Business

Argus Media: Asian LSFO margins exceed two-year lows on high supply

Singapore low-sulphur fuel oil margins against Dubai crude values have fallen to over two-year lows, against higher inflows to the city-state and demand, according to Argus Media.

Published

4 years ago

December 16, 2022

Admin

Singapore low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) margins against Dubai crude values have fallen to over two-year lows, against higher inflows to the city-state and demand possibly taking a hit from recessionary fears moving forward.

15 December 2022

Margins fell to $7.82/bl on 13 December, the lowest levels since the $7.72/bl on 2 November 2020, according to Argus’ assessments.

The fall is likely the result of higher low-sulphur residual inflows to Singapore from the west of Suez and Asia-Pacific this month, market participants said, estimating it to be around 2mn t. Total low-sulphur residual inflows to Singapore in December are projected to be around 2.35mn t so far, higher than the average of 2.18mn t/month in 2021, according to data from oil analytics firm Vortexa.

Incremental LSFO inflows to Singapore from Kuwait – and expectations of more to come – is likely pressuring margins as well, traders said. Kuwait’s state-owned KPC sold the first 100,000t (645,000 bl) LSFO cargo from its new 615,000 b/d Al-Zour refinery for 28-29 November loading. The cargo was likely sold to BP and loaded on the tanker Ridgebury Nicholas A from Kuwait over the same dates, and Fleetmon data shows the tanker’s current position is in the Malacca Strait.

Al-Zour is a topping refinery which produces LSFO mainly for local power plants, with the excess to be exported. Al-Zour is projected to produce 10-12mn t of LSFO per year when all units come online, sources close to the company said, of which around 5mn t/year will be exported after domestic power generation and bunker demand is fulfilled. Apart from the LSFO cargo, KPC has sold two 80,000t heavy fuel oil (HFO) cargoes for December-loading, with one more 80,000t cargo for 20-21 December loading in the process of being sold.

India’s state-controlled BPCL also recently resumed its VLSFO exports, offering three 20,000t cargoes for November and December-loading, its first offers since March. The first cargo has likely been discharged in Singapore in end-November, according to Vortexa data.

Singapore’s onshore residual fuel oil inventories were at three-week highs of 20.306mn bl in the week to 7 December, according to Enterprise Singapore data, also just slightly lower than average inventory levels in December 2021 at around 20.375mn bl. Projected higher inflows to the city-state could increase supplies to higher than year-earlier levels, depressing margins.

Market participants also noted that bunker suppliers clearing stocks with the year-end closing of books could contribute to more sales and an injection of supplies into markets, though one said that not all companies’ financial years conclude in December. Traders also said that fears of an impending recession have not hit bunker demand yet but could be factored into crack and spread values from January onward.

Delivered premiums, or the price of VLSFO bunkers over cargo, have been trending upwards so far in December to an average of $36/t compared to $29/t in November as a result of tight prompt supplies, according to Argus data.

Availabilities are now improving, local traders said, although premiums are also set to spike during the festive period for prompt deliveries as is typically the case. But overall demand sentiment is increasingly turning bearish going into the new year.

“I expect demand to be down significantly in the first quarter of next year relative to this year”, a local trader said.

But VLSFO bunker prices in Singapore are currently significantly lower than in competing ports in South Korea and to a lesser extent, China, which could shift some demand to the city-state.

Singapore noted a strong increase in bunker sales in November but is set to see total consumption this year decline by about 2mn t relative to 2021, to about 48mn t.

By Sarah Giam and Sammy Six

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Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 16 December, 2022

Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

16 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

16 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Published

16 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026