HOUSTON ,June 23-US exporters have stopped shipping certain grades of naphthenic base oils because turnarounds and domestic demand have eliminated excess supply, market players said on Wednesday.
"Now we can't get any naphthenic base oil, because the American market is very tight," a Chinese buyer said.
The 500-grade oil was unavailable to spot customers, making it one of the most challenging base oils to source, a US seller said.
500 viscosity has been very tight all year, and my view is that it is not available at all for non-contract customers, another seller said.
ICIS assessed spot 500-grade naphthenic oil at $2.85/gal ($855/tonne or ?93/tonne). The grade is most often used in grease blending and tyres. A technical grade of 500 is also used for adhesives.
Numerous turnarounds earlier this year coupled with steady demand were contributing to the tight supply in the US.
In addition, paraffinic buyers were switching to naphthenic base oils as an alternative due to tight supplies, a buyer said.
The La Isla refinery at Emmastad, Netherlands Antilles, continues to have production issues, forcing Nynas, which markets the naphthenic product, to put its customers on sales control through August.
The La Isla refinery was closed in March because of insufficient power and striking workers. The 3,700 bbl/day naphthenic base oil refinery is owned by the Curacao government and is leased to PDVSA.
LyondellBasell's refinery in Houston, Texas, is working through a demand backlog following an extended turnaround that took place earlier this year.
The site's 3,600 bbl/day naphthenic base oil plant went down when US inventories were already low. Lyondell material is marketed by Calumet.
Inventories started the year thin because refineries were operating at reduced rates through 2009, the result of weak demand from the automotive and housing sectors.
In addition, some US naphthenic refineries were struggling with lower yields of various pale oils, the result of using cheaper crude oils, sources said.
Major US naphthenic base oil sellers include Calumet, Nynas, Ergon, Cross and San Joaquin Refining.
($1 = ?.81)
"Now we can't get any naphthenic base oil, because the American market is very tight," a Chinese buyer said.
The 500-grade oil was unavailable to spot customers, making it one of the most challenging base oils to source, a US seller said.
500 viscosity has been very tight all year, and my view is that it is not available at all for non-contract customers, another seller said.
ICIS assessed spot 500-grade naphthenic oil at $2.85/gal ($855/tonne or ?93/tonne). The grade is most often used in grease blending and tyres. A technical grade of 500 is also used for adhesives.
Numerous turnarounds earlier this year coupled with steady demand were contributing to the tight supply in the US.
In addition, paraffinic buyers were switching to naphthenic base oils as an alternative due to tight supplies, a buyer said.
The La Isla refinery at Emmastad, Netherlands Antilles, continues to have production issues, forcing Nynas, which markets the naphthenic product, to put its customers on sales control through August.
The La Isla refinery was closed in March because of insufficient power and striking workers. The 3,700 bbl/day naphthenic base oil refinery is owned by the Curacao government and is leased to PDVSA.
LyondellBasell's refinery in Houston, Texas, is working through a demand backlog following an extended turnaround that took place earlier this year.
The site's 3,600 bbl/day naphthenic base oil plant went down when US inventories were already low. Lyondell material is marketed by Calumet.
Inventories started the year thin because refineries were operating at reduced rates through 2009, the result of weak demand from the automotive and housing sectors.
In addition, some US naphthenic refineries were struggling with lower yields of various pale oils, the result of using cheaper crude oils, sources said.
Major US naphthenic base oil sellers include Calumet, Nynas, Ergon, Cross and San Joaquin Refining.
($1 = ?.81)
