Fuel Oil Imports News

Imports of fuel oil bound for the U.S. Gulf Coast fell to a five-year low last month as refiners ran more cheap, heavy Canadian crude and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pressured fuel oil flows.Fuel oil deliveries to the Gulf Coast dwindled in February to just 318,000 barrels per day (bpd), a 20% drop from the prior month and marking their lowest level since February 2019, data from tanker tracking firm, Kpler showed.Heavy fuel oil feedstocks like high sulfur fuel oil…

U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil.Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year's increase comes as the Biden administration is calling on for refiners to ramp up output and shave profit margins to ease soaring prices. The administration has asked for a parley to explore further efforts.Heavy crudes are cheaper than lighter shale oils produced in the United States and typically make more diesel and less gasoline.

China's exports of marine fuel in March plunged 15% from a year ago, customs data showed on Wednesday, hit by high prices and COVID-19 curbs at domestic ports.March shipments were 1.42 million tonnes, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. Most of this was very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5%, to meet the emission rules of the International Maritime Organization.The volume was up from 1.31 million tonnes in February but was…

Tanker shipping was in many ways the odd one out of the shipping sectors in 2020; at the start of the pandemic, the market was strong, only to finish off the year in the doldrums, while the other sectors stayed profitable. Even a demand boost in December only managed to lift earnings slightly, raising the question, what will it take for tankers to return to profitability?In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic being declared, tanker shipping appeared immune, but it too has suffered from lockdowns and travel restrictions.

China's exports of clean marine fuels rose in December to a record since shipments began a year ago, taking 2020 exports of the ship fuel to 15.45 million tonnes, customs data showed on January 20, 2021.Chinese oil refineries began exporting very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in January to comply with emission rules set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), after Beijing granted tax incentives to boost production and help create a regional bunkering hub. In December…

The United States is taking advantage of record-low prices of one of the world's dirtiest fuels by buying record volumes, which it intends to upgrade into cleaner products before new shipping rules take effect, trading and analyst sources say.U.S. trade sources said it recently had become economical to ship fuel oil from countries such as Russia, boosting imports of the product into the United States.This comes even as prices for high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) on the U.S. Gulf Coast…

The Japanese refining industry has been experiencing challenging circumstances for a number of years, with significant rationalisation of refining capacity, according to Weekly Tanker Market Report by Gibson Shipbrokers. Reform in the Japanese refining sector is not a particularly new story; however, in March 2017, a government directive will come into effect, forcing refiners to further boost efficiency, whilst enhancing output of higher value clean products such as diesel and jet fuel. The latest directive is not the first introduced by the government and nor would it appear to be the final phase of the industry restructuring, with further directives potentially announced later this year.

The U.S. will become more dependent on tanker-borne petroleum imports in coming years, coinciding with a ship shortage which will push freight costs sharply higher, energy and tanker analysts said on Wednesday. "Products imports are playing a bigger swing role in the U.S. than ever before," Paul Horsnell of Oxford Institute of Energy Studies said. "They're becoming a structural feature of the U.S. Horsnell told members of the tanker owners' organization Intertanko, which met in Sydney this week, that each year was now expected to bring a fourth quarter surge in demand for fuel oil imports -- a trade usually served by Panamax 50,000 tonrs. U.S. demand for gasoline imports would surge each spring. Intertanko research head Erik Ranheim said U.S.

A crucial Caribbean tanker fleet re-entered the market this week, having been held back for over a month because of a dispute between its owner, Pegasus Shipping, and junk-bond creditors in New York. U.S. brokers said the fleet's return would add surplus tonnage to a market that is already cooling, and would put further downward pressure on freight rates. Fuel oil freight stood at around $1.65 per barrel for 50,000 ton upcoast cargoes on Friday (April 27), compared to about $1.90 per barrel in mid-March, brokers said. Pegasus said the two time-charters and five spot fixtures so far completed were all done at market rate. Chairman Nicos Peraticos has resumed negotiations with bondholders and hopes to complete a buy-back of the $150 million Pegasus debt in June, a spokesman in London said.