Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: Rotterdam B30-VLSFO price falls modestly

Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO premium over LSMGO widens sharply

Singapore’s bio-bunker sales fall in May

Maersk invests in marine biofuel startups

Europe

Rotterdam's B30-VLSFO (POMEME) price has declined by only $6/mt over the past week. The limited drop contrasts with a $47/mt fall in conventional VLSFO prices.

Prima Markets assessed POMEME barge price has remained unchanged over the week.

While the sharp decline in VLSFO has weighed on the B30 blend price, a largely unchanged POMEME barge price may have helped cushion the fall.

Gibraltar’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has decreased by around $45/mt. A $32/mt fall in the port’s conventional VLSFO price may have put downward pressure on the blend price.

Meanwhile, Lisbon’s B30-VLSFO price has gained around $20/mt in the past week. The Portuguese port’s B30-VLSFO price is now at a $34/mt price premium over Gibraltar’s, flipping from a discount of $31/mt a week ago.

Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO price has dropped $35/mt to $1,078/mt. The port’s conventional LSMGO price has fallen by a much steeper $136/mt.

Consequently, Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO premium over pure LSMGO has widened by $101/mt in a single week, to $217/mt.

Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO price comes at a $255/mt discount to Lisbon’s B30-LSMGO price, which is at $1,333/mt.

The B30-LSMGO price in Greece’s Piraeus is assessed at $1,292/mt, which is a $214/mt price premium over Rotterdam, and a $41/mt price discount to Lisbon.

Asia

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has slumped $98/mt in the last week.

The port’s conventional VLSFO price has dropped more modestly, by $41/mt.

Consequently, the B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO has narrowed by $57/mt during the week.

The Prima-assessed China UCOME cargo price has remained unchanged in the last week. This cargo price is closely connected to Singapore’s biofuel prices as the port is a major importer of Chinese UCOME.

Singapore sold around 1,500 mt/day of bio-bunkers in May, down from around 2,200 mt/day in April, according to the Singapore Maritime & Port Authority’s preliminary data.

Sales of bio-blended bunker fuels fell sharply for a second straight month in May, declining by 29% to their lowest level since January.

Total sales dropped to 48,000 mt, down from 68,000 mt in April, and were 66% lower than the 139,000 mt recorded in the same month last year.

In other biofuel bunker news this week, Maersk Growth, the venture capital arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, has invested in the two biofuel startups Vertoro and Kvasir Technologies. They develop technologies to convert lignin-rich biomass into marine fuels.

Service Terminal Rotterdam (STR) plans to build biofuel storage facilities in the Port of Rotterdam. It will build new storage tanks with a combined capacity of 100,000 cbm, capable of storing biofuels, as well as methanol and ethanol. The facility will be located adjacent to STR’s existing 240,000-cbm fuel oil terminal.

By Nachiket Tekawade

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online