Cyprus Shipping News’ Post

Singapore Fuel Oil Stockpiles Drop to Six-Month Low Amid Strong Demand Stock Levels Onshore fuel oil stocks at Singapore’s trading hub fell 23.8% to 15.35M barrels (approx. 2.42M metric tons) in the week to Oct. 29, reaching six-month lows. Vessel refueling demand remained robust, with bunker buyers capitalizing on lower fuel prices driven by recent declines in crude oil prices. Trade Flows: Fuel oil imports rose 3% to over 1.3M tons, primarily sourced from Brazil and Algeria. Exports climbed 62% to 668,000 tons, with the majority directed toward China (106,000 tons), Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka. Weekly net imports dropped 49% to 278,000 tons, as heightened exports reshaped Singapore’s net inventory balance. The surge in exports, particularly to China, highlights Singapore’s ongoing role as a pivotal trading hub amid fluctuating price and demand dynamics. https://lnkd.in/dsgHq-vM

Singapore fuel oil stockpiles rebound to four-week high Onshore fuel oil stockpiles at key trading and storage hub Singapore rebounded to a four-week high as net imports recovered, data showed on Thursday. Inventories STKRS-SIN rose 13.1% to 20.13

Asia Fuel Oil-Market strength eases, inventories extend recovery Asia’s high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market continued to ease on Thursday, while onshore inventories in Singapore recovered for a second consecutive week. The recent rally in HSFO has shown

Asia Fuel Oil-VLSFO market structure weakens; more spot offers emerge The market structure for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) weakened further in Asia on Wednesday, with backwardation spreads narrowing, while more spot offers also emerged.

The increase in fuel prices stopped for a while The recent rise in oil prices has been stalled this week by rising inventories and concerns that the Federal Reserve may delay interest rate cuts, but risk in the region could still lead to another attack. The rise in US stocks, high temperature data that could delay the Fed's interest rate cut, and Iran's effort to avoid the risk of an attack on Israel have helped oil prices slow down recently. While Brent crude oil was trading above $90 a barrel on Friday morning, there is still a lot of risk in the oil market. OPEC lowered its 2024 supply forecast. In its latest monthly report, OPEC kept its demand forecast for this year at 2.25 million barrels per day, but reduced the non-OPEC oil increase in 2024 to 990,000 barrels per day, down 70,000 barrels from last month's forecast. Trafigura purchased the French Fos refinery. A consortium led by global trading company Trafigura has entered exclusive talks to buy Exxon Mobil's (NYSE:XOM) Fos-sur-Mer refinery and adjacent storage facility in southern France, aiming to complete it by the end of 2024. The US Department of Justice launched an investigation against Nippon Steel. The US Department of Justice has launched a comprehensive investigation into Nippon Steel's (TYO: 5401) $14.1 billion bid to acquire US Steel (NYSE: X), weeks after President Biden said US steel producers "must stay domestic". announced. Petrobras produces oil in the Brazilian border basin. Brazilian state oil company Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) said it has discovered oil fields in deep waters off the edge of the equator, the second discovery ever in the country's oil field and the most promising discovery onshore. For the first time, US natural gas is cheaper than coal. US natural gas will be cheaper than coal for the first time, according to the EIA; because 2024 Henry Center estimates average only $2.15 per mmBtu, while coal averages $2.45 per mmBtu. Chevron gives Myanmar assets to military junta. US oil giant Chevron (NYSE: CVX) divested its 41.1% stake in Myanmar's Yadana oil field and transferred its shares to remaining shareholders PTT and Myanmar Oil and Gas Co., announcing its intention to leave two years later. Red Sea crisis increases shipping emissions. The crisis in Red Sea shipping has resulted in an 8% to 10% increase in the use of cargo ships due to longer routes, and international shipping is expected to suffer in the event of regular disruptions. Permian Basin oil production and due to the increase in natural gas flows, the price of natural gas in the Texas Waha Center fell to minus 2 million British thermal units this week; Most of the US natural gas production is currently at cost. less than production costs.

Analysts believe that #VLCC freight rates could skyrocket to unprecedented levels in the coming year. With a significant increase in vessel demand anticipated, rates are poised to more than double. Key factors driving this surge include the limited addition of new vessels to the market, and a growing volume of crude oil exports from the Atlantic region, which will fuel demand for tanker transportation. Additionally, rumored plans by OPEC+ to unwind production cuts could signal a positive outlook for global oil demand. As we look ahead to 2025, these factors combined point to a significant upward trajectory for VLCC freight rates. Read the full article from TradeWinds here: https://lnkd.in/dTqXA62h

Singapore fuel oil stockpiles hit six-week low, imports more than halve Onshore fuel oil stockpiles at key trading and storage hub Singapore fell to a six-week low, data showed on Thursday, after imports more than halved from the previous week. Inventories

Asia Fuel Oil-Refining cracks steady, spot premiums dip on quiet trade Refining cracks for fuel oil were steady in Asia on Wednesday, while spot cash premiums eased slightly on largely quiet trade. The front-month crack spread for very low sulphur fuel

For over a month now oil market participants have been talking about a sudden lack of heavy crude oil, poised to structurally impact refining margins in the US Gulf Coast (USGC). This excellent and comprehensive note by Robert Harvey and Arathy Somasekhar cover several topics around this event. Btw, it is not that easy to just 'buy' fuel oil to replace Maya crude: you would need to have the necessary connections for external feedstocks going into your Vacuum Unit, and your CDU towers will suffer lower utilization rates anyway. But I digress. In this context what I found surprising are the latest K factors announced by Mexico for their crude exports, applicable for June 2024. They are discounting their Maya prices for the USGC market, while increasing them a bit for the US West Coast. This is contrary to the notion of 'shortage' and to what is happening on each region. - A lack of Maya barrels will always, by far, impact USGC refiners. K factors for barrels going to the USGC should had been adjusted FOR HIGHER Maya prices, not lower. -The West Coast system has the benefit of additional barrels that are being nominated now thanks to the TMX expansion. So, Maya barrels there 'should' had been discounted due to more competition. The only options that could explain this commercial decision are these, in order of probability: - Maybe that 'reduction' on crude exports from Mexico was meant to be only for the short term (April-May), corresponding to the presidential election cycle. Higher domestic utilization rates created this need to cut exports in this period, but, these price movements for June imply that Mexico could put more volume back into the market, after the elections have passed. This would be GREAT news for USGC refiners, as the market tightness of heavy grades produced by Venezuelan sanctions and Mexico's exports would soften. - The other option is that Mexico sees both Brent and WTI prices increasing significantly by June, and therefore, it is proactively adjusting the Maya price for that period, by reducing the K factor. I do not think this is the one. Did you see how much analysis can be done by just looking at a couple of numbers? Just thinking out loud. I used to define those K formulas a few years back, so these topics are always close to me. #refining, #gasoline, #diesel, #crudeprice, #oil, #opec, #crudeoil

Fuel and diesel prices to remain unchanged in August: Staff Reporter THE Ministry of Mines and Energy has announced that prices for both petrol and diesel will remain unchanged. In Walvis Bay, the price of petrol will remain N$22.20 per litre, the price of diesel 50ppm will remain N$21.57 per litre, and the price of diesel 10ppm will remain N$21.67 per litre. Fuel prices across the rest of the country will also remain unchanged. Giving a background on the market, Ten Eshioshange Hasheela, spokesperson of the ministry, said that despite the relative increase in oil production over the month of July, particularly by the United States and other non-OPEC members, oil prices have edged up globally owing to prevailing geopolitical tensions and associated volatilities. However, Hasheela added that a reduction has been observed in the shipping and freight costs for vessels that bring the oil into the country from the international oil markets. “The latest calculation by the Ministry indicates that the average price of Unleaded Petrol 95 over July 2024 stood at USD99.125 per barrel, compared to USD95.278 per barrel at the end of June 2024, indicating an increase of USD3.847 per barrel or 4.04% over the review period. Additionally, the average price of Diesel 50ppm over July 2024 stood at USD98.633 per barrel, compared to USD95.275 per barrel at the end of June 2024, signifying an increase of USD3.358 per barrel or 3.52% over the review period. Moreover, the average price of Diesel 10ppm over July 2024 stood at USD98.992 per barrel, compared to USD95.664 per barrel at the end of June 2024, indicating an increase of USD3.328 per barrel or 3.48% over the review period. However, the exchange rate figures for the period of 1-22 July 2024 indicated a 1.09% appreciation of the Namibia Dollar against the USD at N$18.21 per USD, compared to N$18.41 per USD at the end of June 2024, on the back of a relatively stronger South African Rand to which the Namibia Dollar is pegged,” Hasheela said. She added that, having considered all the input factors mentioned above into the fuel pricing model, the Ministry recorded an over-recovery of 18.268 cents per litre on petrol and over-recoveries of 7.393 cents per litre on diesel 50ppm and 13.258 cents per litre on diesel 10ppm. “The over-recoveries are thanks to the combined effects of a stronger domestic currency and lower shipping costs. In this regard, and taking into account upside risks on global oil prices, the observed over-recoveries provide a window of opportunity to restore a healthy balance of the national slate account to boost our capacity to better absorb future market volatilities. In conclusion, the Ministry acknowledges that the situation in the international oil market remains volatile, hence the need to strengthen the domestic shock absorption capacity at this point in time. The Ministry will continue to closely monitor these developments…