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

1 December EU's bio-feedstock rules face reality check: Industry The EU is over-reliant on using "waste" biofuels in its plans to decarbonise the aviation, shipping and trucking sectors, while a shortfall in associated feedstock supply could risk missingemissions-reduction targets unless strategies change, the biofuels industry warns.

1 December Spain's Cepsa, C2X plan 300,000 t/yr e-methanol plant Spanish energy company Cepsa has joined Danish shipping firm AP Moller-Maersk's affiliate C2X to develop 300,000 t/yr of e-methanol production capacity, the first of several production facilities planned by C2X in Spain.

1 December Maersk Tankers orders 10 large ammonia carriers Denmark's Maersk Tankers has confirmed an order for up to 10 very large ammonia carriers (VLAC) from South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

1 December European marine biodiesel prices converge Marine biodiesel blend price spreads converged along regional lines in November, as traded values eased in the west Mediterranean but held ground in northwest European ports.

1 December Tight supplies lift bunker premiums in UAE's Fujairah Bunker premiums in the UAE's Fujairah, the world's fourth largest bunkering port, rose to their highest in 11 months because of regional refinery problems and delayed cargoes from west of Suez.

30 November Kenoil supplies first bio-MGO blend in Singapore Bunker supplier Kenoil Marine Services will supply the first ever biofuel blended with marine gasoil (MGO) in Singapore.

30 November NCL and Yara plan ammonia-fueled containership Norway-based North Sea Container Line (NCL) in a joined venture with Norway-based fertilizer producer Yara will build the world's first containership that will operate on ammonia.

30 November B24 Med prices down in second half November Mediterranean marine biodiesel blend prices trended downwards in the second half of November as subdued bunkering demand combined with easing fundamentals in the underlying markets.

30 November BV launches first rules for hydrogen vessels Classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) has released its first set of classification rules (NR678) for vessels powered by hydrogen, complimenting the existing rules (NR547) on fuel-cell powered vessels which were launched last year.

30 November Second berth at Freeport LNG restarts operations An empty LNG carrier has arrived at the second loading berth of the US' 15mn t/yr Freeport LNG export facility, suggesting the berth is back in action after being offline since June 2022.

30 November Taiwan's Formosa sells more LSFO as RFCC issue drags on Taiwanese private-sector refiner Formosa Petrochemical likely sold around 160,000t (1.03mn bl) of low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) after an extended turnaround at its residual fluid catalytic cracker unit (RFCC) at its 540,000 b/d Mailiao refinery, according to traders.

29 November Petroecuador's LNG tender receives no offers Petroecuador did not receive any offers for a tender to import 4.86bcf of LNG over a three and a half month period.

29 November Spain's Enagas plans 2024 LNG maintenance Spain's seven LNG terminals have added extensive maintenance for next year, with constraints set to peak in the summer, according to the latest provisional plan published by Enagas on 27 November.

29 November Biorig to invest €250mn in 10 Spanish biogas plants Spanish firm Biorig will invest €250mn ($274mn) in the development, construction, and operation of 10 biomethane production facilities in the Castilla and Leon region of northwest Spain.

27 November Preem plans further investment on refinery conversion Swedish firm Preem said it plans to invest a further 5.5bn Swedish kronor ($525mn) on converting its 210,000 b/d Lysekil refinery into a renewable fuels plant.

27 November ERGaR asks EU to pull down biomethane ‘trade barrier' Eight European biomethane associations have sent a joint letter to the European Commission asking for the extra-EU imports of biomethane and biomethane-based fuels to be "certifiable and recognized" under the Union Database.

Conventional marine fuels

1 December First public bids for fob diesel cargoes in NWE The northwest European diesel market has seen the first ever bids for fob cargoes on a public platform, as fob ARA trade has grown in importance for the region since the exclusion of Russian products by EU and UK sanctions.

1 December Spot east-west VLSFO spread halves in late November Singapore's fob very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) premium over northwest Europe halved in late November, with demand for bunkers in the city state subdued.

1 December Houston Ship Channel partially closed due to fog The Houston Ship Channel partially closed at 5:30am ET today because of dense fog, halting inbound traffic in the first such closure of the region's fog season.

30 November China boosts refiners' fuel oil access Beijing has issued a surprise new batch of fuel oil import quotas...

30 November Gunvor adds newbuild tanker to its bitumen fleet International trading firm Gunvor has added a 17,779 deadweight tonne (dwt) newbuild bitumen tanker to its global fleet under what is probably a long-term charter arrangement.

30 November Singapore middle distillates stocks slip Singapore's middle distillates stocks inched lower to a five-week low following increased gasoil and jet fuel exports from the city-state.

29 November US Gulf coast MR tanker rates at all-time highs Lengthening Panama Canal transit delays have pressured Medium-Range (MR) tanker rates to record highs, prompting shipowners to remain in the US Gulf coast market and gain leverage in deals for Pacific-bound voyages that involve spiraling costs to transit the canal.

29 November US gasoline, diesel prices continue to fall: EIA Average US retail gasoline and diesel prices continued to fall during the last full week of November, according to the data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

29 November Spanish marine fuel sales at Algeciras rose in October Sales of marine fuels from Spain's largest port and bunker hub Algeciras turned higher on the year in October after falling in September, although total Spanish marine fuel demand continued to see sharp falls from 2022.

29 November Mideast Gulf refiners negotiate jet, gasoil term deals Mideast Gulf refiners are negotiating term jet fuel and gasoil supply deals for 2024, but different views on market prices are complicating the discussions.

29 November ExxonMobil Fawley's new hydrotreater to run from 2024 ExxonMobil's 270,000 b/d Fawley refinery in southern England will bring a new unit online next year — believed to be a hydrotreater — to boost low-sulphur diesel production by 40pc, the company told Argus today.

29 November Kuwait's al-Zour refinery now eyes mid-December restart Kuwaiti refiner Kipic has said it will take another two weeks to restart the new 615,000 b/d al-Zour refinery after the plant ran to a near halt two weeks ago.

28 November ZIM reroutes ships from Arabian and Red seas Israel-based container shipping company ZIM is diverting some of its vessels transiting the Arabian and Red seas and adding war risk insurance premiums.

28 November Large gas carrier newbuild orders rise Orders for very large ethane carriers (VLECs) and LNG carriers led the newbuild market in the week to 19 November, with orders totalling 544,000m³.

28 November Maersk sells stake in Hoegh Autoliners Danish shipping giant Moller-Maersk has sold 20mn shares in Norway's Hoegh Autoliners, cutting its stake in the firm to zero, according to an Oslo Stock Exchange filing.

28 November Sri Lanka approves China's Sinopec refinery proposal Sri Lanka has approved Chinese state-owned Sinopec's proposal to build a refinery at Sri Lanka's Hambantota district on 27 November.

27 November New Panama Canal auctions aimed at record waits The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) began new special auctions last week for vessels without reservations that have been waiting for at least ten days to transit the Panamax locks, following record delays in recent weeks.

27 November TotalEnergies Port Arthur refinery restarts TotalEnergies restarted units at its 238,000 b/d Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, on 23 November.

27 November Dry bulk dominates secondhand vessel market Dry bulk vessels made up the lion's share of deals in secondhand markets in the week to 19 November, with 27 sold compared with nine tanker deals, according to brokers.