Asia's looming fuel oil supply crunch

Higher demand and declining imports will tighten supplies

Warmer weather across the region which will have boosted demand from the power sector, and lower imports, will tighten supply between now and the beginning of next year. It means Asia is heading towards a fuel oil supply crunch. Over the first half of 2016 fuel oil supply to Asia-Pacific was more than 1m barrels a day less than the 2.6m-2.7m b/d the region consumed, according to Energy Aspects, a consultancy. The shortfall is likely to last until the first quarter of 2017. South Korea will be particularly badly affected as the country's fuel oil supply deficit averages 120,000 b/d in Q4 and Q1 2017, according to Energy Aspects. That's up from a supply shortfall of just 90,000 b/d in Q2 this