OW Bunker Continues 20% Growth for 2013

Pedersen said independent bunker suppliers are gaining market share

Global supplier OW Bunker grew at around 20 percent in 2013, continuing the fast expansion it achieved in 2012, sources told industry news site ShippingWatch.

As the company's owner, private equity fund Altor Equity Partners (Altor), moves to sell OW Bunker, the company appears poised to rival World Fuel Services (WFS) as the largest bunker company in the world.

CEO Jim Pedersen declined to comment on the company's growth numbers for 2013 but said its market share is on the rise.

Pedersen said oil majors like Shell and Statoil have refocused on exploration and extraction of oil and gas, opening up the downstream markets, including bunkering, to independent distributors.

"We've achieved a solid growth in recent years, and we'll continue to grow going forward, though probably not on the same scale," he said.

"I think we're seeing a growth that surpasses the market because we're now feeling the effects of the structure we've established throughout the years, with a worldwide network of physical distributors."

Along with big oil companies leaving distribution markets, small distributors have been losing business, leaving the five largest independent oil companies with a market share of 34 percent in the third quarter of 2013, up from 21 percent in 2009.

The share for oil majors fell from 29 percent to 23 percent over that period, and small companies declined from 50 percent to 43 percent.

"I think we'll see an increased consolidation in the market, either through acquisitions or by the major companies growing organically," Pedersen said.

The bunker market is also growing as the global shipping fleet expands, with bunkering customers rising 10 percent from 2012 to 2013, to around 2,900.

Growth has been particularly quick in the U.S. and Asia.

Altor said last month that OW Bunker could be valued at $1 billion and may be sold "in the foreseeable future."