FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil product stocks hit two-week low led by heavy distillates

Dubai — Stockpiles of oil products dropped to a two-week low at the Middle East port of Fujairah, led by a slide in heavy distillates and residues to a 15-month low as fuel oil exports picked up.

Inventories on Nov. 9 totaled 19.671 million barrels, down 2.8% from a week earlier, according to data released Nov. 11 by the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. That is the lowest since Oct. 26 when stockpiles were at a 13-month low.

Heavy distillates and residues, such as fuel oil for power generation and marine bunkers, stood at 8.941 million barrels on Nov. 9, down 6% from a week earlier and the lowest since July 29, 2019.

Some 1.63 million barrels of fuel oil were destined for Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Reunion, India and Dijbouti in the week started Nov. 2, according to data analytics firm Kpler. That is the biggest shipment since a record 5.24 million barrels in the week started Oct. 5, according to the Kpler data.

The Saudi shipment of 370,000 barrels in the week started Nov. 2 was heading for its Rabigh power plant on the kingdom's western coast, according to the Kpler data.

Fuel oil supplies may tighten further as Bahrain Petroleum Co. is exiting the fuel oil business by 2025 because it is uneconomical, Bapco Chairman Dawood Nassif said in a Gulf Intelligence interview released on Nov. 11.

Bunker fuel supplies for prompt delivery at Fujairah have been limited, with demand higher than usual on Nov. 3. Fujairah-delivered marine fuel with 0.5% sulfur was assessed at $355/mt on Nov. 10, on par with Singapore, the world's largest bunker market.

Middle distillate stockpiles such as diesel totaled 5.356 million barrels as of Nov. 9, down 2% from a week earlier, while light distillates such as gasoline stood at 5.374 million barrels, up 1%.

Platts has been the official publisher of the inventory data since the start in January 2017.