Distillates demand to spike on marine fuel sulfur curbs

New pollution curbs on marine fuel set to kick in over the next decade could result in a 50% spike in global distillates demand by 2030, said Vincent Chong, global head of ExxonMobil’s marine fuel division. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is seeking global cuts in the sulphur content of bunker fuel to a maximum of 3.5% by 2012 and then to 0.5% by 2020 or 2025, depending on a review in 2018. The 0.5% cap can generally only be met through the use of cleaner distillate marine fuels, as opposed to the heavy residual fuel oil currently favored by the industry, Chong said. “This unprecedented volume transition on a global scale could represent another 400 to 600 million metric tons of distillates needed across all sectors by 2030,” he said. (October 28, 2010)