Base oils shipments from the Saudi ports of Yanbu and Jeddah slipped in December from a six-month high the previous month.Total shipments of more than 50,000 tonnes from Yanbu and Jeddah combined in December fell from more than 80,000 tonnes the previous month, shipping data showed.The December volume lifted total shipments to more than 710,000 tonnes in 2024, up from more than 680,000 tonnes the previous year.The slowdown in shipments in December mirrored a regular trend throughout the year of higher exports one month followed by a drop in shipments the following month.The net effect was relatively rangebound shipment volumes over a two-month period throughout the year.The steady volumes attracted rising interest in Asia especially, where a wave of Group I plant closures in recent years left the region with increasingly tight availability of products like brightstock.The December shipments included another cargo to Singapore, reflecting that trend.Increasingly regular shipments to the island-state boosted its imports from Saudi Arabia to more than 41,000 tonnes last year, up from less than 25,000 tonnes in 2023.China’s imports from Saudi Arabia also surged in 2024 to more than 17,000 tonnes, from less than 1,000 tonnes the previous year.Saudi Arabia’s base oils shipments to India also held firm during the final months of last year.But India’s higher imports from Saudi Arabia during the fourth quarter reflected more a rise in shipments of very-light grade and mid-viscosity grade Group II base oils.Imports of heavy-grade base oils held steady and relatively low.Saudi Arabia’s steady exports could provide a key source of supplies for buyers in the Middle East early this year following a sharp fall in shipments from Asia to the region at the end of last year.Upcoming plant maintenance work and a seasonal pick-up in demand could extend the slowdown in supplies from Asia through the first quarter of the year.Any slowdown in shipments from Saudi Arabia would by contrast compound any regional supply tightness.Shipment volumes from Yanbu and Jeddah remained unusually low so far in January..China’s Dec base oils imports mixed.Global exports to Middle East slip in Dec.India’s December base oils imports slip .Saudi Arabia’s Oct Yanbu/Jeddah exports fall
