Asia Fuel Oil-VLSFO premium slides on selling interest

Asia’s cash premium for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) fell on Monday as more selling interest emerged on the window, while spot bids were absent.

The 0.5% VLSFO cash premium eased to $3 a metric ton, though October crack climbed from the previous session to a premium of $8.26 a barrel at 0830 GMT.

Meanwhile, high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) was little changed on thin trading.

The 380-cst HSFO cash premium FO380-SIN-DIF was pegged at $11.89 a ton, while October crack FO380DUBCKMc1 eased to a discount of $9.54 a barrel.

BUNKER UPDATES

– Maersk and Equinor have signed an agreement to secure green methanol supply for Maersk’s new methanol-enabled feeder vessel, during its initial months of operations between Sept. 2023 and into the second half of 2024, Maersk said on Friday.

– Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Shell Marine Products Singapore have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly conduct trials on bio- and synthetic fuel options for shipping, MOL said on Friday.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices eased on Monday as a stronger U.S. dollar and economic concerns in China weighed on the outlook for fuel demand, but extended supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia kept Brent above $90 a barrel.

– Chevron Australia no longer expects to reach a deal with unions and will instead pursue an untested legal strategy to stop industrial action at its Gorgon and Wheatstone liquefied natural gas facilities as unions prepare for full scale strikes.

– Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has received orders from Kazakhstan for 2024 to deliver oil through the Druzhba pipeline, the firm’s deputy head Sergei Andronov told the TASS state news agency on Monday.

– The fire-damaged, gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker at Marathon Petroleum’s 593,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, is expected to be shut until late next week, said people familiar with plant operations on Friday.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Maju Samuel)