Bunker prices are mostly rangebound amid steady Brent values in the past day, and bunkering remains suspended in Algoa Bay.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($5/mt), and down in Rotterdam ($9/mt) and Durban ($2/mt)
- LSMGO prices down in Rotterdam ($5/mt), Durban ($3/mt) and Gibraltar ($1/mt)
- HSFO prices down in Rotterdam ($9/mt) and Gibraltar ($5/mt)
Swell of up to 3 metres has kept bunkering in Algoa Bay suspended since yesterday, shipping agent Sturrock Grindrod says.
Sturrock Grindrod expects bunkering to resume tomorrow morning and allow bunker suppliers to clear backlogs.
Four vessels have been delayed by the suspension. Two vessels were due to arrive at the bunkering location yesterday, with another five vessels scheduled to arrive today, two tomorrow and four on Sunday.
VLSFO and LSMGO prices in Algoa Bay and the adjacent Port Elizabeth have been at significant premiums over other South African ports since the start of the month.
VLSFO is priced $30-40/mt higher in Port Elizabeth than in Durban, Richards Bay and Cape Town today.
LSMGO is priced $6-13/mt higher in Port Elizabeth than in these ports.
Gibraltar’s bunker queue still counts two vessels this morning, according to port agent MH Bland. Bunker fuels are widely available for prompt deliveries in the Gibraltar Strait region, and calm weather ensures supply is steady.
Las Palmas and Malta have come off and moved down to near parity with those in the Gibraltar Strait.
Malta’s LSMGO price has dropped to a $10/mt discount to Gibraltar, while Las Palmas’ price for the gasoil grade is $10/mt higher than in Gibraltar.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has been steady on the day, only shedding $0.09/bbl to $72.43/bbl at 08.00 GMT.
The futures contract is also broadly unchanged on the week, and is on track for a $0.18/bbl dip.
China announced it will tap into its strategic oil reserves for the first time to stave off inflationary pressure and rein in rising raw material prices for the country’s manufacturers. The oil will be auctioned to domestic refiners, China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said yesterday.
“Releasing from state reserves is not great for sentiment, given that one would expect it to weigh on crude oil import demand,” ING’s strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao commented.
Tight supplies in the US has lent support to Brent this week. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimates that 1.39 million b/d of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut in almost two weeks after producers braced for the impact of Hurricane Ida by evacuating platforms and rigs.
Shell, the biggest producer in the Gulf, declared a force majeure yesterday as it struggles to bring back production to meet supply commitments. 13% of platforms and 36% of rigs have yet to be manned after they were evacuated.
ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge refinery has been granted a second loan for 1.5 million bbls of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). The 520,000 b/d refinery normalised operations yesterday and needs the extra reserves to keep up production levels while resupply remains under pressure, Reuters reports.