Base oils shipments from the Saudi Arabian ports of Yanbu and Jeddah fell to a seven-month low in February, curbing flows to India ahead of a seasonal rise in the country's lube demand.Base oils shipments from the ports of Yanbu and Jeddah combined came to less than 45,000 tonnes in February, provisional shipping data showed..The volume fell from more than 60,000 tonnes the previous month to the lowest since last July.Shipments showed signs of staying relatively low so far in March.The slowdown followed a drop in base oils shipments to the Middle East from other key sources like Asia at the start of the year.The drop in shipments from Saudi Arabia prompted buyers in markets like India to tap their inventories or to line up supplies from other sources.India’s base oils imports of less than 25,000 tonnes from Saudi Arabia in February were the lowest in six months.The slowdown mostly reflected a dip in shipments of very-light grade base oils, boosting demand for those supplies from other sources.Qatar was one such source, with a surge in shipments of very-light-grade base oils from that market to India in first-half March.Saudi Arabia’s cargo flows to more distant markets like Asia showed signs of holding steadier even with the drop in total shipments.The steady flows coincided with and tapped increasingly tight availability of Group I brightstock in the Asia-Pacific market. Singapore took delivery of close to 5,000 tonnes of base oils from Saudi Arabia so far in March. The volume was similar to the previous month.Another February-loading cargo from Saudi Arabia reached China in second-half March.The shipment extended a sharp rise in its base oils exports to China from around the middle of last year..Global base oils exports to Middle East stay low in January.India’s February base oils imports fall
