Marubeni and Sinopec to explore lower-carbon marine fuels

Japan-based Marubeni Corporation has partnered with Chinese oil company Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales, a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), to develop a supply chain for alternative marine fuels.

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Under the agreement, both companies will strengthen their existing collaboration on conventional marine fuels and explore the potential to handle alternative fuels such as biofuel, LNG and methanol, Marubeni said.

Marubeni and Sinopec Fuel Oil have previously collaborated in the marine fuel oil business in 2010 and 2019. Marubeni is the exclusive distributor of the latter’s marine fuels to Japanese shipowners’ vessels calling at major Chinese ports, it said.

Both companies now aim to build a new fuel supply chain by exploring the global market including Asia, while expecting growth in demand for alternative fuels.

Demand for cleaner marine fuels such as biofuels and methanol is “anticipated to grow rapidly in the coming years” because of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new net-zero targets, Marubeni said.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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