Fujairah Oil Product Stockpiles Drop For Third Straight Week

Fujairah oil product stockpiles drop for third straight week

FUJAIRAH, (Pakistan Point News - 15th Jul, 2020) The stockpiles of refined oil products at the UAE’s oil trading and bunkering hub of Fujairah dropped for a third consecutive week, the longest stretch in a year, dragged by a 13 per cent slump in gasoline and other light distillates amid signs that product was moving to Singapore.

Total stockpiles stood at 26.886 million barrels on 13th July, down 1.7 percent on the week, the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, FOIZ, said in a report today. The total was the lowest since 4th May, according to inventory data compiled by S&P Global Platts since January 2017. The last time stockpiles fell three or more weeks in a row was the five-week drop in 2019 from 27th May to 1st July.

Light distillate stockpiles fell to 6.267 million barrels, the lowest since 20th April.

Middle East cargoes of both gasoline and naphtha have been moving to Singapore, leading the city-state's commercial onshore light distillate stockpiles to a 17-month high on 8th July, Platts previously reported.

Singapore also saw a surge in the imports of naphtha, reformate and other blendstocks from the middle East during the July 2-8 period, including 186,928 mt from Kuwait, 52,480 mt from the UAE and 36,711 mt from Qatar, according to data from Enterprise Singapore.

Light distillates in the Fujairah report include gasoline, blending components such as reformate and alkylate, and naphtha, along with other light petrochemical feedstocks and condensates.

Arbitrage cargoes have been moving into Singapore from outside Asia, including gasoline flows from the Middle East, according to Platts.

The price of FOB Singapore 92 RON gasoline, the region's most liquid benchmark, has averaged US $44.81/b in July to date, up from the US $42.79/b average in June and US $30.84/b in May, Platts data showed. Pakistan, known to buy gasoline from Fujairah, has also been tendering for the fuel.

Middle distillate stockpiles climbed 12 percent in the July 7-13 period to 4.314 million barrels, the first increase in four weeks. The category includes jet fuel, gasoil, diesel, marine bunker gasoil and kerosene.

Heavy distillates and residues, or fuels used in marine bunkers and for power generation, were little changed at 16.305 million barrels.