Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Fuel Oil Imports Grow Alongside Weakening European Demand
The first nine months of 2016 saw Singapore's onshore fuel oil stocks reach more than 4.1 million tonnes - a two-year high, IHS Fairplay reports.
Italy-based shipbroker Banchero Costa says Singapore's fuel oil imports increased 9 percent year on year during the period.
The increase is said to have been supported by decreased demand in Northern Europe, prompting Russia, the world's largest fuel oil producer and exporter, to divert more fuel oil cargoes to Singapore.
Singapore, as both by far the world's largest bunkering port and largest importer of fuel oil, accounted for more than one-third of all global fuel oil imports in 2015.
Fuel oil imports to Europe are noted to have declined due to tightening emissions regulations implemented in recent years, while Singapore's fuel oil imports have increased by an average of 7.8 percent each year over last ten years.
Meanwhile, it is noted that Singapore's own exports of fuel oil have also increased by an average of 5.6 percent each year in that same decade.
Europe is not the only area seeing reduced fuel oil demand; yesterday Ship & Bunker reported that data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that U.S. residual marine bunker sales in 2015 decreased by 12.7 percent year on year.
