Singapore low sulfur bunker fuel demand flat at 50,000 mt/month: Petrobras

Demand for low sulfur bunker fuel in the Singapore market has stabilized to around 50,000 mt per month for the grade containing a maximum of 1% sulfur, Petrobras bunker trader Fernando Brandi said Tuesday at the Bunkering In Asia conference in Singapore.
This compares with a previous monthly average of about 30,000 mt/month about a year ago, before the North American Emission Control Area went into effect in August, said market sources.
Brandi said the North American emissions policy was an initial driver of demand late last year. Demand jumped to about 90,000 mt/month, with shipowners scrambling to secure low sulfur material to comply with the regulation, market sources said at the time.
Competition increased among suppliers of low sulfur bunker fuel and from other ports offering it.
Brandi said Petrobras has managed to maintain its lead in the Singapore market, but he did not disclose its market share.
He said low sulfur fuel represents about 2% of the Singapore bunker market.
The port sees average monthly demand of about 3.5-3.8 million mt/month, according to official data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Suppliers of low sulfur grades in the Singapore market currently include Hin Leong, Vitol, Global Energy, Aegean, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and Total, according to market sources.
In terms of price, the low sulfur 1% 380 CST grade is around the $650/mt range and high sulfur 3.5% 380 CST grade is around $588-590/mt, sources said.
Petrobras has about 200,000 mt of low sulfur fuel storage in Singapore, and its main supply comes from Brazil, Brandi said.
Looking forward, Brandi said challenges for the low sulfur bunker market would come from tighter environmental regulations such as the upcoming International Maritime Organization policy for LSFO bunker fuel to be capped at 0.1% from the current 1% in local emission control areas.
Other factors that might also impact the LSFO bunker market include possible new ECAs, low sulfur marine gasoil, LNG, and scrubber technology, Brandi added.
Source: Platts