The Port of Singapore will remain open for operations even though stricter measures have been announced in the country to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said Friday.

Sinopec's Guangzhou Petrochemical refinery in the southern Guangdong province of China has supplied IMO-compliant marine fuel for delivery to ocean-going vessels, the company said on its website Friday.

Brazilian state-led oil producer and refiner Petrobras expects exports of crude oil and refined products, especially bunker fuel, to grow in May as key trading partner China emerges from a coronavirus-led shutdown, CEO Roberto Castello Branco said.

The marine fuel bunkers price bucked the recent trend of tracking ICE LSGO downwards after it followed Brent's upwards Thursday.

Crude oil prices jumped again Friday morning on discussions by global leaders of production cuts, but new bearish US unemployment numbers held prices down from their earlier highs.

Sunken freight rates for clean tankers due to a global demand decline amid the coronavirus pandemic has left the arbitrage from the US Gulf Coast to Asia wide open for naphtha, but the route to Europe for ultra low sulfur diesel remains shut despite a drop in USGC demand.

"A lot of my discussions are around credit now," a shipowner said.

"In this time of global crisis, it is more important than ever to keep supply chains open and maritime trade and transport moving," the ICS

European refiners are expected to maximize crude runs, despite coronavirus hitting demand for their fuels, in a bid to lock in surging refining margins as a result of the oil price rout. But moves to process cheap crude may be short-lived as oil product storage tanks reach capacity and fuel demand continues to slump on expanding travel curbs, according to regional trading sources.

Growing refined product imports into Latin American have pushed some countries to make fuel specification changes that help better align their demand with international supply, and more changes are potentially on the way.

Yantai, a port on the Bohai Sea in Shandong province, is the second port in China to offer such a service after Qingdao Dongjiakou port.

South Africa's Engen refinery said late last week it had opted for a "temporary controlled shutdown".

"If they cannot sell, they will have to float the grades," a trader said.

"The joint venture agreement has just begun to materialize. Business will commence in April," the ZEG source said.

"We are doing fairly well in spreading our presence...our volumes look bigger than last year," Goel said.

That followed complaints from ship supply companies that they were being prevented from delivering to ships in some ports.

"Only staff on essential duties should be nominated and permitted to travel to offshore/remote locations."

"Some vessel operators think it is stressful for crew to stay onboard for longer and better for them to go home. I disagree," Jensen said.

Crew and passengers on short-term visits would also not be allowed to disembark in Singapore for the time being, the MPA said.

"MOFCOM has informed us that fuel oil exports will be restricted by quota soon," a Beijing-based source said.