Oil Prices News

Ship Fuel: Singapore Bunker Volumes Dip, 2019 Uncertain

Sales of marine fuels in Singapore, the world's biggest ship fueling port by volume, totaled 49.8 million tonnes in 2018, down 2 percentfrom a record the year before, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Monday.December sales volumes of marine fuels, also known as bunkers, reached an 11-month high of 4.308 million tonnes, up 10 percent from November and the second-highest for the year, the data showed.The strong month helped lift Singapore's 2018 marine fuel sales figures to the second highest on record…

China-U.S. Trade Talks a Tonic to Battered Markets

World stock markets rallied on Friday after Beijing announced a new round of trade talks with Washington, though recession fears still had markets betting the next move in U.S. interest rates might be down.News that the United States and China would hold vice-ministerial level talks on Monday and Tuesday to resolve a trade dispute bought some respite to battered markets, with MSCI's world stock index up a third of a percent and U.S. stock futures around 1 percent firmer ."We're not expecting a major breakthrough on Jan.

Shipping Ponders the Ultimate Cost of ‘Green’

Low sulphur fuels, scrubbers, LNG and other solutions are all part of the mix. Handicapping the impact of any of these options for the bottom line is anything but easy. Getting greener is not the problem; determining the best way to get there is quite another.By any measure, the business of running vessels will not be the same after January 1, 2020, when the present 3.5% limit on sulfur content will ratchet downward to 0.5%. With the implementation date for the changes, enacted…

Diesel-Loaded Tankers Stranded off Asia as Demand Wanes

Several tankers carrying diesel fuel are floating off Taiwan and Southeast Asian waters as a steep fall in oil prices kept buyers at bay, trade and shipping sources said on Friday, helping push rates to their highest since January 2016.With tanker rates also boosted by strong Chinese oil exports, it was a big relief for an industry that has been in the doldrums for the past three years.About seven to nine long-range tankers carrying about 5 to 7 million barrels of diesel are currently floating off Taiwan waters largely due to a drop in bunker fuel demand from the South China Sea…

The Tipping Point: U.S. Exports more Oil than it Imports

The United States last week exported more crude oil and fuel than it imported for the first time on record, underscoring the nation's growing influence as a supplier of oil to the world.Exports of crude surged in the week to Nov. 30 to more than 3.2 million barrels per day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.When adding in all imports and exports of crude and refined products, for the week the U.S. exported a net 211,000 bpd – the first time that has happened, according to U.S.

Hyundai Merchant Marine Loss Grows in Q3

South Korea's largest shipping firm by sales Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) said that its operating loss in the third quarter increased to 123.1 billion won (US$108.65 million) from 29.5 billion won in the same period last year.According to the company, the net loss widened due to unfavorable market conditions and high fuel costs.According to Yonhap, the net loss reached 166.7 billion won (US$146.7 million) in the July-September period, compared with a net loss of 60.3 billion won during the same period last year."Bunker fuel prices reached $445 per metric ton in the third quarter…

Maersk Warns Trade War Will Impact Box Shipping

Top U.S. importers are stocking up on Chinese goods before new import tariffs take effect, shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Wednesday, but warned a trade war would hit demand for container shipping in the coming years.Maersk's data indicated that imports into the United States from China had grown 5 to 10 percent year-on-year in the third quarter as companies such as Walmart and Home Depot built up inventories to avoid new import tariffs, Chief Executive Soren Skou said."The irony is that after (U.S.

Low EU River Stir Fuel Markets in Singapore

Rhine water levels hit record lows in October; river is a key fuel transport hub for Europe.Low water levels on the Rhine river have caused a fuel supply deficit in parts of Europe's industrial heartlands that is sucking up cargoes from more than 10,000 km away in Singapore.Following a long, scorching summer, water levels on the Rhine - a key commodity shipping lane connecting industrial centres in Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands to major seaports - fell to record lows…

Fitch Warns: Shippers' Costs and Capex may Increase

More stringent fuel regulations regarding sulphur content could significantly increase global shipping companies' operating costs and capex needs, says Fitch Ratings in a new report."This may negatively affect their credit quality unless they manage to pass these costs to customers. Many shipping companies have started implementing fuel surcharges to recover costs associated with the new sulphur cap regulation, but their ability to sustain these will depend on market fundamentals…

SembMarine Sinks into USD 21.75 mln Loss in 3Q

Singapore-based rig builder Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) has reported a loss of S$30 million (US$21.75 million) in the third quarter of the year amid lower revenues and reduced activity. For the nine months to September 30, 2018 the loss is $80.1 million, compared to restated earnings of $142.9 million in the same period previous year.According to a stock exchange annoucement from the Asian company based in Singapore, the net loss for both 3Q and 9M periods were mainly due to…

Moore Stephens: Ship Operating Costs to Rise in 2018, 2019

International accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens says total vessel operating costs in the shipping industry are expected to rise by 2.7% in 2018 and by 3.1% in 2019, according to our latest survey.Responses to the firm’s latest annual Future Operating Costs Survey revealed that drydocking is the cost category likely to increase most significantly in both 2018 and 2019, accompanied in the latter case by repairs and maintenance. The cost of drydocking is expected to increase by 2.1% in 2018 and by 2.3% in 2019…

LNG Shipping Rates Double Since End-August

Headline rates for shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Pacific and Atlantic basins stand at around $140,000 to $150,000 a day for a 160,000 cubic meter LNG tri-fuel diesel electric (TFDE) vessel, brokers say.That is a 6-year high and compares to Atlantic basin rates of $75,000 at the end of August and around $95,000 at the end of September.Rates have jumped due to supply from new plants, longer distances traveled and anticipation of higher prices prompting shippers to lock in longer-duration contracts."Charterers continue to lock in multi-month contracts ahead of the winter and we continue

Saudi Arabia Halts Red Sea Oil Exports after Tanker Attacks

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was suspending oil shipments through a strategic Red Sea lane after Yemen's Iran-aligned rebels attacked two tankers in the waterway, underscoring the risk of an escalation in tensions in the region.Brent crude futures rose 59 cents to $74.52 a barrel by 1008 GMT, extending their rally into a third day but falling from a 10-day high in earlier trading.Saudi Arabia and arch-foe Iran have been locked in a three-year proxy war in Yemen, which lies on one side of the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern mouth of the sea…

Hapag-Lloyd Deepens Cost Cut Drive after H1 Loss Widens

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said it accelerated cost cuts in the first half of 2018 to offset higher operational costs from fuel costs, charter rates and a slow recovery in freight rates."We have implemented additional measures to recover these costs: we are critically reviewing the economic viability of our ship systems and are further optimising our terminal contracts," Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said.Its shares rose 2.6 percent in early trades.Freight rates fell 45 percent, causing Hapag-Lloyd's first half net loss to widen by 58 percent to 100.9 million euros ($115.7 millio

Oil Could Rise to $100 by 2019

Oil prices could rise towards $100 per barrel towards the end of the year or by early 2019 as sanctions against Iran bite, commodity merchants Trafigura and Mercuria said on Monday at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) in Singapore.Almost 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude could be taken out of the market as a result of the U.S. sanctions against Iran by the end of the fourth quarter this year, said Daniel Jaeggi, president of commodity merchant Mercuria Energy Trading…

Shipping Confidence Slips on Geopolitical Fears

Shipping confidence dipped very slightly in the three months to end-August 2018, according to the latest Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Moore Stephens' Richard Greiner weighs in:The average confidence level expressed by respondents was down to 6.3 out of a maximum possible score of 10.0, this compared to the four-year-high of 6.4 recorded in May 2018. Confidence on the part of owners, however, was up from 6.6 to 6.8, equalling the highest level achieved by this category of respondent when the survey was launched in May 2008…

Hapag-Lloyd AG: Bunker Costs Rise, Earnings Sink

Maritime companies under market pressure have another negative force with which to deal: Steadily rising bunnker costs in tandem with oil's nearly year-long rise. According to Moody's, Hapag-Lloyd on June 29 revised its outlook for EBIT and EBITDA closer to the actual results for 2017 whereas previously the company expected both of those measures to increase. While Moody's noted that the weaker operating performance is a credit negative, the ratings for Hapag-Lloyd are unaffected.Hapag-Lloyd now expects to generate a full-year EBITDA in the range of €900 - €1…

Hapag-Lloyd Cutting Costs as Fuel Prices Rise

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is cutting costs to cope with a rise in fuel prices that led it to slash full year earnings forecasts last month, its chief executive told shareholders on Tuesday."Major cost positions have risen more than initially expected and are pressuring operating margins," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in Hamburg."We are responding short-term to this development through forceful cost management and will keep Hapag-Lloyd competitive this way," he added.Among the measures being taken are accepting more valuable cargo…

Oil Prices Dip as Markets Eye Potential Supply Increases

Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about supply disruptions eased and Libyan ports resumed export activities, while traders eyed potential supply increases by Russia and other oil producers.Brent crude futures were down 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $75.07 a barrel at 0057 GMT.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $70.74 a barrel.Supply outages in Libya and strike action in Norway and Iraq pushed oil prices higher late last week, although prices still ended down for a second straight week."Crude oil prices fell as fears of supply disruptions eased.

The Digitalization of Tanker Logistics

The tanker business carefully dips its toes into the digital chartering, analytics and big (data) pond. It is a work in progress.Like every other business, raw materials, refined products and petrochemicals, are undergoing unprecedented waves of digitalization. However, shipping is one linkage, albeit an important one, within the much bigger supply chains for crude oil and products. But cargo is king, raising an important question: Will future efforts to link ship chartering, and ship brokerage…

New Fuel Rules Push Shipowners to Go Green with LNG

Tough new rules on marine fuel are forcing shipowners to explore liquefied natural gas as a cleaner alternative and ports such as Gibraltar are preparing to offer upgraded refueling facilities in the shipping industry's biggest shake-up in decades.From 2020, International Maritime Organization rules will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, unless they are equipped to clean up sulphur emissions. This will be enforced…

5000th Ship Installed Inmarsat Fleet Xpress

The 5,000th ship installation of Inmarsat Fleet Xpress, the world’s only high-speed, globally-available Ka-band VSAT service designed for mobility and available from a single operator, is set to be completed by the close of the month.Following its launch in March 2016, Fleet Xpress has emerged as the market-leading pathway to digital transformation as shipping companies seek to deliver improved vessel and fleet efficiency, boost profitability and enhance seafarer wellbeing.The latest data compiled by the respected…

Oil And Gas CEO: New Tech Creates Opportunity

Data from KPMG’s 2018 Oil and Gas CEO Outlook, released Oct. 10, reveals that globally, almost all oil and gas CEOs believe new technology creates opportunities. Eighty-five percent are piloting or have already implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI).However, only 59 percent feel their organization is an active disruptor in their own sector, and 57 percent feel that the lead times to achieve significant progress on transformation can be overwhelming"Technology is disrupting the status quo in the oil and gas industry.

Moore Stephens: Ship Operating Costs Decline Again

International accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens says total annual operating costs in the shipping industry fell by 1.3% in 2017. This compares with the 1.1% average fall in costs recorded for 2016. For the third successive year, all categories of expenditure in 2017 were down on those for the previous 12-month period, most notably for insurance costs and stores.The findings are set out in OpCost 2018 (www.opcostonline.com), Moore Stephens’ unique ship operating costs benchmarking tool…

White House Escalates China Trade Dispute in hopes for Early Solution: Kemp

The United States has adopted an "escalate to negotiate" strategy towards China, threatening a dramatic hike in tariffs to try to force a resumption of trade talks while the U.S. economy remains strong and as elections approach in November.U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected a plan to levy tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of imports from China and ordered aides to prepare a proposal for tariffs at the higher rate of 25 percent.The levies are…

Canada Should Bring in Stronger Rail Cars for Crude Before 2025 - official

Canada ought to require stronger tank cars for transporting flammable liquids sooner than the current deadline in 2025, Transportation Safety Board Chair Kathy Fox said on Thursday, noting that crude-by-rail shipments are expected to rise in the country."We understand that it can't happen all at once. But we'd like to see it sooner," Fox said in an interview, without giving a specific alternative date. "We do have an ongoing concern that flammable liquids be transported in the…