Seaborne Products Exports

摘要

Asian seaborne products exports are projected to increase by 3% in 2017 to stand at 6.7m bpd - a much slower rate of growth than in 2016 when Asian products exports expanded by an estimated 8%. This more subdued pace of growth is mainly due to expectations of slower growth in Chinese seaborne products exports, which were estimated to have grown by 51% y-o-y in 2016, compared to a projected increase of 7% this year. This significant expansion in 2016 was supported by record levels of product exports in November and December as some refiners rushed to utilise the remainder of their 2016 export quotas. Initial Chinese export quotas granted for 2017 were down by around 40% y-o-y, although exports are still currently expected to register further growth in the full year. Meanwhile, Indian products exports are projected to rise 7% y-o-y in 2017 due to increases in refinery throughput. Elsewhere, seaborne European products exports are expected to soften by 1% in 2017, principally reflecting the recent closure of a French refinery. The 0.15m bpd capacity La Mède plant ceased processing of crude oil at the end of 2016, before commencing its transformation into France's first biorefinery. Meanwhile, growth in Middle Eastern products exports is projected to reach around 4% in 2017.