Crude futures fluctuated through the morning, following a mixed picture from US inventories this week, with Oct. 20's Energy Information Administration report showing crude oil stocks declining.

The year-on-year increase in throughput was due to run cuts last year, while the monthly decrease was due to autumn refinery turnarounds.

Buyers held off purchases as long as possible in September because the rally in crude oil drove up costs, traders said.

There are "questions around supply and demand in the market and of course when you start heading into the winter people begin to worry and then you have a degree of speculation entering the market,' BP CEO Bernard Looney said at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek.

The company did not export IMO 2020-compliant cargoes over August-October due to higher domestic bunker demand and an unexpected shutdown of its crude distillation unit.

An increased outlet for HSFO comes in the form of sustained demand from the marine fuel sector, despite the International Maritime Organization's sulfur cap reduction for marine fuels.

Rotterdam FOGO bunker spread widens on heating demand

Continued firm bunker prices were compounded by a consistently replenishing tonnage list in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins.

Intense competition in the Singapore delivered bunker market that has squeezed margins, particularly for IMO-complaint low sulfur bunker fuel, is limiting the ability of some players to operate profitably, industry sources told S&P Global Platts in the week to Sept. 24.

Korea East-West Power has bought 100,000 mt of October-loading LSFO with maximum 0.3% sulfur for its Ulsan power plant.

Material from countries that are subject to international trade sanctions are excluded from the assessment process.

Aramco is developing low-carbon hydrogen production projects, and Al Khowaiter said the natural markets for its exports would be to Asia.

This latest effort signifies a major step towards developing Malaysia as an LNG bunkering hub, Tamrin said.

Feasibility will be examined from September 2021 to March 2022, and in 2022 itself commercialization is expected to begin.

Between June 2017 and August 2018, Muhammad Afzal Bin Mohamed Ekbar, a bunker trader at KPI Bridge Oil Singapore Pte Ltd at that time, had allegedly obtained gratifications totaling at least $191,250 from Mohammad Shafiq Bin Nezammuddin, director of Straits Bunkering Pte Ltd at that time, the CPIB said in a statement on Oct. 19

"Several coal-fired power plants will be transformed into LNG-based ones," the official said.

From Oct. 15, all workers in Italy need to provide proof of vaccination, proof of having recently recovered from COVID-19 or a negative test result in order to be able to work.

Under CBAM, Europe plans to impose a tax on imports of products and materials with a high carbon footprint.

Proponents of MFMs say the units stave off quantity disputes and promote transparency in bunkering. The Port of Singapore has made them mandatory and a number of companies have called for them to be compulsory at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp bunker hub.