Asia's naphtha cracks edged up 0.4 percent to reach a five-session high of $68.25 a tonne while that for gasoline was also at a five-session high after climbing 4.1 percent to $9.30 a barrel. Raw material Brent crude holding below $50 has helped boost crack values, traders said, adding that, fundamentally, naphtha is weaker as more European supplies are expected to arrive in Asia in June versus May.
Asian buyers have submitted their bids to counter Abu Dhabi National Oil Co's offers for naphtha lifting from July 2017 to June 2018 at $11 to $13 a tonne premium to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has sold up to 30,000 tonnes of naphtha for May 27-29 loading from Kandla to Vitol at a premium of about $9 a tonne to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.
This was similar to the premium IOC had fetched for an April cargo sold to SK Energy. India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) has cancelled an offer for up to 25,000 tonnes of naphtha meant for June loading. MRPL sold 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for June 23-25 lifting from New Mangalore to PetroChina at premiums ranging from $13 to $14 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a FOB basis. It had previously sold a first-half June cargo to Marubeni at a higher premium of above $17 a tonne.
Japan's Showa Shell Sekiyu said it has shut the 155,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) No 3 crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 255,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Yokkaichi refinery last Thursday for a two-month planned maintenance. A small fire occurred on Friday from around a heat exchanger equipment of a secondary unit at the refinery but there was no damage, injuries or impact to the maintenance schedule. Japan's biggest oil refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp on the other hand is to restart a 90,200 barrels-per-day No 2 crude distillation unit (CDU) at the Mizushima-B refinery on Monday after planned maintenance which started on March 20. Puma Energy Asia Sun has launched its 91,000 cubic metres petroleum products terminal at Thilawa port in southeast Yangon, Myanmar.
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