China plans to establish a fuel-trading platform in Zhejiang Free-Trade Zone. The planned international oil-product trading center will cover spot trading and start futures business when conditions are met, according to a statement posted on the central government’s website on March 31. China will allow crude imports and use by two or three companies in the free-trade zone. It will also set up a petrochemical base in Yushan Island. An oil-product storage and transportation base is also planned in island areas of Zhoushan, according to the statement.
Indian state refiners will cut oil imports from Iran in the fiscal year 2017/18 by a fifth, as New Delhi takes a more assertive stance over an impasse on a giant gas field that it wants awarded to an Indian consortium, according to a report from Reuters on March 31, citing sources familiar with the matter. Unhappy with Tehran, India’s Oil Ministry has asked state refiners to cut imports of Iranian oil. Indian refiners told a National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) representative about their plans to cut oil imports by a fifth to 190,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 240,000 bpd, officials present at the meeting told Reuters.
Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas is keen on making Saudi Aramco open an office in Malaysia. If Saudi Aramco sets up an office in Kuala Lumpur, there will be more opportunities for the two companies for cooperation, Petronas CEO Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin told the Edge Singapore newspaper on April 1.
North America
Production cuts by OPEC and its allies have had the unintended effect of spurring a revival of drilling in the US. Rigs targeting crude and natural gas rose by 15 to 824 this week, the highest level since September 2015, according to Baker Hughes data released on March 31. Drilling activity has increased from the lowest level since at least 1975 as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices rebounded from a 12-year low in February 2016.
US crude oil inventories rose by 867,000 barrels for the week ended March 24, reaching a record 534 million, according to weekly data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on March 29. The addition occurred even with robust exports and stronger refinery processing. Exports almost doubled in the period to over 1 million bpd, while refinery throughput climbed as seasonal maintenance ends. Imports fell slightly, by 83,000 bpd, but remain seasonally elevated. US output rose for a sixth straight week to 9.15 million bpd. Total stockpiles are 7 percent above last year.
Mexico’s existing oil reserves are dwindling so fast that its oil wells could go dry within nine years without new discoveries, according to the country’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (NHC), which said on March 31 that the reserves fell 10.6 percent to 9.16 billion barrels in 2016, from 10.24 billion barrels a year earlier. Once the world’s third-largest crude producer, Mexico’s proven reserves have declined 34 percent since 2013.

Source: Arab News