Naphtha sales from KPI’s Sicilian refinery to be slashed in July

24-Jun-10

Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) plans to slash naphtha exports from its refinery in Sicily. The subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp plans to sell one cargo of 26,000 metric ton naphtha from its Milazzo refinery in July, vs three this month, abandoning its initial plan of selling two cargoes totalling 52,000 tons in July. Naphtha cracks have deteriorated to their weakest level since April 16, falling for the third consecutive day to a discount of US$3.85 a barrel to Brent crude oil. The Mediterranean market is weaker than a month ago as the arbitrage to Asia is not working, resulting in fewer exports and a rise in supplies.