MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s crude oil throughput rose 2.6% in October from a year earlier to its highest-ever level as fuel demand firmed on strong holiday travel, reporte Reuters.
The country processed 59.82 million tons of crude oil last month, equivalent to 14.09 MMbpd, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
That compared with 13.96 MMbpd in September, topping the previous daily record set in June at 14.08 MMbpd.
Total throughput during the first 10 months of 2020 was 555.18 million tons, or 13.29 MMbpd, up 2.9% from the same period in 2019.
Gasoline demand was firm as more motorists hit the road for long-distance driving during a holiday period in early October.
Domestic aviation fuel consumption rebounded to near pre-COVID levels in September and was expected to firm up more in October, thanks to a fast recovery in passenger travel and cargo freight, although demand from international flights remained weak.
The refinery throughput increase, however, was capped as one of Sinopec’s main refineries, Qilu in Shandong, switched off a 160,000 bpd crude processing unit from late September.
“Independent refiners still have incentives to maintain high operational rates amid a solid refining margin of 200 yuan (USD30.38) a ton,” said Ding Xu, analyst from China-based Longzhong consultancy, speaking before the data was released.
The NBS data also showed China’s crude oil output last month was 16.41 million ton, up 1.4% from the same month a year earlier.
Output for the first 10 months gained 1.7% on the year to 162.66 million tons, a small but significant increase given rapid reservoir depletion at major mature fields.
Natural gas output last month was up 12% from a year earlier to 16.3 billion cubic meters, ahead of the start of the winter heating season in the north when consumption of the fuel typically shoots up.
January-October production grew a robust 9% year-on-year.
As MRC informed before, in H1 October, 2020, China's Sinopec started operation of a 800,000 tons-per-year ethylene facility at its Zhanjiang refinery. The refinery, located in the southern Chinese coastal city of Zhanjiang, commenced operation of its 200,000 barrel per day crude oil refining units in June.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
ccording to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
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