Asian Imports of Russian Naphtha Surge in August
Vortexa Snapshot: Asian Imports of Russian Naphtha Surge in August
16 August, 2019
In Brief:
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Russian naphtha arrivals into Asia could reach around 900,000t in August, a multi-year high according to latest Vortexa estimates. Close to 400,000t of this has already arrived.
- Combined naphtha imports into Asia, from Black Sea ports Novorossisyk and Tuapse, and Baltic port Ust-Luga, expected at their highest since at least January 2016. Tankers loaded across late June-early August.
- Cargoes in transit are currently heading to usual buyers in Asia, South Korea and China; others still signalling Singapore.
- Russian flows to east of Suez picked up following end of spring refinery maintenance at petrochemical facilities in Asia and rising interest from ethylene producers. Loss of Iranian condensate post-sanctions in May also prompted cracker operators to raise naphtha imports to fill their crackers.
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Elsewhere in Russian naphtha exports, LR2 tanker, Abliani, loaded Tuapse-origin naphtha via STS off Malta in August. Despite initially declaring Singapore as its next destination, it turned westwards, with its current unknown destination. This comes against a backdrop of higher Russian naphtha flows to Venezuela in recent months.
