FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil product stocks climb to 2021 high on signs of slowing exports

Dubai — Oil product stockpiles at the Port of Fujairah on the UAE's east coast climbed for a third week to the highest this year, with middle distillates leading the way.

Total inventory stood at 24.041 million barrels as of May 3, up 3.3% from a week earlier and the highest since Dec. 14, 2020, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data provided exclusively to S&P Global Platts. Middle distillates including gasoil and jet fuel soared 31% over the same period to 3.862 million barrels, rebounding from a one-year low a week earlier.

Oil product exports from Fujairah slowed in April, averaging only 563,000 b/d, the lowest since November and down from 612,000 b/d in March, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.

Fuel oils dominated shipments last month at 260,000 b/d, followed by gasoline at 138,000 b/d, the Kpler data shows. Stockpiles of fuels used for power generation and marine bunkers stood at 14.854 million barrels on May 3, down 1% from a week earlier and the first drop in three weeks.

Middle distillate exports averaged 87,000 b/d in April, up from 85,500 b/d in March, with gasoil and jet fuel the only products headed out of the port last month, according to Kpler data. Some 17,300 b/d of jet fuel was shipped, the most in a year.

Stockpiles of light distillates including gasoline and naphtha stood at 5.325 million barrels on May 3, up 1% from a week earlier and the first increase in five weeks. Exports of naphtha used in petrochemicals have slowed every month this year, with some 37,000 b/d of shipments in April, the lowest since December, according to Kpler data. Even so, traders were set to ship 23,600 b/d of naphtha to South Korea last month, the most on record. Pakistan was the biggest destination for gasoline from Fujairah last month, followed by Yemen and Saudi Arabia.