ARA’s UCOME price plunges over $100/mt

Rotterdam bio-bunker sales recover from slump

Singapore bio-bunker sales reach new highs in June

Rotterdam

B30-VLSFO (HBE) and B30-LSMGO (HBE) prices in Rotterdam have dropped by $42/mt and $41/mt, respectively, over the past week.

The Prima-assessed POMEME CIF ARA barge price has plunged by $107/mt over the past week, heavily weighing on the benchmarks. But the overall decline has been softened by a much smaller $8–9/mt drop in pure LSMGO and VLSFO prices.

Prima’s POMEME assessment has mirrored the $107/mt drop in the UCOME FOB ARA barge benchmark. UCOME-based B30-VLSFO and B30-LSMGO prices in the ARA region have fallen by $38/mt.

The sharp drop in the Prima-assessed UCOME FOB ARA price over the past week has been mainly driven by weaker gasoil price, which makes up nearly half of UCOME’s flat price, Ulrich Arnheiter, market analyst at Prima told ENGINE.

UCOME prices remain highly sensitive to gasoil volatility due to low trading activity.

Demand is weak, with some UCOME producers operating at reduced capacity or idle due to poor margins, Arnheiter said.

At the same time, some of the major European producers are opting to meet FuelEU Maritime mandates using their own hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) supply instead of buying UCOME, partly because HVO comes with “much less stringent blending schedules." he added.

This growing competition from HVO is preventing the reduced UCOME supply from pushing prices higher.

Suppliers in Rotterdam delivered a total of 171,000 mt of bio-bunker fuels in the second quarter of this year, a 56% gain from the first quarter. Bio-VLSFO sales accounted for the largest share, at 68,000 mt.

Singapore

B24-VLSFO (UCOME) and B24-LSMGO (UCOME) prices in Singapore have declined by $10–11/mt over the past week, driven by falling conventional fuel benchmarks and weaker feedstock prices.

ENGINE’s pure VLSFO benchmark has dropped by $8/mt, while LSMGO has decreased by $7/mt. Prima’s UCOME China FOB cargo price has registered a steeper $15/mt decline.

ENGINE’s freight estimate for UCOME shipments from China to Singapore has declined by $1.50/mt.

Singapore’s total bio-blended bunker sales surged by 12% in June, reaching 155,000 mt, surpassing March's peak of 146,000 mt. The port’s bio-VLSFO sales have gone up from 96,000 mt to 114,000 mt in June, according to preliminary figures from the port authority.

Other bio-bunker news

Bunker fuel supplier Chimbusco Pan Nation (CPN) has delivered an unspecified quantity of B30-MGO biofuel blend to an Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL)-operated containership in Hong Kong. A B30-HSFO blend was also delivered simultaneously with the B30-MGO delivery.

Dutch bunker supplier Burando Atlantic Group is repurposing its Amsterdam terminal to store around 30,000 cbm of biofuel across eight tanks. The upgrade will give Burando full flexibility to blend biofuels with fossil fuels in any ratio, the firm said.

By Konica Bhatt

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