US’ June base oils imports fall

US base oils imports fell in June to a 15-month low on the back of a slump in shipments from non-Group III sources.

Total imports of 985,340bl (139,000t) in June fell from 1.46mn bl the previous month, government data showed. The volume was the lowest since March 2021.

Even with the slowdown, imports of 7.45mn bl in the first half of the year were up 8pc from 6.91mn bl during the same period a year earlier.

US base oils imports have risen this year amid a sustained pick-up in shipments of Group III supplies.

Rising volumes of these premium-grade base oils contrasted with a fall in shipments of other grades from other sources.

Imports of Group III supplies rose to meet strong demand for base oils to produce increasingly high-end engine oils.

High US prices relative to other regions added to the attraction of moving more shipments to that market.

Group III base oils imports of 921,630bl in June fell from 1.30mn bl the previous month.

The slowdown reflected a pause in shipments from Bahrain and a drop in flows from Canada and UAE.

Imports of other base oil grades fell to less than 65,000bl in June. The volume was down from more than 160,000bl the previous month and the lowest since end-2020.

The sharp slowdown reflected a halt in shipments of Russian origin for a second month and a slump in supplies from the Netherlands to an 11-month low.

A ban on US imports of Russian oil products came into effect from end-April.

Base oils output in the Netherlands slumped in May to a 20-month low.

There were also no US base oils imports from Saudi Arabia in June for the first time in three months.