Americas News
Rapid Shift for North American Bunker Market: OW Bunker
Regulatory changes, increased shale oil production in the U.S. and the widening of the Panama Canal will shake up the bunker market in North America in coming years, OW Bunker said in an emailed statement.
"Over the next few years we will see shifting dynamics in North America, in addition to other global economic and regulatory influences, which we already anticipate will impact the bunkering market," said Adrian Tolson, general manager of OW Bunker North America.
The lowering of the limit on sulfur in marine fuels within the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) in 2015 will increase operating expenses for ships, create supply challenges, and promote the use of distillates, Tolson said.
"In conjunction with this, the increase in US shale oil reserves, which is likely to create energy independence in the region by 2020, will act as a catalyst for a decline in fuel oil production along the US Gulf Coast, due to the lighter nature of shale crudes," he added.
The widening of the Panama Canal is likely to increase local bunker consumption, but may also result in fewer transits.
"This could impact the volume of canal bunkering, a significant amount of which is draft-dependent, as well as time-dependent," Tolson said.
At the same time, the dredging of ports along North America's East coast to allow for larger vessels could push some bunker activity from Panama to those ports, while also reducing land and rail transhipments from the U.S. West Coast.
"It is a dynamically shifting market," Tolson said.
"However, we firmly believe that with this change, there are also significant opportunities.
"Our focus is on ensuring our North American business is well positioned to respond to these new dynamics, and to work in collaboration with our customers to ensure that their operations are as efficient and profitable as possible."
OW Bunker promoted Tolson to regional manager for North America earlier this month, saying it is expanding its operations in the region with a hiring push.
