Oil product inventories at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates increased by 6.2% in the week to 19 October, as a record rise in light distillates helped reverse three weeks of declines. Hellenic Shipping News, carrying a Platts report, cited Fujairah Oil Industry Zone figures released on 21 October showing total stocks reached 7.247 million barrels.
The recovery left inventories 65% below their level on 23 February, before the Iran war began, according to the report. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to face disruption. Fujairah lies on the UAE’s eastern coast, outside the strait, and the latest weekly increase represents only a partial recovery against the much larger decline in stocks since the conflict started.
Light distillates, which include gasoline and naphtha, drove the weekly rebound. Their inventories climbed 72% to 1.304 million barrels, up from a record low of 760,000 barrels the previous week. The percentage increase was the largest in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data supplied to S&P Global Energy since 2017. Despite that rise, light distillate holdings remained 87% below their level at the start of the war, the steepest decline among the three product groups reported.
Heavy distillate stocks, covering fuels used in shipping and electricity generation, increased 12% to 3.682 million barrels, their highest in two weeks. Middle distillates moved in the opposite direction, falling 18% to 2.261 million barrels after reaching their highest level since the war began a week earlier. Over the course of the conflict, heavy distillate inventories have fallen 53%, while middle distillate stocks have dropped 23%.
The report also cited contrasting marine fuel price assessments from Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. Fujairah-delivered fuel containing 0.5% sulphur was assessed at $982 per metric tonne on 20 October, its highest since 13 October. High-sulphur 380 CST fuel delivered at Fujairah was assessed at $739 per metric tonne, its lowest since that same date.