FUJAIRAH, (Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2019) Refined product stocks at the Middle Eastern hub of Fujairah climbed 13 percent in the week to 16th September, with increases in all categories in the aftermath of attacks on two oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, according to data released Wednesday by the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, FOIZ.
Total inventories rose to 19.675 million barrels, the highest in two weeks, after falling 13 percent a week earlier. The largest increase was in middle distillates, which rose 43 percent to 2.102 million barrels. The category covers gasoil, diesel, marine gasoil, jet fuel and kerosene.
Gasoil prices in the East of Suez region rallied after the attacks in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and the outlook is bullish, said S&P Global Platts Analytics, the official publisher of the data, adding that the pricing is still attractive to move middle distillates to Europe from East of Suez.
"If Saudi reduces crude to their own refineries to make up for the crude exports, it's [a] more bullish case for the west," a Singapore-based trader said in the report.
Heavy distillates, including fuel oil used as a marine fuel and for power generation, saw a less pronounced increase, climbing 14 percent to 11.64 million barrels.
The Saudi incidents had no impact on bunkering operations except for pricing, a trader said. Fujairah 380 CST bunker prices jumped US$65.75 on Tuesday to US$529.25/MT, the highest so far this year. The fuel oil market’s volatility is already increasing ahead of the International Maritime Organisation's 0.5 percent sulphur mandate starting next year.
Light distillate inventories rose five percent to 5.933 million barrels during the period.
Light distillates covered in the report are gasoline, naphtha and condensates that are stored in white product tanks and have an API of 45 degrees and above.
All commercial terminal operators in Fujairah participate in the weekly stock reporting at the request of FOIZ, the Middle East's largest commercial storage facility for refined products. A total of 11 terminals participate, including storage volumes involved, in activities such as blending and refining, said the report.
