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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.
Indonesian pres inaugurates Balikpapan refinery:Correct
Indonesian pres inaugurates Balikpapan refinery:Correct
Corrects headline to clarify this was an inauguration, not the unit's startup Singapore, 12 January (Argus) — Indonesia's president Prabowo has inaugurated the Balikpapan Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project, according to the country's energy ministry. The upgrade is planned to raise the refinery's capacity to 360,000 b/d from 260,000 b/d and added a new 90,000 b/d RFCC unit. Product quality will also improve from Euro 2 to Euro 5 standards. The refinery is expected to begin operations in the first-quarter, said sources familiar with the matter. Pertamina has invested 120 trillion rupiah ($7.4bn) in the project. The RFCC start-up coupled with the adoption of E10 blending is expected to cut Indonesia's gasoline import requirements, capping regional gasoline crack spreads, traders said. Indonesia is Asia-Pacific's largest gasoline importer, with typical demand at 10mn-11mn bl/month. At full capacity, the RFCC could cut imports by around 40,000 b/d, analysts said. Indonesia may also see a diesel surplus when it implements mandatory 50pc biodiesel (B50) blending and ramps up Balikpapan output, the country's energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia said in November. The start-up will also reduce exports of low-sulphur waxy residue, which will be used as RFCC feedstock. The refinery may instead export slurry or residual RFCC material, although this could be used for domestic bunkering if volumes are small, a source close to operations said. The inauguration was initially scheduled for 10 November but was delayed, traders said. By Aldric Chew Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US refiners could see quick boost from Venezuela oil
US refiners could see quick boost from Venezuela oil
Houston, 12 January (Argus) — US Gulf coast refiners that invested long ago in the capacity to run Venezuelan crude could see a quick boost from redirected Venezuelan cargoes in the aftermath of the capture of the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, by US forces. The US administration has signalled its intent to prioritise supply to US refiners by issuing a waiver to a global trading firm to resume purchases of Venezuelan crude, with the terms of the licence requiring that a specific volume must be sold to US buyers, sources told Argus. The US is in talks with leading trading firms and banks to immediately move 30mn-50mn bl of Venezuelan oil held in floating and onshore storage, US energy secretary Chris Wright said on 7 January. The US must first lift sanctions that since last year allow only Chevron to lift limited volumes of Venezuelan crude. But the sanctions waiver by the Treasury department's Office of Foreign Assets Control offers a workaround. Increasing production from Venezuela could take many years and considerable investment. But supplies that have been heading to China and other destinations could be directed toward the US and compete with Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude that is currently consumed in Gulf coast refineries, US refiner Phillips 66's chief executive, Mark Lashier, says. Phillips 66 owns and operates two large Gulf coast refineries that can process about 200,000 b/d of Venezuelan oil if the supply is available and the economics support it, chief financial officer Kevin Mitchell says. They are the 265,000 b/d Sweeny refinery in Old Ocean, Texas, and the 264,000 b/d refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Phillips 66 is running about 500,000 b/d of heavy crude across its system and is a "heavy buyer" of western Canadian crude, Mitchell says. Any increase in imports from Venezuela should benefit US refiners with Gulf coast assets such as Phillips 66, PBF Energy and Valero, analysts at US bank Tudor Pickering Holt say. Venezuelan crude could be a welcome alternative to Mexican Maya for some Gulf coast refiners. Venezuelan grades tend to price at a discount to Maya, as they have lower gravity and higher acid content, Tudor Pickering says. Many US Gulf coast refineries were built originally to run heavy Latin American crude. But the development of Canadian heavy oil sands led to higher imports from that country, while the advent of domestic shale oil pushed many US refiners to change slates, adding capacity for lighter crude. Phillips 66 completed a project last year at the Sweeny refinery that enables it to run up to 60,000 b/d of light crude from the Permian basin. The firm has purchased Venezuelan crude from Chevron "on occasion", Lashier says. Chevron operates in Venezuela with state-owned PdV under a special waiver from US sanctions and imported about 120,000 b/d of crude from Venezuela to the US in December. The future of Citgo Other possible US takers of increasing Venezuelan crude availability include the three PdV-owned Citgo refineries — the 460,000 b/d Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana, the 165,000 b/d Corpus Christi plant in Texas and the 188,000 b/d Lemont refinery in Illinois. All three refineries have a high coking capacity and can handle heavy crude slates. The refineries, in addition to Citgo's lubricant plants and its midstream and retail assets, are being auctioned to satisfy debts owed by PdV. A US federal judge in November affirmed as the winner a $5.9bn bid from Amber Energy , an affiliate of US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management. The sale is pending and subject to regulatory approvals including by the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Elliott declined to comment on the recent US actions in Venezuela and whether they could impact the sale. By Eunice Bridges WCS differentials USGC Venezuela crude imports USGC crude imports Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US naphtha market braces for disruption
US naphtha market braces for disruption
London, 12 January (Argus) — US naphtha and fuel oil markets moved in opposite directions against a backdrop of higher expected Venezuelan crude supplies to the US following its capture of the country's president, Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela's role in the products markets is concentrated in high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) export and naphtha import trade. US naphtha differentials firmed after energy secretary Chris Wright announced on 7 January that the US is negotiating with Caracas to "indefinitely" take over oil sales by state-owned PdV and supply the diluents and equipment needed to enable a boost in Venezuelan output. The US has a long history of selling naphtha as a diluent to Venezuela for use in transporting the heavy crude produced there, although sanctions and political tensions have undermined the trade. Heavy-virgin naphtha differentials gained 1.75¢/USG against the Nymex Rbob pricing basis on 7 January, with many sellers withholding offers in anticipation of renewed opportunities to export to Venezuela should there be any changes to the current sanctions regime. US naphtha exports to Venezuela have lagged its exports to other South American countries such as Brazil and Colombia, as well as to Asia-Pacific, as sanctions have curtailed the trade. But a six-month sanctions waiver from October 2023-April 2024 and a special licence issued to Chevron as a joint-venture partner with PdV have helped reinvigorate some naphtha trading activity. US Gulf coast naphtha exports to Venezuela fell to just over 40,000 b/d last year from above 55,000 b/d a year earlier, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. But shipments waned in the second half of last year, as the US flip-flopped over whether to renew Chevron's special licence. No visible US naphtha exports have gone to Venezuela this year. Venezuela has turned elsewhere in the face of the lower US deliveries. Of its 88,000 b/d of naphtha imports last year, US shipments accounted for 47pc, while Russian receipts made up 41pc, or 36,000 b/d, while China shipped 8,000 b/d. That represents a potential opportunity for US shippers to supply an additional 30,000-40,000 b/d of naphtha to the Latin American country. When they go high, it stays low US HSFO differentials recorded the largest day-to-day losses since July 2025 in the US Gulf coast and New York Harbor markets on 7 January, driven by the developments in Venezuela, as prices fell to their lowest since January 2021. HSFO cash prices fell by $3.50/bl to a 60-month low of $47.20/bl on the Gulf coast and by $3.70/bl to a 59-month low of $50.90/bl in New York Harbor. The potential for more Venezuelan heavy sour crude to enter the US had more of an effect on HSFO than low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO), as heavier grades yield more HSFO when refined and an abundance of heavy crude can lead to HSFO oversupply. US control of Venezuelan crude supply is expected to increase US HSFO availability as more Venezuelan crude would be refined in the US, rather than sent to Asia, market sources say. In addition to producing more HSFO when refined, an abundance of heavy crude also reduces refinery demand for HSFO as a feedstock, which increases HSFO supply and exerts further pressure on prices. HSFO has been supported in the Asia-Pacific market by expectations of a reduction in Venezuelan supplies to the region. Venezuela exported about 150,000 b/d of HSFO last year, based on Kpler data, with Singapore and Malaysia taking roughly a third of those flows. But a potential waiver enabling US firms to take Venezuelan product could redirect flows away from Asia. Any redirection of Venezuelan crude to the US away from China could also bolster demand from Chinese refiners for straight-run fuel oil as a refinery feedstock. By Daphne Tan USGC naphtha differential US HSFO prices Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.