FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil product stocks fall again in May 6 week after surge in exports

Stockpiles of oil products at the UAE's Port of Fujairah dropped for a third consecutive week as of May 6, with some exports hitting a record high, according to data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone and ship-tracking.

Total inventories fell 2.5% on the week to 20.270 million barrels as of May 6, a six-week low, the FOIZ data published May 8 showed. Stockpiles have increased 17% since the end of 2023.

Exports of products except for fuel oil from Fujairah climbed to 1.3 million barrels in the week started April 29, the most on record since at least 2016, from 764,000 barrels a week earlier, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data. The main destinations were Malaysia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and China, with most of the shipments categorized as clean products.

Fuel oil shipments in the latest week came to 1.1 million barrels -- split between Japan, Iraq and Pakistan -- compared with 280,000 barrels a week earlier.

Stocks of heavy distillates used for power generation and ship fuel dropped 3.8% over the latest week to 9.505 million barrels, a four-week low. Inventories of middle distillates such as diesel and jet fuel declined 6.5% to 3.241 million barrels, a six-week low, while light distillates climbed 1% to 7.524 million barrels, a three-week high.

Ship fuel demand for high sulfur fuel oil has eroded inventories, while low-sulfur demand has been moderate to above average, traders said.

Limited HSFO cargoes are supporting premiums for May-loading term ex-wharf barrels, with deliveries for prompt refueling expected to remain limited through mid-May, according to local bunker suppliers.

Traders attributed the drop in HSFO stocks to lower arbitrage cargo inflows of Russian origin owing to possible disruptions arising from recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, while summer stocking activities in the region capped overall availabilities for bunker deliveries.

The Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered 380 CST HSFO bunker premium over the FO 380 CST 3.5% FOB Arab Gulf cargo rose to average $40.51/mt for May 2-7, above the $34.95/mt for all of April, according to data by S&P Global.

The Platts Fujairah-delivered marine fuel 0.5% sulfur bunker premium over benchmark FOB Singapore marine fuel 0.5%S cargo values slipped to average $12.56/mt for May 2-7, below $15.51/mt for all of April, S&P Global data showed.

So far since the end of 2023, stocks of light distillates have climbed 61%, heavy distillates have dropped 6.3% and middle distillates have risen 29%.