Executives indicated today that the demand for oil storage and transportation volumes at the UAE's Fujairah Port is on track for further growth this year as Russian trade flows continue to move through this active trading hub, while the recently imposed price cap on Russian petroleum products has had a minimal impact on trade. Since last year, Russian oil barrels have been flowing into key transportation centers in the Middle East and Asia, following Western sanctions that altered trading routes.
Maha Abdel Majid, the commercial director at Fujairah Ports (VTTI), stated, "We have seen a massive influx of Russian oil barrels to Fujairah." She added that strong storage demand is expected for the port in the future. Martin Hibber, the business development manager at Fujairah Port, noted that volumes at the port increased by about ten percent last year due to the change in trade flows. Hibber stated, "There is still some uncertainty this year because the price cap on Russian oil only started in February." He also mentioned that there is room for growth in transportation volumes and storage demand due to new projects.
Fujairah is set to begin operating a new facility at the Dibba port for exporting dry bulk goods, which will add approximately 18 million tons of total handling capacity. The average oil stocks in Fujairah reached 11.47 million barrels (1.81 million tons) per week in 2022, up from 10.26 million barrels (1.62 million tons) in 2021, according to data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Recently, storage volumes surged following the imposition of sanctions on Russian petroleum products in February and after the Kuwait Al-Zour refinery boosted its exports.