To help Japan tackle supply shortage, China's oil majors Sinopec and PetroChina will supply altogether 10,000mt of gasoil and 10,000mt of gasoline to Japan for free in the near term, Sinopec's website shows.
This has not been confirmed by Chinaoil or Unipec, both oil majors' trading arms. A source with Chinaoil just said the company is still waiting for instruction from the headquarters and details are not known.
The supply should be contributed evenly by Sinopec and PetroChina, said some market sources. PetroChina is likely to supply 10,000mt of gasoline from Northeast China-based refineries and Sinopec is likely to provide 10,000mt of gasoil from refineries in East China, a source remarked.
Both PetroChina and Sinopec may boost oil product exports in the short run, as gasoline and gasoil prices have been pushed up by less supply due to the earthquake in Japan and refinery maintenance in Asia. For Chinese exporters, gasoline and gasoil export margins are at Yuan 500-1,000/mt this week, C1's assessment shows.
Furthermore, China still holds abundant gasoil and gasoline stockpiles. At the end of February, domestic oil product inventories gained 3.94-mil mt from the beginning of the year, with gasoil stock up 3.70-mil mt, according to the data from the National Development and Reform Commission.
