Exxon files complaint against Louisiana oil pipeline

: Crude oil, Oil products
25/10/27

ExxonMobil has filed a tariff complaint with US regulators against the Locap crude pipeline in Louisiana which it alleges delivered zinc-contaminated crude in June and July.

In its complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), ExxonMobil alleges that operators of the Locap pipeline, which moves crude, including Mars, from the Clovelly storage hub in Louisiana to onshore systems and refineries, were slow to respond to complaints about the crude quality issues.

ExxonMobil warned suppliers in July of "serious quality issues" related to elevated levels of zinc in Mars crude, according to market sources. In letters to suppliers ExxonMobil said the crude quality issues were "... significantly affecting the operations" at its 522,500 b/d Baton Rouge refinery and that it would stop accepting Mars crude "... in an effort to avoid further damages."

In the FERC filing ExxonMobil said Locap should have refused to accept tenders of crude that failed to comply with "merchantability requirements" outlined in its tariff, and alleged that "Locap did nothing for weeks to either exclude the contaminated product from entry into the pipeline system or determine where the problem originated."

ExxonMobil said it suffered economic harm because it was required to obtain crude from different sources — including from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve — and may suffer additional commercial harm if its trading partners attempt to recoup losses and damages related to crude sales contaminated with zinc.

Locap, owned by Shell pipeline and MPLX, is part of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port system which connects to the Mars crude pipeline system. Shell declined comment on the FERC complaint, while MPLX did not immediately return a request for comment.

Chevron said on 11 July that it identified a potential source of the Mars crude contamination which it associated with the start-up of a new well from one of its deepwater Gulf operations. The issue involving the zinc levels was resolved later in July.

In the complaint ExxonMobil said it wants FERC to direct Locap to follow its tariff and ensure connecting carriers ship only on-spec crude.

By Eunice Bridges

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26/04/15

Iran widens shipping threat beyond Hormuz

Dubai, 15 April (Argus) — Iran has warned it could disrupt shipping across key regional waterways, including the Red Sea, in response to US restrictions on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports. It marks a broadening of Tehran's maritime threat beyond the strait of Hormuz, where vessel traffic has already slowed sharply since the conflict between the US and Iran started in late February. Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Headquarters — the country's highest operational military command — said continued US actions targeting Iranian ports and tankers would "constitute a prelude to a violation of the ceasefire" between Washington and Tehran. He warned Iran would respond by preventing "any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea" if the US blockade persists. The US began a naval blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports on Monday. The US military said no vessels breached the restrictions in the first 24 hours. It said several ships had been instructed to turn around and return to Iranian ports. Vessels calling at or leaving non-Iranian ports are not subject to the measures. At least seven ships transited the strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours with AIS signals active, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and MarineTraffic. Despite the escalation in rhetoric, both sides have signalled scope for renewed diplomacy. US president Donald Trump told ABC News that the conflict could end "very soon". Vice-president JD Vance, who led the US delegation in recent talks, said he remained positive about the trajectory of negotiations following discussions in Islamabad that ended without a breakthrough. The statements have raised expectations that US and Iranian officials could return to Pakistan, or another venue, for further talks. Washington has continued to portray regional instability as driven by Tehran and its allies. Speaking at the UN on 14 April, US representative Jennifer Locetta said Iran continues to enable destabilising activity across the region, including support for Yemen's Houthi movement. The US has accused the Houthis of launching repeated missile and drone attacks on shipping in and around the Red Sea and has called for tighter compliance with UN inspection mechanisms for vessels bound for Houthi-controlled ports. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Iran war drives up African bitumen truck prices

26/04/15

Iran war drives up African bitumen truck prices

London, 15 April (Argus) — Bitumen truck supply prices are rising sharply in key sub-Saharan Africa markets as increased in cargo and container shipped values feed through. The biggest effects have been in east and central African markets like Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the construction sectors rely on Mideast Gulf supply, mainly from Iran, of bitumen in drums, bags and bitutainers for the bulk of their road paving requirements. Prices in Nigeria and into landlocked west African markets, and in southern Africa, have also been rising steadily, or in some cases sharply, with more gains likely in the next few weeks. But sub-Saharan African suppliers say there has been little evidence so far of demand destruction, as construction companies broadly maintain their buying patterns to get project work done. A supplier of bulk and drummed bitumen into east and central Africa said ex-Mombasa, Kenya, truck prices had jumped to 150-170 Kenyan shillings/kg ($1,159-1,313/t), around 40pc up from KSh95-100/kg just prior to the 28 February start of Mideast hostilities. Ex-works Nairobi values are now KSh165-175/kg, while massive gains in diesel import prices are adding to the rising cost of delivering trucked bitumen into inland east and central African locations. The price gains have followed a rise in fob Iran bulk and drummed export values, and massive container shipping freight rate increases since war risk surcharges were imposed by leading international container shipping lines early in March. Argus assessed drummed bitumen freight rates from Bandar Abbas/Jebel Ali to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and Djibouti at $230/t last week, compared with $90-100/t, $95-110/t and $110-120/t respectively in the last week of February. Nigerian, South African receivers hit In Nigeria, which is supplied with bulk tanker cargoes usually loaded at Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and in the Mediterranean region, truck price increases have been more modest. Some suppliers are still working through stocks at Nigerian terminals of imported cargoes loaded before the US-Israel-Iran war began. Most Nigerian prices have reached 1.35mn naira/t ($998/t) ex-works, with some indications now inching up to N1.35mn-1.4mn/t. Some local sales were being made until last week at N1.25mn/t. Domestic truck prices in February were around N1.2mn/t ex-works. Market participants expect values to rise substantially in the next few weeks, once suppliers switch to selling imported bitumen loaded after the war began. Other west African buyers have already been hit by much bigger increases. A constructor in a landlocked west African market reported a 40pc rise in April supply price versus March for bitutainer flows from Lome, Togo. Those reached $755-760/t ex-Lome terminal for pen 35/50 bitumen, plus a $150/t truck transport cost, to yield a $900-910/t delivered price range. Domestic truck prices in South Africa, with the same values applied for onward truck exports to its southern African neighbours, were assessed 1,000 rand/t higher last week at R12,500-13,000/t ($749-779/t) ex-works, compared with R10,200-10,700/t ($639-670/t) in the last week of February. Some supply prices have gone up far more dramatically this month, to around R14,500/t ($885/t) ex-works, a South African supplier said today. The sharp gains are partly linked to a halt of competitively priced bitumen tanker cargoes loaded at Mideast Gulf ports, leaving South Africa almost exclusively now dependent on Mediterranean region — mainly Turkish and Greek — cargoes that head around west Africa to deliver to Durban and Cape Town. Argus assessed Greek fob cargo prices at $605-610/t last week, up from $386/t in the week ending 27 February. With indicative freight rates added, these cargoes would land in May at around $810/t CFR Durban before port handling, trans-shipment and terminal storage costs are added. The effect on the South African road construction sector is likely to be mitigated by the upcoming southern hemisphere winter activity slowdown from May to August, which typically cuts bitumen requirements by around a half. By Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Hohe Prämien für Rohöl drücken Raffineriemargen

26/04/15

Hohe Prämien für Rohöl drücken Raffineriemargen

Hamburg, 15 April (Argus) — Seit Beginn der Blockade der Straße von Hormus durch den Iran fehlen große Mengen Rohöl auf dem Weltmarkt. Durch zunehmende Konkurrenz um die verbleibenden Volumen steigen seit Anfang April auch in Europa die Prämien für physisches Rohöl, was die Raffineriemargen unter Druck setzt. Inzwischen erwägen verschiedene Raffineure, ihren Durchsatz vorübergehend zu senken. Laut der Internationalen Energie Agentur (IEA) ist das globale Angebot von Rohöl und Ölprodukten durch den Krieg in Nahost und die daraus resultierende Störung der weltweiten Produktströme um etwa 10,1 Mio. bl/Tag eingebrochen. Europas Abhängigkeit von Importen aus dem Nahen Osten beschränkt sich zum großen Teil auf raffinierte Produkte wie Diesel und vor allem Kerosin. Entsprechend profitierten europäische Raffineriebetreiber im März noch von der besonderen Situation, dass sie vergleichsweise günstig eingekauftes Rohöl zu Produkten wie Diesel oder Kerosin umwandeln konnten, deren Verkaufswert bereits deutlich angestiegen war. BP und Shell haben beispielsweise angekündigt, dass sie angesichts der vorübergehend hohen Raffineriemargen für das erste Quartal 2026 insbesondere im Ölhandel mit außergewöhnlich guten Ergebnissen rechnen. Seit Ende März müssen europäische Käufer aber zunehmend mit asiatischen Käufern um Rohölsorten aus dem Atlantikbecken konkurrieren. Inzwischen steigen deshalb in Europa die Prämien für die Lieferung von physischem Rohöl gegenüber Rohöl-Futureskontrakten deutlich an (siehe Grafik). Dies verteuert den Rohöleinkauf für hiesige Raffineriebetreiber und drückt entsprechend auf die Raffineriemargen. Vergleicht man beispielsweise Preise für Diesel- und Benzincargos mit dem Rohöl-Benchmark North Sea Dated, sind die rechnerischen prompten Raffineriemargen zuletzt deutlich rückläufig und fielen für Benzin sogar in den negativen Bereich (siehe Grafik). Gleichzeitig sind auch globale Gaspreise durch den Konflikt in Nahost deutlich angestiegen, was zeitgleich zu den schwachen Margen auch die Betriebskosten von Raffinerien erhöht.Entsprechend erwägen erste Raffineure in Europa eine Verringerung des Rohöldurchsatzes; vor allem im Mittelmeerraum, wo der Markt noch stärker von Importen aus Nahost abhängig ist, als in Nordwesteuropa. Sollte sich der Trend steigender Prämien für physisches Rohöl fortsetzen und gleichzeitig die Nachfrage weiter einbrechen , könnte es zu weiteren Kürzungen beim Rohöldurchsatz in Europa kommen. Was nun in Europa passiert, zeichnete sich unmittelbar nach Beginn des Iran-Kriegs bereits in Asien ab: Asiatische Länder importieren traditionell große Mengen Rohöl aus der Golf-Region: Vier Fünftel der Rohölvolumen, die durch die Straße von Hormus transportiert werden, fließen in Richtung Asien. Entsprechend groß und unmittelbar war dort der Effekt auf die Raffinerielandschaft. Prämien für physisches Rohöl stiegen durch die Verknappung des Angebots deutlich an und belasteten so die Raffineriemargen. Asiatische Raffineure verringerten in Reaktion darauf bereits im März ihre Durchsätze und suchten gleichzeitig nach zusätzlichen Rohölvolumen auf dem Weltmarkt, um den Einbruch der Exporte aus der Krisenregion zu kompensieren. Hierbei waren insbesondere Rohölsorten aus dem Atlantikbecken Ende März preislich sehr attraktiv im Vergleich zu Nahost-Benchmarks. Weltweit wird der Rohöldurchsatz durch schwache Margen laut der IEA im April auf 77,2 Mio. bl/Tag fallen, nach 79,6 Mio. bl/Tag im März und 83 Mio. bl/Tag vor dem Krieg im Nahen Osten. Von Johannes Guhlke North Sea Dated physisch versus Rohöl-Benchmark North Sea Dated Senden Sie Kommentare und fordern Sie weitere Informationen an feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Australia to import 1.6mn bl gasoline from Europe

26/04/15

Australia to import 1.6mn bl gasoline from Europe

Sydney, 15 April (Argus) — Australia is set to import around 1.6mn bl of gasoline from Europe as the former scrambles to secure its fuel supply for the coming months, data from trade analytics platform Vortexa and Kpler show. Non-oxy gasoline prices in Singapore flipped to a premium to European non-oxy gasoline on 2 March before reaching a premium of over $34/bl on 23 March (see graph) , opening arbitrage opportunities from Europe to Australia. The 74,356dwt Pacific Debbie and 109,990dwt Hafnia Thalassa loaded 428,400 bl and 870,300 bl of gasoline, respectively, from storage in Amsterdam and are now en route to Botany Bay, Sydney, via the Cape of Good Hope for May deliveries, vessel tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler show. The 49,999dwt TP Endeavour is signalling that it will arrive at Kwinana, Western Australia in early May with a 300,000 bl cargo of gasoline loaded at Valero's 210,000 b/d Pembroke refinery in Wales in the UK, Vortexa data show. The movements come on the back of prolonged feedstock disruptions due to the US-Iran war that have tightened transportation fuel supplies across Asia-Pacific. The new gasoline trade flow is in addition to the flow of diesel from Europe to Australia . Australia has relied heavily on importing gasoil and gasoline from the US in order to replace cargoes that its traditional suppliers in Asia cancelled or deferred because of the conflict in the Middle East. The country has imported gasoline from Europe in the past, primarily on Long Range 2 tankers, but these cargo movements are infrequent and reliant on arbitrages opportunities being open to traders. Australia previously imported 2.41mn bl of gasoline from Europe in 2024, Vortexa data show, and received small volumes from Europe in 2025. The country had 38 days' worth of gasoline consumption and only 31 days of gasoil and 28 days of jet fuel on 7 April, Australian government data released on 13 April show. By Tom Woodlock Europe vs Asia non-oxy ($/bl) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Argentina inflation eases to 32.6pc in March

26/04/14

Argentina inflation eases to 32.6pc in March

Buenos Aires, 14 April (Argus) — Argentina's inflation continues stubbornly high, posting an annual rate of 32.6pc in March, although president Javier Milei's government maintains it will soon turn a corner. The consumer price index (CPI) was down from the 33.1pc recorded the previous month, according to the statistics institute, Indec, but still running well above the government forecast of 10.1pc for the year. It hit a cyclical low of 31.3pc in October 2025, falling from a high of an annual 292pc in April 2024 following a sharp devaluation of the peso currency in December 2023 that went hand in hand with shock fiscal reforms. Economy and finance minister Luis Caputo said Tuesday that inflation had peaked in March and would start declining quickly. He told a business summit hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Buenos Aires that the coming 18 months would be the best in Argentina's modern history. Annualized inflation was impacted by a 45.5pc increase in housing/utilities, 41pc in the hotels/restaurant category, 38.9pc in education, 36.6pc in communication and 36.2pc in transportation costs. Consumer prices rose by 3.4pc in March from the prior month, the highest for a single month since one year ago, when it was 3.7pc. Education was up 12.1pc for the month, while transportation was up by 4.1pc, housing/utilities by 3.7pc and recreation/culture up by 3.6pc. Inflation has been creeping up since falling to a monthly low of 1.5pc in May 2025. -By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Exxon files complaint against Louisiana oil pipeline

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