Spot fuel oil premiums eased slightly on Friday, while Kuwait’s KPC recently sold high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) from its Al Zour refinery, said industry sources.
The cargo of 60,000 metric tons is expected to load between Jan. 8 and 9, chartered by Clearlake Shipping, based on shipping records.
The sale of HSFO from Al Zour indicated that the refinery’s atmospheric residue desulphurisation (ARDS) unit may not be functioning fully, said sources. The Al Zour refinery tyspically produces and exports VLSFO.
Meanwhile, fuel oil cash premiums and refining margins in Asia inched lower on Friday amid some spot trading.
Singapore’s cash premium for 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil MFO05-SIN-DIF eased to $6.09 a metric ton, while cracks LFO05SGDUBCMc1 held stable at premiums of $11.52 a barrel.
On the high-sulphur front, the 380-cst cash premium FO380-SIN-DIF closed at $4.75 a metric ton, while cracks FO380DUBCKMc1 edged lower to discounts of $10.45 a barrel.
RED SEA UPDATES
Global retailers selling apparel, household staples and white goods face bigger risks from disruptions in freight movement through the key Suez Canal trade route as Iran-backed Yemeni militants attack ships sailing through the lower Red Sea.
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Hong Kong’s OOCL said on Thursday they would avoid the Red Sea, the latest shipping companies to do so after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group on vessels disrupted global trade, prompting the establishment of a naval task force.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil rose on Friday as tensions persisted in the Middle East following Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, although Angola’s decision to leave OPEC raised questions over the group’s effectiveness in supporting prices.
– Angola said on Thursday it would leave OPEC, in a blow to the Saudi-led oil producer group that has sought to rally support for further output cuts to prop up oil prices.
– China aims to keep domestic crude output stable at 200 million metric tons per year (about 4 million barrels per day), according to a report on Friday.
– Russia’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas Novatek has sent force majeure notifications to some of its clients over future LNG supplies from its Arctic LNG 2 project, four industry sources told Reuters.
WINDOW TRADES O/AS
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: Three trades
– 0.5% VLSFO: Two trades
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)