Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Tuesday (7 May) provided a marine fuels market related update:
UK-Chinese joint venture Petroineos will start sales of 0.5pc sulphur marine fuel from its 210,000 b/d Lavera refinery, on the French Mediterranean coast, in the fourth quarter this year.
Under the new International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) cap that comes into force on 1 January 2020, vessels must limit sulphur emissions in exhaust fumes to 0.5pc, down from a current maximum of 3.5pc.
Shipowners will either have to burn new 0.5pc very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) blends, use marine gasoil (MGO) or run LNG to comply with the cap. They can also fit ships with exhaust scrubbers to continue to burn high-sulphur fuel oil.
Petroineos' IMO compliant marine fuel will meet the existing International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 8217 specifications, the firm said.
The supply of 0.5pc VLSFO will depend on market prices, it said. The company currently produces 1pc low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO).
Other refiners in the Mediterranean have confirmed they will produce 0.5pc VLSFO, including Spanish integrated firms Cepsa and Repsol, as well as Italian refiner Saras.
Source: Argus Media
Published: 8 May, 2019
Scrubbers can make a positive impact not only on the environment, but also on a company's bottom line, it says.
Coker investment will also help meet anticipated demand for lower-sulphur fuel oil due to IMO 2020.
Compliance challenges for owners and charterers, and issues IMO faces in enforcing Regulation 14.1.3.
From 1 January 2020, all UAE flagged and foreign flagged vessels entering UAE waters are to use 0.5% sulphur limit fuel oil; with exemptions for scrubbers and other fuels.
P&I insurer discusses technical, operational, and expenditure issues of scrubber operations.
Early experiences suggest the shipping industry has adapted well to the switch to VLSFO, but the huge variability in their characteristics has brought issues, it said.
Current low prices for road and aviation fuels in September could mean another increase of flashpoint off-spec cases for MGO when players start introducing the products back into the bunker stream.
Some bunker suppliers at various ports have even achieved their sales target for the year; the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down and suppliers are expecting a boom during end of September.
The company has entered a memorandum of agreement with Millenium Satu Ltd to acquire the 7,550 dwt oil tanker to increase service flexibility; vessel will be paid over an installment period of 36 months.
Deloitte & Touche JMs believe IPP has a viable claim against Dr Goh Jin Hian for breaches of his director’s duties to act with skill, care and diligence which he owned to IPP, states court document.
An earlier MPA notice outlined precautionary measures for personnel to observe when conducting marine refuelling operations at port in order to minimise the risk of contracting Covid-19.
Mok’s offence affected public confidence in the use of the MFM system onboard Singapore bunker tankers, and caused an embarrassment to the MPA, said Deputy Public Prosecutors.
