Europe absorbs naphtha from the East as weak Asian prices open up rare arbitrage

20-Sep-16

Europe has been soaking naphtha from the east as weak Asian prices open up the rare arbitrage, as per Reuters. At least one medium-range size tanker and two long-range 1 (LR1) vessels carrying naphtha of Middle Eastern and Indian origin totalling over 140,000 tons had already landed in Northwest Europe, traders said.

Upcoming refinery shutdowns in Europe and the Middle East could dent supplies and support light-end margins:
Saudi Aramco has scheduled maintenance at its refinery in Yanbu in November. The oil major also plans to carry out maintenance at the Ras Tanura refinery in December for 20-25 days, which may involve only the 325,000-bpd crude distillation unit (CDU). Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co (Yasref), is expected to shut its 400,000 bpd refinery complex for 10-15 days of maintenance in November.