Last year was the warmest on record since global data collection began in 1850, with extreme weather and prolonged heatwaves pushing temperatures 1.18°C above the 20th-century average. This year, heatwaves have already affected the Middle East and Southeast Asia, starting as early as April, indicating a busy year ahead for power companies.
An early sign of the extreme weather’s impact is the declining levels of onshore fuel oil stockpiles. In Singapore, a key fuel oil storage hub, stockpiles hit a five-year low as of May. Rising temperatures in the Middle East have driven up demand for fuel oil earlier than expected, reducing supplies to Asia. South Asia has also increased fuel oil imports for power generation due to rising temperatures.
The reduction in fuel oil flows from the Middle East to Singapore explains the falling inventories, leading to tighter supplies for Southeast Asia, where record-high temperatures resulted in…
