Fujairah oil stocks rise 6.2% as light distillates rebound from record low

Oil product inventories at Fujairah increased by 6.2% in the week to 19 October, ending three consecutive weeks of declines as light distillate holdings rebounded from a record low. Hellenic Shipping News, carrying a Platts report, cited Fujairah Oil Industry Zone figures released on 21 October showing total stocks of 7.247 million barrels. The recovery was led by products including gasoline and naphtha, with heavy distillates also contributing to the rise.

Despite the weekly increase, total holdings were still 65% below their level on 23 February, before the Iran war began, according to the report. Disruption to vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz was continuing. Fujairah sits on the UAE’s eastern coast outside the strait, and the latest inventory figures showed that all three reported product groups remained below their pre-war levels, despite differing movements over the week.

Light distillate inventories climbed 72% to 1.304 million barrels, compared with the previous week’s record low of 760,000 barrels. The report described that percentage increase as the largest in the FOIZ data supplied to S&P Global Energy since 2017. Even after the rebound, light distillate stocks were down 87% since the war started, the steepest decline among the three product categories covered by the figures.

Heavy distillate holdings, which supply marine fuel and power generation, increased 12% to a two-week high of 3.682 million barrels. They nevertheless remained 53% below their level at the start of the war. Middle distillates moved in the opposite direction during the week, falling 18% to 2.261 million barrels after reaching their highest level of the war a week earlier. Their decline since the conflict began stood at 23%.

Marine-fuel assessments also diverged. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, put Fujairah-delivered marine fuel containing 0.5% sulphur at $982 per metric tonne on 20 October, its highest assessment since 13 October. Delivered high-sulphur 380 CST fuel was assessed at $739 per metric tonne, its lowest since the same date.