Oil Markets

For fuel oil markets, 2020 was a strange year, as the global pandemic overshadowed implementation of the landmark IMO 2020 regulation. With global demand slowly returning, these grades are back in focus. S&P Global Platts editors Beth Brown and Patrick Burns talk with Matt Eversman, associate director of crude and fuel oil markets, about fuel oil market trends as well as Platts' consultation on certain operational guidelines in the Platts Market on Close assessment process for .5% marine fuel.

The price of aviation fuel dropped to record lows at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. In this podcast, Platts reporters Emma Thomas and Chris Ewen tell Joel Hanley of the fuel's faltering steps back to a more normal market environment amid the ongoing threat of COVID-19.

The last few weeks saw temperatures in many parts of North Asia drop to record lows, and energy prices hit record highs. Platts JKM, the benchmark for Asian spot LNG prices, surged to $32.50/MMBtu, the highest since it was launched in early 2009. LNG freight rates hit unprecedented levels of nearly $300,000/day, trucked LNG in China rose to around $28/MMBtu, Japan's spot electricity prices hit 220 Yen/kWh, and the Platts Northeast Asian Thermal coal price hit $80/mt. The ripple effect was felt across a variety of power generation fuels and across the whole region as supply chains were disrupted. Utilities found themselves having to shift back to fuels that have been becoming rather obsolete in the region's power mix. S&P Global Platts Senior Analyst Andre Lambine, Senior Editor Takeo Kumagai, and Managing Editor Rajesh Nair join Content Lead Eric Yep to delve deep in to the latest in Asia's oil and power sectors.

As most refined products struggle to find demand through the pandemic's destruction, naphtha has found itself riding on a three-year high crack spread, supported by petrochemical demand. S&P Global Platts Associate Editorial Director Francesco Di Salvo discusses the unusual strength in naphtha prices with pricing reporters Evridiki Dimitriadou and Joe Mcdonnell, as well as the limitations for the feedstock following pressure from gasoline blending.

US NGLs have strengthened across the board early in 2021, with some of those gains tied to increases in West Texas Intermediate and others linked in robust demand from the petrochemical sector and other global markets. LPG editor MK Bower discusses what is driving pricing strength for propane and butane, how ethane is recovering from the demand destruction wrought during hurricane season, and why market participants are confounded by natural gasoline and its relative strength against crude.

As the major road freight fuel for Europe and beyond, how has diesel coped with the global pandemic and what are its prospects heading into the new year? Platts reporters Virginie Malicier and Rowan Staden-Coats discuss the diesel markets with Joel Hanley.

As 2020 finally draws to a close, Oil Markets Podcast hosts from around the world – Mriganka Jaipuriyar, Joel Hanley and Richard Swann – gather to discuss the year in detail, and try to chart a path to recovery in 2021.

It has been a big year for the US flagship crude, West Texas Intermediate, and in particular the way that grade is priced. Following significant growth of US crude exports before the pandemic and then the April 20 price collapse of the NYMEX WTI contract, S&P Global Platts launched its AGS assessment for waterborne cargoes of WTI Midland loading on the US Gulf Coast. Then just last week, Platts captured the global oil industry's attention with its proposal to include WTI Midland in the Dated Brent global benchmark beginning in March 2022. In today's podcast we'll review how Platts AGS has performed since its launch in June amid challenging fundamentals for global oil markets.

With so much US crude now coming to Europe, Platts has announced a proposal to include US WTI Midland into the North Sea benchmark of Dated Brent. Jonty Rushforth and Joel Hanley discuss how this might work and what it means for the world's leading oil benchmark.

The pandemic has pummeled Japan's oil demand and led to some dramatic drops in its crude imports and refinery runs. The onset of winter and subsequent rise in demand for heating oil has offset some of that collapse, but the road ahead continues to look uncertain, S&P Global Platts Asia oil market experts Takeo Kumagai, Daisuke Shibata and Mriganka Jaipuriyar discuss. While crude imports are expected to pick up in the near term, sustainability of that trend very much depends on the severity of COVID-19. What is looking certain however is that Japanese refiners will continue to import refined products as refining economics favor imports and run rates remain low. Full transcript: http://plts.co/rmqs30rmlb2