Power Up: Oil Flows Disrupted

By Liz Hampton

(Reuters) – Hello Power Up readers! Oil futures are back up to start the week on some U.S. tariff exclusions, and after Chinese data showed a sharp rebound in crude imports during March. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday granted exclusion from levies on smartphones, computers and some other electronics from China. And in March, China’s crude imports were up 5% from the year earlier, boosted by Iranian oil and a rebound in Russian deliveries. The jump in prices, following blistering losses at the start of April, comes even as OPEC in a monthly report cut its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast, pointing to the impact of tariffs and data it received in the first quarter. The group expects oil demand to rise by 1.3 million barrels per day this year, off 150,000 bpd from last month’s forecast. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $65.63 a barrel on Monday, up 1.3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $62.18 a barrel, a gain of 1.06%. Henry Hub natural gas futures were trading at $3.549 per million British thermal units, up about 0.8%.

Crude flows upended on geopolitics turmoil And the U.S. Energy Secretary visits the Middle East

The past few years have marked a period of major disruptions for oil flows around the globe, from attacks on the vessels in the Red Sea to sanctions on Russian crude. Last week was hardly an exception. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA on Thursday canceled several authorizations it had granted Chevron to load and export Venezuelan crude in April. This move prompted two vessels carrying Venezuelan crude chartered by the oil major to stall. The turmoil at sea comes amid concerns from the government around payments amid the hardening of the U.S.’s stance towards Venezuela, which is a member of OPEC. Trump in March revoked an individual license issued in 2022 by the U.S. for Chevron to operate in sanctioned Venezuela. He also in March declared that any company buying Venezuelan oil would be subject to a 25% tariff on trades with the United States.

Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday said the U.S. could stop Iran’s oil exports as part of Trump’s plan to pressure the country over its nuclear program. Wright, who has been visiting the Middle East, said he believed Gulf allies of the United States were extremely concerned about a nuclear-powered Iran. Under the former Biden administration, Iran’s oil exports recovered, and so far have yet to show signs of decline. China buys the bulk of Iran’s shipments.

Meanwhile, Russia’s oil exporting netback – which is the price excluding transportation and other costs – for delivery to the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk from Western Siberia fell to its lowest last week since June 2023 amid a crash in global oil prices. The netback is a benchmark for traders for domestic oil pricing.

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Midstream operator South Bow plans to restart the Keystone pipeline by Tuesday, April 15, following a spill in North Dakota that shut the line last week. The company still needs written approval from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration before operating the line again. The Keystone is a key conduit for Canadian oil to the United States.

U.S. drillers cut the number of oil rigs in operation by the most in a week since June 2023 last week, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said on Friday. The total rig count fell by seven to 583. The number of oil rigs in operation fell by nine to 480, while gas rigs rose by one.

Colombian state-oil company Ecopetrol’s profits could be hit by up to 12 trillion pesos ($2.76 billion) this year due to lower oil prices, its president, Ricardo Roa, warned on Friday. Ecopetrol may also have to scrap production at some fields and focus on areas with lower costs, Roa said on the sidelines of a conference.

Southern California Edison has submitted an initial plan to rebuild the areas within its service territory that were devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires in January. The plan is estimated to cost between $860 million and $925 million, the company said.

Nigerian oil producer Oando this weekend said three sabotage attacks had targeted its pipelines in the Bayelsa state. The company has activated an emergency response to contain the impact and deployed leak repair teams. We hope you’re enjoying the Power Up newsletter. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. You can reach us at: .

Editing by Marguerita Choy