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Argus Media: South Korean bunker prices soar on supply shortfall

Refining company Hyundai Oilbank knows they’re the only ones that can still offer spot supplies for May so prices are through the roof, says one trader.

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Several South Korean refineries are unable to deliver bunker supplies for the rest of this month, leading to sharply higher prices relative to other parts of the region.

19 May, 2022

The price of South Korean very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) hit a record premium to Singapore values of $220/t on 18 May, having risen from more typical levels of about $20-25/t since 11 May, according to Argus data. 

The shortage of bunker supply in South Korea is so severe that yesterday VLSFO there was assessed almost at parity to low-sulphur marine gasoil (LSMGO), a premium bunker product that usually commands a much higher price. Argus assessed South Korean VLSFO at $1,164/t yesterday and LSMGO at $1,185/t.

South Korea’s refining sector is dominated by four companies — S-Oil, SK energy, GS Caltex and Hyundai Oilbank. Of those, only Hyundai Oilbank is understood to still have spot supplies on offer for May delivery. The others have either run out or are being hampered by outages.

S-Oil, which operates the 669,000 b/d Onsan refinery in Ulsan, is heard to be having some issues with its residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit, although this could not be confirmed. Market sources told Argus that the refinery requires maintenance, and this has led to a decline in output. 

Meanwhile, SK Energy’s 840,000 b/d refinery in Ulsan is understood to have been under maintenance for a while, with the company only offering product for June delivery onwards. And GS Caltex has reportedly sold out of VLSFO for May.

“Hyundai know they’re the only ones that can still offer spot supplies for May so prices are through the roof,” said one trader.

Most of the bunkering taking place in South Korea at the moment is therefore restricted to term volumes. The constraints on VLSFO production from S-Oil and SK Energy, also partly connected to an interruption in supply of low-sulphur crude, is not expected to ease until the end of May or early June.

South Korea is one of the largest bunker supply hubs and producers of VLSFO in Asia-Pacfic, with most bunkering taking place in the country’s southern ports of Ulsan and Busan. 

No official data on the country’s bunker fuel demand are available, but December 2021 total sales were estimated by various market sources at 800,000-850,000t, of which about 590,000t was VLSFO.

By Sammy Six and Maiko Nakashima

 

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 20 May, 2022

 

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.

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Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

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MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

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