logo
Israel's Haifa-based Bazan group says all refinery facilities shut down after Iranian attack

Israel's Haifa-based Bazan group says all refinery facilities shut down after Iranian attack

Reuters9 hours ago

June 16 (Reuters) - Israel's Haifa-based Bazan Group said all refinery facilities have been shut down after a power station used to produce steam and electricity were significantly damaged in an attack by Iran, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
The group said the Iranian attack resulted in the death of three company employees.
The refinery is located in Haifa Bay, according to Israeli media.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

China builds a crude oil war chest amid Middle East tensions
China builds a crude oil war chest amid Middle East tensions

Reuters

time24 minutes ago

  • Reuters

China builds a crude oil war chest amid Middle East tensions

LAUNCESTON, Australia, June 17 (Reuters) - China is continuing to build up crude oil stockpiles as it refines substantially less than what it has available from imports and domestic production. This allows the world's biggest oil importer to buy lower volumes in coming months as prices surge over Middle East tensions. China's surplus crude amounted to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the third straight month it has been above the 1 million bpd level, according to calculations based on official data. The price of crude oil has spiked since June 13 when Israel launched a series of air strikes against Iran, prompting drone and missile retaliation by Tehran. While the conflict has yet to hit Iran's crude oil production and export facilities, the heightened risks have seen Brent futures rise almost 6% since the close on June 12 to trade around $73.58 a barrel in Asia on Tuesday. In past occurrences of a rapid rise in crude prices, Chinese refineries have responded by trimming their imports and using stockpiled oil. Given the lag of up to two months between when cargoes are arranged and when they are delivered, this means any pullback in China's imports will likely only become apparent from August onwards. While much will depend on the path of crude oil prices in coming weeks, it's certain China has plenty of scope to lower imports and put downward pressure on prices. China does not disclose the volumes of crude flowing into or out of strategic and commercial stockpiles, but an estimate can be made by deducting the amount of oil processed from the total of crude available from imports and domestic output. Refiners processed 13.92 million bpd in May, according to official data released on Monday, down from 14.12 million bpd in April and also 1.8% lower than a year earlier. Crude imports were 10.97 million bpd in May, down from 11.69 million bpd in April, while domestic production was 4.35 million bpd, up slightly from the 4.31 million bpd in April. Putting May imports and domestic output together gives a total of 15.32 million bpd of crude available to refiners, leaving a surplus of 1.4 million bpd once refinery throughput of 13.92 million bpd is subtracted. For the first five months of the year, surplus crude available rose to 990,000 bpd, from 880,000 bpd for the first four months. For the first two months of 2025, China's refiners actually processed about 30,000 bpd more than what was available from crude imports and domestic production, the first time in 18 months that they had drawn on inventories. But the massive surpluses in March, April and May have reversed the earlier draw. It is worth noting that not all of this surplus crude is likely to have been added to storage, with some being processed in plants not captured by the official data. But even allowing for gaps in the official data, it is clear that from March onwards China has been importing crude at a far higher rate than it needs to meet its domestic fuel requirements. An indication of how price sensitive China's refiners are is shown by the expected strong crude imports in June, with LSEG Oil Research forecasting arrivals of 11.72 million bpd. This would be up 750,000 bpd from the official data for April, and the sharp rise reflects the declining trend for crude prices when June-arriving cargoes would have been secured. Brent futures dropped from a six-week high of $75.47 a barrel on April 2 to a to a four-year low of $58.50 on May 5, prompting Chinese refiners to suck up cargoes. Most of these shipments will be arriving in June and July and will likely give the illusion that China's crude demand is recovering. But the weak refinery processing numbers show that it's likely the case that China is storing crude. With the strength in prices amid Middle East tensions, it's also likely that refiners will cut purchases, and also seek out discounted oil from sanctioned exporters Russia and Iran. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

US stock futures higher as Israel-Iran conflict spikes oil prices
US stock futures higher as Israel-Iran conflict spikes oil prices

The Herald Scotland

time26 minutes ago

  • The Herald Scotland

US stock futures higher as Israel-Iran conflict spikes oil prices

Oil prices extended gains after Israel temporarily knocked out a natural gas processing facility and targeted fuel storage tanks during strikes over the weekend as part of its campaign against Tehran's nuclear program. Oil jumped by the most in three years late last week when Israel first attacked Iran and Iran fired back. Iran is considering shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a senior commander said, but analysts were skeptical this would happen. "The closure of Hormuz is a low-risk event as Iran would be damaging its own position, both economically and politically, by irritating its main customer," said Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities research at JP Morgan, in a note late last main players in the Middle East have strong incentives to keep the conflict contained given the economic transformation currently planned and implemented in the Gulf region requires a sustained absence of conflict." Separtely, President Donald Trump warned Iran not to touch U.S. targets or else it could face the "full strength and might" of the American military. Oil prices, inflation and the Fed If the Israel-Iran conflict causes oil prices to continue surging, inflation will jump and consumers will pay the price. The price of oil makes up about half the price of a gallon of gas, so one of the first things to be affected by rising oil prices would be prices at the pump. But oil also affects the cost of producing things and transporting them to your local store, so even consumers who don't drive or use public transportation will eventually feel the squeeze of more expensive oil one way or another. The threat of inflation will likely keep the Federal Reserve on hold, economists said. Almost no one forecasts a rate cut when the Fed wraps up its two-day policy meeting mid-week, according to the CME Fed Watch tool that tracks the odds the market puts on a rate move at each Fed meeting. Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@ and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.

Oil prices rise and US futures fall as Israel urges residents of Iran's capital to evacuate
Oil prices rise and US futures fall as Israel urges residents of Iran's capital to evacuate

The Independent

time35 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Oil prices rise and US futures fall as Israel urges residents of Iran's capital to evacuate

Oil prices resumed their upward climb and U.S. futures were lower early Tuesday after Israel's military issued an evacuation warning to 330,000 people in Iran's capital Tehran. Asian shares were mixed. The evacuation warning was for a part of Tehran, a city of 9.5 million, that houses the country's state TV and police headquarters and three large hospitals, including one owned by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was returning from the G7 summit in Canada a day early due to the intensifying conflict. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbing 0.6% to 38,547.56 as the Japanese central bank opted to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5%. The Bank of Japan has been gradually raising its rate from near zero and cutting back on its purchases of Japanese government bonds and other assets to help counter inflation. It said economic growth was likely to moderate and there was some weakness in consumer sentiment, housing investment. 'In particular, it is extremely uncertain how trade and policies in each jurisdiction will evolve and how overseas activity and prices will react to them,' the BOJ's statement said. Chinese shares edged lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 0.1% to 24,038.56. The Shanghai Composite index declined 0.2% to 3,382.14. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,956.88. Australia's S&P/ASX 500 gave up 0.1% to 8,543.60. Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.6% and in Bangkok the SET was little changed. As Israel and Iran attack each other the fear remains that a wider war could constrict the flow of Iran's oil to its customers. That in turn could raise gasoline prices worldwide and keep them high, though spikes in prices from previous conflicts have been brief. Crude jumped 7% late last week after Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets. Early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 31 cents to $72.08 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 33 cents at $73.56 per barrel. On Monday, the mood was calm on Wall Street, as the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to reclaim most of its drop from Friday. It closed at 6,033.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8% to 42,515.09, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.5% to 19,701.21. U.S. Steel rose 5.1% after Trump signed an executive order on Friday paving the way for an investment in the company by Japan's Nippon Steel. Trump would have unique influence over the operations of U.S. Steel under the terms of the deal. They helped offset drops for defense contractors, which gave back some of their jumps from Friday. Lockheed Martin fell 4%, and Northrop Grumman sank 3.7%. The price of gold receded after jumping on Friday, when investors were looking for someplace safe to park their cash. An ounce of gold fell $14.60 to $3,402.40 per ounce. Investors have other concerns, key among them Donald Trump's tariffs, which still threaten to slow the U.S. economy and raise inflation if Washington doesn't win trade deals with other countries. The specter of tariffs was looming over the meeting of the Group of Seven meeting of major economies in Canada. Later this week, the Federal Reserve is set to discuss whether to lower or raise interest rates, with the decision due on Wednesday. The nearly unanimous expectation among traders and economists is that the Fed will stand pat. The Federal Reserve has hesitated to lower interest rates after one cut late last year. It is waiting to see how much Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation, which has remained tame recently, and is near the Fed's 2% target. More important for financial markets on Wednesday will likely be forecasts for where Fed officials they see the economy and interest rates heading in upcoming years. In other dealings early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar fell to 144.59 Japanese yen from 144.75 yen. The euro rose to $1.1564 from $1.1562. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store