SINGAPORE: Asian fuel oil differentials improved on Tuesday though a heavy supply of marine and power generation fuel continued to weigh on prices, industry sources said.
In Singapore, trading activity was robust with Glencore selling four out of five cargoes while on the buy side Cargill snapped up four out of five cargoes, traders said.
China's refineries shipped a record amount of fuel products in the January-November period, according to preliminary customs data. Last month, it sold 4.1 million tonnes of refined products overseas, a jump of 68 percent from a year earlier and surpassing one million barrels per day.
With Chinese independent refineries getting licences to import crude directly they will likely import less fuel oil, adding to the surplus of the fuel in the region, traders said.
Indonesia's Pertamina kicked off term negotiations for vacuum residue, offering 240,000 barrels during the first quarter of next year, traders said.
The country's president launched the first of five new floating power stations on Tuesday, a stop gap for growing power demand amid the slow development of plants on land.
State electricity utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) sees the heavy fuel oil powered floating stations as a quick solution to meet power needs that will save costs in the short term, as heavy fuel oil is cheaper than diesel and gas.
Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corp (Ceypetco) offered a rare low sulphur fuel oil cargo. The company is usually an importer of fuel oil and it was not immediately clear why it was offering the power generation fuel.
More spot supply also appeared out of the Middle East with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) offering 90,000 tonnes of high sulphur fuel oil for January, traders said.
TENDERS:
- Taiwan's CPC Corp is seeking 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil for delivery in January. The tender closes on Dec. 8 and is valid until Dec. 10.
- ADNOC has offered two cargoes of 45,000 tonnes each of 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil for loading from Ruwais over Jan. 11 to 20 and Jan. 25 to 31. The tender closes on Dec. 8 and is valid until Dec. 11.
- Ceypetco has offered 35,000 tonnes of low sulphur fuel oil for loading from Colombo over Feb. 16 to 17. The tender closes on Dec. 8 and is valid until Dec. 11.
- Pertamina has offered 80,000 barrels a month of vacuum residue for loading from its Plaju refinery over January to March. The tender closes on Dec. 10 and is valid until Dec. 16.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS: Five deals reported.
- Glencore sold 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst fuel oil for Dec. 26 to 30 loading to BP at a discount of $3 a tonne to Singapore quotes.
- Glencore sold 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst fuel oil for Jan. 3 to 7 loading to Cargill at a discount of $5 a tonne to the average of January Singapore quotes.
- PetroChina sold 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst fuel oil for Jan. 2 to 6 loading to Cargill at a discount of $2.75 a tonne to Singapore quotes.
- Glencore sold 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst fuel oil for Dec. 25 to 29 loading to Cargill at a discount of $1.50 a tonne to the average of balance December Singapore quotes.
- Glencore sold 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst fuel oil for Dec. 27 to 31 loading to Cargill at a discount of $1.40 a tonne to the average of balance December Singapore quotes.
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