FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil product stockpiles resume decline

Stockpiles of oil products at the UAE's Port of Fujairah dropped 2.5% in the week ended Sept. 16, with all categories showing declines, according to the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone.

The total inventory fell to 18.267 million barrels as of Sept. 16, marking the seventh weekly drop in the past nine weeks, according to the FOIZ data published Sept. 18 and compiled by S&P Global Commodity Insights since 2017. Still, stockpiles are still 5.4% higher than they were at the end of 2023.

Heavy distillates and residues used for power generation and ship fuel dropped 3.7% to 9.656 million barrels, a two-week low. Stockpiles of light distillates such as gasoline and naphtha at Fujairah declined 0.1% to 5.565 million barrels, a two-month low, while middle distillates such as diesel and jet fuel slipped 3.2% to 3.046 million barrels.

Demand remains strong for high sulfur fuel oil in shipping and is also in limited supply, traders said, while backlogs in refueling with low sulfur fuel oil for most of this month have eased up. Bunkering operations had been disrupted as high winds and rough seas delayed barge reloading, traders said.

For LSFO, the Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered marine fuel 0.5% sulfur bunker premium over benchmark FOB Singapore marine fuel 0.5%S cargo averaged $16 a metric ton this month through Sept. 17, up from $14.74/t in August, according to Commodity Insights data. It was $14.13/t on Sept. 17, down 8.9% on the day, the data showed.

For HSFO, the Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered 380 CST bunker premium over the FO 380 CST 3.5% FOB Arab Gulf cargo averaged $55.17/mt this month through Sept. 17, up from $23.31/mt in August, according to the Commodity Insights data. It was $54.85/mt on Sept. 17, up 1.3% on the day.

Product exports from Fujairah rose to 3.9 million barrels in the week started Sept. 9, led by fuel oil, gasoline and naphtha, from 2.9 million a week earlier, according to Kpler data.

Some 420,000 barrels of gasoline were headed for Saudi Arabia, the second consecutive week of gasoline shipments headed to the country from Fujairah after a four-week absence. Tanzania and Mozambique were also destinations for gasoline shipments from Fujairah for the latest week.

So far since the end of 2023, stocks of light distillates have climbed 19%, heavy distillates have dropped 4.8% and middle distillates have climbed 21%.