Naphtha

A light refined liquid used as petrochemical feedstock and gasoline blendstock.

Overview

Naphtha is a light fraction from crude distillation and condensate splitting, used mainly as feedstock for steam crackers that make ethylene and propylene, and as reformer feed or a blending component for gasoline. Asia, led by Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, is the largest importing region, drawing cargoes from the Middle East and Europe. Naphtha competes with ethane and LPG as cracker feed, so its price relative to propane decides how flexible crackers run. Swaps priced off reporting agency assessments, such as cargoes delivered to Japan or traded in Northwest Europe, dominate trading, and naphtha cracks against Brent track petrochemical margins and gasoline blending demand.