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Monitoring bunker price changes and buying on weighted average price can save money

Integr8 Fuels reports bunker buyers getting caught with buying one fuel cheap and then overpaying on the other and this is currently the case in a number of ports globally.
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Integr8 Fuels, the bunker trading and brokerage arm of Navig8, on Friday (14 August) published an analysis on why it is important for bunker buyers to consider average volume weighted price to ensure savings as bunker prices can change unexpectedly even in a slow market; it was written by Anton Shamray, Senior Research Analyst:

In the past couple of months, it has been a somewhat quieter period in the bunker industry, particularly with regard to VLSFO and LSMGO, with relatively low prices and abundant supply generally……..

There is clearly a lot of uncertainty about whether oil demand will carry on recovering given the rise in the Covid-19 cases in a number of countries and what the OPEC+ countries will do with the crude oil cuts going forward.

For now, we have mostly seen bunker prices trailing Brent, although there have been a number of ports where pricing changed in bunker buyer’s favour or against it.

Given the low freight environment in many shipping sectors, opportunities to buy smart and pay less should not be missed and one of the approaches would be to utilise the volume weighted price average calculation when fixing multiple fuel stems.

VLSFO pricing: a somewhat unexpected outsider

Selecting ten major bunker ports for the price analysis and ranking them by VLSFO price we found that Singapore, and for some buyers rather unexpectedly, appeared to be at the bottom of the table in the past couple of months meaning it is the most expensive port out of the ten for lifting VLSFO bunkers.

In general, it appears that the ports in the West have cheaper VLSFO bunkers than the ports in the East, however in both regions a number of changes occurred between June and August despite the somewhat muted activity in the market.

Looking back to June, of the ten selected ports, NW European and USG ports including Houston, Rotterdamand St. Petersburg, were the cheapest, while Singapore and Zhoushan had the most expensive VLSFO (Figure 1 below).

Screen Shot 2020 08 19 at 12.37.38 PM

While the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive port shrank from around $200/mt in January to $40/mt in August, the decrease in freight rates emphasizes the importance of every little saving achieved.

Screen Shot 2020 08 19 at 12.37.54 PM

Again, Singapore remains at the bottom of the ranking. While it may not be possible for vessels trading regionally to sail West to pick up cheaper bunkers, for vessels operating globally deviating from the usual buying patterns may result in savings.

For example, before for a ship sailing West to East, Singapore was a natural stop for a bunker only call, while now it is worth checking whether a bunker load can be taken elsewhere on the route. Moreover, a rise in the number of quality issues has recently been recorded in Singapore, which is another reason to potentially look at the alternative ports for comparison on price and quality.

St.Petersburg appears to have lost its VLSFO price advantage over Rotterdam in August.While it used to be quite common for a vessel discharging in Rotterdam to lift bunkers in St.Petersburg if this was the next port, currently Rotterdam can provide a good alternative. Lifting in Rotterdam could also protect the buyer should the voyage orders change and the vessel is no longer heading to the Baltic.

The other location is Panama, which in June was in the top-3 of the most expensive VLSFO ports and by August became one of the cheapest making it more competitive with Houston.

Even in a quiet market, such changes happen on a weekly and even daily basis so keeping your options open and assessing prices not only in alternative regional ports but also on the other end of your voyage could result in savings.

While VLSFO by far is the main fuel these days, a large number of stems bought are actually dual fuel and in the case of a non-scrubber vessel that would be VLSFO and LSMGO, while for a scrubber fitted vessel that would most likely be HSFO and LSMGO.

LSMGO pricing: do not get caught with expensive gasoil

Taking the same ten ports and raking them by the price of LSMGO, the picture is somewhat different (Figure 3 below).While the cheapest ports are still in NW Europe, Fujairah is by far the most expensive, and with Singapore being somewhat in the middle.

It is also worth noting that since June there has been little change in the port ranking based on the LSMGO price, which indicates that LSMGO price changes are less extreme.

Screen Shot 2020 08 19 at 12.38.15 PM

While Fujairah may be almost $10/mt cheaper than Singapore on VLSFO, it is a whopping $60/mt more expensive on LSMGO. These differences should be taken into account when buying bunkers and they show the importance of calculating the volume weighted average price of the bunker fuel bought.

The importance of the weighted price average

For the dual fuel stems it is of great importance to calculate the average volume weighted price to ensure the cheapest bunker port is identified.We have seen on a number of occasions bunker buyers getting caught with buying one fuel cheap and then overpaying on the other and this is currently the case in a number of ports globally.

Figure 4 shows the comparison between Fujairah and Singapore and while VLSFO in Fujairah can be bought almost $10/mt cheaper than in Singapore, LSMGO in Fujairah is more than $60/mt more expensive

Screen Shot 2020 08 19 at 12.38.30 PM

For a rather typical system comprising of 750mt of VLSFO and 150mt of LSMGO, Singapore would still be the cheapest port given the high LSMGO pricing in Fujairah, saving the buyer $4 on every ton bought, which in this case adds up to savings in the region of $3,000.

Granted that in the current bunker market environment where the price spreads between different ports are often in single digits, this may not seem like great savings, however when oil prices rise (and eventually they will), these spreads may start widening and so increase the potential to either lose or save money depending on the buying approach taken.


Photo credit and source: Integr8 Fuels
Published: 19 August, 2020

 

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Winding up

Singapore: Annual general meetings scheduled for Xihe Holdings subsidiaries

Annual general meetings of companies/creditors will be held electronically from between 21 July to 5 for 11 subsidiaries of Xihe Holdings.

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July 7, 2026

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Several notices were published on the Government Gazette on Tuesday (26 May) regarding the annual general meetings of the companies and creditors to be held electronically from between 21 July to 5 August for 11 subsidiaries of Xihe Holdings. 

Annual general meetings for Xin Dun Shipping are to be held on 21 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 4pm

Annual general meetings for Xin Ya Shipping are to be held on 24 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Xin Chun Shipping are to be held on 21 July at the following times:

  • For the company: 2pm
  • For the creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Nan Sia Maritime are to be held on 24 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Nan Hai Maritime are to be held on 23 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Hua Xin Shipping are to be held on 4 August at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 3pm

Annual general meetings for Hua Kang Shipping are to be held on 23 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Hua Gang Shipping are to be held on 4 August at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Hua An Shipping are to be held on 22 July at the following time:

  • For the company and creditors: 4pm

Annual general meetings for Dong Fang Shipping are to be held on 22 July at the following times:

  • For the company: 2pm
  • For the creditors: 3pm

Annual general meeting for Nan Ya Maritime is to be held on 5 August at the following time:

  • For the company: 2pm

The agenda for all the meetings are:

  • To receive an update on the liquidation.
  • To receive an account of the Liquidators’ acts and dealings, and of the conduct of the winding up.

The following are the details of the liquidator: 

Ho May Kee
Liquidator
c/o 8 Marina View
#40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1
Singapore 018960

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 7 July, 2026

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Methanol

CRI delivers world’s largest e-methanol reactor to Liaoyuan project in China

First phase of the project has a production capacity of 170,000 mt of renewable methanol annually, supporting demand for low-carbon fuels in shipping, chemicals, and other sectors.
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CRI delivers world’s largest e-methanol reactor to Liaoyuan project in China

Carbon Recycling International (CRI) has recently delivered the largest of its kind e-methanol reactor for the Liaoyuan E-Methanol Project in Jilin Province, China. 

CRI, a company that develops and deploys technology that converts carbon dioxide emissions into renewable methanol, said the delivery and successful installation of CRI’s proprietary methanol converter reactor is a major construction milestone. 

“The project continues to progress according to plan toward commissioning and start-up later this year,” it said. 

The Liaoyuan project is being developed by CRI’s client Tianying Group (CNTY) and once commissioned will become the largest e-methanol facility in operation globally. 

The first phase has a production capacity of approximately 170,000 metric tonnes (mt) of renewable methanol annually from green hydrogen and captured biogenic carbon dioxide, supporting the growing demand for low-carbon fuels in shipping, chemicals, and other sectors seeking practical and scalable pathways to decarbonisation.

The methanol converter reactor forms the core of CRI’s proprietary Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) technology. Designed and supplied by CRI, the reactor is where renewable hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide are converted into renewable methanol through the company’s proven industrial-scale process. It has been specifically designed and constructed with operational flexibility as a key feature and represents the third generation of CRI’s e-methanol reactor design.

The successful installation represented a significant construction milestone and marked the transition to the final stages of project execution.

“The installation of the methanol converter reactor is an important milestone for both Tianying and CRI,” said John Milner, Project Manager at Carbon Recycling International. 

“The reactor is the core of our ETL technology and embodies nearly two decades of innovation, engineering development, and commercial operating experience. Seeing this equipment installed at one of the world’s most ambitious renewable energy projects is a proud moment for our team and a major milestone as the Liaoyuan facility advances toward commissioning and start-up.”

CRI’s technology is already deployed at commercial scale at the company’s reference plants in Anyang and Lianyungang, and the Liaoyuan project represents the next step in the continued deployment of carbon recycling technology to support the production of renewable fuels and chemicals.

 

Photo credit: Carbon Recycling International
Published: 7 July, 2026

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Business

Bunker Oil inks four-year bunker fuel supply deal with Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency

Framework agreement, which entered into force on 1 July, is for the supply of fuel to vessels belonging to the Navy, Coastal Hunter Command, Coast Guard and Governor of Svalbard, among others.
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July 7, 2026

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Bunker Oil inks four-year bunker fuel supply deal with Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency

Norwegian marine fuel supplier Bunker Oil on Friday (3 July) said it has signed a new four-year framework agreement with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency for the supply of marine fuel.

The fuel will be supplied to vessels belonging to the Navy, the Coastal Hunter Command, the Coast Guard, the Governor of Svalbard, the Norwegian Coastal Administration, the Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, among others.

The new agreement entered into force on 1 July, following the expiry of the current agreement on 30 June 2026. 

The agreement covers the delivery of fuel from Bunker Oil’s plants, tankers and tankers along the entire Norwegian coast – from Kirkenes in the north to Egersund in the south.

The company said Bunker Oil’s strong presence along the coast has been a decisive factor. 

“The authorities have signalled increased activity and presence from the Navy and the Coast Guard in the waters off Troms and Finnmark,” the company said.

“With large facilities in Kirkenes, Båtsfjord, Honningsvåg, Hammerfest and Tromsø, in addition to several smaller facilities, Bunker Oil is well equipped for increased activity in the High North. The facilities in Tromsø, with their proximity to Olavsvern, will be particularly important during the agreement period.”

The deliveries will vary in size – from a few thousand litres for the Coastal Ranger Command’s smaller vessels, to several hundred cubic metres for the Navy’s other fleet.

The contract’s financial framework is estimated at NOK 1.2 to 1.5 billion (USD 122.59 million to USD 153.24 million), and the agreement will have a major impact on activity at Bunker Oil’s facilities along the entire coast.

A renewal of the Navy’s fleet is also underway, and Bunker Oil said it is looking forward to supplying fuel to the new vessels as well.

“We look forward to four more years as a supplier of fuel to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency,” said Tore Slinning, contract manager at Bunker Oil.

“The agreement is of great importance to Bunker Oil, in addition to the fishing fleet, which is still by far our largest and most important customer group.”

 

Photo credit: Bunker Oil
Published: 7 July, 2026

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