Spot benchmarks in Asia’s fuel oil market were largely unchanged on Tuesday, while the market eyed some sales tenders for high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO).
Kuwait’s KPC offered two cargoes of HSFO, each of 60,000 metric tons, for loading in late April. The tender, which closes on Tuesday, came on top of India’s HPCL tenders this week.
Cash differentials for HSFO have shown some recovery in Asia, though gains remained capped with the ample supply situation. The Singapore 380-cst HSFO cash differential was pegged at a discount near $1 to Singapore quotes on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, cash differentials for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) rose slightly on Tuesday, while two trades emerged.
Separately, Taiwan’s Formosa offered one cargo of main column bottoms for loading in late May, via a tender that closes on Wednesday.
Total fuel oil arrivals for Asia are expected to breach 5 million tons this month, calculations based on LSEG ship-tracking data showed Tuesday. The volumes still compared lower versus 6.5 million tons last month.
Western arbitrage supplies are stable month-on-month at above 2.7 million tons, while Middle Eastern arrivals appeared lower at slightly above 1 million tons for now. Regional supplies within Asia look set to edge higher from last month.
JAPAN REFINERY UPDATES
– Eneos Corp restarted the 129,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Chiba refinery near Tokyo on April 7, following scheduled maintenance, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.
– Fuji Oil restarted the 143,000 barrel-per-day crude distillation unit at its Sodegaura refinery on March 27, after shutting it down due to a fire, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.
– Taiyo Oil restarted both crude distillation units at its 138,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Shikoku refinery in western Japan in early March following scheduled maintenance, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil prices inched higher on Tuesday, supported by new tariff exemptions floated by U.S. President Donald Trump and a rebound in China crude oil imports in anticipation of tighter Iranian supply.
– The International Energy Agency on Tuesday sharply cut its forecast for the growth in global oil demand this year, citing escalating trade tensions, a day after a similar step by producer group OPEC.
– Russia has ample motor fuel inventories to offset possible shortages during refinery maintenances, an official at the energy ministry said on Tuesday.
– Pakistan is considering importing crude oil from the United States for the first time to offset a trade imbalance that triggered higher U.S. tariffs, according to a government source directly involved with the proposal and a refinery executive.
WINDOW TRADES
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: Two trades
Source: Reuters