Malaysia's state-owned oil firm Petronas is offering a rare spot cargo of kerosine for loading from Pengerang, as expectations grow of an imminent restart of its refining and petrochemical joint venture with Saudi Arabia's state-controlled Saudi Aramco.
Petronas has issued a spot tender to sell a 115,000 bl cargo of kerosine to load between 5-7 August from Pengerang, which houses Petronas and Aramco's 300,000 b/d refinery in southern peninsular Malaysia's Johor state. Submitted bids should be valid until 20 July.
The 50:50 joint venture has been shut since a fire at its diesel hydrotreater unit in March last year. Plans to restart the refinery were initially made for the first quarter of this year but had to be delayed, after the Malaysian government imposed Covid-19 restrictions that hampered its restart.
But market participants expect that the complex will be restarted in the coming months. It might have offered the kerosine cargo as it is trying to clear its inventories ahead of a possible start-up, suggested market participants, or as it is already in its initial start-up phase.
Petronas has not sold any jet fuel or kerosine cargoes loading from Pengerang since the refinery was shut in March last year, according to Argus records.
The refinery can produce about 28,000 b/d of jet fuel, mostly for exports. But jet fuel degrades more quickly than other oil products and cannot be used for aviation use if stored for too long. It can be sold as a kerosine product with lower quality specifications.
The Pengerang complex also comprises a 1.29mn t/yr cracker, with a production capacity of 630,000 t/yr of propylene, 165,000 t/yr of benzene and 180,000 t/yr of butadiene. Derivatives units include 350,000 t/yr of linear low-density polyethylene, 400,000 t/yr of high-density polyethylene and 900,000 t/yr of polypropylene capacity. It is expected to start up some of its downstream polymers units by the end of August.
