FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil product stockpiles hit nine-month low as imports slow

Stockpiles of oil products at the UAE's Port of Fujairah dropped another 7.3% in the week ended Feb. 6 with middle distillates such as jet fuel and diesel extending their shrinkage to 48% in the past three weeks, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published Feb. 8.

Total inventories were 17.624 million barrels as of Feb. 6, a nine-month low, the FOIZ data provided exclusively to S&P Global Commodities Insights on Feb. 8 showed. Middle distillates tumbled another 26% to 1.73 million barrels, the lowest since May 16. Middle distillates have dropped three weeks in a row and are down 44% since the end of 2022.

Product imports fell to 530,000 b/d in January, from 660,000 b/d in December 2022, and were the lowest since December 2021, according to Kpler data. Imports from Russia slipped to 115,000 b/d, the lowest since June. Shipments from Russia had been climbing to Fujairah for most of last year after its invasion of Ukraine in February.

Imports from Bahrain also fell to 21,000 b/d in January, from 64,000 b/d in December. While product exports from Fujairah were also down for the month, shipments to Saudi Arabia more than doubled to 91,300 b/d in January, from 37,900 b/d in December, the Kpler data show.

Light distillates including gasoline and naphtha climbed 5.5% to 7.363 million barrels, the first increase in three weeks. Stocks of light distillates have slipped 1.4% this year.

Heavy distillates used for ship fuel and for power generation shrank 12% to 8.531 million barrels, the lowest since June 13. Heavy distillates had been at or close to a six-month low since mid-December. Heavy distillates stockpiles are down 16% since the end of 2022.

The Fujairah-delivered marine fuel with 0.5% sulfur dropped 6% over the week to Feb. 3 but rebounded 2.4% Feb. 7 to $630/mt, according to the Platts assessments from S&P Global.