Oil product inventories at Fujairah increased by 6.2% in the week to 19 October, ending three consecutive weeks of declines as light distillate holdings surged from a record low. Hellenic Shipping News, carrying a Platts report, cited Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) figures published on 21 October showing total stocks of 7.247 million barrels at the UAE port.
Light distillates, which include gasoline and naphtha, accounted for the strongest percentage increase. Holdings climbed 72% to 1.304 million barrels, compared with 760,000 barrels the previous week. That was the largest weekly percentage rise in the FOIZ dataset supplied to S&P Global Energy since 2017, according to the report. The rebound followed the lowest light distillate inventory recorded in that series.
The other product groups moved in opposite directions. Heavy distillate stocks, covering products used for marine bunkers and electricity generation, increased 12% to 3.682 million barrels, their highest level in two weeks. Middle distillates fell 18% to 2.261 million barrels. That decline came after holdings had reached their highest point since the start of the Iran war a week earlier, contrasting with the recovery in light and heavy products.
Despite the overall weekly increase, total inventories remained 65% below their level on 23 February, before the war began, Hellenic Shipping News reported. Disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was continuing. Fujairah lies on the UAE’s eastern coast outside the strait. Across the individual categories, light distillate holdings were still down 87% since the war began, compared with reductions of 53% for heavy distillates and 23% for middle distillates.
Bunker assessments also diverged. Platts assessed Fujairah-delivered marine fuel with 0.5% sulphur at $982 per metric tonne on 20 October, its highest assessment since 13 October. Delivered 380 CST high-sulphur fuel oil was assessed at $739 per metric tonne, its lowest since the same date.