Fujairah bunker sales plunged 71% in March amid the Middle East crisis

Weighed down by weaker sales across all fuel grades amid the ongoing Middle East crisis, Fujairah’s total bunker sales fell sharply by 71% in March, according to data compiled by Fujairah Oil Industry Zone and S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Changes in Fujairah bunker fuel sales from February to March:

• Total sales down by 71% to 156,000 mt
• VLSFO sales down by 73% to 97,000 mt
• HSFO sales down by 65% to 51,000 mt
• LSMGO sales down by 75% to 8,000 mt

Fujairah’s bunker sales slipped for the second month in a row in March, averaging about 5,000 mt/day — massively down by 14,000 mt/day compared to February.

Ongoing tensions in the Middle East and disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil trade have dented bunker demand massively in Fujairah. Moreover, persistent attack-led disruptions and uncertainty at Fujairah diverted enquiries toward alternative locations. Combination of these factors have contributed to lower bunker sales in March.

“Demand has dropped quite a bit,” a Fujairah-based trader said.

VLSFO, the most widely demanded bunker fuel, also recorded a massive decline of around 265,000 mt in March, to reach multi-year lows. This translates to daily sales of around 3,000 mt, down from almost 13,000 mt/day in February.

HSFO sales dropped sharply by 95,000 mt, falling to 51,000 mt in March – to multi-year lows. LSMGO sales fell significantly by around 23,000 mt to 8,000 mt for the month.

Over the first three months of the year, Fujairah recorded total bunker sales of 1.32 million mt, marking a 26% drop from the same period a year earlier.

Fuel grade share of total sales in March (compared to the year to date):

• 62% VLSFO 380cst (63% YTD)
• 0.06% VLSFO 180cst (0.13% YTD)
• 32% HSFO (32% YTD)
• 5% LSMGO (5% YTD)
• 0.11% of 0.50% MGO (0.04% YTD)

By Tuhin Roy

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