Asia is unlikely to expect spot Group II base oils from South Korea's GS-Caltex in June-July, because the refiner's output will decline on maintenance lasting from Jun 12 to Jul 3, a refiner source revealed.
The South Korean oil giant may resume spot supplies to Asia in August, when the maintenance has ended, he said.
Supplies to oversea long-term contracted buyers will keep unchanged in June, he introduced. China will receive 12,000-150,000mt, India 6,000-8,000mt, Singapore 2,000mt and Thailand 3,000mt.
Furthermore, after the turnaround, the refiner's Group II base oil production capacity will boost from the current 1.15-mil-mt/yr to 1.3-mil-mt/yr, he introduced. Besides prioritizing supplies in South Korea, the company will send extra cargos to other Asian countries’ spot market, he said. C1 will follow up the story.
As base oil refinery maintenance is becoming heavier in Asia recently, Group II output in the region will keep tight in the near term, some domestic traders deemed. This might uphold Asian Group II prices at firm levels, they estimated. However, considering recently falling crude benchmarks and forthcoming ampler supplies from China's CNOOC Huizhou Refinery, Asian Group II prices might expect slight drops, other market players opined.
GS Caltex mainly produces Group II base oils.
