RTRS : Sinopec plans crude run of 3.85 mln bpd in H2
BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Asia's top refiner Sinopec plans to process 97.1 million tonnes of crude oil, or 3.85 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second half, the company-run China Petrochemical News reported on Tuesday.
That will be 10 percent more than the 3.5 million bpd crude Sinopec (0386.HK)(600028.SS) processed in the first half.
Combining the 86.9 million tonnes of crude the firm ran in the first six months, Sinopec would process a total 184 million tonnes of crude this year, 9.5 percent more than 2008.
Coming at a time when major Chinese refiners are faced with mounting stocks and falling sales, the robust processing plans are a signal of Sinopec's optimism about pent-up oil demand in the world's third-largest energy consuming nation.
"Due to insufficient market demand, sales in domestic refined oil products dropped remarkably in July and corporate inventories rose greatly in the month," the paper said in a story published on its website (www.sinopecnews.com.cn), citing a report by the China Oil and Chemical Industry Association.
It did not elaborate.
Refined fuel stocks held by the top two oil firms Sinopec and CNPC in July rose 7.5 percent while domestic sales fell 10.5 percent, an industry source told Reuters earlier this month. [ID:nPEK263527]
But stripping out changes in stocks, China's implied oil demand in July rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, the fourth consecutive rise, Reuters calculations show. [ID:nPEK364995]
Sinopec also plans to sell 63 million tonnes of refined fuel in the second half, compared with 57.71 million tonnes in the first half, the newspaper said.
As the country's second-largest crude producer, Sinopec will produce 21.4 million tonnes of crude oil and 4.963 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the second half, compared with 21 million tonnes of crude and 4.037 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the first half, the paper said.
It would also produce 3.727 million tonnes of ethylene in the second half, the paper said. (Reporting by Eadie Chen and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) (eadie.chen@reuters.com; +8610 6627 1268; Reuters Messaging: eadie.chen.reuters.com@reuters.net))
