Page 4 - AsianOil Week 42 2021
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AsianOil ASIA-PACIFIC AsianOil
Asian refiners ramp up run rates
PERFORMANCE REFINERS across Asia are ramping up their An unnamed major South Korean refiner
operations in order to meet an uptick in oil prod- intends to boost output in October-December
uct demand, according to market observers. by 5% quarter on quarter, Reuters quoted an
Downstream players in India, South Korea, anonymous source as saying.
Taiwan and Japan will lead the charge, the direc- China is another market that is expected
tor of Asia oil at energy consultancy FGE, Sri to ramp up its downstream output, with con-
Paravaikkarasu, told Reuters on October 21. sultancy Energy Aspects forecasting that
She forecast there would be a “big increase” fourth-quarter refinery runs will climb to
in crude runs this winter, as refiners tried to take 15.18mn bpd from 14.63mn bpd in the third
advantage of a rebound in margins. Singapore quarter.
complex refining margins rose above $8 per bar- The uptick in East Asian refining runs has
rel this month, their highest level since Septem- driven refiners in both South Korea and Japan in
ber 2019. Paravaikkarasu said Asia’s crude runs search of feedstock bargains to pick up cargoes
were forecast to hit 29.5mn barrels per day in the of Iraqi crude, S&P Global Platts reported on
fourth quarter, up from 29.1mn bpd in the same October 20, citing unnamed refinery and trad-
period of 2020. ing sources from across the region.
Taiwanese refiner Formosa Petrochemical Refiners are understood to have been wooed
told the newswire that it intended to process by a sharp fall in the official selling price (OSP)
400,000 bpd in November, up from 370,000- spreads between Iraqi crude and other Persian
380,000 bpd in October, before rising to 460,000 Gulf grades. This narrowing came after Iraq’s
bpd in December and January 2022. State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO)
“The increase in output won’t happen so decided to cut the November OSP differentials
quickly, as we have maintenance at a unit in by $0.40-0.50 per barrel across its Asia-bound
October,” spokesperson K Y Lin said. Basrah grades.
SOUTH ASIA
Indian PM plugs upstream potential
POLICY INDIA’S efforts to drum up investment in its
upstream continued this week with Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi calling on both foreign
and private players to help boost the country’s
production.
The government expects upstream reforms,
both already implemented and currently being
planned, to help deliver oil and gas self-suffi-
ciency, Modi said during a video conference with
industry executives and analysts on October 20.
Modi pointed to various initiatives since his
government came to power, including changes
made to exploration and licensing policy, gas mar-
keting, coal-bed methane (CBM) policies, coal gas-
ification as well as the August reform of the Indian
Gas Exchange (IGE), which allows some domestic
gas production to be traded on the platform.
Modi said the government’s focus in the
upstream had shifted from “revenue” to “pro-
duction” maximisation, referring to changes
made to the bidding system that rewarded offers A statement from the prime minister’s
based on work programmes. office said the attendees had praised several
The event’s attendees included Rosneft of the government’s recent achievements in
chairman and CEO Igor Sechin, Saudi Aramco “improving energy access, energy affordability
president and CEO Amin Nasser; BP CEO Ber- and energy security”.
nard Looney, Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Modi’s comments come after the country’s
Peuch, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman latest exploration bid round only attracted
and managing director Mukesh Ambani and bids from three companies, two of which are
Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal. state-run. State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp
P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 21•October•2021
