Qatargas has delayed the start-up of its new Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

The delay at the 146,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) condensate splitter was likely due to a technical fault, market sources said.

"Qatar was supposed to start up the splitter this month but that has been delayed to October," said an oil products trader not related to Qatari state-marketer Tasweeq.

Tasweeq may not be willing to say how many naphtha cargoes it plans to sell for fourth-quarter loading because of the delay, the Southeast Asia-based trader said.

Tasweeq officials declined to comment, while Qatargas was not immediately available for comment.

Qatar, which usually prefers to tie up most of its naphtha through long-term contracts, had previously offered through tenders a total of 200,000 tonnes of spot naphtha for October loading. These spot tenders were to be awarded on Sept. 21, but no results have been made clear.

Tasweeq is also offering October-loading Deodorized Field Condensate (DFC) cargoes for sale, two traders who received such offers said. The Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter processes DFC.

October-loading DFC cargoes traded at around $2.50-$2.90 a barrel to benchmark Dubai quotes last month.

November-loading cargoes were done at significantly higher premiums of around $4 per barrel to Dubai quotes this week, before news of the condensate splitter delay was known. - Reuters