India Ships 100KT Diesel to Africa in Rare Arbitrage

Posted 03 July 2006 @ 07:00 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

Singapore (IBTimes.com) - India is shipping a fresh 100,000 tonnes of low-sulphur diesel to Africa this month in a rare arbitrage move, triggered by shortages in South Africa amid refinery maintenance works, traders said on Monday.

They said Indian refiner Reliance was supplying most of the cargoes to Africa. Fixtures showed that 30,000 tonnes were loaded on the vessel Mandi 1 on Sunday from the West Coast of India, which will sail to Africa, while the Nord Sea will ferry 35,000 tonnes to Africa from July 5, shipping brokers said.

A similar shipment was also loaded on the Pacific Ace on July 2 for the same destination, they added. Asian refiners from South Korea and India last exported an armada of more than 400,000 tonnes of diesel to Africa during March and April due to thin flows from regular supplier Middle East.

The flows were re-ignited, though in smaller volumes, as South Africa was short of low-sulphur diesel supplies heading into refinery turnarounds. South African refiner SAPREF, a Shell-operated 50-50 joint venture with BP, began a two-month planned shutdown at its 180,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Durban on June 26.

SAPREF is set to import 110,000 tonnes of gas oil, three 30,000-tonne cargoes of gasoline, and a cargo of jet fuel this month to cover reduced domestic output. Its shutdown also coincided with partial maintenance at Sasol's 107,000-bpd Natref oil refinery in Sasolburg, South Africa, in the second half of July.