BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 13. Gasoline production will not be affected by the potential import sanctions imposed by the EU27 or the US embargo as gasoline imports from Russia are minimal, Trend reports with reference to Fitch Solutions.
“However, a limited supply of intermediate products, like unfinished oils or residual fuel oil, as well as crude oil delivered by Russia, could weigh on the ability of the refineries in the US and in Europe to produce motor gasoline domestically. As opposed to heavy to middle distillates, Russia is not a key supplier of motor gasoline and thus any export disruptions will likely have a limited direct impact on gasoline markets globally. In 2020 the share of gasoline imports in all crude oil and refined product imports from Russia to EU27 and the US was respectively 0.6 percent and 1 percent. However, a limited supply of intermediate products and crude oil will likely make the American and European refineries scramble for alternative supplies to maintain the level of output,” the company says in its report.
Analysts of Fitch Solutions also note that the combination of
the seasonal effects strengthening demand and some supply concerns
underpins record-
high crack spread levels.
“Gasoline crack spreads have surpassed USD30/bbl on March 4 2022 but since declined to USD26-28/bbl in early April remaining well above historic averages. We note that high level of gasoline crack spreads is also underpinned by surging spreads for other refined products, in particular diesel, which supply from Russia to EU27 and to the US (in a much lower extent) has been already disrupted. Given the gap in supply of diesel, refiners are likely to skew their product slate to diesel, which supports elevated spreads for other products including gasoline,” says the report.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn