Argus Eurobob gasoline barge volumes set January record

Record January volumes of both oxy and non-oxy grade Argus Eurobob gasoline barges were traded last month.

Oxy gasoline barge volumes reached 433,300t in January, up from 184,000t in December and 278,000t a year earlier. The total was the highest monthly volume since August 2019, and the largest January volume on record, going back to 2010.

Gunvor was the largest buyer, securing 337,000t in January, up from 4,000t in December. BP and Vitol bought 20,000t and 22,000t, respectively, compared with 12,000t and 30,000t a month earlier. The remaining volumes were secured by BMV Mineral, ExxonMobil, Hartree, Petroineos, Shell, Total, Trafigura and Varo.

Vitol was the largest seller, parting with 172,000t in January, from 4,000t in December. BP sold 115,000t, from 14,000t the previous month. Shell sold 68,000t in January, up from 4,000t in December. ExxonMobil, Finco, Gunvor, Hartree, Petroineos, Total and Varo sold the remaining volumes.

Widespread industrial action in France during much of December and January could have contributed to higher demand for gasoline barges in northwest Europe, as participants looked to make up for lost supply in the spot market.

Trading liquidity on Argus Eurobob non-oxy gasoline barges reached 131,000t in January, up from 119,000t in December and 49,000t a year earlier. As with oxy grade, it is the largest January volume on record, going back to 2018.

Varo was the largest buyer, securing 105,000t of non-oxy gasoline in January, compared with 107,000t in December. Vitol bought 8,000t, the same as the previous month, and ExxonMobil bought 6,000t, after not buying in December. The remaining volumes were secured by Finco, Petroineos, Shell, Van Raak and Hartree.

Total was the largest seller for the second month, parting with 83,000t in January, from 47,000t in December. ExxonMobil sold 28,000t, from 12,000t the previous month. The remaining volumes were sold by Shell and Finco.

Higher Eurobob non-oxy volumes can be attributed to a higher use of E10 gasoline, which uses non-oxy Eurobob unfinished gasoline as an ethanol-ready blendstock.

The Netherlands began the widespread rollout of E10 at petrol stations in October 2019. Denmark, Lithuania and Slovakia introduced the grade on 1 January.

By George King Cassell