China doubles 2025 naphtha import quotas, sources say
Six trade sources reported that China issued a second set of import quotas for 2025, which nearly doubled the allocations last year, due to a rise in demand caused by disruptions of U.S. propane and ethane supplies, as well as new cracker startup companies.
A source with knowledge of the issue said that the quotas issued in mid-June were extended to ten chemical companies. They will now be able to import approximately 12 million metric tonnes of the refined oil products, which brings the total for this year to around 24 million tons.
Beijing controls the import of naphtha, which is used to make petrochemicals. It usually issues company-specific allocations one time a year without any public announcement.
Three traders who saw the allocation document said that Sinopec, a state-owned company, and CNOOC, a CNOOC subsidiary, were each allocated 2,49 and 2,76 million tonnes of naphtha imported quotas.
Sources said that ExxonMobil was also given a naphtha quota. The company began operations in Huizhou at a cracker producing 1.6 million tons per year in March.
Sources declined to name themselves as they are not authorized to speak with the media.
Sinopec, CNOOC and ExxonMobil did not respond immediately to emails seeking comments.
As LPG and Ethane are facing supply restrictions or becoming less competitive, particularly under new tariffs, naphtha is becoming more appealing, a source from a major Chinese petrochemical manufacturer said.
The U.S. China trade war disrupted the global propane market. China temporarily raised duties on U.S. imported goods to 84%, forcing Chinese buyers swap U.S. cargoes with alternatives from the Middle East. U.S. shipments were diverted to Europe, and other parts of Asia.
The tariff was eventually reduced to 10% but the price of propane remained lower than that of naphtha.
Exporters in the United States faced delays to their shipments when the Commerce Department instructed them to obtain export licenses for top buyer Beijing.
According to Chinese customs, China imports 12.14 million tonnes of naphtha in 2024. Imports for the first five months of 2018 were 5.9 millions tons.
China is Asia's largest naphtha importer, behind South Korea and Japan. Reporting by Mohi N. Narayan, Trixie Yap, Siyi Liu, and Sam Li, in Singapore; Editing by Tony Munroe, David Evans
(source: Reuters)
