Cosmo News

Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corp started commercial operation based on the feed-in tariff program for renewable energy at Akita Port offshore wind farm on Tuesday, it said in a statement.Japan's offshore wind power market, part of the country's goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, is set to grow as the government eyes installingup to 10 GWof offshore wind capacity by 2030, and up to 45 GW by 2040.Marubeni's $768 million project of two wind farms with 140 MW capacity at Akita…

The Scottish Maritime Museum has successfully bid for an 80-year-old bottle of whisky salvaged from one of Scotland’s most famous shipwrecks and the inspiration for the Ealing Studio comedy Whisky Galore!The unlabelled bottle of blended whisky from the 1923 SS Politician, which ran aground off the Isle of Eriskay in 1941, was acquired by the Scottish Maritime Museum with the support of the National Fund for Acquisitions at The Grand Whisky Auction.The rare find will become part…

Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, announced that it has agreed to sell the Star Cosmo, a 2005 built Supramax vessel and the Star Epsilon, a 2001 built Supramax vessel."We expect to deliver both vessels to their new owners by the end of this month (November)," the Greece-based shipping company said in a statement.The proceeds from these sales, after prepayment of the debt related to the two vessels, are expected to be approximately $6.0 million and we expect to incur a non-cash loss of approximately $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.Meanwhile, Star Bulk  completed the installation of 44 scrubber systems…

Japan’s third-largest oil refining company, Cosmo Oil, , has started building stocks of very-low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) for supply to domestic marine fuel markets from next month (October 2019) ahead of the IMO 2020 mandate requiring ships globally to reduce their bunker fuel sulfur content to 0.5% from the current 3.5% from January 2020.Cosmo Oil is using VLSFO produced at its residue desulfurizer (RDS) unit at its Chiba refinery near Tokyo to build the stocks, Cosmo Oil’sPresident Shunichi Tanaka said on Sunday…

Euronav has chartered a tanker to bring a 30,000 tonne cargo of low-sulphur fuel oil from northwest Europe to Malta, where its megatanker, Oceania, has been parked offshore since Jan.

Euronav, one of the largest tanker companies in the world, will deploy one of its two ultra large crude carriers (ULCC) to store cleaner marine fuel ahead of a major regulatory change in 2020, the Belgium-headquartered group said on Friday.From January 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, in one of the biggest changes in the oil market in decades.Only ships fitted…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced funding for three clean diesel projects totaling $4.7 million to reduce air pollution from aging diesel engines in the Mid-Atlantic region.The funding will go to the Maryland Environmental Service (MES), the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association, (MARAMA) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (WashCOG).“Taking steps to reduce emissions from older diesel engines rates among some of the most cost-effective measures we can take to improve the air we all breathe…

Cosmo says considering adding units to process more heavy crude; looking to maximize diesel output at Sakai coker. Japan's Cosmo Oil plans to increase diesel output at its Sakai refinery in Osaka, looking to capitalize on an expected jump in demand when a global mandate for ships to switch to cleaner fuels kicks in from 2020, its top executives said. The company, wholly owned by Cosmo Energy Holdings, is considering adding units such as a desalter that will allow its 100,000-barrels per day crude distillation unit (CDU) to process more heavy oil and maximize diesel output from its delayed coker in Sakai, Cosmo Oil President Hisashi Kobayashi told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event.

Harvey closed nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity; helping to push WTI-Brent spread to widest in two years. Some oil traders in Asia are looking to snap up crude cargoes from the United States after Hurricane Harvey closed U.S. refineries, denting local demand and pushing out the price spread between U.S and Atlantic Basin crude benchmarks. Hurricane Harvey barrelled into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast around 10 days ago, closing nearly a quarter of the nation's refining capacity, although some of that is now coming back online. The closures pushed the prompt-month spread between West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent crude to the widest in two years at nearly $6 a barrel last week, prompting Asian traders to hunt for competitively priced U.S crude.

Japan refiners book US crude cargoes for Sept delivery. Asian demand for crude oil from the Atlantic Basin and the Americas is set to rise as low prices drive Japanese and South Korean buyers to snap up cargoes to arrive ahead of peak winter consumption. Robust appetite from the region could help soak up excess supplies in Europe and the United States, offering some support to benchmark global prices that plumbed 10-month lows last week. The loading of oil shipments from Europe and the Americas to Asia tapered off in June after surging between March and May, but the recent price slump is pushing Asian buyers and traders to once again turn to the North Sea Forties grade of oil and to U.S. crude.

Oil tankers carrying around 10 million barrels of U.S. crude are en route to Asia, according to shipping data and trade sources, as U.S. producers take advantage of favorable prices to ship to the region while OPEC ponders further supply cuts next week. At least eight tankers are in transit, sources said and the shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed, with one of them carrying the first ever cargo of Southern Green Canyon crude purchased by Japanese refiner Cosmo Energy. Another contains the first Alaskan North Slope cargo to arrive in Asia in eight months.

Qatargas, the world's largest LNG producer, announced the commercial start-up of Laffan Refinery 2, marking a major milestone in the expansion of refining capacity in the State of Qatar. The project will refine 146,000 barrels per day of condensate from the North Field, the largest non-associated natural gas reserve in the world. Laffan Refinery 2 produces low Sulfur Euro-V specifications products such as Naphtha, Jet-A1, Ultra low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), Propane and Butane for local and international markets. Alongside Laffan Refinery 1, this new facility is strategically important due to its role in diversifying Qatar’s energy mix, which will double the existing production capacity. Mr.

Mexico's state-run oil company Pemex will increase crude exports to Japan in the coming months after selling several spot cargoes to customers including Cosmo Oil, JX Holdings and TonenGeneral, according to a company source and Thomson Reuters trade flows data. Pemex typically sends around 1 million barrels per month of Maya crude to Cosmo Oil under a supply agreement, but the company recently negotiated additional deliveries, the source said. The cargoes of Maya and Isthmus crudes will arrive in Japan from May through June after loading at Mexico's Dos Bocas and Salina Cruz terminals, according to Thomson Reuters data. Mexico's crude exports have fallen in recent months amid declining oil output.

Phillips 66 actively offering U.S. crude in Asia. Japan will receive a U.S. crude cargo in May, its second such purchase from the United States since Washington lifted a four-decade ban on crude exports, industry sources said on Wednesday. This will follow the arrival in April of Japan's first crude cargo from the United States, bought by Cosmo Oil Co earlier this year, indicating a growing willingness among Asian refiners to experiment with new grades as they seek to diversify their feedstock sources away from the Middle East. The May shipment will be from Phillips 66, said the sources, who did not want to be named as they were not authorised to speak to media. Phillips 66 has sold a Panamax-sized cargo likely to Japan's TonenGeneral, they added. The U.S.

Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil has for the first time shipped U.S. condensate and Mexican crude on the same supertanker to reduce costs, industry sources said on Friday. U.S. condensate exports to Asia have slowed this year after West Texas Intermediate prices strengthened against Dubai crude, the Asian oil benchmark. Asian buyers have also faced high freight costs to ship oil from the Americas as shippers are reluctant to lease out their tankers on such long voyages. To reduce costs, Cosmo Oil is co-loading crude and condensate from the Americas onto a Very Large Crude Carrier which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil. The Japanese refiner chartered the BW Opal, which loaded Mexican crude in early October, according to trade sources and Reuters shipping data. It then sailed to the U.S.

Petchem producers unlikely to buy due to impurities in oil. Big middle distillates yield, less naphtha, LPG; wide variance in API gravities in assays, samples. Tests on samples of the same type of U.S. condensate now heading to South Korea and Japan have raised questions about the ultra-light crude's suitability for use in Asia, sources said, making some potential buyers wary about taking the oil. The uncertainty could delay a rapid build-up in the flow of U.S. condensate to Asia after the arrival of the first exports of U.S. crude in 40 years. Asian refiners and chemical producers will have to first determine the best use for the ultra-light oil before starting to buy in large volumes.

Abu Dhabi Government-owned investment group, International Petroleum Investment Company’s (IPIC) Khalifa Abdulla Al Romaithi, Head of Portfolio Management Division, has taken over chairmanship of Gulf Energy Maritime PJSC (GEM),  from Saeed Abdulla Khoory, Chief Executive officer of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC). Al Romaithi assumes GEM's top post in its Board of Directors, which rotates every three years between IPIC and ENOC. Khoory remains a board member of GEM and will at the same time focus on his increasing role at ENOC.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (Nasdaq: SBLK),a global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, today announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per outstanding share of the Company's common stock for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The dividend is payable on or about June 1, 2011, to shareholders of record as of May 23, 2011. The Company also announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

ATHENS, GREECE, April 7, 2011- Star Bulk Carriers Corp. The Company entered into a time charter agreement with SK Shipping for the vessel Star Cosmo for a period of 11-13 months, at a gross daily rate of $16,500. The new contract will contribute minimum $5.5 million to maximum $6.8 million in gross revenue. The Star Cosmo is a Supramax vessel of 52,247 dwt built in 2005. The Company entered into a time charter agreement with STX Pan Ocean for the vessel Star Ypsilon for a period of 7-9 months, at a gross daily rate of $13,000.

Following the earthquake that struck on Friday 11th March, six Japanese refineries are reportedly closed. The plants in question, detailed in the table belo,have a combined capacity of 1.34m bbl/day, or around 28% of Japan’s total. The immediate effects of the earthquake are likely to cause a drop in oil demand, but it is likely that in the long‐run, oil and product demand could rebound to levels that surpass those seen pre‐quake as the country re‐builds. Furthermor with up to ten nuclear reactors shut down…

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (Nasdaq: SBLK),a global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, today announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per outstanding share of the Company's common stock for the three months ended December 31, 2010. The dividend is payable on or about March 10, 2011, to shareholders of record as of March 4, 2011. The company also announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and for the year ended December 31, 2010. Spyros Capralos, President and CEO of Star Bulk commented: "Our strong fourth quarter 2010 results of $0.38 per share excluding non-cash items were above Street estimates capping a solid financial year for our Company despite the volatile markets.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (Nasdaq: SBLK), a global shipping company focusing on transportation of dry bulk cargoes, announced its operating results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2008. •    The Company reported net income of $35.24 million for the third quarter of 2008 compared to net income of $0.94 million for the third quarter of 2007. •    Voyage and time charter revenues were $65.18 million for the third quarter of 2008. This figure includes revenues of $16.89 million attributable to the amortization of the fair value of below/above market acquired time charters. •    Earnings per share, basic and diluted for the third quarter of 2008 were $0.63 and $0.62, respectively.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has taken delivery of the Star Cosmo, a Supramax bulk carrier of approximately 52,247 dwt, built in 2005. The vessel comes with a staggered 3-year charter to Korea Line that commenced on March 17, 2008, at a gross daily rate of $55,900, $41,900 and $27,900 for the first, second and third year respectively. With the delivery of Star Cosmo, Star Bulk's operational fleet currently consists of twelve dry bulk carriers. In addition, the Company has definitive agreements to acquire one Capesize dry bulk carrier and to sell its oldest vessel, a Panamax dry bulk carrier. The contracted fleet operating days under time charter in 2008, 2009 and 2010 are currently 100%, 84% and 63% respectively.