Asian refiners and petrochemical companies have started to cautiously monitor China’s downstream industry in recent weeks, as the upcoming restart of a giant petrochemical complex in Fujian province could further intensify competition among regional end-users to secure ultra-light crude feedstocks. China’s Fuhaichuang, formerly known as Dragon Aromatics, plans to restart operations at its 4 million mt/year condensate splitter in July following a lengthy three-year closure, a company source told S&P Global Platts last week. The rapid decline in Iran’s condensate exports since late 2017 had already raised alarm bells among many Northeast Asian end-users that require a stable supply of ultra-light crude feedstocks, and the return of the giant condensate consumer in China does not bode well for the buyers overall, market participants said. Regional end-users were especially concerned about the possible spike in spot differentials for Southeast Asian and Oceania sweet condensate grades, as Fuhaichuang intends to procure […]