negotiations to resolve a dispute over shipping costs that has hampered the use of Canada’s only east-west pipe and slowed down government plans to sell it. Trans Mountain Corp. and a group including Cenovus Energy and Canadian Natural Resources and ConocoPhillips Canada filed documents with the Canada Energy Regulator Tuesday stating that the parties were in "active commercial discussion." The talks could settle how much the companies pay to ship oil on the expanded 890,000-barrel-per-day pipeline, which offers direct access to China and other Asian markets at...

Phillips 66 & Kinder Morgan began Monday to solicit shipper commitments in support of a proposed pipeline that would move fuel from Texas' refining hub into Arizona & California, bolstering supplies amid a recent spate of refinery closings. The new pipelines, if constructed, could ease the strain placed on West Coast fuel supplies by the closures planned for Phillips 66’s Los Angeles refinery at the end of the year and Valero Energy’s Benicia refining plant next year. These refineries together produce 20% of California fuel needs and also help to meet the needs in neighboring states. Regulators have been scrambling...

On Friday, the discount between West Texas Intermediate and Western Canada Select futures (the North American benchmark) widened. CalRock reported that WCS for Hardisty, Alberta delivery in November settled at $10.65 per barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI. This is compared to a close on Thursday of $10.60. The WCS discount is tighter this month than usual, as opposed to the seasonal pattern which usually sees it widening after the summer driving season. Canadian crude oil production is on the rise. According to the Alberta Energy Regulator's data, Alberta produced 4.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in August....

Premier Danielle Smith said on Thursday that Canada and Alberta were not far apart in terms of the terms of an agreement which would set the conditions for the construction in Alberta, in exchange for environmental commitments. on Wednesday The main oil producing province of Canada will take the lead in early planning for a new pipeline. Smith stated in an interview that "we're approximately 80% in accord on most aspects." The ball is in the court of (Canadian prime minister) Mark Carney now. The federal government didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Smith stated that her government...

Three market sources said on Thursday that the Colonial Pipeline, which is the largest fuel conduit in America, has an outage across all its main delivery lines. The outage started around 5 a.m. One of the sources on the market said that "computer problems" were to blame for Thursday's outage. Source: The source did not know the exact nature of these issues. Sources requested anonymity in order to discuss confidential data. Colonial Pipeline didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. According to its website, the Colonial Pipeline transports over 2.5 million barrels of fuel per day across its 5,500-mile...

Alberta announced Wednesday that it would submit a fast-track application to the federal government by the spring of 2026 for a new pipeline carrying crude oil, even if a private firm is not involved in the construction. The main oil producing province in Canada said that it would act as the official proponent of the proposal. It will take the lead on early planning, engineering and design work to determine the route, cost and size of a pipe. Alberta's government has said that the proposed pipeline can transport up to 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil per day to British Columbia's...

The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that the Alberta government was preparing to submit a request for a new pipeline from the British Columbia coast to Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain. Three sources with knowledge of the matter were cited. Report said that the plan was to draft a proposal along with an estimate and submit it to the new Major Projects Office of the federal government. However, a final route had not been determined. The report cited a source familiar with the plans as saying that Enbridge, South Bow, and Trans Mountain would work with the Alberta Machine...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury granted a special license delaying the full sanctions against Serbia's Russian owned oil company NIS, allowing it to continue operations until October 8, NIS announced on Wednesday. NIS is the sole oil refinery operating in the Balkans. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury placed initial sanctions on Russia's petroleum sector on 10 January, and gave Gazprom a 45-day deadline to sell its NIS holdings. The U.S. announced sanctions last week, after several delays. Sanctions are a possibility Launched on October 1, NIS, of which Gazprom owns 44.9%, Gazprom 11.3%, and...

Ares Management announced on Monday that its infrastructure funds had purchased Meade Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline in the U.S. for approximately $1.1 billion. This acquisition adds a major asset to Ares Management's U.S. Energy business at a time when demand for gas and power is surging. The investment company buys it from affiliates XPLR Infrastructure - a leading independent energy producer founded by NextEra Energy. Ares has a greater stake in energy infrastructure, as investors and utilities look for reliable fuel supplies to support intermittent renewables. Steve Porto, partner of Ares Infrastructure Opportunities, said: "Driven largely by industrial activity,...

The Serbian oil company NIS, which is owned by Russia, has asked for a seventh exemption to delay U.S. sanction that could put its crude oil supplies at risk. It also wants its name removed from Washington's list of sanctions. The waiver granted last month expires September 26. NIS, a company owned by Gazprom and Gazprom in majority, operates the only oil refinery of Serbia, located outside the capital Belgrade, at Pancevo. NIS confirmed that the request was made on 18 September. The statement said that the request was also made for the removal of its name from the list...

Transneft's pipeline network is not experiencing a reduction in supplies from Russian oil companies, according to a senior Transneft executive. Deliveries this year will be on par with those of 2024. Maxim Grishanin is the first vice president of the company. He told reporters that the company had enough capacity to handle a possible rise in supply. Russia will increase its output to meet the demands of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies. Transneft transports over 80% of the oil produced by the country. Grishanin stated that Transneft had a growing cash deficit due to an...

Three market sources reported that the Black Sea port in Russia, Novorossiisk, has reached its export capacity limit. This leaves traders scrambling to find a new route for crude oil, which it is unable to refine at home and can only produce because of increased OPEC+ quotas. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies have been easing up on output restrictions. In addition, Russia's refining facilities carried out record amounts of maintenance in August, and September. This was partly due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones. As a result, its ability to process crude oil domestically has...

Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission chief, said that the European Union invited Serbia to participate in the group's collective gas buying initiative. The aim is to reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian fossil fuels. In 2023, the EU created a platform for joint gas purchases to allow participants to negotiate better deals. This was after Russia cut its gas supplies to Europe in 2022 and pushed European energy prices up to record levels. The bloc wants to completely phase out Russian gas and oil by January 2028, to deny the Kremlin revenues it could use to fund its war against...

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...

Sources told AFP that Serbia has enough crude oil and fuel to meet its demand for the near future, but the U.S. Sanctions set to take effect on October 1, cast a cloud over the nation's energy security in the long term. The Russian-owned NIS oil company said it had sufficient crude and fuel stock after Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic announced that the U.S. wouldn't extend a waiver of sanctions originally announced in January. NIS has not disclosed inventory levels or the length of time supplies will last. Four sources with knowledge of the situation said that the refinery can...

The General Staff of Kyiv said that Ukraine's military had struck two Russian oil-distribution facilities in the Bryansk region and Samara on Tuesday. Telegram reported that the Samara military had attacked a production line mixing Russian oil with its flagship Urals oil to be exported. It said that it had hit a production line of a pipeline crucial for Russian Army supplies in Bryansk. The extent of damage is still being assessed, it said. In recent weeks, Ukraine has renewed its long-range drone attack campaign on Russian oil production facilities. It targets key sites to reduce Moscow’s export revenues and...

Industry sources say that the differential between Urals crude and Brent crude dated Tuesday remained unchanged, but Russia is on its way to cutting oil production due to drone strikes. Transneft, the monopoly Russian oil pipeline company, has warned that oil producers may be forced to reduce oil production following Ukraine's drone strikes on key export ports and refineries. Oil prices rose by over $1 a barrel Tuesday as traders assessed the risk that Russian oil supplies could be disrupted if Ukrainian drones attack its ports and refineries. They also awaited Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. PLATTS WINDOW On Tuesday,...

Janaf's CEO said that Croatian pipeline operator Janaf can cover the needs of two refineries in Hungary and Slovakia of Hungarian oil company MOL, which currently rely on Russian oil via the Druzhba pipe to meet their requirements. MOL warned of possible fuel shortages last month in Central Europe after Ukrainian attacks on Druzhba, which caused a temporary suspension there. MOL, who signed a February contract with Janaf for the delivery of 2.1 millions tons of oil to the end of 2025 has expressed doubts that the Adriatic Pipeline could provide enough oil even if Druzhba shipments were stopped completely....

Two industry sources said that the Ust-Luga oil terminal in Russia will only be able to export 350,000 barrels of oil per day, which is about half its normal capacity, due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones on pipeline infrastructure. This disruption shows that recent Ukrainian attacks on key energy facilities have caused Russian exports to be affected and could lead to supply disruptions. Drone strikes in Russia's Bryansk Region earlier in August caused problems at the Unecha pumping stations. Unecha is an important transit point for crude oil heading to Ust-Luga. The Druzhba Pipeline, which supplies Belarus to Slovakia...

Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Russia revised its crude oil export plans from western ports in August by 200,000 barrels a day (bpd). This was due to the fact that Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted the refinery operations, allowing more crude to be shipped. Due to the ongoing strikes and changing repair schedules, delays and volume revisions may be expected, they stated. "Attacks continue and repair deadlines vary daily." One person stated that it is unclear how much Russia will be able to load in this month or the next. The final plans for loading Russian oil...

The Druzhba Pipeline is now supplying oil to Slovakia, according to the Slovak Economy Ministry late on Tuesday. This was after a drone strike by Ukraine on a pumping station for oil in Russia's Tambov Region cut off supply. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia's infrastructure for energy, which is a major source of revenue for the Kremlin, as oil and gas sales account for about a quarter (or more) of Russia's state budget. Contrary to most European Union nations, Slovakia and Hungary neighbours have maintained their dependency on Russian energy. They get the majority of their crude oil...

Sources in the trade and industry said that oil exports from Russia's western port are expected to increase this month due to lower crude production at Russian oil plants. However, the OPEC+ production limits may only have a small impact on Moscow’s export plans. The port of Primorsk may increase its daily loadings to an average of 2.0-2.1 million barrels next month, up from the 1.9 million barrels planned for April. Calculations showed that this is an increase of 5-10% per day. On account of low margins, refinery runs could fall by 80,000 to 100,000 barrels per a day. The...