Phillips 66 Borger refinery plans Oct work: Update

Market: Crude oil, Oil products
20/09/23

Adds market price reaction.

Phillips 66's 149,000 b/d Borger, Texas, refinery is planning seasonal maintenance beginning in early October.

The turnaround is expected to last until late November, according to market sources with knowledge of Phillips 66's operations.

The refinery completed week-long maintenance work on its fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCC) Tuesday and is running at normal rates.

Phillips 66 declined to comment on refinery operations.

Permian light sour crude West Texas Sour (WTS) traded at a $1.75/bl discount to WTI Midland yesterday, and is so far averaging around a $1.26/bl discount for October delivery so far this trade month, compared with a 63¢/bl average discount for September trade.

The company placed customers of the Borger refinery on allocation in June after a hydrotreater unit was taken off line, severely curtailing supply to nearby west Texas fuel markets in Amarillo and Lubbock. Phillips 66restored fuel allocations from Borger in July.

US refiners are planning turnarounds affecting up to 2mn b/d of North American refining capacity for the remainder of the year, with the bulk of the work starting this month.

On the Gulf coast, LyondellBasell's 265,000 b/d Houston, Texas, refinery is undergoing an FCC turnaround in the fourth quarter. With Borger also conducting maintenance, some 414,000 b/d of Texas refinery capacity could be off line in the final months of the year.

By Nathan Risser and Scott Phillips

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

News

15/12/24

Libya declares force majeure at Zawiya refinery

London, 15 December (Argus) — Libya's state-owned NOC declared force majeure at its 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery today following clashes between armed groups near the facility. NOC said a number of storage tanks were hit, causing fires. These were subsequently brought under control, it added. Zawiya is Libya's largest operational refinery, with most of its production absorbed domestically. It runs on crude from Libya's Repsol-led El Sharara oil field. The rest of the field's crude is exported as the Esharara grade from a nearby loading terminal which forms part of the wider Zawiya complex. Any prolonged fighting and wider damage to the Zawiya complex could threaten production at El Sharara, particularly if exports are forced to stop. Zawiya exported 160,000 b/d of Esharara crude last month, according to Kpler, and is scheduled to load eight cargoes also worth about 160,000 b/d in December. Political instability has led to several forced shutdowns of oil production facilities over the past decade or so. El Sharara only just returned to production in early October following a forced outage which also affected other fields throughout the country. Libya produced 1.24mn b/d of crude in November, Argus estimates. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Find out more

News

Syria faces fuel supply conundrum

13/12/24

News

13/12/24

Syria faces fuel supply conundrum

London, 13 December (Argus) — The overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has left the country's trading relationship with Iran on an uncertain footing, putting pressure on the new transitional government to upgrade refining infrastructure and find alternative sources of fuel supply. As the Assad regime's closest ally, Iran has been Syria's main source of both crude and oil product imports since western sanctions were imposed on Damascas in the early stages of its civil war in 2011. The product shipments are difficult to track as they are carried out by Iran's 'dark fleet', but consultancy FGE estimates Iran has been sending around 10,000-20,000 b/d to Syria in recent years. Those trade flows are no longer guaranteed, given that Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS), the main militant group behind the armed revolt to topple Assad, has close ties to Iran's regional rival Turkey. Syria is now likely to import oil products from other local sources, a trading analyst told Argus . Turkey itself is an option, although one Turkish trader ruled out any immediate business plans to supply Syria. Watad, HTS' affiliated oil trading arm, has previously imported oil and gas from Turkey and has marketed gasoline thought to have come from Ukraine via Turkey, according to a regional analyst. Egypt is another possible supplier. It has enough capacity to export refined products to Syria for the time being, according to a refining source in the country. Vortexa data show gasoil was last loaded from Egypt's Sidi Kerir terminal in July. Syria's transitional government may also attempt to increase domestic supply, although that will require rehabilitating the country's 140,000 b/d Banias and 110,000 b/d Homs refineries. Run rates have halved since 2011, the IEA estimates. Only the Banias refinery is operating at a reasonable level, according to sources. Iran earlier this year proposed a €140mn revamp of the Homs refinery, which has been operating below capacity for years because of infrastructure damage incurred during the civil war . Syrian demand for oil products has seen a structural decline since the civil war, with consumption dropping by around 60pc between 2011 and 2022, according to the IEA. But with Assad's overthrow signalling a potential return of refugees from neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, demand may pick up in the coming months, intensifying pressure on the transitional administration to seek new trade flows and repair the country's refining infrastructure. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

13/12/24

News

13/12/24

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

London, 13 December (Argus) — Canada has set a new 2035 climate goal, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50pc by 2035, from a 2005 baseline. This builds on its 2030 target of a 40-45pc emissions reduction, again from 2005 levels. Canada's emissions had been in 2015 projected to rise by 9pc by 2030, from 2005 levels, "but we are now successfully bending the curve", the Canadian environment and climate change ministry said. The newly-announced target is in line with a pledge Canada made at the UN Cop 29 climate summit last month. Countries that are party to the Paris climate accord must submit new national climate plans by 10 February 2025, to cover a timeframe up to 2035. Canada, the EU, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland committed at Cop 29 to set out new plans with "steep emissions cuts" that are consistent with the global 1.5°C temperature increase limit sought by the Paris Agreement. The plans are known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Canada's NDC is being considered by the cabinet, and the country plans to submit it by the deadline, Canadian climate change ambassador Catherine Stewart told Cop 29 delegates on 21 November. Tackling climate change is "both an environmental imperative and an economic opportunity", she added. The target was informed "by the best available science, Indigenous Knowledge, international climate change commitments, consultations with provinces and territories and expert advice", the ministry said. Canada will also "seek feedback on how to help companies take advantage of the economic opportunities that come with building a clean economy" in the near term, it added. Although the plan is not yet available, the ministry said that it will examine the role of carbon removal technologies for the energy transition. "Canadians are increasingly experiencing record-breaking extreme weather," the ministry noted. The country experienced record wildfires in 2023. Carbon emissions from wildfires this year were second only to the "unprecedented" levels in 2023, EU earth-monitoring service Copernicus found this month. Canada has a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Tarmac to receive bitumen at UK Dagenham terminal

13/12/24

News

13/12/24

Tarmac to receive bitumen at UK Dagenham terminal

London, 13 December (Argus) — Tarmac, one of the UK's leading road and general construction firms, will start receiving bitumen cargoes at the 20,000t capacity Dagenham bitumen terminal in southeast England in late January, market participants told Argus . The terminal, operated by trading firm Trafigura's Puma Energy unit since 2015 , is part of an oil storage facility run by Stolthaven Terminals, a subsidiary of Norwegian company Stolt-Nielsen. Puma Energy regularly imports bitumen cargoes into Dagenham from a variety of sources including its own Cadiz bitumen terminal in Spain. Some 211,000t has been imported into Dagenham this year, roughly double 2023 volumes, according to data from trade analytics firm Vortexa. The sharp rise follows Puma Energy's decision to halt operations at its bitumen barge terminal in Newport, Wales early this year. Market participants said at the time that they expected Puma Energy to increase imports into Dagenham for inward truck supply to domestic UK customers to help compensate for the Newport halt. Trafigura and Tarmac have declined to comment on the latter's bitumen purchase plans at Dagenham. It is not clear whether Trafigura will exclusively supply the volumes into the terminal for Tarmac. The constructor is understood to have struck its annual term deals for all its UK bitumen purchases for 2025, but the identity of the suppliers has not been disclosed. by Fenella Rhodes and Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

NordBit to exit Dunkirk bitumen terminal at year-end

12/12/24

News

12/12/24

NordBit to exit Dunkirk bitumen terminal at year-end

London, 12 December (Argus) — Hamburg-based bitumen supply and trading firm NordBit will end its operations at the Dunkirk bitumen terminal in northeast France at the end of this year, a source familiar with the firm's operations said. NordBit — a bitumen joint venture between German firms Mabanol and H&R — has been operating the 11,000-12,000t capacity terminal since 2019 . The bitumen facility is part of a wider oil products and chemicals complex at Dunkirk. According to vessel tracking data, the bitumen terminal at Dunkirk has received 25,900t this year, although no cargoes have been discharged since August. Market participants said the terminal is in need of upgrading and will probably need the work done ahead of renting. The imminent halt to NordBit's operations at Dunkirk comes as French building conglomerate Vinci's Eurovia subsidiary nears completion of its own new and separate 16,000t capacity bitumen terminal in Dunkirk which is scheduled to start operating from March or April next year. By Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more