Fuel Futures: Diesel Will Spike on IMO2020
New marine fuel rules to boost diesel prices for at least a year -analystsGlobal prices for diesel and marine fuels should rise by October ahead of a January switchover to new, very low-sulfur marine fuels, and remain higher for at least a year as refiners shift production to make more of the new fuels, analysts said.Marine fuels containing no more than 0.5% sulfur by weight, down from the 3.5% currently used, to power ocean-going vessels will be required for ships without exhaust scrubbers on Jan.
Belships Hedges 2020 Fuel Oil Prices
Norwegian shipping company Belships has has entered into an agreement to hedge the price differential between compliant 0.5% sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and 3.5% sulphur fuel oil (HSFO).The secured exposure is for 24,000 tons of bunkers for the full calendar year 2020. The volume equals the annual fuel consumption of about four vessels. The fixed price differential is USD 198 per ton, with monthly settlements in 2020.The company's trading fleet will be physically ready by January 2020 to comply with the IMO Sulphur Cap 2020…
Oil Shipments from Georgia's Batumi Port Drop
Oil and oil-related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi dropped 24 percent in the first four months of 2019 from a year earlier, an official at a KazMunaiGas-operated terminal at the port said on Wednesday.Shipments of crude oil and refined oil products from Batumi have fallen in recent years, partly because Azerbaijan prefers to send its oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline or via its own terminal at the Georgian port of Kulevi, rather than from Batumi…
Aramco Buys Shell's Stake in Saudi JV
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) is planning to buy oil major Shell's 50% stake in Saudi Aramco Shell Refining Co (SASREF), a Saudi refining complex developed as a joint venture between the two oil companies, for $631 million.Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, Saudi Aramco‘s Senior Vice President of Downstream, said: “The partnership with Shell has led to a strong record of performance and delivery of refined products. Saudi Aramco will take full ownership and integrate the refinery into its growing Downstream portfolio.
Oil Edges Above $71
Oil held above $71 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by falling Venezuelan and Iranian exports and fighting in Libya that raised concerns of more supply threats, outweighing expectations of higher U.S. inventories.In Libya, fighting between Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army and the internationally-recognised government has raised the prospect of lower supplies from another OPEC member. U.S. sanctions on two others, Iran and Venezuela, are cutting shipments."Collapsing Venezuelan oil output and sanctioned Iranian exports have a put big question mark over supply…
Study Shows LNG Forming Pathway to IMO 2050
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reductions of up to 21% are achievable now from LNG as a marine fuel, compared with current oil-based marine fuels over the entire life-cycle from Well-to-Wake (WtW).An independent study report confirms that emissions of other local pollutants, such as sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), are close to zero when using LNG compared with current conventional oil-based marine fuels.The study, commissioned by SEA\LNG and SGMF, was conducted by leading data and consultancy provider thinkstep according to ISO standards.
Rystad Expects Oil Price Rally in H1 of 2020
The energy research and business intelligence company Rystad Energy expects that a short-lived price rally through the first half of 2020 as oil prices approach $70 a barrel.It will then lose momentum and be replaced by a need for additional production cuts by Russia and the cartel of oil producing countries, OPEC, the Norway-headquartered firm said.“We retain our bullish stance for the second half of 2019 and first half of 2020 as we anticipate OPEC+ to extend production cuts through 2019…
IMO 2020: Exxon Mobil Projects 25% Decline in High-Sulfur Fuels
Exxon Mobil Corp expects high-sulfur fuel oil demand to fall 25 percent by 2025, as a new set of emission regulations from the International Maritime Organization capping sulfur content in shipping fuel at 0.5% kicks in in 2020, a top-level official at the U.S. oil and gas company said on Monday.The International Energy Agency has forecast high-sulfur fuel oil demand to fall 60 percent next year, while marine gas oil demand to more than double.Exxon's forecast comes as its refining business is struggling to find enough heavy crude to make fuel oil and other distillates…
HazSub Spill Response Plans
On August 18, 1990, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was enacted into law. Section 4202 of that Act amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA or Clean Water Act) to require tank vessels and marine transportation-related facilities to prepare and submit to the US Coast Guard plans for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worse case discharge, and to a substantial threat of such a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance carried in bulk as cargo.
IMO 2020: Shell, HES to Resurrect Refinery
Royal Dutch Shell has struck a deal with Dutch tank terminal firm HES International to partially restart a German oil refinery mothballed since 2011 in response to new restrictions on marine fuels, two trading sources told Reuters.A new cap set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that will cut the sulfur content in shipping fuel to 0.5 percent from 3.5 percent from next year is set to be one of the biggest fundamental events to hit oil markets in years.HES Wilhelmshaven…
Hedge Funds Buying Oil Despite Trump's OPEC Comments
Hedge funds continued to boost their bullish position in crude and fuels last week despite a call from U.S. President Donald Trump for OPEC to "relax and take it easy".Hedge funds and other money managers were net buyers of an extra 16 million barrels of Brent crude futures and options in the week to Feb. 26, according to ICE Futures Europe.Fund managers have been net buyers of 155 million barrels of Brent futures and options since Dec. 4, increasing their net long position in 11 out of the last 12 weeks (https://tmsnrt.rs/2EJUvB4).Funds were net buyers in the week to Feb.
Spanish Port Hosts First LNG Operations
The port of Ferrol hosted its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation recently which saw two ferries filled with LNG by Repsol in the port’s Mugardos terminal.Recently built by Turkish shipyard Tersan, the Samnøy and Huftarøy ferries received 178 cubic metres of fuel from five tanks in total. The Samnøy received about 110 cubic metres of fuel, whereas the Huftarøy was supplied with 68 cubic metres.The two operations were carried out on the outer jetty, which…
LNG Bunkering Takes Off in Rotterdam
The throughput of LNG - liquefied natural gas - as bunker fuel in the Rotterdam bunker port increased considerably from 1,500 to 9,500 tonnes in 2018.Meanwhile, the sale of bunker oil - fuel for shipping - in the bunker port decreased from 9.9 million m3 to 9.5 million m3. The decrease can almost entirely be ascribed to the decline in sales of heavy fuel oil from 8.3 million m3 to 7.9 million m3.The Port of Rotterdam Authority suspects that the decline in bunker volumes in Europe’s largest bunker port is a consequence of the increased scale and use of modern vessels in container shipping.
FLNG Market Grows a CAGR of +93%
Global floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) market is growing at a CAGR of +93% during forecast period 2019-2026 as the demand for natural gas has been rising as it is a preferred fuel in power generation in various industries.According to a report from Research N Reports, the demand comes from mainly for the regions such as North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India.Natural gas is cleaner, safer, and more cost-effective than other fuels. It has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions…
MOL's LNG-Fueled Tug Begins Bunkering
Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) that its LNG-fueled tugboat 'Ishin' bunkered LNG fuel in Sakai Senboku Port for the first time, in preparation for test operation.MOL ordered the vessel from Kanagawa Dockyard. This is the first bunkering of LNG as a vessel fuel at any port in the Kansai region.The LNG fuel was supplied by Osaka Gas using a truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure. The truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure supplies LNG fuel from an LNG truck on shore.After test sailing with LNG fuel…
Storms, Snow Disrupt Exports from Russian Baltic
Storms, snow and freezing temperatures in Russia's northwest to the south have delayed some oil product exports but the fall in volumes so far has not been exceptional for the time of year, industry sources said on Thursday.Products are mainly shipped from ports on the Baltic coast, Black Sea, Sea of Azov and the Far East. They are mostly transported by rail and pipelines, with small volumes travelling by truck.Fuel oil loadings from the Russian Baltic were delayed by snow that caused disruptions to rail shipments to the ports…
Novatek Production Rose 6.9% in 2018
Russia's largest independent natural gas producer Novatek said that total hydrocarbon production during 2018 increased by 6.9%, and had increased sales of gas."In 2018, Novatek’s hydrocarbon production totaled 548.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), including 68.81 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas and 11,800 thousand tons of liquids (gas condensate and crude oil), resulting in an increase in total hydrocarbons produced by 35.1 million boe, or by 6.9% as compared with the twelve months 2017…
Ship Fuel: Singapore Bunker Volumes Dip, 2019 Uncertain
Sales of marine fuels in Singapore, the world's biggest ship fueling port by volume, totaled 49.8 million tonnes in 2018, down 2 percentfrom a record the year before, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Monday.December sales volumes of marine fuels, also known as bunkers, reached an 11-month high of 4.308 million tonnes, up 10 percent from November and the second-highest for the year, the data showed.The strong month helped lift Singapore's 2018 marine fuel sales figures to the second highest on record…
Singapore LNG and YTL PowerSeraya Appoint New CEOs
Singapore-based energy company YTL PowerSeraya and LNG terminal operator Singapore LNG Corp (SLNG) announced that they have appointed new chief executive officers (CEOs).YTL PowerSeraya said that han Swee Huat has decided to step down as CEO of the Group with effect from 15 January 2019. Chan plans to retire but will continue to serve as an advisor to parent company YTL Power International.He will be succeeded by industry veteran John Ng, who was most recently the CEO of Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG).
Bunker Delivery Note Amendments Enter into Force
Amendments to the bunker delivery note relating to the supply of marine fuel oil to ships which have fitted alternative mechanisms to address sulphur emission requirements entered into force on 1 January 2019.According to a press release from International Maritime Organization (IMO), the amendment enters into force as the shipping industry counts down to 1 January 2020, when the limit for sulphur in fuel oil will be reduced to 0.50% m/m outside emission control areas (ECAs)…
