Page 15 - Euroil Week 20 2020

EurOil PERFORMANCE EurOil
Italian fuel demand plunges 45% in April
ITALY
DEMAND for oil products in Italy slumped 45% year on year to 2.68mn tonnes last month, data published by industry association Unione Petrolifera (UP) shows, as a result of measures to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The steepest declines were seen in consump- tion of transport fuels, with demand for vehicle diesel plunging 50%, gasoline 73% and jet fuel 92%. The one bright spot was consumption of heating oil and agricultural diesel, which rose 66% to 78,000 tonnes and by 51% to 218,000 tonnes respectively. UP attributed these gains to lockdowns that were imposed.
UP said it expected a 35% y/y drop in oil product demand this month, with consumption seen recovering over the course of the month as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
Responding to the collapse in fuel demand, Italy’s Eni reduced production at its refineries in Sannazzaro and Taranto on March 17 after deciding to undertake scheduled maintenance
early. The company reported on April 2 that its Italian plants were operating at 60% capacity.
API temporarily suspended operations at its 85,000 barrel per day (bpd) Ancona refinery on March 27.
Italy has been among the countries worst hit by the pandemic, with more than 225,000 con- firmed cases and over 32,000 deaths reported. It was also the first in Europe to impose a nation- wide lockdown in early March.
Italy began reopening factories and parks on May 4, while non-essential shops and restaurants were allowed to reopen on May 18, provided that customers adhere to social distancing rules. It plans to further loosen restrictions next month, including reopening its borders to travellers from the rest of Europe.
The pandemic and its broader economic fall- out led to the number of new car registrations in Italy dropping by 97.5% y/y in April to only 4,300, according to UP. ™
Greece’s Hellenic posts higher Q1 earnings despite crisis
GREECE
Hellenic gains from higher international sales.
GREECE’S top oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum posted a surprise 4% rise in core income in the first quarter, as production growth more than offset the impact of the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic.
The state-owned company’s adjusted earn- ings before interest, tax, depreciation and amor- tisation (EBITDA) came to €128mn ($139mn) in the three months ending March 31, up from €123mn a year earlier.
Hellenic, which exports over half of the out- put from its three oil refineries in Greece, gained from increased refining availability that enabled it to ramp up shipments overseas. This more than made up for subdued domestic demand for jet fuel and gasoline.
Refining production was up 8% year on year at 3.9mn tonnes (314,000 barrels per day (bpd)), resulting in an 8% growth in EBITDA for the segment. Its marketing business also posted higher numbers, but its petrochemicals segment suffered a slump in earnings on weaker polypro- pylene (PP) margins.
Adjusted net income rose by 18% to €44mn, despite Hellenic booking inventory losses as a result of low prices.
Hellenic is sticking with its strategy to expand its solar and wind power business, with the aim
of launching a 204-MW solar plant in northern Greece at the start of 2022. Scheduled mainte- nance at its 148,000 bpd Aspropyrgos refinery will go ahead in the third quarter as planned.
Hellenic’s other refineries are in Elefsina and Thessaloniki.
Refiners across Europe have seen sales plum- met as a result of travel restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at the same time they have benefitted from the collapse in crude oil prices which has reduced their costs. Hellenic and Greece’s other, private refiner Motor Oil have taken advantage of low oil prices to accumulate feedstock, making use of their ample storage space. ™
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