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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.
Refiners warn EPA against late fuel waivers: Update
Refiners warn EPA against late fuel waivers: Update
Updates with comments from EPA New York, 26 February (Argus) — A group of US oil refiners that warned against a costly shift to a boutique fuel blend in the midcontinent want President Donald Trump's administration to let the states transition as planned this summer to avoid market turmoil. The Midwestern bloc was supposed to move last year to the lower-volatility summertime fuel, which would allow retailers to keep selling both typical 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10) and blends with up to 15pc ethanol (E15). But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) punted the shift just days before summer driving season, frustrating fuel makers and distributors that had already invested millions to move to the boutique blend. "Fuel suppliers should not be put in the same situation again this year", the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) told EPA on Wednesday, according to a letter shared with Argus . The risk of changing rules remains. While seven states are still set to transition, Ohio backed out last month. Midwestern governors that previously saw the fuel shift as a way to help out corn farmers and pressure oil refiners to lobby for simpler federal E15 rules are now staring down the possibility of higher pump prices in an election year. Any other states that want to cancel the fuel change should have to make a request to do so immediately, according to the refiner group, and at the very least before pipelines start requiring the special blend by 1 April. EPA has not given states any deadline to request changes to their summer fuel market rules. EPA justified emergency waivers last summer aborting the midcontinent fuel change and allowing E15 gasoline across the country by warning of "extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances caused by global conflicts". But AFPM warned EPA that such a move this year would be on shakier legal footing, pointing to data showing ample gasoline stocks across the US. The refiners' advocacy comes as a council of Republicans in the US House of Representatives has missed multiple deadlines for reaching agreement on biofuel policy reforms. Earlier drafts circulated by the task force floated allowing year-round E15 sales nationwide and stopping the Midwestern states' transition. The Clean Air Act exempts E10 from summertime smog rules that would otherwise prevent its sale but does not extend the same treatment to E15, despite a similar volatility profile. The midcontinent states as a workaround won EPA approval to opt out of the special treatment for E10, effectively putting E10 and E15 on equal footing by requiring lower-volatility blendstocks for both. The consequence is more complicated logistics for refiners, which may have to cut production of butane, which raises volatility, or invest in infrastructure to store and transport excess supplies. The states approved to move to the lower-volatility gasoline this summer are Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Kansas has signaled it could join them in the future, although EPA said it was already too late for any new states to join the Midwestern bloc this summer. "The Trump EPA will continue to work with states to reduce unnecessary costs and uncertainty and ensure that gas prices — which are down thanks to President Trump — remain affordable for all Americans through the summer", EPA said. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US refiners warn EPA against late fuel waivers
US refiners warn EPA against late fuel waivers
New York, 26 February (Argus) — A group of US oil refiners that warned against a costly shift to a boutique fuel blend in the midcontinent want President Donald Trump's administration to let the states transition as planned this summer to avoid market turmoil. The Midwestern bloc was supposed to move last year to the lower-volatility summertime fuel, which would allow retailers to keep selling both typical 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10) and blends with up to 15pc ethanol (E15). But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) punted the shift just days before summer driving season, frustrating fuel makers and distributors that had already invested millions to move to the boutique blend. "Fuel suppliers should not be put in the same situation again this year", the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) told EPA on Wednesday, according to a letter shared with Argus . The risk of changing rules remains. While seven states are still set to transition, Ohio backed out last month. Midwestern governors that previously saw the fuel shift as a way to help out corn farmers and pressure oil refiners to lobby for simpler federal E15 rules are now staring down the possibility of higher pump prices in an election year. Any other states that want to cancel the fuel change should have to make a request to do so immediately, according to the refiner group, and at the very least before pipelines start requiring the special blend by 1 April. EPA justified emergency waivers last summer aborting the midcontinent fuel change and allowing E15 gasoline across the country by warning of "extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances caused by global conflicts". But AFPM warned EPA that such a move this year would be on shakier legal footing, pointing to data showing ample gasoline stocks across the US. The refiners' advocacy comes as a council of Republicans in the US House of Representatives has missed multiple deadlines for reaching agreement on biofuel policy reforms. Earlier drafts circulated by the task force floated allowing year-round E15 sales nationwide and stopping the Midwestern states' transition. The Clean Air Act exempts E10 from summertime smog rules that would otherwise prevent its sale but does not extend the same treatment to E15, despite a similar volatility profile. The midcontinent states as a workaround won EPA approval to opt out of the special treatment for E10, effectively putting E10 and E15 on equal footing by requiring lower-volatility blendstocks for both. The consequence is more complicated logistics for refiners, which may have to cut production of butane, which raises volatility, or invest in infrastructure to store and transport excess supplies. The states approved to move to the lower-volatility gasoline this summer are Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Kansas has signaled it could join them in the future. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Qantas posts higher Jul-Dec jet fuel costs
Australia’s Qantas posts higher Jul-Dec jet fuel costs
Sydney, 26 February (Argus) — Australian carrier Qantas reported today that its July-December 2025 fuel costs were 3pc up on the year in its half-year results, but growth was less than capacity additions for the period. Qantas' fuel expense for July-December 2025 was A$2.61bn ($1.86bn), slightly above its A$2.6bn guidance and up from A$2.54bn a year earlier . But jet fuel prices were more favourable, leading to a net benefit for the airline, the firm said in its half-year report released on 26 February. The figure was 2pc below the A$2.67bn reported in July-December 2023. The company expects its jet fuel expenditure to total about $A5.11bn for the year ending 30 June 2026, up from A$5bn in 2024-25 , based on consumption of about 89,500 b/d and a price of A$125/bl. The forecast excludes hedging, into-plane costs, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) premiums and carbon credit costs. Qantas' jet fuel consumption for July-December was about 88,000 b/d, up from 85,000 b/d a year earlier. SAF purchases were 20mn litres, with Qantas expecting to meet a 1pc SAF target in 2025-26. Most of Qantas' SAF refuelling has been at Los Angeles airport in the US, where SAF prices are typically the lowest. (See graph) Qantas is also involved in the SAF-focused fund Saffa, which last month pledged to invest in Dubai-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) developer SAF One's planned Middle East plant, with first output expected in late 2028. The company's July-December profit after tax was A$925mn, up from A$923mn in the prior corresponding period, while revenue rose to A$12.9bn from A$12.1bn a year earlier. Earnings were supported by growth in the carrier's more efficient Airbus A321F fleet, which Qantas said has increased its payload capacity and reduced fuel use. Argus ' jet-kerosine Singapore assessment was $92.65/bl on 25 February, down from $100.55/bl on 19 November. By Tom Major and Tom Woodlock Global SAF prices H2 2025 $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.