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Geneva-based trading house Vitol, has sold a naphtha cargo from the new Indian refinery at Paradip to Japan. An LR1, ‘Gulf-Pearl,’ will load a 55,000 tonne naphtha cargo for Vitol this week at Paradip.
Thus far, almost 250,000 tonnes of naphtha refined at Paradip has been sold in recent months for export, mostly to Vitol for shipments to Singapore and North Asia. These deals are claimed to be significant, as they open up a new trade route for clean product tankers.
This sale also comes at a time when Asian naphtha supplies are at a surplus, as demand has weakened owing to a slowdown in production of petrochemicals. Many Asian petrochemical plants are also opting to use LPG as feedstock, thereby reducing demand for clean product tankers to move naphtha in the region.
The bulk of India’s naphtha exports have emanated from west coast where refineries have surplus volumes for sales. The Paradip refinery is currently being operated to maximise gasoline production, but occasional naphtha sales are still undertaken for shipments overseas in LR1s and MRs.
“There is strong demand for Indian naphtha in China and Japan and some of it can be sourced from Paradip,” a trading executive said.
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