Asia’s very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) market weakened further as front-month backwardation continued to narrow, while high sulphur fuel oil was little changed on thin trade.

The Singapore 0.5% VLSFO cash differential edged lower to a premium of $2.83 a metric ton, while October crack spread dipped to a premium of $7.39 a barrel.

The 380-cst HSFO cash differential FO380-SIN-DIF was pegged steady at a premium of $7.37 a metric ton, while October crack rose to a discount of $9.93 a barrel.

Meanwhile, another major trade conference Gastech 2023 kicked off this week on Tuesday, where trade participants from the gas, hydrogen and carbon markets gather.

GASTECH 2023

– U.S. liquefied natural gas developer Venture Global LNG was accused of “deceitful actions” by Shell Executive Vice President Steve Hill on Tuesday, who said failing to meet contracts was “damaging and dangerous to the industry”.

– Global gas prices are expected to remain volatile, even though Europe is better positioned heading into winter this year, said industry executives at a conference on Tuesday.

– The global bunker fuel market is expected to convert substantially to LNG over the next 10 years, said Russell Hardy, chief executive of the world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices dipped on Tuesday as fresh data added to gloom over the state of China’s post-pandemic recovery, although expectations of an extension in supply cuts by leading OPEC+ producers limited losses.

– Ukraine said on Monday that Russian drones had detonated on the territory of NATO member Romania during an overnight air strike on a Ukrainian port across the Danube River, but Bucharest denied its territory had been hit.

– Shell and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company are close to agreeing to credit Venezuela’s state-run oil firm for its $1 billion investment in a gas field the three want to jointly develop, four people close to the discussions said.

– Austria’s OMV started up a new biofuels plant at its Schwechat refinery two weeks ago, a company executive said at an energy industry conference in Singapore on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)