India's use of crude tankers to export diesel slows in May
Indian refiners' usage of petroleum vessels to ship refined fuels such as diesel to key European markets has actually diminished in May after volumes neared twoyear high levels last month, trade sources and analysts said.
Since rising inventories in the, that is Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam area and shaky east-west diesel cost spreads undermine the case for sellers to ship big volumes of the commercial fuel West.
While more April shipments from India to Europe offered a. floor for Asian margins, less such voyages in May will likely. oblige Indian refiners to shift diesel sales back to Asia,. intensifying a supply excess in the region, analysts and traders. said.
Diesel exports using Suezmax and Aframax vessels Mesta,. Pertamina Halmahera and Marlin Santorini - primarily from Dependence. Industries' Jamnagar refinery - reached a near two-year high of. around 380,000 metric heaps (2.831 million barrels) in April,. Kpler, Vortexa and LSEG shiptracking data revealed.
Dependence did not respond to a Reuters e-mail for. remark.
Shiptracker Kpler in February estimated a switch by 35. Aframax crude tankers to carry refined items instead of. crude.
Traders switched to using Suezmax and Aframax tankers - that. usually load so-called dirty petroleum and residue fuel -. for bring clean fine-tuned items after freight rates for. long-range (LR) tankers surged following Houthi attacks on ships. in the Red Sea that forced longer voyages and tightened up vessel. schedule.
At the time it was a reflection of how tight the LR1 and. LR2 clean product tanker market was provided the extra tonne. miles vessels were needing to do to prevent the Red Sea, and the. Since ships were, lack of available prompt tonnage to book. massively displaced offered the additional sail times, said Wood. Mackenzie's research study expert Emma Howsham.
The petroleum market was likewise weaker, as refinery. upkeep in the United States and Middle East dented need. for dirty vessels, making it appealing to ship diesel utilizing. them, she included.
EXPENSE ASPECT
The cost for shipping 65,000 tons of fuel on a LR1 tanker. balanced $75 per load in March and April from India to northwest. Europe, compared to $60 a lot in February, rates data from SSY. Tanker revealed.
Even after the expense for scrubbing and cleaning a vessel to. load ultra-low sulphur diesel, that was still almost twice the. expense for delivering approximately 130,000 tons of fuel on a Suezmax vessel. on a similar route, traders said.
Traders have been among the biggest shippers of. Indian-origin diesel, and they have the choice for numerous. discharge destinations and therefore have room to deliver utilizing larger. vessels, one Europe-based trade source stated.
The trend has eased off for May without any dirty tankers carrying. diesel on the India-northwest Europe path, shiptracking data. revealed, as experts anticipate Europe's supply to be long.
The economics for Indian refiners to supply to Europe via. the Cape of Great Hope looks difficult as European supply. looks ample in the coming months, stated Woodmac's Howsham.
