If it’s poor-quality “sour” crude oil in small quantities from an inconvenient location, not unlikely that nobody particularly wants it unless paid a modest sum to take it.
Looking at your link, I’m inclined to think the price was fluctuating thru the day.
A single train tanker car carries about 700 barrels. The refinery in question produces about 21 carloads of this stuff, selling for $0.50/barrel on 1/12 ... that’s $7500 gross revenue on one day’s production, or about $350 per carload. At that price, it’s a real short step from barely covering cost of selling the largely unwanted cargo, to paying someone the price of taking away what otherwise would be free (but for the relentless cost of removing that which can’t be viably stored).
Between this and the “no ships are moving” article, methinks Tyler Durden is doing everything he can to be first to call “the avalanche is starting!” - he’s sorta onto something, but reality isn’t what he’s trying to portray it as.
They post a daily price, not an hourly. It could have been a mistake as others suggested, or a fake. But I look at this site often. They don't vary it through the day.
This isn't produced at a refinery. It comes from wells. The refineries buy it to refine into fuels.
Also a fake claim from Zero Hedge. There were ships arriving in ports each day following that article. I posted links to the arrival dates for 3 US ports.