ExxonMobil: HDME 50 is Compatible With MGO

HDME 50 (c) with IFO380 (r) and a 0.50% MGO (l) for comparison

ExxonMobil says that following tests it has determined that its Premium HDME 50 Heavy Distillate Marine Oil is compatible with marine gas oil (MGO) and is Emission Control Areas (ECA) compliant.

"Tests were conducted and no compatibility issues were identified when mixing ExxonMobil Premium HDME 50 and gas oil, either during lab tests or on-board trials," said Iain White, field marketing manager at ExxonMobil, as part of a Q&A session for the supplier's latest issue of its Voyager marine newsletter.

Launched by ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants in July 2014, the oil major described HDME 50 as a "new category of marine fuel" that handles onboard like HFO, but is compliant with the 0.10 percent sulfur cap that took effect in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) from January 1, 2015.

Several other suppliers have since released ECA compliant products, but with no clear ISO8217 specification for the new fuels, their compatibility with each other, and indeed MGO products, has until now been untested.

Last month Ship & Bunker reported that some suppliers in North America said such compatibility concerns were contributing to a slow uptake of the new ECA compliant products as it meant steps such as expensive tank cleaning may be required in order to use them.

While HDME 50's compatibility with MGO will be welcome news for buyers of ExxonMobil's product, White noted that industry best practice is still to keep fuel mix to a minimum.

"Our recommendation and general industry best practice is that fuel from two different sources should never be mixed. If it does happen then it should be at the lowest ratio to avoid compatibility issues," he said.

HDME 50 is currently available in the ARA region from Exxonmobil's Antwerp refinery, and more recently in Hamburg, Germany though ExxonMobil's branded distributor Frommann.

In March 2014, Steve Bee, Global Business Director, Intertek (Lintec) ShipCare Services explained to delegates who had gathered for the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA)'s Shipping 2014 annual conference how mixing two bunker cargos that are perfectly within ISO8217 specification can lead to unusable fuel.