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Oil tanker sizes range from general purpose to ultra-large crude carriers on AFRA scale

Source: T. Mason Hamilton, U.S. Energy Information Administration The global crude oil and refined product tanker fleet uses a classification system to standardize contract terms, establish shipping costs, and determine the ability of ships to travel into ports or through certain straits and channels. This system, known as the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) system, was established by Royal Dutch Shell six decades ago, and is overseen by the London Tanker Brokers’ Panel ( LTBP ), an independent group of shipping brokers. AFRA uses a scale that classifies tanker vessels according to deadweight tons, a measure of a ship’s capacity to carry cargo. The approximate capacity of a ship in barrels is determined by using an estimated 90% of a ship’s deadweight tonnage, and multiplying that by a barrel per metric ton conversion factor specific to each type of petroleum product and crude oil, as liquid fuel densities vary […]

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Iraqi Lawmakers Reject Picks for Interior, Defense

Haider al-Abadi Iraq’s parliament rejected defense and interior nominees on Tuesday, leaving the crucial ministerial posts unfilled as a U.S.-led coalition intensifies its air campaign against Islamic extremists who have seized a third of the country. The two powerful security portfolios have long been a source of tension among Iraq’s feuding political factions, and the failure to agree on the nominees marked the latest in a series of delays in forming a unified government that can confront the Islamic State extremist group. The parliament session was held as the U.S. carried out an airstrike near Baghdad for the first time since launching an aerial campaign in early August, and French warplanes flying from the United Arab Emirates began reconnaissance missions over Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi put forward Sunni lawmaker Jaber al-Jabberi as his candidate for defense minister and Shiite lawmaker Riyad Ghareeb as his pick for interior minister. […]

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Oil Rises as OPEC Sec-General Says Group May Cut Target

West Texas Intermediate climbed to a two-week high and Brent gained after OPEC’s secretary general said the group may cut output targets next year. Abdalla El-Badri said today that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ production quota could fall 500,000 barrels a day to 29.5 million barrels a day next year. El-Badri was speaking at OPEC’s secretariat in Vienna after talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. WTI has tumbled 13 percent since touching $107.73 a barrel on June 20 as Asian and European economies have showed signs of slowing while crude output gained. “After the significant decline in prices, investors were looking for a reason to get into the market and El-Badri’s comments gave them that,” Michael Lynch , president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts , said by phone. “El-Badri said this was an outlook, not a decision, but the market is still taking […]

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OPEC Secretary-General Says Group May Pump Less Oil in 2015

OPEC, the group supplying about 40 percent of the world’s oil, may cut production next year, its Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ daily output target could fall by 500,000 barrels to 29.5 million barrels in 2015, El-Badri said at OPEC’s secretariat in Vienna after talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak today. The group’s monthly report on Sept. 10 showed demand for its oil will drop to 29.2 million barrels a day in 2015 from 29.5 million this year. Saudi Arabia cut its crude supply by 408,000 barrels a day in August, the biggest reduction since the end of 2012, a submission made by the country to OPEC shows. Brent crude is trading below $99 a barrel and is close to the lowest in more than two years. U.S. crude supplies are surging while those from Libya are rebounding and a conflict in Iraq […]

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Production at Libyan’s Largest Oil Field Cut Due to Unrest

LONDON—Production at Libya’s largest field has been cut slightly after rockets fell near the refinery it supplies, a spokesman for state-owned National Oil Co. said Tuesday. The news underscores how a fast oil-recovery operation could be hindered by continuous chaos in the country. The NOC spokesman said staff had been reduced after rockets fell near the Zawiya refinery on Monday, forcing Sharara, the field that supplies the plant, to pare back its output. "People are afraid to go there," he said. Libyan oil production has been ramping up in recent months after agreements with protesters led to the reopening of ports and fields. The country’s output stood above 800,000 barrels a day, as of the most recent count on Monday. But the NOC spokesman said he had no update for Tuesday. Yet analysts have warned that fighting between militias—which are supported by two rival parliaments—could jeopardize progress in the […]

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Shiite Militias Pose Challenge for U.S. in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Militia justice is simple, the fighters explained. “We break into an area and kill the ones who are threatening people,” said one 18-year-old fighter with Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Shiite militia that operates as a vigilante force around Baghdad. Another 18-year-old fighter agreed. “We receive orders and carry out attacks immediately,” he said, insisting that their militia commanders had been given authority by Iraqi security officials. That free hand has helped make Asaib Ahl al-Haq the largest and most formidable of the Iranian-backed Shiite militias that now dominate Baghdad. Once a leading killer of American troops, the militia is spearheading the fight against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL. That means Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the United States military are now fighting on the same side, though each insists they will not work together. But the power and […]

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Deeper Saudi Oil Cuts Seen After Biggest Drop Since ’12: Energy

Saudi Arabia will need to keep cutting oil output to sustain prices above $100 a barrel, even after the kingdom’s largest reduction in two years, according to BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA. The world’s biggest crude exporter told OPEC last week it pumped 408,000 barrels a day less last month, about as much as Australia produces. Output rose in Iran , Iraq and Nigeria, adding to supply that drove benchmark Brent crude futures below $100 this month for the first time since June 2013. Saudi Arabia probably will have to cut a similar amount again to stabilize prices, the banks said. Global oil demand growth this year will be the weakest since 2011, just as the U.S. shale boom means oil production from countries outside OPEC rises by the most since the 1980s, according to the International Energy Agency. The glut is prompting most of OPEC’s Middle […]

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Nigeria Oil Company Union Begin Strike That May Curb Exports

Workers at Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., the country’s state-owned oil company, began an indefinite strike that may disrupt crude output from Africa ’s top producer and affect its domestic gasoline supplies, a union official said. “We have total shutdown at NNPC offices and all their subsidiaries, and that may affect the exports,” Babatunde Oke, a Lagos-based spokesman for both a managers’ union and a blue-collar workers’ union, said by phone today. “The refinery workers are also not working.” Staff operating flow stations that pump crude to export terminals are joining the action, meaning a protracted strike could disrupt cargoes, Oke said. Domestic gasoline supplies may also fall short as the workers protest pension terms at NNPC, he said. Union leaders should “exercise restraint,” the state-owned company said in a statement. Measures have been taken to reduce the pensions’ deficit to 85 billion naira ($520 million) currently from 298 billion […]

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China cenbank injects $81 billion into major banks to support economy: reports

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s central bank is injecting a combined 500 billion yuan ($81.35 billion) of liquidity into the country’s top banks, according to media reports, a sign that authorities are stepping up efforts to shore up a faltering economy. Global shares and commodity prices rose on the reported move, although local money market rates climbed on the day, reflecting continued tightness in liquidity. [MKTS/GLOB] The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed Chinese bank executive, said the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is pumping in 100 billion yuan each into China’s top five banks via standard lending facility in the form of 3-month loans. When contacted by Reuters, a PBOC spokesman said: “We will make an announcement if we have any news.” The central bank may be worried that an expected tightening in liquidity ahead of the quarter-end as well as a series of upcoming initial public offerings could […]

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Meet the Biggest Polluter in China’s Most Polluted City

Xingtai, a coal-mining hub home to 7.6 million people, has the worst air quality of any Chinese city. Last year, it only had 38 days when air quality met national standards. XINGTAI, China—It’s the heaviest polluter in the dirtiest city in China. Jizhong Energy Resources Co. operates six large coal mines and dozens of related facilities in this gray industrial center, which government data show has the worst air quality of any Chinese town. Five of the facilities are on a national list of top air polluters, and eight are on the Xingtai government’s list, more than any other company here. Now, Jizhong is moving to clean itself up, reflecting the balancing act taking place across China as regional governments and businesses try to tackle runaway pollution without wrecking local economies. The government is under rising pressure from China’s rapidly emerging middle class to address the country’s degraded air, […]

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