Asia/Pacific
S.Korea's May Iranian crude oil imports fall to 8-mth low
SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea's Iranian crude oil imports dropped in May to their lowest in eight months as refiners bought less of the Middle Eastern nation's condensate, while Tehran struggled to maintain shipment volumes after exhausting stocks stored on tankers.
India's oil imports from Iran plunge over gas field row
NEW DELHI (Reuters) — India's oil imports from Iran have fallen to their lowest since June 2016, shipping data shows, in possible retaliation for Tehran not awarding a gas field development to Indian companies.
Malaysia's Petronas set to auction Kimanis crude on Dubai exchange
SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Malaysia's Petronas is set to auction one of its crude grades on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, according to sources familiar with the matter, making the state-owned company the first to sell a non-Middle East oil on the trading platform.
China's May oil output lowest on record; refiners churn out more
BEIJING (Reuters) — China's crude oil production fell to its lowest on record in May, even as refineries in the world's top buyer of crude churned out product at their fastest pace in nearly two years, data showed on Wednesday.
IHS Markit: Methanol demand growth driven by methanol-to-olefins, China demand
HOUSTON — Methanol, a basic chemical used to produce fuels and other traditional chemicals, is increasingly used in China to produce olefins in a process called methanol-to-olefins (MTO). By 2021, nearly one in five tons of global methanol production will be utilized for MTO production to satisfy expanding Chinese chemical demand, according to new analysis from IHS Markit.
Traders keep oil in Asian storage for later sale, undermine OPEC supply cuts
SINGAPORE (Reuters) — A 10% decline in oil prices since late May could push traders to keep crude in storage, looking to sell down the line when forward prices are higher.
China issues third set of fuel export quotas under processing scheme
BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) — China has issued 9.06 MMt of refined fuel export quotas under so-called processing trade terms in its third batch of quotas, two trading sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
China's Unipec to ship jet fuel from Asia to Europe in rare move
SINGAPORE (Reuters) — China's Unipec, the trading arm of state oil major Sinopec, is planning to ship jet fuel from Asia to Europe for the first time in several years, three industry sources told Reuters.
Sinopec may cut refinery runs in third quarter as fuel glut weighs
BEIJING (Reuters) — China's top state refiner Sinopec Corp may cut fuel output in the third quarter, said four sources with knowledge of the matter, as the company contends with a domestic fuel glut, competition from independent rivals and slower demand growth.
Crude oil, fuel shipping costs from Qatar set to rise on port ban
SINGAPORE (Reuters) — The costs to ship fuel and crude oil from Qatar are expected to rise after the United Arab Emirates banned vessels that previously called at Qatar from docking at UAE ports, multiple sources from the oil and shipping sectors said on Monday.

- CNOOC completes construction on $2.9-B, 1.8-MMtpy integrated complex in east China 8/22
- bp's Whiting refinery (U.S.) continues to flare days after severe thunderstorm 8/22
- Bachmann introduces latest version M-Target for Simulink 8/22
- U.S. to rule on biofuel waivers, but big oil refiners may need to wait 8/22
- Chinese independent refiner Hongrun buys Canadian, Brazilian crude 8/22
- Ukrainian attack suspends Russian oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia 8/22