China’s VLSFO output declined in July - JLC

Chinese refiners produced 1.02 million mt of VLSFO in July, a 22.61% decrease year-on-year, according to market intelligence provider JLC.

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China’s daily average VLSFO output in July dropped by about 3.42% month-on-month to 32,903 mt, according to JLC. The decline was attributed to refinery maintenance that caused higher production losses, alongside persistently weak production margins.

Sinopec’s VLSFO output fell in July, with its Shengli Oilfield and Jinling Petrochemical companies experiencing greater production losses due to unit maintenance. In contrast, Zhoushan Petrochemical, Huizhou Refinery and Taizhou Petrochemical maintained stable VLSFO production in July.

PetroChina’s overall production also remained largely steady, with its Gaofu Refinery resuming VLSFO output after a four-month suspension. However, Jinzhou Petrochemical and Liaohe Petrochemical continued to scale back production.

Huabei (North China) Petrochemical produced 875 mt of ULSFO during the month and successfully supplied the fuel to the COSCO container ship Cosco Pride, marking the launch of its ULSFO bunkering service on 24 July.

Meanwhile, several refineries increased production. Qingdao Petrochemical’s monthly output surged to a record 160,000 mt. CNOOC’s VLSFO output also rose, driven by a sharp increase from its subsidiary Zhongjie Petrochemical.

In contrast, both ZPC and Sinochem recorded zero VLSFO production in July, the agency noted.

By Tuhin Roy

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