Asia/Pacific News
Zhoushan Authorities Plan to Grow Bunker Sales to 10 Million MT/Year
The Administrative Committee of Zhoushan High-Tech Industrial Zone is planning to expand Zhoushan's marine fuel sales to create a 10 million mt/year hub in Northeast Asia.
Last week the Zhoushan port authority hosted the seventh International Petroleum and Gas Enterprises Conference, discussing the port's rapid expansion of its bunker market in recent years.
Delegates were told last year's sales totaled 7.04 million mt -- almost matching Fujairah, the world's third-largest bunkering port -- up from just 1.06 million mt in 2016, one of the conference's organisers told Ship & Bunker.
The port plans to create a unified bunker supply market in the Yangtze River Delta with total sales of 10 million mt/year, including alternative fuels.
"The vision is to promote high-quality synergistic development of bunker supply industry chain, realize the lowest fuel price in the region, the highest efficiency of bunker supply operations and the best environment of bunker supply services," Mrs Cui Yiling, deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of Zhoushan High-Tech Industrial Zone, said.
"Build Zhoushan to be an international first-class bonded marine fuel storage and distribution, supply, settlement and pricing center and to become the first choice as “North East Asia (Bio) Marine Fuel Station”."
Growing Bunker Sales
Zhoushan now has 86 anchor positions where vessels can take on marine fuel.
52 of its barges, of which 46% are larger than 4,000 DWT, are equipped with mass flow meters and high definition video surveillance systems monitoring each bunker delivery.
As part of last week's proceedings, PetroChina International Netherlands Company B.V. signed a memorandum of understanding with the Administrative Committee of Zhoushan High-Tech Industrial Zone forming a partnership to promote and support the commercial and sustainable bunker activities in the port of Zhoushan.
The deal sets out plans to collaborate on increasing biofuel and conventional bunker supply at Zhoushan, as well as working on aligning the port with international standards and bringing in electronic bunker delivery notes and electronic customs documentation.
"Decarbonization is an important mission of the port of Zhoushan and they are going all in to promote supplying bio marine fuels with the support in knowledge and technology from European companies," the director of business development at PetroChina International Netherlands Company B.V. said.
