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
24 November Petrobras bolsters renewables in 5-year plan Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras will invest $102bn in 2024-2028 under its new strategic plan, bolstering investments in renewable energy.
24 November Brazil to allow biodiesel imports Brazil's oil regulator agency ANP updated regulations for biodiesel imports into Brazil, clearing the way for foreign biodiesel to account for up to 20pc of the country's supply.
24 November ReFuels building second UK biomethane station European supplier of renewable biomethane ReFuels has begun construction of a bio-CNG refuelling station in Doncaster, northern England.
24 November Q&A: NH3 bunkering will focus on smaller vessels: Azane Azane Fuel Solutions is a Norwegian start-up developing various ammonia-bunkering solutions. It plans to develop an ammonia bunkering network in Scandinavia to meet burgeoning demand for low-carbon marine fuels. Ahead of the Argus Clean Ammonia Conference Europe in Antwerp this month, Argus spoke with chief executive officer Hakon Skjerstad about the technologies that Azane Fuel Solutions is developing. Demand from different vessel types, safety concerns and pricing challenges were discussed. Edited highlights follow.
23 November Methanex Egypt methanol plant offline until early 2024 Canadian methanol producer said its 1.26mn t/yr plant in Egypt will be offline until the first quarter of 2024 following an unplanned outage in mid-October.
23 November Netherlands lowers HBE maritime multiplier from 2024 The Dutch government has decided to reduce the multiplier for biofuels in maritime shipping to 0.4 from 2024, to restore the balance of biofuels used between road transport and sea shipping and prepare the sector for higher blending targets that will be introduced under the recast of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) in 2025.
23 November French biodiesel complex momentum weak in Sep French biodiesel imports remained at a record level in the first three quarters of the year, up marginally on the same period in 2022. But deliveries, demand and output were lacklustre in September.
22 November Shipping sector criticises IMO's carbon intensity rule The International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) has garnered negative reactions at the Motorship's 44th Propulsion and Future Fuels (PFF) conference in Hamburg this week.
22 November First movers key to shipping decarbonisation Being a first mover in the shipping industry decarbonisation race could help companies manage their costs more effectively, while progressing net zero targets, delegates at the Motorship's 44th propulsion and future fuels conference in Hamburg heard this week.
22 November Goldwind to supply green methanol to Denmark's Maersk Danish shipping and logistics giant Maersk has signed an agreement to buy 500,000 t/yr of biomethanol from Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind.
22 November Germany to begin e-methanol production Germany's first e-methanol plant was inaugurated in the Leuna chemical complex on 20 November. It will produce methanol from carbon monoxide and green hydrogen using renewable electricity.
22 November Neste's HVO available in France from 2024 Finnish biofuels producer Neste has partnered with French distributers Bollore Energy and Altens, to bring Neste's branded renewable diesel, or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), to the French market.
21 November ICS and Ibia submit fuel standard proposal to IMO Industry organisations the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Bunker Industry Association (Ibia) have submitted their joint proposal for a simplified global GHG fuel standard to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
21 November China-US UCO flows reach record high in October Chinese used cooking oil (UCO) exports to the US increased to their highest ever monthly volume in October, while exports to the EU halved from a year earlier.
21 November Japan's IHI, Dutch Vopak to explore ammonia terminals Japanese engineering firm IHI and Netherlands-based Royal Vopak signed an initial agreement on 20 November to jointly study development and operation of large-scale ammonia storage terminals in Japan.
20 November P&O Maritime eyes e-fuels for decarbonisation UAE-based ship owner P&O Maritime Logistics will use e-methanol and e-ammonia for about 75pc of its marine fuel demand in 2050 as part of its net-zero CO2 emissions target.
20 November WinGD to supply methanol engines for 6 ships Marine engine manufacturer WinGD will supply methanol-fueled engines for six new container ships.
20 November Marathon Martinez RD plant reports fire Marathon Petroleum reported a fire at its Martinez Renewables plant in Martinez, California, on 19 November.
20 November Yara invests $218mn in CCS at Dutch ammonia facility Norway-based fertilizer giant Yara plans to expand carbon capture and storage (CCS) capabilities at its 1.8mn t/yr Sluiskil ammonia facility in the Netherlands, enabling carbon capture and storage (CCS) of up 800,000 t/yr CO2.
Conventional marine fuels
24 November Oman's refinery output up in January-October Oman's refinery output increased by 13.5pc on the year in January-October, helped the start of trial runs and exports at the new 230,000 b/d Duqm refinery.
24 November Suez Canal increasing tariffs The cost of oil shipments through the Suez Canal will rise from 15 January, the canal administration says. The increase in tariffs reflects higher traffic, partly because of the redirection of Russian oil flows to Asia-Pacific, traders say.
24 November Singapore fuel oil stocks rise to nine week high Singapore's onshore fuel oil inventories rose to a nine-week high of 20.12mn bl in the week ending 22 November, according to the latest Enterprise Singapore data.
23 November Rising Spanish diesel imports include unusual cargoes Spanish 10ppm diesel imports increased sharply in the first three quarters of the year, including a small number of unusual deliveries.
22 November Pre-holiday rush, canal delays power USGC MR rally Medium range (MR) clean tanker rates for shipments out of the US Gulf coast have jumped to the highest since 2022 on a surge in spot refined tanker product exports ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday and strained tonnage due to record-high wait times at the Panama Canal.
22 November Houston-Singapore VLSFO discount surpasses $100/t The Houston-Singapore very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) discount widened to over $100/t in the first three weeks of November, on tight supplies in Singapore.
22 November South Korea's SK Energy shuts Ulsan CDU for maintenance South Korean refiner and petrochemical producer SK Energy has shut one of its crude distillation units (CDUs) at the 840,000 b/d Ulsan complex for maintenance.
21 November European scrubber spread nears seven-month high Price spreads between higher and lower-sulphur fuel oil in Europe have hit their widest since late-March, as low-sulphur supplies are being sent east out of the region to meet bunkering demand in Singapore.
21 November Torm deals prop up secondhand tanker market A deal by product tanker owner Torm to take eight of ten long range 2 (LR2) tankers belonging to Norwegian owner KGJS — which is pivoting to focus on dry bulk — accounted for most of the action in the secondhand tanker market in the week to 12 November.
20 November Newbuild numbers soar on bulk carrier orders Newbuild orders rose in the week ending 12 November with 32 ships ordered, including 1.2mn t of bulk carriers and 751,000dwt of tanker vessels.
