EMEA News
Platts to Start New Low Sulfur Bunker Fuel Assessments from 2019
Price reporting agency Platts is to start assessing low sulfur bunker fuel from next year with actual prices to be published from July 2019.
Jonty Rushforth, senior director energy price group at S&P Global Platts, told the Platts London Oil & Energy Forum that the assessments will be calculated from existing assessments and will track the market as it develops. In addition, Platts will retain its high sulfur fuel oil assessments, he said.
The bunker price assessment developments come ahead of regulatory change from the start of 2020 when the global sulfur cap on bunker fuel falls from its current level of 3.5% to 0.5%.
The impact of the change will be significant with demand for low sulfur material expected to be strong but weak for high sulfur fuel oil. On the back of the changes, a period of price volatility on fuel oil grades has been widely predicted by market observers.
