Argus Media: Singapore LNG bunker fuel sales at five-month high

Singapore LNG bunker sales reached a five-month high in January, according to data from Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), driven by competitive prices compared with conventional marine fuel.

15 February 2024

Singapore LNG marine sales reached 10,400t in January, the highest since August 2023 and up from 1,400t reported sold in January 2023. The discount for Southeast Asia LNG to Singapore very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) was pegged at $174/t in January, the widest discount since March 2021, Argus data showed.

Singapore biofuel bunker blend sales rose by 66pc to 45,300t in January from 27,200t during the same period last year. The Singapore B24 bio-bunker’s premium to VLSFO narrowed to $148/t in January, the lowest level since Argus introduced its Singapore B24 assessments in January 2023 (see chart). In January, Singapore B24 flipped to a discount to B30 sold in the competing bunkering hub of Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp for the first time since August 2023. EU investigations into Chinese biofuels could shift some of the global demand for biofuels bunkering from Europe to Singapore and China.

MPA reported no methanol for bunkering sales.

Singapore conventional marine fuel sales were also up across the different grades. High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) sales jumped by 33pc to 1.66mn t in January, VLSFO sales were up by 3pc to 2.86mn t and marine gasoil sales rose by 2pc to 330,400t compared with the same period last year.

By Stefka Wechsler

Related: Singapore: Bunker fuel sales up by 12.1% on year in January 2024

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 16 February, 2024