Spore’s May base oils exports edge up

Singapore’s base oils exports edged up in May even as a round of scheduled plant maintenance work cut output during the second quarter of the year.

Base oils exports of 155,750t in May rose from 142,640t the previous month, government data showed.

Average exports of around 149,000 t/month so far in the second quarter of the year were down from more than 179,000 t/month during the first three months of the year.

The lower exports coincided with the plant-maintenance work.

The May volume was still similar to average shipments of around 158,000 t/month in 2022 and well up from a dip in exports during the fourth quarter of last year.

The relatively steady exports in May suggested that the plant maintenance work had a limited impact on supply.

It also highlighted Singapore’s persistently low export volumes since early 2020, after exports had averaged more than 260,000 t/month in 2019.

The lower volumes since then pointed to the availability of large latent production capacity as and when required.