EMEA News
Iran May Halve Fuel Oil Exports
Iran may cut its exports of fuel oil in half in March due to maintenance work at the Abadan refinery, a National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) official told Bloomberg.
The country may export just 200,000 metric tonnes (mt) of fuel oil next month, compared with 400,000 mt this month and 350,000 mt in January.
The official said the plan to temporarily close the 390,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery is not yet finalised, but if it does occur it will remain offline for 20 to 30 days.
Iran exported an average of about 600,000 mt per month of fuel oil earlier in the year, but that dropped to 200,000 mt in the last quarter of 2013 because of increased demand for domestic power plants during the winter.
The European Union (EU) and U.S. are gradually lifting sanctions on Iranian oil products after reaching a deal on the nation's nuclear program, and some fuel traders say that will mean a jump in the supply of fuel in some markets.
