Australia’s crude oil imports are expected to fall in the fourth quarter of 2020 as domestic refiners cut run rates and consider closing plants permanently. In September, Australia imported 6.08 million barrels of crude oil, a fall of 21.4% from a year earlier and 11.8% over the previous month, according to data from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources. Analysts expect Australia’s crude oil imports to fall to approximately 12.7 million barrels in the fourth quarter. The estimated figure is 29.4% lower than 18 million barrels imported in the third quarter.
Malaysia was Australia’s largest crude supplier in September with shipments totalling 1.6 million barrels. However, this figure represents a 37.5% year-on-year slump. The UAE was in the second sport with 1.3 million bpd followed by Papua New Guinea with 639,485 bpd. Crude imports from the US stood at the fourth spot with 612,278 bpd shipments, plunging 41.4% month-on-month and 63.1% year-on-year.
Most of the local refiners have slashed throughput and mulled permanent shutdowns of their plants as the coronavirus pandemic caused a prolonged downturn in the fuel market. BP Australia said it would permanently shut its 146,000 bpd Kwinana refinery in Western Australia before repurposing it into a fuel import facility. Ampol in October said it was considering a total closure of its 109,000 Lytton refinery due to persistently weak margins.
