Singapore marine fuel supplier CNC Petroleum Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of local fuel and lubricant distributor PS Energy Pte Ltd, is planning to expand its product portfolio to include bunker biofuels, learns Manifold Times.
“IMO 2030 is approaching and it is clear the international shipping industry is moving in the direction of consuming more sustainable marine fuels such as biofuels,” says Patrick Ng, the Executive Director of PS Energy.
“As a local SME operating at the world’s largest bunkering port, we are keen to contribute by embarking on an initiative to offer bunker biofuels at Singapore port.”
CNC Petroleum has already secured avails of B30 grade bunker biofuel from an oil major for distribution at Singapore port – a location where much is taking place to promote decarbonisation, notes Ng.
Numerous reports have forecast a decrease in international demand for diesel moving into 2050; Asia, however, continues to be the only region where diesel demand is expected to rise moving forward, he adds.
Coupled with the trend towards decarbonisation, the situation has resulted in his company looking at creating a more sustainable diesel product to cater for future demand.
“Even in Singapore, local government projects include an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria as part of the tender for vendors. It is firm this will be the direction for now and it makes sense for us to start early investments to support players in this area,” states Ng.
Other Singapore-based businesses such as the local construction industry have also been keen to give biodiesel a try; this has led to PS Energy being involved in a pilot project to supply B7 biodiesel to heavy vehicles as part of a national trial.
“The use of biofuels as a bunker fuel for the marine sector, besides land-based applications, is a well-established practice in Europe; but part of the reason it never really took off widely in Asia has been related to price,” he explains.
“If successful, our operation is expected to reduce the cost for shipowners buying bunker biofuels by a sizeable amount; this is due to slimmer expenses incurred through use of our in-house logistics capabilities [i.e. company’s truck and bunker tanker fleet].
“Further, by gaining more support from interested parties, the higher demand for biofuels will allow for a significant reduction in the biofuel production costs when economies of scale are achieved, thus enabling an even lower selling price to the shipowners.”
“It will be a win-win not only for the entire maritime supply chain, but most importantly, for the environment as well.
“As such, we are looking for a variety of keen players, including shipowners and bunker traders both local and international, who are interested in getting involved so we can all jumpstart on this journey together.”
Contact Details
Patrick Ng
Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://psenergy.com.sg/
Photo credit: PS Energy
Published: 9 July, 2021
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