November 30, 2010 [Platts] - BP Marine announced Tuesday that it will be able to supply RMG 380 specification bunker fuel for the first time at eastern Australia's Brisbane port, with the start up of its new storage terminal.
The new $30 million facility has storage tanks which are capable of storing over 30,000 mt of fuel oil, with a dedicated barge loading wharf, the company said in a statement.
“We have begun supplying RMG 380 from our terminal in Brisbane,” a spokesman told Platts.
The commissioning of the new facilities allows BP Marine to stock and supply RMG 380, RME 180 and DMA marine fuels at Brisbane, offering 380 CST bunkers for the first time.
BP used to only offer 180 CST bunker at the eastern Australian port.
Under the ISO specification, RMG 380 are bunker fuels with a maximum viscosity of 380 CST, sulfur content of 4.5% and density of 991 kg per cubic meter.
RME 180 are bunker fuels with a maximum viscosity of 180 CST, sulfur content of 3.5% and density of 991 kg/cu m. DMA is the ISO specification for marine gasoil with a maximum sulfur content of 1.5%, a cetane index of 40 and a density of 890 kg/cu m.
“(BP Marine’s services) will be further enhanced when the Valiant III — a new double-hulled barge capable of carrying both fuel oil and gasoil enters service in early 2011,” the company added.
BP has two refineries in Australia, the 138,000 b/d Kwinana plant in western Australia and the 88,000 b/d Bulwer Island plant in Queensland. BP and US major Caltex are the two suppliers of bunker fuel in Brisbane.
