Asia’s very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) benchmarks held stable on Friday, with activity largely quiet as the market awaited new tenders from Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery.
The cash premium for 0.5% VLSFO (MFO05-SIN-DIF) dipped slightly to $7.30 a tonne, though the front-month margin (LFO05SGDUBCMc1) inched higher to a premium of $8.01 a barrel at 0830 GMT.
Meanwhile, high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) markets retained their strength as refinery feedstock demand from China held steady.
The cash premium for 380-cst HSFO (FO380-SIN-DIF) climbed to $5.75 a tonne, while the front-month margin (FO380DUBCKMc1) rose to a discount of $8.45 a barrel.
FIRST MARINE BIOFUEL SUPPLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR A VLGC
Astomos Energy Corp and Inpex Corp reached an agreement to supply B24 biofuel bunker blend to a very large gas carrier (VLGC) in the United Arab Emirates.
This is the first time that marine biofuel will be supplied to a VLGC in the Middle East, the companies said in a joint statement this week.
Over the next few months, Inpex will supply the B24 biofuel to the VLGC through a bunker vessel operated by Monjasa at the port of Khor Fakkan.
ARA INVENTORIES (STK-FO-ARA)
Fuel oil inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub inched higher 1% to 1.42 million tonnes in the week to May 4, extending gains after hitting 22-month highs in the previous week, latest data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil prices fell on Friday, set for their fourth weekly decline, as renewed economic concerns in the United States and China revived anxieties about fuel demand growth in the world’s two largest oil consumers.
– OPEC’s global oil demand forecast for 2023 was held steady for a third month, with the producer group citing the potential Chinese growth to be offset by downside economic risks elsewhere such as the U.S. debt ceiling.
– U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told lawmakers that her department could start repurchasing oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after completing a congressionally mandated sale next month.
– Iraq has sent an official request to Turkey to restart oil export flows through a pipeline that runs from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
WINDOW TRADES
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
