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Asia/Pacific

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.

Oil comeback for cut-exempt producers threatens to swamp OPEC

LONDON (Reuters) — OPEC's battle against an oil glut is under threat as unsold crude from members Nigeria and Libya, which are exempt from a global production-cutting deal, is swamping the Atlantic Basin.

China's $10 B strategic project in Myanmar sparks local ire

KYAUK PYU, Myanmar (Reuters) — Days before the first supertanker carrying 140 Mt of Chinese-bound crude oil arrived in Myanmar's Kyauk Pyu port, local officials confiscated Nyein Aye's fishing nets.

Sasol breaks ground on new alkoxylation production facility in China

NANJING, China — Sasol Limited, an integrated chemicals and energy company, formally began construction of its new alkoxylation plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Ushered in by a ground-breaking ceremony on June 8 at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park (NCIP), the new plant is expected to be fully operational in early 2019.