Import Data News
- Sinopec to incur loss on gasoline imports
Date: 13-Sep-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
CHINA Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) will incur losses of nearly 30 million yuan (US$4 million) on 60,000 metric tons of gasoline to be imported in September, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said on its Web site yesterday.
Sinopec will pay a cost-and-freight price of 6,800 yuan a ton of gasoline, with the losses triggered by State-set caps of 6,300 yuan a ton on domestic sales, the commission said, citing information from Sinopec's parent company, China Petrochemical Corp.
The commission said the imports by Sinopec would be used to ensure stable supplies of oil products to the domestic market, alleviate shortages and guarantee there's enough gasoline in storage tanks for use during the National Day holidays in October.
'Sinopec has decided that it would be better to lose money if it guarantees market supplies,'the commission said.
Also boosting gasoline demand are humid temperatures in southern areas, which have prompted greater use of in-car air conditioners.
China imported its first-ever gasoline cargoes in recent weeks to overcome shortages of oil products in certain provinces, including Fujian in the south and Heilongjiang in the north.
However, Bi Jingquan, a vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said recently that supply and demand of oil products in China were mostly balanced.
Traders have said that PetroChina Co., China's second-largest refiner behind Sinopec, is importing at least 30,000 tons of gasoline for September arrival. Last month, it had contracted for 42,000 tons of gasoline for late-August arrival.
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