Summary of domestic petroleum coke market supply in 2021
In 2021, the domestic} petroleum coke market was well traded throughout the year. Although some refineries started coke production from newly put into operation units, some refineries reduced production to varying degrees due to restrictions on crude oil quota and tax inspection. In addition, some refineries replaced their production capacity to Shandong Yulong Island project, and the petroleum coke production decreased compared with the same period last year. The demand of downstream aluminum carbon enterprises is stable. Supported by the annual high price of coal, the demand for fuel increases, and the market support of graphite electrode and negative electrode materials is strong.
From the perspective of capacity distribution, the capacity distribution of delayed coking units is uneven, showing an overall layout of more in the East and less in the West. East China is still the concentrated distribution area of delayed coking units in China. By the end of 2021, the total capacity of delayed coking units in China was 140.95 million tons / year, a year-on-year decrease of 350000 tons. The capacity of delayed coking units in East China accounted for 54% of the total national output. Among them, the capacity in Shandong is 52.65 million T / A, accounting for 68.91% of the capacity in East China and 37% of the total capacity in China. The delayed coking units of individual refineries in Shandong are transferred to Yantai Yulong Island project. Jincheng Petrochemical has put into operation a new set of 2 million T / a delayed coking unit, and there is no new installation or removal in other regions. The capacity of Northeast China accounts for 11% of the country's total capacity, and South China and Northwest China account for 9% of the country's total capacity respectively.
In 2021, supported by domestic refinery profits and other factors, domestic petroleum coke production increased slightly year-on-year. In the whole year, the total domestic petroleum coke production was 27.4859 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 256000 tons, or 0.94%. The largest year-on-year increase in output in the first quarter of 2021 is mainly due to the serious impact on domestic petroleum coke production affected by the epidemic in the first quarter of 2020. In 2021, the operation of domestic delayed coking units was stable and the overall supply of petroleum coke in refineries was abundant. In the second quarter and the third quarter, the maintenance of delayed coking units in domestic refineries was concentrated, and the domestic petroleum coke production decreased in varying degrees from April to August. In September, with the commencement of the inspection and repair plant, the domestic petroleum coke production recovered significantly. In the fourth quarter, the output of domestic petroleum coke was basically stable, the refineries started to resume production one after another, and the monthly supply of petroleum coke was basically maintained at more than 2.3 million tons
In 2021, the operation of delayed coking units in domestic refineries was basically stable, with the lowest value of 60.38% in mid August and the highest value of 68.75% in late December.
The operating rate of domestic delayed coking units in 2021 is quite different from that in previous years. The maintenance of delayed coking units in domestic main refineries is relatively concentrated in the first half of the year, and the maintenance of delayed coking units in local refineries is concentrated in the second half of the year. Therefore, the low operating rate appeared in the second and third quarters respectively. The reason is that the centralized maintenance of the main refinery in the first half of the year basically belongs to the planned operation of the enterprise, but the centralized maintenance of the delayed coking unit of the local refinery in the second half of the year is purely a coincidence. The time of the planned maintenance enterprise and the delayed maintenance enterprise coincide, and the operating rate of the delayed coking unit in China basically maintained a low level in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the refinery began to gradually start coke production with the inspection and repair plant. In addition, the price of refined oil continued to be high, and the profit of delayed coking unit in the refinery continued to be high, which stimulated the refinery to improve the commencement of delayed coking unit. The average operating rate of delayed coking unit in the fourth quarter was 66.9%, up significantly from 2020.