Singapore Refining Co delivers first low-sulphur bunker fuel cargo

[SINGAPORE] The Singapore Refining Company (SRC) supplied its first cargo of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in October 2019, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

"This milestone is in line with the refinery and wider industry's readiness to supply 0.5 per cent sulphur marine fuels from Singapore, one of the largest international bunkering ports," the statement said.

Refiners around the world have been making adjustments at their plants to adapt to stricter marine fuel standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) coming into force on Jan 1, 2020.,

The IMO rules ban ships from using fuel oil with a sulphur content above 0.5 per cent next year, compared with 3.5 per cent now, unless they are equipped with exhaust "scrubbers" to clean up sulphur emissions.

"Our production capabilities at SRC will enable our two shareholders... to offer a variety of marine fuels for vessels with and without scrubbers," said William Stone, chief executive officer of SRC.

SRC is a 50:50 joint venture between Chevron Corp and Singapore Petroleum Co, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PetroChina International Co. 

REUTERS