November 20, 2023 [Reuters]- GS Caltex Singapore Pte Ltd said on Monday it has sold its first cargo of biofuel-blended marine gasoil to Maersk Oil Trading (MOT) at the world’s largest bunker hub Singapore as it seeks to expand into lower carbon fuels.

The sale by the Singapore-based trading arm of South Korea’s second-largest refiner is part of GS Caltex’s plans by to expand its biofuels supply chain overseas. More of such biofuel bunkering trials are taking place at key global maritime hubs this year as the shipping industry tests new and cleaner fuels in a bid to reduce emissions.

GS Caltex said it delivered 1,000 metric tons of marine gasoil blended with 24% of Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester (UCOME) to MOT’s bunker barge on an ex-wharf basis on Nov. 8.

MOT has since delivered the fuel, also known as B24 or bio-MGO, to its container ships at Tanjung Pelapas in Malaysia, it added.

Maersk said it cannot comment on individual deals.

GS Caltex leased 10,000 cubic metres of biofuel storage tanks at Jurong Port Universal Terminal earlier this year to facilitate the blending of bio-MGO, the company said.

UCOME was blended with 0.1% MGO to produce the biofuel for ships, it added.

The UCOME, sourced from Malaysia, is certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), GS Caltex said, while gasoil components are sourced from its refinery in South Korea and other Asian countries and blended at the terminal.

GS Caltex is the top MGO seller in Singapore with sales volumes averaging at 120,000 tonnes per month this year, accounting for more than 40% of MGO ex-wharf sales at the hub, the company said.

MGO is used to fuel ships calling at Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) in Europe and the United States which have stricter sulphur-emission limits.

The company is looking to ramp up its supply of bio-blended MGO, which remains a rare blend for bunkering in Singapore as most trials so far have involved marine fuel blends derived from mixing biofuel with fuel oil instead of gasoil.

Singapore’s total sales for biofuel-blended marine fuels have exceeded 300,000 tons in 2023 so far, more than double from 2022’s total volume, data from the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority showed.

The data has yet to record any sale of bio-MGO bunker in Singapore.

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