Gray Oak oil pipeline offers “on system” storage
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.
Related news posts
Singapore’s Jadestone cuts 2024 output guidance
Singapore’s Jadestone cuts 2024 output guidance
Sydney, 29 April (Argus) — Singapore-listed independent Jadestone Energy has cut its 2024 oil and gas production guidance, citing disappointing first-quarter group production. Jadestone said the impact of planned and unplanned downtime across its portfolio resulted in it narrowing its guidance from 20,000-23,000 bl of oil equivalent (boe/d) to 20,000-22,000 boe/d in its results for 2023 published on 29 April. Average production for January-March was 17,200 boe/d, which Jadestone said reflected the impact on its Australian assets, including the 6,000 b/d Montara oil field, of an active cyclone season at the start of 2024. The firm produced 14,000 b/d in 2023, up from 11,500 b/d in 2022. But problems at Montara and lower realised oil prices resulted in a loss of $91mn in 2023 following a $9mn profit recorded in 2023. Jadestone's realised oil price of $87.34/boe in 2023 was 16pc lower than $103.85/boe a year earlier. Proved and probable reserves at the end of 2023 totalled 68mn boe, a 5pc increase on a year's earlier 64.8mn boe, mainly because of the acquisition of a 9.52pc stake in Thailand's Sinphuhorm gas field and increases at the Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert and Hermes oil fields offshore Australia and the Akatara gas field in Indonesia's Sumatra. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
Houston, 26 April (Argus) — LyondellBasell plans to run its 264,000 b/d Houston, Texas, refinery at average utilization rates of 95pc in the second quarter and may convert its hydrotreaters to petrochemical production when the plant shuts down in early 2025. The company's sole crude refinery ran at an average 79pc utilization rate in the first quarter due to planned maintenance on a coking unit , the company said in earnings released today . "We are evaluating options for the potential reuse of the hydrotreaters at our Houston refinery to purify recycled and renewable cracker feedstocks," chief executive Peter Vanacker said on a conference call today discussing earnings. Lyondell said last year a conversion would feed the company's two 930,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr steam crackers at its Channelview petrochemicals complex. The company today said it plans to make a final investment decision on the conversion in 2025. Hydrotreater conversions — such as one Chevron completed last year at its 269,000 b/d El Segundo, California, refinery — allow the unit to produce renewable diesel, which creates renewable naphtha as a byproduct. Renewable naphtha can be used as a gasoline blending component, steam cracker feed or feed for hydrogen producing units, according to engineering firm Topsoe. Lyondell last year said the Houston refinery will continue to run until early 2025, delaying a previously announced plan to stop crude processing by the end of 2023. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US M&A deals dip after record 1Q: Enverus
US M&A deals dip after record 1Q: Enverus
New York, 26 April (Argus) — US oil and gas sector mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are likely to slow for the rest of the year following a record $51bn in deals in the first quarter, consultancy Enverus says. Following an unprecedented $192bn of upstream deals last year, the Permian shale basin continued to dominate first-quarter M&A as firms competed for the remaining high-quality inventory on offer. Acquisitions were led by Diamondback Energy's $26bn takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources. Other private operators, such as Mewbourne Oil and Fasken Oil & Ranch, would be highly sought after if they decided to put themselves up for sale, Enverus says. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Start-ups to help Total keep output stable in 2Q
Start-ups to help Total keep output stable in 2Q
London, 26 April (Argus) — TotalEnergies said it expects its oil and gas production to hold broadly steady in the second quarter as planned maintenance is partially offset by rising output from new projects in Brazil and Denmark. The company expects to average 2.4mn-2.45mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) in April-June, compared with 2.46mn boe/d in the previous three months and 2.47mn boe/d in the second quarter of 2023. Production is being supported by the restart of gas output from the redeveloped Tyra hub in Denmark late last month and the start of the 180,000 b/d second development phase of the Mero oil field on the Libra block in Brazil's Santos Basin at the beginning of the year. TotalEnergies first-quarter output was flat compared with the previous three months but 2pc lower than a year earlier as a result of Canadian oil sands divestments. The company reported a robust set of first-quarter results today, broadly in line with analysts' expectations. Profit for the first three months of 2024 was $5.7bn, compared to $5.6bn in the same period last year. Adjusted profit — which takes into account inventory valuation effects and special items — came in at $5.1bn, down by 22pc on the year but slightly ahead of the consensus of analysts' estimates of $5bn. Adjusted operating profit from the firm's Exploration & Production business was down by 4pc year-on-year at $2.55bn, driven in part by lower natural gas prices. The Canadian oil sands asset sales weighed on the segment's production but this was partly compensated by start-ups. As well as Mero 2, the Akpo West oil project in Nigeria started production during the first quarter. TotalEnergies' Integrated LNG segment saw a 41pc year-on-year decline in its adjusted operating profit to $1.22bn in January-March. The company said this reflects lower LNG prices and sales. But while its LNG sales for the quarter fell by 3pc in year-on-year terms, its LNG production was greater by 6pc. TotalEnergies achieved an average $78.9/bl for its liquids sales in the first quarter, an improvement on $73.4/bl a year earlier. But the average price achieved for its gas sales was 43pc lower on the year at $5.11/mn Btu. In the downstream, the company's Refining & Chemicals segment's first-quarter adjusted operating profit was $962mn in January-March, down by 41pc on the year but 52pc higher than the preceding quarter. TotalEnergies attributes the quarter-on-quarter rise to higher refining margins and a rise in refinery throughput . For the second quarter, it expects refinery utilisation rates to be above 85pc, compared with 79pc in the first quarter, boosted by the restart of 219,000 b/d Donges refinery in France. Total's Integrated Power segment continued to improve, registering a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year increased of 16pc and 65pc respectively in its adjusted operating profit to €611mn. Net power production increased 14pc year-on-year to 9.6 TWh, while the company's portfolio of installed power generation capacity grew 54pc to 19.5GW. Total's cash flow from operations, excluding working capital, was down by 15pc on a year earlier at $8.2bn in the first quarter. The company has decided to raise its dividend for 2024 by 7pc to €0.79/share and plans a $2bn programme of share buybacks for the second quarter. By Jon Mainwaring 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