Page 5 - AsianOil Week 21

AsianOil
SOUTH ASIA AsianOil
The Express Tribune reported on May 21 that refiners had warned the government they were facing PKR31bn ($192mn) worth of inven- tory losses in March and April and that cheaper imports by state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) could force them to cut fuel production. Such a move, they said, would have “serious implica- tions” that include a supply shortfall.
Downstream operators are understood to have highlighted the fact that PSO’s cheaper oil imports in the first half of May would inform June’s ex-re- finery price. They argued that Islamabad should either keep May’s ex-refinery price in place for June or move to a fortnightly pricing mechanism.
The Express Tribune calculated that the June ex-refinery price for gasoline and high-speed diesel in June would be PKR19 ($0.118) per litre and PKR28 ($0.173) per litre respectively based on PSO’s tariff in the first half of the month.
The refiners warned that negative mar- gins on imported crude meant they were unlikely to do more than to operate at the minimum throughput.
While PSO might be willing to rack up losses on imported oil and fuel, the private sector has warned that increasing PSO’s imports to meet demand would take time and could lead to a serious supply gap.
“In our considered view, an urgent relief package is required from the government for an interim period to ensure sustainability of refinery operations failing, while it may cause some irreversible damage or financial collapse of refineries resulting in massive unemploy- ment in refining and allied industry in addi- tion to [compromising the] energy security of the country,” The Express Tribune quoted the refineries as saying.™
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Thailand’s Gulf Energy wins LNG import licences
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
THAILAND’S Gulf Energy has been granted licences to import up to 1.7mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG. The company – Thailand’s top private power producer by capacity – is the sec- ond firm in the country to be granted an import licence after state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).
Gulf issued two separate statements on the licences on May 21. According to the first, the Thai Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Gulf ’s request for a shipper licence covering 300,000 tpy of LNG. The second said that Hin Kong Power Holding, in which Gulf owns a 49% stake, had been awarded a licence for 1.4mn tpy. The remaining 51% stake in Hin Kong is held by another Thai firm, Ratch Group.
The volumes covered by Gulf ’s own licence will be used to supply 19 small power projects, Gulf said. Gas delivered under the Hin Kong licence, meanwhile, will be used to fuel a yet-to- be-built 1,400-MW power plant.
The announcement comes after the Bangkok Post reported last week that Gulf was betting on Thailand opening up LNG trading to the pri- vate sector this year. However, the decision had been delayed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Previously PTT had been Thailand’s sole supplier of gas and importer of LNG, while EGAT only received its first cargo at the start of this year, as the country set about liberalising its gas market.
Gulf expects its future LNG imports to help lower the costs of the super-chilled fuel and energy prices for industrial users. This comes as Thailand targets an increase in the proportion of gas in its power generation mix, aiming for gas sources to account for 53% of its total generation capacity of 77 GW by 2037.
As well as the power plant that Hin Kong will develop in Ratchaburi Province, Gulf has plans to build a 6,000-MW LNG-powered plant in Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan Province.™
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