China's INE Considers Singapore for Marine Fuel Futures Delivery
The Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) is considering using oil storage sites in Singapore owned by PetroChina Co as a delivery point for its low-sulphur fuel oil futures contract, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.The INE’s move would be the first time a Chinese futures contract would be deliverable outside of China and could boost liquidity for the contract, as well as help to influence pricing for shipping fuel.Low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) is required as ship fuel to meet new maritime emissions regulations that went into effect this year.
First LNG Bunker Vessel Coming in 2020
Wärtsilä was tapped to supply an integrated package of sustainable solutions for China’s first seagoing LNG bunker vessel, scheduled for delivery in 2020.The ship is being built by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) for an affiliate of the ENN Energy holdings, one of the largest users of LNG in China. It has been designed by China Ship Design & Research Center Co. Ltd. Wärtsilä will provide the vessel’s cargo handling system, the Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel main engine…
Bunker One Expands to Germany
Denmark-based marine fuel supplier Bunker One has announced the establishment of a new physical bunker entity, serving the German market.Bunker Holding subsidiary said that the business activities of the new entity Bunker One (Germany) GmbH will be concentrated on supplying marine fuel products and other related services to ferry- container- and other commercial vessels in all ports at the German North Sea and Baltic Sea regions with base in Rostock, Kiel and Hamburg.To benefit the…
Shell to Sell its Downstream Business in Argentina
Shell has signed an agreement to sell its Downstream business in Argentina to Raízen for $0.95 billion in cash proceeds at completion, subject to customary closing conditions. The sale includes the Buenos Aires Refinery, around 645 retail stations, liquefied petroleum gas, marine fuels, aviation fuels, bitumen, chemicals and lubricants businesses, as well as supply and distribution activities in the country. Additionally, after the transaction closes, the businesses acquired by Raízen will continue their relationships with Shell through various commercial agreements…
Four Bunker Barges Seized in Singapore over Unpaid Debt
Singapore law firm asks for vessels to be arrested; bunker barges owned by Vermont UM Shipping. Four marine refuelling barges owned and operated by Vermont UM Shipping Pte Ltd were seized in Singapore on Monday night, according to the website of Singapore's Supreme Court. Singaporean law firm Rajah & Tann seized the vessels over unpaid claims on behalf of its client, Malayan Banking Berhad, or Maybank, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified as the person is not authorised to speak to the media.
Total to supply LNG for CMA CGM's Future Boxships
Total to supply 300,000 T of LNG a year for 10 years. Total will supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to CMA CGM to fuel the container shipping group's future very large vessels, the French companies said on Monday. CMA CGM had said last month it would use LNG to power the nine extra-large vessels it has on order, a first such move in a shipping industry grappling with how to comply with tougher rules on emissions. Under the 10-year agreement, oil and gas major Total will supply around 300,000 tonnes of LNG per year to CMA CGM, starting in 2020, the companies said in a statement.
Universal Energy Faces Millions in Claims
Universal Energy entered voluntary liquidation on Oct 3, tightening credit in Singapore's bunker fuel market. Shipping fuel suppliers are filing millions of dollars in claims over unpaid marine fuel bills against now defunct Singapore-based peer Universal Energy, formerly one of the city state's largest bunker suppliers but which has now entered liquidation. Universal Energy, ranked as Singapore's third-largest bunker fuel supplier by volume in 2016, had its shipping fuel licences…
NorSea Opens New MGO Facility in Peterhead
NorSea Group UK (Ltd) has completed Phase I of its multi-million dollar investment at its Shore Base within Peterhead Port with the opening of a new custom-built Marine Gas Oil (MGO) facility on Smith Quay. Two MGO tanks, which hold a combined total of 3000 cu. m. of fuel, are now operational. This represents an expansion in the range of services currently provided directly to clients by NorSea Group at Peterhead as project support and supply vessels can now be fuelled directly at the quay.
Chemoil to Pay $27 Mln to Resolve US Complaint
A Singapore-based global fuel supplier has agreed to pay a $27 million penalty and retire renewable fuel credits worth another $71 million to resolve charges it violated the renewable fuel standard program, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency alleged that Chemoil Corp exported at least 48.5 million gallons of biodiesel from the United States from 2011 to 2013 but failed to retire the associated renewable identification numbers generated for the exported fuel. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Tom Brown)
Danish Investors Sue Bankrupt OW Bunker
A group of Danish investors have sued OW Bunker for 800 million Danish crowns ($120 million) for misleading them in its initial public offer (IPO), after the ship fuel supplier filed for bankruptcy just months after listing. The 27 institutions, including two of the largest pension funds in Denmark, ATP and PFA, with assets of more than $165 billion, filed two lawsuits, they said on Friday. The company, which had been valued at $1 billion when it floated at the end of March, came to grief in November 2014 after suffering hedging losses of almost $300 million.
Bankrupt OW Bunker Subsidiary Owed $329 mln
Dynamic Oil Trading (Singapore), a subsidiary of bankrupt ship fuel supplier OW Bunker, is owed $329 million and its liquidators said on Friday they are investigating the company's dealings with another Singapore-based marine fuel firm. OW Bunker, once the leading supplier of marine fuel oil with a 7 percent market share, filed for bankruptcy in Denmark in November after revealing losses of at least $125 million at Dynamic Oil Trading. In a statement issued on Friday, Dynamic Oil Trading's official liquidators from KPMG said it had an estimated $329 million in gross receivables due…
RN-Aero, Shell Join Forces
RN-Aero (Rosneft subsidiary) has signed a cooperation agreement with the leading Jet Fuel supplier Shell Aviation. The agreement will allow RN-Aero to provide high level refueling services for its customers at select worldwide locations using Shell Aviation global network. The expansion of RN-Aero coverage will allow to acquire new competencies whilst giving a substantial marketing boost to the Company profile – the broad geographic reach will increase brand awareness and improve its perception among both Russian and International customers.
EU Regulators Okay BP to Acquire Statoil Fuel and Retail Aviation
European Union competition authorities gave conditional clearance on Monday for oil major BP to acquire jet fuel business Statoil Fuel and Retail Aviation (SFRA). The European Commission said BP had committed to divesting SFRA's activities at Stockholm, Malmo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen airports to remove concerns that increased concentration there would have led to price increases of fuel for airlines. "These divestments would remove the entire overlap with regard to the supply of aviation fuel.
New Players in Singapore Markets in OW's Absence
The downfall of a leading marine fuel supplier that prompted sellers to tighten credit terms in Singapore is skewing the post-OW Bunker jostle for market share towards cash-rich trading companies and barge operators, traders said. Marine fuel premiums over cargo prices in Singapore, the world's busiest refuelling port, have stayed elevated after hitting their highest in more than two years in the wake of OW Bunker's collapse as worried buyers tried to lock in prompt supplies. Besides oil majors - such as BP…
Ship Arrested, More Claims Emerge Against OW Bunker
Fuel barge Laguna, carrying oil sold by Hin Leong to OW Bunker, arrested. Total claims against OW Bunker Far East and Dynamic Oil now over S$5 mln. Oil firms stepped up legal action against the Singapore units of bankrupt ship fuel trader OW Bunker with the arrest of a ship fuel delivery barge Laguna on Wednesday and claims totalling more than S$5 million. Court documents seen by Reuters showed that the overall amount of claims made against OW Bunker Far East (Singapore) and Dynamic Oil Trading…
Brightoil's Trading Chiefs Depart, ex-Sinochem Trader Joins
Two senior trading heads have left Brightoil Petroleum Holdings Ltd, and the company has hired a former executive from China's state-run Sinochem, marking a reshuffle at its Asia trading operations, senior trading sources said. Brightoil's Singapore head of crude oil and head of fuels have left the firm, the sources said, while it has hired Wang Wei, former head of trading of Sinochem's Singapore operations, to be chief executive of Singapore oil trading, a new position. Hongkong-listed Brightoil…
Timeline: BP Oil Spill Litigation
BP Plc was found "grossly negligent" on Thursday by a federal judge in connection with its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The decision by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, who oversees litigation related to the disaster, is likely to boost the British oil company's costs emerging from the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history. April 20, 2010 Rig Explodes: An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig at the Macondo exploration well kills 11 workers and releases millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The well is capped in mid-July.
Natural Gas Can Keep Those Motors Running
Cheap natural gas is starting to revolutionise traffic on U.S. roads, cutting bills for some of the country's heaviest fuel users while reducing carbon emissions and other pollution. The revolution is still in its very early stages. Gas remains a niche vehicle fuel, with last year's nationwide consumption less than the amount of gasoline and diesel dispensed in the tiny state of Vermont. But gas consumption by motorists, taxis, refuse trucks, transit operators and logistics companies is growingly rapidly at a time when overall gasoline and diesel sales are flat.
Rail Takes a Fresh Look at Gas
Gas-fueled locomotives are not a new idea. Plymouth Locomotive Company built the first propane-fuelled rail engine as early as 1936. The industry has experimented with natural gas-fueled trains on a small scale for the past 80 years without ever moving beyond the prototype stage. "Some members of the regulatory, engine supply and fuel supply communities believe railroads have an opportunity to use natural gas as a locomotive fuel to help meet emissions and performance goals," Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF)…
Rosneft Chosen as Sole Fuel Supplier for EMERCOM
The command of Russian Federation Government has informed that NK Rosneft and its subsidiaries have been chosen the only fuel suppliers of motor and aviation fuel for Russian EMERCOM for 2 years. Rosneft will supply fuel for use of State EMERCOM Fire-Fighting Service by means of rail transport at the territory of all RF territorial entities. In its turn, Rosneft subsidiary RN-Card will provide service on transport fuelling at gasoline stations for EMERCOM institutions and organizations in central district, North-West regional center and administrations in other RF regions.