China’s paraffin wax exports rose to a two-year high in September ahead of the closure of the country’s largest Group I base oils plant.Wax exports of 71,400 tonnes in September rose from an already-high 60,600 tonnes the previous month to the highest since August 2022, government data showed.Exports rose by 29% in September and for a second month from year-earlier levels. Exports fell in seven of the previous eight months to July.The pick-up in wax exports in August and September preceded the closure of PetroChina’s 450,000 tonnes/year Group I base oils plant in northeast China in October.The closure of the plant also resulted in the cessation of its slack wax output, which is a by-product of Group I production.The Dalian unit produces around 200,000 tonnes/year of wax.The cessation of wax production highlighted the additional repercussions of the closures and maintenance work at a growing number of Group I base oils plants in Europe and Asia over the past year.The loss of the wax output in China was set to tighten supply for buyers both in its domestic market and in overseas outlets.Asia's Group I base oils supply already faced such a scenario over the past year.China is the largest overseas source of wax supplies for markets like Europe and India and a major source for markets like US and Mexico.The closure of the wax unit boosted the incentive for overseas buyers to lock in additional supplies, especially at a time of year when wax consumption typically gets a seasonal boost in the fourth quarter.China’s wax exports to Europe surged by more than 65% in September from a year earlier to a seventeen-month high. Exports of close to 12,000 tonnes to the US in September were the highest in almost two years..China’s September base oils imports fall.China’s Sept base oils output rises
