Vitol Group will ship as much as 2 million barrels of fuel oil to Singapore from Rotterdam, the first reported supertanker charter in three weeks between the two oil-storage hubs, shipping data showed, Bloomberg reports. The Geneva-based trader hired the Front Cecilie to load 270,000 metric tons on Aug. 26, according to reports from companies including Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the world’s second-biggest shipbroker. The Hong Kong-flagged very large crude carrier has been sailing near West Africa in the past month, based on transmissions captured by AISLive on Bloomberg.
The loss from turning crude into fuel oil is the lowest since March 2010 in Singapore, Asia’s largest oil-trading center, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker. The product’s discount to crude was at $3.65 a barrel today, from $14.19 at the end of April. Refiners typically accept a loss from making fuel oil, used to power ships or to generate electricity, because of the profit gained from higher- value products including gasoline and diesel.
Elizabeth Adams, a London-based spokeswoman for Vitol, declined to comment on trading operations when contacted by e- mail.
In the most recent reported Rotterdam-to-Singapore supertanker shipment of fuel oil, Gunvor International BV loaded 270,000 tons on the Neptune Glory on Aug. 3 for $3.1 million, Bloomberg data showed.
Fuel-oil inventories in the European hub of Amsterdam- Rotterdam-Antwerp rose in the past two weeks to 854,000 tons, the highest since June, according to PJK International BV, a consultant in Oosterhout, Netherlands. Onshore stockpiles of residue in Singapore last week fell to a three-week low of 19.65 million barrels, or about 3 million tons, based on trade ministry data.
The loss from turning crude into fuel oil is the lowest since March 2010 in Singapore, Asia’s largest oil-trading center, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker. The product’s discount to crude was at $3.65 a barrel today, from $14.19 at the end of April. Refiners typically accept a loss from making fuel oil, used to power ships or to generate electricity, because of the profit gained from higher- value products including gasoline and diesel.
Elizabeth Adams, a London-based spokeswoman for Vitol, declined to comment on trading operations when contacted by e- mail.
In the most recent reported Rotterdam-to-Singapore supertanker shipment of fuel oil, Gunvor International BV loaded 270,000 tons on the Neptune Glory on Aug. 3 for $3.1 million, Bloomberg data showed.
Fuel-oil inventories in the European hub of Amsterdam- Rotterdam-Antwerp rose in the past two weeks to 854,000 tons, the highest since June, according to PJK International BV, a consultant in Oosterhout, Netherlands. Onshore stockpiles of residue in Singapore last week fell to a three-week low of 19.65 million barrels, or about 3 million tons, based on trade ministry data.