• 2019 April 1 09:02

    MABUX: Bunker market this morning, April 01

    The Bunker Review was contributed by Mabux Bunker Exchange

    MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) changed irregular on Mar.29:

    380 HSFO - USD/MT - 415.14(+1.14)
    180 HSFO - USD/MT - 461.71(+0.71)
    MGO - USD/MT - 629.21(-4.43)

    Meantime, world oil indexes rose on Mar.29 amid the ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.

    Brent for June settlement increased by $0.48 to $67.58 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery added $0.84 to $60.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Brent benchmark traded at the premium of 8.25 to WTI. Gasoil for April delivery gained $5.25.

    Today morning oil indexes continued moderate upward trend.

    Saudi Arabia is having difficulties keeping Russia in the frame of oil cut agreement, with Russia apparently interested in a rather short extension of just three months come June. Russia has already informed Saudi Arabia, that it could not guarantee an extension of the production cut pact through the rest of the year, as there is too much pressure internally to end the cuts. After agreeing to the cut 228,000 barrels per day, Russia notified the media in January that it would not be able cut oil production that quickly, and that it could only cut 50,000 bpd and 60,000 bpd that month. Now it may be not clear until the last minute if Russia will stay in the deal at all.

    Meantime, a new bloc is emerging in the Middle East with the declared objectives of dominating the entire Arab world, confronting and containing the US and its allies; and controlling and benefiting from the entire hydro-carbon economy, from production to transportation. The leading members of the new bloc are Turkey, Iran, and Qatar; with Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan submitting to the new bloc. Russian experts call the new bloc the Middle Eastern Entente. It looks like Russia and the People’s Republic of China are ready to compromise with the regional powers in order to secure their vital and global interests, while the US, Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, Israel, are the rivals of the bloc.

    The Japanese parliament approved an extension of insurance coverage for imports of Iranian crude oil effective from the start of April and expiring a year later. However, this does not mean Japanese refiners will continue buying Iranian crude if they do not score sanction waivers from Washington. Despite the sanction waiver, Japan only restarted its purchases of Iranian crude last month, at a rate of just a little above 76,000 bpd, compared to almost 160,000 bpd a year earlier. The chances for an extension seem slim right now. Earlier last week Washington’s special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, said no new waivers will be granted after the expiry of the current ones.

    Chinese and U.S. negotiators are working line-by-line through the text of an agreement that can be put before President Donald Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping to defuse a nearly year-long trade war. U.S. and China delegations held meetings in Beijing on Mar.29 partly to ensure there were no discrepancies in the English and Chinese-language versions of the text, and also to balance the number of working visits to each capital. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is due in Washington this week. The focus on the joint wording has become a key issue after U.S. officials complained that Chinese versions of the text had walked back or omitted commitments made by negotiators. The key areas where the U.S. is demanding better terms include China improving treatment of U.S. intellectual property, opening up market access for American companies and agreeing on an enforcement mechanism for the trade deal.

    Libya’s oil revenues fell in February to $1.26 billion, as repeated oilfield closures continue to weigh on. The oil revenues were $330 million less than January levels, while overall oil production had actually increased by 23,000 bpd in February. Libya continues to suffer from oilfield and port closures both due to inclimate weather and internal strife over who will control its great oil wealth that resulted in a force majeure over the last few months. Libya’s NOC is currently developing a new security plan to safeguard production from its prolific Sharara oilfield that has been plagued with unrest for years. Its output should be more than 300,000 bpd.

    Two South Korean refiners have canceled the delivery of U.S crude oil cargoes that were due to arrive in January and February this year, as the refiners had been concerned about the quality of the crude. It means that quality could at some point become a bigger problem for U.S. producers. With a massive pipeline network carrying crude oil from the U.S. shale patch to the Gulf Coast ports, the oil gets contaminated with various undesirable things, from oil residue to heavy metals, pipe cleaning agents, and a group of compounds called oxygenates. These last ones are particularly worrying for refiners.

    The U.S. active oil and gas rig count fell for the second consecutive week as U.S. crude production plateaus. In a repeat of 2 weeks ago, the U.S. total rig count fell last week by 10: 8 fewer oil rigs to reach 816, and 2 fewer gas rigs to reach 190. However, the total rig count is still slightly higher-plus 13 rigs - than this time last year. The slowdown was felt even more exaggeratedly in Canada, where the total rig count fell to 88, a loss of 17 this week and a loss of 46 as compared to this time last year.

    We expect bunker prices may rise in a range of plus 3-5 USD/MT.




2024 March 29

12:09 COSCO SHIPPING Ports throughput up by 4.4% YoY to 135,808,554 TEU in 2023
11:46 The "Ane Maersk" calls at the Eurogate container terminal in Hamburg for the first time on its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe
11:20 Sallaum Lines and Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding commence construction of Ocean Class vessels
10:43 Oasis Marine develops solutions for offshore hydrogen bunkering
10:03 Petrofac secures contract extension with ONEgas West in the UK market

2024 March 28

18:05 Jan De Nul, ENGIE and Equans launch a pilot project centred around the use of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries
17:35 Latvian port equipment manufacturer Bleste introduces new bulk handling ‘bucket’
17:05 Investors upgrade Navios Maritime Partners
16:25 DEME reports 22% increase in the orderbook and a record-high turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2023
16:14 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 13, 2024
15:41 AD Ports Group announced the opening of Saadiyat Marina & Ferry Terminal and Rabdan Marina
15:11 Sydney invests $11.5 million in two new operational vessels designed by Incat Crowther
14:55 China’s Jinzhao wins Peru $405m port construction contract
14:13 APM Terminals Moín handled six million TEU
13:48 ClassNK grants Innovation Endorsements for Products & Solutions to two innovative initiatives by MOL
13:37 Konecranes launches its flagship Konecranes X-series industrial crane
12:53 United European Car Carriers UECC spearheads collaboration with industry leaders to advance CNSL as a sustainable marine fuel
12:26 Ocean Network Express announces Transpacific service
11:48 Yang Ming announces 2025 Trans-Pacific service network
11:24 Fincantieri signs contract for the supply of two PPAs to Indonesia
10:42 Maersk transported more than 660,000 TEU using clean fuel in 2023
10:23 Documentation delays push industry costs to $3bn
09:48 PONANT and FARWIND Energy partner to develop green hydrogen refueling solutions

2024 March 27

18:22 Bureau Veritas awards world’s first prototype certification for SolarDuck’s floating offshore solar solution
17:58 The recently converted Allseas's shallow water pipelay barge starts preparations for its first commercial project
17:38 The Port of Rotterdam calls on the European Commission and Parliament to focus on actively promoting green energy
15:23 SEFE to become sole shareholder of WIGA
14:53 Ocean Installer secures yet another SLM contract with Equinor
14:23 Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract for the vessel Wind Scylla
13:42 Carnival Cruise Line orders 5th Excel-class cruise ship
13:11 Maersk and MSC overcharging cargo owners for EU ETS, says T&E
12:52 The Port Authority of Valencia launches the ZAL project in the Port of Valencia
12:11 Clarkson Port Services and Peak Group collaborate to deliver Port Agency services across the North Sea
11:42 Wan Hai Lines holds ship naming ceremony for new vessels
11:24 Consolidated shipping lines EBIT loss was $1.44 billion in Q4 2023: Sea-Intelligence
10:49 Seaspan Shipyards receives long-term contracts for the pre-construction work of the the Canadian Coast Guard's first six multi-mission vessels
10:14 Woodside completes sale of 10% scarborough interest

2024 March 26

18:02 COSCO Shipping Lines introduces new Americas service
17:30 Davie awarded first contract for design of icebreaker fleet under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy
17:04 Sanctions complicate Arctic LNG ship sales, Hanwha Ocean says - Bloomberg
16:57 Terntank places an order for 1+1 additional wind/ methanol-ready hybrid tanker
16:28 BW LNG completes acquisition of two TFDE vessels from Stena Bulk
15:50 Hanwha Ocean develops VR-based special vehicle simulator
15:20 TotalEnergies and SINOPEC join forces to produce sustainable jet fuel at a SINOPEC's refinery
14:52 Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement to guarantee operational reliability of new wind farm installation vessel
14:23 Hudong-Zhonghua launches two LNG carriers
13:51 Cargo ship hits Baltimore’s Key Bridge
13:12 Final sanctioned tanker with Russian Sokol oil to reach China port - Reuters
12:42 Adani Ports acquires 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port from SP Group for $162 million
12:21 IHI and Yara Clean Ammonia agree to jointly assess clean ammonia business collaboration
11:41 Yara Clean Ammonia and Azane granted safety permit to build world's first low emission ammonia bunkering terminal
11:16 Wartsila and Royal Caribbean Group celebrate 15 years of collaboration on digital transformation
10:46 A global carbon tax on shipping is coming, says ABS Chairman and CEO
10:21 Eni, Fincantieri and RINA establish partnership for maritime transport decarbonization

2024 March 25

18:07 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate reports of oil spills off the port of Tuas
17:31 “K” Line, NIPPON HAKUYO and OPT Gate sign an agreement for a new fire detection system for car carriers
17:07 Greek merchant fleet recorded slight decline in January 2024
16:47 Hanwha Ocean Plans to develop green technology and naval ships
16:25 U-Ming Singapore and ITOCHU sign milestone MoU for the joint development of ammonia dual-fuel and de-carbonized vessels
15:34 Svitzer targets methanol-fuelled MAN 175DF-M engine for tug application
15:04 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs contracts for four 9,300 CEU vessels with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard
14:40 Taiwan International Port to upgrade terminal facility at Kaohsiung
13:59 Сruise ship Carnival Freedom catches fire near Bahamas
12:59 Hanwha Ocean wins 2.4 tln-won order for 8 LNG ships
11:16 Inland Ports meet in Paris to talk about the innovation potential of inland ports
10:50 IMO agrees possible outline for maritime “net-zero framework”
10:24 Hapag-Lloyd to continue to avoid the Red Sea route
09:58 QatarEnergy enters time charter agreements with Nakilat for the operation of 25 LNG vessels

2024 March 24

16:18 Inchgreen Marine Park upgraded as part of £11m investment
15:14 A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Solent Rail Terminal Rail was held at the Port of Southampton