Asia’s naphtha refining profit margin rose on Tuesday after underlying prices declined in tandem with weakness in crude oil benchmarks and as ExxonMobil announced the commissioning of its Huizhou plant in China.

The crack traded at $73.30 per metric ton over Brent crude, compared with $68.13 a day earlier. The backwardation between second-half August and second-half September cargo widened to $7 a ton.

ExxonMobil said on Tuesday that multiple production lines at the 1.6 million ton-per-year Huizhou ethylene plant have achieved on-specification output.

The complex includes a flexible feed steam cracker with an annual output of 1.6 million tons of ethylene, two high-performance linear low-density polyethylene units with an annual output of 1.2 million tons, and other downstream units, the company said in a statement.

In the gasoline market, the crack rose to $8.24 per barrel over Brent crude on Tuesday.

NEWS

– China’s crude oil throughput in June rose 8.5% from a year earlier, official data showed on Tuesday, as state-owned refineries increased operations and saw a recovery in profit, according to consultancies.

– Lacklustre fuel demand at top global ship refuelling hub Singapore is squeezing margins for bunker suppliers and prompting some to pare back barge operations, industry sources said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

One gasoline trade.
Source: Reuters