Indonesia's gasoline import volumes could rise to as high as 13 million barrels in March amid higher domestic demand due to the Ramadan festivities, sources said.
In contrast, Indonesia was expected to import only 10.5-11 million barrels in February, sources said.
The month of Ramadan was slated to start on March 1, this year.
However, some market participants cautioned that the expected higher import volume in March could also be due to March being a longer month, consisting of 31 days as opposed to February, which only consists of 28 days.
"The higher expected import volumes in March mean that Indonesia's demand is healthy," a trader said.
Some market participants also cautioned that the month-over-month rise in Indonesia's March gasoline import volumes could be moderated to around 12 million barrels, by a rise in production, as Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina has brought back its 230,000-b/d CDU unit at its 348,000-b/d Cilacap refinery from a planned turnaround in the first half of February, that began mid-January, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights reported earlier.
The Cilacap refinery is Pertamina's largest, with a processing capacity of up to 348,000 b/d. It consists of two refinery complexes: CDU 1, with a capacity of 118,00 b/d, and CDU 2, with a capacity of 230,000 b/d.
Demand for naphtha as a lower-octane gasoline blendstock could also rise, tracking higher demand for lower-octane gasoline from Indonesia, one of the region's largest buyers.
"Demand for naphtha as a lower-octane blendstock should be good if the reforming spread remains supportive," an industry source said.
Platts assessed the Singapore reforming spread -- the spread between Singapore 92 RON gasoline and Singapore naphtha swaps -- at an average of $12.40/b in January, marginally up 34 cents/b from December 2024. It was assessed at $12.65/mt at the Asian close Feb. 25.
