Latest News

Petrobras loads diesel from Reliance on unrefined tanker in India after delay

Brazilian energy major Petrobras has filled diesel from India on board a Suezmax crude oil tanker after a monthlong delay, according to shiptracking data and trade sources, the very first such shipment from India in more than a year amidst unstable freight rates for clean product tankers.

The conversion of a crude oil tanker to bring clean items enabled Petrobras to deliver bigger volumes of diesel from Asia at lower expenses, with Asian sellers also seeking demand outlets outside this area, the sources stated.

The bigger deliveries will likely relieve downward pressure on an oversupplied Asian diesel market and produce a rate floor for the existing market, the sources said. Refining margins appear near bottoming out at $13-14 a barrel in Asia in the meantime, one of the sources added.

Tanker Milton Santos, chartered by Petrobras, filled 100,000-105,000 metric lots (745,000-782,250 barrels) of ultra-low sulphur diesel at Reliance's Sikka port on May 4-5 and is set up to reach Brazil in the very first half of June, data from LSEG, Kpler and a shipbroking source showed.

The packing was postponed for practically a month because of a. longer-than-expected scrubbing and cleaning procedure, two. delivering sources stated.

Both Petrobras and Dependence did not respond to '. ask for remarks.

The shipment comes after 360,000 lots of Russian March. loading diesel were released in Brazil in the previous couple of weeks,. with around 177,000 lots of April-loading freights arranged to. be released today, according to shipbroking sources.

FREIGHT EXPENSES

Brazil ended up being an essential purchaser of Russian diesel exports given that. Western sanctions on Russian oil items began early last. year, with volumes averaging 540,000-617,000 lots a month, Kpler. and LSEG data showed.

Arbitrage economics for Russian diesel exports have worsened. from ongoing stress in the Middle East and some cargoes have. also been delayed, affecting shipments to Brazil, one trade. source stated.

Freight costs for Suezmax tankers on East-to-West routes are. around 30% cheaper than the more than $60 per load costs for. clean item long-range 2 (LR) vessels, efficient in carrying. 90,000-100,000 lots of diesel, a Singapore-based trade source. said.

Petrobras has sporadically been using its crude tankers to. load diesel in the past 3 years from India and the Middle. East to Brazil, Kpler data revealed.

The switch requires unrefined tankers to be scrubbed tidy to. make it appropriate to bring diesel without polluting the fuel. and the process takes a minimum of 2 weeks, one Singapore-based. delivering source stated.

However, the sustainability of this trend stays. questionable since of scrubbing, other operational expenses,. arbitrage rate distinctions and substantial unrefined tanker. freight dynamics, one Singapore-based trade source stated.

Exports from the U.S. gulf coast have actually become the prime. choice for arbitrage into Latin America, as Asian diesel costs. stay company, stated Sparta Commodities analyst James Noel-Beswick.