On Monday, October 21, French energy major, Total, signed a shareholders’ agreement with Chinese state-owned Zhejiang Energy Group (ZEG) establishing a joint venture company dedicated to the supply and delivery of marine fuels in the region of Zhoushan, China.
The agreement which, follows a memorandum of understanding concluded in April 2019 by Total and ZEG to explore opportunities in the supply and distribution of energy in China, was signed on the sidelines of the IPEC conference in Zhoushan.
Specifically, Total China Investment (TCI) will hold a 49% share in the new company while Zhejiang Zheneng Petroleum New Energy (ZZPNE) will own the remaining majority share. The Zhoushan region covers both Ningbo and Shanghai ports, the busiest shipping hubs in the world in terms of cargo tonnage.
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The creation of this new company establishes the continuity of Total’s business development strategy in China initiated almost 40 years ago.
In a statement, Senior Vice-President Lubricants & Specialties of Total, Philippe Charleux declared that
This new partnership is fully aligned with our strategy to support and supply our shipping customers wherever they go, providing them with low sulphur fuels fully compliant with IMO regulation in China will further contribute to the transition towards a sustainable shipping industry.
In light of the upcoming 2020 sulphur cap regulation and the efforts of the shipping industry to look for compliant fuels, many are the collaborations taking place in search for the ideal fuels.
As such, COSCO Shipping Lines has reached to a low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) supply agreement with Double Rich Limited, which is a subsidiary of China Marine Bunker (Petro China). Double Rich will thus supply COSCO with compliant 0.5% fuel, complying with the upcoming IMO 2020 sulphur cap.
On Thursday, September 19, the Royal Dutch Shell loaded its first cargo of low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) from its Pulau Bukom refining site in Singapore. According to the oil major, it is the first time the company has produced LSFO from its own upstream crude. Specifically, cargo will be blended to a finished product, which will then supply bunker customers, assisting its customers to better-prepare for the implementation of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap.
