Fujairah Oil Product Stocks Drop 8.5% As Residues Slump

Oil product stocks in the Middle Eastern hub of Fujairah dropped to 16.465 million barrels in the week to Monday, down by 1.533 million barrels from the previous week, according to the Fujairah Energy Data Committee, FEDCOM.

FUJAIRAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 26th Sep, 2018) Oil product stocks in the Middle Eastern hub of Fujairah dropped to 16.465 million barrels in the week to Monday, down by 1.533 million barrels from the previous week, according to the Fujairah Energy Data Committee, FEDCOM.

The biggest fall was in stocks of heavy distillates and residues, which sank by 16.8 percent to 6.591 million barrels.

"Fujairah has seen increased demand over the past month due to specification issues in Singapore," S&P Global Platts Analytics said in a report Wednesday.

Singapore has been hit by global contamination problems in bunker fuel in recent months. Harmful components were first seen in samples of bunker fuel in the US Gulf earlier this year, but cargoes of contaminated fuel appear to have been exported to Singapore and elsewhere around the world since then, and have now been associated with as many as 200 cases of engine damage worldwide.

Middle distillate stocks slipped by 4.8 per cent to 3.982 million barrels, dropping from a near 14-month high last week. Demand for Middle Eastern middle distillates is strongest in Asia-Pacific, Platts Analytics said, with strengthening cracks and premiums for gasoil in the Asian market drawing Middle Eastern product eastwards.

Light distillate inventories were little changed on the week at 5.892 million barrels.

"The Middle East continues to draw a steady flow of gasoline from Europe, with additional vessel fixtures continuing to emerge," the report said.

Platts holds exclusive rights to publish Fujairah oil inventory data, and has deployed a blockchain network for its collation.