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Asia Oil & Gas Latest: Refining ‘Crying Out’ for Investment
The outlook for oil prices and Chinese demand, the longevity of OPEC+ supply curbs, and rising flows of Iranian crude are among the key topics at Asia’s biggest gathering of the industry’s traders and executives, which entered its second day in Singapore.
Attendees at APPEC by S&P Global Commodity Insights will also have an opportunity to reflect on Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the transition away from fossil fuels in the transport sector. Meanwhile, the Gastech 2023 conference also kicked off in the city-state on Tuesday.
Global crude and fuel markets are tight, with refineries running as hard as they can to capitalize on high margins, Alex Grant, senior vice president for crude, products and liquids at Equinor ASA, said at APPEC.
Equinor has no plans to reroute its Johan Sverdrup stream from Europe, but “if it comes to a point where Europe needs it less, and Asia is saying they need more by virtue of the prices they’re offering, we will then make plans to move quite quickly,” he said.
50 Million Tons of LNG Diverted to Europe
Vitol Group Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy said 50 million tons of liquefied natural gas will be diverted to Europe in 2023, meaning demand in Asia is still far from recovering to 2021 levels.
LNG spot prices will be at $13-$15 per million British thermal units this winter, which is still relatively expensive compared to coal, he said at Gastech. “Europe is going to pay for that gas,” he added.
Shell Says Calcasieu Pass Delay ‘Not Credible’
It’s “not credible” for Venture Global LNG Inc. to operate its Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas export plant in the US for over a year above nameplate capacity and not start commercial operations, Steve Hill, an executive vice-president at Shell Plc, said at Gastech.
“If contracts are seen as options, then buyers simply won’t sign them,” he said. Venture Global hasn’t supplied cargoes to foundation buyers, Hill added.
BPCL Can Pay for Russian Crude in Dirhams
India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp. has flexibility in making payments for Russian crude in currencies other than US dollars, including dirhams, should prices fluctuate, Manoj Heda, the company’s executive director of international trade, said on the sidelines of APPEC by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Russian crude prices have risen alongside oil benchmarks like Brent, although Heda didn’t elaborate on exact levels. Most of the payments for imports of Russian oil are still done in US dollars, he said.
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