Early May Asia downstream update

India

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) is raising capacity at its newly commissioned Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh to 9 million t. The 6 million tpy unit was commissioned in January this year and will be formally inaugurated on May 20. Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd has been charged with building the project: a joint venture between the state owned BPCL and Oman Oil Co.

Plans are in place to construct an oil refinery in Rajasthan following the discovery of huge reserves of oil and natural gas in the western side of the state. Cairn India had earlier estimated 3.6 billion barrels crude oil reserves, but the new estimates say that 6.5 billion barrels crude oil reserves are present in Barmer-Sanchor basin.

Japan

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. resumed shipments of products from its Sendai refinery on May 3 for the first time since the March 11 earthquake badly damaged the facility. Daily shipments stand at approximately 50% of pre-earthquake output. However, refining operations are expected to remain offline until mid-2012 and the products being shipped are from existing inventory.

ExxonMobil subsidiary TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK has shut its 156 000 bpd crude distillation unit at its Sakai refinery in western Japan for regular maintenance. The refinery is expected to resume operations in mid-June, Japanese oil research firm RIM Intelligence Co said in a report.

The Philippines

Petron is investing US$ 1.75 billion to modernise its Bataan facility into a full conversion plant. The upgraded plant will produce products that are compliant with the Euro international standards for clean fuels. San Miguel Corp owns the facility and the expansion is financed with a combination of internally generated funds and loans. Upon completion of the upgrade in 2015, the refinery will be able to digest a wider range of crude oils, including crude from African sources.

Vietnam

State owned Vietnam Oil & Gas Corporation (Petrovietna) is seeking investment from Turkish companies to construct new refineries. Vietnam is the fourth largest oil producer in Southeast Asia, but currently the country only has two oil refineries: Dung Quatin in the eastern province of Quang Ngai and Nghi Son, to the south of Hanoi.

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