NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha crack declined on Friday after an explosion at South Korean Yeochun NCC’s (YNCC) cracker halted maintenance work.

YNCC’s third naphtha cracker in Yeosu, the site of the explosion, produces 470,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of ethylene.

The crack slipped to $164.70 a tonne, down $2.60 from last close. However, naphtha margins gained more than 1% for the week due to tight supplies.

“Middle East’s naphtha exports should average 3.2 million metric tonnes (mmt) per month between February and April, before rising to 3.7-3.9 mmt a month during May-July,” according to data from consultancy FGE Energy.

The upside to exports from the region is expected to remain limited as several refineries in the region go into maintenance, FGE added.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could help to calm volatile oil markets if they pumped more crude, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Two gasoline deals.

Asia’s naphtha crack gained on Wednesday amid tight supplies from the Middle East even as inventories at the region’s top exporter rise, while a decline in crude oil prices further supported margins.

The refining profit margin rose to $158.85 a tonne, up $3.45 from last close.

Stocks of light distillates at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, including gasoline and naphtha, jumped for a second straight week, rising by 137,000 barrels to 6.499 million barrels.

Meanwhile, PetroChina has started a 33.9 billion yuan ($5.33 billion) programme to expand the petrochemical capacity at a subsidiary plant in northeast China and cut refined fuel production, according to a company post and state media report.

Oil prices slipped for a third session on profit-taking due to concerns over a possible rise in supplies from Iran despite industry data showing a surprise drop in US oil inventories.