Idemitsu Kosan News

A Chinese research vessel flanked by coast guard and nearly a dozen boats on Wednesday entered a gas block operated by Russian and Vietnamese state firms, two monitoring groups said, another potential flashpoint in the South China Sea.It follows a pattern of assertive moves of late by Beijing in its neighbors' exclusive economic zones (EEZ), as it presses its claim to sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, testing the United States and its allies at a time of heightened regional tension.Strong relations between Russia and China are a major factor supporting global stability…

At least four supertankers are waiting to load Murban crude off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates a week after floods shut operations at the oil hub, according to trade sources and shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon.Last Thursday, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said it had shut down its operations at Fujairah terminal due to "exceptional rainfall".The company had said it would divert Fujairah terminal oil lifting to the Jebel Dhanna terminal which can handle Murban shipments.However, supertankers are still waiting off Fujairah and it remains unclear when loading will resume, according to the sources and Refinitiv data.Two…

A group of Japanese partner companies have signed onto a project initiated by Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd. to build the world's first zero-emission, fully electric-propulsion bunker supply vessel.The so-called e5 Consortium, including Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd., Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., Exeno Yamamizu Corporation, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd., Tokyo Electric Power Company, and Mitsubishi Corporation, say they will work toward developing, realizing and commercializing zero-emission electric vessels.

At SK Energy's largest refinery in South Korea, engineers are rushing to complete a new processing unit ahead of schedule as the firm looks to boost sales of low-emission fuels before new marine fuel standards take effect in just one month.In Japan, the country's second-biggest refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co is taking a more cautious stance, increasing capacity for low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO), but also relying on blending to produce IMO 2020 compliant bunker fuel.The different approaches…

Malaysian shipping group MISC Berhad (MISC) has received a time charter contract from Idemitsu Kosan (IKC) for the provision of a floating, storage and offloading (FSO) vessel in Vietnam.The energy-related maritime solutions and services provider said in a press release that the contract that it received through its 51%-owned joint-venture with PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) i.e. Malaysia Vietnam Offshore Terminal (L) Limited (MVOT), represents the expansion of MISC’s footprint as a leading player in providing offshore solutions in the ASEAN region.MISC has close to 10 years of experience in Vietnam’s offshore development in a joint venture partnership with PTSC and currently operates two floating assets…

High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), essentially the leftovers of an oil refiner's output, will still flow from refineries around the world even after new rules start up in 2020 curtailing its use in the global shipping fleet, a Reuters survey showed.Sixty percent of the 33 refineries contacted by Reuters in a global survey will still produce HSFO in 2020 although the supply will tighten as 70 percent of these refiners plan to reduce their output.Starting that year, ships will have to use marine fuel…

Two VLCCs co-load Qatari, Abu Dhabi grades; impact of shipping restriction less severe than expected. Exports of Qatari crude oil have not been hindered by a port ban imposed by other Gulf states as tankers are loading Qatari grades along with cargoes from the United Arab Emirate, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed on Wednesday. Two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), which can each carry up to 2 million barrels of oil, successfully loaded Abu Dhabi grades on Wednesday, despite having taken on Qatari crude in an earlier leg of the voyage, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed on Wednesday. The loadings come amid Abu Dhabi's easing of restrictions on oil cargoes going to or coming from Qatar, according to a shipping circular seen by Reuters.

Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd., NYK Trading Corporation and NYK Line  have executed a joint development agreement for a new model of ULTY that integrates NYK Trading’s optimization system for coal boilers with Idemitsu’s highly efficiency combustion technique. Fluctuations in fuel supply often cause boilers used in power plants and factories to operate in an unstable manner. ULTY is a system that can optimize the combustion control of boilers and resultantly reduce fuel consumption through stable plant operation. Until now, the marketing of ULTY had been managed by NYK Trading, and the main targets had mostly been customers in Japan. Considering the surge in the construction of new coal fired power plants in Asian countries…

Brent crude futures hovered above $97 a barrel on Tuesday, aided by firm U.S. and Chinese data, but the oil benchmark was on track for its deepest quarterly drop in more than two years on plentiful supplies. * Underpinned by firm U.S. $115.71 in June as investors focused on a well supplied market, although it has regained some footing since touching a 26-month trough last week. Monday's upbeat U.S. consumer spending data for August added to signs of strength in the world's top economy, aiding oil prices. "Although economic data from Europe and other regions have been sluggish, U.S. economic indicators, such as the upward revision of its gross domestic product data, have been firm," said Hiroki Kakuno, analyst at Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan.