Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Cracks rise on refinery cuts, remain negative

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Northwestern European gasoline
refining margins rose on Friday but remained in negative
territory as refiners across the world started to trim output in
the face of weak demand.
* Oil refiners are reducing output or considering production
cuts
as the coronavirus outbreak keeps people at home and paralyses
air travel, causing an unprecedented drop in fuel demand.
* In Britain, INEOS shut down a 35,000 bpd crude unit at its
200,000 bpd Grangemouth refinery on March 17, according to
industry monitor Genscape.
* A source familiar with the plant's operations said the
shutdown
was related to declining profit margins for fuels produced at a
refinery, including aviation and motor fuels.
* Oil major BP shut down a 70,000 bpd crude unit at its
Gelsenkirchen (Scholven) oil refinery in Germany on March 18,
Genscape said.
* BP declined to comment. But two trading sources
said the
shutdown was an economic run cut.
* Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub were
down 1.25% to 1.1 million tonnes, data from Dutch consultancy
Insights Global showed.
* Saudi Aramco will continue reducing operations at its
local
refineries in April and May to boost the state energy company’s
potential to export crude oil, a company official said on
Thursday.
* Japanese refiners may need to cut run rates to meet
falling fuel
demand because of the spreading coronavirus outbreak, the head
of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) said on Thursday.


Gasoline (in tonnes)
Trades Bids Offers Prev. Sellers Buyers
(vol.) Trades
Ebob
Barges
MOC
Platts
E5
(fob
ARA)
<EUROBO
B-ARA>
Ebob
Barges $179
E10
Platts(
fob
ARA)
Ebob $180
Barges (2Kt)
Argus
E5(fob
AR)
Ebob $199 $170 Finco Hartre
Barges (2Kt) e
E10
Argus
(fob
AR)
April $201.50
swap $208.50
fob ARA
Premium
Unleade $194
d (fob
ARA)
<PU-10P
P-ARA>
Cargoes April
(fob -$10
MED)
Cargoes
(cif
NWE)
Naphtha $183
(cif
NWE)
<NAF-C-
NWE>
Ebob crack (per barrel) -$4.305 prev. -$3.238
Brent futures
Rbob
Rbob crack <RBc1-CLc1>

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)