UK’s May base oil imports fall

UK base oil imports fell in May after domestic production recovered and shipments from US and Latvia slowed.

Base oil imports of 33,840t in May fell from a six-month high of 45,290t in April, government data showed.

Imports rose from year-earlier levels for a fifth straight month.

The sustained rise in shipments lifted total imports to 177,810t in the first five months of the year. The volume was up 29pc from 138,140t during the same period last year.

The UK’s base oil imports rose even amid unexpectedly tight availability of supplies in Europe in the first half of the year. The tight availability affected Group I supplies more than Group II and Group III base oils.

Availability of Group I supplies was tighter because of the drop in shipments from Russia and plant maintenance work or lower production in several countries in the region, including the UK.

There were no supplies from Russia to the UK in May for a second month.

Imports from Russia came to just 3,620t in the first five months of the year. The volume was down from 11,830t during the same period last year.

There was by contrast an ongoing and unusual surge in shipments from Latvia to the UK. Latvia has no base oils production capacity.

Imports of 2,620t from Latvia in May were the lowest in five months.

They still lifted the UK’s total imports from the Baltic country to 20,600t in the first five months of the year. The volume was up from less than 1,500t during the same period last year.

A surge in UK base oil imports from the US this year reflected the readier availability of premium-grade supplies in Europe.

Imports from the US fell to less than 250t in May, from more than 5,700t the previous month.

Even with the slowdown, total imports of 13,010t from the US in the first five months of the year contrasted with shipments of less than 1,750t during the same period last year.