Sinopec, PetroChina to cut daily crude throughput by 2.25% in May

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Sinopec and PetroChina are expected to refine a total of around 30.5m tonnes of crude in May, with the combined daily throughput down by 2.25% month on month, sources from both companies said on Monday.

However, the combined monthly crude run would be 1% higher than April, because there is one more calendar day in May, according to data from C1 Energy, an ICIS service in China.

Sinopec plans to process 18.6m-18.8m tonnes of crude during May, with daily throughput down by 2.41% from April to about 605,000 tonnes, its company source said.

PetroChina is scheduled to refine 11.65m-11.85m tonnes of crude, with daily throughput dropping by 2% to 380,000 tonnes, according to a company source.

Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co would shut 120,000 bbl/day of refining capacity and Dalian-based West Pacific Petrochemical Co (WEPEC) would take a 2.5m tonne/year residue hydrogenation unit off line for turnarounds from mid-May.

Meanwhile, Dagang Petrochemical, Dalian Petrochemical, Shijiazhuang Refining & Chemical Co and Changling Petrochemical will remain off stream for most of May due to turnarounds.

Crude throughput from Sinopec and PetroChina may rebound in June because most offline capacities are expected to restart from late May, market sources said.