<article><p class="lead">Argentina's sales of very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) declined in the third quarter from a year earlier while remaining above pre-2020 levels.</p><p>Argentinean VLSFO sales totaled 323,266t in the July-September period, 2pc lower than the same months in 2021, according to the most recent data from Argentina's Petroleum and Gas Institute.Still, the latest sales were 31pc higher than third-quarter 2019 figures.</p><p>The lower VLSFO sales were likely a result of the tail end of harvesting season and lower cruise ship activity that occurs during the winter months in the southern hemisphere. </p><p>Historically low water levels in the Parana river have slowed crop shipments out of Argentina, driving down some demand for VLSFO and MGO. An ongoing drought in Argentina has depressed water levels in the Parana river, one of the main waterways used for crop shipments from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, and shifted demand to domestic power generation.</p><p>Argentina's state-controlled electricity wholesaler Cammesa used 128,000t of VLSFO in the third quarter of 2022 compared with 94,000t for the same time period last year, a 36 percent increase. The company used 177,000t of VLSFO for the same quarter in 2020. </p><p class="bylines">By Luis Gronda </p></article>
