Global base oils exports to the Middle East fell in August at a time of year when demand in the region faced a seasonal slowdown.Total shipments of 37,500 tonnes to the UAE and Saudi Arabia in August fell from more than 43,000 tonnes in July and by 10% from year-earlier levels, government data showed.The supplies originated from US, Europe and Asia.Exports fell as a drop in shipments from Europe outweighed a pick-up in supplies from Asia and still-low volumes from the US.The diverging flows boosted Asia’s share of total exports to the region in August to the highest since the start of the year.The dynamic extended a trend that began several years ago.Supplies from Asia accounted for 64% of total shipments to the Middle East in the first eight months of this year. The share was up from a 59% share in 2023 and a 47% share in 2022.The growing share reflected a combination of rising total exports to the Middle East, combined with shrinking flows from Europe to the region.Asia’s growing share of exports to the Middle East increased the impact of any slowdown in shipments from markets like South Korea or Taiwan.Such a slowdown duly materialized in September, when South Korea’s base oils exports slumped to the lowest in more than a decade because of plant maintenance work.The fall in shipments to the Middle East was smaller than the sharper slide in South Korea’s exports to other markets, cushioning the impact.The more muted drop in exports pointed to ongoing shipments from other South Korean refiners, with the trend showing signs of extending into the month of October.The Middle East market’s reliance on Asia for supplies showed signs of extending well into the fourth quarter of the year amid scant signs of any significant pick-up in arbitrage shipments from the US.Exports from the US to the Middle East rose to a three-month high in August.But shipments of less than 3,000 tonnes in August remained well below average monthly volumes of more than 6,500 tonnes in the seven months to April..S Korea's Sept exports to India fall.US’ August base oils exports rise
