Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO discount to Antwerp narrows

Antwerp’s B30-VLSFO price decrease much steeper than Rotterdam

Lisbon’s B30-VLSFO discount to Gibraltar down around $40/mt over the week

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO narrows premium over conventional VLSFO

Europe

Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO (POMEME) price has fallen around $59/mt in the past week. In neighbouring Antwerp, the B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has seen a much steeper $200/mt fall during the same time period.

Conventional VLSFO prices in both ports have slipped around $80-90/mt in the last week. The ceasefire announced in the U.S.-Iran conflict weighed on Brent’s price, pushing down fuel prices across the world.

Prima Markets has assessed ARA POMEME and UCOME barge prices rising around $30/mt in the last week, which may have provided some support to the prices.

In Netherlands, bunker suppliers can generate ZRE (A) tickets for supplying advanced biofuels. The price of these tickets has fallen to €127/mtCO2e from €138/mtCO2e last week.

Belgium does not have such a mechanism, which is why Antwerp’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) blend comes at a significant premium to Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO (POMEME) blend. This premium has narrowed around $140/mt to just around $50/mt this week.

Also, Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO blend price has slipped $63/mt in the last week. Conventional LSMGO price in the port has fallen $45/mt in the same period. LSMGO’s price discount to B30-LSMGO has narrowed by $18/mt to just $81/mt.

Gibraltar’s B30-VLSFO UCOME price has fallen $128/mt, weighed down by an almost similar drop in the port’s conventional VLSFO price.

Bunkering biofuel in both Rotterdam and Gibraltar requires around 7-10 days of lead time, a trader said.

Lisbon’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has decreased less sharply in the last week compared to Gibraltar. This has narrowed its discount to Gibraltar’s B30 blend by around $40/mt to around $100/mt.

Asia

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO price has dropped by $207/mt in the last week, while its conventional fuel price has declined by around $142/mt.

Consequently, the blend’s premium over conventional VLSFO has narrowed by around $65/mt in the last week.

Prima assessed China UCOME barge price, which is closely related to biofuel blend prices in Singapore, has dropped around $35/mt, putting additional pressure.

In the early weeks of the conflict, bunker suppliers in Singapore paused biofuel supplies to take advantage of the high premiums offered by VLSFO sales. As VLSFO prices are now stabilizing, some suppliers are looking to start biofuel supplies again, a trader said.

In other biofuel news this week, Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and bunker supplier Shell Trading Rotterdam have partnered for a pilot allowing emissions savings from Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) bunkered on third-party ships to be transferred via book-and-claim certificates.

Separately, fuel quality testing company VPS said this week that it has seen an increase in the use of B100 FAME usage, as a surge in price of conventional marine distillates has reduced the pricing gap between B100 FAME and distillates. 

The firm noted that even though B100's nominal price per metric tonne remains slightly higher than distillates, the effective cost per voyage is now materially lower or near parity, citing benefits offered to ships for bunkering low-emission fuels under the FuelEU Maritime legislation. 

By Nachiket Tekawade

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