China’s largest refiner Sinopec reported a 10% decline in its crude throughput during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak hit oil product output. The company processed 4.45 million bpd of crude during the period while operating its facilities at an average of 75.3% of capacity, the report showed. Sinopec’s utilisation rate fell to as low as 73% in the first quarter, but then rose to 77.7% in the following three months.
During the first six months of 2020, Sinopec produced 1.25 million bpd of gasoline, 14.4% lower than gasoline output in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, diesel output dropped by just 5.5% year-on-year to 1.26 million bpd. Sinopec’s jet-kerosine production plunged by almost 30% from the first quarter to 357,000 bpd in the second quarter amid travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Sinopec reported a loss of CNY19.8 billion ($2.8 billion) in the January-March quarter, mostly due to the slump in oil product sales. Crude runs fell by 13% to 4.31 million bpd in the first quarter, as margins turned to negative $3.67/barrel. The company also took a write-down of about CNY23.8 billion during the period.
