Fujairah heavy residue stocks dip first time in three weeks

FUJAIRAH / WAM

Fujairah’s stockpiles of heavy distillates and residues declined for the first time in three weeks on signs of additional demand amid higher prices at competing ports, according to data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone.
Heavy distillate and residue stocks fell 13 percent week on week to 9.333 million barrels as of August 19, the lowest since July 29, the data showed. The drop contributed to a six percent decline in all oil product inventories at Fujairah to— a two-week low.
The price of 380 CST delivered bunker fuel in Singapore was assessed at $10/mt higher than Fujairah. Other Asian ports, such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Busan have recently seen premiums of more than $100/mt over Singapore, according to S&P Global Platts.
Supply tightness of bunker fuel in east Asia should begin to attract some supply from other regions, including the Middle East, Alexander Yap, an analyst at Platts in Singapore, said.
A large parcel of fuel oil was slated to be exported from Fujairah as Arc Energy had fixed a Suezmax tanker, SKS Skeena, to load 130,000 mt of fuel oil in mid-August for a Fujairah-Singapore voyage, Platts earlier reported. The tanker was recently in the Gulf of Oman, cFlow, Platts trade flow software, showed.