The ARA's independently held fuel oil stocks have averaged 5% higher in August so far, compared to July's monthly average, according to Insights Global data.

Changes in monthly average ARA stocks from July to August (so far):

• Fuel oil stocks up 210,000 bbls to 4.24 million bbls
• Gasoil stocks down 630,000 bbls to 11.61 million bbls

Fuel oil stocks have increased by around 17% from May, when they hit their lowest level in more than a decade. However, inventories remain 34% below February levels, before the conflict broke out in the Middle East.

The ARA hub has imported 381,000 b/d of fuel oil till date in August, a sharp increase from July’s monthly average of 159,000 b/d, according to Vortexa cargo flows data.

Most shipments came from Venezuela (21%), Benin (20%) and Lithuania (10%).

Meanwhile, the region has exported 87,000 b/d of fuel oil in August so far, down from July’s 175,000 b/d, mainly for unloading in Mauritania (21%), Norway (18%) and Spain (12%).

The region's independent gasoil inventories - which include diesel and heating oil – have dropped by 5% in August so far, compared to July, according to the Insights Global data. Gasoil inventories have dropped to their lowest level in just over four years.

The region has imported 129,000 b/d of gasoil by mid-August, up from an average of 119,000 b/d imported in June, according to Vortexa data. A majority of shipments arrived from US (26%), UK (11%) and France (8%).

Bunker availability in the ARA is tight for prompt delivery, with buyers recommending lead times of around 5-7 days to get competitive offers from a wide selection of suppliers, a trader said.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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