China's petcoke supply has remained sufficient entering 2024, due to the persistently high port inventory, according to OilChem.
China Petcoke Inventory
Source: OilChem
It can be seen from above chart that, China's domestic independent refineries kept their inventories at highs at the beginning of 2023, and the port inventory accumulated as well. However, the refineries consciously lowered the inventory in the second half of 2023, in a bid to avoid petcoke price crash. In 2024, they continued to keep the inventory at a low level. The petcoke port inventory, on a contrary, sustained at a high level, along with the arrivals of vessels carrying import cargos, leading to a supply glut in petcoke market.
China Delayed Coking Unit Capacity Utilization Rates
Source: OilChem
| Ownership | Refinery | Capacity (million t/y) | Starting Time of Maintenance | Restarting Time |
| Sinopec | Sinopec Qilu Company | 1.7 | 2024/1/1 | N/A |
| Sinopec | Sinopec Qingdao Refining and Chemical | 1.6 | 2024/1/6 | N/A |
| Sinopec | Sinopec Jingmen Company | 1.3 | Mar, 2024 | H2 Apr, 2024 |
| Sinopec | Sinopec Tahe Petrochemical | 3.6 | 2024/3/1 | 2024/5/15 |
| CNOOC | CNOOC Zhoushan Petrochemical | 2.4 | Mid-to-late Mar, 2024 | Early Apr, 2024 |
| Independent Refinery | Liaoning Yutime Petrochemical | 1.0 | 2023/1/1 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | Hebei Xinquan Petrochemical | 0.9 | 2023/5/18 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | Shandong Qingyuan Petrochemical | 1.4 | 2023/12/27 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | ChemChina Zhenghe Group | 0.4 | 2024/1/18 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group | 2.0 | 2024/1/22 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | Shandong Haihua Group | 1.0 | 2024/2/1 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | Shandong Haiyou Petrochemical | 0.6 | 2024/2/7 | N/A |
| Independent Refinery | Jinao (Hubei) Science & Technology Chemical Industry | 1.0 | 2024/3/1 | N/A |
Source: OilChem
As shown in the above chart and table, the capacity utilization rates of delayed coking units hit a five-year high in early 2024, while the petcoke production in the first quarter is expected to drop drastically, as more units have been shut down for maintenance, involving a capacity of 16.9 million tonnes/year, up 2.4 million t/y from a year ago. Nevertheless, the petcoke port inventory stood at 4.40 million tonnes as of February 16, compared to 1.24 million tonnes a year ago, which resulted in the petcoke oversupply.
Written by Catherine Sun, sss@oilchem.net
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
