Vitol, Aegean Marine trade First DME-Listed Fuel Oil Derivatives

Energy trader Vitol and shipping fuel company Aegean Marine Petroleum Network swapped 7,000 tonnes of July 180-centistoke in the first-ever trade of fuel oil derivatives on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, the DME said on Monday.

Middle East 180cst and 380cst high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) first became available for trading on the Dubai exchange on May 16, settling against value assessments for the two shipping and industrial fuels by oil pricing agency Platts.

The listing allows traders to directly hedge fuel oil delivered in the Gulf region and to trade the spread between the Middle East and Singapore fuel oil markets, said the DME in a press release announcing the deal.

Singapore and Fujairah are among the world's top bunkering ports, holding large supplies of marine fuels and serving as regional trading and pricing centres for oil products. Fujairah is the delivery point for the DME fuel oil contract.

Fuel oil is largely a by-product of the crude oil refining process, primarily used as a marine fuel for large vessels or as a fuel source for power generation, among other industrial uses.

Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh