Category: Nieuws

4 July, 2019 (Argus) – Inventories of oil products independently held in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) have increased by in the week to 3 July, buoyed by a rise in gasoil stocks, according to consultancy Insights Global.

Gasoil inventories rose. Production of middle distillates in the region is rising as refineries in northwest Europe return from planned or unplanned outages. These include three German facilities — Schwedt, Leuna refinery and Vohburg refineries — as well as the Rotterdam refinery and Cressier plant.

Gasoline inventories fell on the week as a result of higher exports to the US Atlantic coast and Canada. An increase in gasoline blending activity caused barge congestion in Amsterdam and Rotterdam as market participants moved finished grade product and components around the area. Tankers departed ARA area for Brazil, west Africa and northern Germany. But increasing refining activity in Germany is likely to curtail gasoline tanker movements from ARA to the country. Gasoline cargoes arrived from the Baltics, Finland, Norway, Spain and the UK.

Naphtha inventories rose on the week, after falling by a similar amount the previous week. Rising northwest European naphtha prices attracted cargoes from Algeria, Norway, Portugal, Russia and the UK.

Fuel oil inventories fell on the week. Tankers departed for the Mediterranean, west Africa and the Suezmax Minerva Evropi left Rotterdam for Singapore. Cargoes arrived in the ARA from France, Lithuania, Russia and the UK.

Jet fuel stocks in ARA fell back slightly from the two-year highs recorded during the last three weeks. Demand rose in line with seasonal expectations. But the return to service of the Leuna refinery weighed on demand for jet fuel barges on the river Rhine, as supply from inland increased. Jet fuel tankers arrived from the UAE and departed for the UK and Ireland.

Reporter: Thomas Warner

27 June, 2019 (Argus) — Inventories of oil products independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area have risen this week, boosted by gasoline and fuel oil stock builds.

Total oil product stocks in the ARA hub rose in the week to 26 June, according to consultancy Insights Global. The week-on-week increase was driven by rises in fuel oil and gasoline inventories, respectively (see table).

Gasoline refining margins in Europe rose this week, boosted by increased demand for the product as a result of the shutdown of Philadelphia Energy Solutions Philadelphia. Sellers are likely accumulating gasoline in tanks ready for blending before export to the US in the coming weeks.

Rising prices drew in cargoes from Italy, France, Portugal and the UK. Gasoline barge movements rose on the week as market participants organised product for export. But demand from along the Rhine fell on the week. Refineries affected by the Druzhba crude pipeline contamination gradually returned to full production.

Fuel oil inventories rose on the week. Exports were limited with inventories in key market Singapore ample. No VLCCs loaded during the week to yesterday.

Naphtha supplies held in ARA storage fell during the past week. An oversupplied naphtha market in the last month has weighed on prices and inhibited shipments to northwest Europe. No tankers came from key supply areas north Africa and Russia.

Gasoil inventories fell. German demand rose, prompting a week-on-week increase in middle distillate barge traffic on the Rhine.

Jet fuel stocks in ARA fell back slightly from the two-year highs recorded during the last two weeks. High inventories in northwest Europe prompted several jet fuel tankers from the Mideast Gulf to divert to the US and Africa, weighing on shipments to the ARA area. Demand from along the Rhine continued to rise as consumption increased in line with seasonal expectations.

Reporter: Thomas Warner

20 June, 2019 (Argus) — Inventories of oil products independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area have fallen in the past week, driven by a decline in stocks of gasoil, gasoline and naphtha.

Total oil product stocks in the ARA hub fell in the week to 19 June, according to consultancy Insights Global. In the previous week, stocks rose, the highest level since May 2017.

The week-on-week decrease was driven by a drop in gasoil stocks. But gasoil inventories remain comfortably above the year-to-date weekly.

Gasoil cargoes were imported to the ARA region from Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US in the week to 19 June, but shipments departed for France, the UK and west Africa. In the previous week, two Suezmaxes delivered gasoil to the ARA area from India, and one from the UAE.

Demand from eastern Germany has remained strong as a result of crude supply disruptions to refineries in that region. But this is set to ease. Russian crude flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Germany’s PCK Schwedt and Leuna refineries resumed on 17 June, although neither plant is yet operating at full capacity.

Gasoline inventories dipped by on the week, pushed lower by improved arbitrage economics for shipments to the Americas, as a result of sharply lower European barge prices, which fell to three-month lows this week. The Nymex front-month Rbob gasoline contract reached premium to prompt-loading Eurobob oxy barges on 18 June, its highest since the end of April.

Record US gasoline demand drove more European cargoes west — implied gasoline demand hit in the week to 14 June in the US, according to the latest EIA data, its highest since at least 1991 when records began.

Naphtha supplies held in ARA storage have fallen in the past week. Northwest European naphtha’s discount to crude has narrowed, amid firmer demand following the return to operation of major petrochemical facilities in Asia-Pacific, although cargo bookings on the route have been thin as of yet.

Jet fuel stocks in the ARA region rose in the week to 19 June, putting inventories at their highest since May 2017. The northwest European jet fuel market continues to be well supplied off the back of east of Suez shipments, particularly from the Mideast Gulf and India. Supplies are being pulled into the ARA area from further afield as demand in northwest Europe begins to pick up for the summer flying season and refinery shutdowns constrain European jet fuel production.

Fuel oil inventories were little changed on the week, gaining less. The Baltic Sunrise departed Rotterdam for Singapore with a fuel oil cargo on 14 June, but those supplies have been replaced by the arrival of Aframax tankers from other parts of northwest Europe and the Baltics.

Reporter: Robert Harvey

London, 13 June (Argus) — A second consecutive week-on-week rise in gasoline stocks pushed inventories of oil products independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region to their highest since May 2017.

Total oil product stocks rose in the week to 12 June, with inventories of all surveyed products rising on the week. The share of utilised independent tank space in the ARA region has hit its highest in two-and-a-half years. Rising gasoline stocks accounted for an increase in overall utilisation recorded over the last fortnight.

Firmer northwest European barge prices, prompted by tighter supply in Germany, continued to draw large cargoes into the ARA region during the week. Record volumes of Argus eurobob oxy barges sold last week contributed to the rise in inventories, booked to load on a prompt basis. Refinery outages in Germany have bolstered demand from buyers along the Rhine.

Gasoil stocks rose to reach their highest since October 2018. German demand remained steady on the week, supported by lower output from the PCK Schwedt refinery and Total’s Leuna refinery. But production at the refineries is likely to increase in the coming weeks following the resumption of crude flows through the Druzhba pipeline. A weaker diesel market in Asia-Pacific pushed more tankers into Europe from east of Suez. Two Suezmaxes arrived from India, with a further tanker arriving from the UAE.

Jet fuel stocks in the ARA area rose to reach their highest since May 2017. Two tankers from the Mideast Gulf and South Korea — the Norddolphin and the Sti Nautilus — discharged in ARA in the week to yersterday. Local demand is likely to increase throughout June, and barge flows around the ARA area rose week-on-week.

Naphtha inventories in ARA rose to a four-week high. Demand from the northwest European petrochemical sector remained low as a result of scheduled maintenance at two ethylene crackers in the ARA region. Buying interest from gasoline blenders was also slow because of the high volumes of finished-grade gasoline arriving in the area. Blenders typically add naphtha to gasoline in order to reduce the viscosity of the finished product.

Northwest European naphtha’s discount to North Sea Dated crude remained at multi-year lows during the week to yesterday, owing to a significant supply overhang. But even greater surpluses in other key production regions continued to make northwest Europe an attractive destination for sellers. A cargo of heavy naphtha is expected to arrive later in the month from the US Gulf Coast, reflecting the high levels of supply across the Atlantic.

Reporter: Thomas Warner