India refiners getting rare oil cheap as China demand slows

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian refining companies are snapping up rare crude grades as the coronavirus outbreak curtails China’s demand for processing, executives and traders said, with prices for some grades falling by as much as 15%, said Hydrocarbonprtocessing.

Chinese refiners have slashed output by at least 1.5 million barrels a day in February, or over 10 percent, after the virus outbreak hit domestic fuel demand, leading to swelling stocks.

"Opportunity for Indian markets is more in the context of what is happening in China and in recent times we received crudes which are appearing to be attractive as compared to their value earlier,” said R. Ramachandran, head of refineries at Bharat Petroleum Corp.

Refiners in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, rarely get the opportunity to buy suitable grades from areas like the Mediterranean and Latin America due to higher freight rates.

However, shipping rates have plunged by nearly half since the virus outbreak, and after the U.S. partially lifted sanctions on part of Chinese shipping firm COSCO. BPCL will receive a million barrels each of Brazil’s Sapinhoa and Mediterranean CPC blend in April, Ramachandran told Reuters.

It is also scouting for a million barrels each of Angola’s Palanca, a grade BPCL processed years ago, and Nigerian Okoro “as pricing appears attractive” for April, he said. “This is an opportunity for Indian refiners to buy new and rarely purchased grades that are available at cheaper rates,” said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at consultancy FGE.

Asia’s spot premiums for Middle East, Russian, West African and Brazilian crude have all dropped this month with grades favoured by Chinese buyers, such as ESPO, Lula and Angolan, hurt the most. “For the Brazilian and CPC blend we have seen crude cost lower by 10-15% compared to what we used to see,” Ramachandran said.

Ample crude supplies allow other buyers to shop around and buy crude cargoes at cheap prices, although some Chinese refiners are also still chasing cheap supplies. “For March-loading, April-arrival West African crude cargoes, premiums have dropped across-the-board,” said a West African crude trader.

“Different crude grades are reacting differently... In general, most grades were down more than USD1. Rare grades are very cheap,” the trade source said. National oil companies in China buy a lot of Middle Eastern heavy crudes and medium grades, while independents process medium-to-heavy sweet grades from Latin America and Africa.

“In spot tenders we are seeing a reduction in premiums. We are seeing offers for sale of new grades. Opportunities have increased,” said M. K. Surana, chairman of Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL).

“We are seeing offers for rare grades from Africa like Angolan Nemba and U.S. crude like WTI Midland at very competitive rates.”

As MRC informed earlier, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Dusseldorf, Germany) announced that Henkel Adhesives Technologies has officially inaugurated its new production facility in Kurkumbh, India, near Pune. With a total investment of about EUR50 million, the business unit aims to serve the growing demand of Indian industries for high-performance solutions in adhesives, sealants and surface treatment products. Designed as a smart factory the new plant enables a wide range of Industry 4.0 operations and meets the highest standards for sustainability.

Also, State-run oil supplier CPC Corp., Taiwan has recently opened a representative office in New Delhi as part of its plans to set up a plant in India and forge ties in the petrochemical industry here.

As MRC informed earlier, CPC Corporation took one of its naphtha crackers off-stream on 8 November 2019 for major maintenance work. The cracker number 4 remained offline for about 65 days and resumed operation by mid of January 2020. The No. 4 unit has an annual capacity of 380,000 tons/year of ethylene and 193,000 tons/year of propylene.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bahrain said it is committed to supporting an additional oil production cut of 600,000 bpd as recommended by Opec+’s joint technical committee at a meeting in early February, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“The proposed voluntary adjustment in production is recommended to counter the expected drop in oil demand, mainly in China, due to corona virus outbreak,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Alkhalifa, Bahrain’s oil minister, said in a statement.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2019, ыtate-run Bahrain Petroleum Co (Bapco) completed multi-billion-dollar financing aimed at expanding its refining capacity to 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 267,000 bpd.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices fell around 1%, pressured by growing worries about fuel demand as a coronavirus epidemic spread further beyond China, and as major crude producers appeared to be in no rush to cut output to buttress the market, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Brent crude was down 64 cents, or 1.1%, at USD58.67 a barrel by 0703 GMT, while U.S. crude dropped 54 cents, or 1%, at USD53.34 a barrel.

South Korea’s fourth-largest city has become the latest virus hotspot, with streets abandoned and residents staying indoors after dozens of people were infected in what authorities described as a “super-spreading event” at a church. Singapore and Japan are on the cusp of recession and the epidemic will be a major focus of talks at a meeting of G20 finance leaders on the weekend.

In China itself, the world’s biggest importer of crude oil, new cases also rose on Friday from the day before even as Beijing presses on with efforts to contain the spread that has largely paralyzed the world’s second-biggest economy. “I think there is a lot of reason for caution right now, as the impact of coronavirus on demand is still unclear,” Stratfor oil analyst Greg Priddy said by email.

"If it begins to look like the impact will be modest, that could affect Russia’s decision at the March 5-6 OPEC+ meeting on whether they are willing to endorse a further cut," he added. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that global oil producers understood that it would no longer make sense for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to meet before their gathering.

The grouping, known as OPEC+, has been withholding supply from the market to support prices for several years now and many analysts expect an extension or deepening of the restrictions on production. Moscow has said it will disclose its stance in the coming days.

"We still believe that the market is likely to trade lower from current levels, given the scale of the surplus over the first half of this year," ING Economics said in a note. Adding to pressure on oil prices was the strength of the U.S. dollar as investors looked for safe havens. A stronger greenback typically makes oil more expensive as the commodity is usually priced in dollars.

Prices were fazed by tensions in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia said on early Friday it had intercepted and destroyed several ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militia towards Saudi cities.

In the United States, crude stockpiles rose for a fourth week last week, although less than analysts had forecast. Gasoline and distillate inventories continued recent declines.

As MRC infomed earlier, the price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, averaged USD64 per barrel (b) in 2019, USD7/b lower than its 2018 average. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, averaged USD57/b in 2019, USD7/b lower than in 2018.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec's Yanshan Petrochemical will shut its 3 million mt/year CDU and 2 million mt/year FCC for maintenance over late March to early May, reported S&P Global.

As MRC informed before, Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical, another subsidiary of Sinopec, plans to shut the cracker unit in Tianjin in northeast China for scheduled repairs on 15 June, 2020. This cracking unit with a capacity of 900,000 tonnes of ethylene per year and 480,000 tonnes of propylene tons per year will be closed for scheduled repairs until 24 June, 2020.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

Sinopec corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China announced last Tuesday it would cut retail ceiling prices for gasoline and diesel for the second time in 2020 to reflect the decline in global oil prices, taking total cuts so far this year to around 10%, reported Reuters.

The National Development and Reform Commission said gasoline prices would be reduced by 415 yuan (USD59.24) per tonne and diesel by 400 yuan. The state planner said new price cuts took effect last Wednesday.

It had cut both prices earlier in the month by around 5% on both fuels.

The latest moves represent cuts of about 5% on gasoline and 5.7% on diesel prices, Reuters' calculations showed based on the fuel prices the state planner published on its website.
MRC