Quote:
European Refiners Now Have Too Much Oil
European refiners now seem to have more crude oil than they need—with the early panic about Russia’s dwindling oil exports—and the world’s subsequent oil shortage—proving to be overblown.
Crude oil traders have pointed to Europe’s ability to source crude oil from Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States as the main cause for European refiners breathing a sigh of relief. Asia, too, has scooped up less crude oil than analysts were predicting, thanks to China’s neverending battle to obtain the elusive zero-covid goal.
Europe’s imports of Latin American crude have averaged 313,000 bpd so far this year, up from 132,000 Refinitiv Eikon data shows. In July, the average was well above that, at 600,000 bpd. From the United States, Europe has taken 1.1 million bpd on average this year, compared with just 800,000 bpd last year. Europe’s Iraqi oil imports are 20% higher from July-November compared to the same period last year.
The supply overages are weighing on prices. Brent prices have slumped nearly $9 per barrel since this time last week. One European crude oil trader told Reuters that European refiners “seem to have overbought in November and December, probably because of fears around Urals.” In addition to these fears causing panic purchases, weeks-long strikes at French refineries and a rash of refinery maintenance also curbed the call for crude oil in Europe as runs Europe’s imports of Latin American crude have averaged 313,000 bpd so far this year, up from 132,000 Refinitiv Eikon data shows. In July, the average was well above that, at 600,000 bpd. From the United States, Europe has taken 1.1 million bpd on average this year, compared with just 800,000 bpd last year. Europe’s Iraqi oil imports are 20% higher from July-November compared to the same period last year.
The supply overages are weighing on prices. Brent prices have slumped nearly $9 per barrel since this time last week. One European crude oil trader told Reuters that European refiners “seem to have overbought in November and December, probably because of fears around Urals.” In addition to these fears causing panic purchases, weeks-long strikes at French refineries and a rash of refinery maintenance also curbed the call for crude oil in Europe as runs slowed.
The joke is that everytime a Democrat sneezes and uses a cloth handkerchief, the GOP screams that they're discriminating against paper tissue products. Just as now, the GOP schills here are confusing campaign promises or discussions with actual federal policies that have not occured.