Bunker fuel mix to be 20pc alt by 2030: Bunker Holding

Market: Biofuels, Fertilizers, Natural gas, Oil products, Petrochemicals
13/10/23

Danish marine fuel trader and supplier Bunker Holding said it expects a fifth of the bunker fuel mix to comprise "new fuels" by 2030, delegates heard at the Argus Biofuels conference in London.

The "new fuels" include LNG, biofuel blends, methanol and ammonia. Bunker Holding is more "bullish" on methanol and believes biofuels will play a key role in reaching the IMO's 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets for the shipping industry, according to Valerie Ahrens, senior director of new fuels and carbon markets at Bunker Holding.

Biofuels may also have a place in the bunker fuel mix longer term, Ahrens said. "There is a case for biofuel blends in maritime beyond 2030 and not just as a transition fuel."

Ahrens also pointed to new bio-based fuels such as pyrolysis oil, which may serve as a viable alternative bunker fuel. She noted that pricing, availability, regulations and toxicity of ammonia slippage as some of the major challenges in developing bunkering infrastructure for alternative marine fuels.

Argus price assessments of alternative and conventional bunker fuels are shown in the table below. Biofuel prices in ARA based on advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) factor in the value of Dutch renewable fuel units (HBEs) which can be claimed for the blending of advanced biofuels.

By Hussein Al-Khalisy

Alternative and conventional marine fuel prices							$/t
Month	B30 Marine Advanced Fame 0C CFPP dob ARA	LNG NWE bunker dob VLSFOe	Grey methanol Rotterdam barge dob VLSFOe	ARA biomethanol dob VLSFOe	B100 Marine Advanced Fame 0C CFPP dob ARA	Fuel oil 0.5%S 380cst (VLSFO) ARA dob	Gasoil bunker 0.1%S (MGO) ARA dob
Oct 2023	691.33	619.57	637.11	2426.30	845.24	586.44	867.42
Sep 2023	728.56	571.45	556.92	2384.12	915.47	609.52	943.11
Aug 2023	781.68	543.43	543.55	2384.65	1133.13	592.12	885.33
Jul 2023	728.14	485.86	480.96	2400.27	1071.37	542.12	754.67
Argus data
The above prices are monthly averages. Units of $/t VLSFOe refer to energy density equivalents of VLSFO.

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Ethiopia’s EABC still needs up to 400,000t DAP in 2025

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09/05/25

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09/05/25

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