FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil product inventory rises 7% led by light distillates

Dubai — Stockpiles of oil products at the UAE port of Fujairah rose 7% in the week to March 15, with the biggest increase recorded in light distillates, latest data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone showed.

The total inventory stood at 19.217 million barrels, an uptick of 1.251 million barrels from the week ended March 8, according to the data provided exclusively to S&P Global Platts.

Light distillate stocks in Fujairah, such as gasoline and naphtha, rose by 15.6% to 7.652 million barrels.

Demand for gasoline from the Middle East will likely rise in the run-up to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as Muslim countries around the world boost their gasoline stockpiles, but the extent of the rise will be difficult to anticipate due to COVID-19 pressures, Middle East-based traders told Platts March 15.

Ramadan, which this year runs from April 12-May 12, is a peak driving season in many Muslim countries as city workers return to their home towns to celebrate the occasion with family.

Bunker fuels

Heavy distillates, including fuel for power generation and bunkers, increased by 6.1% to 8.104 million barrels, the data showed.

One of Uniper Energy's two crude processing units at Fujairah came back online March 12 after an unexpected outage earlier in the week, a company spokesman confirmed March 17, crimping product availability at the port and pressuring the marine fuel premium there to multi-month highs in recent days.

The premium for Fujairah-delivered marine fuel 0.5% S bunker over FOB Singapore marine fuel 0.5% S cargo surged $17.84/mt day on day to $47.03/mt March 16, a 13-month high. The premium was last higher on Feb. 11, 2020, at $53/mt, Platts data showed.

Uniper has two 40,000 b/d distillation columns in Fujairah, designed to process low sulfur crude to produce some 300,000 mt/month of low sulfur fuel oil.

Middle distillate stocks in Fujairah, including jet fuel and diesel, fell 6.7% on the week to 3.461 million barrels.