Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: Lower feedstock costs weigh on Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO price

Rotterdam B100-LSMGO discount widens

Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO at $87/mt discount to LSMGO

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO price climbs as VLSFO gains

Europe

Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO (POMEME) price has dropped $36/mt in the past week, even as the Dutch port’s conventional VLSFO price has gained $23/mt over the same period.

This has narrowed Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO price premium over conventional VLSFO by $59/mt to $96/mt.

Prima Markets’ ARA UCOME and POMEME barge prices, both indicators of feedstock sourcing costs, have each dropped $57/mt in the past week, to $1,625/mt and $1,695/mt respectively. That leaves UCOME at a $70/mt discount to POMEME.

Lower feedstock costs most probably pressured Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO price.

Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO (POMEME) is priced at $1,360/mt, an $87/mt discount to the port’s conventional LSMGO price.

B100 has been priced at $1,162/mt in Rotterdam today. Rotterdam’s B100 price has fallen by $188/mt over the past month, while its LSMGO price has risen by $77/mt. This has widened B100’s discount to LSMGO from $10/mt to $275/mt.

Pricing B100 for the same energy as a tonne of LSMGO, and including EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) costs and FuelEU Maritime compliance, B100’s discount to LSMGO has widened by $222/mt to $740/mt in the same period for a ship sailing from Rotterdam to another EU port.

The price discounts have increased demand for B100 in the Dutch port, a trader told ENGINE.

Dutch suppliers can generate ZRE A tickets for selling low-carbon fuels, and can trade the tickets with other suppliers. The price of these tickets has dropped from €240/mtCO2e ($269/mtCO2e) last Thursday to €235/mtCO2e ($262/mtCO2e) on Thursday this week.

These ZRE A tickets help lower Rotterdam’s biofuel prices compared with other ports. Belgium has no such mechanism.

In the neighbouring Belgian port of Antwerp, B100 (UCOME) has been priced at $1,973/mt today on an outright basis, down $1/mt on the week. That puts it at an $811/mt premium over Rotterdam’s outright B100 price before EU ETS and FuelEU costs are factored in.

In Portugal’s Aveiro, the B30-LSMGO price has dropped by $33/mt in the past week to $1,527/mt. Its B100 price has fallen by a steeper $92/mt to $1,553/mt.

Asia

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has gained $63/mt in the past week to $1,191/mt, while the port’s conventional VLSFO price has risen $58/mt over the same period.

This has widened Singapore’s B30-VLSFO price premium over conventional VLSFO by $5/mt to $189/mt.

Prima Markets’ price assessment for China UCOME cargo, which is a key feedstock for Singapore’s B30-VLSFO blend, has held at $1,220/mt, unchanged from last week.

Higher conventional VLSFO prices could have supported the blend’s price.

B100 has been priced at $1,534/mt in Singapore today, up $41/mt on the week.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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