- US physical supplier John W. Stone Oil Distributor LLC (Stone Oil) announced it has launched a new offshore Texas bunkering business.
- The company employs its articulated tug/barge Gulf Venture/Gulf Carrier at fairway anchorages and lightering zones.
- The Jones Act-compliant barge, built in 2016, can carry just over 83,000 bl of fuel and has four pumps and oil heaters.
- The company already supplies VLSFO, MGO and high-sulphur fuel oil throughout the Mississippi river and elsewhere along the US Gulf of Mexico.
Marine fuel supplier John W. Stone Oil Distributor has entered the offshore Texas bunker market by offering very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gasoil (MGO), reports Argus Media.
Offshore operations underway
Stone Offshore Bunkering operations are now underway and are served by Stone Oil’s US Flagged, Jones Act built and crewed vessel, the Gulf Venture/Gulf Carrier.
The ATB was built in 2016 and then purposely modified over the last several months with the addition of multiple thermal oil heaters, cargo pumps, pipelines, and davits and fenders, all to ensure segregation and redundancy.
The unit has over 83,000 barrels of segregated capacity to enable the delivery of both VLSFO and MGO products.
Demand spike
There has been a slight uptick in demand recently, but it is the seasonal rise the company expected, chief operating officer Tony Odak told Argus.
This demand increase has been more than offset by the addition of several new physical supply competitors to the market as well as the average bunker lots sizes decreasing because of shipowner credit issues, vessels changing the port of their call and compatibility of existing fuel onboard with newly arriving fuel.
There has been a rise in the use of re-refined lube oil as a blendstock for VLSFO by several other suppliers, which has gained traction in a cost-conscious environment. John W. Stone does not use it, Odak said.
Stone Oil says the intention is to add significantly to the offering, not only in equipment, but location as well.
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Source: Argus Media
