The delivery of premium-grade base oils from the Middle East to key global outlets recovered in August on the back of a surge in shipments from Bahrain.Europe was the destination for the largest volume of supplies for the first time in five months.The key outlets of US, Europe and Asia took delivery of more than 210,000 tonnes of base oils in August from Bahrain, UAE and Qatar combined, government data showed.Bahrain, UAE and Qatar are key producers of Group III and Group III+ base oils.The August volume rose from a five-month low of close to 170,000 tonnes in July and was close to typical levels of around 210,000 tonnes/month over the past year.Shipments got a boost in August from a rise in supplies from Bahrain to the highest since end-2020.Those supplies were supplemented by a recovery in flows from Qatar, after shipments from the country fell to a six-month low in July.Supplies recovered even after US and Asia-Pacific imports from Qatar stayed unusually low in August for a second month.Europe’s imports from Qatar by contrast rebounded.The region’s imports from Bahrain and the UAE also exceeded shipment volumes to the US and to Asia in August.The trend left Europe’s imports from the three sources outpacing shipment volumes to US and Asia for the first time since March.The higher share of supplies bound for Europe coincided with the region’s increasingly firm Group III prices relative to base oils prices in US and Asia.The wide base oils premium boosted the incentive for refiners in the Middle East to move more shipments to Europe despite a sustained fall in the region’s lube consumption..Europe’s Aug Group III supply rises.US’ Aug base oils imports mixed.Global base oils exports to Middle East fall in August
The delivery of premium-grade base oils from the Middle East to key global outlets recovered in August on the back of a surge in shipments from Bahrain.Europe was the destination for the largest volume of supplies for the first time in five months.The key outlets of US, Europe and Asia took delivery of more than 210,000 tonnes of base oils in August from Bahrain, UAE and Qatar combined, government data showed.Bahrain, UAE and Qatar are key producers of Group III and Group III+ base oils.The August volume rose from a five-month low of close to 170,000 tonnes in July and was close to typical levels of around 210,000 tonnes/month over the past year.Shipments got a boost in August from a rise in supplies from Bahrain to the highest since end-2020.Those supplies were supplemented by a recovery in flows from Qatar, after shipments from the country fell to a six-month low in July.Supplies recovered even after US and Asia-Pacific imports from Qatar stayed unusually low in August for a second month.Europe’s imports from Qatar by contrast rebounded.The region’s imports from Bahrain and the UAE also exceeded shipment volumes to the US and to Asia in August.The trend left Europe’s imports from the three sources outpacing shipment volumes to US and Asia for the first time since March.The higher share of supplies bound for Europe coincided with the region’s increasingly firm Group III prices relative to base oils prices in US and Asia.The wide base oils premium boosted the incentive for refiners in the Middle East to move more shipments to Europe despite a sustained fall in the region’s lube consumption..Europe’s Aug Group III supply rises.US’ Aug base oils imports mixed.Global base oils exports to Middle East fall in August
