ExxonMobil: Bunker Markets Will Become Much More Complex and Fragmented

Iain White, field marketing manager, ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants

Driven by a need for operators to comply with emission control regulations, the marine fuel market is set to become more complex with many different bunker products becoming available, Iain White, field marketing manager at ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants, has told Ship & Bunker.

"We're at the beginning of a significant phase of change," said White.

"Going forward there will be a much more complex and fragmented market than there has been in the past."

In July, ExxonMobil launched Premium Heavy Distillate Marine ECA 50 (HDME 50), describing it as a "new category" of marine fuel that handles onboard like HFO, but is compliant with the 0.10 percent sulfur limit for marine fuel that takes effect in Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) from January 1, 2015.

While HDME 50 is exclusive to ExxonMobil, in August Russian oil giant Lukoil launched what it described as a "new grade" of ECA compliant marine fuel, "fuel marine environmental" (TSE), said to be most similar to DMA, but with a higher viscosity and improved lubricity.

Also in August, CEPSA launched a 0.10 percent sulfur distillate product designed for compliance with the 2015 ECA rules, and other players have told Ship & Bunker they too are looking to follow suit.

"Going forwards the marine market will see a number of different products that will meet the 0.10 percent requirement. We will see many different products that are manufactured in different ways and perform in different ways," said White.

"Some will be MGO, some will be new category products. It's going to get much more complex, and there's no sign of that changing."

White also noted that the ECA rules would also drive operators to look to other methods of compliance.

"I'd expect the use of abatement technology to pick up, and there's a lot of talk about LNG [liquified natural gas] even though right now there's not much in use," he said.

"Meeting the ECA demand is as much of an opportunity as it is a challenge, and these are all valid alternatives for an owner."

Last week White told Ship and Bunker its HDME 50 product was attracting significant global interest.