Pertamina to compete in Singapore bunkers market

Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina intends to start supplying the Singapore and wider southeast Asia bunkers market.

It has set up Pertamina International Marketing and Distribution (PIMD), which will act as "a trading arm for selling Pertamina products and third-party products on the international market", the company said.

PIMD is designed to sell a variety of products in different regional markets, but it is focused on becoming a large-scale supplier of bunkers in Singapore. PIMD bunker sales there are forecast to reach 200,000 t/month or 5pc of the total market, according to Pertamina. The company has already opened an office in Singapore, from where it will also enter the retail and LPG sales markets in the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).

Singapore is the world's largest bunkering hub, with sales of around 50mn t/yr. From 1 January next year the level of sulphur in bunkers will need to fall from 3.5pc to 0.5pc as mandated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Pertamina is a producer of low-sulphur fuel oil and blending components. It earlier this year signed a deal with US-based commodity firm Freepoint Commodities to expand and modernise its TBBM fuel terminal on Sambu island, 15km south of Singapore.

But uncertainty remains about when Indonesia will fully abide by the new IMO rules. It earlier this year said Indonesian-flagged vessels operating without scrubbers will be allowed to burn high-sulphur fuel oil in the country's territorial waters next year. The exemption will not apply to Indonesian-flagged vessels on international voyages, or to foreign-flagged vessels in Indonesian waters.