Spanish energy company Cepsa expects 0.5% sulfur bunker fuels to be availableat a discount of about $110-$130/mt to marine gasoil prices at Spanish portsafter the International Maritime Organization (IMO) cuts the global marinefuel sulfur cap in 2020, the company said Wednesday. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. 0.5% sulfur bunker prices could be $110-$130/mt cheaper than MGO in the years2020-22 and high sulfur fuel oil prices $250-$300/mt cheaper than it, JuanBerenguer, a bunker trader at the producer, said at the International BunkerIndustry Association's bunker conference in Tenerife Wednesday. That would putthe price difference between fuel oil and 0.5% sulfur bunkers at $120-$190/mt. The IMO's new 0.5% sulfur cap in 2020 will force most shipowners either toshift to a new, more expensive low sulfur fuel, or to install a scrubber thatcleans their vessel's emissions on board and allows it to continue burningfuel oil. The price spreads between the fuels will be a key metric indetermining how quickly investing in a scrubber can pay off, as well asestimating how big a rise in costs shipowners can expect. Cepsa plans to make a single 0.5% sulfur fuel for the marine market in 2020,Berenguer told S&P Global Platts. The fuel will be about 200 CST in viscosity,but the company will probably not be ready to release full details of itsspecifications for at least another year, he said. Other producers are expected to announce more than just a single fuel each tomeet marine demand in 2020. BP presented two new fuels to shipowners inFebruary, while an ExxonMobil representative told S&P Global Platts it wouldproduce "more than two, but less than 42." --Jack Jordan, jack.jordan@spglobal.com --Edited by Maurice Geller, maurice.geller@spglobal.com
Madrid-based energy company Cepsa has predicted that 0.5% sulphur bunker fuels could be $110 to $130 cheaper per metric tonne than marine gasoil in Spanish ports after an International Maritime Organisation sulphur cap regulation takes effect in daily. High sulphur oil prices should be cheaper by $250 to $300/mt, according to a bunker trader at Cepsa. The spread between the 0.5% fuel and high sulphur fuel will determine if investing in emissions cleaning will pay off for a shipowner. Cepsa has said it plans to make a single 0.5% fuel available but hasn't released any specifications.