Singapore's refining sector shows some recovery in July: Refinitiv

SINGAPORE'S refining sector has finally shown some recovery in July, as the Republic's three refineries hit full operable capacity for the first time since February 2020 at 1.315 million barrels per day.

This was up from an average of about 80 per cent during the March to June 2020 period and a five-year-low of 76 per cent in May, according to Refinitiv Oil Research director Yaw Yan Chong in a commentary on Tuesday.

The three refineries are ExxonMobil's facility, Shell's refinery and the Singapore Refining Co.

The recovery in operable capacity is in line with an uptick in demand for transportation and industrial fuels as Covid-19 related lockdowns ease. Singapore is a major exporter of these fuels. 

Diesel exports from Singapore hit 20-month-high levels for June and July at around 1.7 million tonnes for each month - "well above" the 2019 average of 1.3 million tonnes per month.

However, actual runs at the three plants have been at 70 per cent levels since the Covid-19 outbreak became widespread from March when most countries were in lockdown.

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The period also saw below-average imports of crude oil - averaging at just over 800,000 tonnes per month for the March to July 2020 period. This was down from an average of 950,000 tonnes per month for the same period a year ago.

Moreover, high inventories in Singapore showed that "all is not quite well" as middle distillates stocks comprising of diesel and jet fuel are at 14.6 million barrels, just off the record-high of 14.9 million barrels, Mr Yaw said.

Light distillates - comprising mostly petrol - have also stayed at near-record-high levels of above 16 million barrels in recent weeks, he added.

"We believe that the worst is over, both from an economic and social standpoint, but it's still a long way to pre-Covid-19 normalcy," Mr Yaw said.