The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksBP Share News (BP.)

Share Price Information for BP (BP.)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 483.00
Bid: 481.65
Ask: 481.80
Change: 0.45 (0.09%)
Spread: 0.15 (0.031%)
Open: 479.30
High: 483.25
Low: 477.30
Prev. Close: 482.55
BP. Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

UPDATE 2-Marathon Petroleum expects narrowed WTI-Brent spread to widen

Tue, 30th Apr 2013 20:19

* Rebound in European demand, increased US production towiden spread

* Weak European demand in Q1 contributed to lower dieselexports

* Marathon expects to run cheap US crude at Galveston Bayrefinery

By Kristen Hays

HOUSTON, April 30 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp expects the narrowed spread between U.S. crude benchmarkWest Texas Intermediate and London's Brent crude to widen again,though not necessarily to the $20-plus level seen earlier thisyear, company executives said on Tuesday.

That spread, which surpassed $20 in February but has droppedbelow $10, has been a boon for refiners like Marathon withmultiple plants in the U.S. Midwest that are in close proximityto cheaper U.S. inland and Canadian heavy crudes output.

On Tuesday, the spread between Brent and U.S.crude settled at less than $9 for the first time since Decemberof 2011, and down from over $23 in February 2013. The spreadmoved between $10 and $13 for most of April.

Gary Heminger, chief executive of Marathon Petroleum, toldReuters in an interview that Europe's weak economy and a heavyrefinery turnaround season depressed demand, pushing down Brentprices.

As those turnarounds wrap up, demand for Brent is expectedto rise, pushing prices up relative to WTI, he said.

In addition, he said crude stocks at the U.S. crude futureshub in Cushing, Oklahoma, remain high at 51 million barrels, andthat inventory will decline to some degree as pipeline projectsincreasingly come online and help relieve that glut.

Those include the startup this month of Magellan MidstreamPartners' reversed Longhorn Pipeline, and SunocoLogistics Partners LP upcoming startup of the firstphase of its Permian Express West Texas-Nederland crude pipelineproject. Both aim to move WestTexas crude to Houston or southeast Texas that otherwise wouldbe bound for Cushing.

Enterprise Products Partners' and Enbridge Inc's expanded Seaway Pipeline also is moving crude fromCushing to the Texas Gulf Coast.

But even with those projects and others, Heminger noted thatU.S. production is expected to keep growing, particularly inTexas, North Dakota and the Gulf of Mexico as companies addinfrastructure to move crude to refineries.

"We think you'll see the spread widen back out," Hemingersaid.

Weaker European demand contributed to lower diesel exports,as did competition from Motiva Enterprises' 600,000barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, MikePalmer, senior vice president of supply, distribution andplanning, told analysts.

The company exported 121,000 barrels per day of diesel inthe first quarter, down from 151,000 bpd in the fourth quarterof 2012.

"The market will dictate to us how much we actually export,"Palmer said. "We continue to expect that exports are going to bea very important part of our business and we are very positiveabout exports going forward."

The company's 451,000 bpd Galveston Bay refinery in TexasCity is part of that optimism for exports. Marathon closed onits $2.4 billion purchase of the refinery from BP Plc inFebruary, and executives said they are formulating crude slatesthere.

Palmer said the refinery, which helped push the company'squarterly earnings up by 22 percent, has not yet run as muchWTI-priced crude as Marathon's other six plants.

He said Marathon sees value in running foreign sweet cargocrudes, which is related to the aromatics business at therefinery. But the company is working to optimize its crudeslate, and the Longhorn and Permian Express pipelines will helpbring in those cheaper crudes.

"As domestic crude continues to grow, we expect that we aregoing to see that crude run by this plant," Palmer said.

More News
19 Mar 2024 16:57

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: European large-caps rise on eve of Fed decision

(Alliance News) - Blue-chip stock prices in Europe closed higher on Tuesday, showing little signs of nerves ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision and UK inflation reading.

Read more
19 Mar 2024 11:52

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: European markets flat ahead of Fed and BoE

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were down at midday on Tuesday, as investors sat on their hands ahead of interest rate decisions from the UK and US.

Read more
18 Mar 2024 11:49

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 as shakes off pre-interest rate nerves

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday Monday, as eyes were firmly on interest rate decisions across the globe.

Read more
15 Mar 2024 13:07

IN BRIEF: Costain wins place on GBP4 billion carbon capture project

Costain Group PLC - Maidenhead, Berkshire-based construction and engineering firm - Selected as one of nine specialist partners to deliver a carbon capture project beneath the North Sea off the east cost of England. The engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for the East Coast Cluster have a combined value of around GBP4 billion, Costain says. The contracts will be with Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership. NZT Power is a electricity generating joint venture of the UK's BP PLC and Norway's Equinor. NEP is a joint venture of BP, Equinor and France's TotalEnergies SE that will provide CO2 transport and storage for the East Coast Cluster. Final investment decisions are expected in September or earlier, with the projects aiming for commercial operations from 2027.

Read more
15 Mar 2024 12:11

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 underperforms despite mining, oil boost

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 overcame a muted morning to head into Friday afternoon on the up, though its progress was shy of the loftier gains seen by mainland European peers, as investors showed some signs of trepidation ahead of a pair of interest rate decisions next week.

Read more
14 Mar 2024 11:54

BP details green credentials in similar push towards net zero as Shell

(Alliance News) - BP PLC on Thursday outlined similar targets to cut emissions as peer Shell PLC, as both oil and gas majors strive to become net zero for carbon emissions by 2050.

Read more
14 Mar 2024 10:19

BP picks up Ashford site to boost electric charging scope for trucks

(Alliance News) - BP PLC on Thursday stepped up plans to increase its electric charging capacity for heavy goods vehicles by buying one of the largest truck stops in Europe.

Read more
8 Mar 2024 13:42

BP appoints Aviva boss Amanda Blanc as senior independent director

(Sharecast News) - Oil giant BP said on Friday that it has appointed Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc as senior independent director with effect from after the annual meeting on 25 April.

Read more
8 Mar 2024 12:20

IN BRIEF: BP promotes Aviva chief executive officer to senior director

BP PLC - London-based oil major - Non-Executive Director Amanda Blanc will be appointed as a senior independent director, effective from April 25 at the conclusion of BP's annual general meeting. Blanc joined BP's board in September 2022. She has been group chief executive officer of Aviva PLC since July 2020. Company also says Senior Independent Director Paula Reynolds will retire at the AGM's conclusion, having served on the board for nine years. Non-Executive Director John Sawers will also be retiring.

Read more
8 Mar 2024 10:33

BP pays Auchincloss £8m in 2023, claws back £1.8m from Looney

(Sharecast News) - BP chief executive officer Martin Auchincloss was paid £8m for his services in a particularly prosperous year, it was revealed on Friday, as it managed to claw back a further £1.8m from its former head Bernard Looney.

Read more
4 Mar 2024 15:29

London close: Stocks languish ahead of Wednesday's Budget

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets finished in the red on Monday, reflecting investor apprehension ahead of the impending Spring Budget.

Read more
4 Mar 2024 10:43

Jefferies upgrades BP to 'buy'

(Sharecast News) - Jefferies upgraded BP on Monday to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 570p from 520p.

Read more
4 Mar 2024 08:59

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Jefferies says buy BP; UBS says buy Compass

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Monday morning:

Read more
4 Mar 2024 08:55

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Review cuts Hipgnosis Songs Fund valuation

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mostly lower on Monday, as investor attention remained primarily on the release of the UK Spring budget on Wednesday.

Read more
4 Mar 2024 07:41

LONDON BRIEFING: Stocks called down; attention on UK's spring budget

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open lower, ahead of a busy week of economic news.

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.