The ARA’s independently held fuel oil stocks averaged 15% lower in March compared to February, according to Insights Global data.

Changes in monthly average ARA stocks from February to March:

• Fuel oil stocks down 1.21 million bbls to 7.15 million bbls
• Gasoil stocks down 2.50 million bbls to 16.62 million bbls

At 7.15 million barrels, the region’s fuel oil stocks were at their lowest since October 2023.

The ARA hub imported 198,000 b/d of fuel oil in March, down from 298,000 b/d imported in February, according to data from cargo tracker Vortexa.

Mexico (18% of the total) emerged as the region’s topmost import source, followed by the UK (11%), Poland (10%), Bahamas (9%), France (8%), Lithuania and the US (6% each).

The region exported 295,000 b/d of fuel oil in March, an increase from 147,000 b/d exported in February. Fuel oil cargoes mostly departed for Guyana (19%), Spain (14%), Norway (9%), the US and Russia (8% each) and the UAE (7%).

The region’s independent gasoil inventories - which include diesel and heating oil –averaged 13% lower in March. The ARA hub imported 346,000 b/d of gasoil and diesel in March, an increase from 277,000 b/d imported in the previous month, according to Vortexa data.

India (28% of the total) became the region's top import source for gasoil and diesel oil in March. Cargoes also arrived from Qatar (19%), Oman (11%), the US (9%), Saudi Arabia (6%), France (5%) and the UK (4%).

By Samantha Shaji

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