Emarat bought 60,000 tonnes of jet fuel delivery
Emarat ups jet fuel purchases as domestic demand soars
SINGAPORE, January 26, 2015
Emirates General Petroleum Corp (Emarat) has increased its 2015 spot and term volumes of jet fuel from last year because of an increase in demand from Dubai International Airport, industry sources said.
Passenger traffic at the airport, one of the world's busiest, rose 5.9 per cent in the first 11 months of 2014, according to latest statistics from the airport's operator.
Demand from the airport could rise further as lower oil prices could encourage airlines to slash fuel surcharges on ticket prices, traders said.
In its latest tender, Emarat bought 60,000 tonnes of jet fuel for delivery into Jebel Ali in February from Aramco Trading Company at a premium of $3.40 a barrel to Middle East quotes, on a delivered basis, they said.
Emarat usually buys 40,000 tonnes of jet fuel every month, but its requirements for February increased due to rising demand from Dubai International Airport, one of the sources close to the matter said.
Its term volumes for this year have also risen, the source added.
The company has term contracts with Aramco Trading Company (ATC), Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) to buy 460,000 tonnes of jet fuel this year.
While the increase in overall term volumes was not immediately clear, Emarat contracted to buy 160,000 tonnes of jet fuel for 2015, about a third higher than last year, from ATC, Saudi Aramco's trading arm, the source said.
This is the second year that Aramco has supplied jet fuel to Emarat, following recent capacity additions in Saudi Arabia.
Emarat stopped imports of gasoline after it handed over its retail stations to Adnoc from January 1 this year, the source added.
Previously it imported about 1.2 million tonnes a year of gasoline through spot and term contracts and 60,000 tonnes of gasoil through a term agreement with Adnoc.
Its gasoil imports were halted this year after its main client switched to natural gas for power generation, the source said.
The company is now focusing on imports of jet fuel primarily and smaller volumes of liquefied petroleum gas and lubricants, he said.--Reuters
