MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News May 7th:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:
 

—  LA Jet Fuel Basis Dips 15cts, Extending Losses

— Midwest ULSD Basis Spikes on Diesel Squeeze Fear

— Shell Q1 Income Up 24% Y-o-Y on Strong Trading, Refining

— AAR: Petroleum Carloads Up 12.8% for Week Ended May 2

— EIA: U.S. Renewable Diesel, SAF Exports Cool in 2026

— EIA: US NatGas Storage Reports 63 Bcf Weekly Injection

— CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Fall 29,000 Bbl on Week

— CEC: California Diesel Stocks Rise 58,000 Bbl on Week

— Green Plains Swings to Q1 Profit From Clean Fuel Credits

— Cheniere Q1 LNG Exports at Record 187 Cargoes Y-on-Y

— Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery Reports Major Flaring

NEWS:

LA Jet Fuel Basis Dips 15cts, Extending Losses

The basis for prompt Los Angeles jet fuel weakened again Thursday (5/7), falling 15cts to extend the prior day’s decline of 10cts, as traders reassessed the severity of West Coast supply tightness following a build in regional jet fuel inventories.

The combined drop of 25cts over the past two sessions brought the premium for prompt Los Angeles jet fuel to 35cts above June NYMEX ULSD futures, versus Tuesday’s (5/5) level of 60cts.

Over the past week, Los Angeles jet fuel values have broadly retreated from the record $1.10 gallon premium reached in late April, as higher inventory numbers helped ease some of the pressure in the market.

Jet fuel inventories in the U.S. West Coast climbed by 400,000 bbl last week to 11 million bbl and were 1 million bbl higher than the same period last year, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday.

Midwest ULSD Basis Spikes on Diesel Squeeze Fear

The basis for Midwest ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) surged Thursday (5/7), with buyers paying huge premiums over what market participants described as fears of a near-term squeeze in diesel supply after federal data showed a weekly stockpile drop last week.

ULSD at the Buckeye Storage Complex in northern Indiana, as well as the Wolverine Pipeline – which stretches from the Chicago area to Michigan – both traded at a premium of 80cts gallon to NYMEX ULSD for June, Midwest fuel traders with knowledge of the transactions told DTN.

It was the highest basis for both since May 1, when their premiums were at 83cts gallon, DTN data show.

Of the two, Buckeye had the steepest price increase, rising 64.5cts on the day while Wolverine rose 55.5cts.

Chicago USLD had a 15cts move up on the day, to a premium of 25cts gallon.

The surge in premiums came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday (5/6) that distillate fuel oil inventories in the Midwest dropped by 1 million bbl to 24.9 million bbl during the week ended May 1. Despite the weekly decline, PADD 2 distillate balances remained slightly above the 24.7 million bbl reported in the same week of the previous year, the EIA data showed.

“It seems there was some pressure for buyers to get distillates delivery now,” said one Midwest trader.

Shell Q1 Income Up 24% Y-o-Y on Strong Trading, Refining

 Shell reported on Thursday (5/7) a 24% year-on-year growth in adjusted earnings for the first quarter of 2026, helped by higher trading contributions and improved refining margins.

• Adjusted earnings were at $6.9 billion in the latest quarter, versus $5.6 billion reported in the year-ago period and $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
• Stronger realized prices and operational resilience in the downstream activity and integrated gas segments bolstered the bottom line.
• Brent crude prices averaged $81 bbl in the first quarter of 2026, compared to $76 bbl in the same period last year.
• Global indicative refining margin for the quarter in review rose to $17 bbl versus $15 bbl a year ago.
• Refining utilization reached 99%, compared with 92% in the first quarter of 2025.

AAR: Petroleum Carloads Up 12.8% for Week Ended May 2

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports that petroleum and petroleum product carloads totaled 10,742 during the week ended May 2, up 12.8% from the same week a year ago.

Year-to-date, petroleum and petroleum products carloads totaled 185,029, up 8.6% from the corresponding period of the prior year, an AAR report published on Wednesday (5/6) showed.

Weekly traffic for the profiled week totaled 518,773, up 3.9% from the same week a year ago.

Total carloads for the week ended May 2 reached 235,049, up 4.0% from the same week of last year.

Weekly intermodal volume was 283,724 containers and trailers, up 3.9% from the corresponding week of the prior year.

Year-to-date, U.S. railroads reported carloads at 3,837,643, up 3.6% on the year.

Cumulative intermodal units were 4,697,928, up 0.4% from a year ago.

Total rail traffic for the first 17 weeks of the year was 8,535,571 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.8% on the year.

EIA: U.S. Renewable Diesel, SAF Exports Cool in 2026

U.S. exports of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) have got off to a slower start this year, after a blistering end-2025 pace, as producers idled capacity in anticipation of revised regulations, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday (5/7).

Renewable diesel and SAF exports averaged less than 35,000 bpd through February as producers awaited changes to blending targets under the 2026 Renewable Fuel Standard, the EIA said.

In the second half of 2025, such biofuel shipments hit nearly 50,000 bpd, representing approximately 20% of combined domestic production. Breaking down the export volumes for those six months, the EIA said Canada was the primary destination, receiving slightly more than half of the total. The Netherlands and other European markets accounted for the balance.

Most biofuels exports originated from PADD 3 and PADD 5 to supply European and Canadian demand, the EIA noted. Shipments from PADD 2 and PADD 4 were directed exclusively to Canada.

EIA: US NatGas Storage Reports 63 Bcf Weekly Injection

Energy Information Administration data released midmorning Thursday (5/7) show a 63 billion cubic feet injection into U.S. natural gas storage to 2.205 trillion cubic feet in the week ended May 01.
Natural gas in U.S. storage is 3.5% higher than last year and 6.7% above the five-year average of 2.066 Tcf.
Regionally, EIA reports the East registered a 29 Bcf injection to 361 Bcf, 0.8% more than a year ago and 0.3% lower than the five-year average.
Natural gas in storage in the Midwest increased 23 Bcf week-on-week to 452 Bcf, a 0.4% surplus compared to the same week a year ago and 1.5% lower than the five-year average.
Mountain region natural gas in storage decreased 2 Bcf, up 13.4% year-on-year to 48.2% above the five-year average.
South Central storage rose 9 Bcf to 914 Bcf, 0.2% more than in the same week last year and 0.4% above the five-year average.

CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Fall 29,000 Bbl on Week

California Energy Commission data show statewide gasoline inventories declined in the week ending May 1, as the agency now reports only statewide totals in its Weekly Fuels Report released on Thursday (5/7).
Statewide gasoline stocks, including CARB reformulated, non-California, and blending components, slipped by 29,000 bbl to 9.522 million bbl, and were 10% lower than the same week last year.
Statewide gasoline production climbed by 548,000 bbl to 4.968 million bbl, though production remained 24% below last year’s levels.
 

CEC: California Diesel Stocks Rise 58,000 Bbl on Week

California Energy Commission data show statewide diesel inventories increased in the week ending May 1, as the agency now reports only statewide totals in its Weekly Fuels Report released on Thursday (5/7).
Statewide CARB diesel and other diesel fuel stocks climbed by 58,000 bbl to 2.536 million bbl, but remained 12% below the same week last year.
Statewide diesel production increased by 109,000 bbl to 1.432 million bbl, though production was still 15% below last year’s levels.
 

Green Plains Swings to Q1 Profit From Clean Fuel Credits

Green Plains Inc. leveraged a surge in low-carbon tax credits to swing to a first-quarter 2026 profit, reversing a steep loss from the prior year, despite lower crushing volumes.

Ethanol production volumes at the Omaha, Nebraska based crusher totaled 174.2 million gallons, supported by a 97% utilization rate across eight operating plants. In the first quarter of 2025, volume was195.3 million gallons from a 100% utilization.

While Green Plains sold its Obion, Tennessee facility during the quarter in review, it benefited from $55.2 million in Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production credits that added to bottom line.

As a result, ethanol crush margins delivered $64.6 million in earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared with a $14.7 million loss a year ago. Net income reached $32.9 million against a net loss of $72.9 million in the 2025 period.

Cheniere Q1 LNG Exports at Record 187 Cargoes Y-on-Y

Cheniere Energy Inc announced Thursday (05/07) that it shipped a record 187 liquefied natural gas cargoes in the first quarter of 2026. This represents an 11% increase from the 168 LNG cargoes exported during the same period in 2025.

Total volume of gas exported for the quarter reached 688 trillion British thermal units (Btu), up 13% from the 609 trillion Btu shipped a year earlier.

The company attributed the growth to increased production and the substantial completion of the fifth train at its Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project.

Cheniere is the largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States and one of the largest LNG operators in the world.

It reported a net loss of $3.5 billion for the quarter, compared to a net income of $353 million in the prior year period. The change was primarily due to $5.4 billion in non-cash unfavorable variances related to the fair value of derivative instruments.

Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery Reports Major Flaring

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, through Blanchard Refining Company LLC, reported a major emissions and flaring event at its 631,000 bpd Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The refinery is the largest in the United States and primarily produces gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

The flaring at Blanchard began Tuesday (5/6) at 1:30 a.m. and ended at 3:00 p.m. CT, lasting approximately 13 hours and 30 minutes.

According to the filing, a power interruption caused the East and West sulfur recovery unit trains to go offline, forcing the refinery to route vent streams to multiple flares under its sulfur shed plan. The filing reported sulfur dioxide emissions across multiple refinery units and flare systems, including about 22,452 pounds from Torch 8.

Based on the filing, refinery personnel restored the sulfur recovery units and operations were returning to normal conditions.

Marathon Petroleum was contacted for additional details on the incident but did not respond by publication time.