FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil products stockpiles fall to five-week low as exports rise

Stockpiles of oil products at the UAE's Port of Fujairah dropped 4.5% in the week to Jan. 29, led by a 21% decline in jet fuel and other middle distillates inventories, according to data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Non-fuel oil exports are heading for the biggest month since October and a record amount of some products is heading for Saudi Arabia, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The total fell to 17.703 million barrels as of Jan. 29, the lowest in five weeks, the FOIZ data published Jan. 31 showed. Stockpiles had climbed 2.1% since the end of 2023.

For the latest week, stocks of light distillates such as gasoline and naphtha fell 1% to 6.662 million barrels, a two-week low. Middle distillates tumbled to 2.157 million barrels, the lowest since Jan. 1. Heavy distillates used as a shipping fuel and for power generation dropped 3% to 8.884 million barrels, a three-week low. So far since the end of 2023, light distillates have climbed 42% after a 55% surge in the first week, middle distillates have dropped 14% and heavy distillates have declined 12%, the data showed.

Exports of products except for fuel oil climbed to an estimated 414,000 b/d so far in January from 369,000 b/d in December and the most since October, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data. A record 71,000 b/d was headed for Saudi Arabia for the month, made up of gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil, according to the CAS data. Fuel oil exports from the port came to 160,000 b/d so far this month, down from 212,000 b/d in December, the data showed.

'Big tankers'

"Big tankers on long-haul voyages" are showing up more often at Fujairah for bunkering, a local trader said. These tankers are fitted with scrubbers, used to reduce the sulfur content in high sulfur fuel oil. These ships are pushing up demand for HSFO, contributing to the drop in heavy distillate stockpiles, the trader said.

Opinion remained mixed, however, whether the Red Sea shipping attacks are leading to any change in bunker fuel demand at Fujairah. Many shipowners have diverted voyages to around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa rather than take the Red Sea route via the Suez Canal, boosting their refueling requirements. One trader said low sulfur fuel oil bunker demand at the port is slower because of the attacks. But another trader said the longer voyages could boost demand at Fujairah as the world's third-largest bunkering hub.

The Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered 380 CST HSFO bunker premium over the FO 380 CST 3.5%S FOB Arab Gulf cargo assessment rose to average $17.72/mt Jan. 29-30 from $12/mt for the week started Jan. 21, according to S&P Global data.

For LSFO, most of the receiving ships are smaller, with lesser bunker fuel quantity required, a trader said.

The Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered marine fuel 0.5% bunker premium over the benchmark FOB Singapore Marine Fuel 0.5%S cargo values averaged $7.43/mt Jan. 29-30, down from $10.93/mt in the week started Jan. 21, according to S&P Global data.