Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: UCOME price paths diverge across regions
UCOME prices climb in the ARA, stall in Singapore
Dutch HBE rebates for B30 and B100 rise sharply
Chinese UCOME demand ‘very weak to poor’
Rotterdam
Rotterdam’s HBE-rebated B30-VLSFO has gained $11/mt, while B30-LSMGO has slipped by $2/mt in the past week.
Prima Markets’ POMEME CIF ARA barge benchmark has surged $42/mt higher, adding strong upward pressure to Rotterdam's B30-VLSFO price. That impact has partly been offset by a $9/mt rise in the HBE rebate for B30 marine biofuels and $4–17/mt declines in ENGINE’s pure VLSFO and LSMGO prices.
The HBE rebate for B100 has increased by $29/mt, which can weigh on B100 bunker prices in Dutch ports.
ARA UCOME-based B30-VLSFO and B30-LSMGO prices have risen by $6–19/mt, supported mainly by a $42/mt jump in Prima’s UCOME FOB ARA barge price. One supplier said it requires a minimum volume of 150 mt of pure UCOME, while two others have set minimum volumes at around 400 mt for B30 blends.
Gibraltar’s B30-VLSFO UCOME was indicated at $831/mt earlier this week, which was an $8/mt premium over the ARA’s on the same day.
One supplier has indicated B30-LSMGO in New York at $949/mt, excluding barging costs. This was priced around $14/mt higher than the ARA’s delivered B30-LSMGO UCOME benchmark on the day.
Singapore
B24-VLSFO UCOME has risen by $8/mt in Singapore, while B24-LSMGO UCOME has edged up by $1/mt.
Prima’s UCOME FOB China cargo benchmark has remained unchanged over the past week, which the price reporting agency has attributed to muted demand. Local traders in China told Prima that they are “not offering UCOME currently and were instead waiting for bids from the buy side” amid what they described as “very weak” demand.
One trader simply labelled it “poor,” Prima added.
Singapore’s pure VLSFO benchmark has also remained unchanged over the week, while its LSMGO grade has inched $2/mt higher.
A slight $1.50/mt increase in freight for UCOME shipped from China to Singapore has added slight upward pressure on prices.
Other bio-bunker news
Danish shipping company Norden sees biofuels as a long-term business opportunity for shipping, even as it currently finds biofuel bunkering “quite challenging” on a global scale.
British energy firm Greenergy has secured a 10-year lease extension with the Port of Amsterdam for its biofuels production plant. Greenergy said the lease extension reflects rising demand for low- and zero-emission potential fuels in the Netherlands, supported by the Dutch government’s “clear” policy measures to increase biofuel use.
By Konica Bhatt
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