Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Naphtha market steady, demand worries linger

Asia’s naphtha refining profit margin traded steady in the negative territory on Tuesday, amid subdued demand due to poor downstream cracking margins and lower operating rates, traders and analysts said.
The crack traded at a discount of $4.75 a metric ton over Brent crude and the first-half December naphtha price plunged by $13 to $668 per ton.
“Lingering concerns over China’s economic growth also clouded the recovery outlook for the naphtha market amid and ongoing property crisis,” LSEG Research wrote in a client note.
Meanwhile, Japan’s biggest oil refiner, Eneos Corp, shut the 141,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Sakai refinery on Oct. 16 after a glitch, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The refiner, which is a unit of Eneos Holdings Inc, expects to restart the unit later this month, she said.
NEWS
– World fossil fuel demand is set to peak by 2030 as more electric cars hit the road and China’s economy grows more slowly and shifts towards cleaner energy, the International Energy Agency said, undercutting the rationale for any rise in investment.
– Chinese national offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd on Tuesday posted an 8.13% fall in third quarter profit on lower realised oil prices despite higher output.
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Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)