Shell has bought a 75,000-tonne Middle Eastern naphtha cargo for a trial run at its new China cracker expected to start up at the end of December, traders said.

The cargo is due to arrive at Huizhou, in southern Guangdong province, in early December to feed an 800,000-tonne-per-year naphtha cracker.
The $4.3 billion petrochemical complex, a joint-venture between the European oil giant and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), would operate a condensate splitter, a unit that produces naphtha.
That gives the venture flexibility to either process naphtha secured from the market or to run condensate, which can be sourced from Australia, where Shell is an equity producer in North West Shelf field.
“It can also take condensate from CNOOC’s production in Indonesia,” one trader said.
CNOOC’s listed unit, CNOOC Ltd is one of the main offshore producers in Indonesia.
Shell’s purchase would place China’s naphtha trade for December into an almost balanced position from November when it was a net exporter, traders said.