Indonesia’s base oils exports rose to a five-month high in January on the back of a rebound in shipments of Group III base oils.The pick-up in exports coincided with and helped to cushion the impact of a round of Group III plant maintenance work in Asia during the first quarter of the year.Like supplies from the Mideast Gulf, supplies bound for Europe faced longer shipment times as they travelled via southern Africa rather than the Red Sea.The longer journeys raised the prospect of a more prolonged drop in flows from Indonesia to Europe early this year, after a pause in such shipments in December.The pause in flows increased Europe’s reliance on Group III base oils supplies from Spain in the interim.It also raised the prospect of a wave of shipments reaching Europe at around the same time in March, after tighter-than-expected availability the previous month.Indonesia’s Group III base oils exports of 27,100t in January rose from less than 10,000t the previous month, government data showed.A similar surge in shipments in August 2023 followed similarly-low exports the previous month because of logistical delays.A repeat of that pattern would see exports fall back to more typical levels of less than 20,000t in February.The January volume included a 9,600t cargo to the Netherlands, following a pause in such flows in December.A cargo of Group III base oils reached the Netherlands this week after loading from Indonesia in second-half January.The journey time of close to 50 days for the shipment contrasted with a more typical period of less than 35 days. A Group III cargo from Bahrain was also set to reach northwest Europe this week after loading in mid-January.The cargo also faced a longer journey time than usual..Singapore Jan exports rise, imports fall.Taiwan’s Jan base oils exports surge
