Spot supplies from the refinery to the Northeast China market had been limited during its 40-day shutdown maintenance, because it kept most inventories for self-consumption, said a source with PetroChina. As its 200,000-mt/yr Group II base oil unit came back on stream, supply became ampler, explained the source, without giving the details of the current output.
However, the supply growth would unlikely to weigh on Group II base oil prices in the region. In view of generally tight supplies in the said region, PetroChina had no plan for price-cut, so Group II ex-refinery price from Daqing Refining & Chemical would remain high, said an industry source who was close to the oil giant. Furthermore, as resources from the refinery were mainly low-viscosity Group II base oils, the local market would still import high-viscosity resources from abroad, where prices were firm, the source added. On high import costs, local traders pegged base oils prices at as high as above Yuan 9,000/mt.
Daqing Refining & Chemical Company, a subsidiary refinery of PetroChina, is the only Group II base oil producer based in Northeast China. It mainly produces 2CST and 5CST Group II resources.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
