Looking towards a new era

The introduction of the IMO Global sulphur cap in January 2020 will lead to many changes for ship operators and owners. Many of the implications for shipowners and operators have been discussed by ExxonMobil during its recent ‘Journey to 2020’ series of symposiums around the world.

One of the less considered implications is that fuel suppliers, such as the fuel and lubricant major ExxonMobil, will need to formulate fuels in a similar way to the way it currently formulates lubricants. “The old world of producing fuels has gone”, Luca Volta, Marine Fuels Venture Manager, ExxonMobil said.

“During our recent project to develop a new range of marine fuels specifically formulated to meet the requirements of the IMO 0.50% sulphur cap [EMF.5™], we needed to ensure that the fuels were both mutually compatible, as well as ensuring that they met the requirements for stability, waxing, and combustion”, Luca Volta, Marine Fuels Venture Manager, ExxonMobil said.

“Thanks to the work, we are taking the unprecedented step of assuring the compatibility of our 0.50% VLSFOs across global bunker locations”, Luca Volta said.

Importantly, all fuels within the EMF.5 range are compatible with each other, so long as bunkering, storage and handling best practices are observed. The new suite of fuels includes residual grades that meet ISO 8217:2017 specification.

The fuels will be available in ports in Northwest Europe, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (ARA), as well as the Port of Zeebrugge by the end of 2019.

The new suite of fuels will also be available in Marseille and Genoa in the Mediterranean, and Singapore and Thailand in southeast Asia.

Fragmentation of fuel landscape

Looking ahead, Volta noted that there was likely to be a very different landscape of fuels as refiners and fuel blenders place different fuels onto the market. Regional and sub-regional factors, such as the availability of crude oil and refinery configurations, would also play a role.

“In my conversations with industry stakeholders, the main question that I receive is around quality to a far greater extent than availability. That is why we have launched our new fuel range.”

As Volta expects the increased demand for 0.50% sulphur fuel to be met by an increase in the amount of residual fuels in the market, and a corresponding decrease in the proportion of distillates. “In the medium term, we can expect distillates to account for 30% of the market, while LNG will grow to satisfy 10% of demand.”

The growth in residual fuels in the fuel mix will lead to a greater focus on asphaltenes and cat fine levels in the medium term, although fuel analysis and onboard purifiers can help to mitigate risks.

In the short term, compatibility between residual fuels is likely to remain an issue. Shipowners should follow best practice in handling and storage from bunker to engine. Volta reiterated existing advice that shipowners should ensure that fuels from different ports and suppliers are segregated to avoid the risk of issues such as sediment precipitation in the tanks. These could lead to sludge formation, block filters and purifiers – even could lead to fuel pumps seizing up.

Multi-billion dollar investments

Ensuring fuel availability for its customers has required significant “multi-billion US dollar” investments into upgrading the infrastructure at the Antwerp, Rotterdam and Singapore refineries, in order to permit the production of fuels, lubricants and chemicals that its customers require within transportation industries including marine.

ExxonMobil has also made significant investments in its secondary logistics or barging capacity at the Port of Zeebrugge to ensure that it can meet demand from its products at an important hub for passenger vehicle transportation.

Cylinder lubricants

ExxonMobil is also introducing a a new 40BN cylinder oil, Mobilgard™ 540, which is specifically designed to work 0.50% sulphur fuels. The new lubricant will be available across the company’s global port network and via its extensive distribution network.

While Volta expects ExxonMobil’s new 40BN cylinder lubricant to be the company’s most widely used requested cylinder oil for marine customers operating two-stroke engines on VLSFO fuel. ExxonMobil will continue to offer a wide range of cylinder oils for customers.

The company has also extended its medium-speed cylinder oil offering, and began offering a 20BN trunk piston oil, Mobilgard M420, from key hub ports such as Singapore, Houston and Rotterdam, from early August.