Rosneft Delivers First Gasoline Cargo to Asia-Pacific

Energy giant Rosneft said on Thursday its trading arm had delivered an inaugural gasoline cargo to the Asia-Pacific, marking what could be Russia's first foray into a region dominated by OPEC producers from the Gulf.

The 200,000-barrel cargo, bought by Rosneft from the international market and taken by Indonesian state energy company Pertamina, was delivered on free-on-board (FOB) terms to Malaysia.

Rosneft declined to say from which refinery it had received the cargo. It also did not say from or to which ports it was being delivered.

The cargo was shipped to Pertamina within a term agreement for the delivery of 1.2 million barrels signed between the companies in June, Rosneft said.

Valery Nesterov, an analyst with Moscow-based Sberbank CIB, said the move was part of a drive by Rosneft to explore trading given sluggish demand and tough competition on oversupplied European markets.

"Facing the difficulties in sales in Europe, Rosneft is looking for new long-term partners," he said.

ROSNEFT-INDONESIA PROSPECTS

Rosneft has won rights to develop a refinery and petrochemical plant worth up to $13 billion in Tuban, in Indonesia's East Java province.

Indonesia's fuel output has been hit by a lack of investment in its refining sector, and it imports around half of the 1.6 million barrels of fuel it consumes daily. Pertamina has about one million barrels per day of domestic refining capacity.

The country, Southeast Asia's largest economy, is expected to buy more crude and refinery products from Iraq and Iran later this year.

The Republic of Indonesia, with a population of 254 million people, is one of the largest Asian-Pacific net importer of motor fuels and petrochemicals and with significant growth opportunities (in 2015 Indonesia GDP grew up by 4.79 percent). Rosneft sees a great potential in this actively developing market.

Pertamina, with a budget of up to $2 billion for mergers and acquisitions, is looking to buy into projects, including Rosneft's upstream assets, according to an agreement between the two firms.