Indonesia's state-controlled refiner Pertamina has emerged to buy 92R gasoline for very prompt loading because of an increase in domestic demand for the 92R gasoline grade.
The reason for the increase in 92R gasoline domestic demand cannot be confirmed but a narrower 90R and 92R gasoline price spread could have prompted consumers to choose to pump the 92R gasoline grade instead, said an Indonesia-based market participant.
The 92R gasoline price fell from 12,950 rupiah/litre (82¢/litre) to 12,100 rupiah/litre in Jakarta from 1 October, while the 90R grade remained stable at 10,000 rupiah/litre, according to Pertamina. Pertamina's Pertalite has a minimum Ron rating of 90, while the Pertamax has a minimum Ron rating of 92.
The 90R gasoline pumps are usually plagued with longer queues, so the narrower price spread could have encouraged consumers to pump the 92R grade instead of waiting in line, added the market participant.
Pertamina, Asia-Pacific's largest gasoline buyer, issued the spot tender on 24 October to buy 400,000 bl of 92R gasoline cargoes to load over 29-31 October, according to a tender document seen by Argus. The pricing basis will be on the 25-31 October average of the Argus Singapore 92R gasoline assessments or the Platts Singapore 92R gasoline assessments, whichever is lower. The gasoline cargo will have a maximum benzene content of 5pc and a maximum sulphur content of 400ppm. The tender closes on 24 October and remains valid until 25 October.
The refiner this week also concluded a rare spot tender to buy gasoline for November loading. It bought 200,000 bl and 100,000 bl of 92R gasoline for delivery over 11-13 November and 13-15 November, respectively. Both cargoes should load from Singapore or Malaysia. The price was around a $1.50/bl premium to the average of either the Argus Singapore spot 92R gasoline assessments or the Platts Singapore spot assessments, whichever is lower. The cargo will have a maximum sulphur content of 400ppm. The tender closed on 22 October.
Indonesia's gasoline import volumes are expected to fall in 2025 by at least 1mn bl/month after its Balikpapan refinery expansion is completed and a new gasoline production unit starts up, said market participants. Pertamina plans to build a 90,000 b/d residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) in the Balikpapan refinery, as well as upgrade the refinery and raise its capacity from 260,000 b/d to 360,000 b/d. The Balikpapan refinery will also be able to raise its Nelson Complexity Index, which measures a refinery's secondary conversion capacity by comparing it with primary distillation capacity, from 3.7 to 8.
By Aldric Chew
