Asia’s naphtha, gasoline refining profit margins extend gains

NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha and gasoline refining profit margins extended gains on Wednesday for a second consecutive session, as a correction in crude oil benchmarks supported prices. The naphtha crack climbed to $151.48 a tonne, up $2.70 from the previous close. The upside remained capped as large volumes of alternative petrochemical feedstock liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reached Asian shores this month, market watchers said.

“These arrivals are welcome as LPG enjoys some seasonal heating demand, which as well as other uses including petrochemical operations is largely isolated from the COVID-19 fallouts,” consultancy Vortexa said in a report.

Meanwhile, China’s Shandong province has turned to a deep-pocketed state-run coal miner to help fund a petrochemical complex it sees as key to the region’s industrial future, sources and local state media said.