Asia/Pacific News
SIBCON 2024: Indian Oil Firms Seek Greater Role in Biofuel Bunker Market
India's oil companies are looking to take a greater role in the market for biofuel bunker blends.
The country's top three oil firms are now looking at direct biofuel bunker sales at Indian ports as early as next year, several local sources told Ship & Bunker at Sibcon last week.
They have already been involved in biofuel cargo exports to other markets, but now reportedly want to take a more direct role in bringing these products to their local bunkering locations.
India is well placed to top up the world's biofuel supplies, with significant consumption of cooking oil in its domestic food production -- which can then be recycled to produce used cooking oil-based biofuels -- and relatively low labour costs to collect the used oil and deliver it to biofuel production facilities.
Biofuels are increasingly being used by the shipping industry as a short-term means of cutting net GHG emissions without needing to order new tonnage, but the supply of these products is limited and unlikely to meet rising demand levels. Global biofuel bunker demand is likely to expand significantly from next year with the FuelEU Maritime regulation mandating greater use of renewable fuels by ships taking voyages to and from Europe.
