SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack rose for a third straight session to reach $112.38 a tonne on Monday, the highest since Jan. 2, pushed up by demand and stronger fundamentals in the gasoline sector.
- South Korea's Lotte Chemical emerged late last week to seek naphtha for a 12-month delivery starting July through a tender expected to be awarded this week.
- The petrochemicals maker on May 17 bought naphtha from the spot market for first-half July delivery at premiums within the $15 to $16 a tonne range to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
* TENDERS: India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) offered up to 40,000 tonnes of naphtha with total paraffin content at a minimum of 84 percent for June 19-20 loading from Kochi through a tender closing on May 23.
- Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) offered 35,000 tonnes of naphtha with a total paraffin content at a minimum of 75 percent for June 15-17 loading from New Mangalore through a tender closing on May 21.
- On May 9, MRPL received premiums of $29 or slightly more to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis for a cargo it sold for early June loading, making that the highest it has received in about three years.
- Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) offered a prompt full-range naphtha cargo through a tender closing on Monday.
- Essar Oil was also looking to sell naphtha for June 19-23 loading through a tender closing on May 23.
* GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack was at $9.70 a barrel, just 1.6 percent below May 17's level when it touched a 3-1/2 month high after a sharper-than-expected drawdown in petrol stocks in the US as summer demand kicked in.
- In India, BPCL has bought 15,000 tonnes of gasoline for delivery to Haldia but details were not immediately clear, traders said.
- BPCL has an outstanding tender to buy 35,000 tonnes of gasoline for May 25-30 delivery to Kochi.
- Rising demand may have prompted the refiner to import gasoline as it does not regularly buy the fuel, traders said.
- Indonesia's Pertamina issued a tender, which closes on May 24, looking to buy 2 to 3 cargoes of 98-octane grade gasoline for a six-month delivery period starting July.
- Each cargo size can range from 30,000 barrels, 40,000 barrels or 50,000 barrels.
- This was in addition to two spot tenders it issued last week.
* REFINERY/PETCHEM NEWS: S-Oil has temporarily shut a lubricant oil making unit after a small fire hit the unit's pipeline on Monday morning, a company spokesman said.
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