Stockpiles of oil products at the UAE’s Port of Fujairah were little changed in the week ended Aug. 26, as Pakistan returned to the port for gasoline after a two-week absence and fuel oil imports from Russia jumped to their highest since March, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone and cargo-tracking ship data.

Total product inventories at the port edged 0.4% lower on the week to 17.803 million barrels, FOIZ data published Aug. 28 showed. Stockpiles have increased 2.7% since the end of 2023.

Stocks of light distillates such as gasoline and naphtha dropped 14% to 6.282 million barrels, while those of middle distillates, including diesel and jet fuel, declined 7.4% to 2.586 million barrels. Both categories fell to two-week lows.

Heavy distillates and residues, used for power generation and as ship fuel, climbed 15% to 8.935 million barrels, marking the first increase in four weeks from a two-and-a-half-year low the previous week.

Some 492,000 barrels of gasoline headed to Pakistan from Fujairah in the week started Aug. 19, the highest since mid-June, according to Kpler data. Pakistan has been trying to reduce gasoline imports by upgrading its own refineries, but shipments from Fujairah to Pakistan so far this year have averaged 20,700 b/d, compared with 17,800 b/d in 2023.

Russia back

Fuel oil shipments from Russia to Fujairah totaled 1.26 million barrels in the Aug. 19 week, up from nil a week earlier and the highest since March 11, Kpler data showed.

Ship demand for fuel oils at the port — the world’s third-largest bunkering hub — has been steady, traders said, with the low sulfur fuel oil premium higher for August and the high sulfur fuel oil premium lower, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data. One bunker supplier said it stopped offering HSFO because a new barge due to replace an old one has not yet arrived.

For LSFO, the Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered marine fuel 0.5% sulfur bunker premium over benchmark FOB Singapore marine fuel 0.5%S cargo averaged $14.15 per metric ton this month through Aug. 27, up from $12.13/t in July.

For HSFO, the Platts-assessed Fujairah-delivered 380 CST bunker premium over the FO 380 CST 3.5% FOB Arab Gulf cargo fell to $22.66/t from $23.92/t over the same period.

So far since the end of 2023, stocks of light distillates have jumped 34%, heavy distillates have dropped 12% and middle distillates have climbed 3.2%.

Source: Platts