Page 13 - AsianOil Week 11 2022
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AsianOil EAST ASIA AsianOil
Sinopec keeps refinery
operational rates fairly high
PROJECTS & CHINA’S Sinopec is reportedly running its refin- stronger local demand between next month and
COMPANIES eries at operational rates that it has described as June. According to those sources, the refiners
fairly high. This comes as the state-owned com- are expected to ramp up fuel output even as they
pany works to ensure steady fuel supplies amid reduce overall exports.
tighter energy trade flows in the wake of Russia’s China had a refining capacity of 16.69mn bar-
invasion of Ukraine – and in anticipation of rels per day (bpd) in 2020, behind only the US with
potential future disruption. 18.14mn bpd, according to BP. China-focused
“Our refineries are running steadily, with market intelligence firm JLC estimates that the
refining rates and refined products’ inventory Asian country’s exports of oil products dropped
staying at a fairly high level,” Sinopec’s chairman, by 33% year on year during January and February
Ma Yongsheng, was reported as telling the state- after Beijing halved the national fuel export quota
backed China News Agency. in its first batch of allocations for 2022.
“No matter how the market situation changes, China has the ability to act as a swing exporter,
Sinopec ... is capable and determined to ensure given its capacity to produce a lot more fuel than
oil product supply,” added Ma. it consumes. However, it imports around 70% of
This comes after Beijing told Chinese state its oil demand, and refiners are finding it more
refiners to consider suspending exports of gas- challenging to secure volumes under current
oline and diesel in April as the Ukraine war market conditions. Bloomberg noted that the
heightens concerns over shortages, according private refiners, known as teapots, have been hit
to sources cited by Reuters earlier in March. A particularly hard, as they were previously import-
separate report by Bloomberg cited trader and ing about a fifth of their crude from Russia.
analyst sources as saying an export cut was likely Sinopec is the largest refiner in Asia, with a
in April, with Chinese refiners anticipating refining capacity of about 6mn bpd.
OCEANIA
ExxonMobil to expand Gippsland
Basin gas production
INVESTMENT EXXONMOBIL announced on March 17 that of renewables by maintaining reliability, resil-
it had taken a final investment decision (FID) ience and stability of the grid,” stated ExxonMo-
on an expansion of gas production in Australia’s bil’s Australia chair, Dylan Pugh. “Our ongoing
Gippsland Basin. investment and commitment to supplying Aus-
The super-major’s Esso Australia subsidi- tralian customers means that the Gippsland
ary, which operates the Gippsland Basin joint Basin remains the largest single source of natural
venture, will develop additional gas from the gas for Australia’s east coast.”
basin’s Kipper field. The company said it was The new investment will build on the West
also “advancing funding decisions” to optimise Barracouta project, which was commissioned
output from the Turrum field. in the Gippsland in early 2021. That project is
Combined, these investments could total described by ExxonMobil as one of the larg-
AUD400mn ($297mn) and could result in an est Australian gas developments this decade.
additional 200 petajoules (5.3bn cubic metres) of According to Pugh, the company also continues
production over the next five years, according to to work to unlock the “full value” of gas reserves
the company’s statement. Of this, 30 petajoules located in the Bass Strait, which separates Victo-
(788mn cubic metres) is anticipated to come ria State from Tasmania. More investment would
online in 2023. ExxonMobil said this would help be required to help Victoria maintain its gas sup-
to avert winter supply risks that had been fore- plies, Pugh added.
cast by the Australian Energy Market Operator ExxonMobil had previously tried to put the
(AEMO) for the country’s southern states. Gippsland Basin assets up for sale. However, it
“Natural gas has an increasingly important struggled to find buyers that were well placed to
role in meeting demand for cleaner fuel, low- handle the maturity and complexity of the assets,
ering GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions in the and the decommissioning liabilities that would
power sector and supporting higher penetration come with them.
Week 11 18•March•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13
