MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News May 4th:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— Midwest ULSD Basis Rises Amid Limited Supplies

— Hess Midstream Q1 2026 Net Income Dips on Lower Production

— Flint Hills Reports Emission at Corpus Christi Refinery

— Mobius Acquires Air Liquide’s Biogas Sites in U.S., Europe

— World Bank: Energy Price Surge Jeopardizes Economic Growth

NEWS:

Midwest ULSD Basis Rises Amid Limited Supplies

Midwest ultra-low sulfur (ULSD) basis surged Monday (5/4) amid limited supplies and an increase on underlying futures benchmark on the day.

Chicago and Wolverine ULSD basis were assessed at a 18cts premium to June NYMEX ULSD futures, climbing 9cts on the session. Buckeye Complex ULSD was assessed at a 10cts premium over the same benchmark, rising 17cts.

In the Group 3 market, ULSD – commonly referred to as “X” – strengthened by 1 cent to a 9.50cts premium to the front-month NYMEX ULSD futures contract.

The hike was attributed to limited supplies driven by refinery issues and firm demand.

Midwest distillate fuel stockpiles declined by 1.5 million bbl to 27 million bbl during the week ended April 27, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its latest weekly inventories. Year-on-year, Midwest distillate balances were off by 100,000 bbl, the data showed.  

Hess Midstream Q1 2026 Net Income Dips on Lower Production

Hess Midstream reported Monday (5/4) a slight year-on-year drop in net income to $157.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, amid lower throughput volumes across several segments owing to lower new-well activity.

• Net income was $168 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $161.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
• Throughput volumes fell 5% for oil terminaling and 9% for water gathering compared to a year ago, while gas processing rose 1% due to third-party volumes.
• Capital expenditure for the quarter dropped 79% to $10.4 million following the completion of a major project to expand gas compression capacity.

Flint Hills Reports Emission at Corpus Christi Refinery

 Flint Hills Resources reported Monday (5/4) an emission event at its 270,000 bpd West refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, caused by a piping failure, according to an initial report filed with state regulators.

“On May 3, 2026, at approximately 08:45 AM, a leak occurred from a hole in piping located in an elevated pipe rack. The cause of the event is currently under investigation,” the filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality stated.

The event lasted 10 hours and released an estimated 20 pounds of benzene and 2,800 pounds of unspeciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Response teams isolated the affected line and installed a clamp, ending the release by 10:00 a.m. CST on Sunday (5/3).   A ground spill was also cleaned up, according to the filing.

Mobius Acquires Air Liquide’s Biogas Sites in U.S., Europe

Houston-based Mobius Renewables announced Monday the acquisition of Air Liquide’s biogas production in the U.S., France, Norway, and Sweden. This transaction includes six operating landfill gas-to-RNG sites in the U.S. and five farm waste sites located in France.

The deal also secures the 51% majority stake in Redo Biosolutions previously held by Air Liquide. Redo Biosolutions manages biogas production and distribution assets across Norway and Sweden as part of the transaction.

With the acquisitions, Mobius will generate and distribute over 5.5 million MMBtu of renewable natural gas annually through landfill gas and anaerobic digestion.

World Bank: Energy Price Surge Jeopardizes Economic Growth

 The World Bank Group in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook released last week forecast energy prices to surge by 24% this year to their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Overall commodity prices are projected to rise by 16% on the back of the largest energy supply crisis in history and record-high prices for key metals. This price surge will negatively impact economic growth and job creation, the report said.

“The war is hitting the global economy in cumulative waves: first through higher energy prices, then higher food prices, and finally, higher inflation, which will push up interest rates and make debt even more expensive,” said Indermit Gill, Chief Economist at the World Bank Group.

The report also highlighted the outsized impact of geopolitically driven oil supply cuts. A 1% decline in production leads to an average price increase of 11.5%, the World Bank Group said. These effects spill over into other commodity markets with delayed effect, with the peak in natural gas prices typically occurring a year after the initial oil price shock.