Marine fuel global weekly market update

A weekly Argus news digest of interest to the conventional and alternative marine fuel markets. To speak to our team about accessing the stories below and access to Argus Marine Fuels, please contact marinefuels@argusmedia.com.

Alternative marine fuels

16 February CMA CGM takes first of 10 LNG-fueled vessels France-based shipping company CMA CGM will take delivery of the first of a series of 10 LNG-fueled container ships this month.

16 February Egypt to load 8-10 more LNG cargoes by end-winter: Eni Egypt could load 8-10 more LNG cargoes "before the end of the winter season", Eni said today.

16 February South Korean refiners opt to co-process biofuels A lack of regional mandates and retreating European demand for hydrotreated biofuels this year has pushed back timelines for new capacity start-ups in Asia-Pacific, driving South Korean refiners to favour co-processing rather than standalone biofuel plants.

15 February WSC proposes fossil-green fuel price gap close The World Shipping Council (WSC) proposed a green balance mechanism to close the price gap between conventional and sustainable marine fuels.

15 February Singapore LNG bunker sales at 5-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 Lake Charles Methanol to build $3.2bn low-CO2 plant Lake Charles Methanol II announced plans to build a $3.2bn plant that will produce low-carbon intensity methanol and other chemicals at the Port of Lake Charles.

15 February Singapore LNG bunker sales at 5-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 Maritime sector most promising for H2 in transport: HE The maritime sector provides most opportunities for use of hydrogen-based synthetic fuels in the transport sector, according to a survey carried out by industry body Hydrogen Europe.

15 February JBS says its B100 biodiesel has same yield as diesel Global meat producer JBS said that its 100pc biodiesel fuel (B100) — unblended biodiesel — has an energy efficiency equivalent to diesel and emits up to 80pc less carbon dioxide, based on tests on one of its trucks.

15 February Off-spec bio-blends widen pricing spread The range of prices for marine biodiesel blends in Europe has widened as cheaper product that does not meet the region's diesel engine specifications — as defined by the European EN14214 standard — gains market share.

15 February China turns to domestic ammonia output boost Increased domestic production capacity and weaker downstream industrial demand has the potential to weigh on China's ammonia imports this year.

15 February Mabanaft to build green methanol plant in Australia Hamburg-based Mabanaft has received approval to build a new green methanol plant in Port Augusta, located in southern Australia.

14 February Emerging LNG markets to absorb extra supply: Shell Emerging gas markets in China, southeast and south Asia will absorb much of the increase in LNG supply for the rest of this and the next decade, having been constrained by high prices in 2022-23, Shell said in its global LNG outlook, published today.

14 February Avoid offsets, ETS for carbon removals: Study Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) activities should be promoted for the "right reasons" and at the "right scale", and should not be financed through carbon offset credits or included in emissions trading systems (ETS), according to a recent study by the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University.

14 February Indonesia ammonia production at risk of curtailments Indonesian ammonia producers could be forced to consider production curtailments or outages if southeast Asian loading prices fall much further.

14 February More than 100 US biogas plants to start up in 2024 The American Biogas Council said 96 new biogas projects with a combined production capacity of 66,000 ft³/minute (9.82bn m³/yr) became operational in the US in 2023. It expects over 100 more to start up this year and said output from these will mostly be used for transportation fuel instead of power production.

14 February Chinese yard advances 271,000m³ LNG carrier orders French engineering firm Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT) has received an order for eight 271,000m³ LNG tanks from a Chinese shipyard, with delivery of the vessels to be fitted with the tanks scheduled between the second quarter of 2028 and fourth quarter of 2029, GTT said.

14 February SE Asian UCO sees limited hit from US fast-food boycott A consumer boycott on US fast food outlets in support of Palestine is affecting some Indonesian and Malaysian used cooking oil (UCO) supplies, but market participants said the overall impact should be limited.

13 February Carnival commissions new LNG-fueled vessel US cruise ship operator Carnival has ordered a newbuild dual-fuel LNG-powered vessel for delivery in spring 2027.

13 February US House readies vote to end LNG review pause President Joe Biden's temporary pause on the review of new US LNG export facilities could face its first congressional test with a vote on a Republican-backed bill that would eliminate federal licensing of those projects.

13 February LNG carrier declares for Greece's Alexandroupolis The TotalEnergies-chartered 174,000m³ Gaslog Hong Kong has declared for arrival at Greece's new 4.3mn t/yr Alexandroupolis import terminal on 15 February, and could deliver the facility's first cargo.

13 February EU hydrogen plan relies on uncertain imports: T&E The EU should not rely on uncertain imports to meet its overly-ambitious hydrogen targets, says a study commissioned by the Brussels-based climate group Transport & Environment (T&E).

12 February Red Sea issues impact European methanol, derivatives Volatility in shipping markets following attacks in the Red Sea is impacting Europe's methanol market indirectly through higher freight rates and has directly impacted European derivative markets, as a result of reduced vessel availability and rerouting.

12 February Qatar taps Nakilat for second phase LNG fleet expansion State-owned QatarEnergy has selected Qatari state-controlled shipowner Nakilat for the ownership and operation of 25 174,000m³ LNG carriers, to be built at an unnamed shipyard in South Korea.

12 February SBTi validates Maersk's GHG emission reduction targets Danish shipping firm Moller-Maersk has become the first company to have its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets validated under new maritime guidance from the UN-backed Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

12 February Spanish independent biodiesel producers under pressure Smaller Spanish biodiesel producers remain under pressure from thin margins that are cutting profits and shutting in some output. They are not being supported by domestic demand, which fell to a seven-year low in 2023.

12 February Mabanaft to apply for ammonia import terminal permit German energy trading firm Mabanaft expects to submit a permit application for its planned 1.2mn t/yr ammonia import terminal at Hamburg in the spring of this year.

Alternative marine fuels

16 February Fujairah bunker premiums weaken as ships reroute Delivered bunker premiums have fallen in Fujairah, UAE, the world's third largest bunkering centre. Demand has weakened in recent weeks as a result of route diversions, stemming from the tense security situation in the Red Sea.

16 February US Gulf coast fuel oil spreads widest in 11 months Sulphur spreads between US Gulf coast residual fuel oil grades have reached the widest in 11 months, but that could change as refinery turnarounds likely wind down by late February or early March.

16 February Brazil's Paranagua cargo handling rises in January Cargo handling in Brazil's southern Paranagua and Antonina ports increased by 20pc in January from the same month last year, driven by higher exports and imports.

16 February Brazil's Paranagua port seeks to reach net zero by 2035 Brazil's port of Paranagua is working on a decarbonization plan for delivery by the end of 2026 to help it reach net zero balance greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 by developing renewable energy sources such as biogas and hydrogen.

16 February Tanker targeted in Red Sea A Panama-flagged tanker was targeted by a missile in the Red Sea today around 72 miles northwest of Mokha, Yemen, according to security firm Ambrey.

16 February Japan's NYK taps demand for chemical tankers Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) plans to receive six chemical tankers from late 2026 to 2029, in anticipation of potential demand growth for petrochemical products.

15 February Upper Mississippi ice report canceled on warm weather An annual government ice measurement program for shipping on the upper Mississippi River was canceled this year because of unseasonably warm weather.

15 February Scorpio Tankers upbeat on clean tanker rates New York-listed Scorpio Tankers said it expects strong market fundamentals to keep clean tanker freight rates elevated, even if disruptions to trade flows dissipate.

15 February Magellan Corpus Christi terminal doing maintenance US crude and refined products pipeline operator Magellan Midstream reported maintenance at its Corpus Christi, Texas, marine terminal.

15 February ARA oil products stocks increase on weaker demand Independently-held oil product stocks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) trading hub hit their highest since mid-August, reaching 5.67mn t in the week to 14 February, according to consultancy Insights Global, as demand in the region slowed down.

15 February Panama Canal freezes customer priority ranking The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will freeze its customer priority ranking used to secure transit slots while temporary water-saving measures remain in place.

15 February Singapore's oil product stocks inch higher Singapore's overall oil product inventories inched upwards, driven by a surge in middle distillate imports, despite both light and heavy distillate stocks falling close to a 2½ month low, showed latest data from Enterprise Singapore.

14 February Petrobras working to rebuy refinery: CEO Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras is in talks with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala to buy the 300,000 b/d Mataripe refinery back, Petrobras' chief executive Jean Paul Prates said on social media.

14 February HSFO Med/NWE spread reaches near seven-month high High-sulphur bunker fuel in the west Mediterranean moved to its strongest premium to northwest Europe this week as attacks by Houthi rebels squeeze supply.

14 February Vitol can do with Saras what Saras cannot do alone Vitol's takeover of Italian independent refiner Saras, set in motion this week, could turn the latter into a specialised tool within the trading company's diverse business, while giving it a stronger footing to compete with rival Trafigura in Mediterranean oil markets.

14 February South Korea lifts 2023 light distillates output South Korean refiners increased light distillates production in 2023, while gasoil output fell.

13 February BP terminals low on fuel due to Whiting refinery outage BP told wholesale fuel customers it is buying refined products on the market to meet contractual obligations amid the continuing outage of its 435,000 b/d Whiting, Indiana, refinery.

13 February Outages hit Ecuador's 2023 refinery production Ecuador's three oil refineries of Esmeraldas, La Libertad and Shushufindi processed an average 146,235 b/d of crude in 2023, down by 5.3pc compared with the previous year, according to operator state-owned Petroecuador's data.

13 February Japan's bonded marine fuel sales fall in 2023 Japan sold less bonded marine fuel in 2023 compared with a year earlier, pressured by limited supply from domestic refineries owing to a series of disruptions.

12 February Suriname refinery undergoing 7-week turnaround Suriname's state-owned oil company Staatsolie's 15,000 b/d Tout Lui Faut refinery will undergo a seven-week turnaround starting on 16 February, Staatsolie said.

12 February US refiners shrug off dip in earnings US refiners' fourth-quarter financial results so far reveal a dip in earnings from the bumper profits of 2022, but the sector remains on a profitable footing and confident.

12 February India's MRPL plans refinery maintenance in Aug-Sep Indian state-controlled refiner MRPL plans to conduct a maintenance turnaround at one unit of its 311,000 b/d Mangalore refinery for around three weeks during August-September, a top official from the company told Argus.

12 February Atlantic basin diesel faces tight spring European diesel markets could be facing a tight spring as refinery maintenance and disruptions in the Red Sea make resupply difficult and expensive.