News

Cash premium for very low sulphur fuel oil slipped further to a seven-week low in Asia on Monday as lower-priced offers emerged.

The premium dropped to $3.44 a metric ton, extending declines to a fourth straight session.

High sulphur fuel oil was steady, with the 380-cst cash differential little changed at a discount of $3.50 a ton, though front-month contango spreads for both 180-cst and 380-cst grades narrowed from the previous session.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Nghi Son offered 5,000 tons of fuel oil for loading in mid-March. The tender closes on Tuesday.

AMMONIA BUNKERING

MAN Energy Solutions plans to deliver later this year its first-ever engine fuelled by ammonia for installation on a new vessel in Japan and will be ready to offer ammonia-powered engines to its clients after 2027, its chief executive said.

The ammonia-fuelled ship will take a year or two to undergo trials, while fuel supply, bunkering infrastructure and safety standards have to be created, MAN Energy Solutions CEO Uwe Lauber told Reuters.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices ticked up slightly on Monday following the widely expected extension of voluntary output cuts by the OPEC+ producer group on Sunday.

– Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis vowed on Sunday to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of UK-owned vessel Rubymar.

– Authorities of Mexico’s northern border state Nuevo Leon said on Friday they have “closed” the Cadereyta refinery over the refusal of state oil company Pemex to collaborate with environmental inspections.

– Gunvor, one of the world’s largest oil traders, agreed on Friday to pay about $662 million to resolve U.S. and Swiss investigations into a scheme to pay bribes to Ecuadorean officials to win business.

WINDOW TRADES

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: One trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Devika Syamnath)