BP Marine Keeps Australia, New Zealand Focus Despite Bunker Demand Drop, says an article on SP Global.
- Australia VLSFO sales drop 30%-50% as cruise tourism hit: sources
- BP Marine re-enters New Zealand VLSFO market
- New Zealand due to sign up to MARPOL Annex VI toward late 2021
Focus despite bunker demand drop
BP Marine continues to build its strategic footprint in Australia and New Zealand despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Anthony Tolani, General Manager BP Marine ANZ, told S&P Global Platts on June 11.
This comes as some industry sources said that BP’s recent move to strengthen its presence in the New Zealand market, after it inked an agreement with the Ports of Auckland, was most likely a way to mitigate the impact from Australia’s falling bunker volumes as cruise tourism has been badly hit.
Australia, ranking among those with the highest penetration of any cruise market globally outside the US, has seen its bunker fuel consumption plummet due to restrictions on entry and sailings of cruise ships, pressuring the country’s refiners further as they also grapple with demand constraints for other oil products due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on demand in the region…The largest impact has been on the cruise industry, which was banned across various countries and is yet to be lifted in ANZ,” Tolani said.
“However, BP Marine manages the complete end-to-end supply chain in this region and we see the ANZ region as a whole, in the same way, our customers do,” he added.
VLSFO sales have dropped between 30% and 50% as cruises were forced to cease operations there from March last year to curb the spread of the pandemic, market sources told Platts separately.
The demand for HSFO bunker fuel has also “evaporated” after cruise ships fitted with scrubbers suspended operations, an Australia-based bunker trader said.
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Source: SP Global
