Refining
Five energy market trends to track in 2026, the year of the glut
This past year was a wild one for the oil and gas industry, punctuated by the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade wars, the intensified targeting of energy infrastructure in Russia in its war against Ukraine, OPEC’s often perplexing production decisions and the recently threatened U.S. blockade of Venezuela.
Eneos plans to shut Marifu CDU in mid-January for maintenance
The refiner, a unit of Eneos Holdings, restarted the 172,100-bpd No. 2 CDU at its Kawasaki refinery near Tokyo on November 21 after it had been shut since August 16 for a planned turnaround.
Asia refinery 2025–2026 maintenance/outages
The table lists planned and unplanned refinery shutdowns for 2025 and 2026 compiled through a survey of Asian oil refiners and market sources.
Serbia's NIS gets U.S. approval to negotiate sale of Russian stake
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on NIS in October, as part of broader measures against Russia's energy sector, after granting a series of waivers since January.
Egypt, Qatar's Al Mana Holding sign $200-MM SAF deal
The project will be developed in three phases and will span 100,000 m2 in the Integrated Sokhna Zone on Egypt's Red Sea coast.
China's teapots boost Russian ESPO buying amid record discounts
Discounts for Russian ESPO Blend crude loading in January have widened to a record $7–$8 per barrel versus ICE Brent upon delivery in Chinese ports, as Western sanctions pressure weighs on the grade.
Asia oil floating storage seen declining on lower exports, China buying
The volume of oil stored on board ships in Asian waters, which has tripled since September to a 3-yr high, is poised to decline as producers of sanctioned oil slow exports and Chinese refiners ramp up buying.
Gazprom in talks with Hungary's MOL over NIS stake sale
The United States announced sweeping sanctions targeting Russia's oil sector in January over Moscow's war in Ukraine, but, for NIS, their application was postponed several times before finally coming into effect on October 8.
Ethanol producer Inpasa to invest $630 MM in Brazil biorefinery projects
The new facility in Rondonopolis will receive 2.77 B reais in investments, with operations starting in early 2027.
- Slovakia considers higher diesel price for foreigners to battle fuel tourism 3/17
- China's fuel export ban to further tighten Asia supply 3/17
- Japanese refiner Idemitsu to invest $500 MM in Australian Midocean to enter LNG business 3/17
- Neste commissions largest upgrading facility for liquefied waste plastic, scales up chemical recycling 3/16
- South Korea to lift coal cap, boost nuclear output amid Iran crisis 3/16
- Vietnam braces for flight cuts from April after China, Thailand ban jet fuel exports 3/16

