Saudi Aramco has sold its second spot naphtha exports in two months from Ras Tanura refinery. The 50,000 ton cargo for September lifting follows restart of a 44,000 bpd hydrocracker in late June after a prolonged shutdown. The 150,000 tons per month A310 naphtha unit is currently operating at 90% capacity. The parcel has been sold by tender to an undisclosed buyer at a premium of US$17-19/ton to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Its first cargo was a 80,000 ton parcel of A310 grade for mid-August lifting to Vitol.
Recent shutdowns and outages have led to a shortage of auto fuel supplies in Europe, curtailing European naphtha exports to the Asian region. This has ramped up cracks to US$95/ton as compared with last weeks US$68/ton. Traders are mulling exports of naphtha from theNAdditionally Middle East to Europe to capitalise on demand for gasoline production. This however, does not seem to be economically viable because of higher freight costs as trading firms have once again taken up tankers to store gas oil at sea.
10-Aug-09 
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