ARA gasoil stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, declined slightly in the week to Thursday to 2.758 million tonnes, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Diesel imports from the Middle East and Asia to Europe have reached around 1.2 million tonnes so far in August, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.

Refinitiv Oil Research is currently tracking 430,000 tonnes of diesel and gasoil discharging this week in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean from the Arab Gulf (AG), India and Asia.

That is up almost 19pc from the previous week due to the arrival of a very large crude carrier (VLCC) with a partial volume onboard.

US distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 2.1 million barrels last week versus expectations in a Reuters poll for a 918,000-barrel rise, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.

Royal Dutch Shell's 340,000 barrel per day refinery in Godorf, Germany, will shut most of its units for far-reaching planned maintenance work from early September until mid-October, Shell said on its website

BP will begin maintenance at the Scholven section of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany soon, the company said.