Oil Products Stocks In Fujairah Rebound On Big Gains In Heavy, Light Distillates

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published February 25, 2021 | 12:45 AM

FUJAIRAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 25th Feb, 2021) Oil products stockpiles at the Port of Fujairah rebounded to a three-week high, with refinery outages in the middle East helping to boost light distillates to an eight-month high.

Total inventory was 23.180 million barrels on Feb. 22, up 11% from a week earlier and the highest since Feb. 1, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, or FOIZ, data released Feb. 24 exclusively to S&P Global Platts. It was the biggest weekly gain since Dec. 7 after hitting a 2021 low a week earlier.

Light distillates, such as gasoline and naphtha stocks, stood at 8.095 million barrels as of Feb. 22, up 12% from a week earlier and the highest since June 22.

The buildup in light distillate stocks comes amid a string of refinery outages in the Middle East. The gasoline platformer unit at Bahrain's 267,000 b/d Sitra refinery has been shut for "economic reasons", while the reformer unit at Saudi Aramco's 440,000 b/d Satorp refinery is undergoing maintenance works, Platts previously reported. Refineries planning outages often boost shipments beforehand to storage sites to meet demand there and then send to other areas.

Robust demand from Africa has also attracted gasoline barrels to the Middle East, with tankers typically stopping by the Middle East before moving on to other African destinations.

At the same time, domestic demand for gasoline in the UAE has dipped, with driving activity slipping to around 200% above baseline levels, down from the 400% peak recorded in January, according to Apple mobility data.

Heavy distillates, including marine bunkers and fuel oil, stood at 11.018 million barrels on Feb. 22, up 16% from a week earlier and the highest in five weeks. It was the biggest weekly advance in two months.

Middle distillates stocks stood at 4.067 million barrels as of Feb. 22, a five-week low and down 2.4% from a week earlier. The category includes gasoil, diesel and jet fuel.

All 11 commercial terminal operators at Fujairah participate in the weekly inventory report, according to FOIZ. The storage volumes include activities such as blending and refining. FOIZ has provided the inventory data to Platts since January 2017.