Twinace Oil in talks to sell major stake

China’s Twinace Oil, a major privately run fuel oil trader based in South China Huangpu market, is in talks to sell a major stake to a local independent refiner. The independent refiner is widely believed to be Tianyi refinery in Zhongshan city, Guangdong province. Tianyi is the largest independent refinery in South China, with a designed crude processing capacity of 24,000 barrels per day. “Twinace has a solid connection with the Asian fuel oil market, [and] Tianyi can lower its feedstock cost by getting involved in the import business,” a local trader said. Traders have speculated that shrinking fuel oil imports into South China, as well as weak demand, were the main reasons for Twinace’s move. (July 28, 2009)