EMEA News
Longer Cruise Season Adds Bunker Demand in Russia
The extension of the cruise season is expected to keep bunker demand high in Russia, boosting the domestic fuel oil market, Platts reports.
"Bunkering is in full swing, exports are going well," said one trader.
The cruise season had been expected to end around September 9 but has been pushed back to the end of September.
Domestic fuel oil now carries an estimated premium of $50 per metric tonne (mt) to the export netback.
River exports, which supplement railcar volumes during the summer, increasing the total export of fuel oil, are also strong and are expected to last well into October as long as the level of the Volga River does not drop.
While demand for bunkers and exports is continuing, new demand for heating oil is starting as utilities stock up in preparation for the winter.
Russian tax incentives to encourage the production of gasoline and diesel encourage the export of large amounts of fuel oil from the nation, and bunker sales in the Far East have been on the rise, reducing demand in ports elsewhere in Asia.
