Bitumen / Asphalt
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Venezuela reviewing latest ad-hoc oil contracts
Venezuela reviewing latest ad-hoc oil contracts
Caracas, 27 February (Argus) — Venezuela's state-owned oil firm PdV is reviewing 26 joint ventures granted from 2024-2025 to align them with changes to the hydrocarbons law or cancel them after the US has demanded reforms for investors. Now president Rodriguez began implementing new types of joint ventures, including some known as productive participation agreements (CPPs), after she took on the role of oil minister in October 2024 as part of her vice presidency. The arrangements could be retrofitted to match provisions under the recently modified hydrocarbons law, one PdV source told Argus , but more likely they may be cancelled. The 26 oil contracts granted after the ouster and arrest of former oil minister Pedro Tellechea in October 2024 and before the US seized former Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro on 3 January are being reviewed, the PdV source said. Of those, 13 are CPPs. The PdV source said the US is pressuring Rodriguez to end those contracts since most of the other partners are non-US or little-known entities. "I think they will all be suspended," the source said. "What the Americans have told us is [any deals] need to be authorized by us." Rodriguez and Maduro granted the 26 deals in the two years but provided few public details. Even after Maduro was arrested on 3 January, Rodriguez still described the CPPs as a way forward to increase Venezuelan oil production. But once the law was modified the government and its partners were granted six months to adopt the contracts to the new law or cancel them. Sources say the arrangements were doomed to fail, since they were laboring from the beginning under the weight of US sanctions that are only now beginning to be lifted. "She granted two dozen contracts, but only five of those ... are in actual production", a former Venezuelan oil minister said. "Eliminating or retooling those contracts will have zero impact on production." Retooling those agreement or granting new ones may instead help to increase Venezuela's production from its plateau of about 1mn b/d in recent months. By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Ukrainian bitumen imports to remain steady in 2026
Ukrainian bitumen imports to remain steady in 2026
London, 24 February (Argus) — Ukrainian bitumen import volumes are set to hold steady or increase slightly this year, according to European bitumen suppliers to Ukraine. Major refinery suppliers in Poland and Lithuania of the heavy product used in road paving and general construction work expect little change in their exports to Ukraine — mostly by truck — this year after Ukraine's bitumen imports jumped by 111,700t on the year in 2025 to 190,000t . Last year, Ukraine imported its highest volumes since 2021, the year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that started the prolonged war. The latest monthly data show the country's bitumen imports edged up by 1,000t in January this year compared with the same month in 2025 to stand at 2,900t. This comes even though little road paving work is recorded during the winter months. Polish refiner and bitumen producer Orlen is looking to export around 100,000t of bitumen to Ukraine from its Polish and Lithuanian refineries this year, with potentially additional spot sales during the course of 2026. Market participants remain upbeat on Orlen's sales plan as its 373,000 b/d Plock refinery sold at least 95,000-100,000t into Ukraine in 2025, while the firm's Lithuanian arm Orlen Lietuva sold another 40,000t into Ukraine from its 190,000 b/d Mazeikiai refinery. The latter sold 1,300t into Ukraine in January 2026 and 7,600t in December 2025. But Orlen will shut the vacuum residue unit at its 374,000 b/d Plock refinery for planned maintenance work in the third quarter of this year, likely hitting bitumen production and supply. The Mazeikiai refinery is to undergo maintenance for around 30 days starting in March. Orlen Lietuva's overall bitumen sales from its Mazeikiai refinery totalled around 621,000t last year, up from 450,000t in 2024, according to sources familiar with the business. The 2024 dip in production was because of two lengthy periods of refinery maintenance. The firm expects total planned sales to be around 550,000t in 2026 with a possible increase based on Ukrainan demand, they added. Orlen Lietuva does not have term contracts with Ukraine and sales are based on a spot basis. The Plock refinery in Poland produced around 700,000t of bitumen in 2025, around the same level as in 2024. Unimot, Poland's independent supplier of oil products, including bitumen, is planning to export around 20,000-30,000t of bitumen to Ukraine from its Jaslo terminal this year, up from 10,000t in 2025, according to a regional market participant familiar with such flows. But in the current low season demand conditions, margins from such export sales remain low, discouraging exports. In March-December last year, Ukraine additionally imported 24,000t of trucked bitumen from the eastern Romanian bitumen terminal at Galati that sits along the Danube close to the Romanian Black Sea, according to figures compiled by Romanian market participants. Vitol's Romanian arm, Vitaro, which operates the bulk of tank storage capacity at the Unicom terminal in Galati, exported 19,000t of that total. A Russian drone strike on Ukraine's Odessa region in August last year caused damage to the country's Danube river port at Izmail that has since halted what had been occasional and small-scale bitumen cargo flows to Izmail from Galati along the Danube. The attack followed two consecutive part-cargo deliveries of bitumen over the previous month — each amounting to around 2,500-2,600t of the heavy oil product used in road paving — on board the 4,881dwt bitumen tanker My Worry after loadings at Motor Oil Hellas and Helleniq Energy export terminals in Greece. By Navneet Vyasan and Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US high court strikes down Trump's tariffs: Update
US high court strikes down Trump's tariffs: Update
Updates with details throughout Washington, 20 February (Argus) — The US Supreme Court has thrown out most of the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on nearly all US trading partners, finding his ability to unilaterally impose tariffs exceeded his powers under a decades-old law. The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling released on Friday will block Trump's ability to use tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to extract concessions from trading partners and punish countries that reject his demands. The Constitution "did not vest any part of the taxing power in the executive branch," chief justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, backed by two other conservative justices and all three liberal justices. Trump, speaking hours after the court announced its ruling, raged against the justices who overturned his tariffs. "I'm ashamed of certain members of the court for not having the courage to do what's right for our country," Trump said. "It's an embarrassment to the families" of justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, he said. Trump appointed both justices during his first term. The majority opinion noted that "the Framers gave 'Congress alone' the power to impose tariffs during peacetime." Trump "must 'point to clear congressional authorization' to justify his extraordinary assertion of that power," the majority opinion said, adding that "He cannot." Trump scoffed at the opinion. "The court said that I'm not allowed to charge even one dollar under IEEPA", he said and suggested that the six justices were "swayed by foreign interests". What is affected? The Supreme Court decision affects Trump's tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, where he cited an economic emergency created by the three countries' alleged inaction to stop the flow of fentanyl drugs into the US. The Supreme Court ruling also strikes down Trump's most extensive action — imposing tariffs of at least 10pc on nearly every US trading partner to address the "economic emergency" of persistent US trade deficits. The Supreme Court's decision also will affect the tariffs Trump imposed on imports from Brazil, US government lawyers informed the Court of International Trade last month. Trump cited Brazil's alleged suppression of freedom of speech as a reason to impose tariffs. The decision will not affect tariffs on US imports of steel, aluminum, cars and auto parts, which Trump imposed by citing well-tested legal trade authorities. Next steps Trump said he will sign an executive order later on Friday to impose a 10pc broad tariff on all US trading partners, in place of the struck down IEEPA tariffs. Trump said that action will invoke Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows imposing tariffs of up to 15pc to address a balance of payments issue. But that legal avenue comes with limitations. The administration can impose those tariffs only for a period of 150 days. Any extensions would require explicit authorization from Congress. The Republican-led US Congress has not challenged Trump's tariff authority to date, although lawmakers have increasingly voiced concerns about the effect of tariffs on prices. The House of Representatives and the Senate have voted on separate resolutions challenging the tariffs Trump has imposed on imports from Canada and Brazil, but they have not passed any tariff legislation. "Congress and the administration will determine the best path forward in the coming weeks" with respect to tariffs, House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said. But Trump likely would have trouble finding enough votes on Capitol Hill to support his tariffs. "The president must refrain from any further unilateral action on tariffs," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said. Trump said he does not plan to work with Congress on tariffs. "I have the right to do tariffs," he said. "We have a right to do pretty much what we want to do." The Trump administration will also quickly begin the legal process for replicating the IEEPA tariffs with "Section 202" and "Section 301" tariffs, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said, speaking alongside Trump. A "Section 232" authority allows the Commerce Department or US Trade Representative's office to determine whether imports of a product need to be curbed on national security grounds. A Section 301 investigation would target a specific country on the grounds that it is discriminating against US exports. In both cases, the process for imposing tariffs can take months. It also requires public consultation and allows carveouts for the affected US importers. The use of Section 232 and 301 authorities is "a little more complicated" than IEEPA, and "those will also be challenged", Trump's former trade representative Bob Lighthizer told participants at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston on 4 February. Trump's administration will have its work cut out for it in deciding how, and whether, to refund an estimated $175bn in tariffs collected using IEEPA tariffs. Trump in his remarks suggested that the refund process could take years. Hundreds of companies, including refiners Valero and Marathon Petroleum, have already filed lawsuits seeking to recover the tariffs. The effective US tariff rate was around 13pc as of late 2025, up from 2.6pc a year earlier, according to research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on 12 February. US companies and consumers paid about 90pc of the tariff burden, with only a fraction absorbed by foreign producers, the Fed researchers found. Foreign governments did not immediately react to the US court's tariff decision. "We take note of the ruling," the EU said. "We remain in close contact with the US administration as we seek clarity on the steps they intend to take in response to this ruling." By Haik Gugarats and Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Venezuela to export first asphalt since May
Venezuela to export first asphalt since May
Houston, 20 February (Argus) — The first asphalt export from Venezuela since the US revoked sanctions waivers in May 2025 began loading this week. The 36,681dwt vessel The Judge is currently docked at Amuay Bay, Venezuela, after ballasting off the coast for the past week, according to shiptracking data from Kpler. The ship was expected to deliver asphalt to multiple ports in the southeastern US in mid-to-late February, but a power outage at Venezuela's Paraguana refining center delayed loading, according to market participants. The 14,953dwt vessel The Chief was also seen ballasting at Amuay Bay. These movements come after the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) issued new general licenses on 29 January that lifted sanctions on Venezuela's oil exports and allowed purchases of refined products, including asphalt, by established US entities. In the five months before US president Donald Trump's administration ended waivers for Venezuelan asphalt in May 2025, the US imported 420,000 short tons. This was a 5.3pc increase from all of2017, the last year with significant Venezuelan exports. The majority of exports landed on the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts. By Sarah Tucker and Adriana Alfaro Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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