Dutch authorities have reportedly given global commodity trading firm Gunvor permission to upgrade its Rotterdam refinery with a delayed coker unit without first conducting any environment assessments.
The delayed coker unit will allow the refinery to reprocess fuel oil material, traditionally used as bunker fuel, into cleaner products.
Gunvor, which has not yet committed to the upgrade, is considering the move due to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) decision to mandate the consumption of 0.5% sulphur limit bunker fuel by 2020.
“Gunvor is currently studying several options for how best to respond to the IMO decision,” Gunvor spokesman Seth Pietras told Reuters.
“We have not made any decision yet.”
According to Reuters, several oil majors including ExxonMobil and Total have already made investments to upgrade their refineries in preparation for the upcoming 2020 IMO regulation.
Gunvor acquired the Rotterdam refinery from Kuwait Petroleum Europoort in 1 February, 2016.
Published: 26 January, 2018
Various options are available to shippers to comply and the marine fuels mix is set to change significantly.
‘Regulation 14.1.3 remains in force – however, where Port authorities are prioritising health and the freight movement, enforcement will be less of a priority,’ says law firm.
Reports note a remarkable increase in LNG sales that more than tripled alongside the expected surge in VLSFO sales post IMO 2020.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications provides maps of affected ports.
Submits paper on safety implications and challenges associated with using new fuel oil blends to IMO.
Compliance challenges for owners and charterers, and issues IMO faces in enforcing Regulation 14.1.3.
Firm hopes to leverage partnership in Greece as a springboard to expand into neighbouring and overseas markets including Europe and China, says Robin Van Elderen, Regional Head Bunkers, Europe, Sing Fuels.
Singapore can help less developed countries in SouthEast Asia through ‘piloting and scaling fuels and technology as well as a leading hub for green finance’, said DNV Group President and CEO Remi Eriksen.
Octamar™ Ultra HF, Octamar™ Complete, and Octamar™ F35C were found to have improved the fuel economy while reducing exhaust gas and other emissions of marine engines in a series of trials, states report.
Disposal of evidence has resulted in Singapore not being able to provide full details to the United Nationals Panel of Experts which sought information regarding the case, says Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
‘We are proud to be amongst the first to show the successful steps taken by Singapore’s bunkering ecosystem to remain forward thinking and relevant,’ Choong Sheen Mao, Director of EMF, tells Manifold Times.
‘With the launch of a common data infrastructure, Kenoil aims to continue achieving an end to end visibility and transparency on the bunker data supply chain,’ states Kenoil Managing Director.
