Crude deliveries to the French Mediterranean port complex of Fos-Lavera rose last month from three-year lows in March, but levels remain low and few tankers are signalling arrival.
Deliveries averaged 285,000 b/d, compared with 185,000 b/d in March and 380,000 b/d in April last year, according to Argus tracking. This was the third lowest monthly level in the past three years, surpassed only by March and January (see chart). Arrivals were limited by port workers cutting shifts, by Covid-19 movement restrictions and by refinery maintenance works. Refiners in the Mediterranean are cutting crude runs in the short term to stop haemorrhaging cash as margins plummet.
The complex serves four refineries — ExxonMobil's 133,000 b/d Fos, UK-Chinese joint venture Petroineos' 210,000 b/d Lavera, Total's 105,000 b/d Feyzin and Varo Energy's 63,000 b/d Cressier in Switzerland. ExxonMobil received 85,000 b/d last month, Petroineos 80,000 b/d, Varo around 40,000 b/d and Total received cargoes after a six week gap, taking close to 80,000 b/d in April.
Maintenance at Feyzin has been extended as workers opt to stay at home. Petroineos' refinery has restarted after works, but receipts remained low.
Crude discharged last month included 90,000 b/d of Kazakh CPC Blend, 80,000 b/d of Algerian Saharan Blend, 40,000 b/d of US Midland, 40,0000 b/d from Saudi Arabia split between Arab Heavy and Arab Light, and close to 40,000 b/d of Baobab from the Ivory Coast. April was the first month since November 2017 with no Nigerian crude at Fos-Lavera.
A very large crude carrier (VLCC) with 2mn bl of Nigerian Forcados on board is among eight tankers at Fos-Lavera's anchorage, holding a combined 7mn bl. Unusually, two tankers partially discharged in April before moving to other ports. A cargo of Chad's Doba crude for ExxonMobil changed course in the Atlantic and headed to Tianjin, China.
A 480,000 bl cargo of CPC Blend has discharged for ExxonMobil this month, but only two further tankers are signalling arrival — one carrying 550,000 bl of US WTI and one with 500,000 bl of CPC Blend.
The weak level of refining throughput at Fos-Lavera is underlined by very low levels of products leaving the port. Just 20,000 b/d of gasoline was moved out, most by ExxonMobil, and probably into storage. ExxonMobil exported a 115,000 bl cargo of vacuum gasoil (VGO) to Coruna, Spain where integrated Repsol runs a 120,000 b/d refinery and could use VGO to produce 0.5pc marine fuel oil. Around 45,000 b/d of naphtha arrived at Fos-Lavera, probably for the 750,000 t/yr Total-Petroineos Naphthachimie petrochemicals joint venture. VGO and naphtha could be used by refiners that are tempering cracking operations to avoid producing gasoline.
