Saudi Arabia’s imports of high-sulfur fuel oil from Kuwait exceeded 180,000 tons (equivalent to approximately 37,000 barrels per day).
Saudi Arabia imported fuel oil from Kuwait in July for the first time in more than two years in a rare move to meet rising summer power demand, according to trade sources and shipping data. Reuters”.
The data showed a decline in reduced fuel oil supplies from Russia to Saudi Arabia.
Data from shipping data analytics firm Kpler and Vortexa showed Saudi Arabia’s imports of high-sulfur fuel oil from Kuwait exceeded 180,000 tonnes (roughly 37,000 barrels per day), marking the first fuel purchase from Kuwait by Saudi Arabia since May 2022.
Saudi demand keeps more Kuwaiti supplies in the Middle East, supporting record prices in Singapore amid a general decline in Middle East exports.
Commercial sources expected that the flow of Kuwaiti fuel oil would continue in August, as it wonAramcoThe company also recently tendered to buy 130,000 tonnes of ultra-low-sulphur fuel oil from Kuwait’s Al-Zour refinery.
The cargo, scheduled to load on August 11-12, was trading at a discount of around $8 to Singapore VLSFO rates on a free-on-board basis, the sources added.
Russian supplies still account for the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s fuel oil imports, at around 441,000 tonnes in July and accounting for around 30% of total volumes, but down from around 750,000 tonnes in the same month last year.
Saudi Arabia imported record quantities of Russian fuel oil at a discount in June 2023 to meet summer demand, while exporting its production at higher prices.
Competition from China and India for Russian fuel oil has prompted Saudi Arabia to turn to alternative suppliers such as Kuwait, said Emril Jamil, senior analyst at LSEG Oil Research.
