Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has informed some term customers of the availability of cargoes for loading off Fujairah, outside the Persian Gulf, as producers explore different routes to bring their oil to market.
The United Arab Emirates state-owned producer told its buyers they could pick up cargoes of grades including Upper Zakum via ship-to-ship transfer off Fujairah, said traders who asked not to be identified as negotiations are private. The cargoes are mainly available for loading in May, they added.
Adnoc declined to comment.
Upper Zakum typically loads from a port at Zirku Island, located deep within the Persian Gulf, that doesn’t have a pipeline to the mainland. The availability of May cargoes via STS transfer off Fujairah means the shipments are on board vessels outside the Strait of Hormuz.
The Upper Zakum volumes now being marketed are from storage sites near Fujairah, which was then loaded onto crude tankers, according to another person familiar with the matter. The supply was put into storage before the war began, the person said.
Meanwhile, some ships that originated in the UAE appear to be getting through the strait. The Mubaraz, a liquefied natural gas tanker that loaded at Abu Dhabi National Oil’s Das Island facility, is now passing the southern tip of India after last month idling inside the gulf.
Prior to these latest offers, the UAE had only supplied Murban crude from Fujairah. Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia has diverted oil from within the gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, where cargoes have loaded and sailed to customers including in India and South Korea.
There are still problems with picking up cargoes from Fujairah, as the nearby waters remain too risky for some shipowners. Cost is also likely to be an issue, given Adnoc hasn’t yet released official selling prices for its slew of grades for volumes that’ll load next month. - Bloomberg
