Crude oil in floating storage increased by around 4.5 million barrels m-o-m at the end of February. Iran was responsible for the build as total offshore storage in the Gulf increased to around 27 million barrels.
However, some 5 to 6 million Iranian barrels have already been shifted to Europe via Sumed, following the Libyan production shutdown. The overall amount of middle distillates in offshore storage remained largely unchanged. Volumes have all but dried up in the Mediterranean but around 10 million barrels yet remain in Northwest Europe. Another 5 million barrels or so are seen off the coast of West Africa.
Total crude and product stocks in the EU-15 & Norway region fell by 8.5 million barrels m-o-m in February to be currently seen at the lowest seasonal level since 2008 and 3% below last year levels (Euroilstock). Crude stocks accounted for the biggest downfall, shedding 4.7 million barrels m-o-m while product stocks declined by 3.8 million barrels m-o-m.
Most recent Chinese customs data shows crude oil imports at 5.2 million b/d in February, the third-highest level ever, representing an 8% increase y-o-y. Moreover, net fuel oil imports rose to 350,000 b/d in January, marking a strong 38% increase m-o-m to land at an eight-month high.
US crude stocks continued to follow seasonal trends and climbed by nearly three million barrels m-o-m (week ended March 4). They are currently seen at a three-month high and 5% above the 5-year average. This can be attributed to a hike in PADD 3 crude stocks which catapulted by 3.6 million barrels over the last week, mirroring a hike in crude imports to the Gulf Coast of more than 300,000 b/d.