12 July, 2019 (Argus) – Inventories of oil products independently held in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) fell in the week to today.

Stocks of all surveyed products except naphtha fell on the week. Fuel oil inventories fell most heavily, dropping -week lows. The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Cosdignity Lake departed Rotterdam carrying oil cargo and a smaller tanker departed for west Africa. The arbitrage route to Singapore appeared to be workable in the past week. Vitol booked the VLCCs Front Duchess and FPMC C Melody to take fuel oil to Singapore, loading in Rotterdam on 15 July and 2 August, respectively.

Gasoil inventories fell. Demand from along the river Rhine was steady on the week with gasoil heading inland on barges. Disruption to refining activity caused by the Druzhba pipeline outage in April-May weighed on inland inventories, which are now being restocked. Tankers arrived from Russia and the US and departed for France and the UK.

Gasoline inventories fell on the week. Tankers arrived in ARA from the Black Sea, Norway, Russia, Spain and the UK. But higher demand from the US and rising demand from west Africa supported outflows. Gasoline barges continued to suffer loading delays in the Amsterdam area, with barges and tankers competing for slots.

Jet fuel stocks in ARA fell. Demand from the aviation sector was firm in line with seasonal expectations. No jet fuel tankers arrived in ARA during the reporting period, but at least one departed for the UK.

Naphtha inventories climbed on the week, with rising prices drawing in cargoes from Algeria, France, Latvia, Spain and the UK. The return from scheduled maintenance of several petrochemical facilities in Europe and firm demand from the gasoline blending sector has supported naphtha prices in northwest Europe and bolstered inflows.

Reporter: Thomas Warner