Asia’s naphtha price for prompt month declined by about 5% this week to $587 per ton mirroring the weakness in crude oil benchmarks and the backwardation between prompt and front month prices was broadly steady at $9.50 a ton.

In tenders, Indonesia’s Pertamina was heard to have sought up to 22,000 tons of naphtha for delivery during November 20-22 in a tender that closed on Friday and was valid till October 8, market participants said.

South Korean Hanwha TotalEnergies was heard to have bought naphtha for second-half November delivery at a premium of lower double digits, they added.

In gasoline market, the refining profit margin was steady over $10 per barrel over Brent crude on Friday amid tight supply-demand conditions.

NEWS

– No injuries were reported in an explosion and fire on Thursday night on a jet fuel production unit at Chevron’s 285,000 barrel-per-day Los Angeles-area refinery, said people familiar with the matter.

– Nigeria’s daily oil and gas production slumped during a brief nationwide strike by oil workers’ union PENGASSAN that was called off on Wednesday after government-mediated talks with Dangote Refinery, according to an impact report seen by Reuters.
– Oil prices edged higher on Friday but remained on course for a weekly loss of about 7-8% after news of potential increases to OPEC+ supply.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

One naphtha and one gasoline trades.
Source: Reuters