- Singapore’s B24 discount to Rotterdam’s B30 widens
- Biodiesel prices rise in Europe
- Low bio-bunker demand in ARA
Singapore
Singapore’s B24-LSMGO and B24-VLSFO prices have shed $1-4/mt in the past week. The bio-bunker prices have come down amid a $5/mt drop in UCOME FOB China, according to PRIMA Markets. PRIMA says, “sellers [Chinese] are growing weary of the lack of overseas interest amid inflated freight rates and the EU’s anti-dumping investigations, which are expected to be concluded by June or July.”
The European Council on Transport, Telecommunications and Energy held a meeting in Brussels last week. The key topics of discussion included “Biofuels fraud prevention.” Delegations from EU member countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands shared information related to the prevention of biofuel fraud and invited the Commission to come forward with the necessary initiatives in this regard.
Unlike Singapore, bio-bunker prices in Rotterdam gained some in the past week. As a result, Singapore’s B24-VLSFO discount to Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO HBE has widened further from $26/mt to $45/mt in the past week. Rotterdam’s benchmark has a higher biofuel blend percentage, but it is interesting to note that biofuels remain more competitive in Singapore for the second consecutive week.
Lead times for bio-bunker grades vary between 10-14 days in Singapore. Most suppliers there typically use the same barges for B24-VLSFO deliveries as for pure VLSFO, because of this, they require additional time to plan their delivery schedules, a source says.
Biofuel price premiums over pure conventional fuels are $100/mt for B24-VLSFO blend and $70/mt for B24-LSMGO. These premiums have been largely steady in the past week.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO and B30-LSMGO HBE prices have gained by $15-16/mt over the past week. A steep rise in the price of palm oil mill effluent methyl ester (POMEME) has supported the gains in both benchmarks.
PRIMA-assessed POMEME price in the ARA has surged by $50/mt to $1,418/mt in the past week. POMEME is one of the most popular advanced biofuel feedstocks, and POMEME-based biofuels can qualify for advanced biofuel rebates through the Dutch HBE system.
Biofuel price premiums over pure conventional fuels are $180/mt for B30-VLSFO HBE blend and $126/mt for B30-LSMGO HBE blend. These premiums have widened by $16-17/mt in the past week.
The 2024 ticket price for advanced HBE has come down marginally from €8.50/GJ ($9.22/GJ) to €8.35/GJ ($9.06/GJ) and resulted in a $2/mt lower rebate for B30 blends sold in the Netherlands. The rebate is around $80/mt and makes it still lucrative to bunker advanced biofuel blends in Dutch ports compared to ports in Belgium and other countries where discounts don’t exist.
Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO and B30-LSMGO UCOME prices have made similar gains, increasing by $14-15/mt in the past week. The price gains have been supported by a rise in underlying UCOME FOB ARA benchmark. PRIMA-assessed UCOME FOB ARA price in the ARA hub has surged by $50/mt to $1,383/mt in the past week.
PRIMA says “UCOME prices in the European market continued to rebound in line with a stronger biodiesel complex but also in parallel with higher vegetable oils prices in general”.
Overall, bio bunker demand was mostly slow in the ARA hub last week, a source says. Demand in Mediterranean ports such as Gibraltar and Algeciras have been mostly sluggish. B24-VLSFO UCOME was priced around $760/mt in both ports on Friday.
Changes in weekly bio-bunker prices (ENGINE-PRIMA Markets):
Singapore’s B24-VLSFO UCOME down by $4/mt to $686/mt
Singapore’s B24-LSMGO UCOME down by $1/mt to $781/mt
Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO HBE up by $15/mt to $731/mt
Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO HBE up by $16/mt to $857/mt
Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO UCOME up by $14/mt at $801/mt
Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO UCOME up by $15/mt to $927/mt
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Source: Engine
