Thailand“s Rayong Olefins Co., a unit of Siam Cement PCL (H.SCM), has purchased 30,000 metric tons of naphtha for early April delivery, a company official said on 8 March.
A Japanese trading company…
Thailand“s Rayong Olefins Co., a unit of Siam Cement PCL (H.SCM), has purchased 30,000 metric tons of naphtha for early April delivery, a company official said on 8 March. A Japanese trading company sold the cargo, cost and freight Map Ta Phut in Rayong, at a premium of US$ 9.50 per ton against Japan mean prices, in line with the current second-half April/second-half May open-spec naphtha backwardation. Prior to the purchase, ROC bought a smaller naphtha cargo for April delivery at a premium of less than US$ 9 per ton. The latest deal complements ROC“s January purchase of 50,000 tons of naphtha scheduled to arrive first-half April. ROC cut its naphtha import volumes in January, citing weak cracking margins, as it undertook efforts to reduce cracking operation rates by 20% for end January-early February. But cracking margins have since improved, spurred by Chinese demand for polymers, sources said. Revived Chinese petrochemical product demand, combined with higher olefins and aromatics prices have prompted petrochemical producers in Asia to maximize cracking operations. ROC has been gradually raising production rates over the last few weeks and is producing at close to full capacity, said the company official. At 100% of its capacity, ROC“s cracker can produce 800,000 metric tons of ethylene and 400,000 tons of propylene annually.