VLSFO average viscosity declines in 4Q

Market: Oil products
07/03/25

Global average viscosity levels for very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in the fourth quarter of 2024 dropped to the lowest level since early 2023, according to the latest data from French classification society Bureau Veritas.

VLSFO viscosity levels at 50°C (122°F) averaged 161 centistokes (cst) in the fourth quarter, a 3.5pc decline from the same quarter two years earlier and the lowest since VLSFO viscosity levels were at 155 cst in the second quarter of 2023.

Gibraltar had the highest average VLSFO viscosity in the fourth quarter at 259 cst, Bureau Veritas said. Algeciras, Spain, had the second highest average at 256 cst followed by Malta at 230 cst.

Busan, South Korea, had the lowest average VLSFO viscosity at 85 cst followed by Houston, Texas, at 92 cst, and Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, at 115 cst.

Bureau Veritas also released a report compiling marine fuel quality trends in 2024 compared with previous years.

The portion of off-specification VLSFO has decreased since 2021 and the average viscosity at 50°C has gone up since VLSFO was introduced in 2020, according to Bureau Veritas.

The percentage of off-spec high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) increased by 0.5pc last year because of more instances of elevated water levels in the HSFO samples that were tested.

A total of 21pc of the samples tested in 2024 was HSFO, Bureau Veritas said. That is 29pc higher than the 16.2pc that HSFO samples accounted for in 2021. More vessels equipped with a scrubber have come on line, boosting HSFO demand.

By Luis Gronda

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