Register and we will customize a solution that meets your exact needs. When you speak to one of our experts, you may be qualified to sample our industry-leading products on a no-cost basis.
You can unsubscribe from these updates at any time. We manage your personal data in accordance with our privacy policy.A fire broke out at South Korean private-sector refiner S-Oil's Onsan plant on 23 February, affecting operations at a crude distillation unit (CDU).
The fire broke out at a pump linking refinery units. The 580,000 b/d Onsan plant's 250,000 b/d No.3 CDU was impacted, sources close to the refiner said.
No casualties have been reported thus far.
London, 24 April (Argus) — Diesel is well-supplied at Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub, buoyed by strong refinery output, draws on stocks and unusual barge imports from Germany, but expectations of a tight summer are building. Refineries at ARA have run hard in recent weeks, aiming to capture strong middle distillate margins, according to market participants. Diesel refining margins have fallen from a record high of $79.22/bl on 20 March but remain elevated, settling on Thursday, 23 April, at $53.93/bl, 80pc higher than before the US-Israel-Iran war began. Suppliers have started to lean into inventories, reluctant to pay high prices. Independently-held stocks of diesel and other gasoil at the hub have fallen by 11pc in the past two weeks to an eight-month low, according to Insights Global. Wider stocks have also been drawn down, market participants said. Unusually, German traders have also shipped diesel along the Rhine river to ARA in recent weeks, in a rare reversal of the usual flow. Low German prices make that trade workable, with domestic demand very weak and oversupply in the country's southwest and west. German consumers have relied on inventories more, driving consumer heating oil tank levels to a more-than-six year lows and diesel tanks to a 21-week low. Reverse Rhine flows have started to wind down now, regional market participants said. Those three boosts to supply have brought down barge prices at ARA. Argus assessed diesel barges loading on a fob ARA basis at a $9/t premium to the front-month Ice May gasoil futures on Thursday, down from a premium of $78/t a week earlier. Barge traders have been active, market participants said. A trader said TotalEnergies has supplied large amounts from its 338,000 b/d Antwerp refinery into the barge market, and Insights Global said physical delivery of the April gasoil futures might have driven activity. But demand for cargoes has weakened, driven by uncertainty and high prices. Buyers are taking a "waiting" mindset, in a hope that prices will fall instead, most traders said. Volatility since the start of the war has limited physical liquidity, muting traders' appetite for risk, a trader said. The front-month Ice gasoil futures have moved by more than 10pc on four days this month. This volatility has caused paper and physical traders to reach internal risk management limits on their positions , further reducing liquidity. Traders described a "binary market" that is difficult to trade, with a lot depending on signals about a resumption of movement through the strait of Hormuz. The final cargo of Mideast Gulf diesel arrived in Europe last week. Europe now has to do without the 20pc of its overall imports that came from the Mideast Gulf, and traders increasingly expect a tight summer. Replacing this means facing competition for other regions. Arrivals of diesel and other gasoil into the EU and UK have fallen by 38pc on the month to around 695,000 b/d in April to date, which would be the comfortably be the lowest since on Vortexa and Kpler records began in 2016. Europe can continue to pull on stocks, helped by emergency releases in Europe that favour products over crude. , but this cannot be done indefinitely. Government intervention in diesel markets may place further strain on supply and raise prices through staving off demand destruction . European governments have tried to curb price rises, with fuel duty cuts the most common measure. By Josh Michalowski Diesel barge fob ARA, premium to front-month Ice gasoil futures $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tokyo, 24 April (Argus) — Japan plans to start the second round of its national oil reserves release from 1 May, with the total amount at around 5.8mn kilolitres, or 36mn bl, Japan's trade and industry ministry Meti said today. Meti already announced its plan to start the additional drawdowns from the national crude oil reserves earlier in April, but it had not fixed the exact amount and starting date. The ministry will start the additional release on 1 May, from the Shibushi National Petroleum Stockpiling Base in southern Japan. The release of oil reserves from nine other bases will follow. Domestic refiners Eneos, Idemitsu, Cosmo Oil and Taiyo Oil will receive the released crude oil. Total sales prices will amount to around ¥540bn ($3.4bn), set in reference to the February official selling prices for each grade as well as the rate of change in the monthly average Brent crude price between February and March. Japan has 214 days' worth of oil reserves as of 21 April, according to preliminary data from Meti. This includes 131 days of national reserves, 81 days of private-sector reserves and 3 days of joint stockpiles with oil-producing countries. The total amount is lower by 29 days compared with the stockpiled amount at the end of February. Tokyo started drawing down oil reserves on 16 March first by lowering the stockpile mandate for the private sector by 15 days' worth to allow refiners to use their reserves, and it began releasing national reserves on 26 March . Japanese refiners have been working to secure crude oil from alternative sources and via routes other than the strait of Hormuz, and are looking to the US. A tanker with around 910,000 bl of WTI crude will arrive at Keiyo Sea Berth offshore Chiba prefecture in eastern Japan on 26 April. Cosmo Oil will receive it at its 214,000 b/d Chiba refinery, according to the company. This is Japan's first receipt of US crude procured and loaded after the beginning of the US-Iran war, Meti said. Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi has declared that Japan has sufficient oil supplies that can last beyond the end of this year, taking into account its oil reserves and alternative procurement including from the US. By Kohei Yamamoto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Singapore, 24 April (Argus) — The maritime sector's push towards net-zero emissions suffered a "small setback" at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting last October, but the industry needs a "pragmatic" approach given the current geopolitical climate, IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said at the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) conference this week. The focus on decarbonisation "is not diminished", said Dominguez, adding that research and investment into decarbonising the sector is still ongoing. Freedom of navigation and the safety of crew remains top of mind for the maritime industry, and the IMO has proposed an evacuation framework for affected vessels in the Mideast Gulf. The sector is keeping close watch on the 84th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) that will be held in London next week, and key shipping groups have expressed support for the IMO's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction ambitions ahead of the session. The US-Iran war foregrounds the energy trilemma between energy security, affordability, and sustainability, said SMW panellists, noting the maritime sector needs to balance all three components for a resilient transition to greener fuels, particularly as the shipping sector is "pulled in many directions" given short-term supply shocks and regional regulations. Recent supply shocks have shown countries need to diversify their economy and source for alternative fuel options, said Dominguez. But panellists emphasised that cost barriers have slowed the shift to greener fuels, since affordability requires scale and investment. One of the things that would drive the scale-up and investment in greener fuels is the certainty of regulations, said Stefan Nysjo, head of power supply at Finnish engine manufacturer Wartsila Marine Power. Supportive policies are "important when you're entering a market where there is no market", said ExxonMobil Asia Pacific chairman and managing director Geraldine Chin. A carbon accounting system underpinned by transparency is the way forward, said Chin, stressing that carbon intensity systems must be implemented on a total life cycle basis, and gradually such that it doesn't shock the market. Decarbonisation solutions "must be economic" and the market must depend on new technologies that would support the uptake of alternative fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol, she said. But several panellists noted that businesses are not waiting for regulations to be fixed before deciding what to do in terms of decarbonisation. We have to look at "what are the options today… and not in 20 years", said Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) head of maritime policy and government affairs Marie-Caroline Laurent. MSC had chosen the LNG pathway with the hope of progressing to bio-methane and e-methane in the future, although they are not closed to other fuel options. "The choice was a very practical one," said Laurent. Maersk has committed to low-carbon fuel options, with methanol being one of them, said its management and technology Leonardo Sonzio. The Danish container liner has net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2040, with intermediate targets by 2030. Smaller shipping firms may not have the luxury of choosing several fuel pathways, said shipping firm CMB.Tech's chief executive Alexander Saverys. Decarbonisation can only pick up when the cost of alternative fuels becomes "cheap compared to diesel", said Saverys, adding that CMB.Tech had chosen the ammonia pathway given its usage in other industrial sectors. Economist Martin Stopford said a lot of the "low hanging fruits" have been picked in the past 50 years, driven by demand for energy from crude, and the "move to a new era" of cleaner fuels would require higher costs, deeper knowledge and further efforts in development. By Cassia Teo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Sydney, 24 April (Argus) — The government of Western Australia (WA) will buy an additional 8mn litres (50,314 bl) of gasoil for its strategic fuel reserve, it said on 23 April, increasing the state-owned stockpile to 12mn litres (75,471 bl). The additional 8mn litres was offered by miner Rio Tinto and will be purchased from its supplier Viva Energy. The volumes are incremental to WA's normal fuel imports and will be stored in Esperance and Kwinana. The extra supply will allow it to redirect fuel to priority users, including the agricultural sector in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, if required, the government said. WA announced plans to create its own strategic reserve of gasoil , separate from the national stockpile, earlier this month. An initial 4mn litres of gasoil for the strategic reserve was bought from independent supplier Cambridge Gulf and is stored at Wyndham in the Kimberley region, where it is expected to support power generation in remote communities. By Tom Woodlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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