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Australia’s Melbourne Airport sets Dec passenger record
Australia’s Melbourne Airport sets Dec passenger record
Sydney, 14 January (Argus) — Melbourne, Australia's second busiest airport, recorded its highest-ever monthly passenger numbers in December as air travel continues to drive growth in the nation's jet fuel sales. The airport in Victoria state reported 3.42mn passengers used the facility in December, with figures for October-December 2025 rising 5pc from a year earlier ( see table ). Melbourne's record month also saw its international terminal handle 5,596 services in December, accommodating a total 1.22mn passengers. New international services were launched by airlines including the US' Delta, Hong Kong Airlines and China's Shenzhen Airlines for the first time during December. Year-to-date numbers for Melbourne Airport's fiscal year ending 30 June 2026 were up by 4pc on the prior year for the first half, at 19.13mn passengers compared with 18.34mn in the corresponding period of 2024. Passenger traffic reached 36.15mn in Melbourne's 2024-25 fiscal year, up from 35.13mn in 2023-24, records show. Jet fuel sales in Victoria hit 51,000 b/d in October 2025 — the latest month for which Australian Petroleum Statistics data is available — up from 43,000 b/d a year earlier. Australia's year-to-date imports of jet fuel were 139,000 b/d in January-October 2025 , up from 127,000 b/d a year earlier. By Tom Major Melbourne Airport passenger numbers (mn) Oct-Dec '25 Jul-Sep '25 Oct-Dec '24 1H FY26 1H FY25 q-o-q % ± y-o-y % ± FY25 Vs FY26 Total 9.88 9.25 9.41 19.13 18.34 7 5 4 International 3.27 3 3.07 6.27 5.98 9 7 5 Domestic 6.6 6.25 6.34 12.86 12.36 6 4 4 Source: Melbourne Airport Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
House Republicans want Venezuelan crude for SPR
House Republicans want Venezuelan crude for SPR
Washington, 13 January (Argus) — A major Republican caucus in the US House of Representatives has unveiled plans for another massive filibuster-proof bill that, among many other measures, would provide up to $1.1bn to purchase "discounted" Venezuelan crude for delivery to the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The Republican Study Committee, which represents 190 of the 218 Republicans in the House, unveiled a framework on Tuesday for a budget reconciliation bill they say would produce $1 trillion in savings over the next decade. The Republican-controlled Congress used the same budget process last year to enact sweeping tax cuts and energy policy changes, and some Republicans want to use it again to pass policies that failed to make it into the first bill. "President Trump has supercharged our economy, and now it's our time in Congress to act to codify what he has done," Republican Study Committee chairman August Pfluger (R-Texas) said. The budget framework seeks hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to social programs, in addition to putting limits on what it calls costly regulations, imposing "royalty-style fees" on environment lawsuits, eliminating some permitting requirements, and codifying Trump's deregulatory actions. The framework also seeks $1.1bn to partially refill the SPR "in whole or in part with discounted Venezuelan oil made available by Operation Absolute Resolve", Trump's surprise military raid in the South American country on 3 January. Even at a discounted price of $50/bl, $1.1bn in funding would only buy 22mn bl of crude for the SPR, which now has 300mn bl of spare storage. US energy secretary Chris Wright has suggested that expanded Venezuelan oil production could help refill the SPR primarily by reducing global oil prices. "That makes it easier to fill our Strategic Petroleum Reserve back up, which the president is committed to do and we'll get done," Wright said in an interview on Fox News on 11 January. US oil industry officials say the type of crude being produced in Venezuela might not necessarily be a good fit for long-term storage in the SPR, which injects and withdraws crude from massive underground salt caverns. Oil industry officials say the extra-heavy sour crude that Venezuela produces could be held in storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, rather than the SPR, or refined. "The grade of Venezuelan crude does have a higher sulfur content than the current SPR can take," American Petroleum Institute president Mike Sommers said. "There are some logistical issues about the SPR that make it difficult for it to just take in Venezuelan crude." House Republicans hold a razor-thin majority that could make it hard to enact a second reconciliation bill, particularly with moderate Republicans facing a tough political environment ahead of the midterm elections in November. Trump administration officials say there are other ways to refill the SPR. Wright said on 8 January he was looking at "creative" ways to refill the SPR without additional congressional appropriations. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Italy's Ludoil in talks to buy Priolo refinery
Italy's Ludoil in talks to buy Priolo refinery
Milan, 13 January (Argus) — Italian oil storage and distribution company Ludoil is in exclusive talks to buy the country's biggest oil refinery, the 320,000 b/d Priolo, in a deal that would lead to the plant's gradual decarbonisation. Ludoil said it is "involved in a process of due diligence with a view to the possible acquisition" of the refinery, on the island of Sicily, from Cyprus-based private equity firm GOI Energy. Should the acquisition go through, Ludoil will gradually rejig production to offer low carbon products including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and bioethanol, it said. GOI has only owned the Priolo plant since early 2023, when it bought the refinery from Russia's Lukoil in a deal involving, via supply and offtake agreements, trading firm Trafigura. GOI beat out a rival bid from Vitol and Crossbridge, sources at the time said. The deal was signed off by the Italian government under special powers on the back of commitments by GOI to maintain employment levels, diversify crude sources and invest in green hydrogen infrastructure . But a source familiar with the matter said GOI had become unhappy with the terms of the crude supply arrangement with Trafigura and was looking for a way out. The source said the refinery needed heavy investment to remain competitive. The Priolo complex combines refining, gasification and electricity cogeneration plants. It is considered a strategic asset by Rome, as it accounts for nearly 20pc of Italy's refining capacity. In its statement, Ludoil also said it has contract for the loading and sale of oil products from the Priolo refinery, which began on Monday, 12 January. Milan-based Ludoil operates a range of oil product distribution services designated by Rome as strategic national assets. It runs nine oil storage sites and 156 retail stations in Italy, and supplies Rome's Fiumicino airport with most of its jet fuel. By Stephen Jewkes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Naphtha flows to Venezuela via traders resume
Naphtha flows to Venezuela via traders resume
Houston, 12 January (Argus) — Trading company Vitol is set to export nearly 500,000 bls of naphtha to Venezuela under a new agreement with the US government, according to market sources. Details of the new supply agreement were not detailed or confirmed by Vitol or fellow-trader Trafigura, which was also involved in the transaction. Both companies are expected to begin working with the US government to market Venezuelan crude, with Trafigura saying last week during a televised meeting at the White House it expected its first Venezuelan crude to load this week . The 460,000 bl of naphtha were reported loaded on the Hellespont Protector on 11 January out of Pasadena, Texas, according to shipping data tracker Kpler. The cargo was headed to the Port of Jose in Venezuela. Venezuela requires heavy to full-range N+A naphtha as a diluent to transport its heavy crude production. A brief expiration of US sanctions against Venezuela in 2025 stemmed the US naphtha flow to Venezuela. The only company able to transact with Venezuela was oil major Chevron, which was awarded a special limited license in July 2025. Naphtha exports through Chevron resumed several months after the special license was created. Late last week, heavy virgin naphtha (HVN) prices at the US Gulf coast surged by more than 10¢/USG as suppliers anticipate fresh demand for exports to Venezuela. A steepened contango in the Nymex RBOB pricing basis for US N+A naphtha also discouraged prompt selling at lower outright values — a bullish indicator for N+A naphtha prices. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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