EMEA News
Argus Sees Biomethanol Bunker Price at $3,336/mt
Shipowners taking on biomethanol as an alternative fuel could see bunker bills more than four times as high as VLSFO, even after European Union emission trading rules raise the cost of conventional bunkers.
Biomethanol prices at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub in Northwest Europe stood at $3,336/mt in the week to 5 November, price reporting agency Argus Media reported on Friday, compared with an average VLSFO price of $573/mt over November 1-12.
Adding the EU-ETS carbon price of $70/mt for those dates at 3.734 mt of CO2 per ton of VLSFO takes the VLSFO price to $833/mt, still less than a quarter of the biomethanol price, Argus said.
The numbers highlight why shipping industry bodies have called for any funds raised from the shipping industry through emissions trading to be used to lower the cost of new low-carbon fuels, narrowing the gap between them and conventional bunkers.
