MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News for February 26th:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— Houston CBOB Basis Dips Ahead of Spec Change

— BTS: Dec N. American Freight Up 1.2% on Year to $127.8B

— Filing: Flare at Valero’s 205K-Bpd Houston Refinery

— Filing: Emission at ExxonMobil Baytown, TX, Ethylene Plant

— PNW ULSD Regular Basis Spikes by 19cts on High Demand

— Citgo Reports Emissions at Corpus Christi, TX, Refinery

— CEC: California Diesel Stocks Climb 218,000 Bbl

— EIA: US NatGas Storage Reports 52 Bcf Weekly Withdrawal

— CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Climb 724,000 Bbl

— Analysis: EIA Sees Crude Stocks Jump as Refiners Cut Back

NEWS:

Houston CBOB Basis Dips Ahead of Spec Change

Basis for CBOB at the Houston origination point for the Colonial Pipeline weakened by 17.25cts on Thursday ahead of the final day of trading for the winter season 13.5psi Reid vapor pressure (RVP) specification.

Cycle 14 CBOB traded last at a 43.50cts discount to April RBOB futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange in active trading.

CBOB fuel specifications transition to 13.5psi RVP Thursday, with cycle 15 basis assessed at a 26.25cts discount to April futures. RVP moves to 9psi RVP the first week of March.

BTS: Dec N. American Freight Up 1.2% on Year to $127.8B

The value of North American transborder freight rose by 1.2% year-on-year in December to an estimated $127.8 billion, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said Thursday.

U.S.-Mexico cargo led the growth by increasing 10.5% to $70.5 billion, while goods moved between the United States and Canada fell 8.3% to $57.3 billion.

By mode of transport, trucks moved an estimated $81.6 billion of freight, marking a 5.2% increase from a year ago. Pipelines rose 2.1% to $9.2 billion, while air freight moved an estimated $6.5 billion of goods for a 27.8% increase.

Railways fell 9.7% to $13.9 billion, and vessels transported $8.5 billion of freight, which was down 16.2% from December 2024.

Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo led for U.S. truck freight bound for Canada while Laredo, El Paso, and Otay Mesa remained the top gateways for U.S. freight flows with Mexico.

In rail freight, Detroit, Port Huron, and International Falls were the top U.S. connection points with Canada, while Laredo, Eagle Pass, and El Paso were the main U.S. rail links with Mexico.

For U.S. energy flows with Canada, the top pipeline regions were Chicago, Port Huron, and Minneapolis. The primary U.S. pipeline connections with Mexico were El Paso, Hidalgo, and Laredo.

For water-borne cargo, the busiest northern ports serving energy flows between the U.S. and Canada were Boston, Arthur, and Portland. The top southern connections for energy flows were Houston, Arthur, and Texas City.

Filing: Flare at Valero’s 205K-Bpd Houston Refinery

Valero Refining notified Texas environmental regulators on Thursday (2/26) of an emission event at its 205,000-bpd Houston refinery affecting the main refinery flare system at the location.

The incident began at approximately 9:16 a.m. on February 25 and ended at 3:00 a.m. on February 26, Valero said in an initial report filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The company stated that a third-party power interruption caused a total loss of power to the refinery, triggering the activation of the flare system to safely manage excess process materials. The Houston refinery is one of Valero’s key Gulf Coast assets, primarily producing gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel, along with other refined products including kerosene, liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), and propylene.

The flaring event released an estimated 110 pounds of particulate matter, which exceeded the permitted emission limit of zero pounds, the report filed with the TCEQ stated.

“Refinery personnel promptly followed established procedures to safely stabilize affected units and mitigate emissions,” Valero reported. The company added that air monitoring conducted in the surrounding area confirmed there were no off-site impacts during the event.

The incident remains listed as open in the TCEQ database.

Filing: Emission at ExxonMobil Baytown, TX, Ethylene Plant

ExxonMobil Corp has notified Texas environmental regulators of an emissions event affecting three flare systems at the ethylene unit of its 588,000-bpd Baytown, Texas refinery.

The incident at the 4-million tons ethylene plant began at approximately 5:12 p.m. ET on February 23 and ended at 12:59 a.m. on February 24, the initial report filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Monday (2/24) said.

The cause was an unplanned shutdown of the Base BOP Cold Ends Process Gas Compressor (LC-02), which resulted in flaring across the BOP-X Flare, the Primary Flare, and the Secondary Flare.

The event released significant quantities of multiple air contaminants across the three flare systems, including an estimated combined total of approximately 1,494 pounds of benzene, 8,844 pounds of ethylene, 1,587 pounds of propylene, 717 pounds of 1,3-butadiene, and 13,493 pounds of carbon monoxide — with several compounds exceeding their respective permitted emission limits.

ExxonMobil stated that operational adjustments were made to reduce rates and stabilize operations to minimize emissions.

The company added that fenceline monitoring conducted as a precautionary measure indicated no adverse environmental impact to the site or surrounding community.

The incident is listed as open in the TCEQ database.

The Baytown refinery is ranked fifth largest in the U.S.

PNW ULSD Regular Basis Spikes by 19cts on High Demand

Basis of March Pacific Northwest ULSD regular surged 19cts on Thursday (2/26) to a 11.5cts premium over April ULSD futures, driven by firm demand due to limited supplies.
The basis had been pegged at an 8cts discount to April NYMEX RBOB futures contract in the previous trading session, now marking its highest level since late November when it was seen trading at 10.5ct premium. 

Refining utilization in the West Coast (PADD 5) dropped to 81.1% in the week ending February 20 from 87.4% the prior week, according to most recent data from Energy Information Administration. 

Declining refining rates in PADD 5 are related to the recent closure of Phillips 139,000 bpd Los Angeles, California, refinery and the upcoming shutdown of Valero’s 145,000 bpd, Benecia California, scheduled for late April.

Citgo Reports Emissions at Corpus Christi, TX, Refinery

CITGO Refining and Chemicals has reported air emission and excess opacity events at its 167,000-bpd Corpus Christi Refinery East Plant in back-to-back notifications filed with Texas environmental regulators.

The company filed an initial air emission event report with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday (2/25) after its No. 2 Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) at the plant emitted excess opacity during a planned restart following maintenance.

That was after it reported on Tuesday (2/24) an excess opacity emission event during a planned maintenance shutdown of the No. 2 FCCU.

The initial air emission incident began on Tuesday evening at 7:40 p.m. and ended at 9:40 p.m. At that time, the No. 2 FCCU Regenerator and Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP), identified as emission point 31-PR-1, recorded an opacity level of 75% — nearly four times the permitted limit of 20% under Authorization 9604A.

The incident status remains open as of the report date.

The excess opacity incident began earlier on Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. and concluded at 9:00 a.m and was also recorded at the ESP of the No. 2 FCCU. The status of that incident remains open too. 

Both incidents were related to the planned startup of the East Plant FCCU following a scheduled maintenance period, CITGO said.

The company said in both cases it followed its established FCCU startup procedures, which are designed to minimize emissions during the restart process.

The FCCU unit had previously experienced an unplanned shutdown in August 2025 due to a control valve failure.

CEC: California Diesel Stocks Climb 218,000 Bbl

California Energy Commission data show statewide distillate fuel inventories increased in the week ending February 20, according to the agency’s Weekly Fuels Report released Thursday (2/26), which report only statewide totals.
Statewide CARB diesel and other diesel fuel stocks grew by 218,000 bbl to 2.959 million bbl and were 7% higher than last year.
Statewide diesel production increased by 118,000 bbl to 1.625 million bbl and was 10% above last year’s levels.
The California Energy Commission currently publishing only statewide diesel inventory and production data and no longer provides regional Northern and Southern California breakdowns.

EIA: US NatGas Storage Reports 52 Bcf Weekly Withdrawal

VIENNA (DTN) – Energy Information Administration data released midmorning Thursday (2/26) show a 52 billion cubic feet withdrawal from U.S. natural gas storage to 2.018 trillion cubic feet in the week ended February 20.
Natural gas in U.S. storage is 7.5% higher than last year and 0.3% below the five-year average of 2.025 Tcf.
Regionally, EIA reports the East registered a 24 Bcf withdrawal to 364 Bcf, 1.6% less than a year ago and 13.9% lower than the five-year average.
Natural gas in storage in the Midwest decreased 16 Bcf week-on-week to 441 Bcf, a 1.6% surplus compared to the same week a year ago and 13.5% lower than the five-year average.
Mountain region natural gas in storage decreased 6 Bcf, up 18.2% year-on-year to 50% above the five-year average.
South Central storage rose 6 Bcf to 753 Bcf, 7% more than in the same week last year and 3% below the five-year average.

CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Climb 724,000 Bbl

California Energy Commission data show statewide gasoline inventories increased in the week ending February 20, as the agency now reports only statewide totals in its Weekly Fuels Report released Thursday (2/26).
Statewide gasoline stocks, including CARB reformulated, non-California, and blending components, climbed by 724,000 bbl to 10.777 million bbl, and were 2% higher than last year.
Statewide gasoline production fell by 457,000 bbl to 4.553 million bbl and was 13% below last year’s levels.
Note: The California Energy Commission currently publishes only statewide gasoline inventory and production data and no longer provides regional Northern and Southern California breakdown.

Analysis: EIA Sees Crude Stocks Jump as Refiners Cut Back

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories recorded the largest weekly jump in three years, Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday (2/25). The outsized build reflected a pullback in refining activity, which coincided with an equally sized swing in net imports, and should thus not ring demand alarm bells too loudly.

EIA reported that crude inventories expanded by 16 million bbl in the week ending February 20, marking the largest weekly build in three years. This came as refiners, who so far this year have been operating for longer and at higher rates than usual, cut back crude inputs by 416,000 bpd from the prior week. At the same time, net imports jumped 413,000 bpd amid a bump in arrivals and a decrease in exports. The timing of these factors was partially responsible for the large swing in inventories.

Still, these phenomena would account for only a little more than a third of last week’s 16 million bbl build. EIA’s adjustment factor swung from a negative 1.4 million bpd in the week ending February 13 to a positive 1.34 million bpd last week. Large adjustment factors – around 8% of the supply demand balance in the last two weeks – and the wild week-on-week swings may come down to timing. Exporters, for instance, have up to three days to report departures to customs, meaning that cargoes leaving toward the end of a reporting week may be captured by inventory data in one week and export data in the next.

Faults in weekly data may provide an alternative explanation. The EIA has just recently adjusted higher its weekly crude production estimates after months of undercounting U.S. output. Missing supply or demand sources, however, would show up as a consistently large adjustment factor in either direction, and not a 2.74 million bpd week-on-week swing as was recently the case.

Last week’s 16 million bbl build followed a 9 million bbl draw, another indication that recent swings in the data are most likely a matter of timing. Currently, commercial inventories are just 1.3% higher than at the same time last year and are still trailing the five-year average by some 3%.