Singapore-based CNC Petroleum, a subsidiary of local fuel and lubricant distributor PS Energy, is embarking on several bunkering related projects as part of internal expansion plans this year, says its Director.

The marine gas oil (MGO) specialised bunker supplier first received its bunkering licence from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore in 2017 and has been providing marine fuel via truck and shore tank to vessels at Penjuru Jetty, according to Sean Chua, also the Managing Director of PS Energy.

The company reached a milestone in 2020 when it became a shipowner through the acquisition of two 150mt capacity floating kiosks to service mainly harbour craft and two bunker tankers offering bonded MGO to international vessels.

“The floating kiosks and bunker tankers [500mt capacity Marine Dignity and 1,500mt Davina] acquired last year complement our existing land-based bunkering business at Penjuru jetty,” Chua told Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.

“2020 was perhaps the most interesting period for the Singapore bunkering industry where certain commodity trading mishaps created opportunity within the republic’s MGO fuel supply sphere.

“From our positive experience of operating Marine Dignity and Davina, combined with the newfound opportunity in the MGO bunker supply sphere, the company direction in 2021 will be to explore the acquisition of even more MGO bunker tankers of between 500 to 2,000mt capacity – provided the price is right.

“We also intend to expand our product portfolio to include VLSFO bunker deliveries at a later stage; after investments into the MGO bunkering segment have been complete.

“This is on top of a current company plan to expand our bunkering business to the Philippines where we now have 12 fuel trucks on location.”

Additionally, CNC Petroleum is keen to transfer digital technologies currently used by the company’s land-based marine refuelling operations for ship-to-ship bunkering, shares Chua.

“We currently operate a fleet of 23 trucks in Singapore for various types of refuelling operations, and those responsible for truck-to-ship bunkering have been equipped with a well-established system where we are able to remotely track the volume of fuel delivered from the load point to the customer,” he explains.

“We are looking forward to migrate this commercially proven system for use on our newly acquired bunker tankers.”

Moving forward, Chua believes 2021 to be a year of rapid growth for CNC Petroleum.

“We feel this year is the right time to further develop the company as an MGO marine fuel supplier to better serve Singapore port,” he states.

“The bunker sales volume at Singapore port grew by 5% on year to 49.8 million metric tonnes (mt) in 2020, which is an astounding feat considering the current coronavirus pandemic. We are confident sales of marine fuels at the world’s largest bunkering port will continue to grow.

“On top of that, the local bunkering market has now changed where we find financial institutions and regulatory bodies favouring players with strong digital capabilities and operational transparency.

“It is clear the mandatory use of mass flowmeters for the custody transfer of marine fuel at Singapore port has created a level playing field where relatively new entrants into the bunkering sector, such as CNC Petroleum, feel welcomed to explore.”

For collaboration opportunities, please contact:

Jeffrey Tan
Senior Sales Manager (Head of Bunkers)
HP: +65 9321 9921
ICE: jeftan
Skype: Jefftjk
Email: [email protected]

Photo credit: MarineTraffic / Pak Agen
Published: 3 March, 2021