ARA fuel oil stocks up 1% in December so far

The ARA’s independently held fuel oil stocks have edged 1% higher in December to date, according to Insights Global data.

Changes in monthly average ARA stocks from November to December (so far):

• Fuel oil stocks up 60,000 bbls to 6.8 million bbls
• Gasoil stocks down 1.4 million bbls to 14.88 million bbls

The region has imported 154,000 b/d of fuel oil so far this month, up from November’s 141,000 b/d, according to cargo tracker Vortexa.

A large share of these shipments have arrived from Saudi Arabia (41%) and Poland (24%).

Meanwhile, the ARA has exported 70,000 b/d of fuel oil in December so far, a sharp decrease from the 204,000 b/d shipped in November. Around 36% of these cargo volumes have departed for Malta, while the UK has received around 24% of the supplies.

The region’s independent gasoil inventories - which include diesel and heating oil - have slumped 9% lower this month, according to the Insights Global data.

The ARA has imported 192,000 b/d of gasoil, down from the 225,000 b/d imported in November, according to Vortexa data. The US (23%), France (20%) and the UK (17%) have been the source of most of the gasoil.

Bunker availability remains tight for prompt delivery in the ARA hub, with buyers advised to enquire about stems with around a week of lead time to get good coverage from a larger number of suppliers, a trader told.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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