Feb base oil imports from Qatar recover

Major markets like Hong Kong and Germany took delivery of a larger volume of base oils from Qatar in February, extending a gradual recovery in shipments since the start of the year.

Those markets and other key destinations like US and Singapore took delivery of more than 144,000t of base oils from Qatar in February, government statistics and customs data showed.

Imports had fallen in December to less than 110,000t. The volume was the second-lowest since the third quarter of 2020 and fell from more typical levels of more than 160,000 t/month in 2021.

Imports recovered to more than 140,000t in January, even with a halt in deliveries to Germany that month.

Base oil imports extended that rise in February. Shipments reaching the US fell that month to less than 43,000t. But the slowdown was from an unusually high volume of more than 55,000t in January.

Hong Kong’s base oil imports from Qatar rose in February to a three-month high of more than 39,000t. There had been no shipments to that outlet in December.

Qatar is a key source of premium-grade base oils. Demand for these base oils continues to rise amid increasingly stringent specification requirements for lubricants like vehicle engine oils.