Singapore offers carbon tax rebates for refiners near term

The tax concessions will provide a significant buffer for refiners' profit margins amid growing competition with newer plants in China and the Middle East.

Carbon tax costs are estimated at between 80 cents and $1 per barrel of crude input basis for refineries based on the $25 per ton of emission rate, according to consulting firms FGE and Wood Mackenzie. That would be close to a quarter of refiners' current margins in Singapore.