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☆ Asia's refiners face profit crunch as Kuwait cuts crude exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Lower Kuwaiti exports follow cuts from OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia that have pushed Brent prices close to $90 a barrel and left little wriggle room for Asia's refiners, reliant on the Middle East for more than two-thirds of crude imports. Chinese refiners, which have invested heavily in new plants designed to process sour oil, are especially exposed. Discounted oil from Russia has eased some of the pain, replacing some Kuwaiti supply, largely to China and India. Additionally, Kuwait's joint venture 230,000 bpd Duqm refinery in Oman is scheduled to start operation by end-2023, which could reduce Kuwaiti crude exports by a further 100,000 bpd to 200,000 bpd in 2024, the consultancies said. Formosa could replace Kuwaiti supply with grades such as Iraq's Basra Medium, Qatar's al-Shaheen and Oman crude, Lin said, adding it can also process U.S. light sweet crude.

Persons: Brent, Asia's, Janiv Shah, Sun Jianan, Al Zour, consultancies, KPC, Lin, al, James Forbes, Muyu Xu, Florence Tan, Sonali Paul Organizations: Kuwait Oil Tanker, Oil, Companies, Lower, Saudi, United Arab, Rystad Energy, P, Kuwait Petroleum Corp, Shenghong, Taiwan Formosa Petrochemical Corp, FGE, Dubai, Brent, Thomson Locations: Kuwait, Pier, Companies Kuwait, SINGAPORE, OPEC, Lower Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, India, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Taiwan, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Oman, PetroChina's, Guangdong, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Formosa, Basra, Shaheen, Brent, Dubai

☆ China's gasoline demand peak nears as EV boom hastens transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Mohi Narayan | Thomson Reuters | Reports On Everything How Asia S Fuel Use Recovers The Fallout Of To Tracking How The Global Energy Transition Impacts Refinery Expansion Plans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and consultancy Rystad Energy have brought forward forecasts of China's peak gasoline demand by about a year to 2024, while Chinese state majors PetroChina and Sinopec (600028.SS) see it in 2025. The earlier halt in gasoline demand growth in the world's No. Reuters GraphicsAs a result of accelerating EV sales, Paris-based IEA now expects Chinese gasoline demand to peak in 2024 at about 3.7 million barrels per day (bpd), bringing forward an earlier projection of demand plateauing in 2025/2026. The research arm of China's state refiner CNPC expects gasoline demand to peak in 2025, citing accelerating sales of EVs, and sees gasoline demand shrinking 2.3% annually between 2026 and 2030. China's massive move into petrochemicals is already causing a glut globally, prompting companies to shift investments to high-end energy transition materials.

Persons: Aly, refiners, Toril Bosoni, EV's, Gaurav Batra, Mukesh Sahdev, Ma Yongsheng, Mohi Narayan, Carman Chew, Matthew Chye, Chen Aizhu, Zoey Zhang, Andrew Hayley, Florence Tan, Sonali Paul Organizations: Porsche, Auto Shanghai, REUTERS, International Energy Agency, Rystad Energy, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Reuters Graphics, Reuters, China, Shenghong Petrochemical, Energy, Graphics, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Jan, Sinopec, Asia, Reuters Graphics China, Paris, U.S, North America, India, Sun, New Delhi, Singapore, Beijing

SINGAPORE, July 5 (Reuters) - Prices of Russia's ESPO Blend crude oil shipped to China have surged to a seven-month high as buyers rush to secure cargoes amid higher Russian demand and after Moscow pledged to cut exports. Russia on Monday vowed to slash oil output and exports by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, with Moscow seeking to nudge up global oil prices in concert with Saudi Arabia. Even before that pledge, Russia's oil exports were expected to fall in July as local refineries ramp up operations following maintenance. They are now out for shopping and Russian oil remains relatively cheap," said one trader. Strong bids from Indian refiners are also helping push up prices for China, three other traders said.

Persons: Muyu Xu, Chen Aizhu, Tony Munroe, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Moscow, ICE Brent, Big, Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong, ESPO, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China, Kozmino, Moscow, Saudi Arabia, Jiangsu, India

New capacity in China is expected to make up more than half of that growth, according to the International Energy Agency. Reuters GraphicsIn 2023, WoodMac sees China's output growth creating a local surplus of 4.24 million metric tons of ethylene and an even bigger oversupply of propylene at 8.69 million metric tons. Reuters GraphicsMARKET SHARE BATTLENewly launched refinery complexes by state giant PetroChina's (601857.SS) Guangdong Petrochemical and privately-run Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical have added to surging petrochemical supply from mega refiners Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp and Hengli Petrochemical (600346.SS) that has come online in recent years. Rongsheng Petrochemical (002493.SZ) and Hengyi Petrochemical (000703.SZ) swung to net losses in the first quarter. While Chinese demand from some sectors such as inexpensive clothing and daily essentials is robust, other sectors such as automative have yet to recover in line with expectations, said Salmon Lee, global head of polyesters at consultancy WoodMac.

Persons: Chen, refiners, China's, Wood Mackenzie, WoodMac, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, TotalEnergies's, Salmon Lee, Lee, Mohi Narayan, Andrew Hayley, Matthew Chye, Florence Tan, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, International Energy Agency, Reuters Graphics, Guangdong Petrochemical, Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical, Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp, Hengli Petrochemical, Sinopec, Rongsheng Petrochemical, Hengyi Petrochemical, Thomson Locations: Dalian, Liaoning province, China, Asia, Europe, U.S, Guangdong, Jiangsu, China's, New Delhi, Beijing

☆ China's big refineries crowd out teapots for discounted Russian oil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SummarySummary Companies Hengli, Shenghong join Russian oil purchasesChina's April Russian oil imports likely to exceed March recordTeapots turn to cheaper Iranian oil, diluted bitumenSINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - Chinese state oil giants and major private refiners are sweeping up more Russian crude, supporting prices and forcing smaller independents to seek out cheap alternatives such as Iranian oil, according to trade sources and shipping data. Shenghong imported a Urals crude cargo of about 720,000 barrels in March and 1 million barrels in April, Kpler showed. China's overall Russian crude imports, including pipeline and ships, rose to a record 9.61 million tonnes, or 2.26 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, customs data showed on Friday. TEAPOTSSmaller Chinese independent refineries, known as teapots, snapped up almost all of the ESPO supplies between November and January when others steered clear of Russian oil around the start of the European Union ban on Dec. 5. With the return of big buyers, price-sensitive teapots are looking for alternatives such as Russian Arctic grades, Iranian and Venezuelan oil.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, March 28 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports will average 10.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, matching the previous record high from 2020, according to the think tank of the country's leading energy group. What is interesting with the ETRI forecasts is that they would seem to show that China's refiners are still expecting to add crude oil to stockpiles over 2023. This is some 370,000 bpd more than the ETRI forecast for refinery throughput of 14.66 million bpd. China's crude oil imports seen rebounding to new high in 2023NEW REFINERIESIt's likely that some of the oil heading for storage will go to build working inventories for new plants expected to be commissioned this year. Flows in, or indeed out of, either commercial or strategic reserves are the biggest X-factor for China's crude oil imports.

☆ China's Shenghong Holdings to invest $4.5 bln in energy battery factory, research unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Jan 31 (Reuters) - China's Shenghong Holdings Group signed a contract on Tuesday to invest 30.6 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in an energy storage battery gigafactory and a new energy battery research facility in the eastern city of Zhangjiagang. The Suzhou city government announced the pact on its official social media account, adding that the completed project was expected to generate 56 billion yuan in annual revenue. ($1=6.7536 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's oil refinery runs fall for first year since 2001
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Chen Aizhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Refiners processed 675.9 million tonnes of crude oil last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday, or about 13.5 million barrels per day (bpd). This is just down from 14.5 million bpd in November and the record of 14.8 million bpd in June 2021. Fourth-quarter refined fuel exports, including diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel oil, surged 61% over a year-ago period to 18.3 million tonnes. Crude oil production remained firmly above the 4 million bpd mark, a level regarded by the state-dominated sector as strategic to ensure domestic supply security, as companies stepped up developing more challenging reservoirs. Last year's output was up 2.9% from 2021 at 204.67 million tonnes, or 4.1 million bpd, with December output up 2.5% on the year at 16.87 million tonnes.

The increased output could also cool prices for other oil products, especially for gasoline, and dampen overall refining margins. Half of the increase, though, will still come from Asia's biggest refiner Sinopec (600028.SS), one of them said, as it raises output to produce more diesel and raise fuel exports. So the mandate from the headquarters is to boost diesel production to supply the domestic market and also to raise exports," one of the Sinopec sources said. Further boosting supply, China's largest private refiner Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co (ZPC) is raising diesel output by cutting petrochemical production. Lockdowns have become more frequent and China's borders remain mostly shut, hurting domestic gasoline and aviation fuel sales.

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