Sinopec exports diesel from Jinling refinery

Chinese state-controlled firm Sinopec has exported the first diesel cargo from its 380,000 b/d Jinling refinery this year.

The 250,000 bl cargo left the Nanjing Qingjiang terminal in Jiangsu on 25 January and is headed for the Philippines.

China is ramping up diesel exports amid domestic oversupply. The Huajin Petrochemical refinery at Panjin in the northern province of Liaoning exported 40,000t of gasoil from Yingkou port to the Philippines in December. Huajin, a unit of state-controlled Norinco, did not export any gasoil this month but is planning to export 80,000t in February.

Huajin was granted a 150,000t oil product export quota in the first batch of quota awards for 2021. Its 120,000 b/d Panjin refinery, which is operating at capacity this month, is capable of producing over 60,000 b/d of diesel but no gasoline, as it instead uses naphtha for ethylene production.

Chinese refiners are increasingly competing for a share of the diesel export market, with state-controlled PetroChina increasingly shipping cargoes in larger vessels from its refineries in northeast China such its Jinzhou and Jinxi. Shipments are also heading further afield to South American countries like Chile as southeast Asian supply builds up.