BP informed that it is ready to sell a very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap which bans polluting fuels for the shipping industry. The company now aims to retail the new 0.5% sulphur VLSFO worldwide.
As Reuters reports, BP developed a marine fuel offer that includes the new VLSFO, as well as marine gas oil and high sulphur fuel oil for ships that have scrubbers.
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This is the latest development in a series of announcements regarding the availability of VLSFO. Namely, Sinopec’s subsidiary refinery in Singapore’s province of Hainan delivered its first shipment of low-sulphur bunker fuel, complying with upcoming IMO 2020 sulphur cap regulation. Specifically, a ship with 2,200 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel departed the Hainan refinery in late February heading to Ningbo on the east coast.
The Hainan plant is currently the second refinery under Sinopec to produce the low-sulphur fuel, complying with IMO standards. In fact, during January, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Corp shipped 6,000 tonnes of the fuel.
In addition, Hellenic Petroleum, one of Greece’s biggest oil refiners, informed on February 28 that two of its three refineries are already ready to comply with the 2020 sulphur cap. Specifically, its refineries in Elefsina and Thessaloniki have adjusted to the new rules.
As for the third refinery in Aspropyrgos, which produces high sulphur fuel oil, it will comply with the new rules in November, as some tests will take place in the second quarter, Reuters reported.
In addition, the Port of Fujairah announced that a 0.5% sulphur bunker fuel will be available at the port, as early as February 2019 onwards. Namely, Fujairah Refilling Limited has began the manufacturing and production of the first bunker fuel oil with 0.5% sulphur which will be delivered in Fujairah.
