Markets

Kuwait sells light grade to Trafigura

Published March 8, 2013 Updated March 8, 2013 10:33am

SINGAPORE: Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has sold light naphtha to Trafigura through its first quarterly tender, traders said on Friday.

KPC had offered three cargoes totalling 72,000 tonnes for April to June loading, or one 24,000-tonne cargo a month.

It was unclear if Trafigura has bought all the three cargoes, but traders said the premiums were above $40 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis but below $50 a tonne.

KPC started selling the light grade around 2010 after it started commercial operations at an aromatics plant. Before that, it sold only full-range naphtha.

The state-owned refiner usually sells the light and full-range grades through a one-year contract or on a spot basis.

The light naphtha is suitable for gasoline blending, while the full-range grade is for cracking into petrochemicals.