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Europe

Russia exports more oil as refineries go offline

Russian refineries traditionally have the largest offline capacity in April, as companies scramble to finish maintenance before consumption of oil products peaks in summer.

EU clears Statoil to buy Shell’s Danish fuels unit

The European Commission had been concerned that the deal could have led to Danish consumers paying more for their fuel, diesel, gasoline and light heating oil.

US expands imports of Nigerian oil as refiners turn to West African crudes

Nigeria was the fourth-largest supplier of foreign crude to the US last week, displacing Mexico and also competing with Iraq and Colombia, according to preliminary figures from the EIA.

Britain sees first sustained improvement in fuel consumption since 2007

More traffic is resulting in the first sustained increase in fuel consumption since 2007, a development welcomed by refiners and retailers but which complicates the government's climate plans.

Russia’s Lukoil starts diesel exports by pipeline

Industry sources said that March supplies of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) from Vysotsk will total 350,000 tons, of which 100,000 tons will be shipped via the spurt of Sever (North) trunk.

Morocco’s court orders liquidation of refiner Samir

Samir has 10 days to lodge an appeal against the decision. Samir, controlled by Corral Petroleum Holdings, halted production last August at its 200,000-bpd Mohammedia refinery.

Nigeria turns to crude swaps to ease domestic gasoline shortages

While the country is Africa's biggest oil producer, it is almost entirely reliant on imports for oil products, especially gasoline, after successive governments allowed its refineries to fall into disrepair.

Russia’s oil producers raise sales to Asian refiners

"Russian crude is really attractive to us due to its fast delivery time and also cheap prices," said a spokeswoman from SK Innovation, which owns South Korea's largest refiner.

Unipetrol shuts Litvinov refinery for planned work

The Litvinov operations in the Czech Republic were hit by a blast at the steam cracker unit last August, and the plant's refinery has been running at reduced capacity.

Rosneft looks to close Indian refinery deal by June

Sechin met Essar Oil officials during his visit and said that Rosneft hopes to conclude a deal to buy a 49% stake in the 400,000-bpd Vadinar refinery in western India by the end of June.