Refinery turnarounds peak late

摘要

Asia-Pacific refinery shutdowns will peak in March and again in June, with 400,000-500,000 b/d of crude distillation capacity out for maintenance.The heaviest March shutdowns are in China, where over 280,000 b/d of the country's 6.8mn b/d of crude capacity will be shut (see table). Chinese turnarounds may tighten gasoline supplies, as 74,500 b/d of catalytic cracking capacity will be shut in March and April.Japan has the lightest shutdown schedule, with no major maintenance planned. Crude runs have been at a fairly low level of around 87pc since February. Refiners are likely to cut gasoline production by March because of high stocks and reduced demand for motor fuels in spring. Gasoline stocks in Japan were 13.7mn bl at the end of February.