South Korea’s base oils exports to Nigeria rose to a record high in January, providing the northeast Asian country with another outlet for its supplies.Base oils exports also rose to India, which is a regular consumer of large volumes of very-light grade base oils.Other outlets for these supplies have dwindled in recent years as stricter import rules or additional taxes made the arbitrage less feasible.India’s demand for very-light grade base oils could also change over the coming year once new production capacity in the country starts operations.Any pick-up in such supplies to Nigeria would provide a valuable alternative outlet for the product, especially if demand from India wanes.South Korea’s base oils exports of more than 21,000t to the west African country in January rose from close to 3,000t the previous month.There had been no shipments to Nigeria during the previous eight months to November and a total of less than 20,000t to the country over the past decade.The dearth of exports to Nigeria reflected the higher freight costs for such shipments and steady demand from more regular buyers in markets that were closer to South Korea, such as India.South Korea’s base oils exports to India held above 90,000t in January for the third time in four months. They had mostly held below the 80,000t level in each of the previous eight months to September.Besides very light-grade base oils, South Korea’s rising shipments included a growing volume of Group II and Group III base oils.South Korea’s base oils exports to the UAE improved to more than 10,000t in January.But the volumes stayed lower since the start of the fourth quarter of last year and were down by more than half from year-earlier levels.The slowdown in shipments from South Korea boosted the UAE's demand for supplies from other Group II producers in Asia, like Taiwan..S Korea’s January exports stay higher.Global base oils exports to Nigeria fall in November
South Korea’s base oils exports to Nigeria rose to a record high in January, providing the northeast Asian country with another outlet for its supplies.Base oils exports also rose to India, which is a regular consumer of large volumes of very-light grade base oils.Other outlets for these supplies have dwindled in recent years as stricter import rules or additional taxes made the arbitrage less feasible.India’s demand for very-light grade base oils could also change over the coming year once new production capacity in the country starts operations.Any pick-up in such supplies to Nigeria would provide a valuable alternative outlet for the product, especially if demand from India wanes.South Korea’s base oils exports of more than 21,000t to the west African country in January rose from close to 3,000t the previous month.There had been no shipments to Nigeria during the previous eight months to November and a total of less than 20,000t to the country over the past decade.The dearth of exports to Nigeria reflected the higher freight costs for such shipments and steady demand from more regular buyers in markets that were closer to South Korea, such as India.South Korea’s base oils exports to India held above 90,000t in January for the third time in four months. They had mostly held below the 80,000t level in each of the previous eight months to September.Besides very light-grade base oils, South Korea’s rising shipments included a growing volume of Group II and Group III base oils.South Korea’s base oils exports to the UAE improved to more than 10,000t in January.But the volumes stayed lower since the start of the fourth quarter of last year and were down by more than half from year-earlier levels.The slowdown in shipments from South Korea boosted the UAE's demand for supplies from other Group II producers in Asia, like Taiwan..S Korea’s January exports stay higher.Global base oils exports to Nigeria fall in November