South Korean petrochemical firms stepped up naphtha purchases likely lured by lower premiums being traded for the fuel, industry sources said. Lotte Chemical and Hanwha were seeking cargoes for delivery from second-half April to first-half May, one of them said.
Hanwha was seeking two cargoes for delivery in second-half April and first-half May, while Lotte was seeking one cargo for first-half May, the source added. Details of the purchases were not immediately clear. Gasoline demand was also firm, with Vietnam's PV Oil seeking 10 cargoes of the motor fuel for delivery over May to July, industry sources said.
The company's gasoline requirement is in anticipation of a domestic shortfall as Vietnam's sole 130,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Dung Quat refinery starts maintenance on June 5 which is expected to last 52 days, one of the sources said.
US gasoline margins rose after being boosted by stock draws and supply disruptions.
Iran's gasoline production is expected to be boosted with the country commissioning its Lavan and Bandar Abbas refineries' upgrade units, oil analysts from FGE said in a note on Wednesday.
Gasoline production will be lifted by about 4,000 barrels-per-day to 17,400 bpd and the octane number will increase to a minimum of 90 after the upgrading is completed, they added.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.