Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Bunker Supplier Count Falls to 44 on Brightoil Exit
The number of licensed bunker suppliers in Singapore has fallen for the third time in as many months, with Brightoil Petroleum (Singapore) Pte Ltd finally dropping off the list.
The company's entire fleet on bunker tankers were arrested at the end of 2018 and subsequently sold off at auction, leaving its marine fuel business effectively at a standstill.
Just 44 bunker suppliers are now registered at the world's largest marine fuels hub, according to a list published by Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) Wednesday, compared with 55 at the start of 2019.
The MPA had 80 suppliers on its ranking list for 2010.
But the number may be set to climb again later this year, with news agency Reuters reporting Mercuria, Trafigura and GP Global and two unnamed China-based companies are all applying for licences.
Brightoil's Singapore unit dropped to 44th place out of 45 in the MPA's list of its largest bunker suppliers by volume last year, down from 28th place in 2018.
This week Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Ltd released unaudited financial results for the past three years, showing a loss of HK$2.544 billion ($328 million) in the year to 30 June, 2019.
The company has auctioned off its bunker barge fleet, and intends to refocus on the upstream oil business as it restructures itself.
