Stand-alone stocks of ARA diesel, which includes diesel and heating oil, have risen an average of 13% year-to-date from January as importers looked further afield to cargo to replace Russian product forbidden
Changes in the average monthly stocks of the ARA from January to February:
- Fuel oil inventories fell 150,000 bbl to 7.01 million bbl
- Diesel stocks rise 2.04 million bbls to 18.01 million bbls
ARA diesel inventories have risen to their highest level in the past year and are slightly above their five-year average position for this time of year, according to data from Insights Global.
According to cargo tracker Vortexa, the region has imported 723,000 b/d of diesel and diesel so far this month, up from 637,000 b/d in January.
Saudi Arabia has become the leading source of diesel and diesel imports into the ARA, accounting for 28% of the region’s total this month, Vortexa data shows.
Saudi Arabia and Russia were the top two sources of diesel and diesel imports into the ARA in January, accounting for 22% of total ARA imports each, according to Vortexa.
The EU ban on imports of Russian refined petroleum products began with a deadline of 5 February and Vortexa has not picked up any inflows of diesel cargo from Russia so far this month.
In contrast, the ARA has drawn large volumes of diesel and diesel from distant ports from India (15% of the total) so far this month and from China (14%), and smaller volumes from a series from other sources, including Japan (9%). , the US and South Korea (7%).
Fuel oil stocks fall
Independent fuel oil stocks of the ARA have fallen by an average of 2% so far this month compared to January and have remained below their five-year average position for the year.
Since January, Vortexa has not picked up any Russian fuel oil imports into the ARA. This indicates that Russian fuel oil imports were phased out in January, after accounting for 10% of the ARA total in December.
Meanwhile, Lithuania has become the main source of ARA fuel oil imports so far this month with 20% of the total. In addition to Lithuania, fuel oil imports have come from a number of sources, with the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Poland, Gabon and Denmark being the other main ones.
Quick LSMGO bunker availability is said to be normal at the ARA bunker centre, with recommended lead times of around three days. A lead time of around 4-5 days is recommended for VLSFO delivery to the region and a lead time of 5-6 six days for HSFO.
Source: ENGINE, by Shilpa Sharma, https://engine.online/news-single?postId=17858
