ARA fuel oil stocks drops 19% in April so far

The ARA’s independently held fuel oil stocks have averaged 19% lower in April so far than in March, according to Insights Global data.

Changes in monthly average ARA stocks from March to April till date:

• Fuel oil stocks down 97,000 bbls to 4.19 million bbls
• Gasoil stocks down 44,000 bbls to 15.69 million bbls

The region imported around 266,000 b/d of fuel oil in April so far, up slightly from 207,000 b/d imported in March, according to cargo tracker Vortexa.

Most supplies arrived from Venezuela (29%), Sweden (20%) and Cameroon (10%).

The ARA exported 223,000 b/d of fuel oil in April till date, up from 184,000 b/d shipped in March. Cargo deliveries left for the Caribbean Netherlands (33%), the U.S. (30%) and South Africa (14% each).

The region’s independent gasoil inventories - which include diesel and heating oil – dropped 3% lower in April, compared to March.

The ARA imported 255,000 b/d of gasoil in April till date, down from the 291,000 b/d in March, according to Vortexa data. Around 47% of supplies arrived from the US, followed by Qatar (22%) and Canada (11%).

Bunker fuel availability is normal in the ARA bunkering hub, but buyers are recommended to give lead times of around five days to get competitive offers from a wide selection of suppliers, a trader told ENGINE.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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