Oil Markets

US refiners have had a dramatic start to the new year, facing wintry blasts on the East Coast and devastating wildfires on the West Coast. Plummeting transportation fuel demand in Southern California, strong heating fuel demand in the Northeast, and cheap blending components in the Gulf Coast have created a balancing act for producers and shippers of gasoline and distillates -- and consumers pay the price. Jeff Mower discusses the weather events, seasonal supply and demand, price movements, and more with senior downstream editor Janet McGurty, Americas light ends manager Sarah Hernandez and Americas middle distillates manager Jordan Daniel.

High volumes of WTI Midland crude arrived in Europe in December, significantly impacting light sweet sentiment in both the North Sea and West African markets. As we enter the new year, a resurgence of demand from Asia is beginning to reshape the landscape. Joel Hanley is joined by Joey Daly and George Delaney to explore the effects of renewed Asian demand for Western barrels and reflect on a month of record-breaking activity in the Platts North Sea physical Market on Close assessment process. Links: Dated Brent - PCAAS00 Bonny Light FOB Nigeria London vs WAF Dtd Strip - AAGXL00 Girassol FOB Angola vs Angola Dtd Strip - AASJD00 WTI Midland CIF Rotterdam vs Fwd Dated Brent - WMCRB00 Boost in eastern demand supports North Sea, Angolan crude grade upticks (subscriber content) Midland volumes pressure European sweets in December (subscriber content) London Energy Forum: https://commodityinsights.spglobal.com/LondonEnergy-Forum.html

It’s been quite the year for oil markets. In this special episode of the podcast, Joel Hanley, Jeff Mower, Sambit Mohanty and Richard Swann look back at 2024 and try to untangle the biggest themes, including slowing demand growth, the incoming Trump administration, and the formidable challenge for OPEC+ in its quest for market control. The panel also discusses trade flows, new crude supply, and how changes in China’s economic fortunes could have a major impact going into 2025. Links: Shadow fleets: The covert armada defying oil sanctions

The Russian government's announcement of the partial resumption of gasoline exports by the country's refineries comes at a time when global oil product flows are constantly evolving. In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets podcast, Francesco Di Salvo is joined by Elza Turner, Robert Perkins and Matthew Tracey-Cook to discuss the reasons behind Russia's decision and what it means for product trading patterns along the length of the oil barrel and across global markets. Links: 10ppm Premium FOB AR gasoline barges - PGABM00 FOB MED Premium gasoline cargoes - AAWZA00 Eurobob FOB ARA barges - AAQZV00 Russia lifts gasoline export ban for refineries - Subscriber content Russian refineries runs likely to suffer on poor margins - Subscriber content