Valero plans major Port Arthur turnaround

Market: Crude oil, Oil products
26/07/16

Planned maintenance work on crude and coking units this quarter will cut throughputs at Valero's 325,000 b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

The US independent refiner said today that major turnaround work at the refinery would cut US Gulf coast throughputs to 1.6mn b/d to 1.65mn b/d during the quarter. The range was higher than the 1.57mn b/d of throughput in the same quarter of 2015, but Valero has added roughly 160,000 b/d of US Gulf coast crude capacity since that quarter.

Valero's Port Arthur refinery is a steady importer of Mexican and Venezuelan heavy crudes, based on federal data. The refinery averaged roughly 92,000 b/d of Venezuelan crude and 69,000 b/d of Mexican crude imports in the second half of 2015, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The refiner has also less consistently processed about 21,000 b/d of Canadian crude.

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IMO GHG pricing falls short on green methanol, ammonia

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Opec+ eight agree accelerated hike for June: Update

07/05/25

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07/05/25

Opec+ eight agree accelerated hike for June: Update

London, 7 May (Argus) — A core group of eight Opec+ members has agreed to accelerate, for a second consecutive month, their plan to unwind some of their production cuts, the Opec secretariat said Saturday. As it did for May, the group will again raise its collective output target by 411,000 b/d in June, three times as much as it had planned in its original roadmap to gradually unwind 2.2mn b/d of crude production cuts by the middle of next year. The original plan envisaged a slow and steady unwind over 18 months from April, with monthly increments of about 137,000 b/d. But today's decision means that the eight — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman and Kazakhstan — will have unwound almost half of the 2.2mn b/d cut in the space of just three months. The decision to maintain this accelerated pace into June is somewhat surprising, given the weakness in oil prices and the outlook for the global economy. The eight's decision last month to deliver a three-in-one hike in May was seen as a key reason for the recent slide in oil prices, alongside US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Front month Ice Brent futures have fallen by about $13/bl since early April to stand at just over $61/bl. But the eight today pointed to "current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories" as a key factor in its latest decision. It reiterated, as it has in the past, that the gradual monthly increases "may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions." As was the case for May, delegates said that the main driver for the June hike was again a desire to send a message to those countries that have persistently breached their production targets since the start of last year — most notably Kazakhstan and Iraq, which each have significant overproduction to compensate for through the middle of next year. "This measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation," the secretariat said. This group of eight is due to next meet on 1 June to review market conditions and decide on July production levels. By Nader Itayim, Aydin Calik and Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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India, Saudi Arabia plan two Indian refineries

07/05/25

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07/05/25

India, Saudi Arabia plan two Indian refineries

Mumbai, 7 May (Argus) — India and Saudi Arabia are to collaborate on the development of two integrated refinery and petrochemical plants in India. The plan was announced after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met Saudi counterpart Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on 22 April, as part of the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council. Saudi Arabia in 2019 pledged to invest $100bn in India in several sectors including energy and petrochemicals. No further details have been provided but the projects could be Indian state-run BPCL's planned facility in Andhra Pradesh and oil firm ONGC's refinery project in Gujarat, according to industry participants. Plans for a 1.2mn b/d refinery in Ratnagiri alongside the UAE's Adnoc have been abandoned because of logistical and land acquisition challenges, industry participants say. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Spanish base oils under force majeure after power cut

07/05/25

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07/05/25

Spanish base oils under force majeure after power cut

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Asian airlines divert, cancel flights to avoid Pakistan

07/05/25

News

07/05/25

Asian airlines divert, cancel flights to avoid Pakistan

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