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Petrobras loads diesel from Dependence on unrefined tanker in India after delay

Brazilian energy major Petrobras has loaded diesel from India on board a Suezmax crude oil tanker after a monthlong delay, according to shiptracking information and trade sources, the very first such delivery from India in more than a year amidst unstable freight rates for clean item tankers.

The conversion of a petroleum tanker to bring clean items enabled Petrobras to deliver larger volumes of diesel from Asia at lower costs, with Asian sellers also looking for need outlets outside this area, the sources said.

The bigger shipments will likely alleviate down pressure on an oversupplied Asian diesel market and create a cost flooring for the current market, the sources stated. Refining margins seem close to bottoming out at $13-14 a barrel in Asia in the meantime, one of the sources included.

Tanker Milton Santos, chartered by Petrobras, packed 100,000-105,000 metric loads (745,000-782,250 barrels) of ultra-low sulphur diesel at Dependence's Sikka port on May 4-5 and is set up to reach Brazil in the very first half of June, data from LSEG, Kpler and a shipbroking source revealed.

The packing was postponed for almost a month due to the fact that of a. longer-than-expected scrubbing and cleansing procedure, two. delivering sources said.

Both Petrobras and Reliance did not react to '. requests for remarks.

The delivery comes after 360,000 tons of Russian March. filling diesel were discharged in Brazil in the past couple of weeks,. with around 177,000 lots of April-loading cargoes set up to. be released today, according to shipbroking sources.

FREIGHT COSTS

Brazil ended up being a crucial buyer of Russian diesel exports because. Western sanctions on Russian oil items started early last. year, with volumes balancing 540,000-617,000 loads a month, Kpler. and LSEG information showed.

Arbitrage economics for Russian diesel exports have intensified. from ongoing tensions in the Middle East and some freights have. also been postponed, affecting shipments to Brazil, one trade. source stated.

Freight expenses for Suezmax tankers on East-to-West routes are. around 30% less expensive than the more than $60 per heap costs for. clean item long-range 2 (LR) vessels, efficient in carrying. 90,000-100,000 tons of diesel, a Singapore-based trade source. said.

Petrobras has actually sporadically been utilizing its unrefined tankers to. load diesel in the previous 3 years from India and the Middle. East to Brazil, Kpler data revealed.

The switch needs unrefined tankers to be scrubbed clean to. make it ideal to bring diesel without infecting the fuel. and the procedure takes at least two weeks, one Singapore-based. shipping source said.

Nevertheless, the sustainability of this pattern stays. doubtful because of scrubbing, other functional expenses,. arbitrage cost differences and substantial crude tanker. freight characteristics, one Singapore-based trade source said.

Exports from the U.S. gulf coast have become the prime. alternative for arbitrage into Latin America, as Asian diesel rates. remain firm, stated Sparta Commodities analyst James Noel-Beswick.