MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News for March 16th:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— PNW Sub-Octane Regular Basis Surges 10cts on Tight Supply

— BTS: U.S. Carriers Had 81.2M Passengers in December

— Sable Resumes Oil Transport at California Unit

— BP Offer Rejected by Workers at 440K Bpd Whiting Refinery

— Venture Global Secures $8.6B for CP2 LNG Expansion

— U.S. Rack ULSD Rises 10.4cts to Start Week as Risk Persists

NEWS

PNW Sub-Octane Regular Basis Surges 10cts on Tight Supply

Basis for prompt Pacific Northwest sub-octane regular surged 10cts Monday (2/16) to a 30.5cts premium over April NYMEX RBOB futures, driven by limited supplies and firm demand. 

A bid for PNW sub-octane regular was heard at a 30cts premium to the same benchmark. The basis was pegged at a 20.5cts premium to April NYMEX RBOB futures contract in the previous trading session.

Motor gasoline inventories in the West Coast region fell by 400,000 bbl to 28.3 million bbl in the week ending March 6, up by 300,000 bbl compared to the same week last year. Gasoline imports in the region climbed by 167,000 bpd to 189,000 bpd week-over-week and were 102,000 bpd higher than the volume reported in the same period of the previous year.
Refinery utilization in PADD 5 rose to 83.8% last week compared to 79.6% the previous week, EIA data showed.

BTS: U.S. Carriers Had 81.2M Passengers in December

U.S. airlines carried 81.2 million systemwide passengers in December 2025, representing a 2.6% decline compared to the same month last year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Friday (3/13).

The total includes 69.9 million domestic and 11.3 million international passengers traveling on U.S. airline flights throughout the month.

The agency noted that seasonally adjusted enplanements rose 1.5% from November but remained 2.7% below the record highs of June 2024. While domestic passenger numbers fell 3.1% year-on-year, the 11.3 million international boardings accounted for an all-time high.

Sable Resumes Oil Transport at California Unit

Sable Offshore announced Monday (3/16) that it has resumed transporting crude oil from its Santa Ynez Unit off the California coast, following a federal order that directs the company to restart oil production and pipeline operations in the region.

Texas-based Sable began shipments from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station on March 14, according to a company statement.

The company expects to commence first sales by April 1, 2026, at an estimated 50,000 bpd, representing a nearly 17% increase in California’s domestic crude supply. This production would replace 1.5 million bbl of foreign crude imports.

On Friday (3/16), U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling covering vast areas of the U.S. coastlines and was approved by former President Joe Biden in January 2025.

Trump’s federal order invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950, allowing Sable to immediately prioritize pipeline transportation of hydrocarbons through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System, citing energy scarcity risks and U.S. military dependence on foreign oil caused by California state policies. The move came amid supply disruptions caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S.-Israel-Iran war.

Full production resumption at Platforms Harmony and Heritage is anticipated this month, with Platform Hondo expected online by June 2026.

Sable also filed a federal lawsuit against the California Department of Parks and Recreation on March 13 to defend its rights under the DPA Order.

BP Offer Rejected by Workers at 440K Bpd Whiting Refinery

Unionized workers at BP’s 440,000 bpd Whiting Refinery have voted to overwhelmingly reject the company’s amended labor deal, according to a bulletin published by the group.

Some 94.1% of the union’s membership participated in the vote, and 98.3% of them rejected BP’s “last, best and final” contract offer, according to the bulletin released Thursday (3/12) by United Steelworkers Local 7-1.

The union did not outline next steps in its negotiations with BP.

Whiting is the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest and a key supplier of refined fuels into the Chicago and broader PADD 2 markets.

It is connected to the Magellan Pipeline System and Explorer Pipeline, which distribute refined products across the Midwest.

Any disruption to its operations could affect the Chicago ULSD gasoline basis as well as the Group 3 supply balance.

Venture Global Secures $8.6B for CP2 LNG Expansion

Venture Global said it has secured $8.6 billion in funding for the second phase of its CP2 LNG project, to reinforce its position as one of the largest U.S. exporters of liquefied natural gas.

The expanded CP2 LNG terminal will have a peak export capacity of 29 million tonnes per annum, bolstering security for Venture Global’s key markets across Europe and Asia, CEO Mike Sabel said in a statement issued Friday (3/13).

With the new funding, Venture Global has drawn a total of $20.7 billion for the CP2 project.

The company exported 1,409 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) last year, behind the 2,424 TBtu handled by Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. LNG shipper.

U.S. Rack ULSD Rises 10.4cts to Start Week as Risk Persists

Wholesale rack prices for ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) across the United States moved higher Monday (3/16), extending last week’s upward momentum as geopolitical tensions tied to the Middle East continued to support refined product markets.

Nationwide ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) rack prices averaged $3.9700 gallon, rising 10.39cts from Friday’s $3.8661 gallon, according to DTN data. The move follows last week’s rally in refined products as markets continued to price in geopolitical risk tied to developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

Conventional unleaded gasoline rack prices averaged $3.1094 gallon, an increase of 3.85cts from Friday’s $3.0709 gallon.

ULSD racks moved higher across all regions where comparable data was available. The largest increase occurred in PADD 4, where prices climbed 12.27cts to $3.9154 gallon, followed by PADD 5, up 11.63cts to $4.5933 gallon. PADD 3 rose 11.58cts to $3.9645 gallon, while PADD 1 increased 11.21cts to $4.1475 gallon. Data for PADD 2 distillate racks was not available in Friday’s source alerts, though Monday values averaged $3.6883 gallon.

Relative to the national ULSD rack average of $3.9700 gallon, PADD 5 held the strongest premium at 62.33cts above the U.S. benchmark, followed by PADD 1 at 17.75cts above the national average. PADD 3 traded near parity with the national average, while PADD 4 and PADD 2 stood at discounts of 5.46cts and 28.17cts, respectively.

On gasoline racks, PADD 4 posted the largest increase, rising 8.62cts to $2.9762 gallon. PADD 1 climbed 6.52cts to $2.8095 gallon, while PADD 5 rose 5.32cts to $3.7338 gallon. PADD 3 increased 5.30cts to $2.7948 gallon, and PADD 2 posted the smallest gain, increasing 4.42cts to $2.6090 gallon.

Compared with the national gasoline average of $3.1094 gallon, all regions traded at a discount except PADD 5, which stood at a 62.44cts premium to the U.S. benchmark. The deepest discount was seen in PADD 2 at 50.04cts below the national average, followed by PADD 3 at 31.46cts, PADD 1 at 29.99cts, and PADD 4 at 13.32cts below the benchmark.

In the futures market, energy contracts were mixed Monday morning as traders assessed geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Market participants were awaiting the international community’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for a joint patrol of the Strait of Hormuz aimed at protecting oil tankers transiting the key shipping route for Middle Eastern crude exports. The front-month NYMEX ULSD April contract traded at $4.0103 gallon, down 0.44cts, while NYMEX RBOB gasoline for April slipped 3.3cts to $3.0081 gallon. Meanwhile, WTI crude traded at $94.94 barrel, up $3.76, as geopolitical risk continued to support crude prices.