Gray Oak oil pipeline offers “on system” storage

: Condensate, Crude oil
20/04/03

Phillips 66 will offer "on system crude storage" on its 900,000 b/d Gray Oak pipeline from the Permian basin in west Texas to the US Gulf coast, citing an urgent need from shippers.

The company said the storage is being offered "in response to fast-developing market conditions" and "an urgent need for temporary storage," according to a filing today to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Phillips 66 is asking for the new tariff to be in place by 5 April.

The move comes as some oil producers are struggling to find a home for crude as efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and a crash in crude prices have upended markets.

Gray Oak stretches from the Permian basin and the Eagle Ford shale in south Texas to Corpus Christi and to the Sweeny area south of Houston, including to Phillips 66's 247,000 b/d Sweeny refinery.

The pipeline started initial service last year to the Corpus Christi destinations and is expected to be in full service in the second quarter.

Overall US crude inventories are starting to swell. US crude stocks rose by 13.8mn bl to 469.2mn bl last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. It marked the tenth consecutive week of builds and was the largest weekly increase since October 2016.

The US administration is offering to lease up to 77mn bl of storage capacity in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to oil producers struggling to find a home for crude.

By Eunice Bridges

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25/05/07

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.

India, Saudi Arabia plan two Indian refineries

25/05/07

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.

India launches attacks on Pakistan

25/05/06

India launches attacks on Pakistan

Houston, 6 May (Argus) — India's military said it launched attacks today against nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation for an April terrorist attack that killed dozens. India's ministry of defense said its strikes were a "precise and restrained response" to a 22 April incident near Pahalgam in Kashmir where 26 tourists were killed. They were focused on "terrorist infrastructure sites", the ministry said on the social media site X in a post Tuesday at 4:49pm ET. "Importantly, no Pakistani military facilities were hit, reflecting India's calibrated and non-escalatory approach," the ministry said. The government of Pakistan said on its own X account that five sites had been hit in the attacks. "Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given," the Pakistan government wrote. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump unlikely to lift tariffs on Canada

25/05/06

Trump unlikely to lift tariffs on Canada

Washington, 6 May (Argus) — President Donald Trump suggested today he would not lift tariffs on imports from Canada and told Canadian prime minister Mark Carney that the US-Canada-Mexico (USMCA) free trade agreement needs to be renegotiated. Trump, who hosted Carney at the White House today, told reporters that there was nothing Canada's leader could tell him to change his mind on stiff tariffs he imposed on Canadian steel, aluminum, cars and auto parts. "It's just the way it is," Trump said. While Trump has altered his tariff levels repeatedly, his administration has imposed a 25pc tariff on Canada-sourced steel and aluminum, and a 25pc tariff on some cars and autoparts imported from Canada. Any product that qualifies for duty-free treatment under the USMCA is exempt from tariffs Trump imposed. The 10pc tariff Trump imposed on Canadian crude and other energy imports only lasted from 4-7 March, causing turmoil in North American energy markets. But even the remaining tariffs are a significant hindrance for the integrated North American auto industry, executives in Canada and the US have said. Trump today described the USMCA, which he negotiated during his first administration, as merely a "transitional deal" and suggested that it could be either terminated or renegotiated completely. The USMCA includes a provision calling for it to be reviewed by all three countries in 2026. The existing free trade agreement is "a basis for broader negotiations," Carney said, adding that "some things about it are going to have to change." Carney made his first trip to Washington just a week after winning the 28 April parliamentary election, following a campaign centered around his opposition to Trump's policies. Trump and Carney offered polite compliments to each other, but there was little visible chemistry between the two men. Trump doubled down on his suggestion that Canada could become the 51st US state, prompting Carney to tell him that "as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale." "Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign in the last several months, it's not for sale," Carney said. "Never say never", Trump retorted. Trump also repeated his past claims that "we don't do much business with Canada. From our standpoint, they do a lot of business with us." "We are the largest client of the United States," said Carney. "We have a tremendous auto sector between the two of us." By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump to end military campaign in Yemen: Update

25/05/06

Trump to end military campaign in Yemen: Update

Updates with details throughout, including Houthi response. Washington, 6 May (Argus) — President Donald Trump said today he will end the US military campaign against Yemen's Houthis, claiming that the militant group pledged to stop attacks on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea. The Houthis reached out with a request to stop the US bombing campaign, and the US will do so immediately, Trump told reporters at the beginning of his meeting with Canada's prime minister Mark Carney on Tuesday. "They don't want to fight anymore," Trump said. "They have capitulated ... And I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately." US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who also attended the meeting with Carney, added that if the Houthi attacks "are going to stop, then we can stop." Oman mediated a ceasefire agreement between the US and the Houthis, Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said in a social media post following Trump's remarks. "In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping." It was not clear from Albusaidi's statement whether the Houthis committed to stop their attacks on all vessels passing near Yemen's coastline. The Houthis claimed in late 2023 that, out of solidarity with Gaza's Palestinian population, they would attack any ship that was owned by an Israeli company or made calls at an Israeli port. But the Houthi attacks were indiscriminate, effectively crippling the regular passage of oil, LNG and other commercial vessel traffic through Red Sea waterways. The militant group paused its attacks on commercial shipping following the ceasefire in Gaza in January, but resumed them in March, after Israel stopped allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Houthis also launched attacks against Israel, drawing retaliatory strikes by the Israeli Air Force, and on US naval vessels in the Red Sea. There was no explicit confirmation of a ceasefire from Houthi-controlled information outlets. A Houthi spokesman reposted a social media post suggesting that "America stopped its aggression in Yemen" and that "the one who retreated is America." Another media channel used by the group said that "the Israeli and American aggression will not pass without a response and will not deter Yemen from continuing its position in support of Gaza". US president Donald Trump's administration listed its military campaign against Yemen-based Houthis, which began on 15 March, as a key foreign policy accomplishment in his first 100 days in office even though the militant group continued to launch missile and drone attacks — most recently on 4 May against Israel's main airport. Israel responded to the 4 May attack with air strikes on Yemen's port of Hodeidah and, today, on the main airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa. Israel also vowed to retaliate against Tehran, which is the main provider of weapons to the Houthis. The US separately warned Iran to discontinue its military support for the Yemeni militant group. The Trump administration is engaged in talks with Iran to address Tehran's nuclear program, with Iranian officials hoping to use the diplomatic negotiations to press for relief of oil and other sanctions against Iran. Trump said he will visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar next week and is widely expected to also visit Israel on the same trip. "Before then, we're going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like, as big as it gets, and I won't tell you on what," Trump said. "But it will be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject." By Haik Gugarats, Nader Itayim 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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