The refining margin for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) fell to an eight-month low on Monday as the market remains underpinned by ample spot supply.

The November crack fell to a discount of $17.53 a barrel at the Asia close, last lower in February, showed LSEG data.

Spot 380-cst HSFO cash premiums remained in thin single-digits, closing at $1 per metric ton over Singapore quotes.
Price benchmarks for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) held steady to lower.

The cash premium for 0.5% VLSFO closed at $17.01 per ton, down for a fifth consecutive session, while the refining margin fell to a premium of $9.71 per barrel.

BUNKER UPDATES
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) will launch a digital bunkering initiative on Nov. 1, making the city-state the first port in the world to use electronic bunker fuel delivery notes, the MPA said on Monday.

Under the initiative, fuel suppliers, ship owners, operators and crew will be encouraged to use mobile and cloud-based applications approved by the MPA to complete and issue bunkering documents.

Separately, the Energy Market Authority and the MPA have shortlisted six consortia to develop a low- or zero-carbon ammonia project, to generate power and for ship bunkering on Jurong Island.

The proposals will go into a closed request-for-proposal stage to be launched before the end of 2023, and then a lead developer will be selected to jointly develop the project with the government, EMA said in a statement.

OTHER NEWS
– Oil prices eased in early Asia trade on Monday as investors continued to focus on the situation in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts are intensifying in an attempt to contain the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

– Global trading house Trafigura is seeking to charter at least one large tanker to export Venezuelan fuel oil, according to two people with knowledge of the deal, a move that follows the easing of U.S. sanctions on the OPEC country’s energy industry.

– South Korea’s state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Monday that it had signed an oil storage agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco to reserve 5.3 million barrels for five years.

– Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, on Monday launched Southeast Asia’s first price assessment for liquefied natural gas cargoes amid growing demand.

WINDOW TRADES
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh edited by Jason Neely