Base oils shipments from the Saudi Arabian ports of Yanbu and Jeddah rebounded in August, boosting flows to India especially.The rise in shipments coincided with a recovery in base oils exports from Asia to India in August.The dynamic raised the prospect of a rise in India’s base oils imports in September, following a sharp slump in shipments to the country the previous month.The rise in supplies would help to replenish low stocks ahead of an expected pick-up in India's lube consumption after the monsoon season.Base oils shipments from the ports of Yanbu and Jeddah combined rose to more than 80,000 tonnes in August, provisional shipping data showed.The volume was the highest this year and rose from a one-year low of less than 40,000 tonnes in July..The drop in exports in July followed unscheduled maintenance work on both of Luberef’s base oils plants during the second quarter of the year.The rise in exports in August included several shipments that were scheduled to reach India this month.India’s imports from Saudi Arabia in the first ten days of September already almost matched its total imports from the Middle East country in all of August.The arrival of additional shipments raised the prospect of India’s imports from Saudi Arabia rising to a multi-month high in September. .The rise in Saudi Arabia’s shipments in August preceded a longer, scheduled plant shutdown in the fourth quarter of the year that included hooking up its expanded production capacity.The shutdown raised the prospect of a further drop in Saudi Arabia’s base oils shipments in the coming months, and the need for buyers in markets like India to line up alternative sources in response.Moves to line up alternative sources later this year could be less challenging than in recent months following the recent start-up of a new Group II base oils unit in Singapore.A seasonal slowdown in demand in the US at year-end also raised the prospect of additional availability of surplus volumes in that market over the coming months..India’s August base oils imports fall.Global exports to Mideast Gulf fall in August.Saudi Arabia’s July Yanbu/Jeddah base oils exports fall.Base Oil News stories and analysis also available on ICIS platform
