15/08/2009
Saudi Aramco has sold at least 100,000 tonnes of naphtha for first-half September lifting from Ras Tanura recently, while China's WEPEC sold 60,000-62,000 tonnes of naphtha for September lifting from Dalian in a rare move.
"I think, Saudi Arabia and China will continue with their spot exports," said a Singapore-based trader.
Traders said Saudi Aramco's unusual spot exports could be due to the restart of a 44,000 barrels per day (bpd) hyrocracker in late June, after a prolonged shutdown since March because of technical problems. When at full-tilt, the unit produces about 150,000 tonnes of A310 grade a month.
In Qatar, Tasweeq's new 146,000 bpd condensate splitter would have already come online by October, traders said.
The unit produces 200,000 tonnes of naphtha a month. Although it has sealed a term contract with at least four buyers to offtake some of the supplies, these are still additional barrels in the market.
