Europe Distillates — Diesel refining margins fall sharply
LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) — European diesel refining margins fell sharply on Friday as regional inventories edged higher. Low-sulphur gasoil futures traded at $79.30 a barrel above Brent crude futures by 1640 GMT, $9.53 lower than the previous close. Margins hit a record high of nearly $95 on Wednesday after President Trump on Tuesday backed the idea of banning US diesel exports. Italian energy group Eni said on Friday it had set a price cap on fuels marketed by its Enilive unit at €2.19 per litre for diesel and €1.99/l for petrol, around 17 cents lower than current average levels. A 90-day US diesel export ban would thus result in a maximum 17% run cut by US Gulf Coast refineries from today's rates, Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said, adding that if the refineries remain running like today without any shift in yields, diesel stocks would reach maximum levels within 41 days. Gasoil and diesel stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose 1.0% on the week to 1.65 million metric tons but remained 25% below year-earlier levels, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. Washington's talk of a possible ban on diesel expo
LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) — European diesel refining margins fell sharply on Friday as regional inventories edged higher. 53 lower than the previous close. Margins hit a record high of nearly $95 on Wednesday after President Trump on Tuesday backed the idea of banning US diesel exports. 99/l for petrol, around 17 cents lower than current average levels.
A 90-day US diesel export ban would thus result in a maximum 17% run cut by US Gulf Coast refineries from today's rates, Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said, adding that if the refineries remain running like today without any shift in yields, diesel stocks would reach maximum levels within 41 days. 65 million metric tons but remained 25% below year-earlier levels, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. Washington's talk of a possible ban on diesel exports is widening the gap between US crude oil futures and the global Brent benchmark, a signal that markets expect US refiners to process less crude oil if their diesel output gets stuck at home.
The Perm oil refinery, Russia's seventh-largest oil processing plant by volume, stopped operations following a Ukrainian drone attack, which caused a fire and damaged pipelines, storage and technological units on Friday, two industry sources said. Russia's air defence units destroyed about 50 drones over the Rostov region overnight and a drone attack damaged the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, forcing it to suspend operations temporarily, Governor Yuri Slyusar said on Friday. France will send troops and defence systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, which is key for energy transport, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
Macron also said a US ban on diesel exports, which the White House has denied is under consideration, would be "catastrophic," both globally and for the US economy. com)