Russia, China Secretly Support North Korea

 

Fuel shipments into the rogue nation show that Moscow and Beijing are still keeping the Kim regime afloat.

The prices of fuel inside North Korea have plunged over the last month or so, thanks to an influx coming into the country from Russia via China.

Britain Looks to Ban All Petrol and Diesel Vehicles

Shoppers walk past stores on New Bond Street in London, Britain July 9, 2016.

 

Britain aims to ban petrol and diesel cars in the country from 2040 as a sign of their commitment to reduce the rising level of nitrogen oxide in the world for a safer humanity.

The pledge is in line with Emmanuel Macron’s efforts in France as they also are working towards a much-anticipated clean air plan.

Government officials in Britain believe that the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK is poor air quality, costing 2.7 billion pounds in lost productivity in recent years.

Saudis take 100% control of America’s largest oil refinery

Please see the source for the video.

 

America’s largest oil refinery is now fully owned by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state-owned oil behemoth, took 100% control of the sprawling Port Arthur refinery in Texas on Monday, completing a deal that was first announced last year.

Time Bomb In Oil Markets: Goldman Sachs Issues Warning

 

While energy traders remain focused on weekly changes in crude supply and demand, manifesting in shifts in inventory of which yesterday’s API data and today’s EIA data was a breathtaking example, a much more troubling data point was revealed by the Energy Information Administration last week when it reported implied gasoline demand.

To be sure, surging gasoline supply and inventories are hardly surprising or new: they remain a byproduct of the unprecedented global crude inventories leftover from two years of failed OPEC policy which resulted in a historic glut. Last January, overall crude runs were up 500,000 bpd as refiners shifted away from diesel and other products to gasoline to chase more attractive margins amid a mild winter and sluggish diesel demand. The move led to an overbuild of gasoline stocks that lingered into the summer, punishing margins when they should have been at their strongest. This January, crude runs are at historic levels, up by roughly 300,000 bpd over last year.

Venezuela Raises Fuel Prices By More Than 6,000 Percent

In a televised-address on February 17, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivered some crushing news to his country.

To address the fiscal crisis facing the country, the government decided to raise fuel prices by more than 6,000 percent. While that may sound dramatic, it will still leave Venezuela with some of the cheapest fuel in the world. Prices for 95 octane gasoline at the pump will jump from 0.097 bolivars to 6 bolivars. It was the first increase in fuel prices in 20 years.

IMF Chief Says Global Economy Faces ‘Very Strong’ Headwinds

Strong headwinds from weak investment, substantial debt burdens and high unemployment are preventing a pickup in global economic growth despite a strengthening U.S. recovery and tumbling oil prices, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.

A healthier U.S. and cheaper energy “won’t suffice to actually accelerate the growth or the potential for growth in the rest of the world,” the head of the emergency lender to nations said in a speech Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

“If the global economy is weak, on its knees, it’s not going to help,” said Ms. Lagarde in remarks previewing the IMF’s latest forecasts for the global economy due out on Monday.

OPEC Split as Oil Prices Fall Sharply

Oil prices sank again on Monday, giving consumers more of a break and causing a split among OPEC leaders about what action should be taken, if any, to halt the slide.

The price drop has led to a near free fall in gasoline prices in the United States. On Monday, the national average price for regular gasoline was $3.20, 9 cents lower than it was a week ago and 14 cents below the price a year ago, according to the AAA motor club.

The price at the pump generally follows oil after a few days, leading energy experts to predict lower prices for the rest of the month at least.

“This is not your garden variety autumn price decline,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at GasBuddy.com, which reports fuel prices from filling stations across the country. “Clearly there is a rift in OPEC, and that means we are more likely to see a price war over the next six months. Crude oil is teetering on the brink of collapse.”

Europe starts stockpiling oil as Iran conflict looms

European governments are rushing to boost stockpiles of crude oil and fuel, anxious to comply with new EU rules and amid reports that Israel is preparing to launch an attack on Iran.

Belgium and the Netherlands have issued tenders to import a total of around 250,000 tonnes of diesel and gasoline for delivery in September and October, their agencies said.

France has also bought diesel and awarded a crude oil tender this week while Belgium is increasing its crude stocks.

“This is yet another unexpected source of support for oil demand… [It] shows how the geopolitical concerns about Iran and Syria are bullish for oil even in the absence of an actual supply disruption,” said Seth Kleinman, head of energy research at Citi.

Iran tensions

European governments appear to be preparing for further supply disruptions in the Middle East as tensions have mounted between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the Fall.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reacted on Friday, calling Israel a “cancerous tumour” with no place in a future Middle East, drawing an unusually strongly-worded condemnation by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Ashton is acting as chief negotiator for six powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain – that are trying to persuade Iran to scale back its nuclear programme through economic sanctions and diplomacy. They fear Iran’s nuclear programme aims at producing weapons, though Tehran says it serves peaceful purposes only.

EU oil stock directive

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An EU directive passed in 2009 and designed to mitigate the impact of a supply crisis requires EU members to hold reserves equal to 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily consumption ahead of a December 31 deadline.

One third of the stocks must be held in products, according to the EU directive.

“We are in the process of building stocks to meet our strategic obligations under the new EU rules,” said Alain Demot, general manager of Belgium’s Apetra, adding that more tenders would be issued in coming months.

…

NEXT STEPS:

• 31 Dec. 2012: Deadline for member states to communicate measures taken under the EU’s oil stock directive. Under the directive, oil stocks must correspond “at the very least, to 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily inland consumption, whichever of the two quantities is greater.”

Full article: Europe starts stockpiling oil as Iran conflict looms (EurActiv)