TOP NEWS Petrobras Targets China's Private

TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2019, U.S. EDITION

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TOP NEWS

Petrobras targets China's private refineries with oil from storage Brazilian state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA is shipping crude during June and July for storage in China to more quickly respond to demand from the country's independent refiners, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. China is the world's biggest oil importer driven partially by demand from its independent refiners, known as teapots, centred in the eastern province of Shandong.

Occidental to sell parts of Anadarko after debt-fueled acquisition Occidental Petroleum snatched up some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas when it beat out rival Chevron Corp in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum. It also quadrupled its debt - to $40 billion - at a time when investors are calling for spending cuts and higher dividends.

Russia's oil production continues to fall after Druzhba contamination Russia's oil production continued to fall this month, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday, under pressure from lower exports after shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to Europe were found to be contaminated in April. Five million tonnes of oil were contaminated last month with organic chloride and some of the dirty crude is still stuck in pipelines in Belarus and eastern Europe.

EXCLUSIVE-Kuwait oil minister sees balanced oil market towards end 2019 The oil market is expected to be in balance towards the end of 2019, as global inventories fall and demand remains strong, but OPEC's job is not done yet, Kuwait's oil minister told Reuters. There are still uncertainties around oil demand growth due to concerns about the impact of the U.S./China trade dispute on global economy, while U.S. shale oil production is still rising, Khaled al-Fadhel said on Monday.

May 28, 2019

Norway's oil industry eyes 17% growth in 2019 investments Oil and gas companies working in Norway have hiked their 2019 and 2020 investment forecasts as they add more field development plans, a survey by the country's statistics agency (SSB) showed on Tuesday. Higher investment raises the prospect of further interest rate hikes by Norway's central bank, economists said, as the data helped lift the crown to an almost four-week high against the euro.

Hengli trying to become China's first private jet fuel exporter Hengli Petrochemical wants to be China's first private exporter of jet fuel, a Hengli spokesman and other company sources said, but the move against the dominance of state oil companies requires licensing and approvals that will be hard to come by. Hengli, initially a petrochemicals maker, is ramping up a 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) oil refinery in the port city of Dalian to full capacity after a December startup.

Hedge funds cut bullish bets on U.S. crude last week – CFTC Hedge funds and other money managers cut their bullish positions on U.S. crude futures and options in the week to May 21, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. The speculator group cut its combined futures and options position in New York and London by 12,529 contracts to 250,108 during the period. The move was the fourth consecutive decline in bullish positions.

U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for third week in a row -Baker Hughes U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a third week in a row as weaker oil prices encourage drillers to follow through on plans to cut spending. Drillers cut five oil rigs in the week to May 24, bringing the total count down to 797, the lowest since March 2018, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.

China's crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia up 43% y/y in April China's crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia rose 43% last month, making the Middle Eastern OPEC kingpin once again the top supplier to the world's second-biggest economy, boosted by demand from new private refiners. Saudi imports grew to 6.30 million tonnes, or 1.53 million barrels per day (bpd) on a daily basis, compared with 1.07 million bpd in the year ago period, according to data from the General Administration of Customs released on Saturday.

British Columbia cannot regulate Trans Mountain pipeline oil flows -court A British Columbia court ruled on Friday that the provincial government cannot regulate increased flows of heavy crude through the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline, removing a potential hurdle to the long-delayed project. The Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) project, which the Canadian government bought last year for C$4.5 billion ($3.35 billion) to help it get built, would nearly triple shipments of oil sands crude from Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast.

EXCLUSIVE-Total seeks to reduce stake in giant Kashagan oilfield -sources France's Total is seeking to sell part of its stake in Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oilfield to raise up to $4 billion, four banking sources said. Total holds a 16.8% stake in Kashagan, one of the world's largest oilfields with production of about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), and is seeking to sell around a third of its stake, according to the sources. The company's entire stake has an estimated value of up to $9 billion, the sources said.

2 May 28, 2019

Aruba to form committee to decide fate of idled refinery -prime minister The government of Aruba said on Monday it will form an advisory committee to decide the future of a 209,000-barrel-per -day refinery that remains idled amid sanctions on operator Citgo Petroleum's parent company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes said there are three possible scenarios for the Aruba refinery: to continue working with Citgo on an overhaul, to negotiate a Citgo contract termination and continue with the plant, or to use the facility for a different activity.

MARKETS TODAY

OIL: Oil prices rose, supported by tighter global supplies that helped offset lingering worries that demand could be hurt by a U.S.-Chinese trade row.

FOREX: The euro dipped as investors nervous about trade tensions bought into the safe-haven dollar and fretted that political risks in Europe remain high, even though pro-Europe parties won a majority of European parliamentary seats.

U.S. EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR THE DAY (ET) 0900 Caseshiller 20 m/m SA for Mar: Expected 0.2%; Prior 0.2% 0900 Caseshiller 20 y/y for Mar: Expected 2.8%; Prior 3.0% 1000 Consumer Confidence for May: Expected 130; Prior 129.2

(Inside Oil - Americas Edition is compiled by Sravanthi Bhamidi in Bengaluru) Refinitiv 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 For questions or comments about this report, contact: [email protected] Please visit: Refinitiv for more information. To subscribe to Americas Oil newsletter, click here. Privacy statement