u/CommodityInsights

>South Korea has nearly met its monthly crude requirements in August through aggressive US crude purchases and regular cargoes from the Mediterranean and Oceania, while government freight rebates for non-Middle Eastern crude were poised to further accelerate refiners' diversification efforts, according to Korea National Oil Corp. data and industry sources over Sept. 25-28.

>South Korea — Asia's third-largest crude buyer — imported 91.34 million barrels of crude in August, nearly matching the 93.35 million barrels secured a year earlier, according to the latest data from state-run KNOC issued Sept. 25.

>US-based oilfield service provider Halliburton announced the signing of an agreement with Brazil's Eneva and WESCA to support their efforts to develop oil and gas resources in Venezuela, it said Sept. 21.

>Separately, France's TotalEnergies also signed an agreement with Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA to "establish a framework for strategic cooperation in the hydrocarbons sector," according to information broadcast by the state-run channel Venezolana de Television on Sept. 19.

>US power sector gas demand is likely to set a record high in September as summer heat persists across much of the country.

>Demand from power stations averaged 46.2 billion cubic feet/day during Sept.1-14, exceptionally high for this time of year. It was 6.8 Bcf/d higher year over year and 5.2 Bcf/d higher than the three-year average, according to data from S&P Global Energy CERA.

>Demand is expected to remain strong through the second half of the month, averaging more than 40 Bcf/d during Sept. 15-28, according to a CERA 14-day forecast. That would put power sector gas burn on pace to shatter the previous September record of 40.7 Bcf/d in 2024.

>Woodside Energy is advancing oil developments in Senegal, Mexico, and the US Gulf, while retiring two 2030 energy-transition targets and reviewing its US ammonia business, according to the company's results for the first half of 2026 released on Aug. 25.

>Woodside's realized oil and condensate price increased to $92 per barrel of oil equivalent from $71/boe, alongside an increase in average Dated Brent to $93/barrel from $72/b, despite a 4% decline in total liquids production to 39.4 million boe for the half year, according to its release.

>The Australian producer reported a first-half net profit after tax of $1.67 billion, up 27% from a year earlier, while operating revenue rose 13% to $7.45 billion.

>Chicago Board of Trade soybean oil futures fell more than 7% over the three trading sessions through Aug. 24 as uncertainty surrounding US biofuel policy reduced some of the demand premium that had been supporting vegetable oil prices.

>CBOT December soybean oil futures declined from 71.32 cents/lb on Aug. 20 to 66.26 cents/lb on Aug. 24, a drop of 5.06 cents/lb, or 7.1%.

>The decline accelerated after the US Environmental Protection Agency said it plans to extend the Sept. 1 deadline for refiners to demonstrate compliance with their 2025 Renewable Fuel Standard obligations. EPA has not announced a new deadline, although market sources said a 30-90 day extension was under consideration.

>Oil product inventories at Fujairah in the UAE declined 9.9% in the week ended Aug. 10, led by a 25% fall in light distillate stocks, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published Aug. 12.

>The total inventory dropped to 6.307 million barrels, the lowest since the record low of 5.145 million barrels reached on June 15, according to the data compiled by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, since 2017.

>The number of ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz fell to 16 on Aug. 11 when US Central Command said the US Navy had attacked a container ship, with the UK Maritime Trade Operations noting an incident between a container ship and military forces in the Gulf of Oman, S&P Global Commodities at Sea said in a report Aug. 12.

>Transits on Aug. 11 compared with a revised 17 ships on Aug. 10, while 36 ships traversed the Bab al-Mandab Strait leading into the Red Sea, down from 40 ships on Aug. 10, according to the report.

>Georgia's Kulevi oil refinery has started to diversify away from Russian crude, securing supplies from Kazakhstan and Libya, owner Black Sea Petroleum LLC said July 31, in a bid to avoid EU sanctions.

>The 24,000 b/d plant on the Black Sea began processing Kazakh-origin crude oil at the beginning of July and will continue to do so in August, the company said in a statement.

>It also signed an agreement for a cargo of Libyan-origin crude, which it expects to receive by the end of August. The agreement runs through 2027 and includes an extension option, BSP said.

>India's first greenfield integrated refinery complex in nearly a decade has commenced commercial operations, marking a milestone in the country's emergence as a global refining hub.

>The complex is expected to process a diverse range of crudes due to its relatively high Nelson Complexity Index. Feedstocks from the Middle East, Russia and West Africa could dominate the import basket, according to S&P Global Energy CERA.

>HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd., dubbed the "jewel of the desert," features high petrochemical integration and is expected to reduce India's reliance on imported petrochemicals. The complex, jointly built by state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and the Rajasthan government, commenced operations at a time when conflict in the Middle East prompted Indian refiners to diversify their crude sourcing.

>Ecuadorian shrimp prices reached their lowest level since Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, began the assessment as concerns over recent export disruptions to China weighed on sentiment in the week to July 10, domestic traders said.

>Platts assessed the Ecuador Shrimp Market at $4,300/metric ton on July 10, down $50/mt week over week, and the lowest since Platts began the assessment Sept. 2, 2024.

>The General Administration of Customs suspended import declarations for products shipped on or after June 30 from seven Ecuadorian shrimp processing plants, according to media reports. The list mentions plants operated by some of the biggest shrimp exporters in Ecuador, including Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila (registration numbers 24887 and 71696), Omarsa (41068) and Songa (56), among others.

>The US has significantly expanded its strategic engagement with Africa's critical minerals industry through a multi-layered approach that combines diplomatic agreements, development finance, infrastructure support and private-sector partnerships. The strategy is aimed at strengthening and diversifying supply chains for minerals essential to batteries, renewable energy technologies and advanced manufacturing, while reducing reliance on supply networks dominated by China.

>In Africa, Chinese companies have developed extensive mining and logistics networks across several mineral-rich regions, from Zambia's copper-producing Copperbelt to Zimbabwe's emerging lithium sector. Their model often links geological exploration, mine development, ore extraction, processing capacity, transport infrastructure and export logistics. This has allowed Chinese firms to secure long-term access to mineral supply while offering African governments infrastructure investment, export revenue and industrial development opportunities.

>South Korea is accelerating imports of heavy sour Canadian crude into its refining feedstock slate, as Asia's third-largest crude buyer seeks to diversify supply sources and reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern oil, according to the customs department and refining sources June 22.

>The push gained momentum on June 19, when Korea Customs Service Commissioner Lee Jong-wook and Alberta's Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean jointly inspected SK Innovation's Ulsan Complex, a major refining hub capable of processing Canadian extra-heavy crude, KCS said in a statement June 22.

>he US and Iran have reached a memorandum of understanding to end their conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a development expected to ease long-term oil supply concerns, although physical crude markets are expected to remain tight through the summer months.

>US President Donald Trump announced the framework deal June 14, saying the strait would reopen "toll-free" and that the US would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports. The formal agreement is scheduled to be signed in Switzerland on June 19, though full terms remain undisclosed and significant uncertainties persist.

>The UK and Japan agreed to an offshore wind investment pact worth up to GBP9 billion ($12.1 billion), with Japanese investors set to back 5.9 gigawatts of UK floating wind projects as part of a broader economic partnership between the two nations.

>The UK-Japan Offshore Wind Compact, developed in partnership with UK state-owned Great British Energy, will support floating offshore wind developments, including the Ossian and Green Volt projects off Scotland's east coast and the Erebus project in the Celtic Sea, according to a June 13 statement.

>Supertankers time-chartered by Japan's oil refiners are facing a challenging situation, changing the basic mechanism of crude trade by doing ship-to-ship, or STS, transfer in Malaysia, even as some of them are partially idle due to disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, while others are tapping the US market, several tanker brokers, owners and charterers told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, June 9.

>"It is a very challenging situation because Japanese tanker owners do not permit the VLCCs they have chartered out to call ports in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and even Fujairah and Oman," said a chartering source.