Oil & Gas Kuwait’s Al Zour issues low-sulphur fuel oil sales tender By Reuters June 16, 2023 Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins The third and final units at the Al-Zour refinery are now operational Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery has issued a term tender for fuel oil sales for July to December loading, trade sources said on Thursday, while it continues to ramp up its third crude distillation unit (CDU). Al Zour’s low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) tenders are closely watched by market participants. The refinery is set to be a major global LSFO exporter once it ramps up fully, and its export volumes affect market sentiment in Asia. It has offered LSFO with maximum sulphur content of 0.5 percent for the second half of 2023, in a term tender that closes on June 19, sources said. The first cargo is expected to load between July 15 and 19, with volumes of about 100,000 metric tons. The loading dates and volumes to be lifted for subsequent months will be fixed at a later date, sources said. The total volume to be lifted over the entire term contract will range from 80,000 to 720,000 metric tons, they added. It last sold via tender a LSFO cargo of 100,000 to 120,000 metric tons for loading between June 17 and 18, based on past records. The refinery’s third CDU is expected to ramp up, at the earliest, from July, according to a source familiar with the matter.
