Mid-Aug Shandong Independent Refinery Operating Rate Inched Down
At the beginning of August, the operating rates at Shandong independent refineries slipped. Shandong Fuyu Chemical shut down its CDU and FCC for maintenance. Shandong Zhonghai Fine Chemical shut down its CDU, and it will shut down its hydrogenation unit later. Meanwhile, Shandong Haiyou Petrochemical restarted its CDU in late July. The units at other Shandong independent refineries ran steadily. On the whole, the average operating rate of CDUs at Shandong independent refineries declined by 1.88%.
In August, the gasoline and diesel markets in Shandong were moderate. Most downstream users replenished their inventory after the gasoline and diesel prices dropped to low levels, supporting the prices of rebound. After that, downstream users stopped replenishment, and the prices began to decline again. On the whole, the inventory of gasoline and diesel at most Shandong independent refineries inched up. Up to August 13, the gasoline storage capacity utilization at Shandong independent refineries was 24.85%, and the diesel storage capacity utilization at Shandong independent refineries was 29.25%.
In terms of oil refining profits, up to August 12, the average comprehensive oil refining margins at Shandong independent refineries was RMB 106.9/mt, up slightly from July. The prices of gasoline inched up, and SCI reckons that the actual oil refining profits at refineries were almost zero.
According to SCI’s statistics, up to August 14, the capacity of the shutdown CDUs at Shandong independent refineries reached 10,900kt/a, accounting for 6.42% of the total. The monthly gasoline and diesel output at Shandong independent refineries was estimated to decline by 331kt and 250kt respectively due to unit maintenance.
