FUJAIRAH (WAM / S & P Platts)- Dubai Stockpiles of gasoline and other light distillates at Fujairah on the UAE's East Coast plunged the most on record to the lowest level since at least 2017, pushing total oil products inventories to a 13-month low.

The total on 26th October stood at 18.465 million barrels, down 9.2 per cent from a week earlier and the lowest since 9th September, 2019, according to data compiled by S&P Global Platts and released from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, FOIZ, today. Light distillates tumbled 31 per cent at 4.198 million barrels, the biggest weekly drop on record and the lowest since the data series started in January 2017.

The sharp fall in light distillate inventories traces the rise in demand for gasoline in the Middle East, where pandemic restrictions continue to ease.

Saudi Arabia, for instance, has seen domestic driving activity rise recently. In addition, import demand from Pakistan and Africa has kept export activity from Fujairah port healthy, with shipments destined for Karachi and Africa's eastern and southern ports, industry sources said.

"Supply-side factors also play a part. The refineries in the Middle East are not running at full rates. So naturally there will be drawdowns in supplies," one market participant said.

Moreover, Kuwait's 466,000 b/d Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, Bahrain's 267,000 b/d Sitra refinery, as well as the 80,000 b/d Uniper plant in Fujairah, were all heard to have had works carried out in October, Platts reported earlier.

Fujairah's heavy distillates stocks stood at 9.947 million barrels as of 26th October, down 4 per cent from a week earlier while middle distillates jumped almost 10 per cent at 4.32 million barrels -- a two-week high. The total stockpile is now down 40 per cent from the record 30.71 million barrels on 1st June this year.

 

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