6 Countries are Responsible for Almost 60% of All Bunker Sales

6 Countries are Responsible for Almost 60% of All Bunker Sales

Just six countries are responsible for almost sixty percent of global bunker sales, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has noted in its recently released World Oil Outlook 2015.

"Even though there are approximately 400 major bunkering ports in the world, most of the demand is concentrated in a few strategic ports," wrote OPEC.

"In 2012, Singapore, China, the US, the UAE, Netherlands, and South Korea accounted for almost 60% of the world demand."

Singapore is well know as the world's biggest bunkering port by volume, having been established as such for several years with consistent annual sales of around 42 million metric tonnes (mt).

With 2015 looking almost certain to be its best ever year in terms of bunker sales volume, along with the fact that it is located along one of the busiest shipping lanes, it is close to nearby refineries, and, as OPEC notes, has "exceptional infrastructure," Singapore also looks set to remain as the world's number one bunkering port for at least for foreseeable future.

Fujairah in the UAE is the world's second largest bunkering port, with annual sales of around 24 million mt.

"It enjoys a strategic location at the crossroads of shipping lines between East and West," notes OPEC.

Rotterdam, the biggest port in Europe, is the third largest bunkering port with annual sales of around 10.5 million mt.

Hong Kong and Antwerp complete the world's top five bunkering ports by volume, with annual sales of 7.4 million mt and 6.5 million mt respectively.

"Other important ports include Busan (South Korea), Gibraltar, Panama, Algeciras (Spain), Los Angeles/Long Beach (US) and Shanghai (China)," OPEC adds.

In September Ship & Bunker noted the ten biggest bunker companies control around 50 percent of the global bunker market.