<article><p class="lead">Qatar's exports of finished gasoline rose to a record monthly high of 107,000t (904,000 bl) in January, following a yearly record of 312,000t in 2022. </p><p>January shipments were the highest since the volumes of 98,000t in June 2022, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. </p><p>The high demand for road fuels during the Fifa World Cup has waned, according to market participants, and strong refining margins have prompted state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) to keep utilisation rates closer to maximum. </p><p>"They have been exporting more than usual as demand usually weakens in winter months, [and] coupled with high stocks, a surplus formed following the World Cup demand," a Dubai-based trader said. </p><p>The UAE received 50pc of Qatar's total gasoline exports in 2022, and 75pc of total exports in January, making it the top destination both times. </p><p>Dubai's state-owned Enoc chartered the <i>Bolan</i> to ship 55,000t gasoline from Ras Laffan while Total booked the <i>Dalmacija</i> to load 26,000t gasoline from Mesaieed port. Both the cargoes arrived in Jebel Ali in mid-January, Vortexa data showed. </p><p>Qatar's gasoline shipments are also on the way to Singapore, with 26,000t of gasoline set to arrive in the city-state next week. The <i>TTC Shakti</i>, chartered by Oman's OQ arrived in Singapore on 10 February with a 60,000t gasoline cargo from Qatar. </p><p>QE continued to offer fresh cargoes at a higher-than-usual rate. It offered 35,000t of 95R gasoline for 4-5 March loading from Mesaieed. QE last sold 30,000t of 95R gasoline for 30-31 January loading from Mesaieed at around a $5/bl discount to Singapore spot gasoline assessments, according to a gasoline trader, although this could not be confirmed with the firm itself.</p><p class="bylines">By Rithika Krishna </p></article>
