Kuwait offers 2nd prompt naphtha cargo in a week Friday, 25 November 2011 09:21

SINGAPORE:  Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has offered a prompt naphtha cargo, the second such parcel in about a week, due to a delay in the restart of its aromatics plant until the first half of December, traders said on Friday.

The plant was shut in October, probably for maintenance, and was to resume productions this month, they said, but added that exact details were not immediately known.

The 50,000-tonne full-range naphtha cargo is scheduled for Dec. 7-8 loading and the tender is to be awarded late on Friday.

KPC feeds about 1.5 million to 2.0 million tonnes of full-range naphtha into its aromatics plant, which was commissioned in late 2009 and sells the rest of the grade through contracts to Asian buyers.

It offers spot cargoes from time to time but rarely prompt parcels, traders said.

It sold similar volumes for prompt late November lifting to Vitol last week at premiums of $8.00 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

Prompt cargoes usually fetch a lower market rate than usual as interested buyers have less time to charter vessels to lift the volumes.  (Reuters/ Seng Li Peng)