Arbitrage opportunities from Asia to the US west coast are improving, lending support to Singapore prices that are already bolstered by disruptions to refineries and ports in northeast Asia.
The west-east price differential, or the premium of Los Angeles 84R over Singapore 92R, rose to $13.50/bl yesterday and the widest level in more than a year.
There have been two fixtures provisionally booked from South Korea to the US west coast. ConocoPhillips chartered the P Marchione to carry 340,000 bl of clean product, most likely gasoline, to Hong Kong or the US west coast loading 28 July. The Baltic Swift is likely to carry 250,000 bl of gasoline to the US west coast on 2 August. The cargoes may be either spot arrangements or part of term contracts.
Singapore 92R crack spread reached $5.35/bl yesterday, a four-session high. The market also saw support from disruptions to refineries and ports.
Taiwanese refiner Formosa Petrochemical will restart an 84,000 b/d residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) at its 540,000 b/d Mailiao refinery within the next few days. The RFCC was shut on 12 July because of a mechanical problem.
Dalian's oil port in northeast China was shut on 16 July after two crude pipelines exploded. This will likely affect gasoline exports from the 200,000 b/d Wepec refinery, which typically exports two to three cargoes a month from the port.
The west-east price differential, or the premium of Los Angeles 84R over Singapore 92R, rose to $13.50/bl yesterday and the widest level in more than a year.
There have been two fixtures provisionally booked from South Korea to the US west coast. ConocoPhillips chartered the P Marchione to carry 340,000 bl of clean product, most likely gasoline, to Hong Kong or the US west coast loading 28 July. The Baltic Swift is likely to carry 250,000 bl of gasoline to the US west coast on 2 August. The cargoes may be either spot arrangements or part of term contracts.
Singapore 92R crack spread reached $5.35/bl yesterday, a four-session high. The market also saw support from disruptions to refineries and ports.
Taiwanese refiner Formosa Petrochemical will restart an 84,000 b/d residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) at its 540,000 b/d Mailiao refinery within the next few days. The RFCC was shut on 12 July because of a mechanical problem.
Dalian's oil port in northeast China was shut on 16 July after two crude pipelines exploded. This will likely affect gasoline exports from the 200,000 b/d Wepec refinery, which typically exports two to three cargoes a month from the port.
