Maritime & Shipping, Refined Products, Wet Freight, Fuel Oil, Bunker Fuel
May 07, 2025
FUJAIRAH DATA: Oil products stocks little changed as fuel oils drop
HIGHLIGHTS
May fuel oil exports head for record high on China
HSFO delivered Fujairah price near 2025 low
Middle distillates stocks slump 20% in one week
Oil products inventories at the UAE's Port of Fujairah were little changed in the week ended May 5, with declines in fuel oils and middle distillates wiped out by a 9.4% gain in gasoline and other light distillates, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published May 7.
The total inventory rose 0.1% to 20.742 million barrels from a one-month low a week earlier. Middle distillates fell 20% to 1.730 million barrels, a seven-month low, and heavy distillates used as fuel oils for power generation and ship fuel dropped 2.6% to 10.462 million barrels, a six-week low.
Light distillates rose to 8.550 million barrels from a one-month low a week earlier.
Fuel oil exports from Fujairah are averaging a record monthly pace at 1 million b/d in May compared with 272,000 b/d in April, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea cargo-tracking data.
A whopping 679,000 b/d was heading to China, the highest ever, with the monthly average to China below 100,000 b/d since at least 2016, the data showed.
Some 155,000 b/d is destined for Singapore, the most since June 2023, while shipments to Saudi Arabia were halted after three consecutive months of receiving fuel oils from Fujairah.
In fact, Saudi Arabia shipped 17,000 b/d of fuel oils to Fujairah this month. Iraq, Russia, Kuwait and Oman have also sent fuel oils to Fujairah this month, according to the CAS data.
Power plants in the Middle East are cranking up electricity generation for air conditioning demand, with temperatures in Dubai exceeding 100 F for most of the past month. ADNOC Gas welcomed the hot weather because it boosts its natural gas sales for power generation.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the 0.5% sulfur fuel oil price delivered Fujairah at $483/mt on May 6, down from a recent high of $497/mt on April 23 and this year's peak of $594/mt on Jan. 17.
The Platts-assessed price of high sulfur fuel oil delivered Fujairah was $396/mt on May 6, close to this year's low of $388/mt on April 9.
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