• 2020 March 24 10:12

    MABUX: Bunker market this morning, Mar 24

    The Bunker Review was contributed by Marine Bunker Exchange (MABUX)

    MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, VLSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) demonstrated slight downward trend on March 23:

    380 HSFO: USD/MT 258.85 (-3.97)
    VLSFO: USD/MT 330.00 (-7.00)
    MGO: USD/MT 419.19 (-7.02)


    Meantime, world oil indexes did not have firm trend on Mar.23 with demand still sliding as travel and industrial activity contracted across the globe in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.

    Brent for May settlement increased by $0.05 to $27.03 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. West Texas Intermediate for May rose by $0.73 to $23.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Brent benchmark traded at the premium of $3.67 to WTI. Gasoil for April delivery lost $15.00.

    Today morning global oil indexes have turned into slight upward correction.
     
    The demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic comes as the oil market contends with the unexpected price war that erupted between producers Russia and Saudi Arabia, effectively ending an OPEC+ alliance and flooding the market with barrels.

    On Mar.20, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo invited Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton to the organisation’s summer meeting in June. Although this invitation quickly raised hopes for a deal to stabilise oil prices, Sitton attracted criticism as he called for decreased production of Texan crude output for the first time since 1970.  Neither Saudi Arabia nor Russia are backing down from their strategy in the ongoing price war. The increased supply that both countries are insisting on could soon send prices crashing even lower, as the unabating spread of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to lower demand.

    Goldman Sachs said supply restraint by core-OPEC producers could push second-quarter Brent oil prices up to $30 a barrel, while U.S. measures to support the market could underpin prices in the near term. Meantime, even if any U.S. measures could support the oil market into the second half of the year, however, Goldman Sachs said accompanying supply cuts would still not be enough to offset the 8 million barrels per day (bpd) demand loss – brought about by countries slowing economic activity to halt the spread of the coronavirus which has caused nearly 10,000 deaths worldwide.

    Rystad Energy predicts, global storage infrastructure is in trouble and will be unable to take more crude and products in just a few months. Current liquid balances show supply surpassing oil demand by an average of nearly 6 million bpd in 2020, resulting in an accumulated implied storage build of 2.0 billion barrels this year. Based on Rystad analysis, the world currently has around 7.2 billion barrels crude and products in storage, including 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion barrels currently onboard oil tankers at sea. On average, 76% of the world’s oil storage capacity is already full.

    Wood Mackenzie in turn has reported that China’s crude stock (including strategic and commercial petroleum reserves) could reach 1.15 billion barrels in 2020 – but limitations in storage capacity are reducing the fill rate. Since the last oil price crash in 2014, China has been accelerating its crude imports for strategic and commercial storage from about 200 million barrels in 2014 to 900 million barrels in 2019. This is equivalent to about 70 days of its 2019 oil demand and 70% of its 2019 total storage capacity. China is expected to continue importing crude to fill its reserves taking advantage of lower oil prices. But this time, China could build its crude reserves by up to 300,000 barrels a day (b/d) from March 2020 to the end of 2020, due to limitations in storage capacity, as storage capacity utilisation reaches 90% this year.

    Refining operations in Europe and elsewhere in the world are being curtailed as gasoline and jet fuel demand is falling down due to the enormous demand destruction in the spreading coronavirus pandemic. In Europe, oil majors are shutting down refinery units as major economies are under lockdown and flights are severely restricted. Across Europe, lockdowns in Italy, Spain, and France are crushing oil demand and German traffic is down 40 percent. Falling demand, including jet fuel demand, may force Japanese refiners to cut run rates. Japanese refiners are stocked with crude for April and don’t have much room to take extra barrels from Saudi Arabia, regardless of how cheap the flood of additional supply will be.

    Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices rose for a third straight week on slowly recovering demand in China as local transmissions of coronavirus ease but a flood of cargoes from the West could reverse price gains. The average LNG price for May delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at $3.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up 20 cents from the previous week. Prices for cargoes delivered in April were estimated around $3.70/mmBtu, up 30 cents from a week ago. European gas demand could fall more than 4% over the next two months on depressed commercial and industrial activity as more countries lock down to tackle the spread of the novel coronavirus. This could see more cargo flows towards Asia, eventually depressing prices.

    We expect bunker prices may change irregular today in a range of plus-minus 5-10 USD.




2024 March 29

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
14:08 ESNA and Strategic Marine join forces to offer Surface Effect Ship (“SES”) Crew Transfer Vessels (“CTV”) to the market
13:07 First LNG powered vessel calls at HIP