Roslan Khasawneh News

Oil prices surged to seven-year highs on Friday, extending their rally into a seventh week on ongoing worries about supply disruptions fueled by frigid U.S. weather and ongoing political turmoil among major world producers.Brent crude rose $2.16, or 2.4%, to settle at $93.27 a barrel having earlier touched its highest since October 2014 at $93.70.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended $2.04, or 2.3%, higher at $92.31 a barrel after trading as high as $93.17, its highest since September 2014.Brent ended the week 3.6% higher…

The Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) has awarded its ammonia bunkering safety study in Singapore to a DNV-led consortium aimed at accelerating the shipping industry's decarbonization efforts, the Center said in a statement on Wednesday."A precursor to the demonstration of ammonia bunkering in Singapore, the intent of this study is to define a robust set of safety guidelines and operational envelopes that will establish the basis of a regulatory sandbox for trials at two local bunkering sites," the Centre said."We have chosen to commission this study in Singapore; with Singapor

PetroChina International Singapore Pte Ltd climbed three spots to be the top marine fuel supplier in the world's biggest ship refueling hub in 2021 while the overall number of licensed suppliers fell by four to 41, official data showed on Monday.Shell Plc's Singapore bunkering unit, Shell Eastern Trading Pte Ltd, fell from the top ranking in 2020 to third, behind Singapore's Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services Pte Ltd in second place, unchanged from 2020, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore data showed.Vitol Bunkers Pte Ltd…

Singapore authorities have charged two individuals in court for alleged corruption in relation to the trade and supply of marine fuels, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement.Afzal Bin Mohamed Ekbar, a bunker trader at KPI Bridge Oil Singapore Pte Ltd at the time, had allegedly obtained at least $191,000 on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2018 from the director of Straits Bunkering Pte Ltd, Shafiq Bin Nezammuddin, as kickbacks for nominating Straits for the supply of bunker fuel to KPI's customers, the CPIB statement said on Tuesday."Afzal had also allegedly

Singapore LNG Corp is making inquiries about buying LNG cargoes from the spot market, a rare move for the operator of the city-state's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, industry sources said on Wednesday.The inquiries come on the back of surging prices globally of power generation fuels such as LNG and coal, amid power shortages from China and India to Europe.SLNG contributes to Singapore's energy security and its terminal supplies up to 30% of the city state's natural gas demand for power generation…

Singapore-based oil trader Winson Group denied on Tuesday a U.N. Security Council report alleging that it supplied fuel to North Korea in breach of international sanctions."Winson denies, in the strongest possible terms, any and all allegations and/or insinuations that it knowingly facilitated the illicit supply of oil to North Korea in breach of any United Nations Security Council resolutions, and/or that it is a 'key node' in North Korea's procurement of oil or refined petroleum products…

Nine people have been sentenced in Singapore to up to three years in jail for cheating buyers out of $337,000 worth of shipping fuel, authorities said in a joint statement on Thursday.The group was found guilty of using industrial strength magnets to tamper with measuring equipment known as Mass Flow Meter (MFM) on board bunker tankers owned by a unit of marine fuel services provider Southernpec (Singapore) Pte Ltd, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Singapore Police Force and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.The tampering on board bunker tankers Southernpec 6 and Southernpec 7 allowed the group to record a higher volume of sales than what was actually delivered.Investigations revealed that between December 2018 and April 2019…

The global oil tanker market faces another year of low earnings as the coronavirus pandemic and vaccine inequalities disrupt demand and producers limit output of crude, a shipping analyst said on Wednesday.The earnings of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that carry the bulk of crude stand at about $10,000 a day, down from 2020 record highs of more than $240,000, after the pandemic battered demand, creating an oil surplus and a scramble for storage.Despite a patchy recovery in global oil demand and some easing of output cuts…

Oil held above $75 a barrel on Thursday, within sight of a multi-week high hit a day earlier, supported by a big drop in U.S. crude inventories and surging European natural gas prices.U.S. crude inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels last week, more than the 3.5 million-barrel drop analysts expected, with offshore oil facilities still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Ida last month.Brent crude was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $75.31 a barrel by 1128 GMT. On Wednesday, Brent touched $76.13, its highest since July 30. U.S.

China's Sinopec Corp announced on Monday it has completed its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation in Weihai, a major seaport in the eastern Shandong province.The bunkering, or marine refueling, operation transferred 250 tonnes of LNG by truck to a China Merchant Shipping vessel.Sinopec is China's largest supplier of marine fuels.The use of LNG as a marine fuel has been gaining traction amid a global push to reduce the shipping industry's carbon emissions. (Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh, Editing by Louise Heavens)

The Fujairah Oil Terminal is investing an estimated $45 million to upgrade the infrastructure at its storage facilities, betting on a surge in crude trading and storage demand at the United Arab Emirates oil hub, the company's chairman told Reuters.FOT's expansion, financed by a new $280 million debt facility, will connect its terminal to the Port of Fujairah's very large crude carrier (VLCC) loading facility and the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) pipeline, said Steve Bickerton…

Container shipping rates from China to the United States have scaled fresh highs above $20,000 per 40-foot box as rising retailer orders ahead of the peak U.S. shopping season add strain to global supply chains.The acceleration in Delta-variant COVID-19 outbreaks in several counties has slowed global container turnaround rates.Typhoons off China's busy southern coast in late July and this week have also contributed to the crisis gripping the world's most important method for moving…

Singapore's Sunseap Group says it plans to spend $2 billion to build the world's largest floating solar farm and energy storage system in neighboring Indonesian city Batam, which will double its renewable power generation capacity.The floating photovoltaic system is expected to have a capacity of 2.2 gigawatt-peak (GWp), and will be located on the Duriangkang Reservoir in Batam Island spanning around 1,600 hectares, Sunseap said in a statement.The company and Batam Indonesia free zone authority…

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home."We are forgotten and taken for granted," he says of the plight facing tens of thousands of seafarers like him, stranded at sea as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc on shore."People don't know how their supermarkets are stocked up."Singh and most of his 20-strong crew have criss-crossed the globe on an exhausting odyssey: from India to the United States then on to China…

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home."We are forgotten and taken for granted," he says of the plight facing tens of thousands of seafarers like him, stranded at sea as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc on shore."People don't know how their supermarkets are stocked up."Singh and most of his 20-strong crew have criss-crossed the globe on an exhausting odyssey: from India to the United States then on to China…

Hong Kong providers of shipping services are breathing a sigh of relief after authorities announced they would ease strict quarantine restrictions imposed last July on vessels calling at the Asian shipping hub, trade sources said.From Tuesday, crew of non-cargo goods vessels visiting Hong Kong for shipping services, including bunkering and provision supplies, will be exempt from the curbs, subject to conditions, the Marine Department told shipping firms in a letter.“This is a long overdue relaxation as the trade had already demonstrated to the health authority here in Hong Kong that there is n

Exports of gasoline and blend stocks from Asia to the United States rebounded in May from April, including two rare shipments from India, to meet rising summer demand in the west, industry sources and analysts told Reuters.Global gasoline demand growth has shifted back to the United States and Europe, where widespread COVID-19 vaccinations are spurring more travel. In contrast, fuel use in Asia outside China has slowed recently as India, Malaysia and other key fuel markets were hit by lockdowns, prompting traders to send fuel westwards.In May, traders loaded about 3.8 million barrels of gasoline and blending components from Asia, mainly South Korea and India…

Maersk Tankers Singapore Pte Ltd and Scorpio LR2 Pool Ltd have filed separate claims in the Singapore High Court against Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd for failing to fulfil its contractual obligations, court documents show.The filings are the latest fallout in the unravelling of Hin Leong—once one of Asia's top oil traders—which has left creditors scrambling to recoup about $3.5 billion in debt.Hin Leong's collapse has triggered competing claims for cargoes and assets and ensnared…

A tanker carrying around one million barrels of oil products was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, China's Shandong Maritime Safety Administration and tanker representatives said on Tuesday.The collision involving anchored Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony and the Sea Justice took place at 0850 local time (0050 GMT), A Symphony's manager Goodwood Ship Management said in an e-mail."The force of the impact on the forward port side caused a breach in cargo tanks and ballast tanks…

Chinese officials were waiting for better weather before deciding whether to siphon off the remaining cargo from a stricken tanker after hundreds of tonnes of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea after a collision in dense fog two days ago.The size of the spill from the Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony was revised down to about 400 tonnes (2,920 barrels) on Thursday, from the original estimate of 500 tonnes, and one maritime official said it seemed to have been contained.An official at the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration told Reuters the amount of oil on the tanker…

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced two initiatives on Wednesday to reduce the shipping industry's greenhouse gas emissions, including a S$120 million ($90 million) fund for a decarbonization center."Maritime decarbonization is a global challenge requiring a collective responsibility from all stakeholders involved," MPA Chief Executive Quah Ley Hoon said in a statement.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, shipping accounts for nearly 3% of…

Work to siphon off the remaining cargo from a stricken tanker was expected to commence on Friday, the vessel's manager said on Thursday, two days after hundreds of tonnes of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea following a collision in dense fog.The size of the spill from the Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony was revised down to about 400 tonnes (2,920 barrels) on Thursday, from the original estimate of 500 tonnes, and one Chinese maritime official said it seemed to have been contained.A…

The maritime shipping industry will fall short of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions (NZE) by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report.The shipping industry is expected to miss its net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) target "due to a lack of available low-carbon options on the market and the long lifetime of vessels (typically 25 to 35 years)", the IEA in a report on Tuesday.This comes despite a growing stream of pledges and commitments from policymakers and industry stakeholders to achieve zero emissions by 2050 in the global shipping industry.The IEA now expects emissi